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De Beers #5
Hidden Leaves
The truth could not be revealed — until now....
After the tragic death of her adoptive father, Willow De Beers receives an unexpected gift: a family diary that unlocks all the secrets of her world — and shatters the life she's known in glitzy Palm Beach, Florida. At last, Willow learns the identity of her real father, and unearths his secret love affair with her real mother. She discovers the reasons for her adoptive mother's cruelty...and the truth about the mysterious woman who couldn't keep her, but would love her forever.
Look inside for the original e-book prequel Dark Seed — first time in print! Also inside...a preview of the thrilling Broken Wings series — coming soon from Pocket Star Books
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
41 people are currently reading
2391 people want to read
About the author
V.C. Andrews
370 books9,094 followersBooks 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
January 2, 2010
I hated this book so much I couldn't even finish it. If you're a V.C. Andrews fan, I DO NOT recommend the DeBeers series. It's by far, the worst series in all of V.C. Andrews books. I'm 5 books away from reading every Andrews book written, and I felt I wasted my time on this series. I've loved every series I've read from this author, EXCEPT this one. I've found it extremely boring, every book was never interesting until it was almost over. And this one, which is a prequel to "Willow," was far too much for me. Willow's father, the psychiatrist left a journal for Willow to read, about how he met her real mother at his clinic and fell in love with her. The book was too much psycho-babble for me, and was just to uninteresting to even finish.
Now, I want to be able to say I've read every book that V.C. Andrews has ever written, (after I finish the last 5) but I'd have to say in the end, all of the books with the exception of this one. Half way through my boredom got the best of me and I saw no reason to continue.
Now, I want to be able to say I've read every book that V.C. Andrews has ever written, (after I finish the last 5) but I'd have to say in the end, all of the books with the exception of this one. Half way through my boredom got the best of me and I saw no reason to continue.
February 20, 2014
This is the shortest book in the DeBeers series, but it took me the longest to read...
I wasn't very impressed with this title, or this particular family storyline in general. None of the DeBeers secrets were very shocking, and this book didn't exactly reveal anything that I didn't know already from reading the previous books in the series. If it had brought something new to Grace's story I would have enjoyed it. As it is I wonder why it was written in the first place, besides the obvious reason of turning a quick profit. I have enjoyed most of the ghostwritten books, even though the newer ones are formulaic and have the most over dramatic and bizarre casts of characters imaginable. They are entertaining for the most part! This is the first one that I have put down for weeks; I had to force myself to finish it.
It was interesting to read the ghostwriter's male perspective, since all other V.C. Andrews books have been written from a female perspective.
I wasn't very impressed with this title, or this particular family storyline in general. None of the DeBeers secrets were very shocking, and this book didn't exactly reveal anything that I didn't know already from reading the previous books in the series. If it had brought something new to Grace's story I would have enjoyed it. As it is I wonder why it was written in the first place, besides the obvious reason of turning a quick profit. I have enjoyed most of the ghostwritten books, even though the newer ones are formulaic and have the most over dramatic and bizarre casts of characters imaginable. They are entertaining for the most part! This is the first one that I have put down for weeks; I had to force myself to finish it.
It was interesting to read the ghostwriter's male perspective, since all other V.C. Andrews books have been written from a female perspective.
March 25, 2016
The problem with the last book in any of VC Andrews series is that the stories have already been told in the previous volumes. This one I think was especially weak because it didn't offer anything new. There was no surprise twist that Andrews usually throws in. Everything was as had been told in previous novels. Unfortunately, the narration from Claude made the story even worse. He just repeated how he was at this crossroads and blah, blah blah...it failed miserably in creating a romantic story. The attempt was there, but by telling rather than showing, the romance felt fake and one-sided.
Included in this is an even shorter prequel, Dark Seed. This was absolutely unnecessary. The volume was fluff and, again, offered nothing new. It was only 60 pages on Willow's childhood but that was covered in the first book.
This particular series wasn't the best, nor was it the worst I've read of VC Andrews. However, this last volume is one I wished I had skipped.
Included in this is an even shorter prequel, Dark Seed. This was absolutely unnecessary. The volume was fluff and, again, offered nothing new. It was only 60 pages on Willow's childhood but that was covered in the first book.
