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dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
⭐️⭐️/5
“It’s important to keep looking ahead. You mustn’t forever look back, over your shoulder. Think about the future.”
Y’all this book was WEIRD, and not in the good way. In the creepy, inappropriate way.
This book was slow at first and then it picked up in the middle, which doesn’t surprise me because I felt the same exact way with his previous novel, The Silent Patient. I will say, however, that it was clever how he connected the two books in a very minor and subtle way. Gold star for creativity!
There were so many times I put this down and found 793 other things to do besides read it because I was bored. But I HAD to know how it ended and I was disappointed.
I honestly don’t think I liked a single character. At. All. They all sucked. Also, it annoyed me that all these men suddenly are flocking to our main character. I always felt like there were characters introduced who didn’t need to be, and were kind of pointless. I did like the Greek mythology theme though, the author did a great job with that and it wasn’t too overwhelming.
So many people RAVED about this book and loved it, so I was intrigued. Unfortunately, this being my second novel of his, I don’t think Alex Michaelides is the author for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder
Minor: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
300 pages of filler only for the book to climax and end in the last 20. The ending of this book left me feeling disgusted and betrayed by the author. Setting was cool, dark academia vibes and stuff but again the ending just really pissed me off. Also, Marianna, the main character is literally the most dumb, daft and clueless character I’ve read. This author truly had no idea how to write a woman dealing with creepy men.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
No
One of the best thrillers I've ever read. Twist was incredible and not predictable at all. I thought I had it solved so many times, but I was way off, which just goes to show how great the twists are.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Mariana, a grieving widow and talented group therapist with a bit of stalker patient, is called one night to help her niece Zoe in Cambridge when her best friend disappears after saying she was afraid her teacher, Fosca, and The Maidens group leader, that she’s a part off, would kill her.
Mariana goes to the rescue and once the body of Zoe’s friend is found stabbed to death she immediately sees the threat and attraction Fosca exudes and after what the murdered girl said to Zoe, he seems the only likely culprit to her.
The whole vibe of the book is amazing, it’s atmospheric, the history and setting of Cambridge really leaps from the pages, the pace and whole Greek tragedy vibe and dark academy aura puled me in and made me doubt everyone including the boy Mariana meets on the train to Cambridge, who ends up becoming her ally of sorts when she decides to stay to help comfort her niece and investigate Fosca. Still, his mysterious and prophetic dialogues put me on edge. Who is he really?
I can say I wasn’t expecting that ending at all, that’s something I do love in thrillers, not to be able to guess the murderer, if I can than I rarely rate them high.
This was pretty good, but I felt the misdirections a bit forced sometimes and the characters somewhat one dimensional.
Still, super entertaining and hard to put down.
Mariana goes to the rescue and once the body of Zoe’s friend is found stabbed to death she immediately sees the threat and attraction Fosca exudes and after what the murdered girl said to Zoe, he seems the only likely culprit to her.
The whole vibe of the book is amazing, it’s atmospheric, the history and setting of Cambridge really leaps from the pages, the pace and whole Greek tragedy vibe and dark academy aura puled me in and made me doubt everyone including the boy Mariana meets on the train to Cambridge, who ends up becoming her ally of sorts when she decides to stay to help comfort her niece and investigate Fosca. Still, his mysterious and prophetic dialogues put me on edge. Who is he really?
I can say I wasn’t expecting that ending at all, that’s something I do love in thrillers, not to be able to guess the murderer, if I can than I rarely rate them high.
This was pretty good, but I felt the misdirections a bit forced sometimes and the characters somewhat one dimensional.
Still, super entertaining and hard to put down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Blood, Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia
Grooming
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I *STILL* need to read The Silent Patient, but I was glad my local bookclub chose The Maidens so I could try something by Alex Michaelides.
I listened to this book on a quick Father’s Day trip to the lake to see my dad and I enjoyed the audio. The British narrator and occasional voice by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith was so well done, and maybe even made the story better for me.
I loved mythology in junior high but I haven’t really kept it up until recently. I love the refresher courses in fiction books; this one, Persephone (also featured in Every Summer After, which I was reading at the same time, and loved that connection).
Mariana Andros gets a call from her niece Zoe, that there has been a murder on her campus. Mariana is a group therapist who lost her husband years before, but she has never healed. She also has difficult connections to her own father. She goes back to Cambridge to “help” the investigation and zeros in on a teacher named Edward Fosca, who has a group of wealthy female students, called The Maidens (one of whom was the girl who was murdered).
