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Audrina #1
My Sweet Audrina
Audrina wanted to be as good as her sister. Her sister was so special, so perfect -- and dead. Now she will come face to face with the dangerous, terrifying secret that everyone knows. Everyone except... Sweet Audrina.
403 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
1042 people are currently reading
17789 people want to read
About the author
V.C. Andrews
371 books9,172 followersBooks published under the following names - Virginia Andrews, V. Andrews, Virginia C. Andrews & V.C. Endrius. Books since her death ghost written by Andrew Neiderman, but still attributed to the V.C. Andrews name
Virginia Cleo Andrews (born Cleo Virginia Andrews) was born June 6, 1923 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The youngest child and the only daughter of William Henry Andrews, a career navy man who opened a tool-and-die business after retirement, and Lillian Lilnora Parker Andrews, a telephone operator. She spent her happy childhood years in Portsmouth, Virginia, living briefly in Rochester, New York. The Andrews family returned to Portsmouth while Virginia was in high school.
While a teenager, Virginia suffered a tragic accident, falling down the stairs at her school and incurred severe back injuries. Arthritis and a failed spinal surgical procedure forced her to spend most of her life on crutches or in a wheelchair.
Virginia excelled in school and, at fifteen, won a scholarship for writing a parody of Tennyson's Idylls of the King. She proudly earned her diploma from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth. After graduation, she nurtured her artistic talent by completing a four-year correspondence art course while living at home with her family.
After William Andrews died in the late 1960s, Virginia helped to support herself and her mother through her extremely successful career as a commercial artist, portrait painter, and fashion illustrator.
Frustrated with the lack of creative satisfaction that her work provided, Virginia sought creative release through writing, which she did in secret. In 1972, she completed her first novel, The Gods of the Green Mountain [sic], a science-fantasy story. It was never published. Between 1972 and 1979, she wrote nine novels and twenty short stories, of which only one was published. "I Slept with My Uncle on My Wedding Night", a short fiction piece, was published in a pulp confession magazine.
Promise gleamed over the horizon for Virginia when she submitted a 290,000-word novel, The Obsessed, to a publishing company. She was told that the story had potential, but needed to be trimmed and spiced up a bit. She drafted a new outline in a single night and added "unspeakable things my mother didn't want me to write about." The ninety-eight-page revision was re-titled Flowers in the Attic and she was paid a $7,500 advance. Her new-generation Gothic novel reached the bestseller lists a mere two weeks after its 1979 paperback publication by Pocket Books.
Petals on the Wind, her sequel to Flowers, was published the next year, earning Virginia a $35,000 advance. The second book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for an unbelievable nineteen weeks (Flowers also returned to the list). These first two novels alone sold over seven million copies in only two years. The third novel of the Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns, was released in 1981, bringing Virginia a $75,000 advance. It reached No. 2 on many bestseller lists within its first two weeks.
Taking a break from the chronicles of Chris and Cathy Dollanganger, Virginia published her one, and only, stand-alone novel, My Sweet Audrina, in 1982. The book welcomed an immediate success, topping the sales figures of her previous novels. Two years later, a fourth Dollanganger novel was released, Seeds of Yesterday. According to the New York Times, Seeds was the best-selling fiction paperback novel of 1984. Also in 1984, V.C. Andrews was named "Professional Woman of the Year" by the city of Norfolk, Virginia.
Upon Andrews's death in 1986, two final novels—Garden of Shadows and Fallen Hearts—were published. These two novels are considered the last to bear the "V.C. Andrews" name and to be almost completely written by
Virginia Cleo Andrews (born Cleo Virginia Andrews) was born June 6, 1923 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The youngest child and the only daughter of William Henry Andrews, a career navy man who opened a tool-and-die business after retirement, and Lillian Lilnora Parker Andrews, a telephone operator. She spent her happy childhood years in Portsmouth, Virginia, living briefly in Rochester, New York. The Andrews family returned to Portsmouth while Virginia was in high school.
While a teenager, Virginia suffered a tragic accident, falling down the stairs at her school and incurred severe back injuries. Arthritis and a failed spinal surgical procedure forced her to spend most of her life on crutches or in a wheelchair.
Virginia excelled in school and, at fifteen, won a scholarship for writing a parody of Tennyson's Idylls of the King. She proudly earned her diploma from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth. After graduation, she nurtured her artistic talent by completing a four-year correspondence art course while living at home with her family.
After William Andrews died in the late 1960s, Virginia helped to support herself and her mother through her extremely successful career as a commercial artist, portrait painter, and fashion illustrator.
Frustrated with the lack of creative satisfaction that her work provided, Virginia sought creative release through writing, which she did in secret. In 1972, she completed her first novel, The Gods of the Green Mountain [sic], a science-fantasy story. It was never published. Between 1972 and 1979, she wrote nine novels and twenty short stories, of which only one was published. "I Slept with My Uncle on My Wedding Night", a short fiction piece, was published in a pulp confession magazine.
Promise gleamed over the horizon for Virginia when she submitted a 290,000-word novel, The Obsessed, to a publishing company. She was told that the story had potential, but needed to be trimmed and spiced up a bit. She drafted a new outline in a single night and added "unspeakable things my mother didn't want me to write about." The ninety-eight-page revision was re-titled Flowers in the Attic and she was paid a $7,500 advance. Her new-generation Gothic novel reached the bestseller lists a mere two weeks after its 1979 paperback publication by Pocket Books.
Petals on the Wind, her sequel to Flowers, was published the next year, earning Virginia a $35,000 advance. The second book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for an unbelievable nineteen weeks (Flowers also returned to the list). These first two novels alone sold over seven million copies in only two years. The third novel of the Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns, was released in 1981, bringing Virginia a $75,000 advance. It reached No. 2 on many bestseller lists within its first two weeks.
Taking a break from the chronicles of Chris and Cathy Dollanganger, Virginia published her one, and only, stand-alone novel, My Sweet Audrina, in 1982. The book welcomed an immediate success, topping the sales figures of her previous novels. Two years later, a fourth Dollanganger novel was released, Seeds of Yesterday. According to the New York Times, Seeds was the best-selling fiction paperback novel of 1984. Also in 1984, V.C. Andrews was named "Professional Woman of the Year" by the city of Norfolk, Virginia.
Upon Andrews's death in 1986, two final novels—Garden of Shadows and Fallen Hearts—were published. These two novels are considered the last to bear the "V.C. Andrews" name and to be almost completely written by
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,790 reviews
February 3, 2016
If ever there was a "guilty pleasure" sort of book, V.C. Andrews is it. I read all her shit when I was little, and I am not ashamed.
February 4, 2022
Now this is a fucking story! And sooooo elegantly written. V.C. Andrews (and this is the real V.C. Andrews, not some second rate ghost-writer riding her coattails) had enormous talent. Holy crap can she weave a tangled web! This is the story of Audrina Adare a young girl with memories like "swiss cheese." A young girl haunted by the ever-present spectre of her deceased older sister, also named Audrina. This is pure soap opera melodrama and this is Andrews' niche, her expertise. She enthralls excels and enchants, and this story has everything you could want. A legless woman? You got it! A creepy house with locked doors and musty rooms full of forgotten secrets? Here. For. It. A convoluted and complicated web of lies to decipher? Done! A spinster aunt with a broken heart and a hidden past? Here too! Electro-Shock Therapy? You betcha. Forbidden love? Gang rape? Suicide? A woman in a coma? A sexy, trashy cousin with brittle bones and a chip on her shoulder? Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes! That would be Vera.
Oh Vera, dear dear Vera. You are the embodiment of the girl we love to hate. A girl so prevalent in literature and movies and television and you dear, dear Vera are the archetype. I wish Vera had her own novel!! She is soooo much more interesting than boring, vanilla, milquetoast Audrina. Sure she has her weird memory thing. And those disturbing recurring rape nightmares of hers are peculiar. And ya, there's those strange meditation/hypnosis exercises where her dad rocks her against her will in her dead sisters old rocking chair and encourages her to 'empty herself like a pitcher'. BUT VERA?! Vera drove a man to suicide, Vera can be any age. 12? 20? She can pull it off. She is a master manipulator. She dresses provocatively and says whatever comes to mind. She's fearless and brutal and yet so so vulnerable. You see, she has this brittle bone disease, she's so delicate and fragile that if you bump her or shove her, she will fall and break her leg or her rib, or an arm. She breaks her leg, like 4 times in this book! She's so crude and desperate and dirty and shameful and AMAZING! Vera ran away to the big city and became a nurse. Vera plotted and planned her revenge on the Adare's from day one. Vera is a force of nature! Vera saved this book. Vera, I love you.
Oh Vera, dear dear Vera. You are the embodiment of the girl we love to hate. A girl so prevalent in literature and movies and television and you dear, dear Vera are the archetype. I wish Vera had her own novel!! She is soooo much more interesting than boring, vanilla, milquetoast Audrina. Sure she has her weird memory thing. And those disturbing recurring rape nightmares of hers are peculiar. And ya, there's those strange meditation/hypnosis exercises where her dad rocks her against her will in her dead sisters old rocking chair and encourages her to 'empty herself like a pitcher'. BUT VERA?! Vera drove a man to suicide, Vera can be any age. 12? 20? She can pull it off. She is a master manipulator. She dresses provocatively and says whatever comes to mind. She's fearless and brutal and yet so so vulnerable. You see, she has this brittle bone disease, she's so delicate and fragile that if you bump her or shove her, she will fall and break her leg or her rib, or an arm. She breaks her leg, like 4 times in this book! She's so crude and desperate and dirty and shameful and AMAZING! Vera ran away to the big city and became a nurse. Vera plotted and planned her revenge on the Adare's from day one. Vera is a force of nature! Vera saved this book. Vera, I love you.
July 11, 2011
By the time Audrina sexed her husband on the grave of her dead sister after beating him for two whole pages, a tear in my eye began to form as I realized just how brilliant V.C. Andrews was.
Mind control, dead babies, three deaths from falls on the same friggin' staircase, suicide, a retarded girl obsessed with prisms, gang rape, some seriously disturbing & pseudo-incestuous father/daughter loving, a former ice skater with no legs who happens to be a dead ringer for Liz Taylor, insider trading, a girl forced to clean up the miscarriage she just had on a beautiful Oriental rug, attempted murder, two sisters who hold teatime with a picture of their other (cannibalized!) sister perched high atop a grand piano as they mimic her voice, a random coma thrown in for good measure, and multiple uses of the word "golly" with an exclamation point to emphasize just how gosh darn golly all of this bizarre shit is.
