sighing
she
closed the
book
feeling sad
because
trees
had to
d i e
for this.
- a disappointed reader

I almost feel like I have to apologize for not liking this, because so many people seem to love this authors works. I picked up this book because I wanted to try something new, and a poetry book seemed like a good choice. I regret that choice now.
Reading this felt like the author wanted to sound really “deep“, but to me it felt pretty shallow.
Another thing that bothered me was that there was so much empty space on the pages. It feels like a waste of paper to me. Yes, it’s necessary for the format of the poems, but... yeah.
In conclusion: I didn’t like this book.

I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A journey, from the sea to the stars...

This one was sweet in parts, and full of emotion and meaning... But I just didn't find it relatable. There were some nice poems that gave me some pause and I stopped reflect, but for the most part I just couldn't quite connect. That being said, I think poetry is very personal and some people are going to find tremendous comfort in this collection and it will be exactly what they need.

I rated this poetry book 3 stars, and more than ever, I feel the need to explain my decision. To many people a 3-star-rating sounds like it was average, or even worse, completely neutral. Not interesting enough to rate it either awesome or terrible.

I must emphasize it's not the case here!

I admit that this is the first book by the poet that I read, though I knew about the two others in this series. They seemed to be quite popular, that's why I decided to read this one. It's not the reason I don't rate it higher, though.

The truth is I'm conflicted about this book. I totally get why some people rate it 5 stars, and I totally get those who say it's a 1-star collection. I do. And somehow I feel both things. See, the design is lovely, and I stand for everything it has to say. The structure of the collection and the complex reference to the fairy tale are brilliant. This is a voice that indeed have to be heard. This book had to be born. It had to be published, that is certain.

There's the other side, though: these are so not my kind of poems. I might have an old-fashioned taste in poetry, but I prefer beautiful language (even simple wording can be beautiful, I don't necessarily mean those old overly-flowery wordings...) to non-rhyming semi-lines in unusual structures.

Even though this language of poetry is not the kind that gets to my heart, I do think this book is important and worth reading.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley. This is an honest review though.*

Triggerwarning for everything: sexual violence, abuse, child abuse, gun violence, self-harm, suicide. Do not read this book if you cannot deal with these topics. Please take care of yourself.

Even though most poems had very serious topics, they were utterly beautiful. There is hope. If you like Rupi Kaur, this book might be for you. Excellent poems, I really liked it even though reading about all the hurt a person might be forced to endure did hurt a lot.

"in one of our many worlds existed a girl who couldn't handle how very sad & confusing life could be, so she approached one of her many overstuffed bookshelves, got up on her tippy-toes & pleaded to the dozens of warped & well-loved spines, "i want nothing more in this world than to be one of you." miraculously, the books listened." (11)

First of all, the purple theme in this collection is absolutely gorgeous and my personal favourite compared to the red-theme and black-theme from Amanda Lovelace’s earlier collections.

I’ve always appreciated the format of Amanda’s poetry collections, with the storybook format of a beginning, middle, and end. I feel like she has always been able to paint a story with her words and this collection does not fall short of this.

I love the how much thought goes behind every single word and the placement on the pages, which allows the reader to feel every single word with Amanda.

Like the two collections before, the mermaid’s voice returns in this one is filled with such raw emotion and heartbreak. Although this may be my least favourite from the series, that is at no fault of this book. I love the relatable poems, and the ones you can connect with, even if you cannot personally relate.

I have loved everything Amanda Lovelace has written, and look forward to many more collections in the future.

The trigger warnings at the beginning of this book let me know that I was in for a potentially emotional time while reading this book. While those trigger warnings are well deserved, I am happy to say that the overall message and tone of the book is one of empowerment and strength and identity recovered. Every page makes the reader stop and think, while the inclusion of pieces by other writers besides Lovelace shows the unfortunate commoness of their experience. Brief but beautiful, this book had an impact on me that will not fade any time soon.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

5 stars!!!
I was looking forward to this collection of poetry! I'm really happy to have read it. He was extraordinary, beautiful. The words were touching and powerful!
Thanks to Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange of my honest review

This is the third book in a series. I think it's my least favorite of the three. The poems are lyrical and honest, but they didn't speak to me in the way the other two books did. If you are a fan of the series, you must read the mermaids voice returns in this one. Although not my favorite, it's still brilliant. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the two previous books in this series, and while this final installment was my least favorite, I have to credit Amanda Lovelace for the brutally honest, insanely courageous way she tackled this heavy subject matter and made it into something all at once beautiful and sad and hopeful and empowering. I love her note at the end about the #metoo movement, and I also love that she included several of her fellow female poets’ work in her book- women empowering women is s beautiful thing.

This was a fine book. I wouldn't say it was my favorite in the series at all, but I did enjoy part four and how it was interspersed with poems from other contributors. That was probably my favorite part.

