Customer Reviews

Hidden Leaves (De Beers series, Bk. 6)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I'm shocked by the number of positive reviews regarding this book, which has to be one of the weakest to come out since the ghostwriter took over for VC Andrews. When will someone get this ghostwriter an editor? Not one but two characters are addressed by the wrong names (Kirby Scott becomes Kyle and Winston Montgomery is referred to as Winthrop!); the author has no idea how to appropriately use a comma; and there is not a single revelation during the course of the story that wasn't already discussed in a previous book in the series. Perhaps expectations have fallen since the death of Ms. Andrews, who was a genius and whose original books continue to rank among my all-time favorites. While reading Hidden Leaves, I was silmutaneously reading Flowers In The Attic to my best friend during our morning commute. Despite having spent years refusing to give in and read the book I consider such a classic, he instantly fell under its spell and, during a recent trip, borrowed my copy of the final book in that series, Garden of Shadows. Want to experience the REAL VC Andrews? Please, in the name of all that is holy, go back and re-read these classics rather than spending another dime on these churned-out pieces of crap that have none of the style, gothic allure or storytelling finese of the originals. Surely the publishing house could hire an author who might actually capture the spirit of the originals... or have we, as a socity, become so accepting of crap that we will continue to buy anything they put out as long as VC Andrews name is slapped on the cover?

I am not going to pretend that I didn't enjoy this book, (actually, based on its length and the time it took to read it was more like a pamphlet) but I'm not going to pretend it wasn't a pile of poop, either. I guess that's the paradox of some of the latest V.C. books the ghostwriter churns out every six months. (And I, like an idiot, spend $7.99 on when it'll all be at someone's garage sale next month.)

Nothing that happens in this book is even remotely possible in anything vaguely resembling the human world as any of us know it. Although I'm touched at Willow's mother's vulnerability and feel bad for her, and although I allowed myself to suspend disbelief for the duration of the pamphlet and be sad about her tragic love affair with Claude, come on. That relationship NEVER MADE SENSE! It was so implausible, even by V.C. Andrews' bizarre standards. Here are the reasons:

Number one, although psychiatrists do sleep with their patients, I just cannot believe that those with any professional integrity do! Claude is continually presented as this beacon of virtue, a man who loves his work above all else. Would a man like that sleep with a severely disturbed young woman under his care (and, incidentally, not ensure she is using birth control)? Is that the best treatment available for her?! Is that smart? He tells us that he just loves her so much, he can't help it. That's unbelievably silly. Adults know that sex isn't some uncontrollable thing-you actually can hold back if it's unprofessional, exploitive, adulterous-this one is all three.

2. Why, why, please tell me why, is Claude married to such a wretched woman? I just cannot have any respect for such a man. While he's "working overtime" at his clinic, there's an evil wife at home. WHY? I really also can't respect Claude for having stayed with this woman when he knew he didn't love her, cheated on her instead of having the courage to get a divorce, and ultimately subject his innocent daughter to an abusive stepmother who was constantly and inexplicably cruel to her. Why would you do that to someone you love? They act like he had no control over that, when clearly he did.

3. How could he abandon Willow's mother like that? I'm sorry, that part ALSO has never made sense, since the very beginning of the series, from Willow, book #1. There's just no good excuse why you would impregnate your supposed "true love" and then decide, because you "value your career so much" (so much you violate its principles in a way most psychiatrists would find abhorrent), you will abandon her and go back to an evil wife. But, take the baby with you?

It's still an entertaining book though, I can't tell you why. These books are like crack to me. I want to stop buying them and enjoying them, but I can't! Help!

As if prior offerings such as the Melody series weren't hint enough, this pretty much confirms that the VC Andrews ghost writer needs to move on. Trite, sappy, and unbelievable story. The protagonist did not evoke any of my sympathy. The woman was interesting.

Aside from the terrible writing, I had another problem with this book. Absolute appalling view of a patient/psychiatrist relationship. Even if the patient does want a relationship with a psychiatrist, in NO WAY is it acceptable for the psychiatrist to act on it. I don't care how "candle light and roses" the author makes it out to be, it is flat out unethical.

This is the final VC Andrews book I'll ever buy. I am giving up on VCA. The recent series (beginning with the Logans) no longer hold that magic I used to experience when reading her books. The ghostwriter (Andrew Neiderman, horror writer) is a lousy author. The stories are too modern, melodramatic and pretty lame. I am sick and tired of reading about a high school girl and her lame high school problems. This was a very disappointing series. There were no secrets left to discover after reading this. Plus, the ghostwriter gets his time frame for the novels in this series screwed up.

So I am once again the first person to review a VC book, just as I was for INTO THE WOODS. I am flattered and I sincerely hope that my efforts help other people to discover VC books that are indeed treasures to read!

Once again I have to say WOW! Continuing with the theme from INTO THE WOODS, HIDDEN LEAVES continues to tremendously redeem the V. C. Andrews ghostwriter!

Although this is a shorter than usual VC book, it is by all means the most important in the WILLOW SECRET. Divided into two parts, the first is DR. DE BEERS secret diary, the one he presented to Willow after his death. Intriguing reading to see how he and Willow's mother -- Grace Montgomery -- met in the asylum and feel in love and made a baby together - Willow De Beers.

Part two is the e-book that was originally available for download on the SIMONSAYS.COM website in 1991 - Dark Seed. This mini-novel really brings into focus another VC-type character - the wicked stepmother. Alberta De Beers seems to practically hate Willow until nearly to her death when she finally mellows out a little bit - perhaps she senses something tragic is coming? The treatment of her husband is equally shabby. My ONLY complaint and this is not the ghostwriter's fault is that POCKET BOOKS did not issue a hardcover edition of this book. My hardcover VC collection cries out for all hardcover, first editions!

