Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

45 reviews

hgunsch's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Body horror, Stalking, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

graveyardreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

1.5

300 pages of filler only for the book to climax and end in the last 20. The ending of this book left me feeling disgusted and betrayed by the author. Setting was cool, dark academia vibes and stuff but again the ending just really pissed me off. Also, Marianna, the main character is literally the most dumb, daft and clueless character I’ve read. This author truly had no idea how to write a woman dealing with creepy men. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Violence

tietie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Stalking

Minor: Rape, Self harm, Addiction, and Drug abuse

erinhanso'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Animal cruelty, Murder, Stalking, Animal death, Infertility, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Car accident

glutenfreemaggie's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Kept me guessing, but eh… The Silent Patient was way better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Stalking, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Violence

iamnita's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

0.25

Utter utter trash. The main character is just plain stupid. Her decision making is so flawed - it’s ridiculous. The writing is clunky to put it mildly and very difficult to get through. The twist at the end of unbelievable after all we went through. It is just not an enjoyable book. I didn’t even enjoy the journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pedophilia and Drug abuse

edensbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault

allisonwonderlandreads's review

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Infertility, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

erinlaura's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Infidelity

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, and Car accident

krdavis02's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence