Member Reviews
This is book 2 of the Umbrella series and it picks up where book 1 left off. Saffron has left her grandmothers home after she passed away and heads to find her father, Derick. Derick had abandoned Saffron many years ago and Mazy took her in. Upon Mazy’s death, saffron finds letters from her father that give her an idea of where to find Derrick so she decides to go to him and get him to take her in, as she has no where else to go. When she gets there, he agrees to take her in on the condition that she claim him as her uncle and not her father, as his father has built his new life and family upon a house of cards. Saffron finds life stressful living with all the lies but doesn’t know how she can do anything else. Once she meets her new grandfather figure, she gets some ideas of what she needs to do.
While some books in a series can be read as a stand-alone, I don’t really think that can be said of this one. You really need the background of the characters that is laid out in th first one. And the ending of this one leaves me thinking that there will be a third book to come.
Thanks to Gallery Books and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one, because I think I have basically had it with Andrews' ghost writer at this point, but I decided to do it anyway. And I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't the best thing I've ever read, but it also wasn't as bad as the books he tried to revive the Dollanganger series with. I probably should have read the first one, but these books are usually pretty easy to understand without reading the previous one, so I didn't. And I don't feel like I missed out on much. The story kept me interested, but I felt like a lot of it was far fetched. There's no way in this day and age someone could get away with calling his daughter his niece. It just seemed sort of ... extra. All in all it was a quick easy read, but nowhere near the OG VC.
Out of the Rain picks up where The Umbrella Lady left off. Saffron Anders now known as Saffron Dazy has left the confines of her grandmother’s home in search of her father, Derick Anders. Derick abandoned Saffron at a train station many years before, leaving Saffron frightened and confused.
Years have passed and now at a crossroads due to Saffron’s grandmother’s death, Saffron uncovers correspondence that point to her father’s new place of residence.
After arriving at Derick Anders’ splendid home, Saffron discovers that Derick has remarried and now has two children with his new wife. Shocked at the surprise visit by his daughter, Derick concocts a plan to conceal Saffron’s true identity, thus securing his position in a financially secure family. A family rich beyond his dreams.
Being that Out of the Rain is the sequeal to The Umbrella Lady, it cannot be read as a stand alone. To get the feel and flavor of the story, one must read The Umbrella Lady to understand the background of Saffron and Derick Anders. In Out of the Rain, readers are introduced to several new characters so a fundamental knowledge of the prior characters is essential for the enjoyment of the story. Personalities, and motives are revealed in the sequel which really add to the intrigue.
The plot is a little convoluted as Derick’s intentions, though honorable, is laced with selfish and self-centered motives. The reader will wonder whether Derick’s means justify the ends.
Out of the Rain is a spine tingling novel that will give new meaning to the word sinister. Four stars — only because of the open ended finale which begs the question of whether there will be another installment, or if readers are to draw their own conclusions.
I received a digital ARC from Gallery Books through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
I just finished reading Out Of the Rain by author V.C. Andrews and have to admit I enjoyed it immensely. I have been reading other peoples reviews and am seeing a lot of negativity. I personally don’t understand this. I have enjoyed this authors work right from the beginning and still do to this day. And yes, I’m fully aware that after Virginia’s death, a ghost writer by the name of Andrew Neiderman has taken over. I still enjoy these stories and am proud to say I own every single book in the collection! That being said, Out Of the Rain picked up right where The Umbrella Lady left off. These stories are written in series so at the end you are left hanging and have to wait for the next books release to find out the continuation of the story. I only wish the author could write a little faster! This book tells about what happens to Saffron after the death of Mazy Dazy, her maternal grandmother, also known as The Umbrella Lady. It shows just how lying and deceitful her father really was. It’s a story of greed and deceit and proves just how twisted some people can be. I enjoyed it so much I finished it in record time. If you’ve never read a V.C. Andrews book, I recommend you start with this series. I believe I prefer it over some of the authors previous work. If you’re into gothic style stories where the characters lives are sometimes twisted with deceit and perhaps even a little incest thrown in, then you’re sure to like these books. I wonder what that says about me? Oh well, I love reading them and am giving this book a 5 star rating! I’d like to thank author Andrew Neiderman and Gallery Books for accepting my request and NetGallery for the arc to read, review and enjoy.
While I won’t be buying this title for my high school library, I did really enjoy it, it was a quick read, though not overly exciting. It feels like a filler squeal, the first title had more going on, this one sets the stage for what I’m sure is going to be a third in the series, which will hopefully have more going on in it. Overall, an annoyance read.
