What I have loved about Lovelace's poetry since day one is the way that she finds ways to write about some of the ugliest and most awful parts of life in ways that are so beautiful and inspiring.  She genuinely finds a way to turn what has happened to her into words and pure feelings to be shared among readers.  That, in itself, is a true talent.  There was never a moment when reading the mermaid's voice returns in this one where I was bored or over it.  The pieces are so engaging and packed with emotion that it is hard to turn away or leave it. 

Something that I really enjoyed was the short letter at the end to the readers that described the journey of this series of poetry and connected the pieces together.  The fact that this poetry collection, while it has its own parts and pieces, fits into a larger storyline is so much fun to read.  I admired that she put this letter at the end of the book to make this connection clear.  One thing that I would have liked better is if this was at the front of the book.  I know that putting it at the end probably helps to leave the poetry collection without preconceived notions about the larger storyline between the three pieces, but for me, it would have helped me see the connection in the beginning.  At first, I was slightly confused because I was expecting mermaids, but there were a few of them.  Because of this, the beginning and first section were a little confusing.  It wasn't until getting into later sections that I realized that this collection is broken into its own story of hurt, healing, and becoming.  This set up is brilliant! 

Along with this, the final section, which is about finding your voice, is even better because between poems written by Lovelace are poems written by others!  It truly works as it shows the transformation of the author from the beginning of the book and then her later transformation and discovery of not just her voice, but of others who have overcome some ugly hand being dealt to them in life.  It is in this final section that the mermaid allusion is clear; it is not about leaving the water and being human, but about finding your voice after it has been taken from you.          

Speaking of pure aesthetics, I really like the plain cover with just the text and then the back cover.  I think that, while it is plain, it makes a strong statement as there is nothing else to look at besides reading the words.  The message is clear, there are no frilly pieces of art or pops of color.  This text is about poetry and its messages.  The writing inside is very colorful and imagery is rich and lush.  Lovelace has honed the ability to use such strong adjectives and nouns to describe intangible things.  Being able to paint these poems with your mind is a work of genius and creates a bond between writer and reader.  In the end, there were several short poems that I literally wanted to copy or rip out and tape all over the walls to make sure that I read the words every day.  Words can be powerful, especially when written like these.          

On Goodreads, I gave this one four stars just because the beginning could have been a little more clear about what was happening and I really think that for me, perhaps reading the back letter in the beginning or having something up there first would have helped tie the piece together more quickly for me.  I did love reading this and falling back into Lovelace's world of beautiful writing, strong imagery, and connections to the soft and beautiful places from fairytales and childhood.

This is a beautiful conclusion to the Women Are Some Kind of Magic Series. The style is the same as her previous works. I appreciate that Lovelace's poems aren't wordy. Her power lies in the exact words she chooses to use, since there aren't many. The tone here is slightly different from the other two in that it's a bit calmer, there's more focus on healing and moving forward. Also, in the last section, there are poems from other poets which fit the theme of recovery.

As I've I said about Lovelace's previous two books in this series: To witness any form of art which is so obviously part of the creator's healing process is a gift. Any reader will likely find something in each of these books aide in healing and foster a sense of belonging.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Andrews McMeel Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One is the last book in Amanda Lovelace’s poetry collection. This book deals with very difficult topics and also includes guest poems from other poetry writers. This book was definitely a page turner. I have not read the first two books because I didn’t know it was the last book in the series, but after reading this copy, I can’t wait to read the others.

I've read the author's previous books in this series and having read the final book I feel like now I can form a better opinion. The three books are obviously connected being inspired by the author's real life, just transformed into narratives featuring a princess, a witch, and a mermaid.

I like the message the author writes with, I like the inclusion of trigger warnings, but ultimately this kind of poetry feels void to me. It feels very superficial and it doesn't evoke strong feelings. The topics included are important and hard, and some have even impacted my own personal life, but it feels weird to read poetry about it and not feel anything. The words just didn't affect me and I feel like the strength of poetry - expressing feelings through short and metaphorical narratives, is lost here.

Out of the three books, I personally liked the second one best.

*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 3.5 stars

First impression:
… I feel quiet….

Let me start by saying I liked this book. The poetry felt gentle, comforting. Water after the fire Lovelace displayed in book two. While I like both fire and water, I seem to prefer the latter. The Mermaid felt like a song, both of love and mourning. Most of the poems in this book were enjoyable, I even loved some of them and I quite liked the collaborative aspect. There are a few poems by other authors woven into this narrative and while some worked better than others, I did appreciate the idea behind it.
Onto the ‘bad’ stuff. I liked this book. It was nice, I’m not mad at it, but it did not do for me what the Princess did. The first book in Lovelace’s trilogy was so raw and powerful. I re-read parts of it, found myself caught in the emotion of the poetry. This book did not do that, and maybe it was unrealistic to expect it.

Pros:
Gentle poetry, great collaboration, some poems hit a few cords

Cons:
The majority of poems didn’t do anything for me. It was nice to read, but it didn’t make me feel anything.

I've already read other works by the same author and the peculiar thing about them is that I can always find myself in some tiny bit. As usual, I saved a lot of quotes and sentences, since I've loved them. However, even though I like poetry (it's easy and quick to read), I feel I don't always completely appreciate it. I really liked the concept of princess/queen-witch-mermaid, and I must admit I was positively surprised with the presence of other authors in this book.

I've read a lot of Amanda Lovelace's work but I never connected with her words. This is the first time, her work got me excited and I couldn't be more thrilled. I got this book from NetGalley in the hope that I'd love it and I did. Some poems are so beautifully done, it makes you want to re-read them.
I'm going to buy the book for sure and gift it too.

I'm a huge fan of Lovelace's poetry, but this collection fell short for me. Her first two collections in this series felt fresh and boldly honest. This just felt like a bit of a retread. Although I truly admire her ability to bring in painful topics (abuse, eating disorders, etc.) to her work, many of these poems lacked real depth for me. I'd happily reread some of her older poems, but there wasn't one that I could truly connect to in this book. I'm excited to see what Lovelace does next - perhaps with a different theme, I'd be able to relate on a deeper level again.

Well, one of my new year's resolution was to read books outside my comfort zone. And hence this. I am not fond of contemporary poetry or free verse poetry, and from what I can think of, it's because of my need for long verses and flowery language.

The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One is the third book in the Women are Some Kind of Magic series and this particular book talks about the Mermaid who had been a witch who had been a queen. A story that has themes of survival and longing, healing irregularly but hearing whatsoever.

My favorite bits were the verses told by these women from fantasy land and the ode to some famous poems and novels.
The verses are about raising your head and continue living because healing is a slow process. The verses also talk about the importance of speaking up or how toxic life can get. It is important to find one's voice and not lets others walk all over you.
I will definitely be picking the first two books up. Amanda Lovelace is a strong voice, and I am sure she has helped a lot of people through her stories.

This was my first time reading Amanda Lovelace’s poetry collection and I must say I really enjoyed it. I never enjoyed poetry back in school as it did not relate to me in any way and at times I found it tedious. However with this poetry collection I found that I could relate to a lot of the poems in one way or another and could interpret them in a way that could relate to myself. I love how all of the poems were connected through similar themes which flowed really nicely throughout the book. I’m definitely inclined to go back and read the first two books in the collection.

Powerful poetry by Amanda Lovelace who is such an amazing poetess mending hearts with her words. This is a fantastic end to the Women are some kind of magic series. Her collections are always very pro-woman and make me feel empowered and proud and so good in a ferocious way. There's sadness too and this has a lot about abuse, both from herself and from others, and it's a very emotional read.

Another good collection of poetry in Amanda Lovelace's final book in her "Women are some kind of magic" collection.

Full disclosure, this was my first time reading Amanda Lovelace's work. I initially didn't realize this collection was the third volume in a series. That said, I won't be going back to read the other volumes.

I've heard so much about Lovelace's work that, despite my hesitation, I decided to give this collection a shot. I was interested in the fairytale theme and the messages of empowerment for survivors. Despite the promising themes, however, this collection did nothing for me. I found most of the poems shallow and lacking substance, so the themes almost felt trivialized.

I did, however, like that Lovelace included other poets in the final section of the collection. I think collaboration among artists and writers is powerful and I love to see women in poetry supporting one another.

This is my first time reading Amanda's work in its entirety and though I don't frequently read poetry, I was totally smitten with her style and message, how she easily flitted between the autobiographical and the general, and between the passages that made me want to tear my heart out with startled grief and those that brought out a small smile and a warm nostalgia. She alludes to mermaids and princes/princesses but also book lovers, and how escaping to books helped at least one little girl (herself?).

Among my favorite passages:
"sometimes
she cannot
tell the
difference

between

the days
she's walked
this earth
as herself

&

the days
she's walked
through paragraphs
as someone else.
-no one noticed & she liked it that way."

OMG!OMG!OMG! Amanda lovelace is my queenn🖤. She's written these poems with so much care,love and admiration for her readers. Few poems were so exceptionally written, i had to stop for a second and collect myself for the selection and string of words😍. Im going to read every book of amanda lovelace and im sure as hell going to buy the book.Thanks alot for writing such a masterpiece

4.5
I was sent this book as an advance copy by the publisher via NetGalley for reviewing purposes, but all opinions are my own

The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One is the conclusion to Amanda Lovelace’s series of poetry collections, Women Are Some Kind of Magic. I had read the previous two books right at the beginning of last year (I had also read the second volume as an advance copy), and I absolutely loved the both of them and this one was no different.
This finale manages to end the series fantastically, it brings back themes, phrases, ideas of the original two books in a brilliant way that manages to leave you satisfied after finishing it. Because of that, I think the best way to read the series is to binge read all of them at once, it would end up being an incredible experience, I will definitely be trying that when I manage to get a physical copy on March 5th.
The Mermaid’s Voice in This One also does something new compared to the other books in this series. In the final part of the collection, alongside Lovelace’s poems are poems from new authors. That was by far my favorite part of the book, it gave a fresh air to the collection, I loved all of those poems and as I was turning the pages I got more and more excited to read each one. I can’t wait to read more of those authors in the future.
My favorite book in the series is still Th Witch Doesn’t Burn in this One but this one came close.

Review to be posted at the end of February to all sources mentioned on my profile.


I read the other two books by this author not that long ago and I was excited for this book. So, when I saw it on Netgalley I couldn't resist requesting it, it meant I could read it immediately and not have to wait a few more months.

First up, I love the content page: The Sky, The Shipwreck, The Song, The Surviving.

This was for me the weakest book of the three. Which also has to do with my own comfort levels. I saw the warning at the beginning (thank you for that), I knew what would happen, but as a year resolution I wanted to push my boundaries a bit more. Now I am kind of crawling back and wishing I hadn't done it. There are just a few things that I truly cannot read, never will be able to read. Child abuse. Rape.

There were still other poems/verses/whatever you want to call it that this was, and while I did like them at points, they didn't strike an emotional chord as the second one did so so much. Which is a shame, I was kind of hoping that would happen again.

I did like that not only were these poems about things that happened (in childhoods or through the years), but also about healing, about getting better, about getting stronger.

I adored those Romeo and Juliet stories though. I loved those various worlds, various situations.

I loved the (broken-up) poems/verses/etc. more than those lumps of text without much punctuation.

This book also features work by others on the theme. I did like their messages, but... and how to explain this, it just didn't work for me. Poems/verses/etc. are still hit and miss to me, and with Amanda Lovelace I found someone whose poetry I liked, she writes in a style that is perfect for me, however the guest writers just didn't have that spark, or at least most of them. That feel. Maybe someone else will love them, and again, I did love their messages, but the poetry just missed something.

All in all, I still was fascinated and in awe of this book, it is an important one to read, and I am sure that, while it didn't strike such a chord with me, it will for someone else. Someone else will be able to use the words written down in this book.

The style of Amanda Lovelace's poetry is not for everyone. I may not be the target demographic. I can see how many people connect to the words, but I struggle find that deep connection. I also find her work to be a little heavy-handed. However, I did enjoy the volley of other voices she included in this collection.

Believe me, no one is as surprised as I am with this rating. I strongly disliked Lovelace's first book of poetry, finding the verses generic, shallow and just all around uninspiring; the second one I found better on the aesthetic part, but resented the strong misandric undertones; this one, however, was just up to my liking.

The calmer tone of this one, combined with themes of sexual harassment and self-acceptance woven through the poems in ways both subtle and not so subtle, suited me just fine. I was skeptical when I came to the part with contributions, but although different in both technical and writing style from the rest of poems, I thought they were fitted in rather well. Also, I really appreciated how Lovelace did less of splitting a word into six lines and more of actually putting a message behind those words.

So I would recommend trying Lovelace's poetry out, as this is a most welcome departure from her Tumblr-like works to date, yet would like to dissuade people from reading the first two in the series. Writers need some time to develop; this is what, for me, feels like Lovelace reaching her full potential.

Thank you for an ARC!

Have you ever felt like you've been stabbed by a book, and the poetry is written in your lifeblood? Do you want to? Cool. Buy this book.