Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - The Maidens

I'm not a huge fan of 'The Silent Patient' and I found this book even less enjoyable. I definitely don't like Alex Michaelides' writing, I always feel like his books could be movie scripts. That is something that don't work for me.

Overall I liked the plot. The story is well built and the characters are interesting with complex and very dark backgrounds but the ending... my God... Why? I didn't like it one bit. It definitely subverted expectations but was completely unnecessary.

I enjoyed the "crossover" with 'The Silent Patient' though.

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michellekapp's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The book had an ending I was not expecting. I felt that it was a good suspense read. Would recommend.

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sophiecarbs's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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friesenag's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Not a bad book but the ending was a little lack luster compared to the silent patient. But it was a good twist, I just think maybe the pacing was weird and only having like 10 pages left was not enough time

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rachel1106's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.5

Ending was a tad rushed and a little predictable. Buildup was good. Characters were ok. A little bland. Everyone in this book has daddy issues, my lord.

I did not like how Sebastian was a pedo? Why couldn't Zoe have just been delusional and unwell and therefore fantasize about him wanting her, instead of him actually loving his 15 year old niece? That's so weird, and you already had Fosca sleeping with his barely legal students. It wasn't needed. I don't know why Sebastian needed to be a nasty criminal in order for Mariana to finally start to move on from him. So that way she could not be as traumatized by learning that her niece is a maniacal serial killer who used Mariana's good will and want to protect her daughter-like figure from the danger that her own serial killer niece made up? It's a tad much.

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dev921's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.5

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soswiin's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

2.75

the more i think about this book the lower i rate it

the good

- loved the setting and the way it was written almost worshipfully. i too idolize cambridge and all its uneven cobblestones and river-soaked undergrads

- + 1 star because the best breakfast spot in the city was mentioned: the copper kettle

the bad

- the way mythology was used. OKAY yes i picked this up because it was so “heavily versed in greek mythos”. it just felt very elementary. i wasn’t opposed to the vengeful almost teenage-bully nature of persephone but i didn’t love it. fosca’s lecture on the cult of eleusis was a great mythology-centric plot point but it was only truly relevant that one time.

- for a book called “the maidens” the actual maidens really aren’t that prevalent. there’s not much of a cultish/abuse of academic authority vibe going on despite the fact that it’s a selling point of the book (it was for me)

-the red herrings; spent the entire book trying to guess who the bad guy was because the wrong choices were so obvious. i did get fooled but it wasn’t satisfying or well done in the slightest.

- maybe i’m just looking for things to complain about but a lot of the phrasing was just very cliche

the ugly

- the ending. rushed, confusing, and unnecessary. also really gross

- the characters. i’ve walked on floor tiles with more personality. there is not a single person in the entire story that i was rooting for or who’s downfall i was praying for

- where do i even begin with the pedophilic/incestuous subplot. what?? thrown out there without an ounce of comprehensible elaboration. made no sense to the story despite it basically causing the entire thing. just a nasty shock grabber

there were so many aspects of the book that would’ve been so interesting if they hadn’t been brushed over; henry’s role in the story, morris’s blackmail, the actual maidens themselves, the abuses of power. the author spends the entire book reiterating how terrible men are but never shows any woman successfully winning against the circumstances imposed on them. an amazing concept with poor execution

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grace33's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

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