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bvannevel's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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
3.0
violetaffairs's review against another edition
Nothing ever felt relevant, it was insufferable.
feroxx's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Another great read by Alex Michaelides. I enjoyed this book a lot!
I didn’t expect the ending which is always a positive. I enjoyed the story but I do wish that we had dived deeper into the Maidens before everything kicked off. Also more information on the professor would have been a bonus.
But overall, a fun read. I didn’t want to put it down and wanted to know what was going to happen.
I didn’t expect the ending which is always a positive. I enjoyed the story but I do wish that we had dived deeper into the Maidens before everything kicked off. Also more information on the professor would have been a bonus.
But overall, a fun read. I didn’t want to put it down and wanted to know what was going to happen.
fribooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Not as good as his debut, but still a great read. Maybe I read too soon after his first and the awesomeness of that twist still had its claws in me :)
lotteee11's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Parts of this book annoyed me from the start, and these things weren’t resolved in the final reveal. The plottwist wasn’t satisfying in my opinion. The use of mythology was also under-utilised: what is the symbolism of the number 22 for example? To me, this is just another mediocre murder mystery, which reinforces the belief that I don’t like thrillers (although this one hardly deserves to be called a thriller, as it wasn’t scary or tense at any time at all).
gr8kait's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.5
vivparr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
xansullivan42's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
rachlawley's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed this. The pace was good, the story compelling, the writing well-done. But… I didn’t love it like I was hoping I would.
There were some really unrealistic plot pointslike Mariana getting involved in the police investigation , and some unnecessary elements (like, why include Fred as a character? I thought he was going to be a figment of her imagination, and that would’ve been the only purpose I could see him serving) . The plot twist at the end honestly surprised me, which is always a plus. But, I kind of feel like it was just for shock value. Plus, what kind of psychotherapist doesn’t realize their husband is a sociopath? And I say that as a psychotherapist, myself. Unrealistic. Speaking of the husband, I felt it was unnecessary to include his perspective at the beginning of each section. I get why they were included, but it felt kind of forced once I knew who wrote them .
I did enjoy Michaelides’ writing style and the story itself was pretty original. I liked the setting - I’m apparently a huge fan of dark academia. I haven’t read a ton of Greek literature, and I didn’t think that would be a problem since I’ve read other books, like The Secret History, that relied on allusions to Greek literature and I could mostly hold my own. However, with this book, it felt like I needed a bit more of a background in the classics to really get everything I could out of the story.
There were some really unrealistic plot points
I did enjoy Michaelides’ writing style and the story itself was pretty original. I liked the setting - I’m apparently a huge fan of dark academia. I haven’t read a ton of Greek literature, and I didn’t think that would be a problem since I’ve read other books, like The Secret History, that relied on allusions to Greek literature and I could mostly hold my own. However, with this book, it felt like I needed a bit more of a background in the classics to really get everything I could out of the story.