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“good very exciting”
Selena M wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I remember liking this series as a teenager...I'm not into this type of darkness anymore.”
Stacy W wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I've read the Dutch version: Als er doornen zijn”
Mandy . wrote this review Friday, November 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I used to savor VC Andrews' books. The early ones were eerie, and layered with a dark sumptuous quality. The characters exuded moral ambiguity and pulsated with taboo sexual desires and secrets. These books started so strong, but tapers off in intensity and effect across the series.”
Kelly D wrote this review Saturday, October 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Although very strange, this book and all of the other books in this series are super interesting. I loved this book. It's dash of weirdness just keeps you guessing and turning pages. I would suggest this book to anybody over the age of 10.”
Payton I wrote this review Wednesday, October 7 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“it just keeps on going.... and going... those poor people... I must be a sucker for intrigue”
Chelsea R wrote this review Monday, September 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“The book is narrated by two half-brothers, Jory and Bart Sheffield. Their mother, Cathy, is married to Christopher Sheffield. The elder brother, Jory, is a handsome, talented young man who wants to follow his mother in her career in the ballet, while the younger Bart is clumsy, imaginative, and has no capacity on the stage. Bart feels he is misunderstood by his parents and outshone by Jory. Lonely, Bart befriends an elderly neighbour, who invites him over for cookies and ice cream and encourages him to call her "Grandmother". The old woman and Bart soon develop an affectionate friendship, and the woman does her best to give Bart whatever he wants, provided that Bart promises to keep her gifts--and their relationship--a secret from his mother.
Wendy B wrote this review Wednesday, July 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Her butler, John Amos, also seems to befriend Bart, but soon John Amos begins to fill Bart's mind with stories about the sinful nature of women, especially women who, like Bart's mother Cathy, flaunt their bodies on the stage. John Amos reveals that the old woman is truly Bart's grandmother Corinne Foxworth. He also gives Bart a journal belonging to Bart's biological great-grandfather, Malcolm Foxworth, claiming that this journal will help Bart become as powerful and successful as that man. Bart is enveloped by the journal and begins to pretend that he is his great-grandfather, who hated women and was obsessed with their degradation.
Cathy, Chris, and Jory soon notice the change in Bart, but only Jory suspects that the changes are due to the mysterious woman next door. At the same time, Cathy is injured in a ballet accident and is told that she will never dance again. While confined to a wheelchair, Cathy begins to write out the story of her life. Bart filches his mother's manuscript pages and is enraged to learn the truth about his parents: Cathy and Chris are brother and sister, and his "grandmother" locked them in an attic for years, feeding them poison to gain an inheritance.
Cathy has also discovered the truth about the woman next door and goes to confront her. The old woman, who is indeed the mother of Cathy and Chris, expresses remorse for her crimes against them and begs them to forgive and love her again. Working on John Amos' orders, Bart, who now believes he is a vessel for his great-grandfather's vengeful spirit, helps to lock Cathy and her mother into the cellar of the house next door, where John Amos plans to starve them to death. In the course of this, Bart realises how much he loves his mother and grandmother, despite their sins, and tells Chris where the women are. But before they can be reached, the house next door catches fire. Cathy is saved, but her mother dies of smoke inhalation, along with John Amos.
The epilogue, resumed with Cathy as narrator, describes Cathy's emotional forgiveness of her mother at the woman's funeral. Cathy and Chris, for the sake of their sons and adopted daughter, realise that they must never allow their secret relationship to be revealed. Bart seems to have recovered from the worst of his madness, but still dwells on the power wielded by his great-grandfather, whose millions he now stands to inherit.
”“The third in this series continues to portray disturbing relationships while adding new twists to the story line. The ultimate dysfunctional family. But yet, it's the love of family that holds them together. ”
Jaci M wrote this review Wednesday, June 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Dark Book full of emotional deading if you know what I mean... I liked this book alot it is pretty dark and can take you to cold places it also has a eerie since about the little boy and how they can be so easily presuaded good or bad. I think it shows the importance of being on top of who you allow in your life and sometimes when you say No! Make sure it stays No! I really liked this book”
DELIGHT FROM WITHIN wrote this review Tuesday, June 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
