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Myth and Magick #1
Aphrodite Made Me Do It
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Poetry (2019)Bestselling and award-winning author Trista Mateer takes an imaginative approach to self-care in this new poetry and prose collection, Aphrodite Made Me Do It. In this empowering retelling, she uses the mythology of the goddess to weave a common thread through the past and present. By the end of this book, Aphrodite make you believe in the possibility of your own healing.
191 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2019
About the author
Trista Mateer
17 books1,348 followersTrista Mateer is the bestselling author of multiple poetry collections, including Aphrodite Made Me Do It and Honeybee. She is a passionate mental health advocate, currently writing in South Carolina. Connect with her on Instagram and Tiktok @tristamateer or at tristamateer.com.
Her newest collection, Artemis Made Me Do It, is available for preorder now and releases in September 2022!
Her newest collection, Artemis Made Me Do It, is available for preorder now and releases in September 2022!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,728 reviews
June 14, 2024
➳
1/5 stars!!
While I had high hopes for this book, it fell short of my expectations. I adored the author's previous work, which set the bar high, but unfortunately, this one didn't quite meet it.
The shifting tone from verse to verse made it hard for me to connect with any of them, leaving me feeling rather bored. Poetry, for me, is all about evoking emotions, but this book felt plain and bland, failing to stir anything within me!! 💗
While I had high hopes for this book, it fell short of my expectations. I adored the author's previous work, which set the bar high, but unfortunately, this one didn't quite meet it.
The shifting tone from verse to verse made it hard for me to connect with any of them, leaving me feeling rather bored. Poetry, for me, is all about evoking emotions, but this book felt plain and bland, failing to stir anything within me!! 💗
September 9, 2019
There are periods in my life when all I need is for poetry books like this to exist.
It is an authentic dialogue between the poet and Goddess Aphrodite on various themes like love and hate.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC! I appreciate it dearly!
It is an authentic dialogue between the poet and Goddess Aphrodite on various themes like love and hate.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC! I appreciate it dearly!
September 2, 2019
This book felt like peering into someone's art journal it was so gorgeous. I loved the themes in it and I thought it was the perfect mix of melancholy yet helpful. I hope this book is the next milk & honey and i can't wait to buy a physical copy
April 18, 2023
I felt this was lacking something, probably cohesion..
It does read like a scrapbook which I sort of like but it just didn’t hit the mark for me.
It does read like a scrapbook which I sort of like but it just didn’t hit the mark for me.
January 31, 2020
You rise like a phoenixI’m planning on reading modern poetry. I love this genre but don’t understand the classics. I think maybe I lack the background knowledge of the scenarios which were at the times of classical poets or I also lack the classical vocab too.
from the ashes of things that no longer serve you
This is the main reasons why I love poetry. Poetry has more powerful vocab than our novels. And I love words. I’m literally trash for powerful/sounds-good words or rhyming lines too.
But when I read this book, to my disappointment, I didn’t find anything rhyming ☹☹. The words used were fine enough for me to continue. I’ve read the reviews of many modern poetry books. Most of them complain about this ‘lack of rhyming’ problem. I think I should just focus on vocab now rather than to expect rhyming.
To love something deeply is to know that
you will go to great lengths to protect it
Now this book. It was kind of okay-ish. It’s partly narrated from Aphrodite’s POV and partly from poet and sometimes conversation between both. Its theme is not specific but mainly focuses on love, letting-go-of-past, be-your-self, self-healing etc...
I particularly liked the concept of letting go here. The similes here were good. Except for that I can’t actually criticize anything here because I’m new to poetry and yeah…don’t know much about it…
I’d explore more of the modern poetry books. Maybe I’d resonate with any of them… Let’s see.
However, my most fav poem is The Raven by E. A. Poe. It has everything which I look for in poems. I even has its audio version which I listen to very often…
3 STARS
When you fight for what is just,
prepare to meet opposition
February 5, 2024
⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ 𝔸𝕡𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕕𝕠 𝕚𝕥 ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅
-`♡´- 𝟑.𝟖𝟓
જ⁀➴ "𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕
𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇."
