A special thank you to the publishers as well as NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review!

This books will be available on October 1st!

This book features poetry, prose, and artwork. Mateer goes through her own experiences with broken love, self-love, and moving on. She writes from her own point of view and from the point of view of Aphrodite. Mateer shows another side of love through her honesty and art.

Four Stars

I’ve mentioned before that I’m very interested in Greek mythology. When I saw that this book had a focus on Aphrodite, I had to get it. She made me. But seriously, I was really excited about this book. I really love Amanda Lovelace’s work, and she follows Mateer on Instagram, so I’ve scrolled through Mateer’s profile a lot. I really enjoyed what I read, and this book went above and beyond.

I really like how the artwork brought a different facet to the topics and feelings. The artwork also offered a reprieve from my own feelings, cause I felt A LOT. Mateer both called me out for the pain I have kept from bad love and encouraged me to be okay with who I am and how I am growing, no matter how messily. Poetry to me should make you feel, make you question, and make you connect. Mateer absolutely did all of that.

I loved her focus on Aphrodite and how she wrote from point of view. She brought a new view of Aphrodite: a powerful and dreadful version that I greatly appreciated. Love is more complicated than feelings and sex. It’s powerful and dangerous.

Mateer deals with a lot of sensitive and important topics in her book: sexuality, assault, abuse, insecurities, and fear. She looks at her wounds and acknowledges that others could have similar wounds. She takes us to the darker parts of love, but she doesn’t leave us there. One of her last poems is all about not writing another poem about hurting or bad love. She leaves us in a hopeful place where love has room to be good and to grow.

I really appreciated how Mateer handled difficult topics and made me feel both good and the bad. I’ve already recommended it to a friend. This is an important work of art, prose, and poetry that will be a part of changing how people view love and heal from bad love.

This book will be available on October 1st!