I was expecting more fire and empowerment towards the feminist movement with this novel but felt like I got just another Instapoet; which is way more than what Amanda Lovelace is capable of.

I never read poetry, mostly because I don't usually like it. But I know that Amanda Lovelace's other two books in this series were Goodreads Choice Awards Winners, so I really wanted to sample her latest book before it is released.

All I can say is that I am amazed. Considering how few words are really contained therein - the power they tell is astonishing. I felt all the highs and lows and doubts and uncertainty surrounding a victim of sexual violence. I want to weep for any woman who has had to deal with these too frequent assaults.

I'm glad the mermaid found her voice in this one, and I hope it encourages more women to find their own voices.

I’m not a big poetry reader but found myself picking up The Princess Saves Herself in this One and really enjoyed it. I then moved on to the second one which I felt wasn’t as good but I still thoroughly enjoyed. When I saw that the final book in this series was coming out I needed to read it immediately. Upon finishing I do have mixed feelings. The entire middle of the book was powerful and emotional but I did not get that from the beginning or end. Overall, I still enjoyed.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amanda Lovelace for the opportunity to review this poetry collection.

I thoroughly enjoyed/loved Lovelace's first two collectuons; The Princess Saves Herself In This One, and The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One.

The Mermaid's Voice Returns In This One is another hardhitting inside to the healing peocess of one traumatized by horrible hands. While I did not love it as much as the first two, I still thoroughly enjoyed it, and anyone who's had their dark days, or are going through their dark days, should open this collection and let the words speak to you.

I enjoyed reading the first two poetry bundles last year, so it was an easy decision whether to read the third and final bundle of the Women Are Some Kind Of Magic series. Where Amanda Lovelace's poetry might lack in style, complexity and elaboration, it outshines other poetry with its overwhelming and powerful emotions and strong messages. It's actually combination of the simplicity of the words and the overpowering message they are able to communicate that turns her work into something special for me. I admire her for being able to speak this openly about the past and what happened to her. The bundles talk about the three stages she had to go through (the princess, the witch and finally the mermaid) to be able to start healing herself and keep working on the future. As someone who has been in an abusive relationship herself, it's really easy to relate to her words and those who have had or are having a more recent experience will find comfort. What made The Mermaid's Voice Returns In This One stand out from the others is that Amanda Lovelace mixes fantasy with reality this time, using not only poems but also short paragraphs with odes to famous stories by other authors. And that is not all: in the final part of this bundle you can find thirteen guest poems by other poetry writers with a similar topic mixed in between her work. An original touch and something I could really appreciate. I think the second bundle is still my favorite, but The Mermaid's Voice Returns In This One is without doubt a wonderful addition.

I could still not relate to the poems in this collection at all. However, the positivity of the majority of the poems was really inspiring. What I did not like about this collection at all was the poetry from other writers. Those poems were usually longer than Amanda Lovelace's and they actually distracted me. Still, I think this collection was a beautiful ending to the Women are some kind of magic series.

Amanda Lovelace is back with another collection of very brave, personal poems that rival that of her previous collections in this series. This is the final collection in her Women are Some Kind of Magic series and I have to say, it might be my favorite. It handles very dark topics such as sexual assault and self-harm. I absolutely adore the collaboration with her fellow poets on the topic of healing and overcoming. Mermaid gets a spot on my favorites shelf!

I received my copy of The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It releases March 5, 2019.

I adore Amanda Lovelace and will continue to read and suggest everything she puts out to all the women I know.

The writing in Lovelace's collections is so beautiful and "the mermaid's voice returns in this one" is absolutely no exception. I knew as soon as I saw this on NG that I had to request it and I'm so glad I did! I think this was my favorite of her three fairy tale-type medlies so far. Her words are like the waves and they are so beautiful. The only thing (and I have said this about the other two books as well) is that I wish she would write a full book in verse rather than a series of poems put together. But alas, not my book. Not my publishing. Still beautiful.

&
so
she did
what any
rational woman
would do -
ever so calmly,
she reached out
& she tore
the stars
apart.

actual rating: 3.5

So I did like this slightly better than the first volume, but I'm glad I read the second volume before the others because it just spoke to me in a way that they didn't. As I always say, poetry is so hit or miss for me so it's a bit hard to figure out why certain collections work for me while most don't. I think I liked the second one most because it was more angry, while the first one was more sad and this one was more like a healing resolution. Of course that's a good thing, but I'm just not necessarily there yet myself. Overall I think if you enjoyed one or both of the previous books in this series you will enjoy this as well. I like her overall style and how she deals with these important issues. This one also had some poems by other authors at the end so that was nice and it was good to get a little bit of variety and other points of view as well.

I think everyone should read this series. They’re so impactful and powerful. I don’t normally read poetry but I loved this.

I haven't read the Princess so I don't know what is it about, but I've read The Witch and really love it. While I don't condone murder and misandry, the anger in that book was so real, I can feel it burn through the pages and match the fire of my own. All 3 books tell the story of assault, the second book are about women who's not believed and become angry (witch and burning are metaphors for women who's life being burned by the society), this one tells the story of abusive relationship. At least, that's my interpretation of it. It's interesting to see the mindset of one, of how they're missing the signs, or realizing but not wanting to run, or would rather it be them than others. But sadly, the metaphors and language used in this collection was too thin and grasping, it doesn't feel like reading poetry. Instead, it felt like reading short, incomplete series.

I'm still looking forward to read the first one though!

I never really know how to react to Amanda Lovelace's collections yet every time I see it on NetGalley I can't help but pick it up. I read this collection while currently in a women's voices in literature class and it's honestly been such an interesting experience to analyze the conversations in class in relation to the poems. Amanda Lovelace has a very fiery style of writing that cuts and highlights all the truths in a way that can be very inspiring from some readers. Personally, it's a bit too harsh but that's just personal preference and sometimes people need that slap of reality. As always with poetry, it's hard to really form a judgment because the genre is so subjective. I just picked this up because I was interested to see how the poetry trilogy would conclude but if you've been a fan for a while there's no reason that you wouldn't love this.

I’ve been a fan of Amanda Lovelace and enjoyed her first two books in this series, but for some reason this one just didn’t fully grasp me. The subject matter is definitely a tough one to read about, mostly focusing on emotionally and physically abusive relationships, and that definitely wasn’t my issue with the book. I think I might just be too old for this type of poetry. And that’s okay because I know that there are so many people out there that will see themselves in these poems, and that’s what matters most. I applaud Amanda for bringing other voices into the book as well. It was a bit hard to go back and forth once I’d gotten used to her cadence, but having those other writers in here was important. Overall I think if you’ve enjoyed her other work you should give this a try.

I love that she had other poets write their own story and the road to healing in this. Added just a little something extra. A good way to end this poetry trilogy.

Amanda Lovelace is my queen and she has yet again slain my soul. Her prose is so powerful that I feel truly vulnerable while reading her words but at the same time so very seen. I can’t wait to have the physical copy of this title to add to my collection.

I sat on rating this for awhile. I was super unsure about what I wanted to rate it but I think I’m settling on a 3. While I did still enjoy this book in the series, I found that it lacked the previous passion that the other two did. The reason I waited for so long to rate this was because this does deal with very heavy and serious subjects and I do think it talks about those things in a very real and raw way. I just didn’t really leave it feeling much of anything. I didn’t think it was bad by any means, but I also didn’t think it was wonderful and blew me out of the park. As I say every time, poetry is highly personal and I a lot of people will find this powerful and moving and really relate to it. But I just felt like her writing was as up to par. It didn’t pack a punch. It just left me flipping to the next poem without sitting there pondering about what I just read.

This is the final installment to Amanda Lovelace's Women Are Some Kind of Magic series, and I freaking loved it. The author poured her heart and soul and her voice into this one!

I don't know about you guys, but I *always* used to pretend that I was a mermaid when I was younger - whether it was in the pool, at the beach, bath time, the living room floor (wait, I might of been doing the worm). Anyways. Somewhere along the way many of us lost or had our voices weakened - we lost our fearlessness to just be ourselves. We've become so heavily weighed down with the burdens of society nowadays and what is and isn't considered acceptable. We're told not to speak up, voice our concerns/opinions, to act our age (me: nevaaaa), or we're told to just "forget about it." So, often times (and I don't think this applies to just me), I would immerse myself in books to escape reality. Cuz let's be honest, I'd rather be living a world full of elves (oh heyyy, Legolas).

star light,
star bright,
first star
i see tonight;
i wish i may,
i wish i might
flee my skin
for but a night.

- bibliophile

Amanda Lovelace reminds us that it's okay to trust (again), it's okay to speak up, to be yourself, and it's okay to escape reality and pretend to be a mermaid, too. So, if you're looking for an inspiring collection of modern poetry, then give this a try <3.

PS. Please practice safe reading. This book contains triggers of sexual assault, abuse, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Thanks a million to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. Quotes are subject to change upon publication.

i don't write
what i write
to hurt you.

- i write what i write to heal me

Disclaimer: I was granted an e-ARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda Lovelace did it again. I've only read a few poems from her previous poetry collections (making a mental note to read other books in the Women Are Some Kind of Magic collection), but I would say that the mermaid's voice returns in this one is a culmination of all the past two books -- powerful, heart-wrenching and full of hope.

This book doesn't only tell Lovelace's story, but it is a collective effort of women who wanted their voices to be heard. It's so beautiful to see that even mermaids who lost their voices can find serenity from words they've been longing to speak. Recovering from the past may be a long process, but talking about it is one step closer towards self-healing.

I couldn't recommend this book enough. I hope you pick this up once it's released on the 5th of March. Pick up the other books from the Women Are Some Kind of Magic collection too. Because poets like Amanda Lovelace will change the world, one poem at a time.

The Mermaid's Voice Returns in this One is the final book in Amanda Lovelace's Women Are Some Kind of Magic series. It was a powerful end for a powerful series.

These poems, inspired by the #metoo movement, are haunting and invoke such anger and fear and hope from the reader. It's a collection of poetry about healing and relearning to love yourself and how you are worthy of love from others.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of poems from other popular poets. Their poems brought me to tears, and I think each writer dealt with trauma and survival in different & unique ways.