Welcome to Litsy!

My reading buddy and I finished this book this morning! A plot rooted on the basis of Greek tragedy, in the modern era. Lots of twists, turns and “who could it be?”. +86 #DeadSerious #HauntedShelf

Statues = art deco, right! Well, I think so. It‘s my current read doubled as a Book Scavenger Hunt prompt! +15 #HauntedShelf #DeadSerious

I love dark academia and Greek mythology, so I was excited to read a book that had both. Unfortunately, this book is just okay. The characters are all the same — especially the men. The author‘s way of keeping you guessing was lazy; they pretty much all had the same background. The Maidens, as a group, were unnecessary to the story, and the ending was rushed and didn‘t make a lot of sense. The Last Drop of Hemlock is my new #audiowalk book.

It was 77° outside today, but it looked like it was going to rain any minute, so I did 1 mile outside and 1 inside. I generally like dark academia, so I was surprised I didn‘t immediately get into this book when I first tried to read it. I‘ve got approximately 3 hours left and so far, I‘d say it‘s okay. #audiowalk

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”

#College

#SchoolSpirit

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I started The Maidens today (again) for my #audiowalk. I‘m liking it a bit better than I did the first time I started it. I just had a short walk today because of my physical therapy session in the afternoon.

I looked at this book for a while before deciding to check it out; I always loved the cover art. The chapters are short, and the story kept me interested. I loved the descriptions of the different places, and I connected with the main character‘s grief. I like dark academia and I love Greek mythology—especially the ancient tragedies and Elysian mysteries. I didn‘t get the ending, as the twist really didn‘t make sense to me, but, I liked how⬇️

O life as futile, then, as frail!
O for thy voice to soothe and bless!
What hope of answer, or redress?
Behind the veil, behind the veil…

—Lord Alfred Tennyson

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Maidens, like Michaelides' previous books, is rife with drama, intrigue, and mystery. It allows readers to concoct many theories, but will any of them be right?! Mine weren't! Decent storyline and exciting twists, though the author may have missed the mark a bit as there were a couple of pretty blatant plot holes and some odd story development choices. All in all though I had fun listening to this #audiobook even if it wasn't perfect.

I loved the Cambridge University setting, the gothic/dark academia feel and the idea of a secret society influenced by Greek mythology called ‘The Maidens‘. I also enjoyed the appearance of a character from ‘The Silent Patient‘. However, the behavior of main character, Mariana, made no sense to me. This was between so-so and light pick.

Picked this up at an estate sale in Spokane Washington in 2021 as it is on my TBR, have been thinking of this book so pulled off my shelves to read.

So far I like this better than The Silent Patient.

Finished and found the ending rushed which not fitting with the rest of the story. Seemed as though the author was done with writing this book and needed to end it without much thought.

#StorySettings #College
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

It‘s my first Alex Michaelides read. It was suggested to me because how much I loved Psyche and Eros. I did like the Greek mythology in it and the symbolism, but the end was so disturbing. It was surprising and I still didn‘t get it until it was clearly explained in the book. I had to go back and reread spots in the book for the clues after I finished. I also liked all the psychology in it. But for me, I always want a happy ending and it wasn‘t.

It started off good. But as it went on all the men characters were the same (vaguely menacing/obsessed with Mariana) all the female students act similarly. Mariana is sticking her nose in things & it makes no sense that it would go largely unquestioned & the ending was super preposterous.

“I sometimes hold it half a sin
To put in words the grief I feel; For words, like Nature, half reveal And half conceal
the Soul within.”

#Mythical

#ItTakesAllKinds

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I like this authors writing style. I love the shorter chapters. It made for a quick read.
The story kept me interested, and I definitely didn‘t see the end coming. But this book confirmed what I already knew. I‘m really not into thrillers. I didn‘t find any of the characters likable. I did find the setting fascinating. I love reading about the old schools in England. All in all, find book was just middle of the road for me.

All I can say is wow…if you like thriller read The Silent Patient first….then read The Maidens. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another thrilling mystery! I enjoyed this one, it kept me guessing, and I didn‘t see the twist coming. That‘s not saying much, though, bc I never do 😅 I didn‘t think it was as good as The Silent Patient—there were more plot holes and unnecessary characters—but I still liked it. The main character is a little clueless, but for whatever reason it didn‘t bother me that much, I just enjoyed the mystery.

The first half of the book, I wasn‘t feeling all the mythology and was feeling overall meh about the book. But I am not one to DNF. All the good stuff happens at the end right?
I had to pick my jaw up off the ground at this ending. I really thought I had the right suspects but woooo Nelly was I WRONG! Stayed up late to finish so I could start The Fury by the same author tomorrow.

The jury is very much out for me with Dark Academia but it is #99ponkindle in the UK today so picked this up.

I loved the silent patient so I wanted to love this one too. I did enjoy it, but it‘s very long and drawn out.

Another great book by this author. I felt that there could be more to the ending but overall I loved this book and it kept me guessing until the end.

