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Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

دوشیزگان by Alex Michaelides

511 reviews

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

After reading and loving the silent patient I saw this and had to grab it. Great read!! Suspenseful, thrilling, twisty and the characters are well developed but creepy. Great plot and very well written, so well I had the feeling I was being watched myself and had to look to check. Unpredictable and dark, I was in shock with the twists right up until the last end page. I do wish the ending was longer, felt it was a little rushed. Couple of references to the silent patient too which I thought was clever. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense medium-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: No

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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow... Alex Michaelides has done it again. Left me completely confused and grasping at straws and then wanting to throw the book across the room when the twist inevitably reveals itself. I actually DID throw The Silent Patient across the room and proceeded to pace around my bedroom for 10 minutes before I could continue reading... but with this one, I was on a packed train and had to keep my total shock and 'omfg' moment to myself but oh BOY I was floored.

I read The Silent Patient a few years ago and I have never been able to find a mystery/thriller that got me the way that book did. Other books came close, but nothing surprised me like that twist. I read The Fury by Michaelides back in March I think, searching for that same WTF moment, but it did not impress... in fact, it fell so flat and horrible and so I thought that Michaelides was just a one hit wonder and didn't rush to grab this one. I came across it at the library over the summer and figured I'd give it a shot... I put it off for a few months and finally picked it up for spooky szn since it's dark academia and all that, and I read it in just a little over 24 hours. It FLOORED ME. 

I liked all the characters. I was suspicious of everyone, feeling tense and putting my head in my hands very often. I was convinced certain people were the killer, but nothing compared to the truth. I had some inklings that the murderer was indeed the murderer, or at least an accomplice in some way, but... even my thoughts did not come close to what was actually going on.

I saw some people online say that the book was pretentious, but I never felt that way. I loved the whole Cambridge scenery and the nods to Ancient Greece and Greek mythology. It was perfect for cozy autumn reading which is exactly what I was looking for (if you consider murder/thrillers to be cozy like I do!). Other people said it was boring and drawn out, and I could not disagree more. I thought the writing was so smooth and it flowed so well, it was such a page turner and it left me wanting more after every single chapter. There was never a moment where I was bored or felt like a scene could've been cut out, especially knowing what I know now. I especially loved the random journal entries thrown in, giving a look into the murderer's mind. I get goosebumps looking back at them now and knowing... fuck, this book was SO GOOD!

There are some dark and heavy topics covered in this book and I would suggest reading the TWs before going in. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional 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: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

um unpredictable per ushe, i think im 0/3 on predicting the end of his books, but this one was particularly haunting, for reasons that may trigger people. it also tackles the idea in a much harsher way, that people who do bad things are always a result of bad things being done to them, but people who have bad things happen to them, don’t always end up doing bad things as a result. incredibly challenging by the end. also, the whole time i was reading, i couldn’t help but think this took inspiration from a secret history by donna tartt.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings