Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

56 reviews

c3liaiswhoiam's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

2.5

I was having a fine time with it, it was a quick and easy read. But the ending disappointed me. I was debating where it would fall between three and four stars as I was reading, but the last 50 pages really didn't do it any favors so this where we ended up. The twist was bad. 
Side note: One of the blurbs said "the twist blew my mind" which I can see why someone would feel that way but it's not for a good reason. Because it wasn't foreshadowed at all. It didn't give the book more depth. It was just shock value and it didn't make me feel like I should have known all along. There was no way to know. The hints were not there.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Stalking, Sexual violence, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

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

blyndwolf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

review soon

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

marinnelilly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Forced institutionalization

miggyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Torture, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

lakeofwords's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

1.75

As someone who LOVED The Silent Patient and devoured that book in about two or three days... This was such a letdown. It took me almost a whole month to finish this because it was just straight up boring. Too many characters that didn't feel interesting at all, the story felt too convoluted and too plain at the same time, I didn't care about anyone too deeply. The twist ending felt like it was rushed and placed there only for shock value.

Spoiler

Mariana's immediate response to it felt off. Why would she be anything other than sorry for Zoe? She was groomed and abused into near madness.

Oh, and the easter eggs and nods to The Silent Patient were so silly!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Rape and Pedophilia

Spoiler

grooming

literaryinluv's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

2.5

it was really okay. i appreciated the literary references and the allusions to greek mythology, but it just felt so forced sometimes? the way the author tried to force tennyson and the myths in SO MUCH. to, like the littlest detail. and mariana was so flat and sticking her head in a crime scene, which is not realistic at all. and fred??? 

0.2 seconds after meeting her: "marry me"

the red herrings were just so... forced. like,

Spoiler

oh fred has a picture with a dog, and the letter mentions "premonition," which he claims to have, it must be him!!! but like nobody thinks that, he's just some guy.

everything felt forced, and like the author was booping my nose and saying, "catch that? let me explain!"

despite all this, i enjoyed the pacing and the ending, as well as the

Spoiler

actual culprit

. i probably won't read it again, tho.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Cursing, Physical abuse, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Incest, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcohol, Abandonment, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Infertility

annagerman's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

2.0

Highly disappointing, especially after this author's debut. Uneven pacing with a rushed conclusion, mostly bland writing, many underdeveloped characters. The twist came out of nowhere - it wasn't properly foreshadowed and makes no sense in retrospect. 
I got in on the premise of dark academia aesthetic and possible greek mythology inspired cults and group therapy. I recieved none of this. The "dark academia" aesthetic felt like an after thought - it wasn't really utilize or ingrained into the story, it was just thrown in there for the added drama. Same for the therapy aspect, it wasn't essential to the plot like in "the silent patient". 

Almost DNFed about a third in, but the short chapters and the simple writing actually made it quick enough to be tolerable.

<Spoiler> the only part I really enjoyed were Sebastian's letters, which were better wtitten, darker and more intriguing than the actual book  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Rape

hannahjpackard's review against another edition

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia and Rape

Minor: Ableism

dorin_d's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Rape, Pedophilia, and Suicide