A review by dakotach7
Eden's Children by V.C. Andrews

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Such mixed opinions on this book... the ghost writer definitely made it feel like the ghost of an original V.C. Andrews book. Definitely had some haunting/gothic aspects to it, but it sometimes just did not quite hit the mark.

 
Like, for example, around pg. 250 I believe, when the mom forced Trevor to sexually assault Faith, but then Paula (the mother) just randomly falling down the stairs and dying shortly after... that was very jarring, albeit considering the Dollanganger family in V.C. Andrews work, not that suprising. I did appreciate Faith at least freaking out a bit about what Paula had forced/groomed Faith and Trevor into doing, I wish the author would have explored that more, just perhaps a deeper insight into Faith's psyche, because that would impact anyone. 

I think when the horrific aspects were more of a menacing undercurrent, that the book ended up being successful. When it wasn't so on the nose, and essentially when the characters weren't speaking, because I really did not love the dialogue either lol. This book had a lot of potential, but ultimately fell short for me.