This collection of poems has had such an impact on me over the days i've been flipping through it's pages. Amanda Lovelace is so gifted at merging the fantastical and the real raw vulnerability of her work. This collection centers around trauma, survival, self-love, and empowerment, but her struggle is reinforced with the magical power of fairy tales and happy endings. For those struggling with trauma a happy ending or even a happy present is so hard to see, even if it is right in front of you. This books tears those blinders off, and refocuses the attention on the possibility of better. It inspires so much hope, and offers so much validation for the hardships of recovery, all without being too triggering, too graphic or too self-loathing. I received an egalley copy of this, but am definitely going to go out and purchase a copy for myself. Though I have not read the first two installments of this collection, I can without a doubt say that I will soon.

Unfortunately I can't read this because the format is not compatible with my laptop. Very sad, I was really looking forward to reading it.

The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One is the third and final book in Amanda Lovelace's Women Are Some Kind of Magic poetry trilogy.

On the surface Mermaid's Voice goes along in the same vein as the previous two books dealing with tough to talk about subjects such as abuse, assault, loss, etc. with moments of triumph on a pathway leading out of the darkness.

But as I went along I really felt like Mermaid's amped all of the emotions up tenfold. This wasn't a read I could charge through like I did with the other two books. This was one that I had to take longer breaks in between reading.

I enjoyed the inclusion of guest poets. I felt like it was almost a statement of "you're not alone" that these other authors were showing support. It was interesting and nice to hear some different voices within the running narrative.

No matter how difficult and raw I found some of these passages there's always a sense of the weight lifting off shoulders when you get to the end. Like you've poured so much of yourself out that you feel lighter. I definitely felt lighter after getting to the end of Mermaid's.

Overall this trilogy has showcased the strength and perseverance of the body and mind. How life can throw all sorts of things at you, but you can live through it and there can be happiness on the other side.

The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One by Amanda Lovelace is a collection of powerful, heartfelt poetry, covering some intense topics and themes. While there were many great pieces within this collection, there wasn't one that I personally connected to. I honestly had a bit of trouble focusing because the formatting of the poetry was off-putting for me. Other might not have the same problem as I did.
If I had to pick a favorite piece in this collection, it would be one of he shorter poems:

will i have to spend the afterlife
finding ways to hide from you?

One of the things that I did love about the collection was how the writer made sure to include a trigger warning ahead in the collection to properly prepare me for any potential poems that would be too much for me.
Toward the end of the collection, the writer had other poets contribute a bit of their work into the collection. At first, this had left me very confused because their poems were included in a different font and it wasn't until the end of the poem itself that I'd realized what the situation was.
Despite the problems I'd had with the collection, I would love to see more of Amanda Lovelace's work.

This was a great final book in the series. I think it might be my second favorite. I loved the inclusion of other poets that Lovelace chose to incorporate. While I lost myself with the second book because it just didn’t click with me, this one more than made up for it.

As an active member of the Netgalley community, I have been eyeing Amanda Lovelace's poetry works for some time. The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One is the conclusion to her Women Are Some Kind of Magic trilogy. Much like ee cummings, lovelace writes all her poetry in lowercase lettering.

she didn't kiss frogs.
she kissed great white sharks.

I don't feel the need to place a trigger warning in my review because as you open the collection, the author begins with a caution that her poetry does cover a variety of sensitive material and so if you are an educator reading my review, I would strongly suggest that you take the time to make up your own mind before bringing into the classroom library.

some days, i still want to believe we can traipse into the forest & come across an enchanted pocket watch that will take us back in time to erase it all& start from scratch.
this isn't that kind of fairy tale.

I have never felt myself to be an expert when it comes to reading poetry and I always come away with mixed emotions. Having read the reviews left by readers who have experienced the entire trilogy, Amanda Lovelace appears to have brought forward a variety of reactions. I found the poetry to be honest and personal, but I am not sure I am completely on Team Lovelace yet.

