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Amanda Lovelace

The mermaid is known for her siren song, luring bedroom-eyed sailors to their demise. However, beneath these misguided myths are tales of escapism and healing, which Lovelace weaves throughout this empowering collection of poetry, taking you on a journey from the sea to the stars. They tried to silence her once and for all, but the mermaid’s voice returns in this one.

the mermaid's voice returns in this one

Mary Carmona

“give me lavender. give me valerian. give me  warmed milk. give me the sound of every raindrop  to ever slide down the side of the earth. yes, i will  still have trouble falling asleep. because of you, i’ve never been able to see a bed as a place of rest—only unrest. even when my bones & my  eyelids beg for sweet mercy, the second my head hits my pillow, something in the back of my mind will always be trying to remind me of those  moments when i learned that sex & violence are not the same thing. 

“she’s come to the conclusion that they like her because she’s sad & even more so because she’s quiet. it’s a lethal combination that makes it  impossible for her to tell them:

“everything started to make sense once i learned that you don’t need to be caught underneath an ill-tempered wave in order to drown. i’m talking about how it feels when your fingers are twisted up in my long, blackwater hair, pulling just enough to hurt. pulling just enough for me to not want you to stop.

Kiran Aftab

The last two sections were definitely the more powerful ones. I love how she included contributors in this book and how easily they flowed in with her work. Also, it was nice to get a few more poetry recommendations too! Amanda Lovelace always finds a way to make me feel a little more empowered and sure of myself.

kelsey

nobody has the right to lure your voice out of you— not even if they’re a sea witch looking to make a bargain.

Selkie

A touching follow up to “the witch doesn’t burn in this one” though it did not have the same gut-wrenching feeling as I felt with the previous two. It was good, but I just did not resonate as much with this one.

Might have to read it once more, to have a fresher opinion of it.

Krystyna 

This was the final installment in Amanda Lovelace's "Women Are Some Kind of Magic" series. I have read all of them and this one was my favorite. I think I enjoyed this one more because it discussed how she persevered and overcame all of her negative experiences. I enjoyed her letter to the reader at the end. 

There are a variety of ways to stand up and speak out about one's experiences concerning sexual violence and Amanda Lovelace did this well. Not everyone has the same experiences and not everyone's story is the same. But, it is empowering for a person to be able to speak up against the violence that they endured. I also think that it makes a person so much stronger to undergo those horrible experiences and have the strength to speak up in whatever form they choose; I feel like they become a stronger person and get a sense of freedom over their life afterwards. 

I know that poetry is deeply personal and it took a lot of courage and strength for her to speak out against her own experiences but I am sure that people are thankful for these written words. They may be encouraged to speak up against their own experiences. I am not criticizing or analyzing any of the poems within this collection because they are deeply personal and it is her own story and form of self-expression. However, there are some poems that I enjoyed more than others in this collection. Some of my favorites are:
*"shrinking violets like us"
*"an update for the girl i used to be"
*"i vow to"
*"i'm still alive & therefore so is hope."
*"you are worth spoiling."
*"tweet from august 8th, 2017."

I loved that a mermaid was used as a metaphor in this collection and I loved the purple font. If you enjoy Amanda Lovelace's other poetry collections, or you just enjoy reading modern poetry, then I would give this one a try.

menna

I might've read this too fast or I just don't enjoy this kind of poetry anymore because I didn't enjoy this that much compared to what I remember of the first two.

Sofia Nunes

after the 
unimaginable
happened,
the mermaid
left the
dried up sea
of
her planet
& rode
a shooting star
straight into 
the sky.

but the stars-
they see
everything & are
loyal to no one.
when she
whispered
her wishes
into them,
the voices from
her nightmares
came crashing
down.

&
so
she did
what any
rational woman
would do-
ever so calmly,
she reached out
& she tore 
the stars
apart.

a chorus of
mermaids
cried
out to her then,
'DON´T BE AFRAID 
TO SING.
BELT IT OUT.
YOUR VOICE
COULD SINK
SPACESHIPS.'

victoria

Gisela Ayala 

Amanda Lovelace graced us with her lovely way of describing some of the most horrible things that can happen to a person which leads to grace and healing. I really enjoy the flow of her poems and the way they are divided into sections. It's almost like reading a novel with a beginning, middle, and end. You want to get to the end because you want to know the ending. I appreciate the contributions from the other authors and poets, especially my favorite - Lang Leave. 

