Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

93 reviews

anjens's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

It's good, not unlike the Silent Patient book that the author also wrote. There were some good moments, but I felt like the foreshadowing was leading toward a different path and we didn't get the payout that we wanted and that be ending didn't quite make sense with the evidence that was given. Overall, not bad though.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Death of parent

beccaburchett's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal death and Drug use

jazzrivetti's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Violence, Stalking, and Gaslighting

samgyupsal's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

Since it was Alex Michaelides, I already expected a plot twist but I still didn't see it coming. I just don't understand why the FMC was so nosy in the first place, I get that she was protective of her niece and her psychologist background made her really invested but, she was so nosy???

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.0

I enjoyed the first 75% of this novel. I like the references to Greek mythology, but it never really added anything to the plot. I like that the plot gestures towards dark academia; that was my initial draw to it. But again, it never went passed “old college = spooky.”

I enjoyed the mystery until the stupid twist in the final 25% of the novel. It feels like the author decided a twist was needed, but it really wasn’t. It would’ve made more sense if the killer had been one of the three actual suspects, or perhaps a less fleshed-out secondary character. It made me go, “Well that was stupid.” And soured me on the preceeding 75% of the novel.

This novel is what I’d call “just okay.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism

folded_between_pages_of_books's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

p2rteltytar's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

katy_bee's review against another edition

mysterious 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? It's complicated

1.75

In its favour this was a quick read, and I kept going to see what the solution to the mystery was. 

But overall I didn't enjoy it. It felt like a loosely strung together series of dramatic events without much coherence or logic. The driver was to keep the reader guessing with misdirection and possibilities but nothing felt very satisfying and it came off as silly. I didn't connect to the main character of Mariana who's choices seemed quite random and yet each one led her to exactly the right place and time to find the next plot point, and be misled by it.  It might have worked as a farce but this seems to have been trying to be some kind of psychological thriller.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Stalking, and Death of parent

naoml's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.0

Definitely a page turner, trust nothing and no one.

This book is really good, it has all the facets of "favourite book" material, but for some reason I don't have super strong feelings about it. I enjoyed reading it don't get me wrong, but it wasn't life changing and I doubt I'll reread 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Alcoholism

sierrabowers's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

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

3.5

 I thought it was an okay story, but mostly it was very slow. The mystery itself was not that compelling, but I thought the ending left me with more questions than anything. If you haven’t read the silent patient, I would recommend reading this book first, because one character is linked to that book. I have already read the silent patient, so now I feel as if I need to reread it in order to understand it better or in a new light. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism