Customer Reviews

Daughter of Darkness

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Poor, sweet, beloved V.C. Andrews, who worked so hard to bring us the enticing Flowers in the Attic, My Sweet Audrina, and the Heaven books despite all sorts of physical difficulties (including breast cancer and arthritis and a really bad back that had been a problem for her since youth) does not deserve to have her name dragged through the mud (or something far more vile) with books such as this.

The author description from the book is as follows...

"One of the most popular authors of all time, V.C. Andrews has been a bestselling phenomenon since the publication of her spellbinding classic Flowers in the Attic. That blockbuster novel began her renowned Dollanganger family saga, which includes Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. Since then, readers have been captivated by more than fifty novels in V.C. Andrews' bestselling series..."

I can agree that FitA was spellbinding. However, VCA only was able to finish seven books and start four more. She certainly didn't write fifty books. Makes you wonder why even 25 years after her death, the ghostwriter continues to churn these books out. V.C. Andrews did leave some notes and outlines after her death and I can definitely see her soul and ideas in the Dawn and Ruby books. However, these notes ran out at the last Logan book (which would explain why 'Olivia' wasn't quite as good) so for over ten years now, there has been no VCA in the books printed under her name, not even a trace. And sadly apparent, it shows.

Apparently Neiderman decided to hop onto the vampire bandwagon (Twilight, Evermore, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, and so on and so forth) with this... this... I'm not even sure what to call it. On the cover (at the bottom) it says 'The Vampire Novel Fans Have Been Craving Since Flowers in the Attic'

Waitaminute, WHAT? After reading the Dollanganger series, vampires was the furthest thing from my mind. After finishing FITA, all I wanted to do was go on to 'Petals on the Wind'.

So anyway, the main character's name is Lorelei Patio. It literally sounds like Neiderman drew first and last names at random from a hat. Personally, I liked Lorelei as a name, but now Neiderman has soured me for that name. and Patio. PATIO. I keep thinking of lawn and patio furniture now. For all we know, her name could have been something like Razzberry Microwave or something like that. In one of the ghostwriter's novels (penned under his own name as 'Bloodchild') a character with the name of Patio is in it... and it's also a vampire novel and Patio's a vampire. I don't know if this is intentional or not.

The characters are almost a caricature of the people they're supposed to be. Sergio Patio is unlikeable - not because he is evil, but because he is so bland. Foxy is one of the weakest characters, namely due to his weak dialogue and willingness to ignore the obvious. The sisters are competitive, vying for Daddy, and it's so petty it's ridiculous. Lorelei's boyfriend is a sugar-sweet guy that kinda made me gag.

This book isn't much different from the stuff Neiderman has been writing since the Orphans miniseries (though Orphans was actually better than this) but every flaw has been magnified. The cliches are worse, the lines more cheesy, the characters more cardboard, and the ending... oh wow. Seriously, dude. And the names are recycled as well. In Heavenstone Secrets, Semantha's first baby was supposed to be called Asa. Here, one of Lorelei's sisters is named Ava.

SPOILER ALERT!

Yes, they really are vampires. I was wondering if Neiderman would just tease and make them SEEM like vampires, but the ending reveals that they really are vampires.

And there's incest. Apparently, Sergio Patio (Daddy Vampire) likes to have sex with his own daughters, and Lorelei learns that she really IS his daughter, and not adopted. Now, this (sorta) worked for Willow because her father HAD to lie to her for two things - his jealous wife, and his professional reputation. But here there is no real reason to lie to the girls. They are raised away from their mothers, which is also really odd.

So Lorelei learns that she really is her father's daughter. YET she is also expected to have sex with him and bear him daughters who will then become sister-wives. The boys feed, the girls breed. Lorelei and her sisters are all supposed to become brides of Sergio and breed more vampire babies. Apparently the girls don't start out as full vampires, and it isn't until they are properly initiated that they do become full vampires. I've never heard of anything so ridiculous. Lorelei also meets her real mother, but it's lame.

Any seasoned VCA reader is no stranger to incest. But in the FitA, Heaven, Dawn, and Ruby books, it had a believable premise behind it, whether it was consensual or not. I felt especially bad for Paul and Ruby,. But here, it feels slapped in, almost as if someone reminded Neiderman to put in some so it would make it feel more like a 'real' VCA book.

Fortunately, Lorelei is disgusted by this notion of 'keeping it in the family' and wants none of it, so she runs away with her boyfriend, Buddy (seriously, that's his name) despite threats that she might become one of the hunted rather than a hunter.

And then at the very ending, she just abandons Buddy and hops into a truck with a complete stranger, not even knowing where he is going. For all we know, he could end up raping or killing her, but Lorelei just trusts him completely - which shows how much of an idiot she is. After escaping a vampire coven, I'd be especially alert to the surroundings. And she abandoned Buddy after he told her he loves her and she told him she loved him too. So why would she run away? Not only is Lorelei a stupid character, this whole book is nonsensical and makes no sense whatsoever.

Yet, poor Miss V.C. Andrews is credited (or more appropriately, blamed) for this.

This book also comes with a preview for the next title, 'Family Storms' (thank goodness DoD doesn't have a sequel) and one of the characters is Jordan March. BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT...apparently it's NOT the same Jordan March from the Early Spring series! So not only are titles and ideas recycled, now names are being copied and pasted. Fortunately, 'Family Storms' seems to be a normal family story, with no supernatural (which is good, because the Gemini and Heaqvenstone books showed that it was not Neiderman's strong suit) and the idea seems more promising.

V.C. Andrews, your true and honest fans love and miss you.

Interesting bit of trivia - After her death, VCA left notes and outlines for more books indeed - only up to the last book in the Logan family series. After that, nothing is even 'inspired' by VCA, since Neiderman ran out of her notes, which would explain the Orphans miniseries and everything afterward. This book has NOTHING to do with VCA, and was not even inspired by her, so these books REALLY need to stop now.

Wow - so I tried to read another of the new VCA books... and it was painful. I've had this book for a month and a half and finally finished it! I would rather have a "formula" series book after this horrible excuse for a "thriller."

I found the vampire plot dull. I was mildly interested in Fannie - I mean the older sister. But even she couldn't have me enjoying this book.

I think I may be really done this time.

Okay, so I saw this book at Wal-Mart - bought it without even reading the description on the back - because I loved the Flowers in the Attic series and My Sweet Audrina from my high school years. I read it all in one lazy Sunday. However, I kept waiting for something really exciting to happen, and it just never did. Reading the other reviews, I also wanted to hear more about these Renegade vampires. I wanted to know more about "Daddy" and where he came from. I felt bad for Buddy in the end, because she just leaves him. In the end, you don't know if Lorelei got in the truck and "vamped" out on the driver. Or, did they fall in love and have many little kind of half-vampire babies? Or, like someone else said, did the truck driver rape and kill her leaving her to rot in a dumpster? Ughh, please - what a waste of a good Sunday!

I actually had some hopes for this book, but they didn't pan out. Let me explain why I only gave it one star.

I thought this book started with some promise. I was interested. I wanted to see how Neiderman would flesh out his take on the vampire mythology. I hadn't previously read any vampire stories in which beautiful daughters are the bait to reel in the victims. (Maybe there are some, but I haven't read them.) I actually wanted to see what kind of world was created around this idea.

The unfortunate answer is...none. Seriously, NOTHING happens for about 300 pages. The vampire father, Sergio Patio (I spent the entire read pronouncing it "Pah-TEE-yo" in my head just to get around THAT stupidity), is barely even in it. The story, what there is of it, focuses on the relationship between 17-year-old Lorelei and her older sister, Ava, and their younger sister, Marla. Eventually one girl replaces another as the procurer of "food," so there's supposed to be both dependence and rivalry among the girls. Really, though, I'm giving this plot device too much credit. Lorelei simpers around, Ava is by turns bullying and pleading, little sister turns into a whiny brat. That's it, for about 300 pages. Sisterly arguing of "you know, you have to get your act together so Daddy can depend on you soon." Just over and over and over. Both the romantic plot with buddy and the explanation of the girls' "destiny" are tossed in, unexplored, hardly even worth mentioning.

As for the vampire mythology being re-imagined and fleshed out...forget it. We are super-briefly introduced to a group called "Renegades," but neither they nor their goals are really explained. Just a quickie plot device to introduce some conflict. Maybe they would be more fully explained in a sequel, but there certainly wasn't enough here to make me care enough to come back for a second book.

And, as always, there's the poor writing, Neiderman's list of "usual suspect" words and phrases. As I mentioned in another post, "chanting" occurred immediately, on page 6. There was also "reciting" (words of love, no less...uh, the word "reciting" doesn't really convey any sort of sincerity, you know!), "eyes growing small," the love that would last "forever and ever," smirks "creasing her lips," "chastising," a WHOLE lot of "impish" (the most overused adjective EVER, first used by Neiderman to describe Michael Sutton in "Secrets of the Morning")and a whole new boatload of nonsensical metaphors. Horrible. Because the writing is so bad, I COULDN'T lose myself in the story, even if there is a story to be lost in.

Bottom line: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. If you are into original VC Andrews stories and like family sagas (that sometimes include incest), I recommend: "Innocent Dark" and "Sinister Twilight" by J.S. Forrester (out of print, you can get them very cheap); the Delande saga by Gwen Hunter, including "Betrayal," "False Truths," and "Law of the Wild," Anne Rice's masterpiece "The Witching Hour" (but not its sequels), and Philippa Gregory's "Wideacre" trilogy. If you MUST pick up a Neiderman-writing-as-VC book, I highly recommend "Celeste" (but not its sequels) and the Landry saga, especially "All that Glitters," which stands out to me as the book most like a REAL VC book.

If you're looking for something to fulfill your Twilight cravings, again, don't waste your time. I highly recommend the excellent Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead (a perfect example of fleshing out the vampire mythology in a whole new way); the Fallen series by Lauren Kate; The Hollow trilogy by Jessica Verday, and Secret Circle or Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith.

There is truly more fulfilling material out there to read than this.

I must agree with the viewers who only put one star for this book. The plot is nice, but the way it was written was definitely horrible. Did anyone notice how there never seemed to be a date or time in the story? Or how that whole scuffle with the rogue didn't take that long and how she quickly gave herself to Buddy after? This story was a little bit better than that Angel Vampire book I came across one time, but it still wasn't awe inspiring either. I feel sorry for the dead author who has to endure the blame for this. Even the ending sucked, no it especially sucked!

I was very disapointed in this book,I have read all of V.C. Andrews books and this one is a real let down,it makes no sense and is very boring,I kept thinking it would get better clear to the end which is confusing,did she go back to her dad or where?

Where are all of the girls that we can sympathize with and love and actually get attached to? I NEVER thought anyone would ever claim the talented VC Andrews WOULD have written this terrible book had she been alive. I can promise this was never found in her "notebooks" of unfinished stories and story ideas. They just had to jump on the Vampire wagon. I will save my vampire love for Edward and Bella. This is not something I ever expected to see as a VC Andrews book. The story may have been better if someone wrote it that could actually write. The worst book with Miss Andrews name on it BY FAR. So far fetched, drug out, strange (even for VC Andrews standards) and utterly ridiculous. Terrible, save your money and re-read something older. I recommend the Landry series.

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

This whole book made me...uncomfortable. The incestuous overtones that are present throughout DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS vary from subtle to overt. It's big time creepy, and not in the fun paranormal way that we all love. More like Dracula meets Sister Wives.

The main characters were also somewhat off-putting: Daddy for the obvious reasons, Lorelei for her sheep-to-the-slaughter mentality that was so naïve and worshipful of Daddy that I cringed constantly when she went on and on about competing with her other sexpot sisters for the position of being Daddy's best daughter. And we can't forget the uber boring and needy romantic interest who was declaring his undying love on the second date.

There were a couple of redeeming aspects of DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS. The question of who/what Daddy is and the nature of his kind along with the mystery of his daughters (where did they all come from & what is their `final destiny'?) was genuinely intriguing and well plotted.

Despite there being no love lost between me and any of these characters, I had to know how the story ended. I had some suspicions, but the last chapter was truly shocking and very V.C. Andrews. If you're a fan of the books published under the Andrews name, you'll probably like the unsettling nature of DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS, but itwasn't for me.

Sexual Content: A couple brief, non graphic sex scenes. Discussion of incest.

I really tried to finish the book thinking it would get better but it doesn't. Not worth buying or even reading it for free.

The book was sooooooooo slow at the beginning, I mean it's completely the opposite of what V.C. Andrews was about. I'm not looking forward to the next in the series but I have the complete V.C. Andrews collection and want to continue, I sure hope the next one is better or I may just stop reading all of them, I'm not into vampires as a lot of people are not either.