The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One is a wonderful poetry collection written by Amanda Lovelace. This is the third book in a series named Women Are Some Kind of Magic. (You can read my review of the first book The Princess Saves Herself in this One here.)

This book is separated into four sections:

I the sky
II shipwreck
III the song
IV surviving
I personally did not see a big change in tone between the parts of the book. I hoped it would be noticeable, but okay. There are a few poems I felt deeply and I sincerely related to them. But there where also some I did not enjoy and found quite boring – they where mostly placed in the last two parts of the book.

you are sad now.

you are not sad forever.


I found this poetry collection quite average. Also, I understand there is still some controversy with this style of writing. Some people find it too “easy” and don’t see the art in hitting enter after every word. I don’t have a problem with the style of writing. I must admit I don’t find it incredibly difficult to write in this way, but I can see the beauty in it.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first poetry collection by Amanda Lovelace (and others, in the third part) that I've read, but based on my enjoyment of this one, I plan to check out the first two! Not having read a lot of poetry, I was unsure what to expect. I feel like this walks a fine line between the "Instagram-poetry" that I do not typically want to read in book form and true free verse, however the words and imagery are so power and beautiful and deeply personal. She wrote of her past experiences with abuse and the strength needed to persist - it was shocking how clearly she could convey these reflections in so few words! Highly recommend.

As a fan of Amanda Lovelace this collection of poetry did not disappoint. It was very moving and made me think. I could relate to some of her words and feel her hurt and healing in others. I really appreciate the beginning with Lang Leav doing the forward as well as the other poets who had snippets that were added. Cannot wait for next book.

I'm a Amanda Lovelace Fan, so the minute I saw this book I knew i had to read it. The book is called“ the mermaid’s voice returns in this one” from the “women are some kind of magic” series which includes “the princess saves herself in this one” and “the witch doesn’t burn in this one” books

Amanda’s voice returns once again with a lot of pain a resilience. For those who had read one of her books before you can spec to find a similar style which creates this beautiful, heart-breking book. it's a MUST REED for sure.
I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing a review copy and give me the opportunity to read this amazing book by Amanda Lovelace

Soy una Fan de Amanda Lovelace, por lo que en el minuto que vi este libro sabía que tenia que leerlo. El libro se llama "la voz de la sirena vuelve en este" de la serie "las muejeres son una clase de Magia" que incluye los libros "La princesa se salva sola en este" y "la bruja no arde en este".

La voz de Amanda vuelve una vez mas con mucho dolor y resiliencia. para aquellos que ya han leido uno de sus libros antes, pueden esperar encontrar un estilo similar a los anteriores que crea un libro hermoso y desgarrador. de serguro es un MUST REED.
Quisiera dar las gracias a NetGalley y la editora por darme una cipia avanzada para hacer una review y darme esta oportunidad de leer este maravilloso libro de Amanda Lovelace

Cages (Jaulas)
are (son)
still cages (todavía jaulas)

even (incluso)
when they’re (cuando son)

designed (diseñadas)
to (para)

look (verse)
just like (igual que)

castles (castillos)
- Illusionist. (ilusionista)

This book of poetry is themed around taking back control and healing after abuse. It uses fairytale imagery, especially from The Little Mermaid. I didn't always understand what was going on, but I did enjoy reading it. It is sad and beautiful and optimistic all at the same time.

Pros:
- Amanda tackles a tough topic in this one - an abusive relationship

Cons:
- I don't really understand the format
- It could feel disjointed at times
- It's kind of just more of the same as the other two

My Thoughts: This style of poetry is so not my thing. I get taking artistic license, but having two short lines on one page just doesn't make sense to me. I'm guessing that if it was spoken out loud as slam, it might be better. But this one was just kind of lost on me.

I picked this up because I wanted to try out a format I dont usually reach for. I liked the fairytale mermaid theme. Some of the poems resonated with me, but a lot of them went over my head or I just couldnt relate to them. I also had to take a few breaks while reading because theres a lot of hard hitting topics mentionned. Since I read to escape reality I dont like feeling sad while reading. Its just a matter of personal preference but I think poetry is probably not for me.

Loved this one just as much as the first two poetry collections by AManda Lovelace. The poems are so full of feelings that resonated with me a lot.

Okay, I’m not a poetry expert. I barely read any poetry so take this with a grain of salt. This is the first book by Amanda Lovelace I’ve ever read, and I can see why there’s so much hype around them. There are some pretty heavy themes featured in this book and strong messages that stick with you for a long time.

The format though, I have some problems with. You can’t call poetry when you’re writing down a profound, beautiful sentence and just break it down for emphasis. I noticed that a lot of the poems and works from other authors didn’t follow this format and, not going to lie, those were my favorites.

I recently read the other two books in this series and I just had to request this next book of poetry. I haven’t read a lot of modern poetry but I find Amanda’s to be full of heartfelt and heartbreaking meaning.