This book is a retelling of the Greek God Aphrodite weaving a perfect blend with the past and present as she guides the poet through tough times with her own story, empowering the ones around her. The book is in dual pov with both Aphrodite and the poet as they both explore the world of grief, love and war. Aphrodite tells tales about her own life completely different from the poet; however her stories inspire the poet to take the path of self care and welcome these emotions with open arms. Even if we haven't gone through the same struggles we don't need to, to empathize with each other and be there for one another and I think this book brought out that fact in a beautiful way. So this is a note from me to you. If you know someone who’s going through tough times, remind them that they are loved and that they have people to rely on. If you’re the one going through tough times I hope you overcome it because there will always be someone who cares. And if there’s no one, I care, I believe in you and I stand in awe at your survival ♥︎
"𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒔. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕."
͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝔸𝕡𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕖 :
She was painfully relatable. It was the first time I sympathized with the god, the first time I felt a deep ache for a god (or a fiction - whatever u guys believe). I used to see Aphrodite as the god of love, beauty, and fertility, what I didn't see was what It could do to a person. They portrayed her in a sexual way just because she was upfront about her love. They wrote stories of her being seducing and adulteress when she was nothing but a woman in love. They wrote, they talked, they judged, they wielded history in the tip of their pens, and they had no idea what it was doing to her. And I was so proud of her when I saw her transformation, when I saw her strong headedness, when I saw how she helped the poet, how she helped me. They could never write the truth about her in the pages of history because Aphrodite is more than that, she’s the mother I look up to, the future I pave for myself and I’d be lying if I said she wasn't my favorite part of the book.
"𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏."
͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝕡𝕠𝕖𝕥:
The poet touched up on many modern, more frequent, more known topics like sexual assault, queer and how black lives matter. She portrayed it in such a lovely way I'm absolutely mesmerized. Her pain burned to read, her pain was what young people would relate and connect to. However I couldn't connect to her the way I did to aphrodite. Don't get me wrong I LOVE how she brought inclusivity and equality in play, I just couldn't connect to it on a deeper level. Maybe it's because I don't struggle with those equality problems she talked about but Aphrodite spoke of pain in such a way that ANYONE AND EVERYONE could relate to it. So while the poet would have touched many hearts and while her transformation was incredible I just couldn't feel the same deep connection I did with Aphrodite and often ended up longing for Aphrodite’s chapters.
"𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅."
͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
I personally felt that when Aphrodite's chapters came it was so poetic and heart wrenching, I loved the writing because it made me feel in so many ways but the moment the poet was talking It felt more like a selfcare book. I have nothing against self care/ self help books but I came for poetry so I will be observing in those lenses. Because of this the writing part had me conflicted but for most of the parts it truly was immaculate and there are quite a few quotes and poems that tugged my soul, clawed my insides and made me binge sad music all day because I was hurting in a way I thought I never could.
͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝕞𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
Originally I settled on a 3.5 but while I was writing in the review I felt like I enjoyed the book more than I give credit for and maybe I was in the wrong space while giving it, so I'm boosting it up to a 3.85. I still can't give it a solid 4 because the poet’s pov really made me feel detached from the whole thing even though her perspective would be connected to so many other souls and I respect that. But since this is my experience I did have to lower the rating for it and for the whiplash I got from the writing style (or maybe I'm just being delusional). Overall this was an enjoyable read, some quotes and lessons from this book will definitely be carried with me throughout my life.
⟡ 𝕢𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕤 ⟡
“𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘰.
𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯.”
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭
𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵.”
“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘥.
𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?
𝘔𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.”
“𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵
𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴,
𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴
𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘴.”
“𝘈𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦.
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶
𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘵.”
“𝘐𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥,
𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯?”
“𝘛𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦
𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴
𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳.”
“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬.”
“𝘔𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵,
𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”
“𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭,
𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦
𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘵.”
-------------------------------
"𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭
𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬.
𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞,
𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧."
If you have learned anything from this review
I hope it is to practice flying on your own ʚɞ
(𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒂 💌)
-`♡´- 𝟑.𝟖𝟓
જ⁀➴ "𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕
𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇."
