Told in a series of author introspective and conversations with the Greek goddess Aphrodite, this collection of poetry hits with the force of a sucker-punch. Exploring queer themes, sexual and familial trauma, and self worth, this book leaves you breathless but hopeful for healing.

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Genuinely caught off guard by this one. The poet does a wonderful job of weaving vivid imagery, Greek mythology and a strong message of self care together into a rather strong collection. The prose was heartfelt and never came across as insincere or overbearing at any point.

I liked it a lot.

Recommended.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Not my cup of tea. I thought I was going to like it based on the description, However the writing style wasn’t for me, but based on that it could’ve been a good story so I’m not going to talk to many stars because of one minor detail that I didn’t like.

This was a very quick and very enjoyable read for me. Poetry collections are not something that make up a big part of the reading life but when I find treasures like this one it makes me fall back in love with poetry all over again. It's a lovely book and I have already told a couple of friends about it who I know will love it.

I adored this collection of poetry and prose very much, it was a beautiful way to promote self care and I personally took a few lessons away from it. A quick but delightful read which I will be recommending to everyone, but particularly any friends going through a tough time.

I was honestly extremely pleasantly surprised by this book. Poetry collections aren't usually my thing but one thing that is? Greek mythology. So I thought I'd give this book a try and I really, really enjoyed it. Yes, it's true that a lot of the messages from this book have been said before. But overall, I liked the way Mateer delivered them in a new way. I loved Aphrodite's passages for their revisionism and their feminism and for making me view a Goddess I'd mostly dismissed in a new light.

"They married me off in the stories so they could call me an adulteress, but I brought the god of war to his knees."

As for The Poet, who writes the other half of the book and interacts with Aphrodite in her poems, her story, for me, was slightly less compelling just because, like I said before, it was a story I'd heard many times before, and unlike the Aphrodite narrative, it wasn't told in a particularly different way. However, comparing the two stories was fun and interesting.

The book was also extensively illustrated, and while some of them were a bit Instagram feminist (did I just make up a fun new term?) I do feel like they contributed positively to the book overall.

this book was fantastic. it was structured perfectly in terms of both the poems and the fantastic art throughout the book. the poems that were the author having conversations with aphrodite were so well written and all of them encapsulated what it’s like to be a woman in 2019. I especially loved how powerful the section was about focusing on joy as well as suffering when processing trauma. trista mateer always kills it and this is no exception. thank you to netgalley and central avenue publishing for the ARC.

An imaginative approach to self-care in this new poetry and prose collection, by bestselling and award-winning author Trista Mateer. This is an empowering retelling, of sorts, of the mythology of the goddess Aphrodite to weave a common thread through the past and present. By the end of this book, Aphrodite will make you believe in the possibility of your own healing.

___________________________________________________________________

I absolutely loved reading this book. Poetry isn’t something that I read very often but I am glad that I read this book. There were so many moments that I could resonate with and I felt like so much of the advise given in this book can be applied to so many different aspects of your life and relationships (romantic, platonic, and familial). I thought that the illustrations were absolutely gorgeous and added to the story even further. Several of them I would love to have as inspirational art prints to be honest.

I have never read a poetry book that is also a self care book, I think this is a really unique way of approaching the themes and the self care nature of this book.

I would highly recommend anyone to read this. Especially if you want to read a book that deals with accepting your sexuality and choices even if the people around you can’t, past trauma, abusive relationships, and finding self love and the strength to go on. Or if you need something that will make you feel uplifted by the end of reading it.

The nameless main character and the reader are helped through this journey by Aphrodite. Who tells her tale of strength and love, how she had to deal with men placing the blame on her. Turning her into an adult from birth, a creature of lust and adultery. Aphrodite’s story is just as strong and powerful as the nameless MC’s. Aphrodite is the voice that says that you can move on and become stronger. By the end of reading this book I felt inspired, strong and uplifted. I would recommend to get the full impact of this book is to read it all in one go if you can.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a great book of poetry. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for myself.

WOW. That was kind of incredible. I really loved how Trista gave Aphrodite a real voice in this collection. That was so expertly done and I'm a little in love. I always enjoy the feminist takes on the goddesses of Greek mythology (big fan of Nikita Gill's work on this), and this one was really superb. This is a hard-hitting collection, filled with a lot of really difficult topics, but it's also filled with so much love and joy and fierceness, and i really enjoyed it a great deal.

Could not put this down once I started it. An inspiring collection of prose, along with many meaningful and beautiful drawings and quotes. This really hit hard, with some really hard topics covered incredibly well. Abuse was amongst the best covered topics, so well done. Amazing!

This was such a powerful! I am absolutely in love with this collection of Poems! This talk about so many different aspects of life but I’m glad they all really came back tot the idea of loving yourself and finding joy in life despite the struggles one had gone through. I can't wait to get my hand on a physical copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are exclusively my own.

