Reviews with content warning for Infertility - The Maidens

I went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars. Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed The Silent Patient. It was, in my opinion, an excellent debut novel. I had such high hopes for this one but it was just not it.

The story is pretty fast paced which I like, and it started off so promising. Mariana wasn’t my favorite, but eventually I got used to her. The part that really bugged me is that the culprit was given away pretty early on and I was like “what the? That can’t be right.” It seemed so odd to make the culprit so obvious so early in the story. I kept reading to see how everything went down and not only was I right in my assumption, but the way the story ended was completely pulled out of thin air. The ending was insane in a bad way and super rushed.

I will definitely be reading more of his books, but this one just really fell flat for me. I settled on 3 stars because it was a page turner, and I don’t regret reading it.

Content Warnings

ravenpuff's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

cammiem8's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious slow-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

1.0

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

_carly_'s review

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad medium-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

3.0

Content Warnings

erinhanso's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

jessiebertram's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense

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

3.0

Content Warnings

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional 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

4.0

Sometimes I just need a psychological thriller with an atmosphere that is tense and anticipatory with a side of dark academia. Aka this exact book. A serial killer with a fondness for Ancient Greek plays and a cult of personality surrounding a literature professor set the stage for the story.

Mariana is our protagonist, a group therapist that I found to be unreliable but empathetic as narrator, a winning combination in the genre. I personally appreciated her healthy dose of suspicion and was intrigued by the way she interacted with others through a therapist's lens, interpreting behaviors and motivations. Did I doubt every person she interacted with, including her? YES of course I did. So naturally, I was partially correct at the end while also being wildly not correct, which I enjoyed immensely. I appreciate the author for his sleight of hand and the way he manages what I notice as a reader to lead me astray.

The last 10% of the book was a wild ride. At first, I was irritated at where I thought the big reveal was headed and started to adjust my expectations for the finale and the book as a whole (thrillers more than any other genre hinge on the ending for me in terms of how I feel towards it). Luckily, I was being tricked ~again~ and a quick shift left me surprised and much more satisfied.

I was impressed by the range of the audiobook narrator with sinister interludes from the serial killer's perspective from a different voice actor. I liked the way this obscured his identity by separating the main performance from the way his writings were read, i.e. I wasn't able to match voices to guess who he is.

Finally, I loved the unexpected The Silent Patient tie-in, a brief easter egg that was clever and enjoyable while remaining subtle enough to not detract from the reading experience if you aren't familiar with the author's other book.

Content Warnings

More...