Amazing and super quick read! Although I did not understand at times who was talking, I understood the overall message in the story through its beautiful artwork and inspiring poetry. I appreciate how the book gave tips on how readers can overcome their guilt and their past through its specificity and vagueness (which was great!) Lastly, this cover is gorgeous!! Overall, I enjoyed this book and I will for sure be picking up more of Mateer's books in the future!

Such a short, yet powerful story told through words and pictures that display the rawness of healing and growing from something ugly and terrible.

First of all--what a beautiful cover. I was drawn to this book because of the connection to Greek mythology. I expected something different, but I have read all of this before. Every person is a phoenix. I was hoping for more unique poetry.

Beautiful poetry and even more beautiful art!
I loved the illustrations and pictures included in this book which I really think helped to highlight the lovely prose. I loved the perspective of these poems and writing style was great!

It is queer. It is intersectional. It is fragile and beautiful.

And those things make it so damn damn strong.
Also the art is wonderfull and it feels like you're dreaming.

I thought that this was an interesting collection of modern poetry, combined with Greek mythology. I really liked how it combined Aphrodite and the poet's voices, and overall thought it left me feeling both sad and empowered.

4.5 stars

This would be a five-star work if there were more of it.

The work, which is a collection of poetry, prose, and fantastic illustrations, incorporates a mythological perspective of Aphrodite as if she were recording and sharing her thoughts today in 2019. I love the treatment of her queer identity, her trauma, her processing of a number of life events in which she has been silenced or simply not been given a space to voice her experience, and especially her reclaiming of the voice that has been either silenced or derailed.

I am obsessed with the illustrations. They enhance the text notably, and I found myself connecting most to them. Favorites include the protest scene, the inclusive representations of chests (some with breasts and some without - or a combination), and the Tarot additions. Mateer moves Aphrodite from a traditionally represented (mostly by male artists), relatively one-dimensional character, to a modern, inclusive representation of women-identifying folks with a variety of shared experiences.

This is a short work that packs a powerful punch. I am dying for Mateer to create a whole series of related works. Mateer will be one I keep an eye on from this point!

I never really read poetry. Either it's poetry in a style like this and I've let myself be told that this is not what poetry is supposed to be or it is just too intimidating. This time I decided to give it a go.

Aphrodite Made Me Do It was an enjoyable quick read; it almost felt as if I was reading someones personal journal that was nog meant to be seen. I actually finished it in one sitting and loved the use of art in this book. The way the author used Aphrodite in this poetry collection just really worked and the parts centered around her were by far my favorite. I wasn't the biggest fan of the other parts but overall it was a good read. I'll definitely be giving poetry collections like this a go more often in the future!

"All of us are survivors until we are not anymore."

I don't know how I didn't read this sooner. This is such a beautiful poetry collection, it even has full color art! It's so incredibly beautiful and inclusive aswell. I'm ordering the physical copy right away. Thank you NetGalley and Trista Mateer for the amazing opportunity to read it!

The one word I think I would use to describe this is pure.

Pure magic
Pure emotion
Pure Art


From beginning to end this book is filled with so much raw emotion and you feel it all the way through.
It's fierce, its angry, its emotional, its powerful.

I loved the progression of this book and how it goes from Aphrodite's story and back to the narrators
and you can feel the difference in the two. Aphrodite is the fierce 'stand up straight' strong voice and with
the narrator you can feel the hurt, the fear, the hope to find someone to understand.

And I love that Aphrodite is the one who understands.

It is a journey through pain, trauma and finally recovery.
In the pain it perfectly reflects the sadness and that feeling or 'whats the point'
and in the recovery you can definitely feel the growth and its more of a 'who gives a shit' type of voice

Over all I really loved this and I'm giving it 4.5/5

This poetry is something that I connected with on a deep level. Every bit of this was perfection, or perfectly imperfect. It was incredibly moving and it was something that I really needed at this point in my life.

The format of this book was placed together perfectly. The writing that the author used was absolutely beautiful but, also spoke the truth in the way someone could connect. I liked how the pictures were included in the poetry. I will definitely read more of her work.

This collection definitely had its moments. Although I felt like I could connect with some of the pieces, a good percentage felt like self-help snippets. The theme itself did not feel strong enough.

There were some pieces that were truly relatable and made an impact on this reader. There was honesty and a raw edge, which was truly appreciated.

I didn’t understand the need for the images strewn through the collection. They didn’t seem to integrate effectively with the prose.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this ARC! A more comprehensive review will be posted on social media in the near future.

I absolutely adored this book! Poetry for me can sometimes be a little intimating but Aphrodite Made Me Do It was incredibly accessible. This book does deal with a lot of difficult topics so trigger warning for rape, body image, eating disorders, death, sexual and physical abuse and queer phobia so be cautious if you will be affected by any of these topics. I am excited to share this incredible poetry book by Trista Mateer and I look forward to reading some of her previous books and whatever she comes out with next!

I received an ARC through Netgalley courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

First things first. I got this book through Netgalley and the publisher recommended buying the physical book to get the full feel of it. I thought 'well yeah, you need to sell the book, I get it but I'll be fine.' And then I read the first part. And decided I needed to get it after all. So, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this but also: they're right. It IS different if you can actually hold it.
That being said: this is a collection of prose and poetry about the goddess Aphrodite and the poet. It's basically a collection of thoughts "by Aphrodite" on a certain subject followed by a collection of thoughts from the POV of the actual poet on the same subject.
I absolutely adored Aphrodite's take on how her history was shaped by society's expectations and how she went from being this worshipped, strong goddess to this vindictive, sinful one just for expressing her lust and having soft moments. The Aphrodite parts were my favourite. Mateer's personal parts weren't any less emotional or personal. I couldn't connect quite as much because (luckily) I haven't experienced the kind of abuse most of her poems were about. I did, however, enjoy the mix of short and long poems and sometimes just outright prose. Yes, they sometimes feel like journal entries but that usually makes poetry more enjoyable to me. It has a certain confessional feeling to it that I love. The reason why I need to buy the physical copy though was the digitally modified art. Yes, they looked like Instagram posts from an inspirational page but they were so well done. Sometimes so simple but I truly enjoyed them. Sometimes you only need something very simple that hits you in just the right moment.
My favourite part was how the poems weren't just standalone poems. Usually they told a story for each of the book's section.
Overall, quite a treat.

I really enjoyed a great many things about this book. Characters were fleshed out and the plot was well spaced. Some of the secondary storylines could've used a bit more page space but all in all an enjoyable read!

I don’t normally enjoy poetry, but this blew me away. The writing was surprisingly deep and spoke of topics that are tough. Recommend

Review: Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer // Or, A Journey Through The Pain Of A Woman And A Goddess

★★★,5☆ | Let Aphrodite into your soul

"They made me a goddess of love and then vilified me for loving freely, for kissing and fucking and strolling boldly down the streets of Cyprus."

✒️ gorgeous art accompanying the poems
✒️ a dialogue between a poet and a goddess
✒️ the pain shared by women
✒️ a journey to healing and self-love

Aphrodite made me do it didn’t feel like poetry to me — and I’m not saying it in a malicious way.

It was poetic — yes — but it didn’t stricte fit into my definition of what is poetry.

And that’s ok.

That didn’t make me like it less.

It felt more like a combination of poetic writing style with philosophical conversations and cautionary tales.

BUT IT WAS FIRST AND FOREMOST A JOURNEY.

A journey of a woman and a goddess through their pain and their trauma.
A journey through the centuries and bodies shamed and forgotten.
A journey of women’s understanding and the fight for JOY and HAPPINESS.
Aphrodite made me do it speaks of giving the woman’s pain a voice, of bringing it out of the years of concealment and ignorance — BUT ALSO OF LETTING IT GO AND NOT ALLOWING IT TO RULE YOUR LIFE FOREVER.

The words itself were not as memorable to me as they are with other poetry collections but the message sticks nevertheless.

IT IS TIME TO SHATTER ALL THE EXPECTATIONS OF WOMANHOOD and just let yourself be happy.

After all, Aphrodite made me do it.

"But love wanted a sacrifice and I made myself one. I drank straight from the tap of it, wiped my mouth on my palms, picked up a pen, and called myself a poet."

This was so beautiful and heart wrenching and just so empowering and powerful.

I loved this poetry collection so much. This collection now has a special place in my heart, it just touched me and moved me in ways I didn’t know poetry could. I’m so glad I read this and experienced it.

TW: body image, sexual assault, rape, eating disorders, emotional/physical abuse, gore, blood, death, queerphobia, fire

I just finished reading this book in one sitting. I am always a bit nervous going into a book of poetry because you never know quite what you will be getting. On this occasion, I really enjoyed what I found. The words seemed to flow nicely and the topics discussed blended together throughout the book. I loved the element of artwork added between the pages. I would definitely pick up more work from this author.