Review will be up on my Booktube, Goodreads, Instagram & other retail sites (will update links accordingly) — September 24, 2019

A powerful collection of poetry and prose that used the greek goddess of love to remind us to be angry, to stand up for ourselves, to forgive and heal, and love ourselves.

It really touched me in a way I can’t even describe. The words were beautiful yet plunged into my heart like a knife. There were also images and drawings sprinkled among the poems, which added to the depth of the poetry.

This is a poetry collection I will reach for over and over again. I highly recommend everyone to pick this up when it releases October 1.

*Thank you to NetGalley for letting me receive an ebook in exchange for an honest review.*

Ever since I read The Princess Saves Herself In This One, I have been looking for similar poetry collections and I haven’t been able to find one until now. I was unable to put this one down. One of the issues I have with reading poetry is that I am unable to really feel emotion while reading them, but I felt so much while reading this.

The main reason I was drawn to this collection was the use of Greek mythology, specifically Medusa, especially since I feel that she is such an overlooked and misunderstood character. I have never seen her character explored in such a nuanced way like this before and I really appreciated it.

I also loved the illustrations that were throughout the collection and they helped me understand the poetry better. It also made the reading go by quicker so I was able to read it all in one sitting and everything was easier to remember, which is another issue I tend to have with reading poetry.

Overall, this was definitely one of the best poetry collections I’ve read and I highly recommend it.

4/5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for gifting me a copy to review.

I’m not usually a poetry person but I was intrigued by the description and the self help aspect of it.
This did not disappoint, there were so many moments that I had to stop and re read as related so deeply to them that I had to check I hadn’t just formed the words myself.
This is a book that I will continue to revisit when I need to and one I will be quoting for a longtime.

I'm a fan of Trista Mateer's earlier work and I was not disappointed by this in the least. In fact, it might be my favorite out of all of her work. Aphrodite Made Me Do It is the feminist anthem of anthems, each poem taking another aspect of women, through Aphrodite, and demonstrating how we are perceived and taken in and frustrated by society. These poems made me feel angry and righteous and empowered, and then sad and enlightened and tired, but for all the same reasons that women feel tired all over the world. Any woman could read this book and find a poem, a line, that makes them feel like they are seen. I loved this and will recommend it to anyone who asks.

I love poetry and I have a (totally healthy) obsession with Greek mythology so this was right up my street. Generally, the poetry was beautiful and meaningful but I did find myself more engaged with the poems revolving around Greek figures compared the 'poet' ones.
There was a great message of female empowerment, queer pride and confidence which I really loved and found inspiring.

Poetry isn’t something that I read an awful lot of, so I’ve been trying to correct that a bit this year. I stumbled across this on Netgalley, and the title and cover really drew me in. This is also my first time reading any of Trista Mateer’s work, but I instantly fell in love with her beautiful prose and I’m definitely looking forward to picking up more of her work.

I absolutely loved the blend of Greek mythology and modern life. The poems about Medusa and Aphrodite were really fascinating and were my favourites in the collection. I found the poems in this collection very powerful and inspiring, I highlighted quite a few favourite parts on the Kindle. There’s also a wonderful selection of art within the book and I adored the mixture of prose and imagery. It was really striking and definitely left me itching for more.

If like me, you don’t read an awful lot of poetry this might be just the thing to get you hooked. I really like Amanda Lovelace’s work and had a similar feel and will completely capture your attention. It does deal with a lot of difficult topics like sexual assault, eating disorders and abuse so please bear that in mind if you decide to pick this one up. For me I really enjoyed this collection and am looking forward to trying more from Trista Mateer!

First time reading Trusts Mateer's work.
I'm loving the girl power and fiest-i-ness of this book. I'm not one to highlight but I definitely did in this one I loved so much.

"What brings us together will always be more powerful than what keeps us apart."

This was a strong saying for me.

A word of caution. There is swearing. If this bothers you you may want to start clear. This also talks about rape. Not in a strong form but it may be a trigger.

** Thank you so much netgalley, published and author for the advance ebook! I don't know if I would have picked this up on my own. Now I definitely need a physical copy!!

A poetry and prose collection that uses mythological goddesses to create a story of self-love and healing. I’m a not a massive fan of poetry collections anymore, but something about Aphrodite particularly caught my attention. Maybe, I’m just a sucker for mythological goddesses.

The poetry collection begins with Aphrodite and the author conversing before weaving into different pieces that discussed topics such as body image, abuse and queerphobia. I think about stood out the most was how Mateer framed this collection and its narrative. The collection flows through Aphrodite’s life, while also mentioning other women such as Medusa and Pandora, intertwining their stories with her own experiences.

I absolutely loved the illustrations and the designs of the tarot cards. I haven’t read anything previously by Mateer, so I don’t know if it’s a common thing, but I wasn’t expecting it. So it added such a nice touch to the entire collection. I would definitely consider buying a physical copy because of the art.