Like with my INTO THE WOODS review, again I won't recap the book's plot but I instead want to point out its strengths! Most notably, in my opinion, this book also plays out over many years -- not over a very short period of time -- and this is very similar to the original V. C. Andrews books. Like the equally fantastic INTO THE WOODS, this is an adult-themed novel written for adult audiences and not just for teenagers - it is mature and is not about a young girl and her young girl school problems. Happily, there is NONE of that!

I recommend EACH AND EVERY VC book you can get your hands on. Also, if you know who the ghostwriter is (No, I'm not going to reveal his identity!) you will want to pick them up to compare writing styles. You will be happily surprised!

I am happily comfortable that INTO THE WOODS and how HIDDEN LEAVES return to style the more in-depth books we have known to come and to love from V. C. Andrews and from the ghostwriter. HEARTILY RECOMMENDED IF YOU LOVE V. C. ANDREWS AS MUCH AS I DO!

There were so many things wrong with the DeBeers series overall, and this book is even sadder than the other books. I simply could not enjoy this book. No one makes any sense.

If Claude cared for Grace at all, he would have found a way to be with her. He was rich and successful, and he was unhappy with his wife and for whatever reason, stayed with her instead of taking the obvious choice and divorcing her. And poor Grace, condemned to spending the rest of her life alone, never seeing Claude again.

One has to wonder, after Alberta died, you'd think Claude could have contacted Grace and say, 'hey, you know what, it's been years, we've both grown, my wife's dead, let's get married!' He's a psychiatrist, he's supposed to be so smart, yet it never even occurred to him to take action once his evil wife died. The DeBeers series was thoroughly disappointing, but if you thought that was bad, it's now over 5 years later and what Mr. Neiderman is currently writing under the VCA name is even worse than this.

The book I read was called, "Hidden Leaves" by V.C. Andrews. This book is just one big love story that has a sad but meaningful ending. A man named Claude realized his love for a woman named Grace. The whole book was just a long letter that Claude was writing to his daughter, Willow. But Willow was not the daughter of Alberta, his wife. Claude owned his own hospital and was a psychiatric doctor. Throughout the book he talked about all of his different patients and how he eventually fell in love with a patient named Grace, even though he was still married. He talked about how his whole life changed once he met her and how he knew she was the one. Claude did not really have a good relationship with Alberta and he always said that it was more like a friendship than a marriage. Grace was at the clinic because she was suffering major depression. Later on when Claude and Grace were getting deeper and deeper into the relationship, Grace finds out she is pregnant. This was pretty bad news because if anybody found out, Claude's clinic would be shut down. When Grace's mom finds out she is pregnant she wants her to come home immediately. The mother didn't know that Claude was the father. Grace could not take the baby back to her home so Claude had to "adopt" the baby. The rest of the story is about how Willow, the baby, grows up and learns about her amazing past. I also read the prequel which was included at the end of the book.
The book I read was exciting in some parts but mostly a little boring. It was boring because I am not really into love books and it just seemed like it kept going on and on. Sometimes I did feel like I was in the book especially when he was talking to Grace or at his clinic because usually there were really intense conversations. Some parts of the main conflict interested me but most of the time there were too many parts that just wouldn't end and would drag on throughout the whole book. The characters were very realistic because the people had pretty normal lives and the book described all of the people at the clinic as if it were a real hospital. The books ending was satisfying but kind of predictable because you pretty much knew what was going to happen because if it didn't happen the book wouldn't have made sense.
The voice of the authors' writing had so much description and it sounded like it was coming from himself. It sounded like it came from him because the whole book was of a father writing a letter to his daughter. The authors' use of vocabulary was excellent because he used so many metaphors and similes and it really made you feel like you were there. The author has a very different way of writing. His writing sounds very smart and kind of old-fashioned. V.C. Andrews described things very well. There wasn't much dialogue throughout the story but it didn't really need it. The tone of the book was overall kind of depressing but it was mostly set to a romantic tone. The main conflict and story was pretty boring but the author was great.
I rate this book a six out of ten. The book wasn't really my kind of read. When I first read the back I thought it might have been a little scarier but it ended up being one big love story. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read kind of a mellow book or someone who just likes love stories. It doesn't really matter if you are a boy or girl; I think anyone could like it if you take that kind of stuff seriously. The age group would probably be more for adults or older teens.
Overall I didn't really like this book just because it carried on way to long. The only good part was probably all of the description and the ending because you really get to see Willow's point of view. I think mostly adults should read this book. You would like it if you want a lot of description but I can definitely say it's not one of my favorites.

The book itself is awesome, but the cover jacket is screwed up. It says willow lived in palm beach when she read this, which is totally wrong. Plus, in the book about grace, her mom listens to a tune that hadn't been invented during the time. Shape up!!!!!!

Not surprising that V.C. Andrews' books don't stay long on the shelves, they are just too good to pass by (and not buy).
"Hidden Leaves" is the latest example of why the story telling talent of the author just plain "works."

Following the torturous attraction a psychiatrist feels towards one of his patients is not only to die for reading matter, it is so well constructed, the reader sides with the fatal flaw in the man and understands where he's coming from completely by the end of the story; which in true Andrews' style is never the "end of the story," and why fans can't wait to read the next and the next....

Having also read the ghost writer's work under the name of the ghost writer, I am convinced that this person is indeed...GOD....or an earthly clone....with heavenly storytelling ability...no wonder these books sell sell sell...

I tried to like this book, really, i did...but the only part i could stand to read was "Dark Seed." The first half just couldn't keep my attention. I'm glad to be finished with this series and hope to have better luck with Broken Wings and Midnight Flight.