bloop's profile picture

bloop 's review for:

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
3.0
adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This is the first time I have read anything from Alex Michaelides, and I decided to pick it up because I was drawn by the cover and description, since I have a minor in Classics. Not going to lie, I was stoked when he slipped a quote from Aristotle in the book because I literally had to annotate Poetics in one of my Ancient Literature classics.

To me, the book just didn't flow well. I did appreciate the short chapters, which helped me move the book quickly. However, I didn't understand why Mariana was so fixated on the murders and dedicated her time to solving it. Additionally, I found Henry to be such an irrelevant plot point and just added in there for shock factor. The reveal at the end seemed cheap, something that a 14 year-old on Wattpad could just write up in order to produce the most twisted ending possible. Overall, it was underwhelming for me, but still an enjoyable read.