The Forbidden Heart

The Forbidden #1.5

by V.C. Andrews

The Forbidden series continues in this thrilling e-novella, as Emmie must reinvent herself in Paris after her older sister, a high-priced escort, suddenly disappears.

Emmie risked everything to track down her long-lost older sister, only to be left behind in Paris after Roxy finds love and escapes from her life as a high-class escort. Now in the care of her uncle, Emmie is wise beyond her years but adrift without her sister. When she meets a charming and seductive young French man, she must remember all of Roxy’s lessons on love and sex to make sure she doesn’t go too far too soon…

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Abuse, Fiction, Ebooks

92 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 12, 2013

About the author

Books published under the following names - Virginia Andrews, V. Andrews, Virginia C. Andrews & V.C. Endrius. Books since her death ghost written by Andrew Neiderman, but still attributed to the V.C. Andrews name

Virginia Cleo Andrews (born Cleo Virginia Andrews) was born June 6, 1923 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The youngest child and the only daughter of William Henry Andrews, a career navy man who opened a tool-and-die business after retirement, and Lillian Lilnora Parker Andrews, a telephone operator. She spent her happy childhood years in Portsmouth, Virginia, living briefly in Rochester, New York. The Andrews family returned to Portsmouth while Virginia was in high school.

While a teenager, Virginia suffered a tragic accident, falling down the stairs at her school and incurred severe back injuries. Arthritis and a failed spinal surgical procedure forced her to spend most of her life on crutches or in a wheelchair.

Virginia excelled in school and, at fifteen, won a scholarship for writing a parody of Tennyson's Idylls of the King. She proudly earned her diploma from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth. After graduation, she nurtured her artistic talent by completing a four-year correspondence art course while living at home with her family.

After William Andrews died in the late 1960s, Virginia helped to support herself and her mother through her extremely successful career as a commercial artist, portrait painter, and fashion illustrator.

Frustrated with the lack of creative satisfaction that her work provided, Virginia sought creative release through writing, which she did in secret. In 1972, she completed her first novel, The Gods of the Green Mountain [sic], a science-fantasy story. It was never published. Between 1972 and 1979, she wrote nine novels and twenty short stories, of which only one was published. "I Slept with My Uncle on My Wedding Night", a short fiction piece, was published in a pulp confession magazine.

Promise gleamed over the horizon for Virginia when she submitted a 290,000-word novel, The Obsessed, to a publishing company. She was told that the story had potential, but needed to be trimmed and spiced up a bit. She drafted a new outline in a single night and added "unspeakable things my mother didn't want me to write about." The ninety-eight-page revision was re-titled Flowers in the Attic and she was paid a $7,500 advance. Her new-generation Gothic novel reached the bestseller lists a mere two weeks after its 1979 paperback publication by Pocket Books.

Petals on the Wind, her sequel to Flowers, was published the next year, earning Virginia a $35,000 advance. The second book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for an unbelievable nineteen weeks (Flowers also returned to the list). These first two novels alone sold over seven million copies in only two years. The third novel of the Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns, was released in 1981, bringing Virginia a $75,000 advance. It reached No. 2 on many bestseller lists within its first two weeks.

Taking a break from the chronicles of Chris and Cathy Dollanganger, Virginia published her one, and only, stand-alone novel, My Sweet Audrina, in 1982. The book welcomed an immediate success, topping the sales figures of her previous novels. Two years later, a fourth Dollanganger novel was released, Seeds of Yesterday. According to the New York Times, Seeds was the best-selling fiction paperback novel of 1984. Also in 1984, V.C. Andrews was named "Professional Woman of the Year" by the city of Norfolk, Virginia.

Upon Andrews's death in 1986, two final novels—Garden of Shadows and Fallen Hearts—were published. These two novels are considered the last to bear the "V.C. Andrews" name and to be almost completely written by

Reviews

[Tez · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was free, okay? Auto-approved on Edelweiss, and I did love reading this author as a teen. Now an old lady in my mid-to-late-twenties, I just don't know - have these books always been this bad, or are they worsening? I'm thinking the latter.

Emmie is an American teen living in Paris with her gay uncle and his partner. She befriends a waitress, and gets into the pants of her (the waitress') cousin. A seemingly inoffensive story...

WRONG!

Cultural stereotypes ahoy: supposedly the French are big on food and wine, and Americans are prudes. Seriously? But believe it or not, these stereotypes aren't the worst.

The constant and ever-present fat-shaming. EVERY CHAPTER. Almost every page. Denise is a fat waitress who's overeaten all her life because she's miserable, and she fancies her ridiculously good-looking cousin. (Because fat chicks are into incest?) Emmie, meanwhile, is a fabulously slim and beautiful American who offers Denise diet and exercise help. Because losing weight will cheer her, and make her cousin fancy her? What the hell? With this constant fat-shaming, it's no surprise that someone attempts suicide...

But it's not Denise - it's her mother. Emmie blames Denise for blaming her mother for all her problems. Crikey, with an attitude like that, it wouldn't shock anyone if she tried to kill herself because her daughter's fat...

And thus I really would not recommend this novella. Offensive on so many levels. And just plain dodgy storytelling overall.

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, first off, second in series. I remember VC Andrews as being a creepy writer. This was WAY too vanilla, bland and "romancy" for my liking! Very disappointed. Let's just say it took 3 days to read 60 pages.

[Silpa MV]

Pì

[Jillyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Forbidden Heart is a short novella that stems from The Forbidden series. Emmie finds herself in France, wondering what to do with her life since her sister Roxy has gone away. She stays with her uncle and his life partner, and eventually catches a job opportunity, as well as the eye of a handsome Frenchman. She must recall her sister's teachings and decide how much she's willing to giveaway to the charming boy.

---

Since this is a short story, it'll be a short review as well.

There's nothing really wrong with this book. V.C. Andrews, as usual, writes extremely detailed prose that conjures up vivid imagery of France. I could see how Emmie gets enamored with the place and its people, and I'd definitely want to explore France as well. I think that Andrews also does a good job explaining the relationships between characters.

But, I never really got to know the characters. I'm not sure if it's because I haven't read this book series or what, but I never really felt attached or learned too much about any given character.

I felt like this story was over all boring. I didn't really gain anything from it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really good either. It was a mediocre read that if you get a chance to read it, great, but if not, you're not missing anything.

I will say though, this novella did make me want to read the rest of the series. I'd recommend this to die-hard fans of V.C. Andrews, and perhaps to those familiar with The Forbidden series. But if you're unfamiliar like me, I'd pass this one by.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for my copy. This review can also be found on my blog, Bitches n Prose.

[{erika} · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite awful. Really, just horrid. GoodReads reviewer Tez summed it up best calling it by calling it "Offensive on so many levels. And just plain dodgy storytelling overall."

I'm never really expecting "new V.C. Andrews" characters to have depth anymore, but wow. Tez was right. Cultural stereotypes and fat shaming abound. It was painful to witness just how bad it/this was. "The constant and ever-present fat-shaming. EVERY CHAPTER. Almost every page. Denise is a fat waitress who's overeaten all her life because she's miserable, and she fancies her ridiculously good-looking cousin." This novella is kind of just offensive to everyone because of the above mentioned. The sheer badness and just oh so stupid everything. I mostly enjoyed Roxy's Story (#2) and so thought this (#3) while ridiculously short might be fun. I was so wrong. There was no point, no conclusion. It just didn't need to exist and really disgusted me in the process.

[Laura Pratt · Rating 3 out of 5]

After finding her sister Roxie, Emmie is left to live with her uncle and his partner in Paris. Working at a restaurant, she makes friends with Denise and her cousin Vincent. Will she be able to rebuild her life in a new country and with new friends.

This is a short novella sequel to "Forbidden Sister". This book is able to be a stand alone though with the story not needing a lot of background information from the first book. The ending does leave you hanging though. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next book.

**I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for my review.**

[Tammy]

good quick read

[Jenny Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

WTH

This is a great read. It grabs you’re attention and starts to draw you in. Just as you’re good and hooked the book ends with no closure. I’d like the rest of the book pls

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but I didn’t like how it just ended. It was too short & there could have been more to the story. Very disappointing ending.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story about sisters

[JeniReadABook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick little novella in the Forbidden series. While it was nice to hear a bit about what happened to Emmie after her sister left her behind in Paris, I'm not generally a huge fan of the novella. Too often they give me just a taste of information when I really want the whole scoop. ;-) Since there doesn't seem to be a plan to write a 4th Forbidden novel I'll just have to determine what I think happened to Emmie myself. LOL

[A G A VAN DEN BOS · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting punctuation to the "Forbidden" series, but unknown whether it is a period or comma.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This content could have been added on to the end of the 1st novel Forbidden Sister. As a separate e-book, the story was OK but the ending was very abrupt.

