687 reviews for:

The Maiden

Kate Foster

3.9 AVERAGE

chaoticmissadventures's review against another edition

3.5

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I think my hopes were too high due to this being on the Women's Prize Long List.  If I had read this with no expectations I would have enjoyed it much more.  I liked how the stories were woven together, there is a gentle unfolding of who each of the characters are, and what exactly happened.  The book is a bit edgy for a literary historical fiction - a bit of sexual deviancy that keeps things interesting. 
Overall I do feel like I have read this book before.  Not this exact story, but it feels so similar.  One of the WP tenants is originality, so I always expect the books to be exceptionally written and containing something new.  This didn't fullfill that.  
Overall this is a good book.  I found it easy to read, easy to follow - even with multiple POVs and a moving timeline - but I was not blown away as I had hoped to be.  

ellen_forkin's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

tinkerbellle23's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

naomi2012's review

4.25

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ireitlitam's review against another edition

4.0

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

clairereeds's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

eleanorryd's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

hannahmarieereads's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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An enjoyable, if forgettable story. It could have been 50-100 pages shorter (could have even maybe been a novella/short story) and been just as, if not more effective. 

loveyourlibraries's review against another edition

3.25

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

acallista27's review against another edition

3.5

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes