This week for the Fiction Friday feature, I am reviewing the gothic fiction novel, Gates of Paradise by V.C. Andrews. This book was originally published in June 1989 with a page count of 450 pages. This novel is the fourth novel in the Casteel series. The audiobook is 11 hours & 59 minutes in length and read by Andi Arndt. The following overview is provided from B&N: The car crash that killed Heaven and Logan left Annie Casteel Stonewall orphaned and crippled. Whisked off to Fathinggale Manor by the possessive Tony Tatterton, Annie pines for her lost family, but especially for Luke, her half-brother. Friend of her childhood, her fantasy prince her loving confidante…without the warm glow of Luke’s love, she is lost in the shadows of despair. When Annie discovers Troy’s cottage hidden in Farthinggale’s woods, the mystery of her past deepens. And even as she yearns to see Luke again, her hopes and dreams are darkened by the sinister Casteel spell…treacherous, powerful, and evil.
I enjoyed the shift in perspective for this part of the story. I do not think any other ending for Heaven would have felt right to me. There has been so much tragedy for this family. I never liked Tony and Fannie, they are the worst. I felt for Annie throughout this book, she had to live in a special kind of hell because of Tony. There are so many good twists and turns throughout this novel. This is everything I could have asked for as an ending to this series. I will say that I prefer the ghostwriter to the original author. I know that the ghostwriter is mimicking what Andrews was creating but there are little things that changed in the writing that made it all the more consumable for me. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys dark family sagas.
I give this novel 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Tomorrow for the Missing Person Saturday feature, I am highlighting the missing person’s case of Roland Sconawah. Next week for the Fiction Friday feature, I am reviewing the adventure fiction novel, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Until then keep reading on; Nerd out!
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