The "heroine," Audrina Adare, may be the dumbest creature ever conceived for a piece of fiction. When she's not confused by her inability to tell time, she's running away from colored light beaming into her mansion through stained glass because, hey, colors are scary. She rocks in a fucking rocking chair for two-thirds of the book, too, and gets engaged at the AARP-eligible age of 13. On her wedding night, she gets freaked out by the penis on her loving husband, but he just plows her regardless. She doesn't like it much, but whatever, he is her One True Love. But not really because then he starts up with her sister and Audrina realizes it's her fault he's banging her sister because she just never gave him the sexual encouragement that a lothario like himself needed to survive.
Golly gee, do we have a winner or what? The passages describing the movements of the retarded girl alone will have you giggling for hours. And check this out: AUDRINA ISN'T THE RETARDED GIRL I REFER TO. Shocking, eh?
Mind control, dead babies, three deaths from falls on the same friggin' staircase, suicide, a retarded girl obsessed with prisms, gang rape, some seriously disturbing & pseudo-incestuous father/daughter loving, a former ice skater with no legs who happens to be a dead ringer for Liz Taylor, insider trading, a girl forced to clean up the miscarriage she just had on a beautiful Oriental rug, attempted murder, two sisters who hold teatime with a picture of their other (cannibalized!) sister perched high atop a grand piano as they mimic her voice, a random coma thrown in for good measure, and multiple uses of the word "golly" with an exclamation point to emphasize just how gosh darn golly all of this bizarre shit is.
The "heroine," Audrina Adare, may be the dumbest creature ever conceived for a piece of fiction. When she's not confused by her inability to tell time, she's running away from colored light beaming into her mansion through stained glass because, hey, colors are scary. She rocks in a fucking rocking chair for two-thirds of the book, too, and gets engaged at the AARP-eligible age of 13. On her wedding night, she gets freaked out by the penis on her loving husband, but he just plows her regardless. She doesn't like it much, but whatever, he is her One True Love. But not really because then he starts up with her sister and Audrina realizes it's her fault he's banging her sister because she just never gave him the sexual encouragement that a lothario like himself needed to survive.
Golly gee, do we have a winner or what? The passages describing the movements of the retarded girl alone will have you giggling for hours. And check this out: AUDRINA ISN'T THE RETARDED GIRL I REFER TO. Shocking, eh?
September 26, 2025
More soap operatic than the immortal classic Flowers in the Attic. It includes, for example, a marvelously unhinged open grave cemetery fuck scene. Nevertheless, My Sweet Audrina adds further confirmation that V.C. Andrews was among the greatest Gothic novelists ever.
Her ingredients are tried and true—isolation in a large house, family secrets, illicit love affairs, death/murder—yet utilized in fresh, timeless ways. Certainly the novel feels as profound today as it likely did back in 1982. This is due to the human universality of coming-of-age challenges and the perpetual habit for family to behave badly. If Flowers in the Attic is an iconic example of Mommy problems, then My Sweet Audrina is a close equivalent for Daddy issues.
From page one, we're thrown into a world of mystery with hints of the supernatural. Named after her dead sister, Audrina feels inadequate. She lives in constant fear of disappointing her domineering and handsome father, who makes it no secret he preferred his dead first daughter. He demands the second Audrina rock back and forth in her dead sister's rocking chair to commune with her lost spirit. Perhaps this ritual will allow her to gain her sister's "talents" for poise and grace.
Meanwhile, Audrina's cousin suffers her own jealousy issues and makes Audrina's life miserable.
Mother and Aunt go on drunken binges where they argue with a photograph of a relative who was supposedly eaten by cannibals when she left the country. The reader is left to ponder much of this bizarre activity. Given the novel's themes, it seems to showcase their jealousy and frustration with the other woman's ability to escape the family drama. It is highly unlikely she was actually eaten by cannibals.
Of the dozens of "mysteries" in the novel, only a few prove to be true surprises. This doesn't make them any less satisfying when the reveal finally arrives. Andrews was a master of intrigue and pacing, giving and withholding exactly the right amount of information. We experience the naivety and growth in Audrina in a way that feels real. The reader is never too far ahead of the protagonist as to make the plot feel sluggish or boring. The first half is perhaps stronger than the second, but dull is not a word that ever came to mind. I devoured every chapter with breathless enthusiasm, and the feeling of being educated.
Most of us, thank goodness, do not have upbringings as horrific or traumatic as characters in a V.C. Andrews novel. Almost all of us, however, have had manipulative parents, conniving sisters, confusing thoughts about sexuality, some level of personal trauma, or other situations which resemble, thematically, a V.C. Andrews novel. Andrews wrote while in her fifties and sixties. She suffered physical disabilities, like many of her characters, and she had her own family problems. She'd seen some things, and she'd learned some things.
Every time I read Andrews, I learn something about myself, about my upbringing, about the world. This was clearly intentional. All of her novels feel like parables for the wisdom that comes with age. Here I am, not far from forty, and I felt like I gained a decade of wisdom from this book. I wish I had read it sooner.
Education is also what is missing from the ghostwritten V.C. Andrews novels. For those unaware, she passed away back in 1986. Her family hired the perfectly component writer Andrew Neiderman to finish some manuscripts and, when those ran out, eventually hired him to take up the V.C. Andrews name permanently. That's how she's been able to keep publishing from the grave, including having a new book out this year.
I like Neiderman. I've read some of his pre and post-Andrews books and they're good. But he does not bring the kind of life experience to the table that she did, and it shows. He understands how to mimic her melodrama and the horror elements just fine but doesn't get the significance of these events. Flowers in the Attic is a monumental work of fiction not just because it's chilling and provocative. It's the significance beyond the story that's so powerful. Seeing mothers as selfish beings for the first time, learning to recognize a lie when you hear one, a fight for survival that's personal.
I don't blame the family for hiring him to take up her mantle, but I do feel he has tarnished her reputation. There should be reams of scholarship focused on V.C. Andrews's literary achievements. Instead, she's become associated with commercial fluff: the real thing intentionally merged with the forgery. Someday, I hope, they will finally let her rest in peace. Put Neiderman's name on his novels and let hers stand alone. Preferably as Penguin Classics editions, complete with annotations and scholarly introductions.
Her ingredients are tried and true—isolation in a large house, family secrets, illicit love affairs, death/murder—yet utilized in fresh, timeless ways. Certainly the novel feels as profound today as it likely did back in 1982. This is due to the human universality of coming-of-age challenges and the perpetual habit for family to behave badly. If Flowers in the Attic is an iconic example of Mommy problems, then My Sweet Audrina is a close equivalent for Daddy issues.
From page one, we're thrown into a world of mystery with hints of the supernatural. Named after her dead sister, Audrina feels inadequate. She lives in constant fear of disappointing her domineering and handsome father, who makes it no secret he preferred his dead first daughter. He demands the second Audrina rock back and forth in her dead sister's rocking chair to commune with her lost spirit. Perhaps this ritual will allow her to gain her sister's "talents" for poise and grace.
Meanwhile, Audrina's cousin suffers her own jealousy issues and makes Audrina's life miserable.
Mother and Aunt go on drunken binges where they argue with a photograph of a relative who was supposedly eaten by cannibals when she left the country. The reader is left to ponder much of this bizarre activity. Given the novel's themes, it seems to showcase their jealousy and frustration with the other woman's ability to escape the family drama. It is highly unlikely she was actually eaten by cannibals.
Of the dozens of "mysteries" in the novel, only a few prove to be true surprises. This doesn't make them any less satisfying when the reveal finally arrives. Andrews was a master of intrigue and pacing, giving and withholding exactly the right amount of information. We experience the naivety and growth in Audrina in a way that feels real. The reader is never too far ahead of the protagonist as to make the plot feel sluggish or boring. The first half is perhaps stronger than the second, but dull is not a word that ever came to mind. I devoured every chapter with breathless enthusiasm, and the feeling of being educated.
Most of us, thank goodness, do not have upbringings as horrific or traumatic as characters in a V.C. Andrews novel. Almost all of us, however, have had manipulative parents, conniving sisters, confusing thoughts about sexuality, some level of personal trauma, or other situations which resemble, thematically, a V.C. Andrews novel. Andrews wrote while in her fifties and sixties. She suffered physical disabilities, like many of her characters, and she had her own family problems. She'd seen some things, and she'd learned some things.
Every time I read Andrews, I learn something about myself, about my upbringing, about the world. This was clearly intentional. All of her novels feel like parables for the wisdom that comes with age. Here I am, not far from forty, and I felt like I gained a decade of wisdom from this book. I wish I had read it sooner.
Education is also what is missing from the ghostwritten V.C. Andrews novels. For those unaware, she passed away back in 1986. Her family hired the perfectly component writer Andrew Neiderman to finish some manuscripts and, when those ran out, eventually hired him to take up the V.C. Andrews name permanently. That's how she's been able to keep publishing from the grave, including having a new book out this year.
I like Neiderman. I've read some of his pre and post-Andrews books and they're good. But he does not bring the kind of life experience to the table that she did, and it shows. He understands how to mimic her melodrama and the horror elements just fine but doesn't get the significance of these events. Flowers in the Attic is a monumental work of fiction not just because it's chilling and provocative. It's the significance beyond the story that's so powerful. Seeing mothers as selfish beings for the first time, learning to recognize a lie when you hear one, a fight for survival that's personal.
I don't blame the family for hiring him to take up her mantle, but I do feel he has tarnished her reputation. There should be reams of scholarship focused on V.C. Andrews's literary achievements. Instead, she's become associated with commercial fluff: the real thing intentionally merged with the forgery. Someday, I hope, they will finally let her rest in peace. Put Neiderman's name on his novels and let hers stand alone. Preferably as Penguin Classics editions, complete with annotations and scholarly introductions.
May 17, 2008
The only V.C. Andrews book that doesn't follow the five book series rule (Poor beautiful girl book, poor beautiful girl is rich book, rich beautiful lady book, beautiful offspring book, and evil dead grandmother prequel) is My Sweet Audrina. Which is probably a good idea she didn't follow that rule, as I'm not sure how any book could be more insane than this one. It's the tale of a hauntingly beautiful girl (really, is there any other kind?) who has a dead sister who had her name and died on her birthday years before she was born(?), a skanky mom (per usual), and this time, it is the AUNT who is evil, not the grandmother. But there is, indeed, the usual evil sibling (half-sibling-half-cousin), and the slightly insane dad. But Audrina is actually the First Audrina, as Audrina was raped on her 9th birthday by a gang of hooligans and her crazy parents decided that instead of therapy, they'd drug her for a few months, never let her out of the house, make all clocks different times, and never get a newspaper so she doesn't know what day it is. I mean, I'd do the same thing, wouldn't you?