Having previously been disappointed by The Silent Patient, I went into this not expecting much, but I thought this one was better. Michaelides repeats several of the flaws of his previous book here - notably, several underdeveloped supporting characters that serve only as blatant red herrings. Plus the twist was a bit of a cheat, as it relied on Mariana being not just an unreliable narrator, but possibly the world‘s thickest psychologist.

Ending wasn‘t horrible. Writing wasn‘t great. Didn‘t like the characters. There were characters that felt very useless. There were plot points that were useless. Pacing was…..weird? Felt like this book could have been half the length.

This was silly, but good fun.

If you fancy an extra slice of dark academia and aren't too fussy about the quality, this certainly has the vibes.

Short chapters make this eminently snarfable, so even if you can't suspend your disbelief, it'll be over before you can say "slimy professor" ?

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was so good 🖤🩸😱

#DarkAcademia

#BookBinge

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

3.9/5 🌟

Not as good as his first book but it was entertaining and interesting enough.

I ended up really enjoying The Maidens despite it being a bit harder to get into. Once the story got moving I found it hard to put down. Alex Michaelides does a good job of hiding the direction of the book making it unpredictable. I enjoyed the process of unraveling the murders with her as she unravelled her past. Complaints: short chapters made the pace feel rushed while simultaneously making it hard to get into

I did not like this. At all.

About halfway through, I already knew I wasn't feeling it, not the same as The Silent Patient. But I still read it, hoping. Sigh.

Book #34
3/5
I was really disappointed by this one. Michaelides' novel, The Silent Patient, was one of my favourites a few years back. The resolution to this one was just too contrived for my liking. Too many questions left unanswered.

DNF. Not for me I'm afraid. The writing style and also the characters, mostly.

The writing is good. The story is interesting. I didn‘t like the end twist it was a little much. I guess I should say the twist of the twist was a bit much for me.
I preferred The Silent Patient over this one.
3.8 ⭐️ if you like dark twisty
Soft pick.

Up next in audio

Nope. So much nope.

This book had me transfixed from the start. A modern spin, I would say, on The Secret History. I enjoyed everything about this book. Twist ending. #themaidens #mystery #whodunnit

Very Freudian. I knew this wasn‘t rly dark academia but was still hoping for vibes…there weren‘t many 🤷🏽‍♀️ quick paced quick read, finished in 3 days so it was def good, but not rly ground breaking or anything.

One of our books to giveaway!! Have you read it?!

#LitsyLove

I enjoyed this, But I had it partially figured out so the ending wasn't a shock and awe feeling. I feel think his other book, The Silent Patient was a much better book overall.

This was very disappointing. The characters were very detached and not individualized. The dialogue was choppy and weird mostly. The tension/suspense effect was lost due to the execution being so poor and the author trying to throw too many curve balls that didn‘t make sense. The final twist applied to the rest of the story in a way that was too far fetched and flimsily put together; it made me roll my eyes in frustration. ⭐️⭐️

I‘m taking a break from the monotony of the series I‘ve been reading and giving this book a shot! I‘ve heard so much hype about this author ever since The Silent Patient became so popular, so I‘m super excited to see if this book is just as good! This is also the start of my hopefully dedicated attempt at reading more books off my physical TBR instead of constantly buying new ones. I got this one from BOTM a while ago so I hope it‘s a good start!

The plot twist seemed really predictable but there I was with a *gasp* anyway. The ending faltered but overall I really liked this.

A clever thriller with some plot twists. I liked The Silent Patient more but still enjoyed The Maidens.

Suspense ✔️
Unreliable narrator ✔️
Murder mystery ✔️

I‘m in!

My #roll100 is set also. Looking forward to all of these. @PuddleJumper

“
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession, that further cements “Michaelides as a major player in the field” (Publishers Weekly).”

Despite feeling somewhat meh about the ending, I enjoyed this novel. The setting is a place I want to visit every time I read about it, and there are some interesting issues of classism and xenophobia mixed in with the mystery and frustration and almost universally cringey male characters.

(Photo is from my walk to work this afternoon while listening to the end of this audiobook.)

Cartoonish mystery/thriller with the requisite pile of young female bodies. Bailed but skipped to the end to confirm I had indeed guessed the killer 1/4 of the way in, though not the extra salacious details. 2021

Maybe this book gets better, but I can't get into it. Some of the literary references come off as pretentious, especially since at least one early on (comparing Mariana and her dad to Petruchio and Kate) doesn't even make sense. Also, I am pretty sure the murderer has multiple personality disorder. Really, that old trope that is either extremely rare or non-existent in reality? Bailing now.

I really liked their first book so I was excited to read this one. The twist was really good and I didn‘t see it coming but the main character annoyed me a lot. It‘s probably my own personal bias but the main characters grief from the start seemed unrealistic and that‘s why I rated 3 stars

October 10 - The Daily Photo Challenge - Prompt: crime

#scarathlondailyprompts #crimefiction #scarathlon22 #teammonstermash #scarathlon #crime #dailyphotochallenge #themaidens