There are a lot of things that bothered me about this book, the biggest thing being the author not keeping within the correct time period. When was this supposed to have taken place? Surely Olivia wouldn't have been watching television on a regular basis, being two generations ahead of Melody. And on page 322 (paperback), Belinda mentions possibly getting an abortion. What? Abortion wasn't even legal back then! Ever hear of Roe Vs Wade, which took place in the early 1970s? I found it hard to sympathize with Olivia. At times, she was pretty mean. I actually felt sorry for Samuel, at times, I even felt sorry for Belinda. Just what was the author trying to accomplish here? A book about Haille would definitely have been much better.

Im not a huge fan of the Logan series, and I wasnt a fan of Olivia until I started reading this book. Upon reading the other novels, I wondered why Olivia was so mean and heartless...I was expecting this book to be another "Garden of Shadows" inwhich the protagonist is put through TONS of horrific things and mentally abused and that is why they end up horribly evil. But that was not the case in this novel.

I respected Olivia through the first half of the novel, she was a business woman, who was intelligent and independant. However after her marriage to Samuel I began to see how her "obsession" with Nelson Childs would lead to her evil personality. Samuel was a good husband- he valued her and their children(although I dont condone they way he behaved when Olivia shut him out of her bedroom). But Olivia was "in love" with Nelson, and angry at Belinda because they had an affair. Olivia did NOT take in Hallie because she wanted what was best for the child or her family. She took in Hallie because she wanted to have some sort of CONTROL over Nelson, and fantize that she was the mother to his child. If any other guy had gotten Belinda pregnant, Olivia would have just kicked her out on the street.

I wish the book had not ended with Hallie's birth, but included parts of her childhood and shown how Olivia treated her. I believe Olivia always dissapproved of Hallie because she was jealous of her- just like she was jealous of Belinda. Yes, Belinda was immature, but Olivia had other options than to institutionalize her. Olivia loved CONTROL more than anything else- she could have had a good, loving, life with her HUSBAND rather than becoming hateful over a man that wanted only her sister. The reason I like this book is because while the reader can feel sorry for Olivia, its easy to see that she had other choices- yet she made the easy choice to become bitter and evil when she didnt get what she wanted; this makes for a more realistic character.

Olivia had it on lock down. She wasn't about to let these booze guzzling tramps take advantage of her. She went through too much with Belinda. Belinda was a thorn in her side since the get go. This is a rather terrorizing book of what happened before, "Melody". Some problems with the book, is that it's too long (440 pages). Which could have been cut down too 320 atleast. There is too much words, and not enough thrill to keep the book exciting.

Usually these books in the series try to justify the so called 'bad' person in previous stories. Most of the time I end up understanding the 'evil' characters bitterness. But not in this case. Olivia was bitter and cold in the beginning. And she stayed that way from begining to end. I give her no reason for doing the wicked things in her later life. What a WITCH! I would've rather have seen a book about Haille.