V.C. Andrews is a well known writer and one of the best at what she does. This one is no exception. I was engrossed from page on until the final page and really enjoyed the writers ability to bring characters that are well developed and work very well together to a story that you will not want to put down.



5 out of 5 stars


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed this book the characters were interesting and the book was hard to put down. I highly recommend

Netgalley & V.C. Andrews gave me the opportunity to read The Umbrella Lady (Umbrella 1) for an honest review. It was my pleasure to review. I have read many Andrews books over the years and she has a way of telling a story. It’s original, easy to read and typically part of a series. Saffron Anders has just experienced a tragedy to complex for the little girl to understand. Her house went on fire and only her father and her got out. Her mother did not make it. Her parents weren’t having an easy time being married and This fire pits her father over the edge. One day he tells Saffron they are going to take a train ride, to start a new life. Saffron is excited for the change and dreams of their new life. After a few hours they get off at station and her father leaves her for a moment to get some things. The poor girl is left behind and a woman with an Umbrella speaks with her about why she is there alone etc. After some time, the Umbrella lady convinces Saffron to come to her house. They will leave a note for her father and he can pick her up. She will be safe, fed & warm.
It’s only supposed to be for a few hours,
Overnight maybe but the time passes on without her father coming to pick her up. The Umbrella Lady and Saffron find a routine, day to day. Saffron doesn’t trust her much and is so confused why her father doesn’t come back. Nothing makes sense.. how can no one look for her? How can she find her new life ok? Is she betraying her father? Why won’t the Umbrella lady let her go to school or make friends? Can Saffron ever get all the answers she wants? Will she be able to handle them, when she does? This was an easy read. The story had some good twists and turns and I liked the characters. This was a four star read for me. I hope you enjoy it too!!!

Thank you to Netgalley for an opportunity to read and review this book. A wonderful easy read that flows quickly and keeps you glued. The words are a bit YA and flowery but the book is still super enjoyable and the mystery keeps you guessing.

I have read VC Andrews since I was very young so was excited to read a new book by this author. This was another good book! A child tragically loses her mom and then her father abandons her. at the train station She goes to live with a stranger named Mazy. Who is Mazy and is she good or not? I enjoyed the way the story was told and look forward to another book.

#The Umbrella Lady by author # V. C. Andrews is book #1 in the #Umbrella series. Bestselling author V. C. Andrews has sold more than ninety novels, which have sold over 107 million copies worldwide. Wow.
This one starts with a little girl left at a train platform. She is in a unfamiliar village. And then a strange old woman with a large umbrella approaches and inquiries about her situation. But, I can't tell you what happens next......

Thank you,
#Netgalley, ,V. C. Andrews, and # Simon & Schuster

Review coming soon. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; the opinions are mine.

Pub Date: 2.2.21
#TheUmbrellaLady #NetGalley

This is different than any "V.C. Andrews books I've ever read.
It had a real creep factor to it that I haven't experienced in any of the other books by this author.
I honestly expected the "Umbrella Lady" to do something very mean or even hurt the child . The book put me on edge. It was a fast paced book with a mystery just waiting to be explained.
The ending was not what I was expecting at all.
I'll be reading the follow up to this soon.

Pub Date 02 Feb 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you
All opinions expressed are my own.

I really wanted to love this one as I am a huge fan of V. V. Andrews but I just couldn't get into it at all. By 20% I felt as confused as the little girl, Saffron. By this point all we have is Saffron's father leaving her and her going home with a strange lady and a whole bunch of back and forth banter that feels more like filler than anything else. Usually I'm so hooked and invested by this point in an Andrews story that I can't put it down so this one felt like a bit of a disappointment. I may try it again at a later date but for now this is going in the DNF pile.

This book is perfect for fans of V.C. Andrews. However, the original author has passed and these are written by a ghost writer. We met young Saffron, who is left at the train station waiting for her father. He nevers comes back, but The Umbrella Lady takes her home. This book has an eerie feel, a little like Flowers in the Attic.
Saffron waits for her father, trying to navigate life with The Umbrella Lady. This is an easy, quick read if you like mysteries and drama. I enjoyed this book!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Gallery Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Although I came to reading Andrews' books later in life than some, they are still sort of nostalgic reads for me. This one, the story of Saffron Anders, hooks the reader in right away. At only eight years old, she travels with her father on a train after a devastating home fire. At the station, he leaves her with a new coloring book and promises to return shortly after a quick errand. But as the station empties out, and night approaches, soon Saffron is all alone... until the titular Umbrella Lady appears. With answers full of logic, she takes the young girl home with her. Part coming-of-age and part mounting dread, this is an engaging read that leaves the reader waiting for some twisted shoe to drop.

Fast-paced and well-plotted, I do wish that the book had a few more grounding details. It's unclear just where the village of Hurley is located. Plus, the time period feels a bit vague - there's a few mentions of smartphones, selfies and computers, but there are also pay phones that work and high school freshmen sing the Rick Springfield hit, "Jessie's Girl." These oddities aside, I am definitely looking forward to seeing Saffron's story continue in the next book (a teaser for it is included)!

The Umbrella Lady by VC Andrews was an odd book I thought. I have never read another book by this author so maybe a readjustment was required. It was told in first person but very much from a distance, almost as if she were watching her own life unfold without participating in it. Saffron was nine years old when her father left her on a bench on a train platform, promising to return. In the evening, the umbrella lady showed up and convinced Saffron to come home with her. They left her father a note. At first Saffron believed he would come. It was all so odd. They umbrella lady had clothing for her that was the right size, et al. After a long while they got a letter from him explaining that he could not come for her right now. Life went on. Eventually Mazy (the umbrella lady) sent her to school. She had never been before. As children can be, they were not nice to her. She was different and that never sat well.

Odd barely describes this story of an abandoned child. It was not about abuse or neglect, just a very odd way of behaving as well as telling the story. Gradually May opened up to Saffron, although she never told her the whole truth. Eventually Saffron came to accept this reality. She grew to love Mazy and settle into her new life. She never did really understand it all, until Mazy died and Saffron found letters. Even then, she didn't understand. I didn't love this book. I found it difficult to keep reading. I was bored, I guess. The characters were no particularly endearing and the description was cold. I may or may not try VC Andrews again.

I was invited to read a free ARC of The Umbrella Lady by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #netgalley #theumbrellalady

I've been reading V.C.Andrews books since I was a teenager, I've always loved her books!

The Umbrella Lady is a story about a young girl named Saffron who was left on a train platform by her father. He assured his daughter he would be back. After a long while waiting and realizing he wasn't coming back Saffron was befriended by an old woman with an umbrella. Although she wasn't really comfortable with this lady she agreed to go to her home just to rest briefly. But that's not what The Umbrella Lady had in mind!

This story is well written, the characters are very believable and I'm anxiously waiting for the next book in "The Umbrella" series!

I give this book 4 stars.

I was given this ARC by NetGalley for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

I have loved novels by V.C. Andrew/ Andrew Neiderman, (because yes we all know that he has written a majority of her books but this is not the place where i’m going to even delve into that ok. I know many people have issues with that, but. It is what it is), for many, many years, ever since I first read and devoured Flowers in the Attic and the rest of the Dollanganger series. Immediately following, I binged every V.C. Andrews book I could get my hands on.

But even with that being said, eventually my obsession faded away and it’s been quite a long time since i’ve picked up a V.C./Andrew book. Some have caught my eye, but until I picked up The Umbrella Lady, I hadn’t thought of the world of V.C. In quite a while. But i’m glad I decided to give this one a chance, because I really enjoyed it.

While this book is formulaic in the usual way of these books, and has the typical elements of pretty much every other book in the Andrews world, it didn’t bother me or take away from my reading experience and enjoyment of the book.

This was a great beginning to a new series, and I was intrigued and gripped from the moment I began reading.

Between the mysterious opening, and the continuous build up of suspense as you read along was eerie and intriguing.

Say what you want about Andrew Neiderman, but even after penning a zillion books over the years, he still has the ability to draw you into a story and keep you gripped and intrigued throughout your reading experience.

As a very long time V.C Andrews fan, and despite my mixed feelings about Andrew Neiderman, I am so glad I picked this one up and I encourage you to do the same!

My only negative: the fact that my V.C. Andrews addiction may have resurfaced after all of this time, and I may just have to go back and read some of the books that I’ve brushed off over the years.

I can’t wait until the next installment in this series!

I have been reading V.C. Andrews books for 30 years -- yes I know that Andrew Neiderman is the ghost writer of the V.C. Andrew's books. I love both the original ones by her, and also the ones that he has written.

The book centers around Saffron starting as a young child. Her father had told her to wait on the bench at the train station, and that he would return and they would catch another train.

The father never returned, and a lady with an umbrella found her took her home with her while she continues to wait for her father to show up.

Again, I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it.

I would like to thank you NetGalley, V.C. Andrews and Gallery Books for the allowing me to read this book before its release in exchange for my honest review of this book..

Thank you Netgalley, and the publisher for this ARC.

This was my first book by VC Andrews. I have to say that I just felt it could have been a young adult novel, which I never read and stay away from because I just don't enjoy YA books. I just got annoyed reading things from Saffron's perspective. This one was not for me.

The Umbrella Lady
by V.C. Andrews
An abandoned child, left at the train station by her murderous father has left her vulnerable. She innocently accepted the help of a finely dressed woman to her own mistake. This is a dark look into the world of wealth and privilege. The loss of innocence is a theme in this series of stories.

#vcandrews #theumbrellalady #simonandschuster #netgalleyreviewer well. What a weird and twisted book. As always V.C. Andrews hits it out of the park. Saffron is a young girl abandoned at a train station by her father. But. Luckily for her the Umbrella Lady is there to take and care for her. While I enjoyed this book and this author is one of my guilty pleasures I do wish I had some back information or more details on Saffron’s mom and dad. However. I am looking forward to the #sequel #netgalleyreviewer #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #readersofig #booklover #guiltypleasure

I have only read one other VC Andrews book, “flowers in the attic”, and I was excited to be allowed to read this one. I kept feeling like the style was just so similar, but so different at the same time. Learning that this was ghost written then wasn’t too much of a surprise. I really did enjoy the suspense that this type of book brings. The writing wasn’t too poor, it was just a little over dramatic at times, but that may also lead to the enjoyment of suspense. It was a bit predicable, but none the less i would classify this as binge worthy.

I grew up reading V.C. Andrews, and I've tried to stick with them over the years. However, since her death, the quality has really changed ... and not in a good way. It may be time for me to just give up on them.

The story isn't horrible, but it's not "V.C. Andrews" quality, if that's what you go into this book anticipating. This book is better than some of the prior ones since Andrews' death. The plot was somewhat interesting, but the pace was just too slow. Conversations dragged at times. There wasn't anything memorable about this. It was just average ... and something I likely would've passed on all together if it wasn't for the name attached to it. It does feel rushed and a bit thrown together, and there's not much character development. The "twist" at the end wasn't much of a surprise. I doubt I'll read the sequel. I do have to wonder why books continue to be published under V.C. Andrew's name (unless the new author hopes to convince her fans it's the same quality as hers used to be).

<i>Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy, but I wasn't required to leave a positive review.</i>