Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

26 reviews

gummifrog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

I loved The Silent Patient, so I was excited to give this book a try. Although this one has a different approach to similar ideas, I felt it hit very hard at the climax and was equally exciting and twisty! 

The author is a master of misdirection, using literary analysis and psychological expertise to guide your thoughts in a specific direction. Although I guessed the killer about halfway in, the motive was so shocking that I yelled "WHAT?!" in my car, because it was SO much more fucked up than I had expected! But in thinking back, there were tons of clues. That's the best kind of mystery, truly. 

I felt the protagonist was particularly lovable in this one, if a bit unhinged and overly determined to be right when everyone is telling her she's blinded by her stubbornness. I really felt for her and I hope to see more of her in his work in the future. The little cameos from The Silent Patient were very welcomed in this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Police brutality, Animal death, Bullying, Alcohol, and Suicide attempt

kelisabeth's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Stalking, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Incest, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

madisonfrank's review against another edition

challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Mental illness, Murder, Medical content, Sexual content, Stalking, Violence, and Pedophilia

feebles640'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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, and Drug use

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.75

this was a fun mystery/triller. i’ve noticed with Alex Michaelides writing starts off incredibly slow for the first part of the novel and picks up in the last 50-100 pages. i loved the greek mythology in this but wished to see just a bit more. i wasn’t a fan of the reveal either which definitely knocks this down quite a few stars. i personally preferred The Silent Patient. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Murder, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

nicoleherz's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

An engaging mystery that kept my attention. So many questions I wanted answers to, and written well, in a way that was easy to fly through.
I was constantly speculating who the murderer(s) might be, and what twist the author would throw in.

I had considered the possibility it was Zoe, but never would have guessed that Sebastian had anything to do with it. It made it a great twist, but I'm not sure if it aligns well with all the clues given earlier. There definitely could have been more details given to make it more plausible.

I also found the epilogue to give me more answers than questions. Oh well, still a great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Abandonment, Murder, Blood, Death, Grief, and Self harm

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Stalking, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Bullying, and Death of parent

yulecogs's review

dark 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? It's complicated

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Car accident, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, and Blood

rinku's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

 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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug use and Bullying

jlfaith21's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I thought I had this book figured out but of course I didn’t. I couldn’t believe the ending. I enjoyed the ending but just wish the story leading up to it was a bit more detailed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, and Drug use

jessiebertram's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Alcohol, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis