A review by soswiin
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

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

2.75

the more i think about this book the lower i rate it 

the good
- loved the setting and the way it was written almost worshipfully. i too idolize cambridge and all its uneven cobblestones and river-soaked undergrads 
- + 1 star because the best breakfast spot in the city was mentioned: the copper kettle 

the bad
- the way mythology was used. OKAY yes i picked this up because it was so “heavily versed in greek mythos”. it just felt very elementary. i wasn’t opposed to the vengeful almost teenage-bully nature of persephone but i didn’t love it. fosca’s lecture on the cult of eleusis was a great mythology-centric plot point but it was only truly relevant that one time. 
- for a book called “the maidens” the actual maidens really aren’t that prevalent. there’s not much of a cultish/abuse of academic authority vibe going on despite the fact that it’s a selling point of the book (it was for me) 
-the red herrings; spent the entire book trying to guess who the bad guy was because the wrong choices were so obvious. i did get fooled but it wasn’t satisfying or well done in the slightest. 
- maybe i’m just looking for things to complain about but a lot of the phrasing was just very cliche 

the ugly 
- the ending. rushed, confusing, and unnecessary. also really gross
- the characters. i’ve walked on floor tiles with more personality. there is not a single  person in the entire story that i was rooting for or who’s downfall i was praying for 
- where do i even begin with the pedophilic/incestuous subplot. what?? thrown out there without an ounce of comprehensible elaboration. made no sense to the story despite it basically causing the entire thing. just a nasty shock grabber

there were so many aspects of the book that would’ve been so interesting if they hadn’t been brushed over; henry’s role in the story, morris’s blackmail, the actual maidens themselves, the abuses of power. the author spends the entire book reiterating how terrible men are but never shows any woman successfully winning against the circumstances imposed on them. an amazing concept with poor execution
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