This book is a retelling of the Greek God Aphrodite weaving a perfect blend with the past and present as she guides the poet through tough times with her own story, empowering the ones around her. The book is in dual pov with both Aphrodite and the poet as they both explore the world of grief, love and war. Aphrodite tells tales about her own life completely different from the poet; however her stories inspire the poet to take the path of self care and welcome these emotions with open arms. Even if we haven't gone through the same struggles we don't need to, to empathize with each other and be there for one another and I think this book brought out that fact in a beautiful way. So this is a note from me to you. If you know someone who’s going through tough times, remind them that they are loved and that they have people to rely on. If you’re the one going through tough times I hope you overcome it because there will always be someone who cares. And if there’s no one, I care, I believe in you and I stand in awe at your survival ♥︎
"𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒔. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕."
͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝔸𝕡𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕖 :
She was painfully relatable. It was the first time I sympathized with the god, the first time I felt a deep ache for a god (or a fiction - whatever u guys believe). I used to see Aphrodite as the god of love, beauty, and fertility, what I didn't see was what It could do to a person. They portrayed her in a sexual way just because she was upfront about her love. They wrote stories of her being seducing and adulteress when she was nothing but a woman in love. They wrote, they talked, they judged, they wielded history in the tip of their pens, and they had no idea what it was doing to her. And I was so proud of her when I saw her transformation, when I saw her strong headedness, when I saw how she helped the poet, how she helped me. They could never write the truth about her in the pages of history because Aphrodite is more than that, she’s the mother I look up to, the future I pave for myself and I’d be lying if I said she wasn't my favorite part of the book.
"𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏."
͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝕡𝕠𝕖𝕥:
The poet touched up on many modern, more frequent, more known topics like sexual assault, queer and how black lives matter. She portrayed it in such a lovely way I'm absolutely mesmerized. Her pain burned to read, her pain was what young people would relate and connect to. However I couldn't connect to her the way I did to aphrodite. Don't get me wrong I LOVE how she brought inclusivity and equality in play, I just couldn't connect to it on a deeper level. Maybe it's because I don't struggle with those equality problems she talked about but Aphrodite spoke of pain in such a way that ANYONE AND EVERYONE could relate to it. So while the poet would have touched many hearts and while her transformation was incredible I just couldn't feel the same deep connection I did with Aphrodite and often ended up longing for Aphrodite’s chapters.
"𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅."
͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
I personally felt that when Aphrodite's chapters came it was so poetic and heart wrenching, I loved the writing because it made me feel in so many ways but the moment the poet was talking It felt more like a selfcare book. I have nothing against self care/ self help books but I came for poetry so I will be observing in those lenses. Because of this the writing part had me conflicted but for most of the parts it truly was immaculate and there are quite a few quotes and poems that tugged my soul, clawed my insides and made me binge sad music all day because I was hurting in a way I thought I never could.
͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝕞𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
Originally I settled on a 3.5 but while I was writing in the review I felt like I enjoyed the book more than I give credit for and maybe I was in the wrong space while giving it, so I'm boosting it up to a 3.85. I still can't give it a solid 4 because the poet’s pov really made me feel detached from the whole thing even though her perspective would be connected to so many other souls and I respect that. But since this is my experience I did have to lower the rating for it and for the whiplash I got from the writing style (or maybe I'm just being delusional). Overall this was an enjoyable read, some quotes and lessons from this book will definitely be carried with me throughout my life.
⟡ 𝕢𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕤 ⟡
“𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘰.
𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯.”
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭
𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵.”
“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘥.
𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?
𝘔𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.”
“𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵
𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴,
𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴
𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘴.”
“𝘈𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦.
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶
𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘵.”
“𝘐𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥,
𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯?”
“𝘛𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦
𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴
𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳.”
“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬.”
“𝘔𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵,
𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”
“𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭,
𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦
𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘵.”
-------------------------------
"𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭
𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬.
𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞,
𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧."
If you have learned anything from this review
I hope it is to practice flying on your own ʚɞ
(𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒂 💌)
July 20, 2020
"After a little time, men did what they always do. They didn’t try to understand, they tried to explain.
They made me earthly. They branded me woman. Then they saw things in me that didn’t mesh well with woman. They saw parts of me they didn’t understand and they broke them off. They called me a hundred different names, an epithet for everything. Couldn’t even bother trying to comprehend it all together—that I could be bloody and beautiful, that I could be divine and approachable. Men wrote the stories of my birth as if they were standing on the shore when I was spat up onto it. They picked up their pens and waxed poetic and nobody questioned it. Nobody asked me instead."
Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.
I'm awe of this collection. The poems here combine to make a feminist manifesto that inspires strength, courage, pride, and a negation of all society deems a woman's body to be and all the multitudes it actually contains. This is a battle cry that screams down the ages, using its voice to speak for Medusa, Circe, Aphrodite, and every single person who reads these pages.
They made me earthly. They branded me woman. Then they saw things in me that didn’t mesh well with woman. They saw parts of me they didn’t understand and they broke them off. They called me a hundred different names, an epithet for everything. Couldn’t even bother trying to comprehend it all together—that I could be bloody and beautiful, that I could be divine and approachable. Men wrote the stories of my birth as if they were standing on the shore when I was spat up onto it. They picked up their pens and waxed poetic and nobody questioned it. Nobody asked me instead."
Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.
I'm awe of this collection. The poems here combine to make a feminist manifesto that inspires strength, courage, pride, and a negation of all society deems a woman's body to be and all the multitudes it actually contains. This is a battle cry that screams down the ages, using its voice to speak for Medusa, Circe, Aphrodite, and every single person who reads these pages.
October 6, 2019
I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. I want to give young, new poets a chance and I am always looking for new talent, but every time I try them out, I end up disappointed. I think it's great that so many people can turn to writing to express their thoughts, heal from their pasts, and fight for social justices. But this new wave of poets and their poetry seem to read more like diary entries or Instagram posts than poems.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
August 11, 2019
To sing of love
is almost always
to sing of war.
This is easily one of the best poetry collections — maybe the best — I have ever read.
I am older than the poets
and I am older than the pens.
I am older than the stars
and the ocean I crawled out of.
It’s a story of assault, and survival, and having our stories rewritten without our consent. It’s worship and blasphemy, anger and heartache, capped off with tenderness and self-love and learning to cherish yourself no matter how many people in your life have failed to do so.
I belong to no one. They never wrote that part down.
Among all these other things, it’s an incredible view on many infamous women of mythology, and it gives a voice to the sides of their stories that we all too often overlook. It plays a strong parallel to the sides of stories from everyday women today society would have us overlook, too, and it’s powerful. Don’t miss out on this one.
They made a monster
of Medusa as well.
Hated how loud
her trauma was.
Couldn’t believe
she had the audacity
to not take it lying down.
They made a war-ground
of her body
so she made one
of theirs.
TWs: assault, homophobia, transphobia
All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
July 25, 2020
REREAD 7/25/2020: I’m not crying, YOURE crying
thank you SO much to my dear friend, kerri (kerrithebookbelle), for getting me a personalized copy of my new favorite poetry book of all time.
so I’m not particularly familiar with what people call ~*emotions*~ but modern poetry always pulls at my dusty heartstrings. this is no different.
the basic theme of the collection is following our narrator who has endured abuse & lost the meaning of love as she finds the goddess aphrodite in her room. aphrodite then (as the feminist, lgbt icon she is) explains the power of love and forgiveness to our narrator.
I don’t want to spoil the book because I need you all to preorder this book STAT. but I will include some of my favorites so I can convince you to pick this up:
“they married me off in the stories So they could call me an adulteress, but I brought the god of war to his knees”
“they colored me pink and wrapped me in flowers. they scrubbed the dirt from under my nails”
“they made a war-ground of her body so she made one of theirs”
I HIGHLY recommend this to EVERY queer person & ally for the LGBTQIA+ community if you’re in the place to read it (trigger warnings at the bottom) its a beautiful story about forgiveness, dealing with past trauma, and accepting yourself. it’s beautiful, it’s heart wrenching, and it HAS A HAPPY ENDING !!!!
the book itself is stunning too with illustrations and typography from the poet herself.
all in all, I can’t recommend this book enough. I know I have a bias through my goddess but everyone can use some love in their life.
((trigger warnings: body image, sexual assault, rape, eating disorders, queerphobia, emotional abuse, physical abuse, gore, blood, death, fire))
thank you SO much to my dear friend, kerri (kerrithebookbelle), for getting me a personalized copy of my new favorite poetry book of all time.
so I’m not particularly familiar with what people call ~*emotions*~ but modern poetry always pulls at my dusty heartstrings. this is no different.
the basic theme of the collection is following our narrator who has endured abuse & lost the meaning of love as she finds the goddess aphrodite in her room. aphrodite then (as the feminist, lgbt icon she is) explains the power of love and forgiveness to our narrator.
I don’t want to spoil the book because I need you all to preorder this book STAT. but I will include some of my favorites so I can convince you to pick this up:
“they married me off in the stories So they could call me an adulteress, but I brought the god of war to his knees”
“they colored me pink and wrapped me in flowers. they scrubbed the dirt from under my nails”
“they made a war-ground of her body so she made one of theirs”
I HIGHLY recommend this to EVERY queer person & ally for the LGBTQIA+ community if you’re in the place to read it (trigger warnings at the bottom) its a beautiful story about forgiveness, dealing with past trauma, and accepting yourself. it’s beautiful, it’s heart wrenching, and it HAS A HAPPY ENDING !!!!
the book itself is stunning too with illustrations and typography from the poet herself.
all in all, I can’t recommend this book enough. I know I have a bias through my goddess but everyone can use some love in their life.
((trigger warnings: body image, sexual assault, rape, eating disorders, queerphobia, emotional abuse, physical abuse, gore, blood, death, fire))
August 15, 2019
TW for rape, abuse, sexual assault, death, eating disorders, gore, blood, queerphobia
I don’t know what I expected when I started this collection. I don’t even quite know how to review it.
Never has a poetry collection made me feel things so deep in my soul that it feels like I’ve dived deeper than the ocean floor. This book wrapped me in a blanket, handed me a mug of hot coco and said “You’ll be okay. And here’s why”. It was gentle but it was fierce and it was strong and it was everything I needed right now.
I can’t tell you you’ll love this collection. It feels so deeply personal that I genuinely don’t know if you will. But if you’re struggling, and everything feels hard, then preorder this one, because it’s a good one.
(Huge thanks to the publisher who sent me a copy to read in exchange for a review)
I don’t know what I expected when I started this collection. I don’t even quite know how to review it.
Never has a poetry collection made me feel things so deep in my soul that it feels like I’ve dived deeper than the ocean floor. This book wrapped me in a blanket, handed me a mug of hot coco and said “You’ll be okay. And here’s why”. It was gentle but it was fierce and it was strong and it was everything I needed right now.
I can’t tell you you’ll love this collection. It feels so deeply personal that I genuinely don’t know if you will. But if you’re struggling, and everything feels hard, then preorder this one, because it’s a good one.
(Huge thanks to the publisher who sent me a copy to read in exchange for a review)
Read
January 12, 2022"My grief for her was like a circle. I always came around to missing her."
Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a feminist poetry collection about love, loss, insecurity, pain, and empowerment. It's also a retelling of Aphrodite's story. I read the NetGalley proof on my kindle which for some annoying reason always means that it messes up the lines and images, but I liked the design and style anyway. The poetry itself - especially the parts about rewriting Aphrodite's story far away from the male gaze - was intriguing, but it didn't capture me for long. It was a short read with beautiful words, but at the same time, it felt like scrolling through someone's poetry-inspired Instagram feed - pretty but easily forgotten.
Find more of my books on Instagram
Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a feminist poetry collection about love, loss, insecurity, pain, and empowerment. It's also a retelling of Aphrodite's story. I read the NetGalley proof on my kindle which for some annoying reason always means that it messes up the lines and images, but I liked the design and style anyway. The poetry itself - especially the parts about rewriting Aphrodite's story far away from the male gaze - was intriguing, but it didn't capture me for long. It was a short read with beautiful words, but at the same time, it felt like scrolling through someone's poetry-inspired Instagram feed - pretty but easily forgotten.