I've had a kind of weird relationship with Lovelace's poetry. I consider The Princess Saves Herself In This One to be one of my favourite poetry collections of all-time, but I really didn't get along with her second book. I like this one better than that, but it still didn't quite stand up to the first one. I really liked the inclusion of other poets—I liked seeing poets I already like such as Nikita Gill and Clementine von Radics, while also giving me a few new names to check out.

I truly enjoy reading Amanda Lovelace’s poetry and I was very excited when I was able to read this one. I admire Lovelace’s bravery throughout the entire trilogy and I found it very inspiring to hear her story and how she merges popular fairy tales with modern day reality. The conclusion to this series was very powerful and I love the inclusion of other poets. Through this book, Amanda Lovelace helped other poets find their voice, as well as her readers, find their voices. This was an amazing conclusion to the Women Are Some Kind of Magic series.

I was gifted the first book in the "Women Are Some Kind of Magic" set and though I liked it, it didn't blow me away. In fact there was just one poem that really struck me (it involved sisters). That being said, I saw "the mermaid's voice returns in this one" on NetGalley and was interested enough to request it. So happy that I did.

Not only did more of the poems grab me but I really enjoyed that this was a collaborative effort with a couple other poets. It gave the whole collection a little extra. Poems are so hard to judge though. While some were great for me, others not so much. I also think their was a lot of missed opportunity in tying in the mermaid theme into the overall collection.

3.5 stars round up to 4

DNF at page 140
This poetry collection is not for me it is sooooooo depressing and i don't like this kind of books i love the one who gives me motivation and make me happy special in poetry so i'm not going to finish it i'm so sorry !

This was such a powerful poetry collection, and I just flew through it. The messages in the collection are inspiring and leave me in awe every time. I always love reading Amanda’s poetry because so many of the poems speak to me. I understand her pain and suffering, and her finding her self in the midst of everything. I still think that the first poetry collection in this series is my favorite, followed by the second one, and then this one. It’s not that I didn’t like this one, it’s just that there weren’t as many poems that I just fell in love with. There were several that were frankly just repetitive or had no meaning whatsoever. I can’t say this is a bad poetry book, simply because of the trauma and healing that is shared within. Those are important stories to share, and with each poem, you learn a little bit more of the story. I just didn’t like all of the poems. I thought that the additions from other poets was a really nice touch, and I loved those poems. I will be sure to check some more of their work out. Overall, it was a pretty good poetry collection for those that liked her first two in this little series.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this collection for me to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

the mermaid's voice returns in this one is a collection of poems that revolve around heartbreak and empowerment. For someone who is lucky enough never to be in an abusive relationship with someone on an opposite sex, I cannot relate with the messages inside. However, some passages might benefit me and others for a lifelong read.

An enjoyable read, although it didn't wow me as much as the previous two books in the series. I conceptually like the theme of the mermaid, however, I often felt myself losing sight of the concept throughout, as I didn't feel it was as prevailing across the whole text as the previous two books. I still plan to purchase a copy for my classroom for fans of the series.

I love Amanda Lovelace and will devour everything she writes. This collection did not disappoint. It was neat that she had different contributors poetry sprinkled throughout.

I’m not a poetry expert, and I am only beginning to try different authors’ works to know if it’s for me. This did not speak to me at the beginning. A lot of the pieces remain confusing for me, perhaps because of the experimental format. But just like any poetry collection, this is meant to be read and digested slowly to be appreciated.

It gives a dark twist to our well-loved fairy tales with its themes of abuse, rape, and mental health issues. The trigger warning at the opening of the book helps. We are taken in a journey of healing and self-acceptance. I believe this is written to speak to people just like The Little Mermaid, those who lose their voices, who find joy in material things and watching other people’s lives different from their own.

Some of my favorite parts: the “i believe in endless worlds” series. Here we see parallel universes with Romeo & Juliet living different lives and the endless possibilities just gave me so much joy. There are also a lot of verses about women empowerment. The book as a whole may not be the best read for me, but there are rare pieces that did resonate. I can definitely see how this would help other readers begin the healing process they need in their lives, too.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an earc.

I gave this a four out of five stars, I really enjoyed reading this but it wasn’t a favorite of mine by the author. I still really liked it though. There are quite a bit of lines I did enjoy though. I do plan on buying myself at least one copy if not more. I do recommend you to pick up this poetry collection and the others she has out too.

Some lines I enjoyed are:

“All this time, I thought myself a motherfucking queen”

“You’re still everywhere I don’t want you to be”

“what if he just does it to another girl?”

“I. When they say ‘no.’ II. When they can’t say ‘no.’ -they’re both assault”

“the first person who touched me wasn’t my first. -I’m deciding my first from now on”

“Traveling through eras we haven’t yet seen until Romeo can hold hands with a boy & Juliet can hold hands with a girl without fear hanging over their heads.”

“Show them exactly what a mermaid-witch-queen like yourself can accomplish”

3.5 stars out of 5.

Just like with the first two installments in this trilogy, the poems are about important and timely matters which is what draws me to Lovelace's poetry. As always, I appreciate the way sensitive subjects are approached and written about, complete with trigger warnings at the start of the book. My favorite of the poems center around self-acceptance and learning to let go of the past, which I really struggle with.

Not my favorite of the trilogy but still a solid read and a good ending to the trilogy.

It’s been a hot minute since I read The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One, the second poetry collection in Amanda Lovelace’s Women Are Some Kind of Magic series. While I’ve still yet to read the first book, The Princess Saves Herself in This One, and therefore don’t have the full picture of this journey of growth, The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One still delivers on Lovelace’s trademark poetic voice in all its vulnerabilities and harsh truths.

I’ll go ahead and say now that The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One ranked higher for me simply because I related to its anger, ferocity, and zeal more than I did this collection’s emphasis on trauma and healing. I also enjoyed the former’s greater usage of imagery more, since here, the imagery surrounding mermaids and their returning voice held more of a subtle place than downright literal usage. (I actually felt there was more imagery used with stars than anything else.) But that’s because this collection’s imagery was more figurative, and it encompassed the entire journey, namely that of a woman (or any reader) reclaiming their voice and at last speaking openly about the traumas of their past and how tough the healing journey is.

As the trigger warning at the beginning indicates, Lovelace’s poetry continues to deal with heavy subjects: eating disorders, intimate partner violence, sexual abuse, self-harm, gun violence, and much more. What’s important to note, too, is how these can all transcend genders and traditional expectations and also how the healing process itself can be intensely traumatic.

That latter realization struck me hard as I continued to read through the poems. So many of us view healing as the breath of relief, the sudden calmness after the thunderstorm. Healing is that moment where we let our dark pasts go and start fresh, like a blank canvas bereft of any paint or ink. The truth is, we often don’t realize how ugly and awful healing can be. We don’t think about the regressions, the self-flagellation, the scars made out of reopening old wounds again and again. We don’t think about the lies we tell ourselves that masquerade as healing, so we don’t have to face our pain, and we certainly don’t think about the depression or anxiety we experience because of it.

I’m glad Lovelace was so honest about her healing journey and the many faces it can take. That’s why I can still appreciate this entire work, even though I’m not currently struggling with something so heavy and consuming of myself. Because I know someone who has or is currently going through something terrible. Because I know the history of violence women have had to experience as a collective over the centuries. Because I know that violence extends to other genders, and as a result of that, healing cannot go down easy.

However, the situation is not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of empowering moments, too, and this is one that particularly resonated with me:

the
first person
who touched me
was not my
first.

– i’m deciding my firsts from now on.

The symmetry of this poem alone is beyond pleasing. Reading it from the top down, it takes us somewhere we didn’t expect, almost to a shocking conclusion. If we’re looking at this sideways pyramid from the bottom up, we can view each line as a stepping stone of sorts. It will obviously be harder to climb these stones if you started from the bottom, just like it was hard for Lovelace to embrace the idea that her so-called “first” doesn’t deserve that honor, that whoever they were didn’t touch her the way she as a human being deserves to be touched: with love and without abuse of any kind. Once she’s discovered this idea, though, that she doesn’t have to conform to society’s definition of “first,” that she can decide that definition instead with all her agency, then the steps become easier to climb, the idea easier to adopt and apply.

For my part, I think it’s a shame that I found “i’m deciding my firsts from now on” to be such a powerful, radical declaration, but that’s the trapping of society, isn’t it? So much emphasis is placed on firsts: first kiss, first date, first anniversary, and then that tired saying, “You never forget your first,” as if the first time you have sex with that one person should matter so exponentially more than any other time, no matter how good or traumatic it was, that you will always remember that person. So I love the pushback this poem gives, that if something or someone wasn’t up to par, it doesn’t get added to my personal historical record. Instead, it gets struck from the record until that first comes along who actually measures up.

Readers are also in store for plenty of other surprises. For instance, I was delighted to see a poem dedicated to Maleficent, one of my favorite villains of all time–and thanks to Angelina Jolie’s performance, one who can also now be considered both a tragic and powerful figure. Lovelace pays homage to other characters and creations, too, such as Medusa, Artemisia in Joy McCullough’s Blood Water Paint, and C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.

The real standout quality of this particular collection, however, is how Lovelace also reached out to other female poets and included their words and feelings about their own lives and struggles here as well. Readers can expect to find poems, each written gorgeously and earnestly, by poets such as Trista Mateer, Gretchen Gomez, and Nikita Gill. That latter made me clap with excitement because there’s just something about the way Gill writes poetry that truly holds my attention and makes me enamored with it. (And unsurprisingly, her poem was my favorite, but I’m also incredibly biased.)

If you’re on the fence about this one, don’t be. I definitely got a lot out of it. My only suggestion would be for you to maybe not start here if this is your first foray into Lovelace. The Women Are Some Kind of Magic series is definitely a journey, one of a princess-turned-queen-turned-witch-turned-mermaid, and it’s best started at the beginning (and I’ll be taking my own advice about that soon and finally reading the first book).

Above all, I recommend this series for the same reason that Lovelace wrote it: to give victims and survivors courage to tell their own stories. The way Lovelace has chosen to do so was like broken glass: a harsh but beautiful reflection within, but it’s not the only way to tell a story, and may not even be the right way for you. Still, this series can encourage you, embolden you, maybe even help you find your voice. In the end, there’s no wrong or right way to tell a story. Only your way.

take my words,

but
expand upon them.
argue with them.
change them.
twist them.

– make them yours.

It’s safe to say I’m feeling inspired today. Thanks, Amanda.

I enjoyed the poetry and the references to other books and characters in the poems. Everyone will find a poem he/she can relate to in this book.

While I have never been a particularly huge fan of poetry, for some reason I can’t stay away from Amanda Lovelace’s books and they are ALWAYS 5-stars reads for me! “the mermaid’s voice returns in this one” was no exception. I requested, read, and reviewed “the witch doesn’t burn in this one” last year and so just could not help myself when I saw this up on NetGalley. One of the most exciting parts about these books for me, is finding out who the dedication is for. The first one was to Harry Potter, the second one was to Katniss Everdeen, and this one is dedicated to her younger self, as “the little bookmad girl,” and thanks her past self for surviving everything she experienced. This finale largely centred around the Me Too movement and it’s release feels like exactly what 2019 needed. It deals with heavy but IMPORTANT topics like abuse, sexual assault, the symptoms of surviving trauma, and learning to speak up for yourself. If you liked Amanda’s works in the past, then I am sure you will fall in love with these final words.
(Bonus: I loved the Forward by Lang Leav and am thinking of picking up some of her works in the future).