V. C. Andrews

They were such brave children to withstand such suffering. Such clever children to escape such terror!

For Carrie, Chris and Cathy, the attic was a dark horror that would not leave their minds, even while they built bright, promising new lives. Of course mother had to pretend they didn't exist.

And Grandmother was convinced they had the devil in them.

But that wasn't their fault. Was it? Cathy knew what to do.

She now had the powers she had learned from her beautiful mother. She knew it in the way her brother still yearned for her, in the way her guardian touched her, in the way all men looked at her.

She knew it was time to put what she knew to the test. To show her mother and grandmother that the pain and terror of the attic could not be forgotten... Show them.

Show them—once and for all.
--back cover

Petals on the Wind

Cathy made me want to scratch my eyeballs out I’m done with this series 😐

Gabriela Kondratyuk

chloe

Petals on the Wind (2) (Dollanganger)

Ashley J Brown

I almost hated this book but something kept me going.
I started reading the series after I rewatched the Lifetime series of movies. (Boy did they do a number on this interpretation.) I wanted to like it as much as I liked the first book but I couldn't. I kept getting so frustrated with Cathy. It seemed like everyone who came into contact with her had to be obsessed and confess their love for her. It got old fast. If it wasn't for my general curiosity and having and idea of what happens in the next two books I wouldn't keep going. But I'm way to invested to stop now.

Samantha 

Amber Mostowyj

** spoiler alert **
           It's a messed up book. May have brought the worst out of me, because I was rooting for Chris and Cathy to get together. Along with celebrating deaths that bring them closer.... I do live Cathy's mind and her ways of revenge.
Only things I was disappointed was in the end, where Chris and Cathy's relationship of being married is just thrown in there. I do wish we saw her saying yes to Chris and loving him with no guilt, as that is what drove the story for me. Overall great book too

Nikki Sojkowski

Book two is even more sketchy and creepy than book 1! 

(view spoiler)[Cathy starts having sex with Paul who is her GUARDIAN, who's last wife went insane, killed their son, and is in a mental institution. And then she marries that cocky dancer, Julian who abuses her and eventually commits suicide because he couldn't dance anymore. And after that she gets a 4th lover, her mother's HUSBAND. Who then dies because her mother burns the mansion down and gets sent to an insane asylum. So then Cathy goes back to the super old and creepy Paul and marries him, and then he dies, so she takes her two kids (one is the dancer's and one is her mother's husband's) and gets back together with her brother who has been waiting for her since the end of book 1. (hide spoiler)] She then realizes that, as hard as she tries, incest is what is right for her.

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Tik Tok | You can find my review here. 

 
  “Little girls get hurt when they play grown-up games.” 


There is no other quote from Petals on the Wind that summarizes itself up quite like the above. Now that the Dollanganger siblings are out of the attic--all but the lost sibling, Cory--life seemingly has only just begun. Petals on the Wind is quite different when compared to its predecessor, Flowers in the Attic, but it is no less disturbing. The tone feels a little more sloppy in comparison and, at times, feels as though it was penned by another author entirely.

Gone are the polished, spine-tingling, subtle presses of horror of Flowers in the Attic. Petals on the Wind offers another tone entirely. This time, the story pulses to the beat of impending revenge and letting go of the past. Or, in the case of these characters, and all that they have suffered: being unable to let go of the past.

V.C. Andrews brings the chilling second installment to all new grounds. Out of the attic and into a different fire, Petals on the Wind is substantially more childish and adult. No, really. Somehow, it encompasses both tones, and we see how the attic changed Cathy, Christopher and Carrie. We see the three remaining 'Dresden Dolls' as they embark on the next chapter of their life. And, duh, spoiler alert, things are never going to be the same.

Their family was irrecoverably changed with the passing of their father, the imprisonment and cruelty of their mother and grandmother, and the death of their youngest brother, Cory. Now, Petals on the Wind sees them being saved, and taken in, by a lonely (and, gasp, rich) doctor, Paul Sheffield, who becomes something of a father-like figure to all three of the remaining siblings. Alas, this is a V.C. Andrews novel, and things aren't as they seem.

