Reviews tagging 'Violence'

As Musas by Alex Michaelides

258 reviews

nehaanna's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I’m not entirely sure what this book accomplishes. It has the twists and turns of any murder mystery but the character development of the female characters is reprehensible. They are written through such a paternalistic and chauvinist viewpoint that it is overpowering to the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Blood, Bullying, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Rape, Gore, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol

raynie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, and Animal death

ttnnllrr's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I read somewhere that Michaelides meant for this book to be a beach read and for that, this book fulfilled its purpose very well. It was an easy, quick read that held my interest. That being said, I enjoyed The Silent Patient much more in terms of true mystery and thrill.

Maybe it’s just me but Mariana frustrated me to no end, she was really invested and truly hysterical about the whole thing (while it was annoying I understand the motivation for this, seeing as her husband had recently passed and somehow the entire situation was bringing back memories of her father) to the point where she used her job as a licensed therapist to interfere with an ongoing investigation and point fingers very publicly at a man with zero evidence to back it up. And in the end, she was not at all reprimanded for this…

Besides this, I found the subplot with Henry to be somewhat unnecessary, maybe it was written in to be another reason for Mariana to ultimately become unhinged towards the end, but it seemed like it had no place in the story, it was like I almost forgot about him until he was brought up again.

All in all, I enjoyed the twist ending, it was not at all what I was expecting (maybe I’m just not smart enough to see them, but I don’t believe the reader was given enough clues in order to be expecting that). I truly had myself convinced that it was Fred because he was just a bit too creepy for me. I guess he’s not a killer, just an uncomfortably forward guy…

I was absolutely shocked (and disgusted) when I realized it was Zoe and Sebastian. I hate that he groomed her and that she was manipulated so far into actually killing people… (also don’t love that Mariana refuses to acknowledge that, while Zoe murdered people and tried to kill her, she had been manipulated, taken advantage of, and abused for about five years by a father figure who was planning to kill multiple people in order to ‘be with her’) 
I didn’t think we knew enough about Sebastian’s upbringing to relate the parts of the letter to him, however I did think Zoe was annoying and unnecessarily rude and aloof about everything at the beginning when she was getting mad at Mariana for wanting to leave. It was also very suspicious hearing her complain that the male students are her school were ‘boys’, which I thought at the time meant she was seeing Fosca…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Stalking, Self harm, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship

missgrangerr's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A little predictable however that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. I like the reference to Silent Patient and would hope he continues to give backstories like this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse

agavette's review against another edition

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Stalking

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Violence, Death, and Grief

arbramirez's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Murder, Death, Gaslighting, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty

willow296's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

Minor: Sexual content

aine_murrayx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

siennaflynn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Bullying, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Rape, and Self harm

aitnyre0714's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I loved  Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, and somewhat expected a similar novel. However, I was slightly disappointed. Silent Patient is centered around psychoanalysis and trauma responses with death, violence, and mystery on the back burner. However, within this novel, murder, and death were the primary drivers, with some psychology secondarily. Overall, I liked the veil and academic feel of the novel but found myself confused and somewhat bored throughout the book. However, I loved the turn at the end when

Zoe and Mariana's deceased husband, Sebastian, became the masterminds. Additionally, I loved the glimpses from Sebastian's diary. My final spoiler is that I enjoyed the connection to Theo Faber within this book and how we could see the setup for Silent Patient

. Ultimately, I am glad I indulged in this novel, but it has solidified my opinion that Silent Patient is a masterpiece. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Stalking, and Child abuse