irelandszok's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a great read but didn’t entirely add up. I’m not sure that the twist at the end really made sense. I see where the author was going but the entire back story behind it did not add up. I did enjoy reading the book but I would really only rate it 3.
abbeyreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
5.0
daphnemarie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
Dark academia with slippery characters and a great twist at the end.
ski_meg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jonezeemcgee's review against another edition
3.0
2.75-3.0 ( I just can't decide)
This is my first Michaelides book, and I can say his prose is great. I love dark academia, and I think the idea for this story was a bit more of an original take than others in the genre. I did somewhat predict the who, although I was off in predicting the why of the twist. I enjoyed the surprise in the twist. It was a bit darker than I imagined. For the most part, I enjoyed where it was going...it just didn't...get there. There was so much to explore that just wasn't explored.
But where this story came unraveled for me is the loose threads left hanging everywhere. There was so much that was barely explored, and people introduced that I am just unsure why they were even introduced. If they were to serve as red herrings, they just were not developed enough characters to be good red herrings. I don't want to get into too much to spoil things for anyone, but just know that while this book has satisfying elements, it will most likely leave you unsatisfied.
This is my first Michaelides book, and I can say his prose is great. I love dark academia, and I think the idea for this story was a bit more of an original take than others in the genre. I did somewhat predict the who, although I was off in predicting the why of the twist. I enjoyed the surprise in the twist. It was a bit darker than I imagined. For the most part, I enjoyed where it was going...it just didn't...get there. There was so much to explore that just wasn't explored.
But where this story came unraveled for me is the loose threads left hanging everywhere. There was so much that was barely explored, and people introduced that I am just unsure why they were even introduced. If they were to serve as red herrings, they just were not developed enough characters to be good red herrings. I don't want to get into too much to spoil things for anyone, but just know that while this book has satisfying elements, it will most likely leave you unsatisfied.
bellezey's review against another edition
2.0
there are so many things that are wrong with this book it's giving me a headache to even try to comprehend or explain how wrong they were/ or how wrong this book handled all of its themes and topics,
the book's disrespectful handling of psychology, mental health, pedophilia, rape, and grooming all in the sake of shock effect is such a turnoff,
the story is never flushed out, all the characters felt one dimensional serving a purpose, we never got deep into anyone's psyche
and I hated the mysterious man's chapters so badly,
all the men in this book are creeps and Mariana is definitely written as seen through the male gaze, never giving her complex characteristics beyond the role of being a mother or a lover or a beautiful woman, even with all her deep therapy/Greek tragedy talk shit,
and Zoe felt like a means to an end, a way for us to get wrapped in this story, and an excuse for Mariana to be the way that she is,
the plot is predictable, i sorely read this without realizing until later on that it's the same author as the silent patient which is another book of his I disliked so badly.
the book's disrespectful handling of psychology, mental health, pedophilia, rape, and grooming all in the sake of shock effect is such a turnoff,
the story is never flushed out, all the characters felt one dimensional serving a purpose, we never got deep into anyone's psyche
and I hated the mysterious man's chapters so badly,
all the men in this book are creeps and Mariana is definitely written as seen through the male gaze, never giving her complex characteristics beyond the role of being a mother or a lover or a beautiful woman, even with all her deep therapy/Greek tragedy talk shit,
and Zoe felt like a means to an end, a way for us to get wrapped in this story, and an excuse for Mariana to be the way that she is,
the plot is predictable, i sorely read this without realizing until later on that it's the same author as the silent patient which is another book of his I disliked so badly.
zee_brdh's review against another edition
4.0
Just finished ! I was not expecting this conclusion, and to be frank I'm a little disappointed, but it's actually pretty good for the book, I was only rooting for someone else to be the killer, and having this one was just to keep the story solely centred around Mariana.
Also loved that it was somewhat linked to "The Silent Patient" it felt like a tasty eater-egg, I'm pleased.
Also loved that it was somewhat linked to "The Silent Patient" it felt like a tasty eater-egg, I'm pleased.
jyau's review against another edition
3.0
This book had a really interesting concept and kind of had the same format as The Silent Patient with a lot of red herrings and different characters coming in and causing suspicion. I had a feeling who the killer was but couldn’t find the reasoning. The big reveal comes with about 30 pages left in the book and I at times wish the pace would have sped up or delved deeper into the main character’s relationships a bit more. Another reason why I didn’t like the book that much is because I felt the build up to the reveal wasn’t really there - to me it came out of left field and the reasoning was a little dumb. An easy read but wish there was more buildup and depth, to be fair to the author, The Silent Patient is an extremely difficult book to follow because it was so outstanding.
bibliograflieg's review against another edition
2.0
Loved to hate it. It was terrible but kept me so engaged.
Original "review": I'm gonna need a minute to process my thoughts on this one
Original "review": I'm gonna need a minute to process my thoughts on this one