I think this belongs to the ever-growing realm of books that (I think) are better as Tumblrs, blogs, etc. Taken on their own, I did like some of the vignettes/poems in this. But altogether it felt repetitive and I couldn’t connect in the same way that I would via a different medium. Maybe this type of book just isn’t my jam, and that’s okay!

Unfortunately, not for me. This didn't grab my attention and most of the time I felt like I was reading someone's scrapbook rather than a poetry collection.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review.
Expected Release: October 1st 2019

**Trigger Warnings**
Body Image, Sexual Assault, Rape, Eating Disorders, Queer-phobia, Emotional Abuse, Physical Abuse, Gore, Blood, Death.

I love poetry. I discovered Trista Mateer by finding out about one of her other works, The Dogs I Have Kissed. I know little to nothing about what this about about but I know it's a poetry book and the title itself makes me want to read it. Then I found this Trista Mateer book on Net Galley and was lucky enough to be given a copy of it.

This is the poetry that I feel I don't read enough of; The raw and authentic. This is the kind of poetry that opens my eyes to the perspective of other people. How they live their lives and how others treat them. How they suffer and how they survive.

Trista Mateer did a beautiful job interweaving different poetic thoughts with mythological references and metaphors. It made it somewhat mythical and just out of reach while still touching the back of my mind with the hard hitting topics that are looked over too often in society.

The write about such experiences is real and it's important to me, and I hope to others, to know the thoughts of these people. The ones discriminated by family, the ones abused by others, the ones with the internal struggles, or even all of these mixed together. I'm trying not to glorify it, but I think it's important people know the authentic stories, the plasters created by people who have no idea what it means to deal with these hard hitting subjects. I just want to thank Trista Mateer for writing this and I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to read this. It truly was a beautiful and poetic story.

I am definitely going to pick up the other things Trista Mateer has written because of this book.

This ARC was provided to me by NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. Any quotes given are from the ARC, not the published book.

I loved Aphrodite Made Me Do It. I won't spend a lot of time going over the triggers for this book, because unlike others, this one has them listed right on the first page of the book, which I think should be standard. It deals with "body image, sexual assault, rape, eating disorders, queerphobia, emotional abuse, physical abuse, gore, blood, death, fire." The way Aphrodite is written ends on a note that makes it clear that these are aspects of life, but they are not the defining characteristics of the story.

I found myself highlighting so many quotes while reading. Quotes like, “Some people try and try and just stain everything. Their fingers are purple with want.”

It's a story of myth, but it's also a story of everything. I can't really totally explain this book, because it's over 200 pages of poetry and illustrations, but it's also a contained narrative. It's spellbinding.

There's a blackout poem included in the book, using Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield," which exemplifies the often unrelenting dark nature of the story. Some books won't allow a woman such darkness without then giving her redemption, often by a man. This book does.

Another line I just want to quote because of its sheer brilliance: "Eve's pomegranate, an apple. All the details change but one: it is a woman with her hand on the door to Hell."

I have so many things highlighted but you really need to read the whole story to understand why I'm gushing about this book so much. It's fantastic.

In her new poetry collection, Aphrodite Made Me Do It, Trista Mateer spins beautiful, thought-provoking prose laid out as a dialogue between poet and the goddess Aphrodite. Mateer crafts a retelling of ancient Greek mythos paired with nonfiction self experience in a way that calls to women to take up space and make sure their voices are heard.

Using the conversation between the poet and Aprhodite, she provides readers with a different view of many infamous women in mythology - giving them a voice to tell their side of their own stories. She encourages readers to relearn those myths from a modern and feminist stand point, using Aphrodite’s own story as an example of how myths have been altered so they become more palatable.

Aphrodite Made Me Do It was one of the best poetry collections I’ve had the pleasure of reading. The art was colourful and eye-catching. The writing was raw and invoked so many emotions I couldn’t name them all. It was full of themes that are common in most mainstream poetry such as love, loss, survival, empowerment, insecurity, death, abuse. But Mateer’s voice is incredibly unique and completely haunting. Her words will stick with you long after you have finished reading them - resonating deep within your soul in a way you never expected.

I'm so happy to find a book of poetry that I enjoy! A lot of the big release poetry isn't my taste, or it feels too generic. But this? I need to hold this in my hands. Like, right now. I could feel the way the words ebbed and flowed in my veins and I'm addicted to it. This is one of those books I wish I could experience for the first-time again.

"Aphrodite Made Me Do It" is a beautiful mashup of non-fiction trauma and fictionalized poetry from Aphrodite's perspective. Aspects of the non-fiction trauma, forgiveness of self and past abusers, and healing hit me viscerally as a bisexual woman with some of the same fears and experiences. I applaud Trista Mateer for her bravery in exhibiting her pain and growth for all to experience. I definitely recommend for purchase.

I really liked this collection of poetry and the art throughout it. The whole reading experience felt like reading a friend's art journal. I marked so many quotes because they just hit that deep. Big fan!

Aphrodite Made Me Do It is a collection written as interactions between the poet and Aphrodite, relating to love in all its forms and breaking down the misconceptions towards Aphrodite throughout history and how her image has been twisted and corrupted.

I found that the poetry told from Aphrodite's perspective was what I enjoyed most about this collection. I find the breakdown of Goddesses in particular fascinating in modern writing, to see their stories written from a female perspective, and Trista Mateer does a wonderful job of making her more than what she has been sees as throughout history. Aphrodite becomes a force of nature who sees love as a strength rather than a weakness, who also talks about how it can be destructive and unhealthy, and how finding love that isn't toxic is important. Her voice is blunt and doesn't shy away from the truth, which sets her apart from the fragility of the poet who is still coming to understand the intricacies of love.

As I received this as a Netgalley arc, a lot of the structure was, of course, lost in the file translation, but I still really enjoyed the way it was set out on the page. I loved the images scattered throughout, almost like looking into someone's journal, but at times they came across as quite basic and lacked the same impact as the more hardhitting poems in the collection.

My one major issue that stopped me from enjoying this completely was how repetitive the poetry is. It's the same structure throughout, with short sentences and an overuse of the same grammar and punctuation, and it's just so... boring. There's no variation in the way the poems are presented a lot of the time, which makes me feel like we're not getting to see Trista Mateer's full ability as a poet. She has talent, you can see that in the emotions and messages behind her poetry, how raw they can be, it just feels like form is holding her back a lot.

I would recommend this collection, but I don't think many of the poems will stick with me, just the way a Goddess so significant in mythology and throughout history has been portrayed. It's rare to see Aphrodite explored without making her seem flat compared to other Goddesses.

I think the best way to discribed this book is if instigram had a baby with a Ted talk, and I'm all for it. It was nice to have a small break between the important yet hard to read sections with something equally as important just easier to digest. I think this book with the right audience can really help someone going through some of the mentioned topics. That being said, I did find it hard to follow at times and think some sections were not necessary to benefit the overall theme of the book. This book obviously very heavily focuses of female trauma, which is both a positive and negative. The poem about sitting with her assaulters family and stating not all monsters are male is a topic I would have liked to have been explored more. I also think it needs to be noted that the reader would need some sort of knowledge going into it of myths such as aphrodite (obviously) and medusa and a few others. Overall it was an interesting read though.

**Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader copy of Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to them for this opportunity.

Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer is a short poetry collection taking on the dual points of view of Aphrodite and the poet herself. It releases on October 1st. I gave it 4.5/5 stars, which I had to put down as a 4 on Goodreads.



Here is the summary from Goodreads:

Bestselling and award-winning author Trista Mateer takes an imaginative approach to self-care in this new poetry and prose collection, Aphrodite Made Me Do It. In this empowering retelling, she uses the mythology of the goddess to weave a common thread through the past and present. By the end of this book, Aphrodite make you believe in the possibility of your own healing.

I always feel like I have a love hate relationship with modern poetry. It’s not something I usually reach for but there have been notable instances (Milk and Honey, and Shout) where I have absolutely loved it. I’m not sure what drew me to Aphrodite Made Me Do It when I requested it, but I’m glad that I did because it was a lovely, quick read.

I really enjoyed the way that Mateer played with language. Additionally, the dual perspectives were a really unique feature of this collection. I also liked the images that Mateer included in between the poems. It added a little Tumblr-esque touch that I really appreciated, though I’m sure not every one would.

One thing I found lacking in the eARC format was the formatting. One of the cool things about modern poetry is that they usually play with how they format and add meaning to the poem by that formatting. However, format is usually wonky in an eARC. I’m sure it will be fixed in the final copy but I was sad I didn’t get to fully appreciate that. My big thing that dropped this collection half a star was the length. It was very short, and I was left wanting more at the end. I wanted more poetry and more Aphrodite. Perhaps that’s a silly reason to drop it half a star, but I just really needed a little something more to bump it up.

Content wise, I loved the poems. I really enjoyed the way Mateer reclaimed the story of Aphrodite and discussed her historical and mythological treatment. The treatment of Aphrodite has always been somewhat misogynistic and Mateer really dug into this as she took on the Goddess of Love’s perspective. She also highlighted other instances of awful treatment of women in Greek mythology such as the stories of Medusa and Pandora, and it really makes you feel how deeply and how long women have been treated this way. It’s better, yes, but there’s still a long way to go.

In Mateer’s section, the parts that were autobiographical, it was interesting to read about her dealing with her trauma and unlearning things that she was taught by her parents about the way life should be. It reminded me that it’s important to forgive yourself. There were a lot of good messages of self care. It is so, so important to remember to take care of yourself.

Another really cool part of this collection is the parallel structure. We have a part about Aphrodite on a specific subject, then that is followed by a section on the poet titled in a similar fashion. I also really enjoyed the fact that the conversation with Aphrodite bled into the poet’s section. It added a bit of a whimsical feel. Another underrated thing that this book did, was include a list of trigger warnings at the start. I am not easily triggered, but I definitely think more books should do that.

