I read and reviewed the two novels collected here separately, so this is basically just for my own records. The collection rating is an average of the individual: Flowers got four stars from me, while Petals only got three.

I remember reading the first book, at least, when I was about twelve, and it stuck with me (as it did for many girls of that age, I think). It's all creepy Gothic captivity and claustrophobia, and Cathy - with her distrust and refusal to go along - was an enormously sympathetic protagonist. She's far less likeable in the second book, having escaped from that terrible house. As frustrating as I found her consistently poor choices in Petals, however, it doesn't take away from the fact that Andrews did an outstanding job with her: Cathy is absolutely traumatised by her experiences, and it's left her completely dysfunctional in her relationships. I'm not convinced she's meant to be likeable as the larger story goes on... but she is interesting.