Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

35 reviews

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

this was a fun mystery/triller. i’ve noticed with Alex Michaelides writing starts off incredibly slow for the first part of the novel and picks up in the last 50-100 pages. i loved the greek mythology in this but wished to see just a bit more. i wasn’t a fan of the reveal either which definitely knocks this down quite a few stars. i personally preferred The Silent Patient. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Murder, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

let_therebebooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

2.0

⭐️⭐️/5 

“It’s important to keep looking ahead. You mustn’t forever look back, over your shoulder. Think about the future.”

Y’all this book was WEIRD, and not in the good way. In the creepy, inappropriate way.

This book was slow at first and then it picked up in the middle, which doesn’t surprise me because I felt the same exact way with his previous novel, The Silent Patient. I will say, however, that it was clever how he connected the two books in a very minor and subtle way. Gold star for creativity! 

There were so many times I put this down and found 793 other things to do besides read it because I was bored. But I HAD to know how it ended and I was disappointed. 

I honestly don’t think I liked a single character. At. All. They all sucked. Also, it annoyed me that all these men suddenly are flocking to our main character. I always felt like there were characters introduced who didn’t need to be, and were kind of pointless. I did like the Greek mythology theme though, the author did a great job with that and it wasn’t too overwhelming. 

So many people RAVED about this book and loved it, so I was intrigued. Unfortunately, this being my second novel of his, I don’t think Alex Michaelides is the author for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship

pphector's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

danajoy's review against another edition

dark tense

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

2.0

This didn't wow me. It was alright and I was surprised by the twist but it didn't really capture me in the way I'd hoped. 
I liked the Greek Mythology lens. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Violence, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Stalking

Moderate: Rape and Death of parent

wormgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Drug use

angela_iseli's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

yulecogs's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Car accident, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, and Blood

cammiem8's review

dark mysterious slow-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? Yes

1.0

You can tell this guy read The Secret History and tried to rip it off while fundamentally misunderstanding what makes that book interesting. One of the most bullshit, out of nowhere twists I’ve read, and the women are so poorly written I’d not be surprised to find out the author has never met one in real life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicide attempt and Infertility

archivofrances's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

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