Customer Reviews

Into the Woods

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I finished reading twisted roots and that was entertaining enough for a Vc Andrews novel but then they throw this book in and I'm reading it and isn't Grace supposed to be Hannah's grandmother? Why do they have the internet in her story, and rufies and a Shania Twain song playing on the radio? ... OR, Hannah lives years and years in the future where everything is just the same as now... Former VC Andrews books with the exception of Olivia, which carried writing and attention to detail which was just as bad, attempted to portray the history of a place through various generations of it's inhabitants. The place was a large part of the aptmosphere, whether it is an old plantation "The Meadows" or the wartime bayou add a large part to the story for me, and both the Landry series and the Cutler series was careful to portray a specific time frame. The real VC Andrews of course, was never as careless. Her works were meticulous and original and utterly amazing.

Okay, if you do the math, this book should take place in roughly the '70's or so. Here's a little lession for everybody. Before you sit down to write a novel that takes place years and years ago, you do research. If you don't do research, your characters might be listening to Backstreet Boys cds in Ancient Rome or watching Survivor while traveling on the Oregon Trail. When that happens, it is called an ANACHRONISM. Thus, having Grace listen to Shania Twain in the '70's is an ANACHRONISM! Therefore, that makes for a sloppy book that shows the author does not care one whit about it.

Why does the Andrews family keep this guy on? He stinks. Anachronisms galore, shoddy writing, characters nobody cares about or likes, and cliched plots - in short, a book that never even should have made it past the slushpile. But hey, if it had been Joe Writer writing this, it never would have made it past the slushpile. But with a big name splashed all over it, it gets published anyway, even though it's crap.

Good night and happy reading...just don't read this book.

So I am the first person to review this book. In a word - WOW! Into The Woods greatly redeems the V. C. Andrews ghostwriter! This is by far the most comprehensive, well-thought-out, and well written book he has done to date - with the exception of OLIVIA which will always remain one my favorites of the ghostwriter.

I won't recap the book's plot but I instead want to point out Into The Wood's strengths! Most notably, in my opinion, this book plays out over seven or eight years -- not over a very short period of time -- and this is very similar to the original V. C. Andrews books. Also, this is an adult 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. Granted, while there is some of that, most of this story builds towards the climax and the committing of Grace Montgomery to the mental institution that will set everything in motion for the first book in the De Beers series - Willow.

I cannot heartily recommend this book enough for anyone looking to a return of the original V. C. Andrews style. Suspense, intrigue, a young girl, an older man and a betrayal, a mother who becomes increasingly cold and wicked, and a shocking ending including a false pregnancy and a mental institution comittment!

Let's hope this marks a return to the more in-depth books we have known to come and to love from V. C. Andrews and from the ghostwriter. Let's hope it is a preview of the next series or two to come. Is life grand or what? HEARTILY RECOMMENDED IF YOU LOVE V. C. ANDREWS AS MUCH AS I DO!

I finished reading twisted roots and that was entertaining enough but then they throw this book in and I'm reading it and isn't Grace supposed to be Hannah's grandmother? Why do they have the internet in her story, and rufies and a Shania Twain song playing on the radio? Is Shania Twain supposed to have existed and been popular through all three generations? She must be about sixty now and singing around dentures and dying her hair. OR, Hannah lives years and years in the future where everything is just the same as now. I find this almost insulting to the intelligence of the readers. Former VC Andrews books with the exception of Olivia, which carried writing and attention to detail which was just as bad, attempted to portray the history of a place through various generations of it's inhabitants. The place was a large part of the aptmosphere, whether it is an old plantation "The Meadows" or the wartime bayou add a large part to the story for me, and both the Landry series and the Cutler series was careful to portray a specific time frame. The real VC Andrews of course, was never as careless. Her works were meticulous and original and utterly amazing.

Is it just me or are her books getting worse and worse? I've read some of the other reviews of "Into the Woods" and I agree with the time line. CDs, Shania Twain, ... (was she even born yet?). This is all wrong! Whoever the author really is should STOP using VC Andrews' name!! I wish he/she would do some research before they start writing. YOU'RE DESTROYING HER REPUTATION! I'm glad I didn't buy the book. Everything is so predictable now. I don't think I'm ever going to read another VC Andrews book anymore. This was a total disappointment.

This is one of the better V.C. Andrews books to be released in awhile. I wasn't really fond of the Hudsons series and the first three books in the DeBeers series didn't impress me but this was a considerable improvement. I liked the fact that the book moved quickly and kept the reader wondering what was going to happen next. I knew most of Grace's story from the previous books in the series and it was nice to get the whole story from her point of view instead of Willow or Hannah's. After reading this book I am eager to read 'Hidden Leaves' to see how Grace's story finishes. This is definitely one of the ghostwriters better books.

In the last deBeers novel, Grace was a grandmother with two grown children. In this "prequel" she seems to a contemporary of her own granddaughter while living in the same time period. Would someone old enough to be a grandmother be still high school/college age and know about the Internet and CDs? I don't think so. It would have been much more interesting if it had taken place during the late fifties/early sixties or thereabouts. The publishers/writer/editor should have been more careful. This time warp distracts from the plot.

by not buying this. I read it in the bookstore. Well, I didn't read it, exactly, I skimmed through it; that's all that needed to be done to get the tripe story figured out. While better than the dreadful Hudson series, I would rather have had something as good as FITA or Heaven in my hands. And this wasn't up to par. Sorry, GW, but you should seriously turn your job over to someone who knows how to write.

I finished reading twisted roots and that was entertaining enough for a Vc Andrews novel but then they throw this book in and I'm reading it and isn't Grace supposed to be Hannah's grandmother? Why do they have the internet in her story, and rufies and a Shania Twain song playing on the radio? Is Shania Twain supposed to have existed and been popular through all three generations? She must be about sixty now and singing around dentures and dying her hair. OR, Hannah lives years and years in the future where everything is just the same as now. I find this almost insulting to the intelligence of the readers. Former VC Andrews books with the exception of Olivia, which carried writing and attention to detail which was just as bad, attempted to portray the history of a place through various generations of it's inhabitants. The place was a large part of the aptmosphere, whether it is an old plantation "The Meadows" or the wartime bayou add a large part to the story for me, and both the Landry series and the Cutler series was careful to portray a specific time frame. The real VC Andrews of course, was never as careless. Her works were meticulous and original and utterly amazing.

After reading Willow, I was desperate to read the rest of the series, I bought the whole series from the USA as it would be quicker. All was great until now, where I am in the middle of Into The Woods. I was so shocked to see internet and Shania Twain and other modern things, that I promptly got on the internet. I thought that surely there must be a mistake, and if I read further that all would be explained. As I can see, there is no mistake. All I can say is I am VERY disappointed, as the reason I read Virginia Andrews books is the familiarity.(Although I agree we need fresh stories). Anyway I will carry on reading, as I quite like Grace, she reminds me of someone.......