Showing posts with label V.C. Andrews. Show all posts

Thursday, March 24, 2022

[Review] - Becoming My Sister by V.C. Andrews

I have talked about my love for Flowers in the Attic, its three sequels (Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday), and the standalone tale My Sweet Audrina, all written by the late great V.C. Andrews (1923 - 1986), many times over the years on this blog. When it comes to the ghostwritten novels by Andrew Neiderman, my reviews tend to be repetitive because I have to spend two-thirds explaining to readers about the ghostwriter. Since most V.C. Andrews fans already know Mr. Neiderman has been writing under her name for thirty-six years, I'm jumping right into my final thoughts for Becoming My Sister.

[Review] - The Woman Beyond the Attic: The V.C. Andrews Story

Billy Burgess biography , books

I've started, deleted, and restarted this review multiple times, and finally, I decided not to sugarcoat my thoughts, unlike many other bloggers who also received an ARC copy. Yes, I read a few other reviews before penning my own. It's pretty obvious that either they didn't read the book. Or they gave it a good rating only because they received an ARC. Seriously, where is your integrity? I expect this from mainstream critics but not from bloggers.

As the title, The Woman Beyond the Attic: The V.C. Andrews Story, suggests, this is the real-life story of gothic author V.C. Andrews (1923 - 1986), who wrote the mega-bestseller Flowers in the Attic. Andrew Neiderman wrote the biography, a.k.a. the ghostwriter who keeps churning out new stories under V.C. Andrews's name. Now here comes my first issue with the book - Andrew Neiderman!

Andrew Neiderman used to be a decent horror writer, but his writing skills have gone downhill in the last ten to fifteen years. Let me rephrase that, Neiderman's writing sucks. Let me repeat myself - I'm not sugarcoating anything.

The Woman Beyond the Attic begins with a 28-paged preface. Yes, you read that correctly - 28-pages. The biography is only 150 pages! Let me tell you - it's a pain to read. It's not a biography in any sense. Instead, Neiderman complies together public interviews, letters, and information that you can either 'google' or find on Wikipedia. The timeline and facts are disjointed, creating a chaotic mess to follow. I wonder if Andrew Neiderman has ever read a single biography in his life because he doesn't have the know-how to write one.

Repetition! I lost count at how many times Neiderman repeated quotes, stories, and events, word by word. Was Neiderman trying to fill up the word count? Why? Did Neiderman have enough facts to write a full biography, or is Neiderman just a bad writer? You be the judge.

The rest of the book features the supposedly only unfinished novel by V.C. Andrews, The Obsessed. It's roughly 88 pages, minus a few blank pages between chapters, and if the legend is correct, the first draft was around 800 pages. In a letter written in February 1981, V.C. Andrews told her brother that the novel's release date was September 1981. Now, this is where the facts get confusing. If The Obsessed's planned release date was in six months, wouldn't the first or second draft already be completed and in the hands of the editor?

Long before Flowers in the Attic, V.C. Andrews published the short story, My Uncle on My Wedding Night, under an unknown pseudonym in a pulp-confession magazine. Nobody has ever found a copy, but there is finally evidence that it did exist. In the very back of The Woman Beyond the Attic, there's part of a submission letter to The Do-It-Yourself Romance for a new version of the story, retitled Love's Savage Desire. The first three chapters and the last two chapters are featured.

Lastly, the poems "Golden Things" and "Regretting" are included at the very end of the book.

Final Thoughts

I wanted to give Andrew Neiderman the benefit of the doubt and had hoped this biography would be decent. Sadly, that's not the case. It feels half-heartedly written. The overly long preface feels more like a biography than the actual biography. I wished the V.C. Andrews estate and Gallery Books had hired a professional biographer instead of rehiring Andrew Neiderman. Yeah, I get it. Neiderman is the ghostwriter, so he should be the perfect choice to pen V.C. Andrews's biography. Right? Wrong! The last dozen or so ghostwritten titles have been lazy and sloppy. And, Neiderman's streak of horrible writing continues.

The Woman Beyond the Attic has zero new information about V.C. Andrews that I didn't already know via the internet. The only two things of any interest in this book are the several never-seen-before photos and The Obsessed, but they're not enough for me to recommend the book to other readers.

[Review] - Out of the Rain by V.C. Andrews

Billy Burgess books , drama

The newest ghostwritten V.C. Andrews novel, Out of the Rain, was published last month by Gallery Books. It's the sequel to "The Umbrella Lady" (here's the link to my review if anyone wants to read it) written by Andrew Neiderman - otherwise known as the ghostwriter. After V.C. Andrews died in 1986, her family and publisher hired Andrew Neiderman (The Devil's Advocate) to write the Flowers in the Attic prequel Garden of Shadows, based on Ms. Andrews' notes, and finish the Casteel series. Since then, Mr. Neiderman has penned each new V.C. Andrews title, who just celebrated his 81st birthday in October.

[Review] - The Umbrella Lady by V. C. Andrews

Billy Burgess books , fiction

It's been over 34 years since the death of author V. C. Andrews, but that hasn't stopped her publisher from releasing new books with her name printed on the covers. After her death, the Andrews family picked horror author Andrew Neiderman to complete her unfinished manuscripts and write new stories inspired by her works.

