Sadly I didn't like this book at all.
I am very aware that the author & contributors are sharing a very personal journey, that's why I'm not rating the book.
This book follows the same formula as the previous, so if you like them mostly sure you will enjoy this one.

These poems are short and concise. The first time I read this, it felt like the poems were to short and simple for my liking but maybe I just need more time to digest them and think them over. They're certainly modern and the theme of mothering and being a girl are strong throughout the book.

Finally, he is among us: the last book of Women are some kind of magic trilogy: the mermaid's voice returns in this one, written by Amanda Lovelace. I've been waiting for this release since last year when I read the second book of the series. I was really anxious about it.

Well, I had contact with the book through the NetGalley platform and I was very happy to know that it was available for reading. I downloaded it at the same time.

But let's talk about the book The mermaid's voice returns in this one: when I start reading the book the author already leaves a trigger warning for those who are sensitive to the topics that will be presented in the book. The subjects you will find on the pages follow the same pattern as the previous books. Anyone who has read the previous books when they reach this third and last will realize that the book is more mature, both in content and structure of poetry. It is noticeable through writing that the book has the proposal to complete a cycle, to show that a battle has been won and the author’s purpose has been reached with this trilogy. I really enjoyed the book and the way Lovelace conceived this great finale for the collection Women are some kind of magic.

The book follows the same proposal as the predecessor's editorial project. The chosen colors, title, font and etc, maintains a pattern for easy collection identification. I love the fact that the font is colored because it breaks some of the seriousness of the topics covered in the book.

The mermaid's voice in this one is an incredible poem book, empowered and powerful and super current. It's that book you need. This book will always be on my recommendation list for all those who want to know modern and feminist poems.

As usual I really liked this one, I love that she does these themes each book, it just makes it so fun to read!
She makes me feel so good about myself, thank you Amanda, people like you are the ones keeping these genaration together.

I just don’t know how I feel about Lovelace’s poetry. I thought her first collection, the princess saves herself in this one, was okay; I absolutely loved her second one, the witch doesn't burn in this one. But this collection fell completely flat for me. Though I appreciate the sentiments and topics discussed in this poetry collection, it felt so repetitious of her previous work. So much so, at times I thought I was rereading her last two books.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book (the mermaid's voice returns in this one by Amanda Lovelace) from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This is the third poetry book that I have read by this author. Her writing is powerful and emotional. Her writing deals with difficult topics. It is a book that you could read multiple times and still find new things to feel from the writing.

Poetry is definitely a genre that I usually don't read in one sitting but with her books I have found it impossible to put it down. I have devoured all three of her poetry books as quickly as possible. I will definitely be scheduling a reread for each of them as I feel like there is so much more that I can gain from reading them again.

As always a great read from Amanda! Loving the empowering and feminist themes and links to fairy tales. Cant wait for more work from this author .

<b>In <i>the mermaid’s voice returns in this one</i>, the final installment in her <i>women are some kind of magic</i> trilogy, poet Amanda Lovelace speaks to the importance of agency and creative power as a means to recovering from trauma.</b> I will be honest: I loved <i>the princess saves herself in this one</i>, but <i>the witch doesn’t burn in this one</i> rubbed me the wrong way in a few places and came across as very repetitive, so I didn’t know what to expect in this volume. I was pleasantly surprised.

<b>Lovelace’s growth as a poet over the course of this trilogy is exponential.</b> Her voice is strongly developed and clearly her own—an especially fitting statement, given the title of the collection—and her metaphors and imagery are clearer and sharper than ever. While there are still some moments that feel like “Instagram poetry” (i.e. “deep” statements with line breaks to make them look artsy), her poetry feels far more like…well…poetry! In terms of subject matter, she manages to build a compelling collection that articulates variations on similar themes, especially sexual trauma and self-love, without sounding grossly repetitive or redundant. It is artful but still compulsively readable. And as always, I love her stylistic technique of putting each poem’s title as more of an autograph at the end of the poem, rather than a precursor to the poem itself.

<b>That said, I did have one gripe with this book, which is the primary reason for the 4-star rating: the chorus of other voices.</b> Incorporated in this book are a series of poems by other poets, whom Lovelace asked to contribute to this book. I am not saying that the others’ poems are bad, by any stretch of the imagination; they are, for the most part, well-crafted and fairly on-topic. What bothers me is that this is a book about finding your <i>own</i> voice in the aftermath of trauma, and while it is important to recognize the importance of other survivors as well, and to share with them, these extra poems pulled some of the focus out of the collection. Stylistically, they are also obviously different from Lovelace’s writing, and it was painfully easy to tell when a poem wasn’t written by her, even without looking at the name of the author. Had those poems been omitted, this would have been closer to a 4.5/5-star rating from me.

<b>All in all, this is an important collection from an equally important voice in poetry.</b> For anyone who likes poems, feminism, mental health, or highly-Instagrammable content that still has actual substance, this is a must-read.

Such a powerful collection. I felt my voice was heard, I felt this book really got it. Very motivating and certainly opens up conversation.

The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One is the third and final poetry collection in the Women Are Some Kind of Magic series and contains poems about abuse, assault, addiction, self-harm, …

I think that this collection wasn’t my favourite of the three books in the series. There were still some beautiful poems, but I couldn’t really relate to a lot of them. Some of them felt a bit weird or just not something for me. However, the collection was still beautiful, I really liked reading it and I cannot wait to read more poetry books by Amanda Lovelace.

Something also really liked was that there was a foreword by Lang Leav and there were poems written by other poets in this collection. I think it’s a nice way of discovering new poets. I also really liked that at the end of the book she inserted all of the social media details of all the poets that wrote a poem for this collection.

Favourite poems
Wanted
Shrinking violets like us
My Midas
Titanic
They’re both assault
I’m deciding my firsts from now on
Goodbye
The good kind of drowning
For my childhood friend
Don’t touch the stones
You are worth spoiling

My Thoughts:
Amanda Lovelace is one of my favorite poets. She is the reason that I started reading modern poetry, and liking it. When I heard that she was coming out with a new collection of poetry in her Women are Some Kind of Magic series, I knew I had to read it as soon as I could. I just finished the book, The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One. I really enjoyed it.

There's something about the poems in The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One that speaks to my soul. While I was reading, I found myself being able to identify with more and more of the poems on such a personal level. Some of the poems made my cry because I knew the trauma that the author had been through because I had gone through similar situations myself. Other poems inspired me. They made me want to stand up and take action, not just for myself, but to help those around me. I especially enjoyed a poem entitled Slay Those Dragons II. It was my favorite in the book.

There is only one reason why I'm not giving The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One a full five stars. In this book, Amanda Lovelace decided to do something different than her previous books. She also included poems from other people. Now, I understand why she did it. It did fit with the theme of the book perfectly. However, I found my self being unable to identify with some of those as well as I could her poems. There were a couple that I even skim read because I just wasn't feeling them. It took away from the enjoyment of my reading experience at times.

Despite the one issue I had with The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One, I really loved this book. I found it to be relatable, and incredibly inspiring. The Women are Some Kind of Magic series is completed with this book, which makes me sad. I do hope that Amanda Lovelace continues to write more poetry. At this point, I will read anything she writes.

I give The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One: 4/5.

I have no idea how this book ended up slipping through the cracks. I read this book earlier this spring, or last Christmas as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. I madly love everything about Amanda's trilogy of books and how they come round to the women regaining their voices, their tails, and their crowns. About how even the worst in the world, which is discussed in the earlier books and is so important and clear and painful, cannot actually bring them to their knees or bellies for long.

I truly cannot wait to see what poetry and prose come out next from her.

Wow. I am going to miss this collection. I thought it was well done, empowering, and full of emotion.

Beautiful voice and compelling storytelling. Always love to find a new author and a mermaid. Thank you!

Amanda Lovelace's poetry is once again the perfect comfort I need in such troubling times. I've read her two other poetry collections and this one showcases her growth as both a person and a writer of poetry. I love how simplistic some of her poems can be, yet they pack a huge punch.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free e-copy in exchange for an honest review

A nice closure for this beautiful trilogy of poem collections, each one with a different message, a different focus, but all parts of the same process. This one is the happiest of the three I'd say, the one with the softest message, and sadly the one I liked the least, but I still liked it very much. It's just that the other two were more empowering and relatable. My favourite is definitely The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One.

I will be checking out the other books by Amanda Lovelace for sure, as I enjoyed her words a lot even if sometimes they made me very sad.

I don’t know how popular or unpopular my opinion is when it comes to this type of poetry. I want to be completely honest and upfront that this may be a very unpopular opinion. If you like this style of poetry, that’s great, but this is just not for me.

It’s not the content itself that I wasn’t a big fan of, more so the execution. The poems themselves are very touching and I found myself very emotional by the end of the first time reading all the way through. My biggest issue was that the format of the poems made it very hard to really get that emotional impact because each line was so stop and start. I usually like to read poems aloud because they often have a lyrical flow and an added element when spoken. These poems could not be spoken out loud.

I think this style just isn’t for me personally because I prefer lyrical poetry more, when it has some form of meter and form. I am very much from the school of learning that anything with the intention of being poetry is poetry, but in feeling this way, there are definitely styles of poetry that I prefer over others.

Another style issue I had with this text is the purple text. I struggle with different font colors, so this was somewhat straining to the eye. If you have similar issues, this may hinder your ability to read more than a few pages at a time.

Also: please heed the warnings before you read this book. There is some very intense content that may be harder for some people to read. I am very grateful that those warnings are present before the start of the book

I love Lovelace! Her ability to take some of humanities worst experiences coupled with the emotions and feelings that come with those situations and put them into words is unparalleled. When feeling overwhelmed or alone, grab a Lovelace book. It may not ease your situation, but you won't feel alone any more.

I have read each of Amanda Lovelace's books of poetry, even purchasing the others in the Women Are Some Kind of Magic collection after reading the witch doesn't burn in this one here on Netgalley. I am a fan of Amanda Lovelace's voice and style of writing, as her words move me, shatter me, and often leave me thinking of pain and healing I've experienced in my own life. So when I learned of the mermaid's voice returns in this one, I could not wait to read it.

And I devoured it all in one sitting. I enjoyed the well-crafted metaphors, got lost in the beautiful way she weaves the most brutal experiences, and was even triggered a few times. While I can appreciate an authors brilliant use of words to share her story and pain, sometimes I found myself rushing through a poem or two. It's like you know something bad is about to happen and you don't want to see it, but you take a deep breath and prepare for the coming. I applaud Lovelace to be able to share her story with us readers, even though I found myself racing through the poems discussing sexual violence.

I also liked that this time around, Amanda Lovelace included poems from other authors sharing similar experiences as a survivor. It showed that many women share these experiences and through their strength, have been able to rise from their pain and claim their voices with these words.

While it is probably not a book of poetry I will purchase, I do appreciate the message Lovelace conveyed here. And I thank her for sharing her voice with us, giving other women the courage to use theirs as well.

Amanda's poetry collections are always so strong and powerful! I find myself wanting to cherish her words, but end up devouring the pages and next thing I know I have finished the book. I always know her collections are ones I can count on to show not only her strength, but the strength that anyone can have- survivor or not. Her collections speak volumes and are so empowering!