The Maidens - Tumblr Posts
god i feel so bad for zelda this fight,,,god,,,the maidens,,,,girls pls my heart,,,,,everything hurts,,,,fuck,,,,ZELDA AND KATJA????? FUCK??? MY HE A R T,,,,and like?? Zelda is a junior she was the last maiden and just like?? thinking about the courage she had to have had to disagree with Sam and Ostentatia who are these big and bold and beautiful women, especially sam being a sorcerer, which is charisma based like,,,god,,,my heart it’s episode TWO YA’LL
Hypothetically speaking... if Julian Morrow and Edward Fosca were to meet...
Book Rec #1: My first book recommendation EVER!
Obviously I don’t read enough to make more recommendations lol, BUT ANYWAYS…
For anyone looking for an intense read (at least by my standards) - give this book a shot!! The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Throughout the entirety of the story you feel comfortable and confident in your deductions and conclusions, but by the end your gut is churned like butter, your heart is aching beyond belief and you realize you can’t trust your intuition as a reader sometimes.
But if a story doesn’t make you feel like that then it’s either poorly written or it’s not really in your genre arsenal, and you should probably keep looking for a more suitable read.
This book was one I really debated purchasing because a) I’m frugal as f*** and b) I had never read anything really within this genre (which is surprising because it’s right up my alley) or from this author for that matter. BUT, it has quickly become my favorite book I’ve ever read this far.
The author, Alex Michaelides, also wrote the highly acclaimed ‘The Silent Patient’, so if you’ve read that and loved it, you’ll probably love this as well!!
Plus he wrote this mostly through quarantine so at least we know one good thing came out of that shit storm year 😂
8/10✨
PSA: I’d say it’s pretty tame in descriptions but some of the content is really some “WTF 🤭😐🤢” type shit, so YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!
~ December's Books Reviewed ~
The Dreamer Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater
(1,101 pages total)
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this trilogy as much as I did. I loved the characters in particular, but the plot was also engaging and went in directions I wasn't expecting. I would say that my one regret would be that I hadn't read the previous trilogy first. Maybe I'll go back and read it later but considering I now know where all the characters stories end I don't know how much enjoyment I'll get out of watching people pine and/or fight until they work out the relationships I know they will get to. That being said, I didn't feel like I missed out on any enjoyment while reading it as a result of not reading the first trilogy. I fell right into the story and the characters easily and really truly did love all the dynamics etc.
I gave this trilogy between 4-4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(🌗)
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
(541 pages)
Absolutely incredible. So worth the wait (I've been trying to find this book in a shop for AGES!) and very pleased that I finally found a copy. Absolutely chilling at points and definitely almost has minorly horroresque elements (but this is coming from someone who really hates horror books so probably isn't that bad to most!) It almost made me cry (and I'm not a cryer) too. Basically, I'd definitely recommend!
I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Poppy War Trilogy by R.F. Kuang
(1,862 pages total)
*SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW*
A little heavy on military scenes for me. I found it a tad confusing at points, and definitely began to run out of steam towards the end of the trilogy. However, it did keep me engaged through all three books and I did finish the trilogy so it was far from bad. Overall I think it was an interesting read, and I did really like the sort of slow realisation that you had that the "protagonist"/speaker was actually most definitely the villain. I think loads of people would absolutely love this trilogy, and Kuang is a fantastic writer, it just maybe wasn't for me.
I gave this trilogy 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
(356 pages)
Was okay. Not great, but certainly not bad either. Kept my attention throughout, and I honestly wasn't expecting the twist at the end so that was undeniably successful. I will say that without knowing anything about the author, it was very very clear to me from about 20 pages in that he was a male writer writing from the perspective of a female protagonist. I googled and I can confirm the author is male. He didn't do anything overtly sexist or anything, I think there is just a vibe that you can pick up on.
I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗
The Betrayals by Bridget Collins
(423 pages)
The only reason this book isn't getting 1 star (and the only reason I think I was able to finish it) is because of its potential. The game at the centre of the story is never explained, nor was the government, nor (as far as I could work out, but I confess to beginning to slightly skim read) was the entire character of "the rat" and the point of their storyline. The relationships and descriptive language felt uncomfortable to me, and a very old fashioned approach to many things. The "twist" felt badly set up and overused. Additionally, the entire thing was just unnecessarily complex, like the author was trying to show off how clever and intellectual they were, but failed.
I gave this book 1.5 stars ⭐️🌗
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie
(284 pages)
Quick, easy, enjoyable. Almost got emotional reading the end of Poirot, but it also was a very fitting end for him too. I loved the symmetry with the first case and book too. Basically, a Poirot novel is never not going to be good.
I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️