From the start, Lovelace weaves a story of female defiance with the opening warning 1 and it never stops. The topics are dark but as a sometimes lover of poetry, there wasn’t a poem that didn’t entice me. The metaphors were well crafted and in some cases general enough that they could apply to a range of situations for a variety of readers the daunting “you” in the poem could sometimes be an ex, a parent, a mental illness, or an addiction; giving new meaning with each reread. Others gave a look into the inside Lovelace’s head during a specific time in her life, focusing heavily on sexual assault. I loved the use of contributions from other poems as it rounded out the power of the collection.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over her ability to craft sad and beautiful poems from fairytales and a love of books.

Empowering, healing, brutal.
What an amazing reading. I had to stop sometimes and just process what I had just read.
I really appreciate the warning the beginning.

I wasn't sure about what to expect from this book, but I did enjoy, in a weird kind of way. One of the strongest points of The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One is the way it is told. The formatting, the different types of fonts and the weird looking text added to the entire experience and made it more enjoyable. Also, the fairy tale element was one of my favorite parts and I feel like staring at real world, everyday problems through a fantastical glass is quite an interesting choice, but it definitely works.

I cannot really say, though, that The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One was this spectacular and flawless read, because I feel like parts of it weren't all that interesting. It was still a good read, though.

Powerful poems, modern writing style and sensitive topics; Lovelace delivers once again both emotional and sincere poetry that mends the reader's heart.