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I believe I have over hyped this one to myself. I was more a fan of The Silent Patient but this was not terrible, for me it just didn't feel as good.

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✨Book Review✨
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
3.5
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This book follows Mariana Andros as she gets a call that her niece Zoe's best friend has been murdered. As Mariana goes to help investigate, she becomes quickly convinced that Edward Fosca, the university's Greek tragedy professor, is the man responsible. As more and more bodies keep turning up, Mariana is more and more sure about who has killed them. She just needs to convince everyone of what she so clearly sees.
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It took me a while to figure out how I felt about this book. While reading the first half of the book, I didn't find myself wanting to keep picking it up. I didn't NOT like it, but I wasn't fully invested. At about the halfway point, things started to pick up for me. I definitely became more invested at that point and didn't want to stop reading. In fact, I read the second half of this book extremely quickly. But alas, the ending just didn't do it for me.
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I will say, I was NOT a big fan of The Silent Patient. Everyone was obsessed, and I just didn't get it. I was definitely less lost during the ending of this book, but it wasn't what I expected, and not in a good way. I will leave it at that and let you decide for yourselves.
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If you were a fan of The Silent Patient and/or are fascinated by Greek Mythology, I think you will really love, and should read, this book.
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I both read the hard copy and listened to the audiobook. The main narrator was difficult for me to listen to at first, but about halfway through she grew on me. :p

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** Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. **

I think this book was written really well however it did not keep my interest throughout the book. I thought the storyline was okay but I was also bored at times. I’m still giving it three stars based on the fact that I was shocked at the outcome.

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Alex Michaelides delivers another amazing read with the Maidens. A slow burn but intriguing mystery that had me genuinely guessing until the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The audio narration was excellent as well. Highly recommend.

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When I saw Alex Michaelides had another book coming out I knew I had to read it. The Silent Patient was of my favorite reads of 2019. This book definitely didn’t disappoint.

I thought I had the twist figured out about halfway through but I was very, very wrong.

I received an advanced audiobook copy and really enjoyed the narrator. I also liked how there was a second voice that narrated parts of a letter that we don’t know who wrote until the end. Definitely upped the creep factor.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the advanced copy for my honest review.

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Pros: I really wanted to like this book because it contains some of my favorite literary tropes--a campus setting and a secret society. Also, I didn't guess the twist, which I always appreciate.

Cons: This book was not for me. Some parts of the book felt forced and heavy handed (e.g., the connections to the author's other book, The Silent Patient), and others felt underdeveloped (e.g., the main character's motivations and her suspicion of the professor). An unreliable main character as a trope feels very overdone in this genre. Also, I do not know anything about the ethics of being a therapist, but I think the main character broke all ethical guidelines in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book!

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Well, this one kept me entertained the whole way through. I loved the easter eggs I caught from The Silent Patient and the tie in as well.
Mariana is a group therapist who lost her husband the year before and is unable to get over his death. She floats through her days in sadness and grief, holding onto the love she had. Her "niece" Zoe calls her one night because her best friend has gone missing and she fears that the body they just found could be her. The next morning, Mariana sets off to be with Zoe and try to find out the truth of what is happening there. As soon as she arrives, Zoe tells her about a professor that teaches Greek Philosophy that everyone loves, but she suspects there is more to him than meets the eye. She said her friend was scared of him before her death and suspects he has something to do with it. As Mariana learns more about Edward Fosca and the secret group of girls he tutored, the more she is convinced he is the murderer, but can she prove it?
As more and more bodies pile up and he continues to evade blame and is smug about it, Mariana becomes increasingly frustrated and no one believes her.
You can tell something is off with pretty much everyone in this book from the beginning, but it also kept me guessing because literally everyone was a suspect in my mind. There was a huge twist I wasn't aware of, but I should have caught on honestly and I am upset with myself for not. Other small twists I did see coming, but I did enjoy this book. The narrators did a fantastic job and I have listened to them before. They kept me fully engaged in the story the whole time. Thank you to Macmillian audio, Netgalley and the author for an early audio copy.

