Ratings9
Average rating3.6
**Stunned by tragedy, desperate and alone, Heaven's daughter clung to the frailest of dreams!**
The car crash that killed Heaven and Logan left Annie Casteel Stonewall orphaned and crippled. Whisked off to Farthinggale 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!
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[b:Gates of Paradise 53072 Gates of Paradise V.C. Andrews https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552469408l/53072.SY75.jpg 565241]So, I wanted to watch this movie with my mom on lifetime. So, I decided I was going to read the book first. I had no idea it was the fourth book in a series but I have some thoughts. I'm not sure that Heaven had to be killed here, but I suppose we wouldn't have seen Tony Tatterton any other way; or at least in the way he did here. He turns out being the controlling, manipulator, He tells Annie that he has the chance to make amends and wants to, and maybe he did which is the sad part. Unfortunately for him he can't be any other way so he literally pays off Drake so they could keep Annie away from her past and what's left of her family especially Luke. I loved Luke and Annie's forbidden love story in the beginning because it was written in the true Andrews style. I don't agree with many of the reviews where Annie is accused of being whiny and spoiled; no Annie is not as strong as Heaven but in all fairness, she never had to face the obstacles Heaven did and had no reason to until now. Considering what happened to her I think Annie did show a lot of strength and defiance in some ways, especially when she was faced with Tony and Drake's lies, but she was annoying in her near obsession of Luke who she thought was her half-brother at one time. I was annoyed that she be upset at the thought of his finding a possible girlfriend why were they allowed to become so close like this? They weren't locked up together like Chris and Cathy so in some ways its bizarre. It's okay that they were close but to develop those kinds of feelings. It's not like they didn't have lives outside each other's and yet it seems that way. Oh well. In getting back to Tony like I said just pathetic. That he could still have that old lust for the young Leigh; how sad. I guess Leigh came back through Heaven and then through Annie and so on.Still not a bad book just wish Heaven didn't have to die and the way she did too. No surprise that Fanny's jealousy drove her to her death practically. But why would Heaven being the strong-willed woman she always was; get in a car with a drunk Logan when a storm was about to start? She knew the storm was starting and she knew Logan had enough to drink; more than anything why did they put up with Fanny? Why even go to that party when all she did was keep throwing her affair with Logan in their face? I will be back tracking this series because I need to see how it started.