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rachel1106's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Violence
Moderate: Murder and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Drug use
grace33's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Infidelity
mxdegroot's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
There's so much still unclear, and I think that that's exactly the point.
Michaelides knows exactly how to write a fucked up story with fucked up characters without making it fundamentally problematic. In a lot of books with storylines centered around violence against women, you will see language that is inherently offensive. In The Maidens, this is not the case. For all the violence and manipulation, Michaelides has manages to write the story with respect. Every single character is messed up in a way, but they're still human.
The ending was all but perfect.If Fosca had turned out to be the actual murderer, it would have been very satisfying, but Zoe's story and her motivations were a wonderful and yet heartbreaking plottwist, which is why I was so happy to see that she was not completely demonized in the epilogue. She was manipulated and used for such a long time and in such a fundamental way that she was still under its influence after her abuser died, and while this in no way excuses the murders she committed, she doesn't deserve to be completely villainized. Simultanuously, while Fosca isn't a murderer, he is still a pedophile and an abuser, and this is not erased, which I was very happy to read.
I am still confused about the character of Henry. He is severely messed up and straight up stalks Mariana throughout the book, and it is never really explained, nor does he appear much in the book after he 'attacks' Mariana. He is just never explained. There are some more small things that I felt could have been handled better, but I'll spare anyone reading this the excrutiatingly elaborate details of that.
While the ending is open and a little confusing, it worked perfectly for the story. Mariana already had trouble dealing with what she knows, and now she's expected to deal with revelations she couldn't have dared to imagine before. A lot of characters have a lot of recovery and development to go, so an open epilogue like this worked perfectly.
January 29th, 2024 - January 31st, 2024.
Michaelides knows exactly how to write a fucked up story with fucked up characters without making it fundamentally problematic. In a lot of books with storylines centered around violence against women, you will see language that is inherently offensive. In The Maidens, this is not the case. For all the violence and manipulation, Michaelides has manages to write the story with respect. Every single character is messed up in a way, but they're still human.
The ending was all but perfect.
I am still confused about the character of Henry. He is severely messed up and straight up stalks Mariana throughout the book, and it is never really explained, nor does he appear much in the book after he 'attacks' Mariana. He is just never explained. There are some more small things that I felt could have been handled better, but I'll spare anyone reading this the excrutiatingly elaborate details of that.
While the ending is open and a little confusing, it worked perfectly for the story. Mariana already had trouble dealing with what she knows, and now she's expected to deal with revelations she couldn't have dared to imagine before. A lot of characters have a lot of recovery and development to go, so an open epilogue like this worked perfectly.
January 29th, 2024 - January 31st, 2024.
Reading about life was no preparation for living it; [Mariana] had learned this the hard way
Let me tell you something - this is what those old Greek plays are about. What it means to be human. What it meanst to be alive. And if you miss that when you read them - if all you see is a bunch of dead words - then you're missing the whole damn thing. I don't just mean in the plays - I mean in your lives, right now. If you're not aware of the transcendent, if you'ren ot awake to the glorious mystery of life and death that you're lucky enough to be part of - if that doesn't fill you with joy and strike you with awe... you might as wel not be alive. That's the message of the tragedies. Participate in the wonder. For your sake - forTara 's sake - live it."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Death, Murder, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Grief, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Infidelity and Classism
prdskat's review against another edition
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence
sugarbucky's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Michaelides has done it again!! You will NEVER guess the twist in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
sonnyygrayy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I picked up this book because I finished my other one on my flight and had a very long layover. I’m not sure I would’ve ever actually picked this one up if it hadn’t been for that, even though I’ve wanted to read it for a long time.
When I first got back into reading, I fell in love with the Silent Patient by Michaelides. His fast paced writing and short chapters kept me turning page after page. I figured out the twist right before it happened, which made me proud of myself, but it’s also a reflection of his writing. (This is how a plot twist should be done!)
As I’ve grown a lot as a reader within the last three years, my tastes have changed slightly. Michaelides will still be an author whom I look out for, but his writing isn’t as profound to me as it once was.
I liked the dark academia setting of this novel and how it was still accessible. I did feel like he was trying a little hard to be profound at times and this book just simply isn’t. It was a fun book that fulfilled what I was looking for: an easy page-turner read.
When I first got back into reading, I fell in love with the Silent Patient by Michaelides. His fast paced writing and short chapters kept me turning page after page. I figured out the twist right before it happened, which made me proud of myself, but it’s also a reflection of his writing. (This is how a plot twist should be done!)
As I’ve grown a lot as a reader within the last three years, my tastes have changed slightly. Michaelides will still be an author whom I look out for, but his writing isn’t as profound to me as it once was.
I liked the dark academia setting of this novel and how it was still accessible. I did feel like he was trying a little hard to be profound at times and this book just simply isn’t. It was a fun book that fulfilled what I was looking for: an easy page-turner read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt
gwenswoons's review
dark
tense
slow-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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Incest, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Torture, and Gore
lump's review
adventurous
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Blood, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Gore
a_libraryghost's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Rating this book is hard. On one hand it was a really enjoyable read that I completed in one sitting and I briefly considered rating it 5 stars just based on that but on the other hand many of the criticisms I’m seeing in the reviews are valid.
There are a lot of red herrings in this book as Alex Michaelides is obviously very keen for you to not guess the ending which I don’t mind too much as I really enjoy the mystery but I probably would have preferred a couple of red herrings that were explored more deeply than a whole bunch of shallow ones.
There’s one character I did actually really like but I do not understand their purpose in the story. I kept waiting for them to be linked to something, part of me was sure they were going to be the killer especially after the letter is found but nope. Pretty sure you could remove them from the plot and nothing would change.
The twist is good, probably one of my favourites that I’ve read recently. Part of it wasn’t surprising but the other part was and it connects very well with what people keep telling the MC.
There are a lot of red herrings in this book as Alex Michaelides is obviously very keen for you to not guess the ending which I don’t mind too much as I really enjoy the mystery but I probably would have preferred a couple of red herrings that were explored more deeply than a whole bunch of shallow ones.
There’s one character I did actually really like but I do not understand their purpose in the story. I kept waiting for them to be linked to something, part of me was sure they were going to be the killer especially after the letter is found but nope. Pretty sure you could remove them from the plot and nothing would change.
The twist is good, probably one of my favourites that I’ve read recently. Part of it wasn’t surprising but the other part was and it connects very well with what people keep telling the MC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
readwithsophsx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Child abuse, Stalking, Pedophilia, Blood, Murder, Violence, and Sexual assault