Now available to own from Gallery Books is the newest V. C. Andrews novel - The Umbrella Lady. If my memory serves me right, this novel was supposed to be published a year or so ago but got delayed for some reason, though I could be wrong. And I was under the impression it would be a standalone novel, and as it turns out, it isn't because there's a sneak peek in the back of the book for the sequel - Out of the Rain.

The Umbrella Lady is set in modern times, though you wouldn't know this by glancing at the cover because it features a woman and girl wearing outfits from the 1930s. The story begins with a man leaving his eight-year-old daughter, Saffron Faith Anders, at a train platform. An older woman carrying an umbrella comes to her rescue and invites her to stay at her house until her father returns. With no other option, Saffron accepts the invitation. Her father will come for her soon. Right?

If you have ever read a V. C. Andrews book, you know things are never as they seem. What turns into only a few days turns into years. Young Saffron seeks out to discover why her father left her with a controlling old lady.

Final Thoughts

Let's face the facts: the last few ghostwritten V. C. Andrews books have been stinkers! Many fans, including me, have criticized Andrew Neiderman's storytelling or the lack thereof. The real V. C. Andrews had a natural talent for writing gothic descriptions, which, sadly, has been missing from Neiderman's recent outings.

So, is The Umbrella Lady worth reading?

It's an improvement for Andrew Niederman, if that means anything to anyone. At least it's an original story that doesn't borrow from the past. (FYI: I'm referring to the unnecessary and incoherent Flowers in the Attic prequels.) I read an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy), so I'm not going to nitpick any errors from it. The narration is from the point-of-view of an adult Saffron, who's looking back and telling us the story. Well, at least that's the vibe I am getting from it.

How are the descriptions?

The descriptions are generic at best but better than the recent ghostwritten titles. However, the storytelling is a far cry from the real V. C. Andrews's gothic touch. As a reader, I want to see, feel, and smell the atmosphere. The majority of this tale takes place in or around a house, and for some reason, Neiderman decided not to describe it. Instead of descriptions, the author focused more on dialogue.

Overall, The Umbrella Lady is an intriguing start to a new series. It's far from being perfect, but at least it's not a complete disaster. I could nitpick the crap out of this book, but there's no point in me doing so. I thought the young protagonist was interesting. For the most part, I did enjoy the story. The big twist was predictable. Had it went another way, I wouldn't have liked it as much.

All in all, The Umbrella Lady is a decent read.

Review - Whispering Hearts by V. C. Andrews

Billy Burgess books , fiction

I grew up with the original V. C. Andrews novels. My mother, grandmothers, and an aunt read The Dollanganger Family series in the 1980s. During my childhood, I remember everyone gathering together to watch the original Flowers in the Attic film adaptation on a rented VHS, and I also recall everyone being disappointed with it. In the early 2000s, my late grandmother stopped collecting V. C. Andrews books after learning Andrew Neiderman was the ghostwriter. Before inheriting her collection, I first read Flowers in the Attic after finding a hardback at a thrift store. And throughout the rest of the 2000s, I read all of V.C. Andrews's original writings, as well as many of Andrew Neiderman's ghostwritten installments.

Gallery Books released Whispering Hearts, the long-delayed third installment in the House of Secrets series by V. C. Andrews (or otherwise known as the ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman), in early November. Even though I've been disappointed (and critical) of Neiderman's recent outings, I still wanted to read Whispering Hearts, which serves as a prequel to House of Secrets and Echoes in the Walls.

Whispering Hearts centers on Emma Corey, aka the mother of Fern from previous books. Emma's story begins with her leaving her strict father's home in England and traveling to New York City to become a dancer. Her dreams of becoming a Broadway star quickly turns into tears. Nearly broke, she agrees to be a surrogate mother for Dr. Davenport and his wife, Samantha. They allow her to live with them at the Wyndemere House during the pregnancy. Sounds simple enough, right?

If you've already read House of Secrets and Echoes in the Walls, then you'll know what happens to Emma. And, no, she never becomes a Broadway dancer.

Final Thoughts

Well, at least Whispering Hearts is better written than the recent godawful (and unnecessary) Flowers in the Attic prequels. That's not saying much about the ghostwriter, Andrew Neiderman, because he has written many stinkers under the V. C. Andrews name over the last 10+ years.

Whispering Hearts works well as a prequel to the House of Secrets series, but that's if you've read them. If you're a casual reader, then you're going to it think it's dull and full of cliches. The plot of a young woman moving to the big city to become a dancer has been overdone in books and movies. So if you're looking for a fresh plot, then you're going to be disappointed.

The blurb states, "From V. C. Andrews comes unputdownable gothic novel of big city dreams gone wrong." Now there's nothing gothic about the book. Andrew Neiderman lost his gothic edge a long time ago, and "unputdownable" must be a hidden joke. The writing style is generic at best. It's more of a fluff bargain bin read than a gothic thriller. Nothing is thrilling about the story. It's just a melodrama with lots (and I mean lots) of cringy dialogue.

Overall, Whispering Hearts is neither good or bad. For me, it falls in the middle of the road. Yes, it's a step above the recent Flowers in the Attic prequels, but it lands nearly par with the House of Secrets and Echoes in the Walls. If you're one of the diehard V. C. Andrews loyalists who devours anything published under the late author's name, then you might enjoy Whispering Hearts. However, everyone else will see it either as a failed attempt by Andrew Neiderman or another cash grab by the publisher.