[Rhonda garner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't that interesting I stopped reading half way through

[Ann Stoudt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emmie risked everything to track down her long-lost older sister, only to be left behind in Paris after Roxy finds love and escapes from her life as a high-class escort. Now in the care of her uncle, Emmie is wise beyond her years but adrift without her sister. When she meets a charming and seductive young French man, she must remember all of Roxy’s lessons on love and sex to make sure she doesn’t go too far too soon

[Leianne Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Original Post

Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!



















I have read and reread everything that VCA has put out. Both the works she wrote herself and that written by ghostwriter Andrew Niederman. It's certainly true that even the real VCA wrote trash, but I have to say that slowly, each book has managed to outrank the last with it's absolute awfulness (If that is even a word. If it's not, I am making it one).

Since I have restricted myself to only reading books that I have never read before and now allowing myself any rereads for all of 2014, I decided to get a hold of all the VCA books that I have been behind on; starting with Daughter of Light (the sequel to Daughter of Darkness). The Forbidden series did not disappoint me because I went into it expecting nothing but desperation and randomness with a splash of garbage thrown in.

I wanted this series to be good. I really did. But it just failed on so many levels.

Starting out with the story of a girl who has been raised as an only child (despite having an older sister), I felt like I could relate to our main character and narrator Emmie. She tells her story of a overbearing father who threw out said older sister because she was a wild child who broke the rules, failed at every subject in school, got arrested for shoplifting and had a lot of premarital sex. I was taken back to the mid to late 90's when teenage boot camps were all the rage for parent's looking to punish their unruly teens with a does of "tough love".

As Emmie tells us of how she has no friends, lives like a grunt in a boot camp (but with nicer clothes, a loving french mother and access to a lot of wine), and wonders daily about her mysterious older sister, I waited for the "big secret" to be revealed. Maybe this secret sister was actually Emmie's mother and she had been raped. Maybe her father had raped his own daughter and Emmie was the result. Or maybe there would be some other really fun "OMG!" moment. That moment never came.

Instead both of Emmie's parents die and her secret sister steps up to the plate and decides to take on the responsibility of raising her teenage sister in her hotel/apartment. Meanwhile, this forbidden sister reveals that she is a high class call girl and will be making Emmie leave and stay hidden when she has "clients" over to their apartment to entertain.

When I finally got to Roxy's Story, I was just as unimpressed, still expecting major plot secrets to be revealed. Maybe the evil father wanted her out because he had been molesting her. Maybe she would be raped by some random street rat. Instead I got a story of a teenage girl who got a lucky break when an aging madame takes her on and improves her so she can become said high class call girl. Oh, and she doesn't have to have sex with her clients unless she wants to. Talk about softening the blow.

I can't even comment on the - in my opinion - unfinished work that is The Forbidden Heart.

VCA had no problems being politically incorrect and I think that is why people adored Flowers in the Attic along with the rest of her work. After she died, a few decent series came out with family secrets galore. Somewhere down the lie, Andrew lost the spark that made him fall in love with VCA and decided that secrets weren't worth reading.

Take this series as you wold the last few: with a grain of salt and a large glass of wine,. You'll need the salt to give flavor where there is none and the wine to forget everything you just read.

[Kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Forbidden Heart is a short, eBook only sequel to Virginia Andrews Forbidden Sister and acts as a bridge between Forbidden Sister and the next full-length novel in the series, Roxy's Story. Set entirely in France (thus making it the only Virginia Andrews novel to be set entirely in Europe,) Fobidden Heart picks up where Forbidden Sister ends, it tells us what happens to Emmie after she was abandoned by her sister in Paris. She is now living with her uncle and his partner, has made a new friend in Denise, a young woman who works at her uncle's restaurant and has found a possible new love interest in Denise's cousin, Vincent.

As a reader, I found myself struggling with the story quite a bit. I felt unhappy with the love triangle and how it played out, and I felt that the author could have done more to offer readers a sympathetic portrayal of Denise, the character who ultimately suffers the most in this short novella. The were also a number of stereotypes and urban myths about the French and people who struggle with over-eating and obesity, which saddened me. Very little was resolved at the end of the story.

As a long time fan of Virginia Andrews (V.C. Andrews in the US,) I feel very disappointed with recent releases baring her name. Although I feel ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman has done wonderful job in many ways over the years and is a talented author in his own right, and the level of interaction with his fans on facebook both moderating and taking time out to speak with fans is absolutely commendable, this title really lacks the charm of earlier work. I feel the ghostwriter and publishers could both be doing much better and are selling themselves and the V.C. Andrews name short. Or to put it another way, come on Mate, you can do better. Lift your game.