This particular series wasn't the best, nor was it the worst I've read of VC Andrews. However, this last volume is one I wished I had skipped.
October 2, 2011
This was a nice look into how Willow's true parents met and fell in love. Nice is the only word I can think of to put with this book. It was OK. It attempted to finish off the series that was dangerously falling to bits. The last part of this book was back in the perspective of Willow. When I realised this I thought it was going to be about her thoughts and reflections after everything we had read so far about her and her daughter. Erm, no. A big fat Family Fortunes style NO. It was basically a rehashed, boring account ripped straight from the first couple of chapters of the first book Willow. Stuff I had already read and didnt need to hear again. What a shame. From now on NO MORE NEW ANDREWS WORKS!!!!! I am sticking to the old school stuff!
June 28, 2013
I am the biggest V.C. Andrews fan ever (OF THE OLDER BOOKS actually written by V.C. Andrews)!!!! The ghost writer is usually a hit or a miss. When I rate the books written by him, I can't help but compare them to the original books. This is why I can only rate this book a 2/5. It was boring and did nothing to complete the De Beers Series. I was also really annoyed that Kirby was referred to as Kyle twice in this book. It is pretty bad when the author messes up the name of his own character. I did enjoy some of the other books in this series though. I wish the ghost writer would reread the originals such as the Casteel series or "My Sweet Audrina" and get back into that writing style. The newer books are becoming more teenager and I think he needs to follow his true fans and go more adult!
October 19, 2018
Read this many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed this series from start to finish.
December 9, 2020
This was a poor book to end the series on and it really felt like they flogged the story as hard as they could. Most of this book is a journal that the Doctor keeps about falling in love with Grace.
Except, it is not 'falling in love', it is essentially taking advantage of and raping a vulnerable woman. There is a reason why it is against the law for doctors to have a relationship with their patients. Grace was extremely vulnerable and he should never have treated her. He said he liked her from the first day so he was obviously just attracted to her as he didn't what she was actually like then.
And then after knocking her up and wanting her to have an abortion, he takes her baby and raises it as his adopted child. Yet he doesn't even raise her that nicely and lets his wife be horrible to her all the time.
And to top it off, he promises Grace he will come back for her one day but he never does, not even after his wife dies.
What a horrible person.
The rest of the book is Willow's early life which is not that interesting.
Except, it is not 'falling in love', it is essentially taking advantage of and raping a vulnerable woman. There is a reason why it is against the law for doctors to have a relationship with their patients. Grace was extremely vulnerable and he should never have treated her. He said he liked her from the first day so he was obviously just attracted to her as he didn't what she was actually like then.
And then after knocking her up and wanting her to have an abortion, he takes her baby and raises it as his adopted child. Yet he doesn't even raise her that nicely and lets his wife be horrible to her all the time.
And to top it off, he promises Grace he will come back for her one day but he never does, not even after his wife dies.
What a horrible person.
The rest of the book is Willow's early life which is not that interesting.
May 30, 2019
This series was sadly the last of the 5 book family saga and even this wasn't done how the others were. You would normally get 3 books for the main character(Willow), one book for her daughter(Hannah) and one book for the Grandmother(Grace). This only had two main books for Willow before moving on to Hannah and then Grace.
But Hidden Leaves is told from Claude, Willows father POV. It covers his relationship with Grace. And then we also have a second story 'Dark Seed' which jumps back to Willow again, following her early years.
It was hard to like Claude, as no matter how you painted it, he was sleeping with a mentally unwell woman. It was hard to see it as anything other than him taking advantage of her. I was also surprised that considering Grace had fallen into a deep depression due to her being raped, she had no issues sleeping with Claude. And how he managed to get away with making her pregnant is beyond me.
Dark Seed just felt like filler, stuff that could have been covered in the first Willow book. It also contradicted what had just been written in Hidden Leaves. The book makes a big deal out of Claude and Alberta having separate rooms, and then in Dark Seed, Willow makes it sounds like they sleep together. She mentions that Claude can't come and comfort her in the night because he would be worried about disturbing Alberta. Lazy writing!
Both books were alright but for such a short book, had to force myself to keep going at points.
But Hidden Leaves is told from Claude, Willows father POV. It covers his relationship with Grace. And then we also have a second story 'Dark Seed' which jumps back to Willow again, following her early years.
It was hard to like Claude, as no matter how you painted it, he was sleeping with a mentally unwell woman. It was hard to see it as anything other than him taking advantage of her. I was also surprised that considering Grace had fallen into a deep depression due to her being raped, she had no issues sleeping with Claude. And how he managed to get away with making her pregnant is beyond me.
Dark Seed just felt like filler, stuff that could have been covered in the first Willow book. It also contradicted what had just been written in Hidden Leaves. The book makes a big deal out of Claude and Alberta having separate rooms, and then in Dark Seed, Willow makes it sounds like they sleep together. She mentions that Claude can't come and comfort her in the night because he would be worried about disturbing Alberta. Lazy writing!
Both books were alright but for such a short book, had to force myself to keep going at points.
July 23, 2016
Hidden Leaves is easily the best book in the De Beers series. It is refreshing to have a prequel told from the perspective of a male character, which is rare for V.C. Andrews series. Claude is a good doctor and basically a good man who marries the wrong woman and then, sadly, falls in love with the right woman at the wrong time. This turn of events spirals into something deeper, which has a lasting effect on the lives of all the women around him--his wife, his lover and eventually, his daughter.
The book suffers from a few plot holes, mostly revolving around Claude's love triangle. Claude, though basically a good man, is neither as strong nor as compassionate as he thinks.
The De Beers series probably isn't the strongest V.C. Andrews series or the best entry point for new readers. This one is more for fans who have read everything else by the author.
The book suffers from a few plot holes, mostly revolving around Claude's love triangle. Claude, though basically a good man, is neither as strong nor as compassionate as he thinks.
The De Beers series probably isn't the strongest V.C. Andrews series or the best entry point for new readers. This one is more for fans who have read everything else by the author.
November 21, 2014
When I read these novels back in the day I would have given them 3-3.5 STARS and now would say about one Star
I started reading VC Andrews books in the 1991 and stopped about 2003.
I have read:
-Dollanganger Series
-Casteel Series
-Cutler Series
-Landry Series
-Logan Series
-Orphans Series
-Wildflowers Series
-Hudson Series
-Shooting Stars Series
-DeBeers Series
-Broken Wings Series
As a preteen reading these novels was a rebellion and the gothic theme also seemed cool. I stopped reading this author because the novelty wore off, the novels are too formulaic that I could not tell one book from another and gothic aspect was lost.
I started reading VC Andrews books in the 1991 and stopped about 2003.
I have read:
-Dollanganger Series
-Casteel Series
-Cutler Series
-Landry Series
-Logan Series
-Orphans Series
-Wildflowers Series
-Hudson Series
-Shooting Stars Series
-DeBeers Series
-Broken Wings Series
As a preteen reading these novels was a rebellion and the gothic theme also seemed cool. I stopped reading this author because the novelty wore off, the novels are too formulaic that I could not tell one book from another and gothic aspect was lost.
August 21, 2014
Some things confuse me about the time line for this series. We assume that it is set around a similar time to when it was written for the whole willow series. obviously not exact as it jumps years. Either way you look at it though Willows real mother would have been born well before the Internet came about and yet as a teenager she describes computers and email as though it's modern times. So is the rest of the series set in the future then?
It's confusing..... but it is nice to see how Willows real parents fell in love.
It's confusing..... but it is nice to see how Willows real parents fell in love.
May 22, 2015
This final book of the De Beers series is another "flash back" to the diary Willow's father put together for her about how she came to be. It basically told the love story between Willow's father and her mother, Grace, when she was in his mental clinic. It also told about Alberta, Claude's wife, and how she thought of and badly treated Willow. This particular book had the prequel, Dark Seed, which told about Willow in the years right up to college, right before her father died and she was given her father's diary. This book gave more specifics about things we knew about, but no surprises.
February 16, 2018
It was over dramatic. I couldn't enjoy this book. I wasn't very impressed with this family's story line. This DeBeers series was disappointing. I don’t recommend the DeBeers series. It's by far, the worst series in all of V.C. Andrews’s books. Nothing about the DeBeers secrets were shocking. This prequel didn't reveal anything that we didn't already know from the previous books. I had to force myself to finish the series.
March 27, 2018
A shorter book that reverts back to Willow. She finds a diary of her mother’s in which Grace recounts her time with Claude at the psychiatric facility.