Find more of my books on Instagram
February 3, 2021
I am deathless.
I will have no eulogy.
Freaking phenomenal.
I will have no eulogy.
Freaking phenomenal.
November 18, 2023
I highlighted almost everything i read. Then cried. Then highlighted more. Then cried again. Now i have the whole book highlighted and crying!! Maybe i am too sensitive but for anyone that likes poetry i feel like they should read it!!
Since as i said the whole book is highlighted, i will put here the quotes that for some reason i highlighted with a different colour than the most:
Understanding
doesn’t have to mean
granting forgiveness.
And forgiveness
doesn’t have to be
a free pass.
When you fight for what is just, prepare to meet opposition. Remember, it is the good in us that stands in front of what needs protecting. There will always be reasons to back down but there will always be more to push forward.
There is nothing inherently toxic about anger.
It is hard not to be angry.
There is no reason not to be angry.
My pain has always deserved a voice and I will not deny it that, but I won’t devote my life to it either.
Accepting this body
did not mean convincing myself
that it was beautiful; it meant
giving myself permission
to exist regardless.
We use labels to help explain ourselves to others. They don’t define us. We define them. If a word isn’t working for you, make it work. Pick it up. Make it yours. Or put it all the way down and pick up other words. Make new ones. Language evolves and revolves around you.
Let me leave you with this:
your life is short and
all the more precious for it.
I do not seek
to tell you how to live, only to live at all.
to not fear the day.
to know you are stronger
than what has hurt you.
to know that you
will triumph.
Since as i said the whole book is highlighted, i will put here the quotes that for some reason i highlighted with a different colour than the most:
Understanding
doesn’t have to mean
granting forgiveness.
And forgiveness
doesn’t have to be
a free pass.
When you fight for what is just, prepare to meet opposition. Remember, it is the good in us that stands in front of what needs protecting. There will always be reasons to back down but there will always be more to push forward.
There is nothing inherently toxic about anger.
It is hard not to be angry.
There is no reason not to be angry.
My pain has always deserved a voice and I will not deny it that, but I won’t devote my life to it either.
Accepting this body
did not mean convincing myself
that it was beautiful; it meant
giving myself permission
to exist regardless.
We use labels to help explain ourselves to others. They don’t define us. We define them. If a word isn’t working for you, make it work. Pick it up. Make it yours. Or put it all the way down and pick up other words. Make new ones. Language evolves and revolves around you.
Let me leave you with this:
your life is short and
all the more precious for it.
I do not seek
to tell you how to live, only to live at all.
to not fear the day.
to know you are stronger
than what has hurt you.
to know that you
will triumph.
August 20, 2020
" It was my blood that made the roses red.
Did they tell you that?
My pain shaped the whole world. "
This is a story of trauma and tragedy, of heartache and being silenced. But also of survival and strength and self-love.
" They whittled me down
one piece at a time.
They took my anger.
They took my voice.
They took my story. "
Possibly the most beautiful and powerful poetry collection I have ever read.
" They made a monster
of Medusa as well.
Hated how loud
her trauma was.
Couldn't believe
she had the audacity
not to take it lying down.
They made a war-ground
of her body
so she made one
of theirs. "
4.5 stars
Did they tell you that?
My pain shaped the whole world. "
This is a story of trauma and tragedy, of heartache and being silenced. But also of survival and strength and self-love.
" They whittled me down
one piece at a time.
They took my anger.
They took my voice.
They took my story. "
Possibly the most beautiful and powerful poetry collection I have ever read.
" They made a monster
of Medusa as well.
Hated how loud
her trauma was.
Couldn't believe
she had the audacity
not to take it lying down.
They made a war-ground
of her body
so she made one
of theirs. "
4.5 stars
Read
June 4, 2022Ugh. Loved this.
March 9, 2020
they catcalled me until people couldn't separate my name from sex
I really loved this. It gave me the chills, it made me cry and it gave me so many emotions that not many poem books were able to give me. I love mythology and the combination between it and poems is really good and the author did a really good job. I also loved the acknowledgment at the end, it made my day!
