Trista MateerRezensionen

Beautifully written poems. An insight into womanhood, the stress of the beauty standards imposed on us, and the body image issues we all go through. Loved the optimism at the end, and the reflection of different body types in Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty.

Even though I read this book fast, I’m like this with every poetry book, I find this one more tedious with its “love Poems,” since it just regurgitates the same thing over and over, but maybe this wasn’t my type of poetry and therefore didn’t click with me. If it clicked with others, I’m glad it resonates with you and I won’t judge you for that.
I did however enjoy the illustrations and the color purple is my favorite so that’s the plus side I suppose.

It's not easy to rate or review poetry. But I will say that this is a really neat full experience, with the illustrations and color choices working really well together. Also, I appreciated that the poet included CWs at the start of the book.

Book 1 in the Book Loving Kiwis: Book Pool challenge

CW: Rape, body shaming, body image issues, suicide, eating disorders, alcohol/drug use, emotional and sexual assault.

A poetry collection that looks at finding your voice and feeling confident in who you are. Some of the poems felt more like motivational quotes but there were some glimpses of lovely writing dotted throughout. I imagine it will be a powerful and poignant book for people who connect with the content. Just okay for me.

Summer 2019 (Netgalley, Kindle);

Thank you to Trista Mateer, Central Avenue Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me the extreme pleasure of access to an advanced reader copy of “Aphrodite Made Me Do It" for an honest review.

I jumped at this arc when it was both poetry and Aphrodite related, and then had the great pleasure of discovering it was Trista Mateer's poetry. This was a rich, biting book full of the reclamation of past and future women. I was really pleased to see some of Aphrodite's beginnings addressed, and with such anger toward the future, toward the controlling, cleaning up, and rewriting of women. I was absolutely not expecting the references/appearances of Eve and Pandora and Helen, each of which made the message and the links in the chain of this being done over and over to women through the writing even clearer.

The combination of healing and reclaiming of self, through the past, through love, through healing, was gorgeous. The confessional poetry style, overshot at times with lists and poetic prose kept me involved and invested in all the topics as they continued to be built on across the small text.

I cannot wait to buy a copy of this for myself and a friend of mine who loves all things poetry & Aphrodite.

Thank you to Trista Mateer, Central Avenue Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me the extreme pleasure of access to an advanced reader copy of “Honeybee” for an honest review.

I was so pleased when I accepted to review this newest piece by Trista Mateer (who I'd been quietly starting to follow in the vein of Amanda Lovelace, Nikita Gil, Lang Leav, and R.H. Sin). This was a soul- and gut-wrenching travel through the land of heartbreak experienced both as a common occurrence (of love) and that of a bisexual woman, skimming the surface of her place in the world, in her own life, in the eyes of her family, and in the eyes of the family of her beloved.

There is so much raw passion, pain, and beauty in this text and I will be acquiring a copy for those of my friends who are, also, aficionados of the current classic wave of confessional poetry. I am incredibly pleased with all of this and looking forward to my recently acquired Dragonhearts and her forthcoming text, Aphrodite Made Me Do It).

random thoughts:

1,5 stars really, because I didn't hate it enough to give it 1, but it doesn't deserve 2

She keeps using "salt" as a metaphor for most feelings that are not pleasant.

She describes boring everyday occurrences with common metaphors and poor vocabulary. There is no flow to the poems.

Two, maybe three, of them were emotionally charged and moved me. That was good.

I felt I wasted my time reading it and I'm sad and disappointed that the community of Goodreads picked this collection of poems as the best of 2015.

I have read all of Trista's previous collections and she continues to out do herself. This book not only challenges the norm of what poetry is but also what it can mean. There are various amounts of forms and styles written in this collection that are easy to read and flow beautifully. She tackles the topics regarding love's nuances and others such as accountability, letting go, holding on, doing better, knowing your worth, etc. It was one of those collections that helped me gain another perspective on what I was going through emotional and how to empower myself and move on and grow. I HIGHLY recommend this collection to anyone who needs therapy, this is a more affordable alternative.

I was super intrigued by the book's conceit of alternating between Aphrodite's point of view and the unnamed narrator's. The poems here explore a lot of tough topics in an accessible, no-bullshit way that lots of readers will undoubtedly love. For me, I wished the poetic language was pushed further; I wanted more figurative language to balance the confessions, more creativity with language and form. Some of the artwork crossed over from profound to trite, but I did adore all the tarot imagery. It's clear that Mateer was working through a lot in these poems, and I have no doubt that many readers will absolutely love this collection.

feels like i just scrolled through tumblr. nothing new or impactful, but the pictures were interesting!

*Received via NetGalley for review*

An interesting premise, but it felt very amateur. The interspersed photos, the discussion of sexuality and gender, the handwritten portions - it all felt clunky and like I was reading someone's actual journal rather than something ready for publication.
The formatting wasn't exactly there (maybe my fault for reading the Kindle edition).

A short book of beautifully moving poetry and art

Prose poems can be hit or miss for me, but this collection has a really interesting premise, the language is engaging and the experiences are unfortunately all too relatable. I’ll probably even get a copy when it comes out.

Recommend (with caveats) for: Anyone who is or has struggled with healing from trauma. lovers of mythology who are interested in a rightfully and righteously angry Aphrodite.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this before it’s official release.

Not just magical, but also magickal. Gorgeous poetry--flows like rivers, beats endlessly like storms, rages like the sea, and softly passes by like the creek in my backyard. Hits all the right marks, a beautiful exploration of myth from a woman's perspective and an equally beautiful exploration of a woman's life from a more mythical point of view. I felt a lot of emotions all across the board. The artistic element is also beautiful and I'm so enamored with the whole project.

This review is based on an ARC I received from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this poetry collection! The prose weaves together mythology and self discovery and empowerment in the most beautiful way -- intertwining Aphrodite's tales and the author's own experiences. My favourite passages were those about how men have forced a certain narrative for women in Greek mythos, and it being rewritten by Aphrodite's words.

"I was given agency only when my actions could make me seem spiteful and shallow."

The poems about the author's trauma were also very powerful and hit close to home. Trista Mateer has an ability to put words to experiences often unspeakable. This was my first poetry collection I've read by Mateer but I'm definitely interested in her others.

Trigger warning for: rape, sexual assault, homophobia (full list of trigger warnings are provided at the beginning of the collection).

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

Rating: 5/5

I think I’ve read about 4 poetry collections, like, ever… and they were not modern. So, yeah, I’m not the target reader here. Or one educated in the form. But, with that caveat, here we go.

If I were putting it unkindly: if a poetry collection and an inspirational Pinterest board had a baby, it would be this book. It is an unfamiliar form and I wouldn’t say I was entirely comfortable with it. That being said, there were a lot of gorgeous moments here – both in the text and in the accompanying artwork. And, I really admire the author for disregarding our preconceived notions of form. I think it is largely due to this that I'm a little at a loss to synopsize the reading experience I've had here. Which is impressive in itself, if nothing else - it is certainly good to be challenged and this is definitely not a book I'll soon forget!

The narrative (loosely speaking) is a conversation between the poet and Aphrodite, each meditating on love, on survival, on the battles we wage against ourselves and others. I was very intrigued by the concept – and admittedly, as a huge fan of mythological retellings, I’d have been happy with even more of that 'story'. But, the bulk of the text is meditations on healing after trauma, with both allegorical and concrete interludes on the subject.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the arc to review.

Beautiful, raw, and emotional; this collection of poetry dealing with the aftermath of a break up and the struggle of moving forward will absolutely resonate with readers everywhere. It's compelling and soo soo personal! It's an intimate look at heartache and it's relate-able on every level. From questioning every little detail of your relationship, to trying to understand their motives, from grief all the way to anger; every step of heart break is included. Mateer's poetry and prose ranges from short to semi-long, but no matter the brevity; it all packs a punch. It's a wonderful collection that I know I will come to it again and again. It's even inspired me to go to the library to check out her other collections. As a final aside, I love the cover art!