Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

145 reviews

renreadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

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, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting

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

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

sennis's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Self harm and Stalking

skyejay95's review against another edition

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Murder

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual violence, Grief, Stalking, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, and Suicide attempt

vi__'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

When the god of plot twist writes a book, you read it. After the "Silent Patient" I was so excited to read this book, but I was sadly disappointing. I had so much expectations for this book, that even if it was a good book, I would have still been disappointed. The book follows Mariana after the loss of her husband Sebastian. Since I have read Michaelides books before I already knew that something big was going to have happened to them. I honest to god thought that Henry and her had killed him. I still do. And then when Zoe was introduce I immediately knew that she was the murderer. I just think there is such a good ensemble of people, that were all used as red herrings. I suspect everyone, EVERYONE, except Edward Fosca. The actual plot of the Maidens was the most disappointed. They were so interesting and were so misused. I'm just...HOW do you introduce a group of eklektic confident women in love with a sadistic man who teaches them about greek myths and MAKE IT A RED HERRING. It is ridiculous. Sebastian, Zoe, and Mariana is so boring. I am sorry but it is. This book introduces such good characters and then turns it all to trash choosing the boring plot line. This was all so disappointing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Sexual violence

alomie's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? Yes

3.75

I really enjoyed this whodunnit. I did not see the ending coming and it kept things interesting. 
Some of the "origin stories" were a bit harrowing, and it's not easy going in that respect, however, as we are trying to understand the motives of a serial killer it makes sense contextually. These messed up childhoods absolutely might create a serial killer. 
Kept me guessing right to the end and was actually quite gripping. 
Found this to be a slow start but really picked up in the third act and personally I could have done with a bit more pace, potentially this is an audio-book issue rather than a book issue. I liked it overall but I don't think I would go back to it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Warning Re the Dog

The dad kills the lovely dog, it's really horrid.

hmserm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, and Self harm

eleanor_shaw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Self harm, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

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

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Infidelity

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

livreads54's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.75

I truly don't know what to think about this book. The premise was intriguing, but I just don't think it quite worked for me. The beginning was a bit slow, but still interesting enough to keep reading. 

My main issue was with the ending of the book. The conclusion also came together far too quickly for me. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions, and the conclusion made most of what I read feel pointless. It could have been an interesting twist if it was drawn out a bit more, but it was so rushed that it didn't seem to make sense with the rest of the book. 

The characters also didn't feel fully developed. I finished the story feeling completely detached from everyone, including Mariana, which was really disappointing. 

All this aside, the middle of the book was pretty solid and entertaining. For me, it just couldn't make up for how slow the beginning was and disappointing the ending was. If you're a fan of thrillers, maybe this book will be for you, it just wasn't for me. 

TW:
This book definitely leaned into the graphic violence, which isn't unusual for a thriller, but this book had me feeling nauseous at times. The main character was also kissed twice without her consent. There were also brief descriptions of sexual assault (one occurrence describing a sexual relationship between an adult and a minor and one description of a woman being drugged and assaulted). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Death of parent