This book is a work of comedic genius, which is probably exactly the way ol' V.C. intended. What book would be complete without sex on a dead sister's grave, many hilarious pratfalls down stairs resulting in multiple deaths on the same staircase, and a retarded sister obsessed with prisms? Oh, and a former ice skater who looks exactly like Elizabeth Taylor(if Elizabeth Taylor had her legs amputated)
Man, that V.C. Andrews. She was a freakin' genius.
This book is a work of comedic genius, which is probably exactly the way ol' V.C. intended. What book would be complete without sex on a dead sister's grave, many hilarious pratfalls down stairs resulting in multiple deaths on the same staircase, and a retarded sister obsessed with prisms? Oh, and a former ice skater who looks exactly like Elizabeth Taylor(if Elizabeth Taylor had her legs amputated)
Man, that V.C. Andrews. She was a freakin' genius.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2021
Oh My Goodness! A friend told me there is a TV movie for this book!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUkdc...
Oh My Goodness! Today I discovered one more creepy fact related to My Sweet Audrina! If you don't know what I'm saying you can look it up here: Top 5 Strangest Missing Person Cases Ever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVyQn...
My Sweet Audrina Parody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiDNX...
Thoughts after reading:
Hey guys, if you liked Gothic romance+melodramas+good writing+creepiness as much as I do, then V. C. Andrews is your woman and My Sweet Audrina is the type of book for you.
Let it be noted that I'm someone who always hovers over Youtube watching videos about murder mysteries, unsolved cases, disappearance cases and other paranormal creepy stuff. I guess this is the main reason why Ms. Andrews' books work like a charm with me.
This time in MSA, we have a tasty cocktail of Gothic melodramatic creepiness! A beautiful young girl who is named after her dead older sister, said girl also has memory disorder; a mean-spirited cousin, an abusive father, a beautiful but entrapped mother, a gloomy grand house with creepy dysfunctional clocks, locked rooms and antiques, a legless woman and her son, tea parties with a dead aunt every week, woman on woman hating, family secrets blah blah blah. What more can I ask for?
The opening part is great. Just this 'naming your second daughter after her dead older sister' part alone is creepy as hell! Poor Audrina, her parents (mostly her father) had clearly done a great deal of things which are mentally and physically abusive if not just down right crazy! And it really keeps you guessing why the adults in the house are doing all these crazy things.
The romance between Audrina and this boy is okay-ish (I'm never a fan of Ms. Andrews' romances), and later in the book this relationship also gets a full-on creepy treatment. That makes me a bit happier, yeah!
What I have problems with is that in MSA, the characters are all so epic melodramatic they become kind of pathetic and predicable at times. Plus the mysteries surrounding Audrina also become very obvious and predicable by the end of the story: Okay, I can totally see that coming!
Not to mention, Audrina's older cousin Vera is so stereotyped! She is the slut in the story, the typical 'ugly stepsister' type of a girl, she is so stereotyped that I can't even hate or dislike her. But I do appreciate her struggle to earn acknowledge from a father who doesn't give a shit about her. That part of her story is very understandable.
The Final Words: despite the story's cheesiness and its 'over-the-top' moments, it is still a highly enjoyable read! I had so much fun with it!
PS: Yukito Ayatsuji's 'Murder At the Mansion of Antique Clocks' (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...) presents a murder mystery which is a bit similar with the major plot twist within MSA.
My review for Dark Angel, by the same author: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Edited@24/03/2017:
A few days ago I watched the Lifetime's movie adaptation of MSA, I don't like it as much as I like the Flowers in the Attic one. Although the casting is great (exempts the actress who plays the adult-Vera, though her acting is great but her look just isn't as good as the rest of the crew), yet the pacing is way too fast, many creepy things/events (where is Arden's mother?) and the characters' questionable behaviors and attitude are simply crossed out from the movie and it is just down right lazy and cheesy. They water-downed the story to a point that almost all of the dark traits and creepy undertone are gone. I mean, the beginning part of the movie is good but the ending! Not acceptable!
For example, Are you kidding? Honestly Andrews' creation isn't that cheesy and pathetic!
PSS: the girl who plays Audrina in the movie is so lovely!^_^
Extra: lyrics of Audrina, my sweet by Ancient
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUkdc...
Oh My Goodness! Today I discovered one more creepy fact related to My Sweet Audrina! If you don't know what I'm saying you can look it up here: Top 5 Strangest Missing Person Cases Ever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVyQn...
My Sweet Audrina Parody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiDNX...
Thoughts after reading:
Hey guys, if you liked Gothic romance+melodramas+good writing+creepiness as much as I do, then V. C. Andrews is your woman and My Sweet Audrina is the type of book for you.
Let it be noted that I'm someone who always hovers over Youtube watching videos about murder mysteries, unsolved cases, disappearance cases and other paranormal creepy stuff. I guess this is the main reason why Ms. Andrews' books work like a charm with me.
This time in MSA, we have a tasty cocktail of Gothic melodramatic creepiness! A beautiful young girl who is named after her dead older sister, said girl also has memory disorder; a mean-spirited cousin, an abusive father, a beautiful but entrapped mother, a gloomy grand house with creepy dysfunctional clocks, locked rooms and antiques, a legless woman and her son, tea parties with a dead aunt every week, woman on woman hating, family secrets blah blah blah. What more can I ask for?
The opening part is great. Just this 'naming your second daughter after her dead older sister' part alone is creepy as hell! Poor Audrina, her parents (mostly her father) had clearly done a great deal of things which are mentally and physically abusive if not just down right crazy! And it really keeps you guessing why the adults in the house are doing all these crazy things.
The romance between Audrina and this boy is okay-ish (I'm never a fan of Ms. Andrews' romances), and later in the book this relationship also gets a full-on creepy treatment. That makes me a bit happier, yeah!
What I have problems with is that in MSA, the characters are all so epic melodramatic they become kind of pathetic and predicable at times. Plus the mysteries surrounding Audrina also become very obvious and predicable by the end of the story: Okay, I can totally see that coming!
Not to mention, Audrina's older cousin Vera is so stereotyped! She is the slut in the story, the typical 'ugly stepsister' type of a girl, she is so stereotyped that I can't even hate or dislike her. But I do appreciate her struggle to earn acknowledge from a father who doesn't give a shit about her. That part of her story is very understandable.
The Final Words: despite the story's cheesiness and its 'over-the-top' moments, it is still a highly enjoyable read! I had so much fun with it!
PS: Yukito Ayatsuji's 'Murder At the Mansion of Antique Clocks' (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...) presents a murder mystery which is a bit similar with the major plot twist within MSA.
My review for Dark Angel, by the same author: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Edited@24/03/2017:
A few days ago I watched the Lifetime's movie adaptation of MSA, I don't like it as much as I like the Flowers in the Attic one. Although the casting is great (exempts the actress who plays the adult-Vera, though her acting is great but her look just isn't as good as the rest of the crew), yet the pacing is way too fast, many creepy things/events (where is Arden's mother?) and the characters' questionable behaviors and attitude are simply crossed out from the movie and it is just down right lazy and cheesy. They water-downed the story to a point that almost all of the dark traits and creepy undertone are gone. I mean, the beginning part of the movie is good but the ending! Not acceptable!
For example, Are you kidding? Honestly Andrews' creation isn't that cheesy and pathetic!
PSS: the girl who plays Audrina in the movie is so lovely!^_^
Extra: lyrics of Audrina, my sweet by Ancient
April 23, 2018
This was so much better than I remembered. Spooky, strange and problematic. A perfect pick for the first read in my book club! My full review with spoilers will be up on my booktube channel http://Youtube.com/peterlikesbooks
November 13, 2016
My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews is a 2016 Pocket Books publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher as an XOXpert, the official street team of XOXO After Dark.
Many rabid fans of V.C Andrews describe these books as a guilty pleasure, gobbling them up at the speed of light and sound. Recently, with all the renewed interest in these books, I became curious about what is was that made these books so popular and what was the secret to their longevity.
As a teen I read ‘Flowers in the Attic’, as did nearly every girl in my school. But, while the book should have had my Gothic loving heart going pitter patter, I hated it, and vowed to never read another book by V.C. Andrews.
But, even after the death of V.C. Andrews, a ghost writer was commissioned to carry on her legacy, and carry on they did, to the tune of over twenty series/trilogies and several stand alone novels. Nearly all these books and series are well received with high ratings. The popularity of these books has led to big screen productions, and most recently to made for TV adaptations, prompting me to give this author and these books another look.
So, when asked to review this book, and the recently released, and much anticipated sequel, "Whitefern", I found myself feeling kind of excited. It seems this book is also the subject of a ‘Lifetime’ movie, so I was immensely curious and ready to dive into a Gothic Horror classic, which could, if I was ready to approach it with an open mind, turn me into a rabid fan, or it could remind me of why I refused to read this author for years on end.
So, which side did I come down on?
Strangely enough, this novel, which was originally published in 1982, is exactly what a ‘modern’ Gothic horror novel should be. I was sucked into the story from the very beginning, and ended up reading its over five hundred pages in one night.
Looking at it through distance and time, I have to say the pacing and mood is quite creepy, with a heavy atmosphere of foreboding hanging in the air, which works quite effectively, and kept me morbidly fascinated all the way through.
Audrina was her father’s favorite, but she died, leaving him bereft. But, he was blessed with another daughter, also named Audrina, who lived in the shadow of her deceased sister, forced to channel her sister’s spirit in order to help her father maintain the wealth and lifestyle that means more to him than all else. Also living under the same roof with Audrina and her parents, is her aunt and cousin, Vera.
The dynamic between the family is very odd, lurid, and extremely unhealthy for all concerned, but Audrina suffers more psychological abuse than any other family member, as she is treated as a fragile, sensitive girl unable to cope with the world at large, all while the accident prone Vera, taunts and teases her cruelly, as Audrina struggles to understand why her memory is full of holes and what secrets her family is keeping from her and why.
Rounding out the cast is a neighbor boy named Arden, who becomes Audrina’s best friend and sole link to the outside world.
As the story progresses the reader is left to wonder about Audrina’s memory gaps, about Vera’s paternity, what really happened to the first Audrina, and the family’s financial situation. Who do we trust? Who is telling the truth, who is lying? Will Audrina ever discover the mystery about herself and the first Audrina death?
