Look, I can't shake this series. No matter what. Don't ask me why. Don't ask me how. Here we are. Drag me for it later, if you'd like. (No, seriously, do it, I could use the entertainment and need to be knocked down a few pegs.)

But, the (moderately) good news? The Shadows of Foxworth is definitely better than the prior two installments of this prequel saga. The bad news is that it still wasn't great and doesn't hold up to the earlier works of V.C. Andrews and ghost-writer, Andrew Neiderman.



The Shadows of Foxworth 
by V.C. Andrews* 
*Andrew Neiderman 

Continuing the events from Beneath the Attic and Out of the Attic, the prequel trilogy to the Dollanganger series comes to a riveting end with Shadows of Foxworth, a passionate novel about Corrine Foxworth’s intense desire to flee her overbearing life trapped in the Foxworth estate.

Two generations before Corinne Foxworth locked her children in an attic, the life of her grandmother, a gorgeous young girl named Corrine Dixon changed forever. At age sixteen, she discovered she was pregnant by the wealthy and handsome Garland Foxworth. Now, trapped in the labyrinthine Foxworth estate, young Corrine is overwhelmed with her stifled life and domineering husband. When an artist is hired to paint her portrait, she immediately falls in love and is convinced to abandon this dark world forever, unaware that her decision could have far-reaching consequences that linger for generations… 


As always, a copy of this book was provided by the author or publisher in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.  

Oh, how I wish I could shake the world that is V.C. Andrews' Dollanganger Saga. Try as I might, I can't. While the prequel novels haven't always been my cup of tea, there's this undeniably addictive quality to them. It is reminiscent to both the original V.C. Andrews and the ghost-written expansions. I've long since tried to understand my attentiveness towards these books, but I would imagine this is how soap opera lovers feel: I cannot look away.

Look, there's no real easy way to put this: this isn't the type of book you read and expect to be moved or inspired. It truly is like a soap opera. It truly is problematic and trashy and highlights a lot of disturbing tropes. While the earlier titles by both V.C. Andrews and Andrew Neiderman are good-bad, the kind that forms an instantly addictive and compulsively readable quality, these approach bad-bad territory.

In truth? The Shadows of Foxworth lay between the two, but for reviewing sake, I'm leaning more towards 'bad-bad'. The good news is that it is infinitely more engaging than its predecessors, a little less disturbing, and by far the best of the three. The bad news? It could have used a bit more editing and, ultimately, feels a bit unnecessary.

The Shadows of Foxworth, first and foremost, diverges quite far from the original source material and what we know from it. I wasn't sure what to expect from it--both in terms of the original series and the prior two novels in the lineup--but it wasn't necessarily this. For longtime, devoted, fans, who merely want more content, this can be easily brushed aside. For the other side of the fandom, this proves to be more frustrating and unreadable than anything else.

While The Shadows of Foxworth proved to be a novel that I not only finished, but vigorously so, it still wasn't necessarily my favourite. Part of me understands, of course, why it's a series that many don't want to let go of, but the other part of me is content in leaving it where it is. At the end of the day, this story is something that readers will have to decide to read for themselves--but it certainly won't be for everybody.

(And, oh, how I want to dive back into the Casteel, Cutler or Landry series.)

Ultimately, this wasn't for me. As always, taste is subjective.