OK, I was expecting a twist. And the twist at the end was one I partially predicted but then it turned into a full on tornado and I was like Whhhhaaaaaaattt???? Fuuuuuuuck… I was flip flopping between 3 and 4 stars for this one, but after writing up this review, I’m going with 4 since I really did enjoy it, I looked forward to picking up to keep reading it every chance I could, then devoured the ending as one does and I’m sure will continue to do with an Alex Michaelides novel. I look forward to another!

Like most others, I was excited to read The Maidens after having enjoyed Alex Michaelides’ debut, The Silent Patient. I like his writing style and find it easy to follow, even with his twists and turns. I don’t have to think too hard, but it still feels smart, you know? We need that sometimes in a book.

Just to get this part over with, some reviewers commented on details pertaining to group therapy, psychotherapy and so on. They mention discrepancies, sexism and falsely blamed childhoods, etc. I am not an expert on this subject so I won’t weigh in heavily. I don’t think the author made it seem like the methods and theories in the book were concrete. They seemed to be more the beliefs of the characters themselves. I get that in fiction (jeez, even in non-fiction) we don’t always get things right. That’s fine. I’m not going to pretend this novel was a textbook on psychology that I’m meant to learn to understand people from. People in real life are fucked up and believe crazy things so obviously fictional characters can too.

Was I entertained? Yes. That’s all that matters to me.

WARNING: some spoilers below!

Onto the characters.

Mariana: I don’t really like Mariana. I don’t know why. She’s ok I guess, but she annoyed me at times with her insistence to constantly and knowingly put herself in harm's way. Like IRL, we wouldn’t be friends. Some of it I got, some of it I didn’t. However, given that she was grieving and was in protector mode and this American asshole was acting like a hot shot, I can see why she did all she did. I did not understand her relationship with Henry and her allowing him to take part in her group therapy session at HER HOME.

Henry: Is he a decoy? Is he there to show us that Mariana is brave in the face of a dangerous man? As I was nearing the end of the book I kept thinking: something cool is gonna happen with this character. Then, he shows up at the college and I’m like: here it comes…and just like that we were done with Henry. Ugh!

Elsie: She gives me Dobby vibes.

Zoe: Zoe seems like a jerk from the get go. You can tell there’s something off. But you think maybe it’s because she just lost her friend? She’s hiding something. The author is not trying to pretend she’s not. We just don’t know what.

Fred: I kept thinking that there was a reason Fred was so lanky, so clumsy, like that detail was important in some way. Or that there was a reason he was in love with Mariana, maybe obsessed. Another decoy. I guess his ending is OK. But Part 4, Chapter 15, we’re building up the tension, we don’t trust anyone, and Mariana just SUPER EASILY goes with Fred to his place for some wine he stole? I bet she went for the wine…she seems to like wine. His story seems incomplete. As does Clarissa’s.

Theo: LOVED the crossover with the characters and story from The Silent Patient. This made me very excited for more Alex Michaelides novels!

What’s his name and the Maidens: Fosca and the Maidens were super intriguing. I would love a spin off of that hot mess. We wrap their story up with one sentence that makes you go: yeah I figured. But I would still love a longer version of how that group started and the happenings therein. Not to mention we just gloss over the fact that he very heavily further damaged an already fragile and disturbed Zoe, an act which might just have thrown her over the edge given the timing of it all.

Anyone else?