Beneath the Attic by author V.C. Andrews is one of my top anticipated books in 2019! Flowers in the attic series was a fun, deep read for me and now I’m excited to know what happened before Flowers in the Attic that made the series what it is! Full review to come!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I was a fan of the original Flowers in the Attic series. I've tried a few of the newer titles and have been disappointed. From the blurb this book was meant to be a sort of prequel to the original series. It was TERRIBLE! The whole thing was more of a trailer for books sure to come. There was no real completion or satisfaction at the end. If I am going to read a trilogy or series I want the first book to have some resolution and sort of a tease to read more. I also noticed in this book the author found every possible excuse to use the words "Flower" and "Attic." It felt like a cheap ploy to make you nostalgic that just fell flat.

Actually, I read the original series MANY years ago. This book triggered vague memories of those stories.
I most likely will return to the originals - now that I have read Beneath the Attic.

The plotline is a bit shallow but it is easy to follow and a very fast read. The characters were played out well, I thought. However, I do not understand why Corrine did not question Garland as to why he had not tried to contact her in 2 1/2 months. I pretty much chalked that up to him thinking that Corrine didn't want to have anything to do with him.

Reading this brought back many memories for me. Although an easy read, it was quick enough and detailed aptly to make the book both enjoyable and interesting. Flowers in the Attic, anyone?

Many thanks to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and NetGalley for a good read!

I just recently re-read the original Dollanganger series after being away from it for several decades, so I was interested to see how Neiderman would construct Malcolm's mother's story. I read that there are to be two more books after this one and it did feel a bit like this book was more setting the scene for the others than it was shedding light on many secrets since this book ends before Malcolm is even born.

First, the strengths: I remember having a soft spot for Garland when I encountered him as an older man in Garden of Shadows and it was interesting to see him as a young man, charming, a bit arrogant, and possibly not to be trusted. I'll be interested to see how his character develops in the next two books. I also always like walking back through Foxworth Hall in my mind, so I did enjoy the descriptions in this book as well.

There were some errors, especially with respect to the 1890 setting, that I truly hope an editor will fix before the final release. Please get rid of the mentions of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O"Hara as these characters will not exist in literature for over 40 years after the setting of the book. Also, I hope someone will remove the use of the term "homeschooled" in reference to the family members who were taught in the attic classroom. That term would not have been used in 1890. And the use of the word "sexy" by Corrine would not have happened at that time, either.

Andrew Neiderman has destroyed V.C. Andrews legacy.

Beneath the Attic is riddled with inaccuracies and the lack of research or even thought that went into the novel is absolutely disgraceful. There was obviously no editorial oversight and that is to the detriment of the novel, the reader, V.C. Andrews, and the books that Andrews wrote herself. The books that Neiderman first wrote under Andrews, when working with Andrews original editor, were of far higher quality. Since they have parted ways, we are left with what can only be described as trash.

The book is set in 1890, but although that is stated, there seems to be no effort to actually adhere to the time period of 1890. Corrine visits her former nursemaid at home--which she owns herself and where she lives alone--and the nursemaid opens the door fresh from a shower, dressed in a robe, while drying her hair. When visiting her aunt, her aunt's elderly, long time servant, presumably previously enslaved, speaks with her familiarly and addresses her as Corrine, not Miss Corrine. Corrine and her mother, although wealthy, fix their own meals and do not appear to employ any servants themselves. At one point, Corrine comes downstairs in the morning, clad only in her robe, and fixes herself some scrambled eggs. None of this would have happened in 1890!

The most glaring mistake of all, Corrine compared to herself to Scarlet O'Hara from Gone with the Wind. This book is set in 1890. Gone with the Wind was published in 1936. FFS do a modicum of research!

The opening chapter has Corrine spending so much time fixated on her beauty that I had to set it down and walk away multiple times. Even a narcissist would have been embarrassed. Then Corrine's "womanly talks" with the neighbor girls where she educates them about sex--absolutely ridiculous. Again, ill suited to the time period. Any time period, really. The opening chapters only served to make Corrine hateful. The only purpose those could possibly serve was to make it seem as if she "deserved" to be raped when Garland drugged and raped her. For a man who writes books for a primarily female audience, it is apparent that Neiderman is not a fan of women.

This is lazy writing and insult to his readers. This is not the polished result of a craft that is honed and perfected. This is something that was banged out for a paycheck.

This was not good. I have fond memories of the hilarity of Flowers in the Attic, but this book, about the orginial Corinne's grandmother Corinne, just sets up a lot of unresolved mysteries about her weird husband. Corinne is spoiled and hilarious but ultimately this book felt like set up, and it didn't really shed any light on the sequels that's actually interesting.

Fans of V. C. Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic will grab this one in the hopes of understanding why Corinne did the things she did, but most will stop reading befor they get any answers. The quality of the writing is poor and only seeks to titillate readers and isn’t even very success at that. Although in all honesty, I didn’t read much.