127 reviews by:

cailynreads

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Riley Sager has done it again with “Middle of the Night”. This book is an absolute page-turner, packed with twists that I never saw coming. The suspense kept me on edge the whole time, and just when I thought I had it figured out, the story took another wild turn. If you love thrillers that mess with your mind, have a touch of supernatural forces and keep you guessing until the very end, this one is for you. 
funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Super funny! I love that she is so engaged with her fans that she was able to write an entire satire novel on the things we point out to her all the time. She’s really the best 
dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

As a huge fan of Alex Michaelides, I had "The Maidens" marked as one of my most anticipated reads of the year. 
Having absolutely loved "The Silent Patient" | was excited to see how Michaelides would follow up his breakout hit. While there's a lot to appreciate here, I have to admit, I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed. 
Let's start with the positives: the atmosphere is fantastic. 
Michaelides does an incredible job of creating a dark, academic world. The blending of Greek mythology and the eerie "Maidens" cult had a lot of potential, and the mystery kept me intrigued for most of the book. The pacing was also strong, with short, sharp chapters that made it easy to keep turning the pages. 
That said, the plot just didn't come together as well as l'd hoped. The twists, which I loved so much in "The Silent Patient", felt more forced here. I was not able to guess this twist, but there was a still a missing shock factor. Mariana, the protagonist, was a bit hard to connect with, and some of her decisions didn't always feel natural or believable. 
As much as I wanted to love this book, it didn't quite hit the mark the way I hoped it would. That being said, it's still a solid psychological thriller with a gripping premise. If you're a fan of Michaelides, it's definitely worth a read, but it might not live up to the expectations set by "The Silent Patient".
adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous funny hopeful tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
dark mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings