Member Reviews

OK, I did enjoy the book, but not as much as some of the others from VC Andrews. It is well-written and easy to keep up with the storyline. I do enjoy the series, and hope it continues.

Was this review helpful?

Love these novellas. Short and sweet while interconnecting to Bittersweet Dreams and each book beautifully. Very interesting storylines and I love how they play off each other brilliantly.

Was this review helpful?

Mayfair is attending Spindrift School where she meets two classmates that become her friends. All three have never felt as a part of the “clique” with their classmates. The school is for those who are gifted. The three girls discover as they jog together that their is a hole under the fence big enough for them to go under. They discuss sneaking out so they can explore what is around the school. They end up going under the fence. Where do they go? What will they do?

I don’t want to spoil the story so I am stopping in order to encourage you to read it. I had fun reading it. It made me think of what life as a teenager was for me. I could relate to all three gals. The novella kept my interest as I wanted to see what was going to happen next. Enjoy reading this story!

Was this review helpful?

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
Mayfair is the third installment in the Girls of Spindrift series, as well as the sequel to the full-length novel Bittersweet Dreams. I recommend against reading as a standalone. Corliss, Donna, then Mayfair.

I rated the first two much higher, and I do believe that is in part due to the fact that Corliss and Donna began before the girls arrived at Spindrift, allowing the reader to forge an emotional connection with the characters, as well as weaving an air of mystery to Spindrift. Mayfair begins while at Spindrift, with a major event 'told' not shown, and this created an emotional disconnect between me and the narrator.

The residents of Spindrift take being geniuses to a whole new level, beyond the range of what an average, everyday person could even contemplate. This almost detached emotional state is difficult to connect to for the reader, at least it was for me.

I enjoyed watching the struggle unfold for the girls as they tried to assimilate back into the population – however, I felt it rather vapid, as if there is no in between. You're either beyond genius or only enjoy shopping and the mall, with no in between.

Overall, I just felt for someone so intelligent, every thought and action was emotionally and mentally stunted at the age of 10 or 12, which made for a difficult read for me.

While this was a quick read, and did fit into the series as a whole, I never connected, didn't truly feel entertained, and never connected to the story or the narrator. With such an original premise surrounding Spindrift, I'm unsure why Mayfair and what she told within her story was a focal point in the first place. With a beginning told (not shown), a dry middle, and it ended before I felt it began, what was or was to come would have been a more interesting focal point to read about instead of what was on the pages.

Recommended to fans of VC Andrews and this series.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
Finally! The girls get to Spindrift! Mayfair’s book starts once all three girls have settled in to Spindrift and formed a friendship of sorts. In a school full of socially awkward geniuses, the three beautiful young women are called the Supremes.

After wading through the first two novellas, I think I was hoping for something more once the girls got to Spindrift. And while we do get a sense of the physicality of the secure school facility, the secrets behind Spindrift are still merely hinted at.

Mayfair’s book somehow manages to spiral into something that almost resembles a romance. She might be a genius, but Mayfair’s decisions seem fairly stupid and her reactions are those of a defiant and somewhat spoiled rich kid. Mayfair isn’t a terribly likeable character. She is as smug as Corliss and Donna, but she also comes across as vain and shallow.

I really haven’t enjoyed the style of the writing in these three prequels. I don’t need my characters to be likeable – I quite enjoy a good antihero or an unreliable narrator – but I really couldn’t engage with any of the three girls and I found the painfully slow build of the story arc incredibly frustrating.

Was this review helpful?

I grew up reading VC Andrews, and I still get excited when I see a new book, even though I know it’s technically written by someone else these days. While I’ve not read all of them since the author’s death, I have read and enjoyed a number of them. This is the first one I’ve read in a bit, and I didn’t read the previous books in the series.

I found this book to be so-so for me. I may have felt differently if I’d read the books in order, as this is the third book in the series. I’ve jumped into other series in the middle in the past and have been fine. Perhaps this one was different due to the fact it’s a novella. I didn’t connect with the characters, and some parts (including the ending) felt rushed and left things hanging a bit. However, this will not prevent me from checking out other books by this author in the future.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review.

Was this review helpful?

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. Mayfair is the third book in The Girls of Spindrift series and I loved getting to go back into this world and meet these characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Was this review helpful?

Mayfair
by V.C. Andrews
Having read the previous books, Corliss, Donna, and Spindrift. Mayfair is the final individual story of the Spindrift, coming out after the main book, much of this story is the continuation of the story in the main novel. Mayfair is the one of the Supreme girls at Spindrift academy. This is a short story of breaking the rules, and finding that love is not as impossible as we make it. The fact that Mayfair falls for another older man makes the mother in me cringe, although i see it as good book plot. This is a nice supplement to the original book.

Was this review helpful?

This book actually was the first book by V.C. Andrews I have read in years because every book seemed to be the same. Mayfair, even though it’s the third in a series brought back by faith in this author. These highly intelligent girls are part of a school where they can’t get out ever. They find an opening underneath a fence and go out and experience some life, especially one girl. I can’t wait to read the previous 2 books that are on Scribd. Definitely recommend if you are looking for something different by her.

Was this review helpful?

More recently, I have been nostalgic for books that I read during my childhood. VC Andrews was one of those authors that I devoured during middle school. I think it was that nostalgia that drew me to this series.

Spindrift is a school for the exceptionally gifted. Mayfair is the main character in this novella. While jogging one day, she and her friends find a hole dug under a fence and they go and check out what there. She meets a man and craves freedom enough to go with him.

I didn't connect with this novella as much as I had hoped. It was a decent read- and while I may go back and reread books of this authors that I read 30 years ago, I'm not sure I'll continue to read anything new.

Was this review helpful?

Spindrift is an experimental boarding school for the exceptionally gifted (IQ over 180). Mayfair, the main character, has a father who remarried and she does not have a sense of "family". Mayfair had been burned in her last relationship and was not in a rush to go to the next. She goes jogging with her friends and they find a path dug under the fence that overlooks a mall. The three friends venture out and have fun. They meet a man who is attracted to Mayfair - and she to him. The following night, Mayfair goes alone and finds the man, Leo, at the same restaurant/bar. Carefree, she takes off with him, realizing the consequences but freedom is her main interest. The two of them share a night of passion...

An OK read. Some of the books under the name V.C. Andrews grab me more than others. This one kind of left the reader hanging. Many thanks to Pocket Star Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book!

Was this review helpful?

Mayfair is the third book of the Girls of Spindrift series by V.C. Andrews. The series is a set of novellas that are prequels to the book Bittersweet Dreams which has already been published. I have not yet read Bittersweet Dreams myself but I don’t believe it would necessary to have done so to understand this novella, it seems to be mainly some character building for what would be coming in Bittersweet Dreams.

The first two novellas in the series introduced Corliss and Donna and now Mayfair has joined them at the exclusive Spindrift School that is for the extremely gifted. These girls never fit into their lives being well above their peers in school and testing off the charts and now they have found each other and began to bond and become friends. While the girls are out jogging they find a way under the fence and into a small town near the school and decide to explore.

Being novella length I’m sure you’ll all expect my usual the story is good but there isn’t a lot of depth. I really don’t mind with these as it’s more nostalgia to dip into the haunting lives that live within the pages of a V.C. Andrews novella. And yes, I’m well aware along with most anyone that V.C. herself passed away years ago and these are actually written by her ghostwriter, Andrew Neiderman.

There are some out there who 1 star every book coming out without ever giving them a chance, however I’m not one of those and actually like trying these out. While some stories written since her passing were really terrible some of them aren’t too bad and good for that trip into the past occasionally. The Girls of Spindrift is one that I don’t find that bad at all, not award winning but good to pass the time.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

I have read almost all of the V.C. Andrews books since the first one published when I was 12. This is the 3rd novella in the Girls of Spindrift series. I have met 3 of the girls so far as this is the third book. Spindrift is a special school for students who just don't fit in at a regular school as they are more advanced than the teachers there with their IQ of 180 or higher. Yeah, these are not the run of the mill teens but they may just be too advanced to participate in normal conversations or social media. We meet Mayfair is this novella, she along with Corliss and Donna that we met in the previous novellas are called the Supremes at school. The girls are tired of being kept separated from "normal teens" so they set out to change that. Jogging one day they see a hole dug under a fence that separates the school from outside world. Knowing they will get into a lot of trouble if caught they slip under anyways and discover the outside world is not what they expected it to be .
Pub Date 02 Jul 2018
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Felt too rushed, as if just when things were getting where they needed to be, it was over. I was expecting a book and this was barely a novella. Normally like these books but this fell very flat.

Was this review helpful?