Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

115 reviews

kelisabeth's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Stalking, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Incest, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

4.5

Super enjoyed this one. I didn't expect the twist like at all, but I'm also garbage at trying to figure out mysteries. Mariana is a good unreliable narrator, and l liked seeing her growth by the end. The ending did feel a little rushed and not entirely tied up, but I liked the reveal of who the letter/journal writer was. I feel bad for all the girls in the book who are victims of death and manipulation. 
There are some heavy topics within so def check out content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Rape, and Toxic relationship

lgiunta's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Gore, and Toxic relationship

eimearo_c's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Body horror

Minor: Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Incest

Minor: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt

mheiling's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gore, Stalking, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Medical trauma, Infidelity, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Pedophilia, and Drug use

ambenicole418's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I’m pretty neutral on 90% of this book (it was just boring and lackluster to be honest), but I was hoping the book would redeem itself with a good ending and I could give it 4 stars. Unfortunately, I was sorely mistaken because I absolutely hated the ending. If we could all just stop using sexual exploitation, p*dophilia, and r*pe for shock value that would be great! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship

marisa_n's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When I finished the book, I initially had mixed feelings. I loved all the twists and turns. That said, I felt the characters were a little two-dimensional and unbelievable. Moreover, there were some plot holes and loose threads that were never tied up. That said, the more I think about it and read other reviews (especially the complaints) the more I realize the genius of this book. 

I loved the plot twist at the end, as I didn't suspect Zoey. I thought it was Henry or Fred for most of the book. That said, I was left feeling somewhat unsatisfied with the explanation, but was having trouble articulating why it didn't make sense. It wasn't until I started reading the negative reviews and all the plot holes that these astute readers were referring to that I realized the genius of this book:

all of the characters were unreliable narrators.

There was Mariana, who clearly had a blind spot when it came to recognizing the signs of toxic and/or dangerous people. From her brushing off the dangerous implications of a client stalking her. Her instance that her father was a good man, despite his neglecting her as a child. Her poor character judgment with her niece, despite others implying she was unlikeable. Her memories of Sebastian as a romantic, nurturing man, despite something nefarious happening behind the scenes. Her openness to pursuing something romantic with Fred in the end, despite his love bombing and over-stepping boundaries--which, as a therapist, she should have recognized as a red flag. Mariana clearly is a poor judge of character and has questionable judgment in general. 

Then there was Sebastian, who supposedly wrote the journal entries throughout the book. His journal entries were dark, and very unlike how Mariana described him. They also left unanswered questions. Did he kill his mother, or did she just leave and never come back? It's unclear, but it's suggested that he killed her and then rewrote the memory as a dream.

Then there is Zoe, whose "motive" includes details that are clearly at odds with Mariana's recollection of events. How could Sebastian have gotten with Mariana just to get to Zoe if he didn't meet the child until well into the relationship? How could he be in love with Zoe from the moment he saw her if she was just a young child when they met? Sure, he could have been a pedophile, but pedophiles tend to have a preferred age range, and he didn't sexually abuse Zoe until she was 15. Lastly, Zoe claims Sebastian strangled Mariana's father, but Mariana said he died of a heart attack--and what medical professional would mix up the two causes of death? Not to mention the weirdness with the Maidens / Fosca viewing Zoe as one of them, despite her saying she'd only joined them one time. Basically, nothing she said could be taken at face value. 

Therefore, this isn't so much of a "whodunit" so much as a web of unreliable narratives to untangle. It left me with so many questions. For starters, how much of Zoe's story about the affair (read: sexual abuse) and subsequent murder plot was real?

My interpretation was that Sebastian had a history of physical (maybe sexual?) abuse at the hands of his father. He likely murdered his mother as revenge for trying to abandon him. He grew up to be a dangerous man, repeating the cycle of abuse. Mariana was blinded by love and only saw what she wanted to see (a doting husband). Sebastian sexually abused Zoe, but it was probably opportunistic and did not start until she was older (13ish?). Zoe was a young girl who was groomed and abused by a father figure, and then created a narrative of forbidden love to make sense of the trauma. Sebastian fed into her delusions by swearing one day he would leave and/or kill Mariana so they could be together. When he died, Zoe wanted to kill Mariana, her mother figure, to get revenge for taking away Sebastian, but also for shattering her delusion of him. The Greek tragedy theme really plays in nicely here with reference to adult-minor relationships, abusive father figures, revenge, fate, sorrow, etc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Murder, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

tbell0211's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This is one of the worst books I’ve read in a really long time, but the weird thing about it is that you don’t know it’s horrible until you’ve finished it and are thinking back on plot holes and terrible development, like the graveyard sex and the pinecones. Disturbing grooming scenes added for shock value just undid any hope I had for it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Stalking, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Child abuse, and Blood

madisonfrank's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Mental illness, Murder, Medical content, Sexual content, Stalking, Violence, and Pedophilia