Reviews

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

kristianawithak's review against another edition

2.0

Sophomore novels are tough, especially when your first novel is a runaway hit.
The premise has a lot going for it: Cambridge, murder, a mysterious society, a charismatic professor, Greek mythology! All the elements are there, but I wasn’t captivated.

Widowed Mariana is drawn back to Cambridge, when a college student is found murdered. Cambridge holds the memories of her courtship to her husband and the mystery of the murdered student. She races to find answers before more lives are lost.

I might be growing out of dark academia. I didn’t find anything new and insightful in it. The nod to Michaelides’s first novel was interesting, but was not elaborated on.

The audio book has two narrators, both do a wonderful job, the male narrator’s voice is creepy and great!
Thanks to netgalley for the audio book, it is very well produced.

justtoday98's review against another edition

4.0

Three phases to describe this book:
Sometimes the answer is right in front of you
Ritualistic
The dark truth

ane_91's review against another edition

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

The daddy issues were strong in this one.

ellaneuman's review against another edition

4.0

It was great! The Rex scene had me actually devastated though. Being acquainted with the Greek myths in the plot (Iphigenia at Aulis) was such an a-ha moment. Really loved the references in this book. Everyone told me the Silent Patient was better so maybe at some point I'll read that one.

tnfrances's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

1.5

Ughhhhhh

egnoodles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.25

pr1496's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

2.0

mulan1993's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Lots of red herrings. Surprise ending. Build up of character was interesting and enjoyed the different narrative voices and perspectives

jverne03457's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

3.0

anikaivanna's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This is the second novel of Alex Michaelides I have read and I was expecting a lot of twists. The author did not let me down. I finished this book in 3 days, almost the same with The Silent Patient.
This 2nd novel has a lot of references to Greece - Greek gods and writings.

Almost did not let me sleep on the 2nd day of readjng. The author writes suspense very well.
Looking forward to The Fury.