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Setting us in England where Marianna Andros is a group therapist. One of her patients Henry, has a problem with boundaries and watches her from outside her home and constantly calls to say how much he needs her. She realizes she needs to nip this obsession but has been dealing with the stages grieving the loss of her Sebastian. She sees the love she and Sebastian shared wherever she turns in her home. When Marianna gets a call from her niece Zoe who says her friend has been murdered Marianna leaves right away to Cambridge University where Zoe attends school. Marianna ends up finding out that Zoe is messed up in a secret society called The Maidens and Marianna feels a professor named Edward Fosca is the murderer in which she ends up risking everything to try and prove it ....... then Mariannas world turns upside down.

What an enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

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Ultimately I was very let down by this book. I'm sure the intention was to lead the reader in one direction while having the real solution be completely opposite, but the entire experience ended up feeling like a waste of time to me. I really enjoyed The Silent Patient so I was REALLY excited to read this, but it just fell short for me.

Midway through I figured out who the killer was - although I will say the intentions I thought were wrong and That did catch me off guard. I just felt like I was so invested in one story, for it all to go to waste was a bit frustrating for me as a reader.

The book was still beautifully written and Alex Michaelides is a wonderful story teller. If you liked The Silent Patent I would give this a try - everyone likes different books! This may just be a miss for me personally.

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Three years since this author’s debut but this second book was no less thrilling. I love it when the author can really keep you guessing until the last pages! The audio was absolutely stunning!

What did I like? As far as the audio goes, loved the reader! Read in a lovely lilting English voice that was utterly perfect. The male voice held a malevolence that definitely added to the story! Both worked really well!

The author though ....has come up with such a psychological twisted story that it just gave me shivers. Mariana felt lost due to the death of her spouse and pretty much her entire family. Barely living she goes to Camden to help her niece and gets caught up in a murder investigation. A thrilling tale!

Would I recommend or buy? I loved listening to this in audio, and would recommend to anyone who loved his first book or loves unguessable thrillers. I would definitely read this author again! Five huge stars!

Thanks Macmillan Audio for an advance listen copy and I voluntarily left this review!

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The Maidens by Alex Michaelides is an enjoyable, solid murder mystery that will keep your interest until the end. The setting of Cambridge is dreamy, I found the book's parallels with greek tragedies interesting and the narrator was fantastic - I adored her accent ! A suspenseful story with a twist that I didn't expect.

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A master at the ending twist, Michaelides weaves together a story around Greek Tragedy and Cambridge. A riveting psychological suspense that has the reader thinking they know exactly what’s happening all the way through ... until they don’t! Well done! I really enjoyed the voices on the audio and felt like they brought the story to life.

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The Maidens has a lot going for it: an intriguing story line, an assorted cast of characters, atmosphere and a murder mystery of young university students shrouded in blood and Greek mythology. Sounds great! So, what happened?

While I love descriptive text and atmospheric reads - hence my fondness for Nordic Noir - The Maidens may have overreached. At times I caught myself second guessing the genre - thriller, psychological suspense or literary fiction, tropes I all enjoy and that fill my bookshelf. If this is your cup of tea then you will likely enjoy The Maidens.

Unfortunately, I found this book reaching and narrowly missing, the threads of Nordic Noir fused with psychological thriller. While I sussed out the culprit pretty early on, that is neither here nor there. I enjoy the profile and dimensionality (not word but is now!) of characters. I am intrigued to learn about the why's and how's of character's and how they reconciled their actions, the story behind the main headline. Personally, I found the overly descriptive narration about the minutia of each scene took away from the story being told and something was lost in the details. But that's just me.

Regardless, there will be oodles of people who will love this book, as they may have also enjoyed The Silent Patient. My "3" may be your "5" and vice versa.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of The Maidens.

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I love a story that includes real life and mythology. This novel does a fascinating job of creating those two worlds together. This is set mostly at the University of Cambridge. I've never been, but the writing created a sense of being there- illuminating pieces of an historic campus with details about the landscape, the weather and of course, the buildings. All good thrillers have red herrings, but this novel did a great job of keeping the guessing game going. While the ending isn't as mind-bending as The Silent Patient, I was so fascinated with this book, I blew through it. I'm sure there will be a third, and I can't wait to read it. Also, for the audiobook, please keep this man as a narrator. His voice is so powerful.

