The Mermaids Voice Returns in This One
By: Amanda Lovelace

What a beautiful book as her final installment to her Women Are Some Kind of Magic series! Not only is the regular purple covers stunning, but if you get your hands on a target edition, it has a sparkled mermaids tail across the cover. Very stunning. I must say that I enjoyed the poems in this one more than the "Witch" book. If you haven't yet, make sure you check out my reviews of her other books.

Anyways, I just want to say that if you enjoyed her other books, then you would probably enjoy this one as well. I feel like this one is in sync with the "ME TOO" movement as I noticed that many poems centered around that.

Some may get confused by the title and how it could correlate, but this book was all about speaking up. Not cowering within yourself and your struggles. While someone may have taken something from you (dignity, confidence, "voice"), you are strong enough to get it all back.

While I felt alot of the poems in this one felt simple in comparison to her others, they sure DID NOT lack the powerfulness of them. Each word was striking and empowering. Amanda definetley went out with a bang as she ended this series. The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One is going to fix broken hearts, souls, bodies, everywhere.

Please note that there are multiple trigger warnings in all her books, and that goes just right along with this one.

Contains sensitive material to:

child abuse, gun violence, partner abuse, sexual assault, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, alcohol, trauma, death, violence, & fire.

So just make sure you are in the right head space to go into this book. Most are powerful and help the reader move on, but the idea of the sensitive material is still present, so just be aware.

Just know that you are stronger than what your past (or present) has made you deal with. Practice self care and talk to someone if you need to.

I did get this as an ARC through NetGalley, but am only showing photos of the finished copy I purchased.

Until Next Time,
DauntlessReading

I think I'm a little bit disappointed? I loved the first two volumes so much, but something about this one just fell flat. It would have been two stars if it wasn't for the excellent contributors, and that makes me sad.

Maybe it's just me?

So powerful and right in line with her other two. If you like Lovelace's writing, then you'll love this one. Still think her first release is her best.

An astoundingly incredible collection of poetry!

The third book in Amanda Lovelace’s poetry series (first one being The Princess Saves Herself in This One and second being The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One), The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One is a carefully crafted and beautifully arranged collection of poems that together deliver a powerful and empowering message.

This novel is fearless and daring, urging women worldwide to stand up for themselves whilst showing solidarity, and emphasizing zero tolerance for abuse.

The way that the author has creatively used punctuation, alignment and editing tools to convey her feelings is unique and impressive. The way she writes the last lines of her poems add more dimension to her writing.


Some poems are contributed by other authors and their renditions are equally thought- provoking and remarkable, intricately adding their own viewpoints and making the book more inclusive and holistic. It was so engrossing that it seemed that I finished it way too quickly.

Recommended.

Rating- 3.5/ 5

Review is now up on my blog, fb page and instagram. It might be posted to my twitter in a couple of days too.

Links:
Review has been posted to blog here: https://adoctorsmemoirs.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/book-review-the-mermaids-voice-returns-in-this-one-by-amanda-lovelace/
Fb: https://www.facebook.com/adoctorsmemoirs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adoctorsmemoirs

Andrews McMeel Publishing,

Unfortunately I was not able to get to this poetry collection in time of the expiration date. I downloaded the collection but I was not aware that it would automatically expire even after downloading it because this has never happened before. I am kind of disappointed that I am not able to review this due to this matter. Hopefully my local library will pick up this collection so I can one day review it.

Kind regards,

Brittney

I received this book in exchange for an honest review which has not altered my opinion of the book.

I have been in love with amanda lovelace's poems since I first read the princess saves herself in this one. These poems really hit deep and approach to mental health and the difficulty in recovering. This one deals with addiction and rape and there are triggers for just about everything. There is no sugar coating done, which I usually find to be terribly difficult to read, but these poems capture the feelings and justify the fact that when someone with mental illness has issues and people don't believe you, it's not you, it's them.

I really can't recommend this series enough. While I do advise caution because it is not an easy thing to read about, this collection specifically is very relevant and centers around the Me Too movement. Five out of five from me.

This one legit brought tears to my eyes. Some of the topics in this book made me really anxious because I've never actually been in a relationship and this made me terrified of the types of relationships I could find myself in one day. I'm a romantic on paper but when it comes to real life I don't want to touch it with a ten-foot pole. This review makes me feel pretty vulnerable because I wouldn't usually put so many of my personal deep-seated feelings out there like that on the norm. Since it is a poetry book about baring your soul and stuff, I feel like I should. To honor the source material.

I feel like Amanda Lovelace really hit home with a lot of women (and maybe some men) out there who have gone through similar events. Obviously, I'm not one of them per my earlier ramblings about my deep-seated terror of being in a relationship with another human.

As always I flew through this. It wasn't hard, it's not long. Also, the format of these books is the best. I love colored text. I loved it with the Wolves of Mercy Falls series and I love it now. It fits with the vibes.

I loved how she had a little spot at the end of the book where you could start writing your own poetry. It made me smile a little bit. I mean I myself would never write in one of my books unless it's for school and it's already been written in. It was a cute gesture though. Still wouldn't do it.

Verdict: would spend my money on.

I've seen poems written by Amanda Lovelace before and never picked them up and I am so happy to have finally gotten my hands on this copy i order for me to make my own judgements. Unfortunately, I did not like it as much as I hoped.

I've been trying to find pieces of poetry that I can truly connect with but while reading these poems, I didnt feel a connection.

Everything was well written and well put together, I just wasn't as drawnto it as I'd hoped.

As usual, a beautifully written book! Poetry is becoming more and more popular and they are always such emotional, but quick reads. I was so excited to get a copy of this book because it was one of the books that I was highly anticipating this year (since the last two collections absolutely blew my mind and pulled all the heart strings). This series is one of my favorites and the poems in this book is touching and revealing of how many women face so many different situations.

I honestly recommend this book, and the series as whole, to anyone who is even remotely interested and especially for all the fans of Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. This has a similar vibe, so it will definitely be a great read to experience a whole range of emotions!

It is hard for me to even express with words what a book like this can do and the importance of the stories shared in these poems. Poetry is lyrical, but also effective in a world where everyone is short on time! Seriously, it is so quick to read so anyone can pick up a copy and fit in poem or two even in the busiest of schedules!

Although I did not have the opportunity to read Amanda Lovelace's prior two poetry books, this one was filled with raw and compelling language that managed to stand on its own. I was only able to read to about 35% before the book was archived and I no longer had access. However, I was pleased with the piece's mission and approach to sensitive topics. I especially appreciated the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. As someone who isn't the biggest fan of poetry, I enjoyed the short yet impactful prose of each poem.

The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One was a powerful and emotional read! The writing is very beautiful and powerful!

Amanda Lovelace has a powerful voice, and I love that she chooses to express herself through poetry. Her work empowers and connects with a lot of people, and that is amazing. This collection is my favourite of hers that I have read so far. There were a few poems that really hit home for me. That said, I some times finds her work too aggressive, almost to the point where her message is lost. That said, I can see myself turning to a few of the poems in the future, and sharing them with friends.

The first half of this book was a slog, especially after reading the foreword by Lang Leav that was perhaps the most insightful and compelling page of the collection.

I found myself wishing for poems that had more than 2 words per line only to find that poems with the occasional 4 word line weren’t any better. Many of these poems seemed repetitive (there are many poems with the same name, just I followed by II and in almost all of those cases one of those two poems would have sufficed.)

I think the real disappointment here was remembering how amazing the first book in this trilogy was. It inspired my love of reading modern poetry. It was so rich, so fresh. This one didn’t appear to hold onto any idea long enough for a tangible meaning.

Many of these poems seem distanced from reality or any lived experience because they are about a girl reading books. And I have been a girl reading books, but there is only so much that one can write about thinking of books, reading books, making metaphors of books, pulling up allusions to other peoples’ books (Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, The Frog Prince, Maleficent) without it seeming uninteresting and tired. Similarly, the author’s repetition on the motif of princesses and princes doesn’t bring anything new to what has already been written.

To me, just one poem stood out as something I loved, and that probably has more to do with my identity and spirituality than anything else:

i am magic
all the days i am
a woman
& i am magic
all the days i am
not.

God though, the thing that saved this from being a one star book for me was the fourth section that included the voices of many on the same kinds of themes that Amanda has explored. Those voices were so vibrant, beautiful in their writing, heartbreaking but important. Those poets included: Caitlyn Siehl, Clementine Von Radics, Trista Mateer, Gretchen Gomez, Noor Shirazie, Jenna Clare, KY Robinson, Yena Sharma Purmasir, Morgan Nikola-Wren, Mckayla Robbin, Sophia Elaine Hanson, Orion Carloto, Nikita Gill,

Overall, this finale for the trilogy seemed like it just rehashed themes and motifs that were already established and previously written better. I am sad if this is reflective of issues that the author herself hasn’t been able to resolve and put down. However, I can’t recommend this book when The Princess Saves Herself In This One is already out.

There is also a long line of content warnings at the beginning of this book for various kinds of abuses, and a reminder for self care.

Well, I was right- these books shine their brightest when read in their physical format. There’s just something about written poems that is so much more impactful- perhaps it’s the fact that they allow the reader time to ponder over what they’ve read, how they interpret it, why it affects them.

The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in this One is the third book in the Women Are Some Kind Of Magic series, taking the Little Mermaid tale that has erupted in contemporary literature in the past couple of years and transforming it into an empowering story for women. If there’s one thing I learned when reading poems by Amanda Lovelace, it is that it doesn’t matter how other people define you- if they use diminishing or insulting words, condescending looks and patronizing smiles directed at women of all shapes sizes ages and ethicalities; it’s what you decide to make of them that matters. A word has the connotation we decide to give it. We are part of the society, but we don’t have to act as dictated; we make a choice. The only redemption arc that we are here for is ours. We redeem ourselves. We take the broken and fix it, because it wasn’t broken to begin with. The first step towards self-respect is realizing exactly that: Your self-worth is always there, untarnished and waiting for you to claim it. No one else can take it away, if you don’t let it go.

This collection also felt like a love letter to the readers that have been here for the past years, the bookworms and nerds that were called weird in high school (I dare you to tell me it hasn’t happened to you). She calls to them and tells them: You are awesome. Hear that girls, women and madams, daughters, mothers and granddaughters? WE ARE AWESOME. I also once again appreciated the trigger warnings listed meticulously in the beginning of the book, and I have to caution that sexual abuse and assault play a dominant role in this narrative, so please proceed with caution and stay safe.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. While I think the style of poetry this book takes has potential, this one didn't work for me; I found the poems repetitive with minor changes (some of those were intentional and I recognize that but they didn't make it any more interesting). I feel like some of the guest poems (I skipped ahead to read those before I shelved the book as could-not-finish) were forced to fix in the thematic box and maybe that was the reason they didn't work as well as their other works.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing on Netgalley for the e-arc.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this collection. It was the first Amanda Lovelace collection that I've read. I really loved the character of the mermaid and how she became the vessel for Lovelace to express herself as a survivor of sexual assault. The raw honesty in this collection was very compelling and her journey to healing resonated with me because it was a journey that is all too familiar to me.

My favourite parts about this collection are the references that Lovelace makes to Shakespeare, fairy tales, or whatever. I especially loved the poems in which she imagines the different worlds where Romeo and Juliet have different and happier endings.

I'm looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.

This book taught me something about myself, and though I can’t articulate quite what it is, it’s a lovely and powerful thing. Amanda Lovelace, by speaking her own story, speaks to every woman in this poetry collection. Even if you’ve never gone through similar things as she has, you can still learn and understand something by reading this book. Her poems put into words emotions I didn’t even know I had — and I can’t thank her enough for it. I want to hide these words in my heart forever. I adored getting to hear the poems from other women as well. No critiques literally at all.

I had great expectations about this book and author. Sadly, I didn't enjoyed this reading as I expected.

#netgalley

Many thanks to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing and Amanda Lovelace for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy. Rating 3.5 stars.

This is the third volume of poetry from Amanda Lovelace and 13 other guest artists and is the final offering that follow the “women are some kind of magic” theme. In this one the mermaid has found her voice…

“nobody
has
the right
to lure
your voice
out of
you-

not
even if
they’re
a sea witch
looking
to make
a bargain”

The poetry deals with heavy subjects like sexual assault, violence, death, and child abuse, but really relates to all kinds of trauma. I don’t think you have to have necessarily have to have gone through something horrendous to get these poems. Just being a woman qualifies you get it. I love taking these fairy tale tropes that we have all grown up with and turning them on their heads, challenging them. A castle or a cell - both can be cages. Some of the poems I loved, some were okay, some pulled at my heart strings, others broke my heart, some spoke to me. My favourite:

“trauma didn’t change you all at once
it carved slowly every day
like rivers do
it was patient while it hollowed you out

so it’s a sculptor or it’s a knife
you take your pain and you other it
you give it a new name
and a new face

you say this might have helped shape me
it it is not a part of me

you say i meant to break open
to make room for stars”

untitled by trista mateer

Lovelace encourages us not to stay silent and to write your own story. Find your voice and state your truth. Any way you see fit. I will add, whether you decide to share it or not. Shout it from the mountain tops or lock it up and throw away the key. It can be a valuable path to healing. That is what these women share in this volume, it might help you.

The last book in the trilogy of poetry by Amanda Lovelace is The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One. So if you’ve been a fan of the previous two, you would definitely love this one too. This one like the others focuses a bit on folklore. This one focuses on mermaids and sirens. About how they can lose their voices and what they can do to have them returned to them. Sirens sing and to men and as such often get blamed in fairytales for luring men away from their beloveds. Victim blaming is something that goes on this world and this is what Amanda LoveLace is trying to convey. Victim Blaming happens in the most blatant of places, as it is so ingrained in our society. From facebook comments to what women wear to work. It happens a lot in this world and the #MeToo tries to combat this. And I believe this poetry could help these people understand it is not them. It is the people that rape and sexually assault people that are to blame. It is about regaining that voice from those people that steal it. I seriously love this premise behind this book but I do feel she relied on the previous themes as well a bit too much. The Witch and the Princess were mentioned much more than the Mermaid but this could be due to the fact that this is the last book in the series.

In addition to this, we got some guest poets in this edition. From Nikita Gill who is the author behind Wild Embers to Jenna Clare who some people may know from her infamous photography of the booktube community, but is such an amazing poet with her debut book out this year. Honestly, this series has given me life to move on and I will march on with the knowledge that Amanda Lovelace gave me.

#gifted

i refuse
to
believe
you took
something
irreplaceable
from me
in
that
moment.
- i still have every part of myself.

4 out of 5 stars.