This review also appears on my blog, Kathryn's Inbox

[Ionia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My honest opinion of this story was that, while the characters were interesting, the story seemed a bit disjointed. I felt for a book of this length, it would have been better to stick with a few events and focus more on the relationships between the characters and the overall health of the story than to veer off into other avenues as this did.

The main character was indecisive and at times even a bit rude to the other lead female character. I never quite understood what was going on in her mind.

I did like the descriptions of Paris in this story and the dynamic between the main character and her love interest was interesting, although once again, I felt could have been explored in much more depth. I think had this been longer, it would have been better than it was.

I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it. The ending left me with more questions than answers.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher and Netgalley.

[Becca ~BS BOOK REVIEWERS~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 ½ stars
This novella was more like a prequel to a series or book, regardless there is more to come of these characters. It was very short and basically introduced characters. We find out that Ellie’s parents died and her sister Roxy, who happens to be an escort, takes her to Paris and leaves her with her gay uncle and his partner.
I had several problems with this story. Just as it starts getting good it ends; no closure, open ended in a way, that’s why I fell this must be a prequel. Also, all the character’s names that are French are capitalized, but the American character’s are not. I was just too short, but after the ending it did give additional information on the sister’s story, so I assume it is the start of a new series.


This review is posted at www.bsreviewers.blogspot.com

[Debbie Kolins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Forbidden series continues in this e-novella, as Emmie must reinvent herself in Paris after her older sister, a high-priced escort, suddenly disappears.
Emmie risked everything to find her long-lost older sister, only to be ditched in Paris after Roxy finds love and escapes from her life as a high-class escort. Now Emie is in the care of her uncle, Emmie is wise beyond her years but adrift without her sister. She meets a charming and very seductive young French man, she must remember everything that Roxy has gone through on love and sex to make sure she doesn’t go too far too soon. Loved the book even though it was short but, I am disappointed that it isn't in paperback as I have all of V. C. Andrews books in paperback.

[Dayna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was utterly and completely disappointed in this novella. It was way too short in my opinion and I was hoping to get to know the new characters a little better. The story made almost no progression and ended on what I would call a boring and uneventful base. I expected much more from the ghost writer and was taken by complete surprise at this sad attempt to look into the life of Emmie in Paris.

1 star because the story did not progress at all.

I wish I hadn't wasted my money on this novella.

[Lorin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting read. It was a little slow to start and to form a bond with the characters but towards the end I did want to know more about them and was disappointed when the book finished so quickly. Really felt for Denise the most and what a sad existence she was living. Vincent seems to be way too big for his boots really. I need to read the other books to appreciate this one. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing access to the book to review it.

[Jodie Angeline Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've given this 3 stars only because I was annoyed that it was so short. I'd like to have read more about Emmie and her life in Paris and seen a glimpse into her future as an adult and even reuniting with her sister again.

It was a great story just too short. It started off several plot lines but didn't see any through which is a shame. I think it could have been expanded into a full novel quite easily.

[Sierra Profitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

i read this after reading the other 2 in print form months ago. it ended too soon. it should have been a seperate book all its own and not a short 60 e-novella or as the end of the book emmie went to paris in. there wasnt much character building with it, and ended rather abruptly. vc andrews is normally my guilty pleasure read, and this is the first ive not enjoyed, either by andrews herself or neiderman.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was as good as the other 2. I do wish it had been longer. Also I hope their will be more in this series, I loved them. I love the conflict rocky has and wish we knew more of what exactly happened after she left her sister with her uncle.

[Sylvia Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok novella.

I know it was a novella but it could have gone a little deeper into the story. Personally I think they should have came out with this as a full length novel after Roxy's Story.

[Rebecca S. Waddell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, only somewhat wraps up story.

I would rate this book as only okay. several grammatical errors and spelling ... not used to that with VC Andrews titles. Short book which did not fully close out series.

[Nico · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best, most loved series/authors of all time. V.C. Andrews books are something so easily recognizable and new books continue to evolve to go with the times and bring in a whole new generation of loving readers

[Ty Barnett]

I am sorry but I can't rate this book. It was a disappointment. This is book is only 80 pages and I bought it for my kindle. The story has no ending. You don't find out what happens to either sister. I gave the other books a good review but this one I can't.

[Ashley]

After finishing this book in a couple of hours, I had to wonder if it was the whole book. This book has no ending. Everything is left with questions. One of the worst books I have ever read, especially with the name V. C. Andrews on it. This book ruins the entire series.