Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

دوشیزگان by Alex Michaelides

380 reviews

dark mysterious tense 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: Yes

I'm 0 for 2 on thrillers featuring psychologists or therapists. Mariana was annoying, made dumb decisions, and spouts psych info like a textbook. She breaches so many ethical boundaries as a therapist, ones that she should know better. She came across as too clinical. The idea of a dark academia thriller using Greek tragedies to help tell their story is a great idea, but not used enough here. Again, Mariana was too distant from the action, and very focused on her own grief than the shit going on around her. The red herrings were obvious, because they're all the same type of guy that all stalk her. The twist was not great, not many clues towards that end, and it ends so suddenly after the reveal. I feel like if the story was told by one of the students, one of the Maidens even, it would be more interesting.

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dark mysterious 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

I went into this (audio)book (from Libro.fm's ALC Program) with very low expectations and I guess that helped because I ended up really enjoying it.

I know there are some plot holes, some incredibly unappetising realities to it, some things that were predictable, etc., but I stayed intrigued and guessing (at least some parts) the whole way so that wins a lot of points in my book!

Also, I'm a sucker for a campus setting, especially one incredibly closely related to my own university experience!

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

A dark academia murder mystery... Revenge and vendettas, childhood  abuse back stories..Very dark.

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

review soon

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I finished this book in a day and a half. It was impossible to put down. I haven’t read his other book — I find it interesting that most of the negative reviews simply say that this one isn’t as good as The Silent Patient (makes me wonder how great that one is if I loved this one so much) — but I’m happy I read this one first because there’s a subtle connection between the two.

I actually suspected the right person early on (ultimately for the wrong reason), but mostly dismissed it because of a very powerful red herring (even though I at one point suspected the red herring as being such). I would say the true ending would be very difficult if not impossible to guess the first time through; I almost want to re-read it again now that I know how it ends.

The audiobook was fascinating to listen to; they used a different voice actor for the alternate perspective.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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