Petals on the Wind isn't as striking as Flowers in the Attic. It is, perhaps, more terrifying in different ways. It is certainly, strangely, more problematic. But, this is what makes Petals on the Wind, well, Petals on the Wind.

As Cathy, Christopher and Carrie struggle with their memories of the attic, more and more pieces of their souls begin to unravel. Cathy latches desperately onto the hope of love and revenge. Carrie, meanwhile, is unable to move past the guilt of surviving while her twin didn't, and so much weighs heavy at her soul.

Because Petals on the Wind carries on through many, many years, we see everyone as they grow up.

Mostly, we see Cathy through many of life's biggest moments. While the relationship between her and her brother, Christopher, undeniably lingers in the background, there are three significant others throughout the years. From her father-like figure, Paul, to her abusive dancing-partner-turned-lover-and-husband, Julian, all the way to her mother's husband, Bart, there's never a dull moment in Cathy's life.

Petals on the Wind was not the sequel I necessarily expected for Flowers in the Attic. Somewhere in between its breathless drama and tragedy, it, at times, bordered on lackluster and rambly. Still ,in its higher points, there was a lot of campy fun and cringe to be had. It's nowhere near the haunting first installment of the Dollanganger Saga, but it is definitely preferable to the third book.

Farah Khaled 

Okay so I finially finished this book after 5 days. The only thing on my mind is WTF CATHY. Cathy throughout the book made really stupid and reckless decision. 

*SPOILERS* 
So to sum it up, Cathy decided to follow in her mom's steps and seduce every single guy she meets. At first it was Paul who has taken care of her, Chris and Carrie. (Who was 40 years old and she's 14 years old) 

Eww.

Then it was Julian, the famous ballet dance, who she married (he forced her to marry him, raped her, hit her and cheated on her with young kids (including her young sister) by the way). And lastly? Bart, her mother's husband. (Well the plan was to have his baby, which will force him to divorce her mom and marry her.) Oh let's not forget Chris. Who has been a creep throughout the book and begging her to sleep with him.

O.o

Oh, did I mention they all died, except Chris? 

Julian? Killed himself. He was in a car accident and when he found out he might not dance again, he kills himself.

Bart? Died when Cathy's crazy mom burned down the attic and house all together. Was trying to save the grandmother and he died while trying to recuse her. (WHY BART WHYYY)

And Paul? Died due to old age, the dude was waiting for her, for more than 10 years to marry her. After all the men she was sleeping with died, she FINALLY agreed to marry Paul. 3 years after that, the old guy died in his sleep.

*sigh*

And you might wonder, hmm would Cathy finally focus on her 2 sons (from Julian and Bart) and be the mother they deserve and not to be like her mother? NOPE! She chose Chris at the end and decided to stay with him and to be the father of her two sons. 

...... I don't know what to say at this point.

Am I going to read the 3rd book? Hell no. The 3rd one is focusing on kid, Bart and when he finds out about his mom's secret and his daddy, who is actually his uncle. 

Ha, writing all that down makes me dislike the book and lower my rating. 2 stars instead of 3!. I would love to continue but I will have to end the rant here. 

I need to go back to my favourite genre, before my brain cells die. Bye.

V.C. Andrews

Petals in the wind

Demi

PETALS ON THE WIND (Dollanger Saga

Amber Laurent

Sarah Olson 

Juliana

Miralis Davis

Elizabeth Nolan

Stavroula Kalantzis

Lacy Clagg

Emily

On the heels of the successful Lifetime TV version of Flowers in the Attic comes the TV movie tie-in edition of Petals On the Wind, the second book in the captivating Dollanganger saga. Forbidden love comes into full bloom. For three years they were kept hidden in the eaves of Foxworth Hall, their existence all but denied by a mother who schemed to inherit a fortune. For three years their fate was in the hands of their righteous, merciless grandmother. They had to stay strong...but in their hopeless world, Cathy and her brother Christopher discovered blossoming desires that tumbled into a powerful obsession. Now, with their frail sister Carrie, they have broken free and scraped enough together for three bus tickets and a chance at a new life. The horrors of the attic are behind them...but they will carry its legacy of dark secrets forever.

Petals on the Wind

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