Vc andrews is my favorite author and therefore I will read anything that she herself or her ghost writer has written. I didn’t have very high hopes for this one as I haven’t really loved the new releases but I actually really fell in love.
I remember Flowers in the Attic and several other V C Andrews books and was really looking forward to this read. For me it was a big disappointment. I kept reading waiting for the storyline to intensify but it never did. There was so much potential, but it never materialized.
Saffron, (love the name), was an enjoyable character to wonder about. I did enjoy the exchanges between she and Ava. I felt that she just never evolved. I had hopes when she went to visit her “grandfather” that she was going to shake things up and was eagerly awaiting the result. Her relationship with Karen could have been a true catalyst for drama, but it never developed. The ending was a true let down. What could have been a true gothic horror tale never got off the ground.
My appreciation to V. C. Andrews, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this book.
Her Father's Secrets
A story of Saffron, a young girl from the book "The Umbrella Lady". At the age of fourteen the young girl's grandmother with whom she was left dies and Saffron is free from her over protective grasp. She finds letters her father sent and knows where to find him.
Saffron sets off on the train with her backpack in search of the father that abandoned her seven years ago when she was eight. When she finds him she is told to pose as his niece and must make up stories about her life. She finds the whole family is nothing but lies and there in no honesty or truth in their household. Everyone is an actor and she is not very good at it.
It is a story of a young girl yearning for the love of her father. Instead of finding that love she finds out secrets about her father that she did not want to know. The secrets go back to the fire that took the life of her mother. She is devastated by what she finds.
She decides that it isn't worth it to live a life of lies even if it is a life of luxury. The book ends in a cliffhanger rather abruptly leaving me with a lot of questions. I really hope there is a book three so I will know the rest of Saffron's story.
The book was a good book and I enjoyed reading it.
Thanks to V.C. Andrews, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy for my honest review.
***3.5 Stars***
Brief Synopsis: After the death of her grandma, thirteen-year-old Saffron Anders finds herself orphaned again and is determined to find her birth father who abandoned her years ago. She is shocked to find that he is married with children, one of which is her own age. In order to keep his previous life under wraps, her dad asks Saffron to pretend to be his niece. With nowhere else to go, she ultimately agrees. Saffron is learning to adjust to her new life, while trying to untangle the web of her father’s lies. Will she be able to keep up with the charade?
Thoughts: Though this is a follow-up to another book, it can be read as a standalone novel with no issues. The story is well-written and easy to follow, but it can be super slow at times. In addition, I didn’t feel much suspense or emotion from the text. With the exception of the dad, all of the characters and their actions/personalities are believable. Saffron is a likable, witty main character. I know that the dad’s character was not meant to be likable, but I didn’t feel much of a believability factor towards him. In fact, his narrative felt repetitive and juvenile. I felt closure from the ending, but it’s also setup in a way that another book could follow.
Thank you to V.C. Andrews, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this book. Overall it was a good, light-themed read.
After losing her mother and her home to a deadly house fire, Saffron sets off with her father to their “new home.” Except she takes a huge detour when her dad leaves her on the bench at the train station and NEVER COMES BACK. Lucky for Saffron, he made prior arrangements with the grandmother Saffron never knew to come find her at the train station, raise her for the next five years and never mention she was her grandmother. Until the end of the first book, I thought Grandma Mazy was a crazy kidnapper. Unfortunately, Grandma turned out to be not only the good guy, but also she died.
This book, the second in the series, starts out with Saffron off to find her dad in his new house with his new family. No phone calls. No heads up. The plan is just to show up. Conveniently, Dad answers the door and without so much as a “good to see you,” sends Saffron to stay at the hotel down the street. The next day, he shows up, says “Hey, I’m rich now, but the money all belongs to your new step-mother (who, btw, doesn’t know you exist). We don’t want to piss her off, so let’s tell everyone I’m actually your uncle.”
What.
And on it goes. I’m honestly not sure what the point of the book was.
The only thing I liked about the book was the main character. Saffron is a sweetheart and I just loved her. Grandma Mazy grew on me towards the end of the last book. Every other character in this book, with the exception of a couple minor characters, is an absolute twit.
This one comes out on October 5, 2021, but unless you have some sort of VC Andrews collection and you just have to have this book, there are better options to spend your money on.
Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.
"Following the events of The Umbrella Lady, young Saffron Faith Anders searches for family and love in this spine-tingling gothic fairy tale from the New York Times bestselling author of the Flowers in the Attic series and Landry series - now popular Lifetime movies.
