The Forbidden Sister by V.C. Andrews | Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

“You can’t love anyone without pain, the pain of jealousy and the pain of loss. It will always be under your skin and in your heart waiting to pounce.”

I just can't seem to learn from the flaws of this era of "V.C. Andrews", you know? Time and time again, I get lured in by promising plotlines (family secrets, a sister who left home at a young age and became an escort; overbearing families and tangled friendships) and a summary that leaves you dangling in suspense. There have been few releases in recent years that I have genuinely enjoyed from Andrews--most recently, it was the startling and disturbingly fun introduction to a new series: The Mirror Sisters and its even better sequel Broken Glass--and there is really no going around and tip toeing that. My longtime followers and friends know why I take issue with the name being used long after the author has passed and I won't get into it.

The Forbidden Sister had something to it beyond that beautiful cover art. I was fascinated by the very premise. There was something between the lines of the summary that called to me and I just couldn't resist. However, where I thought there would be more thrilling intrigue and secrets; the novel was lackluster and the premise gave away the entire plot-line. Further, I just found it to be dull and choppy; boring, boring, boring. No substance. Nothing.
Even the plots that came to pass felt weirdly undone, like they were happening at a glacial speed yet no details to be found.

I think that, in my opinion, the only saving grace of The Forbidden was in Roxy. Emmie is not a bad character by any means, it just felt like she was there but not. Which is never a good sign when it comes to the lead character of a novel. Roxy's backstory interested me from the get-go and I would have loved to see more of the tangled family relationships that the sisters had with not only one another, but their parents. It wasn't twisted at all--it was just unfortunate and I can't say I was all that wild about the parents, obviously, but it just felt like the detailing and each circumstance was lacking.

And the ending was no better! Much like the rest of the book, it was just kind of there. A dud. Not a single way to escape it. I felt very unsatisfied with it and, well, it's definitely up there as one of the dullest (but maybe not worst) V.C. Andrews novels of late. I don't know that I would recommend it to anyone unless they just feel like reading something, without a care towards the plot. It wasn't my cup of tea.