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dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As far as thrillers go, this was quite a fun and well done one. It was in no way groundbreaking, but I did enjoy it as a pallet cleaner.
I really enjoyed the Greek mythological elements of this as well as the dark academia setting, both of which added some extra depth to this tale. The twist was a little goofy but overall unexpected and fun, although I do think the author could have used secondary characters a bit more to add suspense.
Overall, it was fine; largely well-executed, engaging if not life-changing prose, and a reasonably entertaining plot. I’d recommend it for thriller beginners like me - more avid fans on the genre may be a little bored by it.
I really enjoyed the Greek mythological elements of this as well as the dark academia setting, both of which added some extra depth to this tale. The twist was a little goofy but overall unexpected and fun, although I do think the author could have used secondary characters a bit more to add suspense.
Overall, it was fine; largely well-executed, engaging if not life-changing prose, and a reasonably entertaining plot. I’d recommend it for thriller beginners like me - more avid fans on the genre may be a little bored by it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
um.. what was that ending..?
i actually feel kinda bad saying this, because the author himself mentioned that writing The Maidens (his second book) was different than writing The Silent Patient (his debut). unlike The Maidens, Alex Michaelides had no audience to please and expectation to meet for TSP. and i completely understand that. so just to be clear, my review is objectively on The Maidens on its own (as much as i could) and not comparative to his debut.
The Maidens follows Mariana, a group therapist, with a grief of her own that she carries with her, who is set to unravel the mystery behind the tragic death of a close friend of Mariana’s beloved niece, Zoe. as the murder took place in Cambridge, and Mariana herself being Cambridge alumni, she is fixated in discovering the truth behind the mystery, especially when Zoe seems to know who the killer is.
firstly, the thought-provoking discussions about family institutions are my favourite one. it’s eye-opening, how an environment as small as, and as early as a family instutition and upbringing could impact and pave the way of one’s decisions and life. i’ve always enjoyed this kind of discussion in book.
i’m also a fan of alex michaelides’s writing; the way he approaches a situation or expresses an emotion allows me to get a grasp on the topics, often he does it in a beautiful and reflective way.
honestly, the pace for The Maidens was painfully slow. but considering that it’s a psychological thriller—in which authors usually had to instil the necessary emotions in the readers’ mind from the very beginning—i still gave it a go and continued.
the plot was a bit messy here and there, so i was expecting the ending to be a conclusion that oh, everything makes sense now, but it wasn’t what i expected.
it’s as if the plot twist moved entirely away from the whole plot of the book..? like if you take only the beginning and the ending and put them in any other thriller books where a dead body was found, you could literally get the same outcome. i understand how the author might’ve intended it to be like a red herring kind of twist, but the supposed twist in this book doesn’t really do it for me. it feels as though it’s disconnected from the whole plot of the book.
not to mention that i also think this book could’ve been shorter in a way. nonetheless, a part of me feels like it was the execution of the ending that didn’t go well; that if the same concept was to be executed in a different way, it might’ve worked out better.
some scenes that didn’t sit right with me are when Mariana waskissed by Fosca and Fred, both without her consent, yes it angered her at the moment but apparently she just brushed it off and continued meeting them for the plot as if nothing ever happened , and nothing was addressed about the issue.
you might enjoy The Maidens if you love Greek mythology. you don’t need to have prior knowledge about it (i didn’t at all and it’s still fine) but i guess you might enjoy it better if you did know some of the Greek mythology in the book.
p/s: i love reading thecameo from TSP , which honestly.. the author GOT me there!! i spent an additional time reading because i was flipping over the pages of my TSP copy ahahaha because i was 80% convinced that the characters from these two books could possibly be related? i was wrong though, but this didn’t affect my review or rating on this book, i just think that’s interesting to see some character crossover.
i actually feel kinda bad saying this, because the author himself mentioned that writing The Maidens (his second book) was different than writing The Silent Patient (his debut). unlike The Maidens, Alex Michaelides had no audience to please and expectation to meet for TSP. and i completely understand that. so just to be clear, my review is objectively on The Maidens on its own (as much as i could) and not comparative to his debut.
The Maidens follows Mariana, a group therapist, with a grief of her own that she carries with her, who is set to unravel the mystery behind the tragic death of a close friend of Mariana’s beloved niece, Zoe. as the murder took place in Cambridge, and Mariana herself being Cambridge alumni, she is fixated in discovering the truth behind the mystery, especially when Zoe seems to know who the killer is.
firstly, the thought-provoking discussions about family institutions are my favourite one. it’s eye-opening, how an environment as small as, and as early as a family instutition and upbringing could impact and pave the way of one’s decisions and life. i’ve always enjoyed this kind of discussion in book.
i’m also a fan of alex michaelides’s writing; the way he approaches a situation or expresses an emotion allows me to get a grasp on the topics, often he does it in a beautiful and reflective way.
honestly, the pace for The Maidens was painfully slow. but considering that it’s a psychological thriller—in which authors usually had to instil the necessary emotions in the readers’ mind from the very beginning—i still gave it a go and continued.
the plot was a bit messy here and there, so i was expecting the ending to be a conclusion that oh, everything makes sense now, but it wasn’t what i expected.
it’s as if the plot twist moved entirely away from the whole plot of the book..? like if you take only the beginning and the ending and put them in any other thriller books where a dead body was found, you could literally get the same outcome. i understand how the author might’ve intended it to be like a red herring kind of twist, but the supposed twist in this book doesn’t really do it for me. it feels as though it’s disconnected from the whole plot of the book.
not to mention that i also think this book could’ve been shorter in a way. nonetheless, a part of me feels like it was the execution of the ending that didn’t go well; that if the same concept was to be executed in a different way, it might’ve worked out better.
some scenes that didn’t sit right with me are when Mariana was
you might enjoy The Maidens if you love Greek mythology. you don’t need to have prior knowledge about it (i didn’t at all and it’s still fine) but i guess you might enjoy it better if you did know some of the Greek mythology in the book.
p/s: i love reading the
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I don’t tend towards this genre and I didn’t love the writing style in general, but the plot really kept me going with this one. Once the world building was done I was really drawn into it and couldn’t put it down… I had to know what happens next. The setting at Cambridge and all the Greek tragedy references gave it a kind of dark academia vibe which I really like. Biggest reason for stars off was just the style of writing which wasn’t bad, just not for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide attempt
dark
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Sexual content
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
dark
mysterious
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
The Maidens follows a very human character — Mariana struggles deeply with many losses and subsequent grief, as well as a complicated relationship with her father. Michaelides’ ability to pull the reader into the paranoia of the protagonist is admirable, as is his knowledge of psychotherapy and Greek tragedy. However, I find his analysis of psychotherapy quite Freudian, specifically that many of the psychologist characters encourage Mariana to look at how her relationship with her father affects her life now. While this can be a helpful theory, people are more complicated, and I found myself wishing he went into the feelings of grief associated with loss rather than transference. The novel centres around a group therapist who — while each therapist practices differently — I found it odd that the group therapy scene later in the book centred more around Mariana and her own thoughts rather than the clients.
Michaelides also does a phenomenal job with red herrings, though I did suspect and correctly guess (half of) the ending. However, he managed to fool me and convince me it was someone else before the reveal. Again, Mariana’s paranoia bleeds into the reader as they try to figure out whodunnit. Perhaps that is the reason for all of the suspicious and seemingly unnecessary characters - to encourage the reader to fall into a similar sense of paranoia that Mariana experiences.
I do wish we were given a greater explanation or depth into the Maidens and this academia-based cult of young women; it did not feel as fleshed out as it could’ve been and served mostly as part of the red herring. I also would have loved a greater resolution with most of the characters in the end, as the end feels abrupt and unfinished after the reveal (ie the epilogue).
Overall, it was certainly a page turner.
Michaelides also does a phenomenal job with red herrings, though I did suspect and correctly guess (half of) the ending. However, he managed to fool me and convince me it was someone else before the reveal. Again, Mariana’s paranoia bleeds into the reader as they try to figure out whodunnit. Perhaps that is the reason for all of the suspicious and seemingly unnecessary characters - to encourage the reader to fall into a similar sense of paranoia that Mariana experiences.
I do wish we were given a greater explanation or depth into the Maidens and this academia-based cult of young women; it did not feel as fleshed out as it could’ve been and served mostly as part of the red herring. I also would have loved a greater resolution with most of the characters in the end, as the end feels abrupt and unfinished after the reveal (ie the epilogue).
Overall, it was certainly a page turner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment
Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infertility, Sexual content, Death of parent
It is a disturbing read at times, with many explicit descriptions of death and post-mortem bodies as well as the grooming relationship between Sebastian and Zoe
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Stalking