After escaping the trauma of the Umbrella Lady’s home, thirteen-year-old Saffron Faith Anders is determined to find the father who abandoned her all those years ago. But when she finds him in a nearby town, Saffron is shocked to discover that he has married a woman he clearly had been involved with before her mother’s death. Worse, her father insists Saffron pretend to be his niece so he can continue to con his new wife’s family. Desperate for her father’s love, she goes along with the farce, but it soon becomes clear that perhaps it is better to face the world alone than trapped in a toxic and potentially dangerous family."
MORE V.C. ANDREWS! Bring it all to me! Books, movies, everything!
I really enjoyed the sequel to the Umbrella Lady series. I found the story interesting to follow along and liked seeing Saffron’s life after the Umbrella Lady. The sequel did not reveal anything crazy from the first book but rather just continued on with the story. I would have liked for a nice twist or reveal but still liked the book without it. The only thing that I found to be distracting in the book was the constant use of personal reflection questions. After the 100th time of Saffron questioning if someone will tell if she’s lying I found myself rolling my eyes. I did however appreciate the character development for Saffron and even chuckled at the witty dialogue. I would recommend anyone who loves VC Andrews to read this series and definitely continue with the sequel after finishing the first book in the series.
3.5 Stars
This one started a little slow for me, picked up in the middle and left me hanging in the end. Book three maybe will help remedy that? I also must mention that I love the cover so much. I know, we aren't supposed to do that but I am cover girl at heart.
I liked the writing style, the story and Saffron...her father was a real piece of work though...kinda reminded me of my own. She is amazingly "normal" for someone who went through so much bullshit. She is also wise beyond her years. There is SO much dysfunction in this family atmosphere and I really felt bad for Saffron. I mean what kind of father makes you call him "uncle" and never tells his new wife about his first kid!? I was able to read this in one sitting as it is short and interesting enough. This kind of remind me of The Two Towers, in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, in the sense that i think you need to read book three to fully appreciate it.
I have loved VC Andrews since I was a kid. This is by far and away one of THE BEST books to be released in quite some time! I am looking forward to reading others in this series! I am truly hoping and praying that the energy will be kept up and going along the way!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This book started out a bit slow, it took me a good 40-50 pages before I started getting into it. But once I was into the book I really enjoyed it, the characters where well developed and easy to connect with and while the plot was slow I didn't really feel like I wanted to put the book down.
Out of the Rain is the continuing story of The Umbrella Lady. Saffron heads to find her father who left her at a train station to stay with her Grandmother. After her Grandmother passes away , Saffron has nowhere else to go . Her father agrees to let her stay with him and his family as long as she pretends to be his niece.
Saffron soon learns her father’s life is made up of secrets and lies . She must decide whether to stay and live his lie or move on with her life.
This book was much better than The Umbrella Lady and leaves you wondering what is next. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy for my honest opinion.
This is the 2nd book in the Umbrella series following the previous, The Umbrella Lady, where young Saffron was abandoned by her father after the death of her mother , with her grandmother. Out of the rain continues with a now teenage Saffron, after finding her grandmother dead, leaving to find her father. What she finds however is him with his new family and his insistence that she not complicate his current situation where no one is aware of her existence. This is a heartbreaking story where I continued to fall in love with Saffron. New secrets are made while old hidden secrets are coming to light. I loved the complicated relationship that Saffron and Mazy had in the first book and was able to better understand the strong connection they had in this one. This series is simply amazing and after the cliffhanger of an ending, I cannot wait for book 3!!!
Out Of The Rain by V. C. Andrews
Young Saffron is determined to find the father who abandoned her.
Not a happy story. A child was abandoned by her father while he starts a new family. Many secrets and lies. She had nowhere else to go. Here Dad really didn’t want her in his NEW family. I found this book disappointing.
Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.
A slow burn, atmospheric family saga. VC Andrews ghost writer holds true to the themes of her work while taking a departure from her writing style. This book feels like a build up or lead into a larger story. The characters are well developed but the pacing can be a bit sluggish at times. Overall it was a good read with an interesting premise.
I enjoy VC Andrews and all the books he has written. They are very dark, but sometimes one craves a gothic tale.
This is the second book in the Umbrella series Saffron Anders searches for her father and when she meets him, tings go differently than she planned. Much different. Turns out her father is remarried with other children, and the woman he is now married to is "the other woman" who he was cheating with during his first marriage.. And then the story spirals down from there for poor Saffron, until she learns her own strength and makes a decision for herself. I enjoyed this