This is a beautiful construction of imagery that connotes power and inspiration. This collection is a must read for all budding English students.

This collection was sheer pleasure to read. I really enjoyed the artwork and illustration scattered throughout. These added depth to the pieces. I loved the title of the collection and it really fits the content. I liked the way the author combined personal journeys with mythology. I felt I could really relate to a lot of the poems. The poems combine Greek mythology, biblical references and personal insight. It’s a strange combination that works on every level. I read it in a couple of sittings because I enjoyed it so much and didn’t want to put the collection aside.

A very powerful collection of poetry that uses interesting metaphors, beautifully direct language, and is brutally honest. The only reason this is not getting a fifth star from me is that I didn't love a lot of the illustrations /photos in that they felt like banal Instagram statements, especially in comparison to the poetry.

"I'm trying to remember to make room in my life for the person I am now, not just the people I have been."

Rating: 3.5 stars

I love poetry, particularly feminist poetry, and I love mythology so I was immediately drawn to this text. And I enjoyed it, with the balance of perspectives between Aphrodite and the author, and I highlighted a few passages that particularly struck me as beautiful or relatable. However I did struggle a little with the text, though that may be the ARC copy formatting weirdly on my phone and I'm definitely keen to take a look at a finished paperback copy (I love all my poetry collections in paperback) to see how the pages are supposed to look. I've read a lot of feminist poetry, and I enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed all the rest of them, however I couldn't help but feel that there were only a few stand out sections. Some of the content felt very tonally and textually similar to other collections I've read. Not to say that we don't need lots of feminist poetry out there, because I think the more the better, particularly if it gets more people reading poetry again, but I do feel that there was just something missing here.

"I will grab myself by the throat but I will never let a man do it again."

I absolutely will be reading it again when it comes out in paperback, though, because as I said I want to see if being able to sit and dog-ear the pages gives me a different reading experience.

"She says, if you were only meant to be beautiful, we wouldn't have put you down here in the dirt."

This book is a trip. It intermingles Greek mythology, biblical references, and the author’s specific neuroses into one strange place.

This is what it’s also like:
-A middle school diary
-College art sketchbook
-Art gallery exhibit
-Compelling Instagram story

That’s all I’ve got for skimming it in thirty minutes.

Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.

*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *

Aphrodite Made Me Do It is such an amazing collection of poetry. Actually, I'd say this is probably my favourite collection of poetry, just behind Sappho's Fragments. I read it in one sitting and then I went back and read it all over again.

What I especially love is that the collection is framed around Aphrodite and the author having a conversation with her, listening about her life. I've always loved Ancient Greek myths, particularly the ones that involve women: my favourite is the story of Medusa, which we briefly read about here. Most recently, I've been enjoying relearning these myths from a modern and feminist perspective, which Mateer definitely does -- along with poems about her own personal life mixed in with Aphrodite's.

The poems are about trauma and assault, but also about empowerment, self discovery and inner strength. This was my first experience with Mateer's poetry, and it definitely won't be my last.

Even though I received a free copy of this collection, I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy so I can annotate it.

If you've ever been interested in poetry, but didn't know where to start, I recommend this collection as a beginner.

Trista Mateer gives us a bold assembly of poetry, prose, and images. It’s a creative approach that pleases.

I also appreciate the conceit of mythology as a way of thinking about daily experience.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital review copy.

I really enjoyed this! This book is full of emotional and uplifting poetry as well stunning pieces of art. I’ve been seeing a lot more poetry like this and though many of them have similar underlying messages, each provide the author’s unique experience and that is what makes me want to read more. This books was also so cool because the poems connected to both the author’s story but also had a second storyline dealing with Aphrodite (which I found so creative and beautiful!)


This is such a quick read so I definitely recommend anyone (& everyone) to pick this one up and be prepared for some feels!

Thank you to Trista Mateer, Central Avenue Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me the extreme pleasure of access to an advanced reader copy of “Aphrodite Made Me Do It" for an honest review.

I jumped at this arc when it was both poetry and Aphrodite related, and then had the great pleasure of discovering it was Trista Mateer's poetry. This was a rich, biting book full of the reclamation of past and future women. I was really pleased to see some of Aphrodite's beginnings addressed, and with such anger toward the future, toward the controlling, cleaning up, and rewriting of women. I was absolutely not expecting the references/appearances of Eve and Pandora and Helen, each of which made the message and the links in the chain of this being done over and over to women through the writing even clearer.

The combination of healing and reclaiming of self, through the past, through love, through healing, was gorgeous. The confessional poetry style, overshot at times with lists and poetic prose kept me involved and invested in all the topics as they continued to be built on across the small text.

I cannot wait to buy a copy of this for myself and a friend of mine who loves all things poetry & Aphrodite.

This is the poetry I've been looking for.

Personal and powerful without spending too long on one thought or feeling; easily accessible and packed with words that leave an impression. If this weren't an ARC, I'd be quoting so many lines. I loved the inclusion of Aphrodite and her own perspective on her legacy and power.

I recommend this to teens and adults; it would fit in perfectly (and stand out, in my opinion) in any poetry collection. Plus, that cover!

The cover of the book and art are pretty. I liked all the ideas and themes of the poems. I enjoyed the poems from the poet’s persona more so than Aphrodite’s persona. The collection is well organized.
Unfortunately, the vocabulary of the poems is often weak, lacking empathis and imagery. If you removed the line breaks, some of these poems would appear as regular sentences. Uneccessary filter words and telling also weaken the poems.
While I like all the art, I think some of that space could used for more poems. Several ideas could have been more fleshed out if they had more room to be explored.
I will be posting this review a week before the publication date on my blog and goodreads.

I am fairly new to the poetry anthology world but what I have read I have really been loving. I have said several of the poems in this collection because I really related to what was said. As far as the themes of women empowerment and self-love and self-care... these are topics that we can never get enough. I am here for each and every one of them because they are important reiterations. This collection did a few things really well. The two voices between Aphrodite and the author are distinct from one another. The artwork was relevant and beautiful. The author's addition of her own pain and experiences set's the subject matter a part from anything else I have read. This will definitely be on my list of recommendations for poetry collections.

Thank you Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for an e-arc of this poetry collection

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

This was an incredible collection of poetry that mixed really well with the little breaks of graphic art. The topics are deep, emotional and can definitely be a trigger given their harsh nature, but they're approached in such a beautiful and unforgiving way. The blend of Aphrodite representing womanhood and the author's own experiences make the collection quite unique. The last 20 or so pages are mostly lines you can also find when searching "empowering quotes" but it's a strong finish none the less and I enjoyed this read very much.

Thank you NetGalley, Central Avenue Publishing and Trista Mateer for the copy and the experience.

I've been a lover of poetry for a couple years now and I can honestly say while I have grown to love plenty of the poetry books, I've read in the past, none of them hit me as hard as this one did. Mateer does something absolutely stunning with her words and voice that made every poem shake in my head. My heart clenched at these powerful words and I enjoyed every single minute of it. This is a powerful book talking about topics that not everyone wants to talk about and that's why I think everyone should read this.

This was an interesting poetry collection. The premise really sold me on this and the way that Mateer created the persona of the gods was done excellently as there was a clear separation between all the character's voices. The poems were well written and there were a couple that really stood out to me that made me think long after I finished them. Mateer is definitely an author I'd pick up another poetry collection from.

This was such an incredible collection of poetry and prose. I could not put it down once I started it. Trista’s words have the ability to make you feel so many emotions at once. This collection was extremely powerful and beautiful.

I know that I will be purchasing a final copy as soon as it comes out, but I am extremely grateful to have been given an advanced copy. I will now be shouting about its greatness to all of my friends- poetry loving or not.

If you yourself are not a big poetry reader, this is a great place to start as it is a quick read and contains lots of prose as well.

I am still in awe of how amazing the words on the pages were, and I could only hope that one day my own collection will be as eloquent as this one.

Adding it to my shelf of favorite poetry books right away.

I loved this poetry collection! The prose weaves together mythology and self discovery and empowerment in the most beautiful way -- intertwining Aphrodite's tales and the author's own experiences. My favourite passages were those about how men have forced a certain narrative for women in Greek mythos, and it being rewritten by Aphrodite's words.

"I was given agency only when my actions could make me seem spiteful and shallow."

The poems about the author's trauma were also very powerful and hit close to home. Trista Mateer has an ability to put words to experiences often unspeakable. This was my first poetry collection I've read by Mateer but I'm definitely interested in her others.

Reading this book felt like I was talking to Aphrodite herself, about her life, loves, strength, and pains. I felt really close to her while reading. And then, I also found myself in this book. My worries and fears, but more importantly, my light, joy, and acceptance.

I really liked the format it was in, changing perspectives of the Goddess and the author, switching between written poems and poems in pictures.

After I finished this, I felt in peace with myself as I haven’t felt in a long time.

I loved previous Trista’s books and this one is not an exception; it was honest and pure and magical.

This was amazing!! I needed a poetry book like this right now. I loved all the pictures and the vibe of the book. I will definitely look into more of her books.

As always, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  There was something about the title of this one that really pulled me to it.

This book is a collection of poetry and prose, loosely based around the mythology of the goddess that uses so many common themes and concepts that are related to strong females today.  This book address several difficult subjects, like rape and abuse as well as self-love, love, joy, and forgiveness.  Along with the written aspects, this book also has several cute pages that are graphics that have phrases or ideas written on them.  There is a nice variety of transmission forms in this book that helps to drive the concepts home.

I was really struck by the author's use of prose and poetry to inject into the reader the idea of self-love and how necessary it is in order to live a "normal" life.  Without self-love, how can we expect ourselves to love anyone else or for anyone to love us?  I liked how this book does not just set out to make that claim but gives suggestions and ways to improve self-love, let go of past hurts and open yourself up to joy and the future.  The openness and joy-seeking in this book is a stark contrast to the darker, more negative things that this book seeks to bring to light.    

The strongest vein throughout this book for me was the idea of strong females and the innate connection between females and women that we should be fostering.  The tradition of women again women and spreading ideas of hatred and evil have gone on for a while; the current society and cultures are working to go against that norm and create a world where women stand together strongly and don't rely on tearing each other down.  One of the strongest parts in this book for me discussed Medusa and the reaction when she was slain.  As a kid, I was fascinated by Medusa, but never scared.  I remember being upset when I learned that in the mythology she was killed (by a man, no less) and could not understand why that was so important.  I mourned Medusa.  This concept of standing beside Medusa and morning her death is important to us today, as we should stand by our fellow females and women (natural or created) and not ask what she did, but what he/they did to her.  If you ever get curious, read the full story of Medusa, mainly how she became the creature she did and then reconsider the mythology.

All in all, this is a great little collection that I will no doubt buy a physical copy of when it is published.  I am so thankful to have been able to read this one, and definitely, recommend this!