I may not have loved The Silent Patient *quite* as much as everyone else did, but I knew I had to check out Alex Michaelides' sophomore novel The Maidens and I am quite happy I did. I know the end has polarized many readers, but luckily for me, I was both surprised and satisfied with how he chose to end the novel. I feel like I have been reading a ton of books lately that center on abuse, and there is definitely some of that in this book as well although more subtle than in other books I've read lately. There are a few different viewpoint changes and quite a few characters, but I was pretty good at keeping them all straight and didn't really have any issues. I loved the mythology aspect as well, and I especially loved the nods to The Silent Patient. When those hit me, I was like OH YES, and I know other readers have appreciated this as well. Mariana was definitely my favorite character out of the bunch, and she was sleuthing away trying to prove Fosca was murdering people. There is a very unique cast of characters, one being the group of The Maidens, and I quite liked all of the different aspects to all the different people.
I listened to the entirety of The Maidens while taking peeks at my physical copy and I really enjoyed the audiobook; it is narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith & Louise Brealey and they were the perfect narrators. Louise had a larger part in the narration, and I was very impressed with how well she did. The audio went smoothly and really helped me stay invested in the story. I would say the plot is even more impactful if you listen to it, so if you love audiobooks, I would almost recommend listening to it instead of reading it. It is a little bit of a slow burn especially in the beginning, but there is still enough going on that it doesn't really feel like it, and by the time we get to the end things are going full speed ahead. While I was fine with the end (and a little sad about it), one big thing at the very end seems open-ended, which is now driving me crazy. So, Alex, if you're reading this, please tell me what you were thinking because I need answers...
Thank you to the publisher for my advanced listening and reading copies. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I listened to the entirety of The Maidens while taking peeks at my physical copy and I really enjoyed the audiobook; it is narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith & Louise Brealey and they were the perfect narrators. Louise had a larger part in the narration, and I was very impressed with how well she did. The audio went smoothly and really helped me stay invested in the story. I would say the plot is even more impactful if you listen to it, so if you love audiobooks, I would almost recommend listening to it instead of reading it. It is a little bit of a slow burn especially in the beginning, but there is still enough going on that it doesn't really feel like it, and by the time we get to the end things are going full speed ahead. While I was fine with the end (and a little sad about it), one big thing at the very end seems open-ended, which is now driving me crazy. So, Alex, if you're reading this, please tell me what you were thinking because I need answers...
Thank you to the publisher for my advanced listening and reading copies. All opinions and thoughts are my own.