I could still not relate to the poems in this collection at all. However, the positivity of the majority of the poems was really inspiring. What I did not like about this collection at all was the poetry from other writers. Those poems were usually longer than Amanda Lovelace's and they actually distracted me. Still, I think this collection was a beautiful ending to the Women are some kind of magic series.

Amanda Lovelace is back with another collection of very brave, personal poems that rival that of her previous collections in this series. This is the final collection in her Women are Some Kind of Magic series and I have to say, it might be my favorite. It handles very dark topics such as sexual assault and self-harm. I absolutely adore the collaboration with her fellow poets on the topic of healing and overcoming. Mermaid gets a spot on my favorites shelf!

I received my copy of The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It releases March 5, 2019.

I adore Amanda Lovelace and will continue to read and suggest everything she puts out to all the women I know.

The writing in Lovelace's collections is so beautiful and "the mermaid's voice returns in this one" is absolutely no exception. I knew as soon as I saw this on NG that I had to request it and I'm so glad I did! I think this was my favorite of her three fairy tale-type medlies so far. Her words are like the waves and they are so beautiful. The only thing (and I have said this about the other two books as well) is that I wish she would write a full book in verse rather than a series of poems put together. But alas, not my book. Not my publishing. Still beautiful.

&
so
she did
what any
rational woman
would do -
ever so calmly,
she reached out
& she tore
the stars
apart.

actual rating: 3.5

So I did like this slightly better than the first volume, but I'm glad I read the second volume before the others because it just spoke to me in a way that they didn't. As I always say, poetry is so hit or miss for me so it's a bit hard to figure out why certain collections work for me while most don't. I think I liked the second one most because it was more angry, while the first one was more sad and this one was more like a healing resolution. Of course that's a good thing, but I'm just not necessarily there yet myself. Overall I think if you enjoyed one or both of the previous books in this series you will enjoy this as well. I like her overall style and how she deals with these important issues. This one also had some poems by other authors at the end so that was nice and it was good to get a little bit of variety and other points of view as well.

I think everyone should read this series. They’re so impactful and powerful. I don’t normally read poetry but I loved this.

I haven't read the Princess so I don't know what is it about, but I've read The Witch and really love it. While I don't condone murder and misandry, the anger in that book was so real, I can feel it burn through the pages and match the fire of my own. All 3 books tell the story of assault, the second book are about women who's not believed and become angry (witch and burning are metaphors for women who's life being burned by the society), this one tells the story of abusive relationship. At least, that's my interpretation of it. It's interesting to see the mindset of one, of how they're missing the signs, or realizing but not wanting to run, or would rather it be them than others. But sadly, the metaphors and language used in this collection was too thin and grasping, it doesn't feel like reading poetry. Instead, it felt like reading short, incomplete series.

I'm still looking forward to read the first one though!

I never really know how to react to Amanda Lovelace's collections yet every time I see it on NetGalley I can't help but pick it up. I read this collection while currently in a women's voices in literature class and it's honestly been such an interesting experience to analyze the conversations in class in relation to the poems. Amanda Lovelace has a very fiery style of writing that cuts and highlights all the truths in a way that can be very inspiring from some readers. Personally, it's a bit too harsh but that's just personal preference and sometimes people need that slap of reality. As always with poetry, it's hard to really form a judgment because the genre is so subjective. I just picked this up because I was interested to see how the poetry trilogy would conclude but if you've been a fan for a while there's no reason that you wouldn't love this.

I’ve been a fan of Amanda Lovelace and enjoyed her first two books in this series, but for some reason this one just didn’t fully grasp me. The subject matter is definitely a tough one to read about, mostly focusing on emotionally and physically abusive relationships, and that definitely wasn’t my issue with the book. I think I might just be too old for this type of poetry. And that’s okay because I know that there are so many people out there that will see themselves in these poems, and that’s what matters most. I applaud Amanda for bringing other voices into the book as well. It was a bit hard to go back and forth once I’d gotten used to her cadence, but having those other writers in here was important. Overall I think if you’ve enjoyed her other work you should give this a try.

I loved this book. It’s the third in the series and what a fabulous series! Love,love,love this poetry and story!

I love that she had other poets write their own story and the road to healing in this. Added just a little something extra. A good way to end this poetry trilogy.

Amanda Lovelace is my queen and she has yet again slain my soul. Her prose is so powerful that I feel truly vulnerable while reading her words but at the same time so very seen. I can’t wait to have the physical copy of this title to add to my collection.

I sat on rating this for awhile. I was super unsure about what I wanted to rate it but I think I’m settling on a 3. While I did still enjoy this book in the series, I found that it lacked the previous passion that the other two did. The reason I waited for so long to rate this was because this does deal with very heavy and serious subjects and I do think it talks about those things in a very real and raw way. I just didn’t really leave it feeling much of anything. I didn’t think it was bad by any means, but I also didn’t think it was wonderful and blew me out of the park. As I say every time, poetry is highly personal and I a lot of people will find this powerful and moving and really relate to it. But I just felt like her writing was as up to par. It didn’t pack a punch. It just left me flipping to the next poem without sitting there pondering about what I just read.

This is the final installment to Amanda Lovelace's Women Are Some Kind of Magic series, and I freaking loved it. The author poured her heart and soul and her voice into this one!

I don't know about you guys, but I *always* used to pretend that I was a mermaid when I was younger - whether it was in the pool, at the beach, bath time, the living room floor (wait, I might of been doing the worm). Anyways. Somewhere along the way many of us lost or had our voices weakened - we lost our fearlessness to just be ourselves. We've become so heavily weighed down with the burdens of society nowadays and what is and isn't considered acceptable. We're told not to speak up, voice our concerns/opinions, to act our age (me: nevaaaa), or we're told to just "forget about it." So, often times (and I don't think this applies to just me), I would immerse myself in books to escape reality. Cuz let's be honest, I'd rather be living a world full of elves (oh heyyy, Legolas).

star light,
star bright,
first star
i see tonight;
i wish i may,
i wish i might
flee my skin
for but a night.

- bibliophile

Amanda Lovelace reminds us that it's okay to trust (again), it's okay to speak up, to be yourself, and it's okay to escape reality and pretend to be a mermaid, too. So, if you're looking for an inspiring collection of modern poetry, then give this a try <3.

PS. Please practice safe reading. This book contains triggers of sexual assault, abuse, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Thanks a million to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. Quotes are subject to change upon publication.

i don't write
what i write
to hurt you.

- i write what i write to heal me

Disclaimer: I was granted an e-ARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda Lovelace did it again. I've only read a few poems from her previous poetry collections (making a mental note to read other books in the Women Are Some Kind of Magic collection), but I would say that the mermaid's voice returns in this one is a culmination of all the past two books -- powerful, heart-wrenching and full of hope.

This book doesn't only tell Lovelace's story, but it is a collective effort of women who wanted their voices to be heard. It's so beautiful to see that even mermaids who lost their voices can find serenity from words they've been longing to speak. Recovering from the past may be a long process, but talking about it is one step closer towards self-healing.

I couldn't recommend this book enough. I hope you pick this up once it's released on the 5th of March. Pick up the other books from the Women Are Some Kind of Magic collection too. Because poets like Amanda Lovelace will change the world, one poem at a time.

I'll preface this by saying I haven't read the first two collections in the "Women Are Some Kind of Magic" series, or anything else by Amanda Lovelace. That said, I would consider The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One a fairly solid introduction to this poet's work.

The first thing that struck me as noteworthy was the poet's use of a trigger warning at the beginning of the book. Given the majority of this focuses on themes of sexual assault/abuse, I thought this was very thoughtful, and demonstrated a certain amount of care for potential readers.

Considering the content—and after reading the synopsis—I had expected the collection to have an angrier, more aggressive tone. Rather I found the collection's tone to be subtle and uplifting as the poems are also laced with themes of personal growth and change.

I enjoyed seeing the guests poets featured in this collection and I found their poems to be appropriately placed within it. They were just as impactful as Lovelace's, without taking the focus away from her work.

I didn't love every single poem though—where some were lyrical and overflowing with insight, others felt generic. However, this was a beautiful collection overall and one I would highly recommend.

The Mermaid's Voice Returns in this One is the final book in Amanda Lovelace's Women Are Some Kind of Magic series. It was a powerful end for a powerful series.

These poems, inspired by the #metoo movement, are haunting and invoke such anger and fear and hope from the reader. It's a collection of poetry about healing and relearning to love yourself and how you are worthy of love from others.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of poems from other popular poets. Their poems brought me to tears, and I think each writer dealt with trauma and survival in different & unique ways.

t is very rare to find poetry books that do not make me cringe and I relate to mostly. This is one of those rare ones. Amanda Lovelace and her feminist poetry collections is one of my favorite collections ever to had stumbled upon. They were easy to read for me and easy to understand, but they really sunk deep. There is not much to say aside from this was also my favorite out of her Women Are Some Kind of Magic series. This was the least cliche, it was cohesive, and ultimately the one that made me feel the most nostalgic while sticking to me long after I have read the passage.

I have always enjoyed Amanda Lovelace and her amazing writing. This book falls in perfectly with all of her previous books. Something that was very special about this book is that there were many other poets that contributed to this book. This was amazing because the poems fit flawlessly in the books but also because this exposed the reader to even more wonderful poets. I love how Lovelace writes poems that make woman feel strong. She gives them strength in any situation. Thank you to NetGalley and Amanda Lovelace for the chance to read this wonderful book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
I like Amanda Lovelace. I enjoyed her second book and when I finished that I grabbed her first off my shelf and read that too. I thought, I really enjoy her writing. After finishing the mermaid’s voice returns in this one I need to amend my statement to I love Amanda Lovelace’s writing.
Mermaid’s voice is a very personal collection, all of her writing has been personal, and I have always felt it in reading her work but I really felt it in this one. I find her to be incredibly brave to write the things she does and share that part of herself with her readers.
The poetry isn’t for everyone, I know there are some people who don’t enjoy the style in which has become quite popular the last several years and don’t think of it as poetry still. I love it though, I think it allows a different form of expression and I love how it gets played with.
The work that makes up mermaid’s voice is short, sweet, beautiful, painful, and just so incredible. It tells a story of healing, overcoming, and surviving. I love the use of fairytales and othe stories inside the poems, and the last section of the book that includes other writers work that helps further highlight what this collection is about is wonderful. I recognized some names but others I wasn’t sure about but you can bet I want to see if they have more out there.
I’m sad that this will conclude Amanda’s Women Are Some Kind Of Magic series but I can’t see what else she comes up with and shares in the future.