Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

29 reviews

sfulabhai's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Blood

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

niceonehros's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

The ending felt rushed and a bit more contrived than I would like. Still a compelling read, but as plot twists go, this one didn't blow my mind.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

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

thyme_paradox's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Alcohol

telepathicseagull's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

bibliodiaries's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is a thriller with a capital T.  It is written in a way that you feel like you are involved in what is going on.  There is a plot twist that you don't see coming, and really changes the whole way you see the book as well as one of the main characters choices.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcoholism and Death

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: Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Blood

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

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

threadsof_kate's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lifeofchrstnlvly'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? Yes

3.0

It’s important to keep looking ahead. You mustn’t forever look back, over your shoulder. Think about the future.

Well, I didn’t see that one coming. It caught me a bit off-guard (only a bit because I suspected all of them ha ha ha). 

I enjoy reading Michaelides’ books because 1) I love mystery, and 2) I like that psychology is always incorporated. However, I have yet to read a work from him that will satisfy me. He does his descriptions well (he's a good writer, no doubt about that), but the “reveal” is always unsatisfying. The ending felt rushed. I read The Silent Patient and I had the same problems.

Side note: what was the point of Henry's character? Personally, I think there will be no difference even if his character didn't exist.

I’ll still read his future books, though... because I have a lot of fun reading about crazy people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt