Customer Reviews

Secrets in the Shadows (Secrets)

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

 

 

This has to stop, seriously. When Neiderman first ghostwrote for VCA, he did a decent job. I liked the Cutler series, and he did a good job of finishing up the books that VCA had started but didn't finish for the Dollanganger and Casteel series. The Landry and Logan series, while not the best, were still very decent, and I enjoyed them. However, it all started to go downhill with Orphans. That was not what VCA would have written. I endured the Hudson and DeBeers series with disgust. The April Shadows and Broken Flower series are making VCA spin in her grave right now. Mr. Neriderman, please stop writing for VCA and go back to your own work. You're a old man, stop writing as if you were a young girl. It's just gotten really creepy!

This book is no better than the first one. We focus on the daughter of the crazy bad girl from the first book, and this actually sounds good because the last few series didn't move through generations. However, this book is just as bas as the first one, and is NOTHING compared to the true and original 'Flowers in the Attic'.

I haven't read a "V. C. Andrews" book since I was a teenager, so I'm not sure what made me pick this one up. It has all the promise of those books I used to devour - a mysterious attic, religious zealotry, grandparents with questionable motives, an insane, murderous mother. But, after finishing the book I can't help but think - what? That's it? The grandparents are nice people. The religious zealot was just a ruse made up by a teenage boy. The attic was just another room in a gigantic house. The psychotic mother was benign and harmless. What? Is this what passes for a V. C. Andrews novel these days? Aside from the fact that this is a pretty dry story that doesn't really lead anywhere, a lot of the dialog is awful, especially from Craig, the star of the baseball team and most popular guy in school, but who sounds like he's in his 60s whenever he opens his mouth. And someone is always laughing - you can't turn a page without someone saying something and getting a laugh in response, when nothing was funny to begin with. (These are just the minor nitpicks. I wouldn't know where to begin if I was going to tear the story apart.)

I have no idea, and don't really care, why they still publish books under the V. C. Andrews name, besides to make money. This book has a lot of classic V. C. Andrews ideas going on, but they lead absolutely nowhere.

[...] I remember starting with "Celeste" a couple of years ago and thinking, "wow, that's actually quite a good, different idea he's coming up with!" At least the first third of the book. From there the whole series went downhill again.

The Dollangangers were classic, the Casteels a milestone. The Cutlers, though copying awfully much from the Casteels, a very exciting reading experience. The Landrys started off well and unfortunately got sucked up into too implausible storylines but were overall good, so were the Logans, I particularly liked Melody's extraordinary strong character and Olivia in the fifth book, a very extreme VCA anti-heroine fighting her way through every possible struggle. The downfall slowly came with the Hudsons (even though I liked the first book) and needless Miniseries. The DeBeers were the first slam in the face, followed by one inexcusable mistake after the other. The Secrets-series might hit Neiderman's peak of madness. I always felt kind of sick imagining that an old man actually writes from a young girl's perspective, but whatever. I figured with the Cutlers and Landrys he was carrying VCA's ideas further - but hello, all this pervert-lesbianism in the Shadows-series? Written by a MAN? Sick!! And the Early Spring and Secrets novels weren't better either. Lack of character, lack of story, lack of everything, just throw in some self-pity and teenage sex and everyone will like it. One lousy, contradicting plothole, what Neiderman did to VCA's legacy is unforgivable.

[...] I used to love V.C. Andrews novels, now I hate them. Enough is enough. Stop dragging her in the mud.

This is for the family of VC Andrews: I am begging you please stop dragging Virginia's name through the mud! Every book is the same, there's really no need to read it because it has the same plot from the last one. I realize that you wanted to finish what Virginia started but now it has just become pathetic. Lay her to rest please and put her fans out of their misery!

I'm a fan of some of the V.C. Andrews books and my goal is to someday read every single one of them. This particular book was not my favorite but it was at times hard to put down. I was disappointed with the ending and it's obvious that there will not be another book in that series. I agree with another reviewer that I found typos and slang/terminology that confused me as far as the time era. Some words and phrases I couldn't help but chuckle because regardless of the era it would be such a lame thing for a 17 year old to say. Also, I felt the romances with Craig and the other guy were totally rushed and unrealistic. Also, I found it strange how Alice's step-mother all of a sudden went from snobby ice queen who hated her to a make-over genius who started to give a crap and show affection. The book was just o.k. in my opinion.

Why was there a need for this V. C. Andrews book? Why do I keep buying them? There are so many problems with this book, where to begin? There must be no one editing these books, because if there was, they would've found the typos, like when Mr. Stein is called "Mr. Stern". No one checks for continuity, either. Okay, if Secrets in the Attic took place in 1962, then Alice would've been born in the 60s, right? By the time she's 16, it would've been the late 70s/early 80s. There's nothing that gives us a feel for that time period. Especially when Alice's classmates tease her and ask her what finally brought her into the 21st Century! Mr. Neiderman has a tendency to write in present day, forgetting what era the book is supposed to take place in. He has done this with other books, too. At some points, the plot seems rushed, like Alice's romance with Craig. Other times, it seems to drag. From the very first page, it's obvious Alice feels sorry for herself. She has no mommy & daddy. Boo hoo. What about the fact that she had grandparents who gave her a loving home? Can you see Cathy (Dollanganger) or Heaven (Casteel) having so much self pity? They were women with real grit, and they had bigger problems than Alice. Oh, and we have another painter. How original. Let's see, who else did that? Ruby and Annie, to name a few. Even the stepback picture is wrong. Mr. Neiderman makes a point of mentioning that Alice is left handed. Yet, in the stepback picture, she's holding the paintbrush in her right hand. I am left handed, myself, and that isn't how I hold a paintbrush.
Mr. Neiderman had a chance to further develop the characters of Zipporah and especially Karen. It would've been much more interesting to see what really happened between Karen and her stepfather, and what happened to Karen following the murder.
You blew it, Mr. Neiderman.

Like most of the reveiws suggest, this book was just okay. I find that as more and more books by this fake V.C. Andrews come out, the worse they are. While this book was okay, it was totally unrealistic. From the relationship with Craig to the meeting of her mother, Karen, it was all very aparent that not only was a man writing it, but that this man obviously didn't know what he was talking about. The fact that he portrayed her nearly leaping into bed with every guy that said hi to her makes me sick. Not to mention, the reaction of meeting her mother for the very first time was not nearly substantial to what would be expecteed in the world of an emotional teenager, being one myself. After reading the review by Mr. Foxworth, I have to suggest that he was paid to do so.

I liked Secrets in the Attic. I found Secrets in the Shadows boring and predictable. I too think it is time to put VC Andrews to rest.

As one poster said enough is enough. When will I stop seeing V.C. Andrews books. I loved the woman's earlier books when she was writing them herself, but lately it seems as if every book plot is the same, relative falling in love with relative, pretending to be husband and wife, or child looses parent's at an early age or is conceived out of rape or wedlock child itself has a hard life finds out the truth of life and ends up coming out on top. Yes the earlier books were great then after she died, it seemed someone was so greedy they had to keep using her name supposedly she had all these unfinished novels that a relative found and wanted them published but come on, the woman has been dead for over 15 or so years, how many books can be left? Personally I'm tired of seeing V.C. Andrews books I already know what the story plot is going to be about before I even read them. I think it's time to stop printing her books. They are getting redundant

I bought both books in this series but it is not V.C. Andrews. It is time for this ghost writer to stop. It looks like the books she had started before she died have ended & he is writing his own stories & it isn't V.C. Andrews. This is not what she wrote. Stop using her name.