Shadows of Foxworth by V.C. Andrews

Forbidden passions have been the hallmark of the Dollanganger clan since Flowers in the Attic debuted more than forty years ago. In this third book of a new related trilogy, witness the birth of the Dollanganger curse as Corrine Foxworth’s children learn that family is but destiny by another, crueler name.

As a young girl in France, Marlena Hunter’s life was a fairy tale. She had a talented artist for a father, a doting mother, and a brother she couldn’t be closer to. She loved her family; she just didn’t know what her family actually was.

When a car crash kills their parents, Marlena and Yvon lose not only France, but also their identity. Sent to Richmond, Virginia, they arrive at the home of two aunts they’ve never met before, who tell them that their true last name is Dawson, that their father had fled the family years back—and that now the family is calling in the debt.

Trapped in a mansion with as many secrets as rooms, Marlena yearns for escape. But in America, you can either make friends or make profit, and Yvon suddenly seems much more interested in the latter. While he is free to leave the house, Marlena is left to avoid lecherous tutors and the secretary-to-wife track expected of a woman. Caught between mastering the game to escape it and falling prey to its allure, she needs to learn fast—for Malcolm Foxworth has cast his eye in her direction. And no family name can protect her from the twisted roots of the Dollanganger family tree.

Book 11
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
Shadows of Foxworth is the eleventh installment of the Dollanganger series. Can it be read as a standalone? No, absolutely not. The entire series must be read in order. However, I'm unsure if the reader would benefit from reading the original novels AFTER these new novels, where they predated them in the series.

As always, I must reaffirm that only the original novels in the series were written by V.C. Andrews. My entire lifetime, other than reading Virginia Andrew's previously released original novels, every new novel I've read was written by ghost writer, Andrew Neiderman. Late 80s onward. If you've enjoyed those novels, they have been consistently written by the same author.

V.C. Andrews is an entity. A product brand. Not the author herself. The writer/author of this novel is Andrew Neiderman, as have been at least 40 novels previously.

Now I'm going to admit something that will spark shock in fans. Flowers in the Attic was my least favorite of the novels, and its series as well. With that being said, I've read all of the prequels. But I wish, truly wish, if we're going to expand an original series, ANY of the other series would have been my preference. I connected to the other stories more, but the creepy factor truly does make for a suspenseful read.

Of the three newer novels, this is my least favorite. I adore the dark gothic feel of these novels, the era lending a strong mysterious vibe. The secrets and lies, the skeletons in the closet. How abuse shapes the characters.

Going back generations, readers learn the journey in which it made it acceptable to lock four children in an attic until their mother received her inheritance, when her father was still alive. These prequels explore how the characters were susceptible to connecting to members of their own bloodlines. The novels also showcase how history repeats itself, the dark secrets almost written into their DNA.

Am I avoiding the giving a rundown of the plot? Yes. This is quite possibly the last novel in the series. I don't wish to ruin anything for a reader by giving a rundown, when everything is entwined within the novels before it.

Shadows of Foxworth felt slower in pacing than the others, nothing truly capturing my interests. The gothic feel wasn't as dark as the previous installments. The excitement level was low, not hooking me. There weren't any major twists and turns or mysteries.

I highly recommend to fans who have been following this journey. Reluctantly recommend to fans of Virginia Andrews, those who haven't read any novels past the mid-1980s, as none of those are her original works.

To this day, Dawn is my favorite of the "new" novels. My Sweet Audrina is my favorite of the original novels.

One of the most popular authors of all time, V.C. Andrews has been a bestselling phenomenon since the publication of the spellbinding classic Flowers in the Attic. That blockbuster novel began the renowned Dollanganger family saga, which includes Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. Since then, readers have been captivated by more than sixty novels in nearly twenty bestselling series. V.C. Andrews’s novels have sold more than 106 million copies and have been translated into twenty-two foreign languages.

Sadly, V.C. passed away in 1986. She left several unfinished manuscripts and outlines that were completed by Andrew Neiderman.

Connect with V.C.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Shadows of Foxworth (Dollanganger #11) by V.C. Andrews to read and review.