Overall, this book is much more than I expected, and certainly does appeal to my Gothic fascination. While I had no trouble deciphering the great mystery, for the most part, I had no idea how it would all play out or come together in the end. I read furiously and frantically, racing to find out if Audrina would ever discover the truth and how she would deal with it.
The story is lurid, strange, dark, and oppressive, like many Gothic horror novels are, but the suspense comes more from a psychological approach, as the reader is drawn helplessly toward a truth we want to know, need to know, but dread the knowledge, all the same.
At the end of the day, I see why so many people consume these books so voraciously and I am really looking forward to read the long awaited sequel!
4 stars
Many rabid fans of V.C Andrews describe these books as a guilty pleasure, gobbling them up at the speed of light and sound. Recently, with all the renewed interest in these books, I became curious about what is was that made these books so popular and what was the secret to their longevity.
As a teen I read ‘Flowers in the Attic’, as did nearly every girl in my school. But, while the book should have had my Gothic loving heart going pitter patter, I hated it, and vowed to never read another book by V.C. Andrews.
But, even after the death of V.C. Andrews, a ghost writer was commissioned to carry on her legacy, and carry on they did, to the tune of over twenty series/trilogies and several stand alone novels. Nearly all these books and series are well received with high ratings. The popularity of these books has led to big screen productions, and most recently to made for TV adaptations, prompting me to give this author and these books another look.
So, when asked to review this book, and the recently released, and much anticipated sequel, "Whitefern", I found myself feeling kind of excited. It seems this book is also the subject of a ‘Lifetime’ movie, so I was immensely curious and ready to dive into a Gothic Horror classic, which could, if I was ready to approach it with an open mind, turn me into a rabid fan, or it could remind me of why I refused to read this author for years on end.
So, which side did I come down on?
Strangely enough, this novel, which was originally published in 1982, is exactly what a ‘modern’ Gothic horror novel should be. I was sucked into the story from the very beginning, and ended up reading its over five hundred pages in one night.
Looking at it through distance and time, I have to say the pacing and mood is quite creepy, with a heavy atmosphere of foreboding hanging in the air, which works quite effectively, and kept me morbidly fascinated all the way through.
Audrina was her father’s favorite, but she died, leaving him bereft. But, he was blessed with another daughter, also named Audrina, who lived in the shadow of her deceased sister, forced to channel her sister’s spirit in order to help her father maintain the wealth and lifestyle that means more to him than all else. Also living under the same roof with Audrina and her parents, is her aunt and cousin, Vera.
The dynamic between the family is very odd, lurid, and extremely unhealthy for all concerned, but Audrina suffers more psychological abuse than any other family member, as she is treated as a fragile, sensitive girl unable to cope with the world at large, all while the accident prone Vera, taunts and teases her cruelly, as Audrina struggles to understand why her memory is full of holes and what secrets her family is keeping from her and why.
Rounding out the cast is a neighbor boy named Arden, who becomes Audrina’s best friend and sole link to the outside world.
As the story progresses the reader is left to wonder about Audrina’s memory gaps, about Vera’s paternity, what really happened to the first Audrina, and the family’s financial situation. Who do we trust? Who is telling the truth, who is lying? Will Audrina ever discover the mystery about herself and the first Audrina death?
Overall, this book is much more than I expected, and certainly does appeal to my Gothic fascination. While I had no trouble deciphering the great mystery, for the most part, I had no idea how it would all play out or come together in the end. I read furiously and frantically, racing to find out if Audrina would ever discover the truth and how she would deal with it.
The story is lurid, strange, dark, and oppressive, like many Gothic horror novels are, but the suspense comes more from a psychological approach, as the reader is drawn helplessly toward a truth we want to know, need to know, but dread the knowledge, all the same.
At the end of the day, I see why so many people consume these books so voraciously and I am really looking forward to read the long awaited sequel!
4 stars
October 16, 2025
Update: 10/16/2025-
I re-read this book for my group's Oct BOTM.. The last time I read this book was in 2009.. I must say I had a whole different perspective on all of these characters this time around.. Which took my rating from 5 to 4 stars..
I feel that Audrina, unfortunately, never learned her lessons. She didn't choose wisely, in the end, after finally learning the ultimate truth that had eluded her for the whole of her life. EVERYONE who had a part to play in her deception, got off easy IMHO..
Arden.. I was his champion until the last 6 chapters of this story.. What he did? What he was considering to do, was just utterly unforgivable. Up until his actions here, I was in his corner more so than I was with Audrina. After awhile, she began to grate my nerves with her treatment of Arden, given their specific set of circumstances. I won't go into that due to spoilers, but she could and should have handled this much better than she did. If she had, Vera (the snake) never would have had the chances she tried to take where Audrina and Arden were concerned..
Vera, Damian, Lucietta, Ellsbeth, all of these horrible individuals never got what they deserved. Not really.. Their deceptions woven into a twisted cruel storm that they called love was inexcusable. Unforgivable. Period. Though I was surprised to learn at the very end, that Ellsbeth was always the voice of reason of what was actually best for Audrina, but Damian and Lucietta refused to listen to this. Being a mother myself, this angers and confuses me to no end..
The burdens and the fears that Damian placed on Audrina's shoulders for the entirety of this book makes me sick.. But the ending makes me sicker.. WTAF was that Audrina?! REALLY?! You were almost free! UGH!!
The only person I fell in love with here and the love never ceased, was Billie. Arden's mom. I have a deep profound respect for this woman and I wish she got everything that her heart desired. I really do. I am hurt by how things turns out for her in all of this.
All these folks in Whitefern I fear are cursed.. It goes much deeper than what was going on in that house at this particular time that we meet them. This reeks of generational curses passed down. Because of the dysfunction, these things are allowed to take hold and plant roots to every living innocent soul that crossed the threshold of this house.
Vera with all of her evil ways from jump.. She was so much like her mother and father.. She STILL got off easy in comparison to what she did, for the whole of her life.. I wanted this chick to be dragged coochie first across the dry hot desert. I wanted her beaten and burned with a pot of hot butter grits, then dragged outside naked, chained to a pole. Doused in hot honey for the red ants to come and feast on her, as the sun, when it rose each day, came to fry her a&& like southern fried chicken until her awful thing that they call a soul; was snuffed out through her black heart!
This outcome would have placated me for all the things she did and the awful ways in which she touched all of the lives around her.
Damian UGH!!! I hate this man.. When he called himself crying as he confessed the truth of his sins, I was like your tears don't mean sh^t to me Damian..
Arden, I just want to rip your spine out! It would be a fitting improvement since you've NEVER known how to use it any damn way. You Jerk Monkey of EPIC proportions! The secrets! So many of them coming out about you.. UGH!!! You make me sick.
Sylvia, I still don't trust your crazy a&&.. Though you did me proud at the end with what you did for Audrina..
This story is a web of Phucked-Upness where there is no light at the end of the tunnel.. Well there is, but soon you realize too late, that it's a damn train about to run your a&& over..
V.C. Andrews wove a story that kept you here no matter the crazy and fallout. You had to know what was going to become of these nut bags. You just had to.. For that, this is definitely a 4 star read. But depending on your perspective, this story is either where hopes come to die or they spring eternal in the murky waters of where sanity and purity may have NEVER lived.
If you're curious, it is definitely worth the read. Just do not expect to come out of this unscathed by the crazy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Review 2009:
Loved this book. I read this book a very, very long time ago when I was 12 years old. I actually re-purchased it a couple years ago to read it again. I now also have it on my Kindle as well..
This is a haunting, heartbreaking story. But I love it! It is the first book that I can ever remember falling in love and fear with for the very first time..
This is the only book that I've read by this author. I still stand by my statement that if you read only one VC Andrews book, then you need to read this one.
I re-read this book for my group's Oct BOTM.. The last time I read this book was in 2009.. I must say I had a whole different perspective on all of these characters this time around.. Which took my rating from 5 to 4 stars..
I feel that Audrina, unfortunately, never learned her lessons. She didn't choose wisely, in the end, after finally learning the ultimate truth that had eluded her for the whole of her life. EVERYONE who had a part to play in her deception, got off easy IMHO..
Arden.. I was his champion until the last 6 chapters of this story.. What he did? What he was considering to do, was just utterly unforgivable. Up until his actions here, I was in his corner more so than I was with Audrina. After awhile, she began to grate my nerves with her treatment of Arden, given their specific set of circumstances. I won't go into that due to spoilers, but she could and should have handled this much better than she did. If she had, Vera (the snake) never would have had the chances she tried to take where Audrina and Arden were concerned..
Vera, Damian, Lucietta, Ellsbeth, all of these horrible individuals never got what they deserved. Not really.. Their deceptions woven into a twisted cruel storm that they called love was inexcusable. Unforgivable. Period. Though I was surprised to learn at the very end, that Ellsbeth was always the voice of reason of what was actually best for Audrina, but Damian and Lucietta refused to listen to this. Being a mother myself, this angers and confuses me to no end..
The burdens and the fears that Damian placed on Audrina's shoulders for the entirety of this book makes me sick.. But the ending makes me sicker.. WTAF was that Audrina?! REALLY?! You were almost free! UGH!!
The only person I fell in love with here and the love never ceased, was Billie. Arden's mom. I have a deep profound respect for this woman and I wish she got everything that her heart desired. I really do. I am hurt by how things turns out for her in all of this.
All these folks in Whitefern I fear are cursed.. It goes much deeper than what was going on in that house at this particular time that we meet them. This reeks of generational curses passed down. Because of the dysfunction, these things are allowed to take hold and plant roots to every living innocent soul that crossed the threshold of this house.
Vera with all of her evil ways from jump.. She was so much like her mother and father.. She STILL got off easy in comparison to what she did, for the whole of her life.. I wanted this chick to be dragged coochie first across the dry hot desert. I wanted her beaten and burned with a pot of hot butter grits, then dragged outside naked, chained to a pole. Doused in hot honey for the red ants to come and feast on her, as the sun, when it rose each day, came to fry her a&& like southern fried chicken until her awful thing that they call a soul; was snuffed out through her black heart!
This outcome would have placated me for all the things she did and the awful ways in which she touched all of the lives around her.
Damian UGH!!! I hate this man.. When he called himself crying as he confessed the truth of his sins, I was like your tears don't mean sh^t to me Damian..
Arden, I just want to rip your spine out! It would be a fitting improvement since you've NEVER known how to use it any damn way. You Jerk Monkey of EPIC proportions! The secrets! So many of them coming out about you.. UGH!!! You make me sick.
Sylvia, I still don't trust your crazy a&&.. Though you did me proud at the end with what you did for Audrina..
