Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

181 reviews

marieeveparentroy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Animal death, Sexual assault, Stalking, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Death, Body horror, Alcohol, Child abuse, Incest, Murder, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

davinmotion's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

I read The Silent Patient a few months ago and enjoyed it, but my friend read this, The Maidens, first and hated it so violently I decided I had to read it to out of curiosity. I wanted to know if his way of writing was the cause or if this book was so very different. I think I can safely say that while this book has some differences from The Silent Patient, it is similar enough that if you hated reading one of these books, you’ll likely hate reading another. Thankfully, I actually like reading his books and will likely continue to do so.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Death

Minor: Animal death, Sexism, Alcoholism, and Car accident

Spoiler

If sexual abuse of a minor and implied grooming of a minor is a trigger for you, I suggest you skip this book.

hannahholmgren's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault and Mental illness

brookey8888's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This was so entertaining! 
Honestly, it was just vibes like nothing was happening, but a lot was happening and I was interested the whole time if that makes sense. I really liked the character‘s and the little dash of a romance. I did not see that ending coming like at all I was actually shocked , I don’t know this was really entertaining and fun it’s not the best mystery. I feel like but I wasn’t trying too hard to guess and I didn’t guess. I think this is my first like dark academia book and I ate it up. I’m excited to read the silent patient now because I saw those little Easter eggs about it. When I was reading, I actually had to stop and like scream a little and because I was like there’s no way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Infertility, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal death, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, and Grief

tacochelle's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

2.0

I'm 0 for 2 on thrillers featuring psychologists or therapists. Mariana was annoying, made dumb decisions, and spouts psych info like a textbook. She breaches so many ethical boundaries as a therapist, ones that she should know better. She came across as too clinical. The idea of a dark academia thriller using Greek tragedies to help tell their story is a great idea, but not used enough here. Again, Mariana was too distant from the action, and very focused on her own grief than the shit going on around her. The red herrings were obvious, because they're all the same type of guy that all stalk her. The twist was not great, not many clues towards that end, and it ends so suddenly after the reveal. I feel like if the story was told by one of the students, one of the Maidens even, it would be more interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Mental illness, and Stalking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

Minor: Drug use and Infidelity

joscelynhe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Fun, mysterious story that has a great twist that I actually wasn’t expecting. Loved how Michaelides interwove Greek myths into the story. If you’re into dark academia, this book does it perfectly. I’m not sure if it’ll be the type of book that I’ll remember vividly in a year or so, but it was definitely fun to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Murder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, and Stalking

Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

bexdubyah's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, and Stalking

nadia's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

4.0

I went into this (audio)book (from Libro.fm's ALC Program) with very low expectations and I guess that helped because I ended up really enjoying it.

I know there are some plot holes, some incredibly unappetising realities to it, some things that were predictable, etc., but I stayed intrigued and guessing (at least some parts) the whole way so that wins a lot of points in my book!

Also, I'm a sucker for a campus setting, especially one incredibly closely related to my own university experience!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Moderate: Stalking and Pedophilia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

nicoleanthony's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

marissaeng's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Mental illness

Minor: Blood and Domestic abuse