Out of the Attic by V.C. Andrews

The twisted, beloved Dollanganger legend began two generations before Corrine Foxworth locked away her children in Flowers in the Attic. The second book in a new prequel story arc, Out of the Attic explores the Dollanganger family saga by traveling back decades to when the clan’s wicked destiny first took root.

Married to the handsome, wealthy Garland Foxworth following a wildfire romance, and an unexpected pregnancy, young Corrine Dixon finds her life very different from how she imagined it. Often alone in the mansion of Foxworth Hall, she can practically feel the ancestors’ judgment of her as insufficient—as not a Foxworth. Stern portraits glare at her from the walls, and the servants treat her strangely. Nothing in the vast place is truly hers.

Even her son, Malcolm Foxworth, born in the luxe Swan Room and instantly whisked away to a wet nurse, feels alien to her. With a husband alternately absent and possessively close, Corrine doesn’t yet realize that she’s barely scratched the surface of what lies beneath Foxworth Hall’s dark facade and the family that guards its legacies.

With the fortieth anniversary celebration of Flowers in the Attic, and ten new Lifetime movies in the past five years, there has never been a better time to experience the forbidden world of V.C. Andrews.

Buy Links

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Simon & Schuster – Paperback

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
3.5 Stars

Spoiler-Free Review

Out of the Attic is the tenth installment in the Dollanganger series, aka Flowers in the Attic. While the latest installment in the long-standing series, Out of the Attic is the second in a series of prequels, events taking place long before those in the original debut with Flowers in the Attic.

Q/A to help V.C. Andrews' readers:

Can a reader pick up this novel up as a standalone without confusion? No.

Does the reader have to read all nine previous books before diving into Out of the Attic? No.

Suggestion/recommendation for those who don't want to read such a long-standing series, or wish to read the prequels before diving into the 'current' storyline, start with Beneath the Attic.

Did V.C. Andrews herself write this novel? No. Andrew Neiderman is the writer who authored the novel, as well as most novels published under the V.C. Andrews' brand over the past 30+ years. If you enjoyed novels written within that time frame, then it was Neiderman's voice you enjoyed.

As a fan of the historical genre, I don't qualify myself as an expert. However, I should stress that if historical accuracy in word-usage/household items/setting is a major pet peeve of yours, steer clear.

The original Corrine is the narrator of the novel, piecing events in history together to complete the puzzle that is the Dollanganger series. Showcasing her life at the hands of her husband, Garland, while featuring Malcolm's childhood. As a woman in the late 1800s, Corrine had little option on how to live her life, which led to dark consequences.

In classic dark horror gothic, to the backdrop of the oppressive Foxworth Hall, expect taboo subject matter, episodes of violence, sexual assault, and being held hostage by choices you've made because you have little choice in the matter.

My biggest complaint is simply how Corrine's voice shifted throughout the novel, not truly authentically hers. As a sheltered young woman in an era where her worldview would have been narrow, sometimes her voice was that of a twenty-year-old, but other times it was that of someone closer to fifty or sixty.

While I believe Out of the Attic to be a worthy addition to the Dollanganger series, that doesn't necessarily mean I was totally engrossed. A mix of reader's block, the historical accuracy errors, and the narrative age shifting, I did struggle to finish the novel.

One of the most popular authors of all time, V.C. Andrews has been a bestselling phenomenon since the publication of the spellbinding classic Flowers in the Attic. That blockbuster novel began the renowned Dollanganger family saga, which includes Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. Since then, readers have been captivated by more than sixty novels in nearly twenty bestselling series. V.C. Andrews’s novels have sold more than 106 million copies and have been translated into twenty-two foreign languages.

Sadly, V.C. passed away in 1986. She left several unfinished manuscripts and outlines that were completed by Andrew Neiderman.

Connect with V.C.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Out of the Attic (Dollanganger) by V.C. Andrews to read and review.

Beneath the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Forbidden passions have shaped and haunted the Dollanganger family since their first novel—Flowers in the Attic—debuted forty years ago. Now discover how twisted the family roots truly are, and witness the clan’s origins as a result of one wild and complicated relationship. In this evocative and thrilling tale from New York Times bestselling author V.C. Andrews, see Corrine Dixon as a young girl and discover the fascinating family history of the Dollanganger clan.

Two generations before Corinne Foxworth locked her children in an attic, her grandmother, a gorgeous young girl named Corrine Dixon, is swept away by the charms of rich, sophisticated, and handsome Garland Foxworth. After discovering that she’s pregnant, Garland does what appears to be the honorable thing and marries her in a huge ceremony on the luxurious Foxworth Hall grounds. Both families fervently overlook the pregnancy, happy for a suitable resolution.

Now the mistress of a labyrinthine estate, Corrine discovers that nothing is what is seems. Garland is not the man once captivated by her charms, and she’s increasingly troubled by his infatuation with memories of his departed mother.

Can Corrine survive this strange new life? Or is her fate already sealed?

Explore the origins of the legendary Dollanganger family in this page-turning, gripping gothic thriller.

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Simon & Schuster – Paperback

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
To be honest, those in my age group and older, we're all reading these novels from a nostalgic standpoint, where all will be biased, either upset because the books aren't the same/can't be the same, or those like me, who are just happy that the legacy lives on.

While there is no doubt controversy over how these novels are listed as written by VC Andrews yet written by a ghost writer, Andrew Neiderman, I tend to see VC Andrews more as an entity than the writer herself. Many of today's bestsellers are written by ghost writers for well-known authors, with not many readers in the know of this practice. There is no bait and switch in the case of these novels, as it is common knowledge there has been the same ghost writer since I began reading as an adolescent, as our beloved VC Andrews is no longer with us.

With all that being said, I decided to rate this novel by whether or not the Gothic, dark and twisted vibe felt of similar vein of Ms. Andrews. Obviously, no two writers’ voices can ever be the same, but I do feel Andrew Neiderman is doing an admirable job with the legacy passed on. Ms. Andrews' shoes were impossible to fill, so I appreciate novels of a similar vibe, instead of allowing the legacy to stop with her passing.

The Flowers in the Attic series was the first adult series I read when I was only 10 years old. It wasn't my favorite, as that will forever belong to My Sweet Audrina, with Heaven as a runner-up. Dawn is definitely holding strong in the #3 spot.

In Flowers in the Attic, we saw Corrine's actions through her daughter, Cathy. Corrine was most certainly the antagonist of the Flowers in the Attic series – flighty, careless, and cruel. Materialistic. Self-serving. I'd always wondered what made a woman become the mother who essentially locked her children in an attic and pretended they ceased to exist, all to gain access to her inheritance. But was Corrine the first to go to such lengths?

Beneath the Attic features the original Corrine – Corrine's grandmother and namesake, the children's great-grandmother. A torturous look at how a confident, sixteen-year-old is reduced and broken down due to the circumstances of her life. Showcasing how the darkness at Foxworth hall didn't begin with the children in the attic.

Foxworth Hall came to life in its Gothic, sinister splendor, closets filled with skeletons and twisted secrets hidden in every corner. While the writing may not be the same voice as originally written by VC Andrews herself, the vibe felt the same.

Reading Beneath the Attic would give a new perspective to rereading the Flowers in the Attic series. While I try to not give spoilers away, by avoiding the plot itself, I will say there were a few passages that were difficult to read, on the darker side. Added in with the historical time period in the late 1800s, women's rights weren't even on the horizon, which made it difficult to swallow some of the events that occurred, while most likely an accurate depiction.

With an easy to breeze through plot, the emotions weren't as deep as I wished they would have been, especially with the darker content, needing more emotional exploration for character development, but it did lend to a faster pace.

As I said, I'm in the biased camp, because I was thrilled simply to revisit a series from my childhood, seeking that sense of nostalgia, where I would have been happy with anything, no matter what I received. In this case, I will admit that I was pleased with the insight into Corrine's character, adding another layer to events that happened during the next generations.

One of the most popular authors of all time, V.C. Andrews has been a bestselling phenomenon since the publication of the spellbinding classic Flowers in the Attic. That blockbuster novel began the renowned Dollanganger family saga, which includes Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. Since then, readers have been captivated by more than sixty novels in nearly twenty bestselling series. V.C. Andrews’s novels have sold more than 106 million copies and have been translated into twenty-two foreign languages.

Sadly, V.C. passed away in 1986. She left several unfinished manuscripts and outlines that were completed by Andrew Neiderman.

Connect with V.C.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Beneath the Attic (Dollanganger) by V.C. Andrews to read and review.