I do think that her first book will be my favorite and had a higher impact in my life. The book's title makes it sound like the poems will center around mermaids and the like (as in her previous books) but I barely got anything that had to do with mermaids. I would have enjoyed a bit more mermaid or sea imagery involved in the poems so that the third book could continue with the theme of the first two (princess and witches, respectively). 

Either way, if you liked her first two books, you will enjoy this one as well! Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with the ebook! <3

mighty dragon 

out of all three, this one is... happier. full of love.

Frida Kahlo

I appreciate the foreword written by Lang Leav and collaboration with other powerful poetry voices present in today's scene. These thoughtful additions helped my journey through this poetry collection reach three stars.

Sarahi Flores

In this poetry collection, I didn't feel much emotion towards what she was trying to set out with referencing to the little mermaid. I hope I don't sound callous or rude since this poetry is for the people who have dealt with some traumatic events in their lives. I find it inspiring to see that you can find some inspiring words if you are into mermaids. All I'm saying is, that some of her collection didn't speak to me as much as  her previous work has. I think she could have done better and some poems were way to short to be even called a poem. It's a pretty fast book, easy to read and some words can brighten up your mood. Sadly it wasn't the right book for me. I give this book 2.5 stars.

The repeated use of royalty-themed vocabulary feels overdone and might limit the emotional impact for some readers. Exploring a wider range of language and imagery could potentially strengthen the work.

Liana

illa

This book was... okay. Personally I liked the other two in this series better, though this book is still very powerful.

✨sunshine✨

“i wish i could be her friend,”
the girl whispers 
down into the 
tear-stained pages,
lovingly caressing 
the gold-dipped edges.
“no—i’d rather be her.”
- ariel.

chloe mcpherson

I have really enjoyed reading Amanda's collection of poems, this one deals with sexual assault which is why I rounded down my rating to 3 stars because I do not personally relate to majority of the poems, but you really get a feel for the author and the experiences she has gone through.
I more relate to the love and heartbreak poems, and ones that deal with the thoughts we may have about ourselves and learning to love ourselves.

I would recommend Amanda's collection of poems because I feel nearly every girl can relate somehow to the poems being told.

Caroline Lewicki

I'm so sad to see the "Women are Some Kind of Magic" series end but it did so beautifully. I loved this one just as much as the last two and it was really incredible to journey with the author as she found her voice.

Fiona Coffey

The third book in the collection and the second that I've read. Like "the witch doesn't burn in this one" it was a quick but powerful read. I have a hard time reading poetry sometimes, but these books completely captivated me. This one in particular spoke to me, and I love the author's formatting, it makes it really easy to read a few pages, set it down and come back to it later.

Juliette Raven 

I felt closer to this one than the last one thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jelke Lenaerts

I RECEIVED A GALLEY OF THIS THROUGH NETGALLEY
This book has trigger warnings for: child abuse, gun violence, intimate partner abuse, sexual assault, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, alcohol, trauma, death, violence and fire.

I would recommend this series of poetry to everyone. I just love these collections and I'm not a big fan of poetry. This collection felt very impactful and left me empowered. It was just great.

Анастасия Розова

“be
stronger
than the
villains.
be every
storybook
heroine
come to life.” 


The last book in Women Are Some Kind of Magic series. It's always hard for me to rate them, cause some poems seem just okay, some I LOVE. Mind you, I'm not rating Amanda's or anyone else's experience. Only the way some poems felt close to me.

Anyway, I'm glad I've finished the series and will be waiting for Amanda's next book for sure.

Gabriela Gutierrez 

Renee Delcourt

" Little Alice may have done a freefall through all of time &space, but that doesn't mean you have to jump off the bridge after her. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to let the past remain in the past. Darling, shhh--- it was never as pretty as you like to pretend it was. It's time you give your present a fair chance. After all, it's never once given up on you." This series of poems was absolutely beautiful. I really love how they together tell a story of trauma and healing that no matter what kid of trauma you've experienced you can relate to this healing process. Hands down loved this book.

Andreea Coșarcă

Mi-a plăcut, dar nu prea am înțeles-o. Cred că trebuie să recitesc toată seria cândva pentru a o înțelege mai bine, dar am avut unele locuri unde am relaționat cu scriitoarea și asta e bine. Cred că nu eram încă pregătită să citesc cartea, iar faptul că am citit-o într-un maraton nu a ajutat de loc.

Nikki Sojkowski

I liked this one a little less than books 1&2, though it was because I was surprised it was an anthology. That’s on me, I didn’t read the synopsis, I simply assumed it would be like the other books in this series. Amanda’s poetry was still evocative and powerful, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the guest poems.

the mermaid's voice returns in this one

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