And thank you: for dog-earing pages, for highlighting your favourite lines, for sharing your stories with me, for sharing your time with me. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for reading, always. I'm emotional for so little.
I really loved this. It gave me the chills, it made me cry and it gave me so many emotions that not many poem books were able to give me. I love mythology and the combination between it and poems is really good and the author did a really good job. I also loved the acknowledgment at the end, it made my day!
And thank you: for dog-earing pages, for highlighting your favourite lines, for sharing your stories with me, for sharing your time with me. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for reading, always. I'm emotional for so little.
November 17, 2019
Beautiful poetry and even more beautiful art!
I loved the illustrations and pictures included in this book which I really think helped to highlight the lovely prose. I loved the perspective of these poems and writing style was great!
I loved the illustrations and pictures included in this book which I really think helped to highlight the lovely prose. I loved the perspective of these poems and writing style was great!
September 4, 2020
I wish you didn’t do it💓
August 13, 2021
The two stars are solely for this poem : "Men wrote the myths down and called them history, and time has dragged them further from the truth. Pandora’s jar became a box. Eve’s pomegranate, an apple. All the details change but one: it is a woman with her hand on the door to Hell."
Disappointed isn't enough to describe my feelings and thoughts about this book.
- It's extremely hard to give a book that talks about homosexuality, feminism and even SA/rape a low rating, but could you imagine how frustrating it is to expect these subjects to be talked about deeply or/and to have a heartbreaking imagery associated with it and to end up having just random thoughts thrown onto the paper, with a writing that neither is polished nor controlled ?
Talking about heartbreaking subjects isn't enough to make a book good. You have to actually work around and with them to create something meaningful. It might sound mean but it's true.
I usually really enjoy longer poems, but here, the supposed longer poems aren't giving me what they are suppose to : they usually consist of a succession of short sentences that seem more like a bullet-pointed draft than an actual poem.
- i thought this book could get more "tumblier" and here goes, in the middle of the book, a random list of things to do for your mental health. It's lovely but it doesn't really make sense ...
Also, some if not all the pictures and drawing - beautiful - have nothing to do with the poems they are associated with, it's disturbing and it makes the poetry book seem really cluttered, which is highly unpleasant.
This review is a bit mean, but i'm incredibly frustrated, i'm sorry.
Disappointed isn't enough to describe my feelings and thoughts about this book.
- It's extremely hard to give a book that talks about homosexuality, feminism and even SA/rape a low rating, but could you imagine how frustrating it is to expect these subjects to be talked about deeply or/and to have a heartbreaking imagery associated with it and to end up having just random thoughts thrown onto the paper, with a writing that neither is polished nor controlled ?
Talking about heartbreaking subjects isn't enough to make a book good. You have to actually work around and with them to create something meaningful. It might sound mean but it's true.
I usually really enjoy longer poems, but here, the supposed longer poems aren't giving me what they are suppose to : they usually consist of a succession of short sentences that seem more like a bullet-pointed draft than an actual poem.
- i thought this book could get more "tumblier" and here goes, in the middle of the book, a random list of things to do for your mental health. It's lovely but it doesn't really make sense ...
Also, some if not all the pictures and drawing - beautiful - have nothing to do with the poems they are associated with, it's disturbing and it makes the poetry book seem really cluttered, which is highly unpleasant.
This review is a bit mean, but i'm incredibly frustrated, i'm sorry.
Read
May 5, 2021(i don’t rate poetry) wow!! poetry on womanhood, healing, and those themes within greek mythology. it is also really interesting as it goes between the pov being of the author and being of the goddess aphrodite, but seeing themselves within eachother. it was truly beautiful and really nice to read, and i felt really seen by it. highly highly recommend.
June 15, 2021
Felt like I was going through someone's insta. Pretty hip cool. Some of them were formatted in a "modern" way and some had too many line breaks for a sentence. I can see the appeal but I don't share much enthusiasm. Cool covers, dark themes and pretty title.