Aphrodite Made Me Do It comes out on October 1, and if you enjoy modern poetry, I’d say it’s worth checking out.

I was very hesitant to go into this but I am incredibly happy that I did. I felt this was amazing. I resonated with the poems written and as a mythology nut I nearly cried out of happiness when the author started including a variation on Aphrodite's point of view mixed with the author's own words and feelings.

Every poem struck a chord with me and left something deep. The pictures got distracting once in a while and after a short amount of time I started to look at them quickly and move on and I can only hope the physical copy will look different.

I enjoyed this series of poems immensely. It was beautiful and charming and reminded me of Rupi Kaur in the way the raw emotions are presented, and a sense of strong femininity and girl power thats hard to find.

All in all it was an amazing read and I wish to get my hands on a physical copy as soon as possible.

I am in completely awe of this poetry collection. This book made me feel things and I never wanted it to end. It was beautiful and raw; it related so much to the common experience. Aphrodite was a beautiful muse that expressed the power of love: it's power to forgive and move forward. It focused on body image, self-expression, feminism, LGBT+ issues, abuse - every person who will open this book will find something worth relating to. I highlighted something on pretty much every page because Mateer got it right. Using mythology, she paved such an intricate narrative that never strayed so outside the norm; it was so real. I have read similar collections before, but none have made me feel as much as this one has. Mateer truly pulled me into her world and didn't let ago until I learned to love myself. It was so personal yet so spot on, I have never felt the amount of emotions in such a brief sitting as I did with this. I really recommend this as it is truly one of the best poetry/prose collections I have ever come to read and will definitely be picking up a copy when it comes out.

Amazing work by an amazing poet! I found Trista Mateer through a collaborative project with Amanda Lovelace and fell in love with her words. Trista puts so many feelings into such short bits of poetry it’s astounding. I loved this collection for its gorgeous images and lyrical poetry. I am so excited to pick up a hard copy!

I feel like Aphrodite Made Me Do It was an early birthday gift to me. The poems were so encouraging and empowering, but in a comforting way. It wasn't brash or over the top, but personal and direct and deals with a lot of really emotional heavy topics. But they were all handled with care and I truly loved this collection.

FANTASTIC! I love this collection of poems sooo much! All of the "Aphrodite sings of war" poems are going to have a special spot in my heart for the rest of my life. Especially the Achilles and Patroclus one. This is a great read by Trista Mateer and I can't wait to read more from her!
Thanks as always to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

I received a digital advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What an outstanding collection of poetry and prose. I felt engaged and emotional while reading this book.
I loved the vivid imagery of Aphrodite made me do it. I feel like rating poetry is completely relative to the reader. Even though I felt like I didn’t relate personally to most of the poems in this collection, I did find them absolutely beautiful and I really enjoyed them. Also.. Can we take a minute to appreciate the art work?! Absolutely breathtaking. Definity something to get your hands on.
Thank you so much for allowing me to review this title.

i will admit, i'm not one for poetry but this book was exceptional.

i adore greek mythology and this book definitely delivered in opening up the world to the great aphrodite. she's always been one of my favorite goddesses, and hearing her story told in this way was fantastic. also, i loved mateer's personal antidotes to aphrodite's words, and opening up about her own trauma in a way that felt fully raw and real.

great poetry collection! i'll definitely recommend it for library purchase when it releases.

The best thing about this collection are the works which focus on Aprohrodite herself, re-centring her in her own stories, pushing the reader to look beyond what’s already known and supposed and consider a deeper meaning and understanding. I found these sections to be of great value and underlined several powerful passages in Aphrodite’s voice. This is a super interesting collection, and the effort at helping a reader into self care is interesting- however, for me, it’s the voice of Aphrodite that has lasted long after I turned the last pages of the collection.

Every Saturday or Sunday I scroll through all the available titles on Netgalley and then I pick one to request. And time after time after time this book whispered to me, reached out to me and time after time I picked another book instead. Until I couldn't ignore it any longer.

Let me start with a small disclaimer: The lay out of the e-book provided by Netgalley wasn't perfect and at some moments confusing and messed up. Which is a pity, because when it comes to poems and art we all know that the form is part of the story, just as much as the words are. I'm pretty sure that due to the lay out the book lost a little of its power, but I'm sure that will be totally fixed and perfect once the book is really released.

But even without the perfect lay out, the words still hold a lot of power and ring true. A lot of poems, a lot of words, a lot of sentences, resonated deeply with who I am and who I try to be. I loved how this book made me feel seen, heard and understood. I loved how this book gave me the feeling that who I am and what I feel is totally allowed to exist, that I don't need to change and don't owe anyone apologies.

But, what I loved most, was the view on Aphrodite, who has become a shallow display of how men think a woman representing love should be. This book also highlights her darker sides, her more intelligent sides, all those characteristics that have been erased and forgotten, because it's not female enough. I love how all the wars fought over love are included, the violence and all the different forms of love there can be. Love isn't just sweet and nice. It's fierce and violent too.

It's a lovely and empowering read for every woman who feels she's not female enough or thinks anything is wrong with her.