Good book, would like to have seen more stuff tied up rather than more cliffhangers. Loved the characters.

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.

what the heck did I just read? I can’t believe that the series took off in this direction and the ghost writer ruined the series for me. The new generation will never get the shock of Flowers in the Attic no matter how many writers try and this voice was different from the rest which is understandable. I really hope that this is the end of the series because VC Andrews masterpiece series has flopped.

Thank you to Netgalley, and Galley books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have been reading ALL V.C Andrews books since the beginning, they slowly went downhill after Ms Andrews passed. Since I had such loyalty to her and her works I have kept reading, but
I think it's time to let it go..

I am trying really hard not to hate these unnecessary Dollanganger prequels. FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, PETALS ON THE WIND, and IF THERE BE THORNS were some of my teenage favorites. I loved the original books so much that I'm still thinking about them 30 years after I read them. In my opinion, nothing will ever touch the original V. C. Andrews' writing style. Her work wasn't perfect--it was campy and extreme and occasionally ridiculous--but for whatever reason, it worked. Everything that has been ghostwritten after her death has been a pale imitation. Now, I'm not against ghostwriting in general; I think it can serve a great purpose in finishing incomplete stories. But sometimes it's important to just END things. And I think the V.C. Andrews name should have been retired after DARK ANGEL, the last book she completed prior to her death.

And yet ... I continue to read the ghostwritten books. That's how much I loved those original VCA novels. I complain after every single one of them, but I read them anyway.

In SHADOWS OF FOXWORTH, we meet Marlena, the never-before-mentioned half-sister of Malcolm Foxworth. She and her brother Yvon live with their parents, Corrine (Malcolm's mother) and Beau (the man Corrine married after she left Garland Foxworth.) in Villefranche-sur-Mer in France. Then tragedy strikes (always), and Marlena and Yvon go to live with their aunt Effie, a stodgy two-dimensional character whose overbearing primness makes her a seem like cardboard cutout. After Marlena and Yvon move to Richmond, Virginia, they encounter Malcolm. And naturally, there is a sexual encounter between brother and sister. Why am I not surprised?

While I don't think this book really adds anything to the Dollanganger Saga, I am grateful that it didn't completely negate every single plot development of the original books. It's a lot less offensive than SECRET BROTHER, which contradicted an important part of the original story, and for no good reason.

I appreciate the ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the Flowers In The Attic series and was enjoying the prequels, finding out some of the backstory that led up to what made Malcolm become the way he was. That said, I was disappointed with this book. It felt like a mash-up of a bunch of various storylines from the series, with just the names and locations changed. All of the outcomes were predictable and I felt it went from the potential to head into something disturbing, to everything being wrapped up in a nice tidy, happy bow. I can not in good conscience recommend this one.

I know that this isn't V.C. Andrews writing this book and I can't figure out why Andrew just didn't put it in his own name saying like based off of or something like that. I'm sure the fans would still love these books.
Yes, the writing style is a bit different but so what? Doesn't mean I can't still enjoy it and trust me I loved every minute of it.
I've been a fan of this author since the flowers in the attic and have been hooked ever since! I thought Andrew has done a fabulous job in following the storyline and I really liked the history behind this weird family and how they got like this.
I'm like another reader who can't wait until it comes out in print so I can add it to my collection of her other books!
I know this book isn't for everyone and I will still highly recommend it because there are a lot of folks who will want read this book.
I thought the title of this book lived up to it's name perfectly.
My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC copy of this book. All opinions are my own

Marlena and her brother Yvon live in a true paradise in France with their parents. Their father is becoming a well known artist and their mother is his muse and great love. When a car accident kills their parents, Marlene's life falls apart and she finds herself living in the United States with family that she has never met before. She is startled to find out truths about her parents that shake her very foundation to the core. I have been obsessed with all things Foxworth and V.C. Andrews for as long as I can remember and love that new books have been created. This book was well written and loved the overall story and characters as always. Thanks for the long-awaited ARC, Net Galley.

I hadn't read the two previous Dollanganger books but didn't feel that I would need to, and I didn't feel lost.The problem is the writing is dull. I couldn't get on board with the fact the pacing was slow, and that made it hard to want to continue reading. I know that the books aren't written by Andrews, but this feels so different than any of the previous books in the original series, that it just doesn't fit in line with it. Some people might enjoy this one, but it wasn't for me.

