A review by danrue
Artemis Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer

2.0

I’m rating this book 2.5 stars because I absolutely expected more from it and I was so disappointed. It completely lacked the depth, blood, and aggression of Aphrodite Made Me Do It and seemed to actually dull the hunter and make her seem less than. I hated how they focused in on one woman because Artemis is a polyamorous lesbian who lives in this purely female community where patriarchal rules of monogamy don’t exist. By focusing on one woman, they dulled this community. I wanted to see her build a community of bloody and feral women who bring these aspects of themselves into love and protection and growth instead of focusing on men as the enemy. I totally support toppling the patriarchy but women communities are just as important and Artemis was the embodiment of this space. Also, I cannot imagine Artemis being jealous of Apollo, she loved her life and they lead very different lives and she built that for herself, not asked it of others. The poet here put her life into Artemis’s, and not her true life, more her insecurities, and it dulled her as a goddess and entirely humanized her. I say this all as someone who has always admired Artemis and seen as her as independent of the patriarchy.