Review of Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer

I received an ARC copy on netgalley of this poetry collection, in exchange for my honest review.

"To sing of love is almost always to sing of war."

I've followed Trista's journey as a poet for a very long time. All the way back before her collection Honey Bee, when she was still only on Tumblr.
From there her poetry has grown, while never losing touch with who she is. And always having a consistent voice.
Now typically with poetry collections, I tend to skip a poem here and there. As they just don't click with me. However with Trista's poetry, I can find something to connect with in each poem. Whether it's the whole poem, or simply just a phrase.
Her writing always manages to spark emotion. I will be giving this collection a 4.5 star.

"She says, "I thought you weren't looking for love."
I say, "That doesn't mean I'm not hoping it will find me."

I really enjoyed and appreciated this collection. As soon as I realised it was an illustrated collection, I did begin to worry that it would be yet another Milk and Honey ripoff, but I'm glad that I was wrong. It was much, much more than that.

For me, possibly because I'm a Classicist, the poems about Aphrodite were by far the strongest. I would happily read a whole book of poetry from her point of view written by this author. Her voice was so incisive and brutal that whenever the 'poet' took over, I was almost disappointed. That's not to say that those poems were bad, but they seemed much less original; I've read Mateer's work before, and a lot of them could honestly have been copied and pasted from other collections. There's only so many ways to rewrite the same poem about self care and believing in yourself, I think.

For that reason, I much preferred the beginning of this collection. Although Mateer herself states that she's tired of writing poems about her trauma ('fuck another poem [...]') and wants to write about healing instead, the truth is that the poetry about healing was almost trite and much less original than the poetry about Medusa's violation, or Aphrodite's misrepresentation. That's by no means to say that poets should only write about darkness, but it almost felt like Mateer's heart wasn't in the latter half. As though she felt she should be writing a certain kind of collection which had a cohesive narrative from trauma to recovery. I may well be wrong about that, but it didn't feel as authentic to me.

That said, I did love how there was an over-arching theme in this collection. Leaving it on a positive note was a clever move, and it felt hopeful rather than dark and unending. The actual writing is beautiful; I highlight lines that I love when I'm reading, and I must've highlighted a good quarter of the book. Trista Mateer is clearly a huge talent, and I eagerly await whatever else she publishes.

Content warning (which is showcased in the e-arc I read, but want to share here as well!): body image, sexual assault, rape, eating disorders, queerphobia, emotional abuse, physical abuse, gore, blood, death, and fire

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an e-arc of this book in exchange for a honest review!

This collection of poetry was beautifully done. There’s so much that’s showcased in this collection (from body image, love, and the understanding of the complexity relationships can have.) that I truly had so much that was written stand out in my mind because I related to the messages the author was getting across in my own way. It was a quick reading experience that packed a punch and one I’ll be thinking about for a while.

I've typed out a review for Aphrodite Made Me Do It four times now, and each time I've failed to express my thoughts on it, so forgive me if my ramblings make no sense.

This book made me angry. It made me angry at everything I have to go through as a woman, as a queer woman, and it made me angry at every male relative that has ever belittled me for my age, my gender, my opinions. It brought out the side of me that is usually reserved for family dinners when I'm forced to sit across the table from that one uncle who always thinks himself superior because he's a forty year old rich man and I'm just a clueless little girl in his eyes.
However, I also saw the beauty of being who I am in the lines I read. I read that I am not "required to be submissive." There is beauty in being angry because it's anger that stops us from keeping our mouths shut whilst the rest of the world tramples all over us.
There is also softness and comfort expressed in the language and the artwork. If I got upset when I was little, my nannan would let me lie in her lap and slowly rub circles on my tummy, telling me everything was okay. This book kind of felt like the memories I have of those times. That might not make sense to some people, but it's the only way I can express the comfort this book made me feel, the safety I found in its words.
I'll definitely be giving this a second read just to re-asses my feelings and interpretation of it, as well as buying a physical copy when it's released.

I’m not a big poetry fan, but I am a big Greek Mythology fan. The cover for this collection immediately caught my eye and ‘Aphrodite’ was all I needed to put in a request for it. I’ve found it difficult to invest in most of the poetry I’ve read recently (and there hasn’t been much), but I thought I’d give this one a go since the mythological subject matter was right up my alley.

First of all, the art is really cool. I ADORED the artwork for the chapter pages, and the illustrations and mixed media art were fascinating as well. The subject matter in this is powerful, and though there are some messages that I feel have been a bit overused in recent poetry collections, there were also some new, unique ones, too. I especially loved all of the Aphrodite POV chapters. I found it easier to connect with her because I knew the background of her myths, and I really enjoyed reading from her perspective, since it’s not one I get to read from often. I’m not too fond of the constant repetitive nature of some of the passages, but there are some small parts within that are compelling.

I originally was going to rate this three stars, but I went through it a second time and found there was more that resonated with me. There’s a lot of great writing in here and I’ll probably go through it a time or two more just to continue highlighting. Both times I’ve read the entire thing in one sitting, which I think it what works against me when I read poetry. I’m going to try going through this one or two poems at a time so I can have space to digest each one properly. Overall, this is a nice little collection. I don’t have many poetry recommendations to give, but this would be one of them! Aphrodite is a badass goddess, MMKAY?

‘You are not required to be small. You are not required to be pleasant. You are not required to be conventional.’

I think I will reread this one a lot, I ended up bookmarking a lot of pages to go back to. There is so much to take from Trista Mateer’s words, so much that I needed to hear. The contrast between the poet and Aphrodite worked so well and I love the incorporation of mythology in the prose. All of the pictures are equally as beautiful as the words and are the kind of thing I’d put up as prints on my walls. I would definitely buy this book to physically own and I think it would also make a great gift.

also +10 points for mention of achilles and patroclus 💛🧡

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.

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.

*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 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!

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.

"I'm still trying to figure out who I am alone so that I know who I am in front of other people."

This poetry collection is gorgeous. Told via a dreamy heart-to-heart between the voice of the poet and the voice of Aphrodite, this collection explores worth, sexuality, meaning, family, forgiveness, healing wants, dreams, fears, trauma, family, friends, and of course love. The way that Mateer describes love is so beautiful. They describe that it comes in many forms, it's complex, it's messy. I love how Mateer mixes mythology and today's world so seamlessly. It's gorgeous all around.

I love that this book is focused on growth and positivism amidst the pain we deal with daily. I'll be thinking of this book often. A stunning read.

"I belong to no one. They never wrote that part down."