I very much appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for providing me the ARC of Shadows of Foxworth. I would like to be able to rate the book higher than two stars, but I truly leaned toward giving it one star. I kept waiting for something to happen, some big reveal. There wasn't one. Spoilers coming....I will admit that we do find out what happened to Malcolm's mother. The car crash death seemed like a bit of a rehash of the original Flowers in the Attic event, but the two nearly-grown children of Malcolm's mother and her husband weren't locked away. They went to work for the dad's rich family. Then the intellectually disabled adult sister of Beau Dawson appears to have been a victim of incest as well, which is a pretty tired storyline in these books by now and it just seemed gratuitous. The meeting between Malcolm and his siblings seemed a bit anticlimactic as well. My mind had gone to a lot of possibilities about how this story would tie in to the "later" books: maybe there would be a connection to Christopher's mother or some tie in to other characters that appeared in those books. But that just didn't happen. Instead, there is a book of new characters for the most part with only brief connections to the original storyline and the Foxworth family and those seemed almost like afterthoughts.

This was backstory for the original family in Flowers in the Attic. I loved that book as a kid. It was so creepy. This was a good creepy story giving even more information about the twisted family. I would recommend to anyone that was or is a VC Andrews fan!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I have been reading V.C. Andrews books since they first came out in November of 1979. I am proud to say that I own every single book that was put out in print. There are a few that are only available in ebook form and those I have not read. Virginia died a short while after starting her well known Dollanganger family series and a ghost writer named Andrew Neiderman began writing the rest in 1986. Shadows of Foxworth is book 11 in the series and I believe it’s going to be the last. This was a story that goes back in time and tells of the life of Corrine Dixon who was the grandmother to Corrine Foxworth. I really enjoyed reading this because I’m always interested in learning more about this very strange, incestuous family. Some might describe these stories as gothic and I think that for the most part they are. At any rate, I have loved them all right from the beginning and will continue to buy and read every book I can with this authors name on it. I like that the author has written these 11 books covering the different generations of this family to give us readers the entire picture of what this family went through and understand why they did what they did. Sometimes they acted out of love but sometimes it was just pure greed and selfishness. Regardless, I find the stories to be riveting and this one was as well. I’m looking forward to publication day so I can buy my physical copy to add to my collection. I’d like to thank NetGalley and Gallery Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review the arc. I give this book a 5 star rating.

I enjoyed this book the most out of these newest three Foxworth family books, but that's not saying much. Marlena is a very naive and innocent character, a trope for most VC Andrews' heroines daughters, which is annoying. She took forever to finally gain some charisma and then the book ended. There was no real twists in this book, anything that was supposed to be taken as such was easily figured out. I did like that her Aunt wasn't a truly terrible character, as usually happens, she just had some moments but by the end she had turned around and realized her misdeeds. I'm glad there was no incest, as I really thought it was going that way with Yvon and then Malcolm too but it was all stopped in time and I appreciated that. Only two stars.

Every installment just keeps you more and more engaged. The author does a great job of giving the reader a glimpse into the past of a one in a kind series. Full of intrigues and suspense. A must read!

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me through NetGalley. This book was just absolutely wonderful. It was just so easy to get lost in and I just couldn’t put it down. I just lost myself within this amazing story. I most definitely will read more by this author.

Flowers in the Attic was a right of passage for nearly every teen girl I remember! As an adult it has been fun to read the backstory on how this unfortunate family came to be. The Generations before have proven as malicious and twisted as the original! Delving into the backstory is like turning back time in more ways than one and learning the history that leads to Flowers in the Attic brings to light the darkness behind so many of the characters. Thank you for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book!

I have loved reading all of V.C Andrews stories and this book did not disappoint. This book follows the story of Corrine Dixion. It was interesting to see her character evolve throughout the series. I look forward to the next story!

Was not what I was expecting from a name like V.C Andrews. I have been reading her books since i was a kid and this just was not her style.

I saw this book on bookstagram and knew I wanted to read it. I absolutely loved it. It drew me in and I didn't want to take a break. Definitely did not disappoint!

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC. I have read VC Andrews books since i was a tween. These new books do not disappoint. I was glad to get back to the Foxworth family. The prequels live up to the Andrews name.