Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Maidens

the first 90% of this book was the least thrilling thriller i've ever read, the last 10% was an absolutely infuriating combination of nonsensical plot twists. literally the only good thing about this book is the cover.

ALSO, WHY IS ONE OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK WITH NO OTHER FANTASY ELEMENTS A PSYCHIC? i thought that him knowing things he shouldn't know about the main character would turn out to mean he's been stalking her or something*, but nope, he's just psychic. hello???????

* he does also literally stalk her later in the book but don't worry about it it's fine when he does it because he's the Nice Guy Love Interest <3

anyway. been a while since a book sucked so bad it made me feel like i was losing my mind, so. thanks. for that.

Content Warnings

joperceptions's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

This book wasn’t bad (I’m being kind, it was quite bad). I think stepping into it after the silent patient, meant I had my own idea of the way the author may have set it up and I was right in a sense. It follows a similar vibe in regards to a mystery with a plot
twist. The writing style was easy enough to follow for me. The only comment on that is, I feel as though the character development for supporting characters (important ones too) was just not as strong as it should have been at points. I found myself confused on who certain people were once I hit the end of the book, but that could easily just be a me issue. I’m not going back to check but I feel like it had some minor plot holes, or at least things that weren’t wrapped up in a way that was at all satisfying, nor helpful to answering any questions that the plot twist may have evoked. I feel like the reveal was dropped and somewhere it was forgotten that we’d still want to hear the aftermath (beyond the few pages of whatever we got). And also understand more about wtf that plot
Line was even about and elaborating on it more?? But we got none of that. It’s not a VERY BAD book, it’s actually a really good concept and I like the authors writing style in a general consensus, i just think this book could have been articulated a bit better and it would have been a really good read.
⚠️SPOILER AHEAD⚠️

I really just don’t think Zoe being the killer made any sense to me, the whole ending sort of felt like it was decided last minute. I don’t feel like it had any build up, or things that happened prior to even create a sense of suspicion toward her at all, which sort of made the reveal, shocking yes, but a bit less interesting. TW: (pedophilia, grooming) Also the lack of conversation on the fact that Sebastian groomed a minor, was so incredibly concerning to me. Like i understand it was brought up mid “fight scene” or whatever that last bit was. But I still feel like that bomb was just dropped and not at all critiqued besides her being upset that zoe and Sebastian weren’t who she thought they were. Not the literal fact that Zoe was a minor, a literal CHILD when all of that shit happened. It was not approached in a way that was appropriate in my eyes.

Content Warnings

vibingandy's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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rosereadsalot's review against another edition

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4.0

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juliarenae's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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

4.75

The book is so much better than I thought it was ever going to be. The ending was not what I was expecting, but so good and worth it all. I enjoyed that I kept me on my toes and questioning who the killer is the entire time. It’s a lot more complex than I thought it was going to be. It was an amazing read.

Content Warnings

glammster's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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