Customer Reviews

Secrets in the Attic (Secrets)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

It started out interesting. I couldn't put it down at first. But it just got silly. I found Zipporah to be a daft, weak main character that just never comes to life at all.

I felt like there was all this build up and the mystery would be solved but it just turned out Karen was crazy?! Ridiculous.

The ending was highly disappointing. I couldn't believe it!

I felt puzzled and like it was unfinished. Loose ends weren't tied up.

I believe the ghostwriter is getting lazy. He's not sticking to the old formula and the books are suffering.

This was the worst book I've read that has the misfortune of having the wonderful V.C.'s name on it.

I really loved the Landry series, the Cutler series, The Logan series, the Hudson series, even the DeBeers books. I love a lot of what the ghostwriter HAS done.

It just seems that his best days are behind him.

It's all crap these days.

Maybe it's time to lay V.C. to rest once and for all.

I love V.C. Andrews, but this book was just the worst. The ghostwriter did absolutely no justice to her. By the second page I knew I wasn't reading her work. The plot itself was good, but the details given to bring it to life were few and far between. The writer did nothing to help you understand where the Karen character was coming from when it was finally revealed she was nothing but a sociopath. The ending was so abrupt I had to check to make sure I didn't skip any pages. What really got to me were all the inconsistencies in the story. Timelines did not unfold correctly; most notably the fact that the family was to take a trip on a saturday when, the tuesday before, the murder happens and by thursday the dad says he should call his mother to explain why they didn't make it on saturday, saturday hadn't even come and gone yet. Whoever proofread the book ought to be fired along with the ghostwriter. I was very dissappointed in this book, and am not sure I even want to read the next in this series.

This book was bad. Really bad. And this is coming from a woman who can find the good in just about anything. I don't even know where to start or what to say to convey just how terrible a read this was. I've never enjoyed the ghostwriter's books as much as I did VC Andrews, herself. However, once in a blue moon he does manage to write a book or two that I can get through while managing to keep my lunch down at the same time. Keep in mind this is only once... in a blue moon.

I don't know if the main character was meant to be likeable, relatable or believeable, but she was none of the above. What the author tried to pass off as a teenager who is insanely dedicated to her friendship only came off as a teenger who is insanely STUPID. There were some points in the book that, in the middle of reading, I could become infuriated at Zipporah to the point that I would scream, out loud, "Are you KIDDING me?" I mean, the girl is seriously, seriously stupid. I didn't trust Karen from the moment she appeared in the attic, but I do have to agree with the term that she used all too frequently throughout this book, "Don't be thick."

The main character of this book is just that: thick. And if I never hear the term "don't be thick", again, it'll be too soon.

VC Andrews, if you can hear me, I'm terribly sorry that this garbage is being published under your name. Terribly, terribly sorry.

This book was horrible. As a bibliophile, it pains me to say that, but it's the truth. I'm not a book snob, and I know how to appreciate a fun, fluffy read, but the writing in this book made it difficult to stomach. The previous reviewer was correct - the story lacked details, was dull, and really just plodded along. The ONLY reason I finished it was because I can't stand not to finish a book - I am always optimistic that it will somehow improve with the ending. This one did not.

I hate to be negative, but don't waste your time with this one. It's dull.

THis book started off interesting, but just left the reader completely dumbfounded at the end. Not only was the main character, Zipporah, a complete fool to almost the end, but the Karen character made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Predictable ending, too. Another beautiful girl goes insane and spends the rest of her life in an institution. Sounds familiar? ( Celeste, Belinda, Laura, Grace)...I think the ghostwriter is going to far. I'm not even looking forward to the next book, which doesn't sound interesting in the least. I borrowed this from someone, and suggest you do the same.

That says everything. Not again. I am tired, too, of hearing (or reading) complaints that the book did not follow the "old formula". Honestly, now, there is no "formula" to writing a book - it is not chemistry! That is part of the problem. When writing a novel gets routine, and the characters start to fall in to categories, then it is time to give up writing. Every novel should be new, fresh, with memorable characters. Anyway, I agree that this is a little too much. Mr. Neiderman writes a new book every four months or so. Four Months! I write (though I have never published anything) and my last manuscript took six years. Someone should tell him quality over quantity. Also he should stop calling a set of two books a series, it's called a duology. Here's the definition of that word: `Duology` also known as `dilogy` is a set of two works of art, usually a two-part series relating to literature or film, that develop a single theme over two works. A duology may or may not involve a sequel and/or prequel.

Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duology

Therefor if it has two books it is a duology.

OK, so I'm not sure why I even bought it knowing I have never enjoyed books from the "ghostwriter". However, maybe it was the marketing ploy of naming the book so closely to the REAL VC Andrews book "Flowers in the Attic" that got me. The book is readable, (Usually can't get through a BAD book) for entertainment and it was finishable to me. However, don't waste your $7.99. I'm still mourning the death of VC Andrews, because the new books always disappoint me.

I have to agree with the majority - this story is a little over the top in stupidity. I was able to figure out the problems way ahead of the outcome. It was quite obvious that Karen Stoker was a mentally unstable individual and both Zipporah and her brother Jesse were kind of brain-dead themselves not to see it. The police were brutally clueless as not to investigate the attic which was known as the girls' secret "nest" as they gathered there on more than on occasion way before the basis of the story took place. It was all so ridiculous and very predictable. I had read "Flowers in the Attic" 20 years ago and was completely engulfed with the storytelling. Obviously, the ghostwriter series cannot hold a candle to the writer, V. C. Andrews.

I am a 37yr old well educated woman who was a captured fan of VC Andrews when I was 16 after I read Flowers in the Attic. I have been reading her books ever since even after Mr. Neiderman began writing as her ghost writer. This was his worst yet. I never got a feeling of being drawn into the book. It lacked descriptives.....sometimes never even describing a characters appearance or descriptions of a home etc. I felt like I was left alone in a sense to imagine what they looked like or where they were. The main character was weak who never stood up for herself. I kept waititng for the time in the book where the heroin gets to make sure the villan got what was coming to them. This book had an abrupt and boring ending in which the villan just simply walks down the road....with an ending poorly described in a prologue. I bought this book on my Kindle so I forced myself to read it...but it was painful. I will NOT be buying the sequel book. I hope these reviews force him to write better...because this was terrible.

I knew that this book was going to be a huge problem from the prologue. I was amazed at how many metaphors, similies, and other literary devices were shoved into the prologue alone - ballerinas, icicles, the passage of the seasons, and so on and so forth. Of course, there's nothing wrong with using such literary devices, but in this book they're so grossly abused that it left little room for actual story.

And what's the story? A teenage girl and her family move to a little town to some house with a weird history and a nice attic. She becomes friends with this pretty but (surprise, surprise) manipulative girl who uses her charm to cause everybody to let down their guard so she can get away with all kinds of things, including being naughty with said main character's older brother, Jesse. The storyline is extremely predictable and when you put in all the metaphors and similes that the ghostwriter threw in, you have what makes for a completely lackluster - and frustrating - read.

I was shocked at the fact that this book was published under the VCA name. It's obvious from the title that this was supposed to entice readers, but seriously - this book has NOTHING on Flowers in the Attic. If you want a good book, read the Flowers in the Attic series.