August 14, 2020
I don't like poetry, but parts of this were surprisingly deep. If it only had the Aphrodite parts, it could have been 5 stars, but the rest of the book just stuff you hear from everywhere.
December 23, 2023
”What brings us together will always be more powerful than what keeps us apart.”
In my case, Aliki made me do it. 🩷
In my case, Aliki made me do it. 🩷
September 6, 2020
Accepting this body
did not mean convincing myself
that it was beautiful; it meant
giving myself permission
to exist regardless.
I feel like I come out of most poetry/prose collections with generally the same thoughts and feelings. Each of them feels personal, almost as if reading another's diary, and they often deal with difficult content in beautiful ways which make you leave feeling empowered and strong. And while this can be viewed as beautiful for some, I don't think it was anything new. It feels awful saying that, because each experience is a different one and it's unfair to compare them, but if you put two modern poems by different poets side by side and asked me to correctly match them to their poets, there's a strong chance I'll be unsuccessful. I won't lie and say I didn't enjoy this, because I did! There were so many pages I marked and highlighted on Scribd, but I don't think I'll purchase a physical copy for myself or ever revisit it. Definitely check this out if you enjoy the likes of Rupi Kaur or R.H. Sin! I think you'll get a lot out of this.
did not mean convincing myself
that it was beautiful; it meant
giving myself permission
to exist regardless.
I feel like I come out of most poetry/prose collections with generally the same thoughts and feelings. Each of them feels personal, almost as if reading another's diary, and they often deal with difficult content in beautiful ways which make you leave feeling empowered and strong. And while this can be viewed as beautiful for some, I don't think it was anything new. It feels awful saying that, because each experience is a different one and it's unfair to compare them, but if you put two modern poems by different poets side by side and asked me to correctly match them to their poets, there's a strong chance I'll be unsuccessful. I won't lie and say I didn't enjoy this, because I did! There were so many pages I marked and highlighted on Scribd, but I don't think I'll purchase a physical copy for myself or ever revisit it. Definitely check this out if you enjoy the likes of Rupi Kaur or R.H. Sin! I think you'll get a lot out of this.
July 22, 2020
3.5/5 Stars
I have seen the best and the worst of the world and I have not let that break me. You will not let it break you either.
I had heard great things about this poetry collection and I must say that I really enjoyed it. I appreciated how the different themes were dealt with and also the artwork that was included among the poems. If you're looking for a poetry collection, I totally recommend this one.
I have seen the best and the worst of the world and I have not let that break me. You will not let it break you either.
I had heard great things about this poetry collection and I must say that I really enjoyed it. I appreciated how the different themes were dealt with and also the artwork that was included among the poems. If you're looking for a poetry collection, I totally recommend this one.
![Profile Image for Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1646942374i/66224803._UX200_CR0,46,200,200_.jpg)
February 1, 2023
Men wrote the myths down and called them history, and time has dragged them further from the truth.
Pandora's jar became a box.
Eve's pomegranate, an apple.
All the details change but one:
it is a woman with her hand on the door to Hell.
Absolutely loved this book.
Ordered myself the physical copy after finishing it on my kindle. 🖤
Pandora's jar became a box.
Eve's pomegranate, an apple.
All the details change but one:
it is a woman with her hand on the door to Hell.
Absolutely loved this book.
Ordered myself the physical copy after finishing it on my kindle. 🖤
January 2, 2022
WHOA???? I’m SHOOK. This collection is phenomenal.
August 19, 2020
3.75 stars
This collection is based around mythology and is also about strength, empowerment and self-appreciation. I am looking forward to picking up more of Trista Mateer's work as this was nicely done.
I quite enjoyed the discussion on labels and the images throughout. The topics of pain, abuse, depression, obedience, feminism and so much more were excellent. If you enjoy modern poetry this is a great one to check out.
This collection is based around mythology and is also about strength, empowerment and self-appreciation. I am looking forward to picking up more of Trista Mateer's work as this was nicely done.
I quite enjoyed the discussion on labels and the images throughout. The topics of pain, abuse, depression, obedience, feminism and so much more were excellent. If you enjoy modern poetry this is a great one to check out.
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