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Dec 17, 2009

Neva rated it:

Ever wonder why Cathy's grandmother was such a bitch? No? Well, I did. Apparently, so did VC Andrews. It turns out, it was because she was so damn tall, wore her hair pulled back sternly, and was so serious! Oh, and because her husband cheated on her with his stepmother. And then he killed his father, and impregnated his stepmother who gets PUT IN THE ATTIC. Geez, they just stuck everyone up there. So does that make him his...stepsister's father? Well, anyway, the stepmother has a daughter who i More...

3 comments like (23 people liked it)

Jun 20, 2007

Christina rated it:

The first and most important of the Andrews series. Felt oh so wrong while reading it and yet no girl of my generation could put them down! I enjoyed every page of every book.

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 23, 2011

Cecilia added it

It has been a long while since I finished a book of this length in less than 2 nights. I remember, now, the appeal of V.C. Andrews. Yes, her plots are a little unrealistic and yes, her characters can seem a little falt but both are just fun reading for the beach or whatever. This novel is like reading a good Lifetime movie. Back to the novel itself. _Garden of Shadows_ is fun in its own right but even more fun if you are familiar with _Flowers in the Attic_ as GOS is its prequel and everyone lov More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 20, 2011

essjay rated it:

(Full Review and more on Trashy Tuesday here: http://wp.me/p1Zgyz-8o )

At last, we've arrived at the final installment in the Dollanganger series! I was talking to Becoming Cliche over chat the other day about how thrilled I was to be able to stop reading VC Andrews, and she said something to the effect of "Oh, but Heaven was such a good book! And what about My Sweet Audrina?" I guess this means I will be revisiting this author at some point in the future, but hopefully More...

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Sep 20, 2011

Kristi rated it:

The beginnings of another tale of woe are spun with the same style and characteristic as previews books by Andrews. Whether it is the beginning or the end of her series it is all the same. The reader is taken back in time where it is discovered why the Olivia character, the grandmother from the sequel “Flowers in the Attic” is so mean and hateful. Learning about her past will allow readers the opportunity to either be sympathetic or loath Olivia just as we all did in the sequel. Andrew weaves a More...

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Jun 15, 2010

Angela rated it:

Garden of Shadows by V.C. Andrews is the final installment of the Dollanganger Family Series. A prequel to Flowers in the Attic, it explains the story behind the grandmother’s harsh ways. Like Flowers in the Attic, Garden of Shadows presents a series of horrifying events that make you want to cringe, yet entices you to read more. We learn how the grandmother, Olivia, met Malcolm and discover their marriage was more of a business arrangement than act of love and commitment. Malcolm makes it known More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2009

Lori rated it:

"Garden of Shadows", the prequel to "Flowers in the Attic", goes back to unchartered territory and succeeds in giving a new twist to the Dollangager saga.
"Garden" is the story of Olivia (the Grandmother) - - a few pages about her upbringing by her loving father, before we are taken right into her "arranged" marriage to Malcolm Foxworth, a good looking young man whom she feels love for, but that quickly turns on her wedding night when she is raped. O More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 05, 2010

Christine rated it:

And it's done. I'm finally free of V.C. Andrews, hooray! I felt wrong leaving the series off without having read the last book, the prequel to Flowers in the Attic.

Boy is this a doozy, and it's not a very good one, either. We have more incest, really perverted old men, megalomaniac fathers, slutty bubbleheaded women, and the towering monstrosity that is Olivia Foxworth, the steely grandmamma that is the main antagonist of most of the series.

Oh Olivia. I don't know how V. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 09, 2010

Amy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 19, 2011

Kolleen rated it:

Well, I have to admit I wasn't too excited about reading this book. It is a prequel, and usually those aren't too great, and by this point I was a little bit over the Dollangangers. But, upon finishing this book I came to three conclusions:

1.) This was one of the better books in the series.

2.) Although this is a prequel, and some suggest to read it first, please read it last. It has a shocker of an ending that makes the whole series worth it.

3.) And lastly, More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 19, 2009

travelmel rated it:

Thanksfully I can say that I had finally had my fill of these characters by the time this book came around. I have a feeling most people did as this was the last in the series - I think. Also, I was 3-4 yrs older by this time, that might have made a difference.

QUOTE FROM JESSICA:
I can't (for me: shouldn't) rate these books, because giving a bad rating would be a lie -- I was crazy about them when I read them -- but giving them a good rating would be misleading because it would More...

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Mar 01, 2009

Gaby rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 29, 2011

Kim rated it:

Though I know that Garden of Shadows is the last in the series, I decided to read it first, since it is the first in terms of chronology. I'd only seen bits and pieces of the movie rendition of Flowers in the Attic, but I do remember being intrigued by the story. So, when this book popped up at the library I volunteer at, I decided why not finally get into the series?

I knew ahead of time that there were some dark and disturbing themes in this series -- rape, incest, and so on -- but More...

3 comments like

Feb 16, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I think it's hard to spend 4 books hating on a character and then going back in the 5th and trying to work up some boo-hoo for the character you have been hating on for so long. Plus I wasn't 13 when I read this one so it made it alot harder to read.

