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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
4/5 ★
Okay wow, that was a good ending... it almost reminded me of The Woman in the Window! I wasn't expecting all that the last chapter reveals.. and honestly I still have a few more questions! I almost hope that there's a novella written (I know it won't happen) to give me some closure! Some of these characters really deserved better. Below I will discuss why I knocked off one star -- caution!
*Spoilers Ahead*
the main reason I canNOT give this a five star rating is because Fred's character was a cop-out. everything pointed back and forth between him and fosca, and so many times I was like... no it's fred.... no it's edward....... and then when fred talked about what he was writing, and his mother? I was convinced it was fred but confused as to why. zoe can make a logical killer, but the piece about her and sebastian really threw me off. again, I don't know if I would call this lazy writing, but fred calling mariana saying he had a premonition and then having the letter that sebastian wrote to zoe including something about a premonition pointed too much to fred imo. in many ways I feel so bad for mariana, but at the same time I'm like -- how do you not notice that your husband is assaulting your niece and killed your father? and is planning to kill you too???
on that note--I'm so happy that sebastian died. I really think that when mariana asked for demeter to bless her with a child, the goddess really did strike sebastian. she was protecting mariana, even though for a year she had believed she was being punished.
overall, I loved the greek mythology and symbolism throughout the book. the mythology aspect never felt too cheesy for me, and I'm really glad that fosca wasn't the killer, but it would've only made sense if he was. but maybe that's "too predictable".
Okay wow, that was a good ending... it almost reminded me of The Woman in the Window! I wasn't expecting all that the last chapter reveals.. and honestly I still have a few more questions! I almost hope that there's a novella written (I know it won't happen) to give me some closure! Some of these characters really deserved better. Below I will discuss why I knocked off one star -- caution!
*Spoilers Ahead*
the main reason I canNOT give this a five star rating is because Fred's character was a cop-out. everything pointed back and forth between him and fosca, and so many times I was like... no it's fred.... no it's edward....... and then when fred talked about what he was writing, and his mother? I was convinced it was fred but confused as to why. zoe can make a logical killer, but the piece about her and sebastian really threw me off. again, I don't know if I would call this lazy writing, but fred calling mariana saying he had a premonition and then having the letter that sebastian wrote to zoe including something about a premonition pointed too much to fred imo. in many ways I feel so bad for mariana, but at the same time I'm like -- how do you not notice that your husband is assaulting your niece and killed your father? and is planning to kill you too???
on that note--I'm so happy that sebastian died. I really think that when mariana asked for demeter to bless her with a child, the goddess really did strike sebastian. she was protecting mariana, even though for a year she had believed she was being punished.
overall, I loved the greek mythology and symbolism throughout the book. the mythology aspect never felt too cheesy for me, and I'm really glad that fosca wasn't the killer, but it would've only made sense if he was. but maybe that's "too predictable".
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Chhhiiiiillleeee yes!! Alex Michaelides writes hooks that grip you by spirit and drag you through the pages. The Maidens is a wonderful crafted maze of mystery. With an ending I DID NOT SEE COMING! Alex Michaelides weaves stories that Makes you feel every one is guilty and everyone is a suspect. I throughly enjoyed the Greek literary references. Loved it! Could not put it down!
dark
A true master of his craft.
Greek mythology, history, poetry, phycology and a murder case. It can't get better than this.
Some parts didn't feel like just words, it felt like a boxing match and you'll find ght with them because they'll trigger something in you... some parts that we tend to just hide.
This is just genius.
This touch that he added and that has a reference to the "Silent Patient" book was just chef's kiss. This little detail made my jaw drop.
From the beginning of the book their was a plot twist and a path that I hoped that the writer would go for but he didn't he shocked me with his take on the story.
I have to say though I have this person on my suspect list ...but I didn't expect it because of the small hidden messages that was referring to two completely different people.
At some point in the book you'd feel that you're either going too close to the killer or you're just going nuts.
The plot twist was so shocking that I was actually holding my head during reading it because I couldn't believe what was happening. The book made me so speechless for a while after. I kept cussing during reading the last few pages because my brain couldn't comprehend what was happening.
This is just too perfect.
The power this writer holds.....
Greek mythology, history, poetry, phycology and a murder case. It can't get better than this.
Some parts didn't feel like just words, it felt like a boxing match and you'll find ght with them because they'll trigger something in you... some parts that we tend to just hide.
This is just genius.
This touch that he added and that has a reference to the "Silent Patient" book was just chef's kiss. This little detail made my jaw drop.
From the beginning of the book their was a plot twist and a path that I hoped that the writer would go for but he didn't he shocked me with his take on the story.
I have to say though I have this person on my suspect list ...but I didn't expect it because of the small hidden messages that was referring to two completely different people.
At some point in the book you'd feel that you're either going too close to the killer or you're just going nuts.
The plot twist was so shocking that I was actually holding my head during reading it because I couldn't believe what was happening. The book made me so speechless for a while after. I kept cussing during reading the last few pages because my brain couldn't comprehend what was happening.
This is just too perfect.
The power this writer holds.....
2/5
very predictable and superficial.
a lot of nonsense and unnecessary drama.
a lot of inexplicable events without answers.
now that i am thinking i should change my rating to something even lower but idk how to explain them so let kep it for a while
very predictable and superficial.
a lot of nonsense and unnecessary drama.
a lot of inexplicable events without answers.
now that i am thinking i should change my rating to something even lower but idk how to explain them so let kep it for a while
Mixed feelings. Generally liked the writing style and was interested to see where it would go. You have a feeling from the start that the protagonist's suspicions are wrong; having only one real suspect throughout the entire novel, which ends up being correct, would simply be too easy. You can tell a twist is coming but boy did it go in the wrong direction.
Overall it was quite enjoyable, up until the last 35 pages or so.
Overall it was quite enjoyable, up until the last 35 pages or so.
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
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
2.5 stars. I did finish it because I kept hoping for more but it just didn’t deliver for me. Somehow the places in this novel didn’t feel real, the characters just sort of floated through vague foggy scenes. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if the focal character had been someone else.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced