aislinghamill's reviews
251 reviews

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

4.0

The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore

dark informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A

3.0

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

3.0

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

adventurous

I just discovered there is a third book and it is the worst news I have received all year

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

slow-paced

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

4.0

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

adventurous fast-paced

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

2.0

Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

2.0

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I am not ordinarily a reader of thrillers. I’m pretty sure the only other thriller I’ve read is Michaelides’ more recent novel The Maidens. If you’ve read my review of that book, you’ll know I found it just fine, but not particularly gripping. Some of that was a matter of personal taste, but the book had at least a few objective flaws. If it hadn’t been recommended and lent to me by a friend, I probably wouldn’t have read The Silent Patient.

My opinions on The Silent Patient are similar. It held my interest and attention better than The Maidens, but it still wasn’t quite my cup of tea.

Where I found The Maidens slow-moving throughout, The Silent Patient started slow but began to pick-up pace shortly after the halfway mark. By the final third I was gripped. Something about this mystery was infinitely more intriguing. It wasn’t just about solving a murder – there was the question of why, or whether, Alicia had killed her husband, but also why she’d stopped talking afterwards. Theo’s meetings with Alicia felt genuinely tense as we waited to see if she would emerge or retreat further into herself. Even without the threat of more murders hanging over the protagonist as it does in The Maidens, the stakes and intrigue here felt higher.