Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

116 reviews

wormgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Drug use

maggie_hamel's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

SPOILERS!!!!! I really didn’t expect the ending but it made me more sad than intrigued. I felt so bad for the young Zoe who was taken advantage of. I also felt like they threw a lot of things in the end that I didn’t have time to process. But it was pretty good!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Stalking, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Blood, and Body horror

yulecogs's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Car accident, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, and Blood

ravenpuff's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Infertility, Pedophilia, Rape, and Toxic relationship

cammiem8's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

You can tell this guy read The Secret History and tried to rip it off while fundamentally misunderstanding what makes that book interesting. One of the most bullshit, out of nowhere twists I’ve read, and the women are so poorly written I’d not be surprised to find out the author has never met one in real life. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicide attempt and Infertility

rinku's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

 The idea behind The Maidens had so much potential but it wasn’t realized to its fullest. Hence, I only liked the general plot and story, and many moments in the course of the story were a bit flat and too cliché for my taste. 

The story follows Mariana; her husband has died and now her niece is the only left in her life. She visits her at her college after a friend of her niece has died where she tries to figure out who the murderer is. She becomes fixated on the Professor Fosca and the so-called maidens who he has gathered around him.  

In general, I found the story engaging and I was also guessing who the murderer could be. I especially enjoyed the references to different psychological and literary ideas. But there were some things I didn’t like too much: The story had some clichés, like the incompetent police, there was in some parts too much telling, and some moments didn’t feel as emotional as they were supposed to. 

The novel got so exciting when only a few chapters were left but the conclusion was just unsatisfying to me:

The plot twist that Sebastian was in love with Zoe and only married Mariana to be close to her was so disturbing, but I don’t know what to think about? Zoe being the killer was just … okay too, I guess, and I especially hated that Fred saved Mariana in the end

. 

I generally liked the setting and the writing style, which was easy and fast to read, especially with the short chapters. The characters were mostly okay but often a bit cliché as well. Mariana was an interesting main character, and her emotions were portrayed well but it annoyed me how naïve she was when it came to certain characters. I was also annoyed by the fact that almost every guy was into her.  

The Maidens was an average thriller that made me nevertheless interested in Michaelides other work because there were some references to The Silent Patient in this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug use and Bullying

sundayray's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Abortion, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Stalking

_carly_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual harassment

glutenfreemaggie's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Kept me guessing, but eh… The Silent Patient was way better.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Stalking, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Violence

jlfaith21's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I thought I had this book figured out but of course I didn’t. I couldn’t believe the ending. I enjoyed the ending but just wish the story leading up to it was a bit more detailed. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, and Drug use