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I enjoyed The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. I did not see the ending coming. This book is well written and Michaelides does not disappoint.

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This review is based on the audio production of "The Maidens." Main narrator Louise Brealey also voiced "The Silent Patient" (which I loved) and she does a brilliant job of bringing nuance and emotion to "The Maidens." "The Maidens" doesn't have the suspense and thrill of "The Silent Patient." Instead, it's more of a slow burn psychological mystery, dark with Greek mythological imagery. The main character is a therapist, and there are callbacks to characters from "The Silent Patient," but the setting and focus of "The Maidens" don't carry the same creepy intrigue and shocking turns. Red herrings abound, and the "Maidens" of the story warrant their own series separate from this book.

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With "The Maidens", Alex Michaelides has written another page-turning thriller that lives up to all the hype created by the success of his first book, "The Silent Patient".

"The Maidens" follows Mariana, a group therapist, who returns to Cambridge when she receives a call from her niece Zoe who is worried about her missing friend. Zoe's friend is soon found murdered, and Mariana finds herself caught up in the mystery of what happened to her. First in her list of suspects is the charismatic Greek Tragedy professor, Edward Fosca. Fosca organizes a study group of loyal girls called The Maidens, of whom Zoe's murdered friend was a member. Soon Mariana finds her own life in danger as she gets closer to the truth of what happened to the murdered girl.

This was an entertaining and well-plotted mystery that kept me guessing until the end. I predict that "The Maidens" will be THE big summer hit this year! I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good mystery/thriller with plenty of twists to keep you guessing.

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A bit of a slower burn than Michaelides' first book (the Silent Patient; which I loved).

The whole premise rests on the fact that our main character knows who the killer is, and is working to prove it, however I didn't once think her suspicions were correct (so, the commitment to this idea being held through so much of the story felt frustrating at times).

Thankfully, the alternating chapters between our main character and the killer were a great way to keep things interesting. The killer's chapters were particularly entertaining in the times when the main narrative felt slow or grating.

I'll also give the author bonus points for the connection to the Silent Patient, which was so exciting and completely knocked me off my feet!

The biggest frustration for me was that I didn't really care for the revelation of the killer's identity. It was a little too farfetched, and the story didn't do enough to justify its conclusion.

Probably a 3.5 star read.

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Grateful for the advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review

This book kept me engaged from the start. Leading you weaving through character development in pursuit of solving the underlying mystery.
Plenty of red herrings throughout the story to fool me more times than I can count. It’s laughable now that I thought I had it figured out

I listened to the audiobook for this and it was really well done. They utilized many readers to help differentiate between characters, further enhancing the story and the mystery and making it much easier to follow along in audio format

The addition of Greek mythology also added a fascinating element to the story. This one is a yes for me!

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The Maidens is one of my most anticipated books of 2021 after reading and loving The Silent Patient! After all the hype for this book, I was ECSTAIC to receive the audiobook through @NetGalley (thank you also to @celadonbooks and @macillan.audio) and I started listening right away.

Dark academia, Greek Mythology and a secret society combine in this slow burn thriller. Mariana is a group therapist who receives a call that her niece Zoe's roommate has been murdered at her university, which is also Mariana's Alma Mater. Mariana inserts herself into the investigation of the campus serial killer as more female students are found murdered. She deliberately puts herself in harm's way because she is sure that the beloved Greek Tragedy professor, Edward Fosca, is behind the murders of his secret "girls, The Maidens. He is adored by these students but why are they turning up dead?

I'm not particularly interested in Greek mythology but throughout the book it presented in a way that wasn't difficult to understand and worked well with the plot. Short chapters - major WIN! There were so many unlikeable (and possibly guilty) characters, my head was spinning!

While the plot grew interesting, it did take awhile to really grab my full attention and the twist was pretty predictable for me; it's definitely not as twisty as TSP was but still worth the ride. I really loved that characters from TSP were intertwined in The Maidens.

The narrators did a great job executing the story. I especially enjoyed the creepy killer's POV (you know I love a good, creepy killer - haha)!

Make sure you grab this one when it publishes on June 15th!

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