I have become a massive fan of Lovelace’s work. I enjoyed this title the most from her Women Are Some Kind Of Magic series. It’s darker than the other two books which is probably why it’s my favourite. I like dark poetry. These poems use domestic abuse and violence as themes and are raw and brutal at times. This collection is certainly not light-hearted. I enjoyed every poem and enjoyed the fact that the lengths varied. I also enjoyed the poems included by other poets that tackled similar themes.

Lovelace's third and final book in her "Women are Some Kind of Magic" collection serves as a satisfying ending, overall improving my opinion of the collection as a whole. I enjoyed the first book immensely and found the second somewhat lacking. "The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One" seemed to fill in those gaps.

Short poetry books like this basically deliver what you expect, and there were as many poems that landed for me as poems that decidedly did not. Overall, it was a quick read. I breezed through it, but the poems that ended up getting me had me holding my breath.

Lovelace's depiction of various harsh issues wrapped in fairy tales and hope hits hard when it does manage to hit. She writes candidly about various issues, such as abuse, eating disorders, and self-harm. The format depicts growth in parts, moving away from abuse and towards hope. Empathy and simple human experience made me ache while reading, in a good way.

The book includes poems by several different guest authors, and while the poetry itself was fine. I didn't particularly enjoy it. I felt there was a bit of dissonance between Lovelace's voice and the voices of the other writers involved. However, there were some guest poems that I enjoyed.

Overall, this is poetry about healing, hope, and survivorship. Even if things aren't okay right now, it will leave you feeling like they will be someday.

Thank you for the early copy.

It is hard for me to assign a star rating or review poetry because it can be viewed differently with each reader. It was a solid collection.

I liked the imagery especially at the beginning, the escaping and story-telling. But as it went on, especially the last section, it did not flow as well with the various poems from other authors. I understand the idea of sharing everyone's unique experience, but it made it feel a little stilted. I think I enjoyed the others a little better, but still was a beautiful collection to read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Mermaid's voice returns in this one by Amanda lovelace

*thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, I received a e-arc in exchange for my honest review*

I didn't read this series of collections in order. Which I don't really think is a big deal. I liked The Witch Doesn't Burn in this One. And the more I thought about it, the more I loved it. And I have The Princess Saves Herself in this One sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to read it.

The Mermaid however is one I was so excited for. But I just don't think it was for me. It is considerably softer than the other two. I find it lacks spark though. I do think it is the weakest of the three. But I'm thinking that is due to the fact that I have no connection to the type of trauma that the author has faced. Which is me just not connecting to the topics.

The writing as always is lovely. Amanda Lovelace has a wonderful style of writing. I always take a bit to adjust to the lack of capitalizations, but I get over it. It's a style that works well for this collection specifically. It is softer to look at it. And flows differently.

I'm going to give this a 3.5.

I want to enjoy Amanda Lovelace's poetry because it seems like it should be my jam. So I keep picking her collections up, but so far none has really touched me. Her poetry just doesn't seem to mesh with me. Part of that might be the fairytale references - I don't love fairytales and am not interested in retellings at all, so this is very much a "me" thing and not a "book" thing. On the other hand, the mermaid theme was much less present than the princess or the witch were before, which is definitely a plus in my books and makes me curious what the author will do with other poems that aren't so closely referring to fairytale imagery.

I do appreciate the overall message, but I just don't gel with the execution and the structure of the collection. I'm sure lots of people feel differently, but I find it very hard to relate to so many of these poems because especially in the first half of the collection, most of the poems are so filled with bitterness and pessimism, which is just not me at all. I understand the anger and where it comes from - and it definitely is justified - but sometimes it just feels like shouting at an empty wall and wondering why there is no feedback. While the second part of the collection takes a more positive turn (as the collections in the Women Are Some Kind of Magic series tend to do), it just takes too long to get there for my taste. For that reason, part iii ("the song") was also by far my favorite section - there are a few poems that I am sure will stick with me.

I think my favorite thing was when the author played around with the formatting of the poem and the words on the page. Experimental formats are something I always like and with this style of poetry - where most lines are just one to three words - it's so nice if there is something to break up the usual flow of the words on the page.

I appreciated that other poets were included in the last section, however it did make the collection feel a bit disjointed toward the end. Still, this was a great opportunity to read some other poets that I might be looking into more in the future!

The third book in the poetry collection by Amanda Lovelace is written in the vein of modern poetry. Personally, the final section of survival was the best part of the collection.

A solid follow up to her other poetry, This is a quick and thoughtful read. It made me think. I love her approach to twisting fairy tales into feminist messages

Thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC!

First of all, I wanna thank the publisher for including a trigger warning.
It's the final poetry collection of the “Women are some kind of magic” series.

It's a good book, that hopefully will encourage victims to speak about their experiences with sexual violence.

I have absolutely loved these poetry collections and I’m sad this is the final one! Beautiful poetry. Definitely a future reread.

I was sent an eARC of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This does not change my view in any shape or form.

Oh my God, this was brilliant and moving. Amanda Lovelace does it AGAIN. And this may be her best, most intimate, most poignant release yet. I have chills. I'm positively smitten with how minimal the prose is in Lovelace's work because in spite of how short it appears, it really packs a serious and emotional punch that will leave readers breathless.

It's no secret that I adore poetry and that Amanda Lovelace is one of my favourite modern poets. It's even less of a surprise that The Mermaid's Voice Returns in this One was one of my most anticipated releases of 2019. Thankfully for us, the conclusion to Lovelace's beloved and bestselling Women Are Some Kind of Magic series lives up to everything the prior installments set up. I loved literally every thing about this collection because, once more, it accomplished exactly what good poetry should: all the complex emotions that come with being women and reclaiming your own voice.

What's most outstanding about The Mermaid's Voice Returns in this One is how far that Lovelace has come. I don't mean only growth as a writer, I mean... how she's been able to take the past, capture its volatile and cruel elements, and channel that intensity it into something beautiful. Herself. One of the biggest parts in writing is being able to open yourself up, express all sides to your own story, and to showcase how much you've grown in the days and weeks and months and years that follow.

As readers, we've been able to watch Lovelace not only reclaim her voice and her power but become the woman she was always meant to be. And always has been. And it's something that cannot be described in a simple review.

Whether you've been following her writing process from the time she'd self-published her first poems or are only just getting to know her now, it's a treat to be able to see such strength blossom and grow and continue to do so.

The Mermaid's Voice Returns in this One sets the stage for the year in poetry. This is the collection you need to be reading; this is the voice that needs to be heard. Armed with some contributions from other talented voices in poetry, Amanda Lovelace has already taken on 2019 in a way that will be quick to send shivers down the spine and demands to be annotated.

I can't wait to see what comes next for her. I'm so ready.

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.