I feel like someone should have stepped in at some point and nudged the ghost-writers for V.C. Andrews and told them that humping relatives is actually kinda looked down upon. Of course the formula works - The estate of V.C. Andrews is s More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Scott rated it:

Takes you back to the beginning and makes the Dollanganger story even MORE twisted...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 27, 2007

KJP rated it:

I read this series in my preteen-early teen years and just loved it...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 27, 2007

Victoria rated it:

Now you know what started it. I recommend you read this first.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 24, 2007

Eveline rated it:

Pervy fun for a middle-school aged girl.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2007

Alma rated it:

OMG. Makes complete sence!

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 03, 2007

Marty rated it:

Part of series - great reading

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 09, 2011

Connie rated it:

AS MUCH AS I LIKED THIS BOOK, I FELT IT WAS VERY LONG WINDED. IT SEEMED TO TAKE FOREVER FOR THE BOOK TO GET FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER. LIKE "EVERYTHING" WAS ADDED. ALTHOUGH IT WAS NOT JUSTIFIED, I COULD UNDERSTAND HOW BITTER, AND ANGRY OLIVIA BECAME. WHEN SHE FIRST MARRIED MELCOME, HE WAS NOT IN LOVE WITH HER, HE NEVER LOVED HER. HIS INFATUATION OF HIS MOTHERS SWAN ROOM WAS SO BIZZAR. THEN THE WAY HE MADE SEXUAL ADVANCES TWARDS HIS FATHERS WIFE, AND HOW OLIVA SAW EVERYTHING HE DID. SHE More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 18, 2009

Slayermel rated it:

This story is about Olivia Winfield who most know as the evil Grandmother from "Flowers in the Attic". This is the fifth instalment of the Dollanganger series, but it's really the prequel to flowers in the attic. This is where the whole twisted tale began.

Olivia was a very tall, plain women who did not attract the attention of men. She was quite thrilled and taken with Malcolm Foxworth when he showed an interest in her. Little did she know that he scorns all beautiful w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 14, 2011

Loraine rated it:

This, oddly, was the first Virginia Andrews novel that I read as a kid. I had no idea that it was the last in a series at the time. The last bit in this book is a scene from Flowers in the Attic from the Grandmother's point of view. I found the character of Olivia hard to get on with and as for her cousin, good grief I wanted to batter him round the head with his bible he was so irritating!
Madness, sex, miserable rich people, dark secrets, stunningly beautiful people - classic V.A.

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Nov 10, 2011

Kamaria rated it:

This book was really good, and I definately would recommend it to people with a mature mind. The story is about a young woman named Olivia, who never found a man's love do to her plain face and tall complextion. After many terrible dates, arranged by her father to help her find happiness, she finally meets a man named Malcolm Foxworth. After two dates together, they get married, and she moves in with him to his extravagant family mansion named Foxworth Hall. after moving in many different hardsh More...

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Jun 23, 2011

Leah rated it:

I am actually sad that I have finished the Dollanganger series. All 5 books captivated me and sucked me in. Garden of Shadows was great as a prequel and left me with all my questions answered. Finally, we are able to understand what makes these characters who they are. I would recommend Flowers in the attic and the rest of the Dollanganger series to anyone who likes Fiction with a touch of drama, tradegy, and controversy. This series was my first of V.C. Andrew's books and I will defintely be pi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 24, 2011

Jessi rated it:

I read the book half way. Dont get me wrong the begining was good but then it began to drag and became predictable. I figured what was the point because once you start to read on it becomes a little boring and you can eventually figure out the rest but also when you get into flowers in the attic your already know the reason behind olivia being so cold hearted whether you read this book entirely or not...at least in my opinion..flowers in the attic movie btw was excellent!!!

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Dec 24, 2008

Rukshan rated it:

deliciously perverse! I remember reading this about 15 years ago and i spotted it at the used book shop for .50 and i knew i must re-read it.. it's a very twisted story that is the foundation for Flowers in the Attic. It's entertaining but left me feeling down in a weird way. Probably cause people treated each other so poorly and then most folks died. I will likely reread the entire series now.. i've gotten hooked again!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 25, 2010

Danielle added it

I finally finished the series! When I read these before I never finished this book. But This one was a good one. I like how it goes back to the beginning so you can understand more of the beginning. But it began and ended strong. The middle books were kind of fussy which took longer to read them, but still crucial to the story. I say this is a series to read at least once.

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Jan 13, 2010

Shelleyrae rated it:

As a tween (1980's)reading this series was unlike anything else - I borrowed Flowers in the Attic from a friends older sister, keeping it hidden from my parents and then begged my friends older sister borrow the others from the library so i could read them (I was 11/12/13 and you had to be 15 before they would let you borrow them). It might be time to reread them.

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May 14, 2009

Janet rated it:

Prequel to Flowers in the Attic. Suitably Gothic, good for young women in long white nightgowns creeping up cobwebby stairs in the middle of the night by candlelight. With a thunderstorm raging outside, of course. And either a homicidal maniac or a deranged ghost lurking in the shadows. In other words, pretty standard stuff, but mildly horrific.

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