It’s not the best book, or the best story, and doesn’t exactly put Willow’s father in the best light, but eventually sheds some light on how Willow came to be born and explains how she ended up where she did.
It’s not the best book, or the best story, and doesn’t exactly put Willow’s father in the best light, but eventually sheds some light on how Willow came to be born and explains how she ended up where she did.
November 12, 2008
It was a while back since I've read this one.. but I thought it was about Willow reading her Dad's letters (or was it a diary?). Kinda strange order in the series, it feels like this should have been the third book instead of the fifth.
December 27, 2010
Terrible. It read like one of those stupid harlequin romance novels. "Oh woe! I love her so much! She's my patient and I've only known her for 5 minutes, but LOVE! I feel so much gosh darn wonderful love in her presence!" Oh please. The diary format made it even worse.
April 22, 2013
This was a good prequel to the DeBeers series and it was necessary in understanding a lot of things that happened in the series. Unfortunately, this is one of the last good Andrews series before they start getting kind of weak.
February 28, 2012
Really clever, ties in with the rest of the DeBeers stories perfectly and it flows so well and encapsulates bits and pieces that were mentioned in the rest of the novels but in greater detail for you to understand the machinations of the characters more.
January 23, 2013
Typos. Lots and lots of Typos. Kirby Scott was changed to Kyle Scott and someone said "I go to go"
This was the last book in the De Beers series, and Im kinda glad to be done with it. Hopefully as I move on down the list of VC Andrews, they will stay as good as they were before the De Beers.
This was the last book in the De Beers series, and Im kinda glad to be done with it. Hopefully as I move on down the list of VC Andrews, they will stay as good as they were before the De Beers.
April 22, 2008
I liked this book a lot.
November 14, 2008
This was the last book in the Willow series by V. C. Andrews. It was a good read, but not one of my favorites.
March 30, 2009
I though this book wasn't as good of a read as the ones I have allready read from this author.
April 17, 2012
V.C. Andrew books has always been one of my little guilty pleasures!
January 27, 2016
Read years ago.
February 29, 2016
Review by S.I.: "Great book. Recommended to my aunt."
October 3, 2017
It was very repetitive to the rest of the series and didn't reveal anything new.
dnf
December 15, 2020DNF at page 96
What utter trash this book is. I hated the last one, and I hate this one.
For one, this is not a love story. If a child and an adult "fell in love", there would be no mistake in suggesting that the adult is a pedophile, a manipulator, rapist, seducer/groomer, but if a mental patient and her doctor fell in love, apparently it's romantic. This man saw this patient who is suffering from severe depression after her own sexual assault and rape and thinks, wow she is pretty, wow I'm in love, wow let's fuck. Disgusting. I don't care if Grace "fell in love" back with him, because if we used the analogy of a child/adult relationship, she was seduced/groomed within this relationship.
I don't recommend this series to anyone. Even with Landry's series (which I dislike), I loved the first half of the first book, but with this series, I saw nothing good but Hannah, and the lack of VCA main girl innocence in Willow in the first book. The writing was also slightly better in the first few books also, but the characters, the slowness, and the general plot line really ruined it.
What utter trash this book is. I hated the last one, and I hate this one.
For one, this is not a love story. If a child and an adult "fell in love", there would be no mistake in suggesting that the adult is a pedophile, a manipulator, rapist, seducer/groomer, but if a mental patient and her doctor fell in love, apparently it's romantic. This man saw this patient who is suffering from severe depression after her own sexual assault and rape and thinks, wow she is pretty, wow I'm in love, wow let's fuck. Disgusting. I don't care if Grace "fell in love" back with him, because if we used the analogy of a child/adult relationship, she was seduced/groomed within this relationship.
I don't recommend this series to anyone. Even with Landry's series (which I dislike), I loved the first half of the first book, but with this series, I saw nothing good but Hannah, and the lack of VCA main girl innocence in Willow in the first book. The writing was also slightly better in the first few books also, but the characters, the slowness, and the general plot line really ruined it.
May 21, 2020
Quick read and perfectly perverted as usual with any VC Andrews novel.
January 29, 2022
Not written like a typical V.C. Andrews book. It is a good glimpse into the love between Grace and Claude and how Willow was the byproduct of that love.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews