Black Cat (Gemini)

Rating:
Summary: Slightly Dissapointing
Review: I picked up this book to have something to read on a dull Friday night. I have read a few other V.C. Andrews books(notably the Dollanganger Family series), and found this one midly dissappointing. I did not read Celeste, but the basic tenants of the first book are covered in the second. I spent most of the novel hoping that someone discovers Celeste's true idenity and frees her from her mothers shackles,I am let down at the end of the book. What sympathy one has for Celeste at the beginning of the novel dissappears when you see how easy it would for her to release herself from the prison of being "Noble". When the reader begins to have hope that Celeste will turn out okay, that is dimished as well and we learn that Celeste is deemed insane and spends the rest of her years in an insane asylum.
I am however looking forward to reading Child of Darkness to see how Baby Celeste reacts to learning the events of her past and whether she turns out okay. I must note that for one, the inscription on the front cover of the book is correct- the only time I have seen a mother be so evil and deadly to her children is in Flowers in the Attic and two, this is the first VCA book I have read where there is not an incestual relationship of any kind(im glad the ghost writer is able to capture the essence of VCA without repeating the formula of relatives who are in love with each other.)

Rating:
Summary: "Black Cat" crosses paths readers can't accept
Review: "Black Cat," the second book in V. C. Andrews' "Gemini" series, pushes limits that should not be pushed and falls flat in the process. Like most of Andrews' books - including the first in the series, "Celeste" - "Black Cat" is heavy on suspense, but it lacks believability - the book has the characters doing things that would not be allowed to happen in today's society.



"Black Cat" picks up where "Celeste" left off, with Celeste acting and dressing as her deceased twin brother, Noble, because her mother, Sarah, demands - because the spirits of their dead relatives insist - that she does so. Near the end of the first book, Celeste had become impregnated by a young male neighbor who realized her true identity, but died in an accident before Celeste gave birth to a baby that Sarah insists be hidden and called Baby Celeste, after the daughter she claims is missing and thought to be deceased.



While all this is rather convoluted, it's possible. "Black Cat" has Sarah romancing Baby Celeste's real grandfather, Dave - the father of the boy who impregnated Celeste, but believes Sarah's only living child is Noble. Sarah finally stops hiding Baby Celeste, using a cover story that she is the daughter of a recently deceased relative from out of town who was left for Sarah to care for because there were no close surviving relatives. Dave moves into the house with Sarah, Celeste (still seen only as Noble), and Baby Celeste - and he brings along his wild daughter, Betsy, who causes havoc.



Dave, a reasonable pharmacist, marries Sarah, a woman who is spiritually-obsessed and sells herbal remedies to local residents. They hold the wedding at the house, which it seems Celeste/Noble hardly ever leaves the grounds of - she went through home schooling and received an early diploma (with Noble's name on it). Throughout all of this, Dave never seems to catch on to the fact that he's living in a house of lies.



The only one who doesn't go about things peacefully is Betsy, who announces her unplanned pregnancy during an argument and leaves the house - possibly never to be seen or heard from again. And just when the readers are lulled into thinking that maybe things will calm down in the house with her departure, Dave falls ill.



Anyone who reads Andrews' books regularly expects drama, tension, a bit of stretch of the imagination of what people can get away with (especially in the legal sense), and some surprise at what the author could even suppose people would do. This book - and this review doesn't begin to cover the laundry list of the unbelievable, because to do so would spoil the plot for those interested - bypasses the questionable issues and delves straight into the impossible on multiple occasions.



"Black Cat" is an interesting book, and just as much of a character study as the first in the series, but the leap from reality is just too much. Hardcore Andrews' fans will likely enjoy this novel for what it is - another Andrews' novel - but for anyone else, and especially for anyone who tries to reason out what could or could not be done - this is definitely one to pass by.




Rating:
Summary: Different Author?
Review: After reading Celeste, I had really looked forward to reading the sequel, Black Cat. In fact, I reread Celeste to refresh myself, and then immediately delved into Black Cat. What I noticed was that the style of writing was completely different in Black Cat. I was very disappointed. Mommy is now Mama, and it just doesn't flow the way the first book did. The descriptions are lacking and there is a flavor missing. I think Celeste was written more like the descriptive style of VC Andrews. Also, at the end of Celeste, it looked like the book was going in one direction, like she was going to fight for her baby and she admitted that maybe she hadn't seen spirits. It seems like the next book was written by someone else who wanted to stretch out the story and take it in a different direction. How did Celeste show some fighting spirit at the end of the first book and then completely sink back to being Noble in the second? I still really liked this book, but it took me at least 50 pages to get into the different style of writing because I kept comparing it the first book. Just the author changing mommy to mama drove me crazy. It made the character seem less real to change the name she called her mother after the entire first book. If you take a break between the first and second book, I think you will like the second book better. I ended up appreciating the story for what it was and I will still read the next book, Child of Darkness, when it comes out.

Rating:
Summary: The momentum never stops...
Review: After thoroughly delighting in the evilness of VC Andrews' book one of the Gemini series, "Celeste"... I eagerly embraced the second, "Black Cat"...AND the momentum never stopped...I was sucked into the swirl of deliciously devious deviltry that is dished up in this evocative, emotional tale of abuse and neglect and deception all mixed up with good old fashioned mental illness...
The pages turned as fast as my eyes could take in the words, which brought to the brain a mass of images that one cannot find on the screen or in a newspaper report of twisted lives...the passages are thought provoking and eerily beautiful.
Outstanding read...only problem is that I have to wait until next March for book THREE...darn...

Rating:
Summary: Recommend reading it
Review: Black Cat" is an interesting book. I really enjoyed it. Fans of Andrews will likely enjoy this novel for what it is - another Andrews' novel.


Rating:
Summary: Good follow up.
Review: Finally, more people start to discover something's not quite right with the Atwell family. In this, the Fletchers are back. You might remember Celeste's friend Elliot from the first book. The father and sister make an appearance in a startling way. Celeste's mother has a plan, and nothing will get in her way. Except maybe Celeste herself, who is really starting to emerge as the disturbed young woman the masqurade has turned her into.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the first book
Review: I was not too thrilled with the first book in this series, i did, however...like this one much better. Baby Celeste turns into a "mini-Sarah" and Betsy appears to make everyone's lives a living hell. I can't wait to read the next book, which i think will tell baby Celeste's story.

Rating:
Summary: Startling Conclusion...
Review: I've been poking through some of V.C. Andrews's old books today and came to a disgusting realization. One I never thought I'd reach. After having weened myself off these books and moved onto Alice Walker, Dorothy Allison, and the like, I came to the realization that these books really, really suck. Except for Dark Angel and the books prior to that, the writing is flat and lifeless, the characters have no voices of their own (they all sound alike!), and it's just repetitive. The stories are all the same with different settings and names. You have the beautiful, but naive narrator, the handsome prince, the bad uncle/cousin/brother, the evil sister, the evil grandmother, the self-absorbed mother, the weak father, and the catty girls who are jealous of the narrator. Throw in a bible-thumper, too, while you're at it! Granted, Celeste doesn't have all the cut-outs, it still isn't good material. Had it been under a different writer's name, it wouldn't have even been considered for publication. With anachronisms, cliches, and spelling, grammar, and other errors galore, it's a wonder these made it past the slush pile.

Rating:
Summary: exceptional book
Review: the first book celeste dragged a bit and really did not pick up any steam

this one on the other hand is more along the style of vc andrews.
we pick up with celeste still impersonating her dead brother noble while helping her mother raise baby celeste who is actually her own daughter that she cannnot admit to. when her mother marries a kinkdly neighbor, all the secrets that have been long buried are threatened to be revealed because what is hidden does not always stays this way.

the story had just enough poetic justice to it to be nice and definitely you will want to get the next volume in march of child of darkness.

Rating:
Summary: Black Cat!!!!
Review: What a total surprise. So many questions arose from Celeste:The First book. Was Celeste going to remain noble into the next book? Or would the scandel be revealed? Would Celeste live happily with her baby? With Grandfather Dave and Aunt Betty? What about Sarah? Was she going to die, or be trapped in a assulym.

The first five chapters went very slow. I didn't know what was going to happen to Noble(Celeste). But then it became chilling when Sarah married Dave. Then everything broke loose. Betty was a heartless seflish woman. She deserved to die by falling down a flight of stairs.

But it's the ending that's the most scariest. You'll have to read the book to fing out the ending.