I did think there were red herrings that were too much of a focus, and we never got to know other important people… but it was a great listen on my trip (and maybe it’s good I haven’t read The Silent Patient yet).
Quotes —
“Not for the first time, Mariana’s empathy prevailed over her common sense.” Ch 5
“The temple was dedicated to Demeter, goddess of the harvest, goddess of life, and to her daughter Persephone, goddess of death. The two goddesses were often worshiped together; two sides of the same coin, mother and daughter; life and death. In Greek, Persephone was known simply as Kore, meaning Maiden.” Ch 11
“Mariana knew the best approach was simply to be present and patient and let Zoey unburden herself in her own time.” ch 14
“My argument with so much of psychoanalysis, is the preconception that suffering is a mistake, or a sign of weakness, or a sign even of illness, when in fact, possibly the greatest truths we know have come out of people's suffering.” Arthur Miller, part 2
“A noble maiden must be sacrificed to the daughter of Demeter, to Persephone.” Track 29
“Being here, in this lovely restaurant, drinking champagne, it allowed them to pretend for a while, to escape the murder and the unpleasantness, and to exist happily in a little bubble of the present moment.” Track 30
“This is what those old Greek plays are about. What it means to be human. What it means to be alive…If you're not aware of the transcendent, if you're not awake to the glorious mystery of life and death that you're lucky enough to be part of—if that doesn't fill you with joy and strike you with awe … you might as well not be alive.” Track 32
“…the way she sat there reminded Mariana of a little perching bird watching everything but saying nothing.” Track 34
I listened to this book on a quick Father’s Day trip to the lake to see my dad and I enjoyed the audio. The British narrator and occasional voice by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith was so well done, and maybe even made the story better for me.
I loved mythology in junior high but I haven’t really kept it up until recently. I love the refresher courses in fiction books; this one, Persephone (also featured in Every Summer After, which I was reading at the same time, and loved that connection).
Mariana Andros gets a call from her niece Zoe, that there has been a murder on her campus. Mariana is a group therapist who lost her husband years before, but she has never healed. She also has difficult connections to her own father. She goes back to Cambridge to “help” the investigation and zeros in on a teacher named Edward Fosca, who has a group of wealthy female students, called The Maidens (one of whom was the girl who was murdered).
I did think there were red herrings that were too much of a focus, and we never got to know other important people… but it was a great listen on my trip (and maybe it’s good I haven’t read The Silent Patient yet).
Quotes —
“Not for the first time, Mariana’s empathy prevailed over her common sense.” Ch 5
“The temple was dedicated to Demeter, goddess of the harvest, goddess of life, and to her daughter Persephone, goddess of death. The two goddesses were often worshiped together; two sides of the same coin, mother and daughter; life and death. In Greek, Persephone was known simply as Kore, meaning Maiden.” Ch 11
“Mariana knew the best approach was simply to be present and patient and let Zoey unburden herself in her own time.” ch 14
“My argument with so much of psychoanalysis, is the preconception that suffering is a mistake, or a sign of weakness, or a sign even of illness, when in fact, possibly the greatest truths we know have come out of people's suffering.” Arthur Miller, part 2
“A noble maiden must be sacrificed to the daughter of Demeter, to Persephone.” Track 29
“Being here, in this lovely restaurant, drinking champagne, it allowed them to pretend for a while, to escape the murder and the unpleasantness, and to exist happily in a little bubble of the present moment.” Track 30
“This is what those old Greek plays are about. What it means to be human. What it means to be alive…If you're not aware of the transcendent, if you're not awake to the glorious mystery of life and death that you're lucky enough to be part of—if that doesn't fill you with joy and strike you with awe … you might as well not be alive.” Track 32
“…the way she sat there reminded Mariana of a little perching bird watching everything but saying nothing.” Track 34
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Drug use
dark
mysterious
slow-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
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: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity
Minor: Infertility, Suicide attempt
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Pedophilia, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
Minor: Bullying, Drug use
dark
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
A book that was enjoyable as I was reading it mainly because I was always convinced it was right about to get good. And because it actually held my interest the whole time, I can’t claim to outright hate it…
…but it does get worse and worse in my memory. Truly a cockamamie plot and not in a good way. This book is a mess and I don’t recommend it, especially if, like me, you were hoping for something to scratch that Secret History itch.
…but it does get worse and worse in my memory. Truly a cockamamie plot and not in a good way. This book is a mess and I don’t recommend it, especially if, like me, you were hoping for something to scratch that Secret History itch.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Grief
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Stalking