This story is a web of Phucked-Upness where there is no light at the end of the tunnel.. Well there is, but soon you realize too late, that it's a damn train about to run your a&& over..
V.C. Andrews wove a story that kept you here no matter the crazy and fallout. You had to know what was going to become of these nut bags. You just had to.. For that, this is definitely a 4 star read. But depending on your perspective, this story is either where hopes come to die or they spring eternal in the murky waters of where sanity and purity may have NEVER lived.
If you're curious, it is definitely worth the read. Just do not expect to come out of this unscathed by the crazy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Review 2009:
Loved this book. I read this book a very, very long time ago when I was 12 years old. I actually re-purchased it a couple years ago to read it again. I now also have it on my Kindle as well..
This is a haunting, heartbreaking story. But I love it! It is the first book that I can ever remember falling in love and fear with for the very first time..
This is the only book that I've read by this author. I still stand by my statement that if you read only one VC Andrews book, then you need to read this one.
May 31, 2022
“Just trust whatever Papa tells you.” 😩
Sometimes you reread a book and think “wow that really held up. I’ve always had impeccable taste” and you pat yourself on the back for being such a smarty-pants even as a kid and then there are the days you reread something like My Sweet Audrina and you are filled with a sense of anguish for that messed up kid you once were and you despair because you’ve just ruined a perfectly lovely childhood memory by doing a revisit 😬
Where to start? Ethereally beautiful Audrina is living a half-life, held prisoner in her enormous home by a creepy overbearing father who doesn’t allow her to go to school like a regular kid. Instead, he makes her rock in her dead sister's rocking chair promising her “magical powers” will be her reward (this plotline, in the end, makes absolutely zero sense but you just have to go with it, I guess). Her dead sister was also named Audrina and Audrina #2 feels inadequate and does as the adults say to win their favor. She has no friends and can’t even wander out into the woods. She especially can’t do that! Good golly, she might meet a boy, a terrible boy who will ruin her! She is told by her loathsome cousin Vera (the most villainous villain ever to villain and that’s saying something for early VC Andrews) that she’s stupid and simple and worthless because she has some sort of weird amnesia that no one seems concerned about. Time is all askew for dear, sweet Audrina and she doesn’t even know her true age. Wild, right?
OF COURSE, there is a reason for all of this and it’s pretty easy to figure out as an adult because the clues are littered everywhere but I remember being shocked at the revelations as a kid. As an adult, it is still shocking! It doesn’t make any kind of sense but it sure is shocking nonetheless. They just don’t write them like this anymore and I guess that’s why these books were so coveted by me as a kid. These people are messed up in every single way and it’s hard to stop reading even when you think you probably should.
But ugh, it is actually hard to read at times even though it's hard to DNF because I needed to know. It drags on endlessly and is extremely repetitive. I do realize this book was written way back when things were different than the way they are now but the characterization of some of these people was off the charts evil sonofabitch or nearly perfect angelic angel visiting from heaven so sweet and forgiving and accommodating that she nearly puts you in a sugar coma. There isn’t a lot of room in the middle for most of these people.
I can’t truly tell you all the ways this book made me so grumbly without spoiling so many things but if you want a sample you can take a peek under the spoiler tag but trust me they are spoilers. Most of my feelings come from the treatment and description of Sylvia and Arden’s mother, WTF was all that shittery? I don’t even know. I don’t even want to know. People are just awful. And the ending will enrage me FOREVER but I suppose it’s what they all deserved if they’re going to act so ridiculously and that’s all I’ll say about that.
So in the end I am very sorry I reread this one and tainted my beautiful if warped memories of jumping a neighbor's fence and hiding out at the park under a willow tree to read this one for hours on end so my mother wouldn’t see me and force me to throw it in the trash. Oh well. Lesson probably not learned. I'm giving a 2.5 and that's me feeling generous. My preteen self would've given it all the stars in the sky and I'll have to be okay with that.
CW:
This review is based on my personal reading experience. Yours may differ. Don't be blaming me if it does!
Sometimes you reread a book and think “wow that really held up. I’ve always had impeccable taste” and you pat yourself on the back for being such a smarty-pants even as a kid and then there are the days you reread something like My Sweet Audrina and you are filled with a sense of anguish for that messed up kid you once were and you despair because you’ve just ruined a perfectly lovely childhood memory by doing a revisit 😬
Where to start? Ethereally beautiful Audrina is living a half-life, held prisoner in her enormous home by a creepy overbearing father who doesn’t allow her to go to school like a regular kid. Instead, he makes her rock in her dead sister's rocking chair promising her “magical powers” will be her reward (this plotline, in the end, makes absolutely zero sense but you just have to go with it, I guess). Her dead sister was also named Audrina and Audrina #2 feels inadequate and does as the adults say to win their favor. She has no friends and can’t even wander out into the woods. She especially can’t do that! Good golly, she might meet a boy, a terrible boy who will ruin her! She is told by her loathsome cousin Vera (the most villainous villain ever to villain and that’s saying something for early VC Andrews) that she’s stupid and simple and worthless because she has some sort of weird amnesia that no one seems concerned about. Time is all askew for dear, sweet Audrina and she doesn’t even know her true age. Wild, right?
OF COURSE, there is a reason for all of this and it’s pretty easy to figure out as an adult because the clues are littered everywhere but I remember being shocked at the revelations as a kid. As an adult, it is still shocking! It doesn’t make any kind of sense but it sure is shocking nonetheless. They just don’t write them like this anymore and I guess that’s why these books were so coveted by me as a kid. These people are messed up in every single way and it’s hard to stop reading even when you think you probably should.
But ugh, it is actually hard to read at times even though it's hard to DNF because I needed to know. It drags on endlessly and is extremely repetitive. I do realize this book was written way back when things were different than the way they are now but the characterization of some of these people was off the charts evil sonofabitch or nearly perfect angelic angel visiting from heaven so sweet and forgiving and accommodating that she nearly puts you in a sugar coma. There isn’t a lot of room in the middle for most of these people.
I can’t truly tell you all the ways this book made me so grumbly without spoiling so many things but if you want a sample you can take a peek under the spoiler tag but trust me they are spoilers. Most of my feelings come from the treatment and description of Sylvia and Arden’s mother, WTF was all that shittery? I don’t even know. I don’t even want to know. People are just awful. And the ending will enrage me FOREVER but I suppose it’s what they all deserved if they’re going to act so ridiculously and that’s all I’ll say about that.
So in the end I am very sorry I reread this one and tainted my beautiful if warped memories of jumping a neighbor's fence and hiding out at the park under a willow tree to read this one for hours on end so my mother wouldn’t see me and force me to throw it in the trash. Oh well. Lesson probably not learned. I'm giving a 2.5 and that's me feeling generous. My preteen self would've given it all the stars in the sky and I'll have to be okay with that.
CW:
This review is based on my personal reading experience. Yours may differ. Don't be blaming me if it does!
August 21, 2007
Named after her dead sister, the First and Best Audrina, the Second and Worst Audrina doesn't remember anything about her first eight years. She has a twatty stepsister and a father who's a little too attentive and makes her rock in her dead sister's chair in hopes that this will trigger her lost memory. She falls in love with the boy next door and feels all the usual VC Andrews quickening of pulses and fires down below and like all VC Andrews heroines, succumbs to the sinful pleasures of premarital and unprotected sex. Then she discovers that she never really had a dead sister in the first place, she was just raped and her parents, not wanting her to feel the shame, just pretended she was an entirely new person after that.
Pure trash. I loved every second of it.
Pure trash. I loved every second of it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2014
*4.5 star rating*
Wow. Just wow.
This was the most psychologically messed up, mind-fucking book that I've ever read. We all know that V.C. Andrews has quite a habit of messing with our minds, but this book has taken her "talent" to a whole other level.
My brain:
When finishing this 400+ paged book, I just couldn't believe my eyes on how the heck did Andrews do this. Her mysteries are always so out of the blue and we never end up expecting the plot twists (especially in the end). It's so fascinating and wonderful to read such an unpredictable book that just left your feared out of your mind after completing it. Yes, I got very anxious and tense by the end of this book.
When V.C. Andrews creates something scary, it's scary. But not a horror made-up kind of scary, a reality kind of fear because things like this do happen to many people around the world. Andrews caused us to think about real life mysteries that are totally unexplainable. No one, not even the MC knew what was going on for 20 years of her life, and that's because everyone and everything were lies, and everyone was lying to her and you can either think one way or the other. Andrews gets us to create predictions about what's going to happen because we begin to have no clue on what was going on, but in the end, I was completely wrong.
Audrina has lived her life hearing about The First and Sweet and Best Audrina, her dead sister who died 9 years before she was born. (Yes, I did capitalize those words.) Her sister was so special and so perfect and she never did anything wrong. But Audrina's life is a mystery as well. Why can't she remember anything from her early childhood and memories of just years ago? Why can't she remember what day it is or how old she and her family are? It all comes down to one mystery, one secret that has been hidden, and everyone except Audrina knows.
This whole book was amazingly written, like I said before. Andrews just creates an atmosphere that is so real, and fearful at the same time. The reader even begins to go through some mentality and some craziness that the characters in the book are going through because we are so confused as well. (But in a suspenseful sort of way.) It was very fast-paced, moving, and so real. Nothing ever bored me and I wish that I could've had more. But, what an amazing standalone.
I don't know... That song just came into mind. :)
The characters were amazing, but I didn't say all of them. Vera...
That girl... She's the worst (as in evil) character that I have ever read about. I could deal with her, probably because she created a lot of action and it was hilarious to see Audrina's dad whip her and hit her so many times, but she was SO bitchy. Like think of your worst enemy, and add in JAWS. I don't have any words for Vera's behaviour because it's just so exotic and disturbing. I just hate people like her. (YOU WEREN'T LOVED BECAUSE YOU WERE AN EVIL BEAST.) She was my problem with the book because she was just too horrible. DON'T CLICK ON THAT BUTTON AS LONG AS YOU READ THE BOOK OR DON'T CARE
I just had to get the beast over and done with first. Audrina was a great, kick-ass character who really came out of her shell by the end of the book. I was really afraid that her situation would turn into something like 'Flowers in the Attic,' but thankfully, it came into something more darker and crazier. Audrina was a character who you felt so much sympathy for. All she has ever wanted was a happy, ordinary life, and thanks to her sister (I bolded that for a reason) her whole life got screwed up and she was forced to do things and live in a different way than everyone else. It's just so sad because there are people who live that way in reality and nobody knows about them. :(
Arden was just... ADORABLE. But as he got older and when he and Audrina married later on in the novel, he just got too strange. And then of course we then found out the reason for everything and I ended up hating him because of it and well yeah... I wanted to kick his butt. But he did have some good times where I just wanted to hug him 24/7.
I have to say that Audrina's Papa really was an outstanding character in this book. He was the smart one, the one who knew best, right next to the mother and Ellie. He actually cared for Audrina so much and by the end, it really shows.
The ending of this book was really open-ended and suspenseful. I guess we just have to add onto it and guess what had happened later on. Did Audrina end up having children? I don't know, but I guess it's just like the rest by V.C. Andrews; we just have to guess.
Some people liked this book, while others completely despised it. I was one who really loved it and I definitely classify it as a classic novel that everyone should pick up. Make this your first V.C. Andrews book, because it's just that splendid.
Wow. Just wow.
This was the most psychologically messed up, mind-fucking book that I've ever read. We all know that V.C. Andrews has quite a habit of messing with our minds, but this book has taken her "talent" to a whole other level.
My brain:
When finishing this 400+ paged book, I just couldn't believe my eyes on how the heck did Andrews do this. Her mysteries are always so out of the blue and we never end up expecting the plot twists (especially in the end). It's so fascinating and wonderful to read such an unpredictable book that just left your feared out of your mind after completing it. Yes, I got very anxious and tense by the end of this book.
When V.C. Andrews creates something scary, it's scary. But not a horror made-up kind of scary, a reality kind of fear because things like this do happen to many people around the world. Andrews caused us to think about real life mysteries that are totally unexplainable. No one, not even the MC knew what was going on for 20 years of her life, and that's because everyone and everything were lies, and everyone was lying to her and you can either think one way or the other. Andrews gets us to create predictions about what's going to happen because we begin to have no clue on what was going on, but in the end, I was completely wrong.
Audrina has lived her life hearing about The First and Sweet and Best Audrina, her dead sister who died 9 years before she was born. (Yes, I did capitalize those words.) Her sister was so special and so perfect and she never did anything wrong. But Audrina's life is a mystery as well. Why can't she remember anything from her early childhood and memories of just years ago? Why can't she remember what day it is or how old she and her family are? It all comes down to one mystery, one secret that has been hidden, and everyone except Audrina knows.
This whole book was amazingly written, like I said before. Andrews just creates an atmosphere that is so real, and fearful at the same time. The reader even begins to go through some mentality and some craziness that the characters in the book are going through because we are so confused as well. (But in a suspenseful sort of way.) It was very fast-paced, moving, and so real. Nothing ever bored me and I wish that I could've had more. But, what an amazing standalone.
I don't know... That song just came into mind. :)
The characters were amazing, but I didn't say all of them. Vera...
That girl... She's the worst (as in evil) character that I have ever read about. I could deal with her, probably because she created a lot of action and it was hilarious to see Audrina's dad whip her and hit her so many times, but she was SO bitchy. Like think of your worst enemy, and add in JAWS. I don't have any words for Vera's behaviour because it's just so exotic and disturbing. I just hate people like her. (YOU WEREN'T LOVED BECAUSE YOU WERE AN EVIL BEAST.) She was my problem with the book because she was just too horrible. DON'T CLICK ON THAT BUTTON AS LONG AS YOU READ THE BOOK OR DON'T CARE
I just had to get the beast over and done with first. Audrina was a great, kick-ass character who really came out of her shell by the end of the book. I was really afraid that her situation would turn into something like 'Flowers in the Attic,' but thankfully, it came into something more darker and crazier. Audrina was a character who you felt so much sympathy for. All she has ever wanted was a happy, ordinary life, and thanks to her sister (I bolded that for a reason) her whole life got screwed up and she was forced to do things and live in a different way than everyone else. It's just so sad because there are people who live that way in reality and nobody knows about them. :(
Arden was just... ADORABLE. But as he got older and when he and Audrina married later on in the novel, he just got too strange. And then of course we then found out the reason for everything and I ended up hating him because of it and well yeah... I wanted to kick his butt. But he did have some good times where I just wanted to hug him 24/7.
I have to say that Audrina's Papa really was an outstanding character in this book. He was the smart one, the one who knew best, right next to the mother and Ellie. He actually cared for Audrina so much and by the end, it really shows.
The ending of this book was really open-ended and suspenseful. I guess we just have to add onto it and guess what had happened later on. Did Audrina end up having children? I don't know, but I guess it's just like the rest by V.C. Andrews; we just have to guess.
Some people liked this book, while others completely despised it. I was one who really loved it and I definitely classify it as a classic novel that everyone should pick up. Make this your first V.C. Andrews book, because it's just that splendid.
May 23, 2013
This is one crazy, screwed up, twisted, and just insane family. I think right now, they take the cake for crazy literary families I've read about. I finished My Sweet Audrina while I was in bed last night, and after I finished, I couldn't think of how I should rate this story. And now, as I write this review, I still have no idea how I should rate it. Maybe as I write I'll come to a conclusion.
As I said in the beginning, the Adare family is just, all kinds of screwed up. Between the lies, deception, half-truths, and the webs they weaved between all of that, and the purpose behind that web of lies, was just DISGUSTING. This is one of those stories where, as you read, you keep saying to yourself, "What the hell is going on??!!" V.C. Andrews had me guessing the entire time, and made me feel one way, then another, and then another, and back to one feeling, and then a new feeling. I like it when an author can do that.
One thing I really love about V.C. Andrews is her writing. From the very first page, we are flooded with her talent, and it sucked me right in to just read more of what she had to say. I've only read her original novels (if you don't know, she passed away several years ago, and a man has been writing under her name), and I wish she could have written more just so I could read her writing. Here is an example: "There was something strange about the house where I grew up. There were shadows in the corners and whispers on the stairs and time was as irrelevant as honesty. Though how I knew I couldn't say.
There was a war going on in our house, a silent war that sounded no guns, and the bodies that fell were only wishes that died and the bullets were only words and the blood that spilled was always called pride." For me, Andrews' writing is captivating, mysterious, and she had me from the first page.
I think every family has their secrets, but how deep do they go, and to what extent? In the Adare family, there are two main secrets, but one of those has consequences far worse than the other. We're talking about basically changing a child's life because of that secret and twisting it to fit some twisted fantasy to pretend their lives are almost perfect, and because their name has already been part of enough scorn from the town.
So much happens in just four hundred pages, it is almost mind-boggling. I instantly loved Audrina. The more I learned about her circumstances, and the more lies were revealed (whether outright or hinted), I felt for her. Towards the end, I just wanted her to get away and start a new life without this sick, twisted family.
In the beginning, I thought it was her mother who was the problem, and it turns out, I was quite wrong. Her entire family made me so angry at times for creating this life of lies around Audrina, and truly making her believe this life. (And this is not a spoiler in any way.) Throughout the entire book, I wish I could have thrown Vera down the stairs because she was PURE EVIL.
I loved Arden and how sweet he was to Audrina, and how much he loved her. It's amazing how people or families can corrupt others, though...I couldn't believe he would do some of the things he did when he said he loved Audrina so much. I don't think they were entirely his fault, but there came a point for me, where they were his fault or at least partially. I think he really, truly loved Audrina, but corruption can do the worst things to the best people.
And don't get me started on Damian Adare, Audrina's father....There were times I was pissed off at him for things, then I found myself liking him, and then I found myself hating him, back to compassion for him, etc...He was just a roller-coaster ride of feelings for me. It's one of those situations where you feel like you understand what he did and why he did it, but to the extent he went to, my goodness...It made me so angry. He is one character who does NOT deserve what he has. In fact, none of Audrina's family does.
If I am being evasive on the happenings in this story, it's for a reason. There is so much which goes on in these pages, it's worse than a soap opera or a drama movie.
What I still don't understand is, "Why?" at the ending. I do NOT understand Audrina's choice. I mean....I know what she says, but, if that was me, I would hope and pray, I would be doing what she had planned to do. Let's just say, I didn't expect the ending.
I think this is one of those stories you just have to read it, to believe it. I think it deserves four stars.
As I said in the beginning, the Adare family is just, all kinds of screwed up. Between the lies, deception, half-truths, and the webs they weaved between all of that, and the purpose behind that web of lies, was just DISGUSTING. This is one of those stories where, as you read, you keep saying to yourself, "What the hell is going on??!!" V.C. Andrews had me guessing the entire time, and made me feel one way, then another, and then another, and back to one feeling, and then a new feeling. I like it when an author can do that.
One thing I really love about V.C. Andrews is her writing. From the very first page, we are flooded with her talent, and it sucked me right in to just read more of what she had to say. I've only read her original novels (if you don't know, she passed away several years ago, and a man has been writing under her name), and I wish she could have written more just so I could read her writing. Here is an example: "There was something strange about the house where I grew up. There were shadows in the corners and whispers on the stairs and time was as irrelevant as honesty. Though how I knew I couldn't say.
There was a war going on in our house, a silent war that sounded no guns, and the bodies that fell were only wishes that died and the bullets were only words and the blood that spilled was always called pride." For me, Andrews' writing is captivating, mysterious, and she had me from the first page.
I think every family has their secrets, but how deep do they go, and to what extent? In the Adare family, there are two main secrets, but one of those has consequences far worse than the other. We're talking about basically changing a child's life because of that secret and twisting it to fit some twisted fantasy to pretend their lives are almost perfect, and because their name has already been part of enough scorn from the town.
So much happens in just four hundred pages, it is almost mind-boggling. I instantly loved Audrina. The more I learned about her circumstances, and the more lies were revealed (whether outright or hinted), I felt for her. Towards the end, I just wanted her to get away and start a new life without this sick, twisted family.
In the beginning, I thought it was her mother who was the problem, and it turns out, I was quite wrong. Her entire family made me so angry at times for creating this life of lies around Audrina, and truly making her believe this life. (And this is not a spoiler in any way.) Throughout the entire book, I wish I could have thrown Vera down the stairs because she was PURE EVIL.
I loved Arden and how sweet he was to Audrina, and how much he loved her. It's amazing how people or families can corrupt others, though...I couldn't believe he would do some of the things he did when he said he loved Audrina so much. I don't think they were entirely his fault, but there came a point for me, where they were his fault or at least partially. I think he really, truly loved Audrina, but corruption can do the worst things to the best people.
And don't get me started on Damian Adare, Audrina's father....There were times I was pissed off at him for things, then I found myself liking him, and then I found myself hating him, back to compassion for him, etc...He was just a roller-coaster ride of feelings for me. It's one of those situations where you feel like you understand what he did and why he did it, but to the extent he went to, my goodness...It made me so angry. He is one character who does NOT deserve what he has. In fact, none of Audrina's family does.
If I am being evasive on the happenings in this story, it's for a reason. There is so much which goes on in these pages, it's worse than a soap opera or a drama movie.
What I still don't understand is, "Why?" at the ending. I do NOT understand Audrina's choice. I mean....I know what she says, but, if that was me, I would hope and pray, I would be doing what she had planned to do. Let's just say, I didn't expect the ending.
I think this is one of those stories you just have to read it, to believe it. I think it deserves four stars.
July 25, 2016
Audrina feels like she is always going to live in the shadow of her sister that died before she was born. Audrina was even named after her departed sibling that she never knew. Her family doesn't hesitate to tell her every day just how special the first Audrina was, how beautiful and full of life.
Living in her family's mansion cut off from society with her parents, aunt and a cousin that torments her at every turn Audrina begins to question her own sanity even at a young age. But with all the secrets and lies at every turn will Audrina ever learn the truth of what happened to the first Audrina and escape her shadow?
My Sweet Audrina is actually a reread for me as I read this one years and years ago. The story is typical VC Andrews in which this young girl is trapped in a family with secrets and different horrors awaiting her with each turn of the page. Since I have the sequel that is being released after twenty five or so years of waiting for the story to be continued I needed a quick refresher on the book before diving into the next.
I have to say even after all these years I still enjoyed rereading this tale as it's one of my favorites from the VC Andrews catalog. Full of psychologically twisted turns all throughout it's hard not to get involved in reading and wanting the answers to what had really happened to this little girl we meet in this story.
Overall, still a great read after so many years. Just a warning though with this one that rape is involved for those that wouldn't like that as part of a story.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
Living in her family's mansion cut off from society with her parents, aunt and a cousin that torments her at every turn Audrina begins to question her own sanity even at a young age. But with all the secrets and lies at every turn will Audrina ever learn the truth of what happened to the first Audrina and escape her shadow?
My Sweet Audrina is actually a reread for me as I read this one years and years ago. The story is typical VC Andrews in which this young girl is trapped in a family with secrets and different horrors awaiting her with each turn of the page. Since I have the sequel that is being released after twenty five or so years of waiting for the story to be continued I needed a quick refresher on the book before diving into the next.
I have to say even after all these years I still enjoyed rereading this tale as it's one of my favorites from the VC Andrews catalog. Full of psychologically twisted turns all throughout it's hard not to get involved in reading and wanting the answers to what had really happened to this little girl we meet in this story.
Overall, still a great read after so many years. Just a warning though with this one that rape is involved for those that wouldn't like that as part of a story.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
June 29, 2015
The story was as crazy as I remembered it, even crazier. Rest in Peace Ms. Andrews. You are missed.
June 12, 2022
Objectively, pretty awful. Subjectively, possibly the most fun I’ve ever had with a book.
October 26, 2023
This book is extremely Gothic and macabre, told through the point of view of a traumatized little girl who grows into a woman through the course of the novel. Unable to live up to the legacy of her dead sister of the same name, who was raped by wicked boys in the woods at the age of nine on her birthday and died, little Audrina, who can't remember the past or keep track of time, is forced to visit her sister's grave, and to rock in her dead sister's chair to "fill up" with her memories so she can be as good and as perfect as the first, better Audrina. She loves her huge, handsome stockbroker father, who nonetheless terrorizes her and the other women in her household with his constant needs, demands, and moods. He indeed makes her almost into a surrogate wife, demanding that she watch him shave, listen to his exploits in the office, and learn stockbroking so that one day she can be his partner in the business; of course, all of this is to enslave Audrina so she'll never leave him: "Papa was clever, so clever. I should have expected he'd find a way to defeat me."
This is a Southern Gothic drama, in which the father, a Yankee, nonetheless is obsessed with the civil war and sympathetic with it, as are all of the family. In some ways the revelation of this secret at the beginning of the book signals it as an almost Faulknerian tragedy of epic proportions, as every evil rains down upon the household that can possibly be imagined, possibly because of their Southern guilt and the legacy of slavery that hovers over them, although this is never directly mentioned the story. The characters are incredibly complex, and we love and hate them alternately as we follow Audrina's emotions about them. Her mother is beautiful and charming, but can be indolent and cruel; her aunt is a bitter, thin-lipped spinster who reveals a sexy, passionate, and tender side; her fiancé is a noble boy who grows into a weak, flawed man and sides with people who want to destroy her; her father is her only savior, and yet is the worst, most cruel, lying, gaslighting, soul-killing patriarch; her cousin Vera is the only character who is out-and-out evil—she's amazingly awful, and fun to hate—but still we are led to have compassion for her, as her father drove her to her hate and bitterness.
All of the imagery is demonic, with thunder and lightning storms, dead trees, characters with chronic broken bones, uneven leg length, no legs, mental deficiency, multiple accidental death (or is it murder)? There is also gang-rape, marital frigidity, adultery, suicide, miscarriage, brainwashing, unrequited love, serial philandering, deceit, embezzlement, uncertain paternity, quasi-incestuous father-love, plots to kill for inheritance money, domestic slavery.
But aside from all of the jaw-dropping melodrama, the thing that sets this book apart is how realistically it deals with women's lives. Unlike novels of today which feature female superheroes who are stronger than men and live their lives with no real social pressures or domestic duties, the women in this story are constantly put upon to cook, clean, care for children, and deal with the mercurial moods and sexual demands of men. Indeed, pleasing difficult men seems to be their greatest cross to bear—and if they are good at it, their greatest achievement in life. In that sense it's actually quite political, as I've never quite read a book that condemns patriarchy so vehemently, which it gets away with by hiding its radical nature behind genre conventions. And in the end, for all of its Gothic trappings, that's what this book is really about—that horrible balancing act that women are forced to perform in order to survive in the world. Now, that's a horror story!
This is a Southern Gothic drama, in which the father, a Yankee, nonetheless is obsessed with the civil war and sympathetic with it, as are all of the family. In some ways the revelation of this secret at the beginning of the book signals it as an almost Faulknerian tragedy of epic proportions, as every evil rains down upon the household that can possibly be imagined, possibly because of their Southern guilt and the legacy of slavery that hovers over them, although this is never directly mentioned the story. The characters are incredibly complex, and we love and hate them alternately as we follow Audrina's emotions about them. Her mother is beautiful and charming, but can be indolent and cruel; her aunt is a bitter, thin-lipped spinster who reveals a sexy, passionate, and tender side; her fiancé is a noble boy who grows into a weak, flawed man and sides with people who want to destroy her; her father is her only savior, and yet is the worst, most cruel, lying, gaslighting, soul-killing patriarch; her cousin Vera is the only character who is out-and-out evil—she's amazingly awful, and fun to hate—but still we are led to have compassion for her, as her father drove her to her hate and bitterness.
All of the imagery is demonic, with thunder and lightning storms, dead trees, characters with chronic broken bones, uneven leg length, no legs, mental deficiency, multiple accidental death (or is it murder)? There is also gang-rape, marital frigidity, adultery, suicide, miscarriage, brainwashing, unrequited love, serial philandering, deceit, embezzlement, uncertain paternity, quasi-incestuous father-love, plots to kill for inheritance money, domestic slavery.
But aside from all of the jaw-dropping melodrama, the thing that sets this book apart is how realistically it deals with women's lives. Unlike novels of today which feature female superheroes who are stronger than men and live their lives with no real social pressures or domestic duties, the women in this story are constantly put upon to cook, clean, care for children, and deal with the mercurial moods and sexual demands of men. Indeed, pleasing difficult men seems to be their greatest cross to bear—and if they are good at it, their greatest achievement in life. In that sense it's actually quite political, as I've never quite read a book that condemns patriarchy so vehemently, which it gets away with by hiding its radical nature behind genre conventions. And in the end, for all of its Gothic trappings, that's what this book is really about—that horrible balancing act that women are forced to perform in order to survive in the world. Now, that's a horror story!
October 4, 2016
I consider myself an easy to please reader so when a book makes me feel angry you know its really bad.....
Honestly, I couldn't with this book... I f#%! D.N.F it..... Honestly!!!! I feel bad for even purchasing this book thinking it was "Horrific and Creepy" but the only thing horrific about this book is the fact that it was published.
The characters were not even flawed,they were just so tedious and stupid. I was into the main character at first but she took a tumble really fast.... They were some elements of feminism and empowerment but then they dropped their values for a man. Pedophilia, Over-protective parents, bad judgement, flat characters, stupid characters, stupid decisions, teen erotic scenes, insta-love etc *sigh*
And not to mention this book is considered a 'Horror' but its more of a bad episode of The Young and the Restless .....
February 3, 2016
"I was giving you freedom and not once did you thank me. Not once."
Buddy read with the amazing Nenia!
I'd read this before as a young teenager and carried it (along with all my other V.C. Andrews books) with me through several moves. Yet I somehow retained absolutely no memory of the story.
Which is probably a good thing, as there are twists and turns galore in this book, and I delighted in just about every single one. This was seriously like a soap opera. Only quite bleak at times.
"It's you I love, only you."
And once more, I had to let him prove it.
It was also creepier than your average soap opera. Nenia's review lists all the tropes employed, and by god there are a lot of them.
The writing was actually much better than I remember, although the story did drag at times. But when it dragged, someone would take off their clothes or fall down the stairs and die, and everything would be exciting again. Though this did raise some of my feminist hackles, I was quite surprised when Andrews had her characters push back against some of the sexism and misogyny they endured. In the end it wasn't very effective for them, but nice to read nonetheless.
Overall, this was enjoyable, ever so slightly smutty, and dramatic as hell.
"Do you hear me? Are you listening? No confusion. No fear. For Papa is here."
Buddy read with the amazing Nenia!
I'd read this before as a young teenager and carried it (along with all my other V.C. Andrews books) with me through several moves. Yet I somehow retained absolutely no memory of the story.
Which is probably a good thing, as there are twists and turns galore in this book, and I delighted in just about every single one. This was seriously like a soap opera. Only quite bleak at times.
"It's you I love, only you."
And once more, I had to let him prove it.
It was also creepier than your average soap opera. Nenia's review lists all the tropes employed, and by god there are a lot of them.
The writing was actually much better than I remember, although the story did drag at times. But when it dragged, someone would take off their clothes or fall down the stairs and die, and everything would be exciting again. Though this did raise some of my feminist hackles, I was quite surprised when Andrews had her characters push back against some of the sexism and misogyny they endured. In the end it wasn't very effective for them, but nice to read nonetheless.
Overall, this was enjoyable, ever so slightly smutty, and dramatic as hell.
"Do you hear me? Are you listening? No confusion. No fear. For Papa is here."
July 15, 2011
Ok, so some people may see my 5 star review for "My Sweet Audrina" by V.C. Andrews and think: "really???? 5 stars???" And well, this isn't a masterpiece classic that will go down in the ages, but I do think it is a page-turner and is full of plain ole' good entertainment. This is why it earned 5 stars.
The following may or may not contain spoilers:
Audrina is a young girl who lives in a big, dark mansion in the middle of the woods with her handsome yet overbearing father Damian, her beautiful but submissive pianist mother Lucietta, her cranky aunt Ellsbeth, and her biatch cosuin: the evil and loveable/hateable Vera. Audrina has a terrible memory and never knows what day it is or how much time has passed. But she does know that she has a dead older sister named Audrina, whom she was named after. The first Audrina was the "best" Audrina according to her father, and forces the 2nd Audrina to rock in the 1st Audrina's rocking chair to gain her "gifts". Weird right? Well, along with messed up romances, a legless woman, and a metnally handicapped little sister, Audrina's life doesn't get much easier anytime soon.
This novel was sooo entertaining. The weirdness gave it it's fun value. I'm thinking "oh my, this book ca't get any more strange"....but then it does. I did predict the ending, and I've read MANY other reviews which led me to believe that most people do predict the ending as well...but it is still an exciting page-turner of a book. The character of Vera alone is worth it...she is an excellent antagonist!
The following may or may not contain spoilers:
Audrina is a young girl who lives in a big, dark mansion in the middle of the woods with her handsome yet overbearing father Damian, her beautiful but submissive pianist mother Lucietta, her cranky aunt Ellsbeth, and her biatch cosuin: the evil and loveable/hateable Vera. Audrina has a terrible memory and never knows what day it is or how much time has passed. But she does know that she has a dead older sister named Audrina, whom she was named after. The first Audrina was the "best" Audrina according to her father, and forces the 2nd Audrina to rock in the 1st Audrina's rocking chair to gain her "gifts". Weird right? Well, along with messed up romances, a legless woman, and a metnally handicapped little sister, Audrina's life doesn't get much easier anytime soon.
This novel was sooo entertaining. The weirdness gave it it's fun value. I'm thinking "oh my, this book ca't get any more strange"....but then it does. I did predict the ending, and I've read MANY other reviews which led me to believe that most people do predict the ending as well...but it is still an exciting page-turner of a book. The character of Vera alone is worth it...she is an excellent antagonist!
December 11, 2012
There is much shame in giving this 5 stars - but please know that it's b/c I have fond nostalgia for the time in my life when I read this, not for the quality of writing or depth of story telling. Read during my early teen years, I was shocked, addicted, horrified, and utterly sucked in by this story. We were on vacation one summer & my mom was reading this book (amongst several others at the time). Apparently my dad picked it up from the table in our condo & began reading before she could finish. They were both so drawn -neither one wanting to relenquish the book til the other finished it - that they decided to rip the paperback in half so they could BOTH read. (I can remember sitting in the backseat at they joked about it & my mom taunting my dad with cryptic comments about the ending after she'd finished the book.) As a very rule-abiding pre-teen, I was SHOCKED. Not like it was a library book they tore up - but still, I was SHOCKED. And of course, DYING to read it.
So there you go. 5 stars due to the train-wreck nature of a story plus nostalgia over a book that had our whole family racing to see what happened in my favorite of all the guilty-pleasure VC Andrews reads.
So there you go. 5 stars due to the train-wreck nature of a story plus nostalgia over a book that had our whole family racing to see what happened in my favorite of all the guilty-pleasure VC Andrews reads.
January 31, 2011
Oh my god. Have you ever read anything by VC Andrews? If you haven't you need to start. These books are like romance novels for teenagers, but filthier. I mean, having never read a real romance novel, I guess I wouldn't know, but do they have a lot of incest and puberty talk? I am pretty sure they don't. I read this forever ago, after reading the Flowers In the Attic series and I just remember thinking like, "This is the most intense book I have ever read. Or probably will ever read." And I think that may hold true.
THIS is a review of it that I just saw last week on Jezebel and I like, started to blush I think when it recounted some of the sex scenes. I did not remember even half of that stuff! Oh my god! I was such a perv. The review has some spoilers (meaning: all of the spoilers), but I don't think that would stop you from reading this masterpiece.
THIS is a review of it that I just saw last week on Jezebel and I like, started to blush I think when it recounted some of the sex scenes. I did not remember even half of that stuff! Oh my god! I was such a perv. The review has some spoilers (meaning: all of the spoilers), but I don't think that would stop you from reading this masterpiece.
December 8, 2017
The only reason why I suffered through this book in its entirety is so I can hear Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff rip it to shreds in an upcoming episode of their podcast, My Favorite Murder. Stay sexy, and don't get murdered, y'all.
June 11, 2019
“What is normal? Normal is only ordinary; mediocre. Life belongs to the rare, exceptional individual who dares to be different.”
― V.C. Andrews, My Sweet Audrina
Back in the day, I read alot of V.C. Andrews work, (when it was actually her writing). I liked My sweet Audrina. I figured everything out pretty quickly but I did enjoy the story. It was a truly creepy read.
SPOILERS:
Vera was one of the most evil characters I have ever read about. I waited for years for a part two for this and when it came, it was so dreadful, I like to block it from my consciousness. I would not suggest anyone who loves, likes or even moderately enjoyed this book, read the second. Please..don't do it.
But as fore t he original? Well I found the whole Gothic mansion with its secrets and deceptions and all those clocks showing different times..to be pretty creepy. I also really rooted for Audrina. Arden was a wuss but you do not want to read what he becomes in part two.
Anyway..this is not five star read or anything but I've reread since then and it is a pretty good book.
― V.C. Andrews, My Sweet Audrina
Back in the day, I read alot of V.C. Andrews work, (when it was actually her writing). I liked My sweet Audrina. I figured everything out pretty quickly but I did enjoy the story. It was a truly creepy read.
SPOILERS:
Vera was one of the most evil characters I have ever read about. I waited for years for a part two for this and when it came, it was so dreadful, I like to block it from my consciousness. I would not suggest anyone who loves, likes or even moderately enjoyed this book, read the second. Please..don't do it.
But as fore t he original? Well I found the whole Gothic mansion with its secrets and deceptions and all those clocks showing different times..to be pretty creepy. I also really rooted for Audrina. Arden was a wuss but you do not want to read what he becomes in part two.
Anyway..this is not five star read or anything but I've reread since then and it is a pretty good book.
February 2, 2016
Re-reading novels of childhood is a mixed bag. It's wondrous to revisit old books, similar to finding long-lost friends again, rekindling love once felt...but there's always the small chance you've changed enough not to feel the emotion you did before. Sadly that happened to me in this case, which in a small way makes me regret reading it, although if I got to rewind time I'd do the same thing.
I found myself drooling over the second half with as much relish as I likely did when I was a kid, but the first section? An absolute chore. The writing style is overly dramatic, as it usual with gothic and Andrews, but it can become cloying quickly. Not much happens the first half of the book, other than the main character Audrina walking around aimlessly confused, not able to make sense of anything.
This repetitive action does cause the direness of the situation to ram itself further in the readers head, but it's hard to keep patience. After awhile I was saying, I get it already, move on! I didn't need nine chapters showing the same confusion and little change. I began to get depressed, shuddering to think I'd end up giving the book I once loved a negative review if it continued the same trail. Thankfully it did start changing a bit, and the end was good enough to redeem itself a star.
Flaws aside, Andrews always was a whiz with characters. When flaws were present in her paper-people, they were usually notched up to such a dramatic degree they became shocking. My Sweet Audrina is the same, with each character deceptive in their own way. The father in Audrina's life, Damian, is one of the more intriguing of the bunch. He sort of reminds me of 'The Women of Eden.' He wishes to control and never be left, but takes a cruel, sadistic pleasure once the woman is too vulnerable to leave his side. The women he attracts - from Audrina's mother, aunt, sisters, etc., blossom mainly under him only.
You see their personalities only in how they react to how he treats them. With Audrina's mother, you hear her regret of not pursuing a career in music and how she relates to the father, with the aunt you hear about her relationship with the father, and it's the same with everyone else. It makes me wonder why V.C. Andrews did that in a way. Seeing a woman as herself with personal problems not involving one man would have been refreshing too, but she could have done this to show the extreme degree the women were dependent on Damian. Either way, it ended up being one of the more fascinating areas of the book. The last few pages were chilling, and without giving anything away I'll just say I'm happy with the ultimate decision. Strangely I shouldn't be happy, I should be the opposite. It's strange that somehow, to a degree, Andrew's words had the power to put me under the same spell Damian wove over the other women.
It's a given the book wouldn't be as exciting since I remember the end, but I ignored that fact. I'm not sure how many first-time readers will guess the big finale, but I imagine the book will turn out a lot better for those who remain clueless. It's a whopper if you don't know what's coming, sort of comparing the viewers who watched The Sixth Sense. I debated on Audrina's reaction with Arden. Was she too harsh, or not harsh enough?
As a summary, if My Sweet Audrina had been more tightly edited, it would have proven a better experience. Too much psychological whining and not enough action grew boring, and the writing style at times was too dramatic. On the other hand the characters - especially Vera and Damien - were engrossing enough to where you could never stop reading. The family, house, and style of writing were so odd and haunting that it's power can't be forgotten. The ending gave me a strange chill, as most of her books do. Despite the dramatic flair and occasional flaws, it's no wonder V.C. Andrews became such a legend in the first place and blissfully remains one to this day.
I found myself drooling over the second half with as much relish as I likely did when I was a kid, but the first section? An absolute chore. The writing style is overly dramatic, as it usual with gothic and Andrews, but it can become cloying quickly. Not much happens the first half of the book, other than the main character Audrina walking around aimlessly confused, not able to make sense of anything.
This repetitive action does cause the direness of the situation to ram itself further in the readers head, but it's hard to keep patience. After awhile I was saying, I get it already, move on! I didn't need nine chapters showing the same confusion and little change. I began to get depressed, shuddering to think I'd end up giving the book I once loved a negative review if it continued the same trail. Thankfully it did start changing a bit, and the end was good enough to redeem itself a star.
Flaws aside, Andrews always was a whiz with characters. When flaws were present in her paper-people, they were usually notched up to such a dramatic degree they became shocking. My Sweet Audrina is the same, with each character deceptive in their own way. The father in Audrina's life, Damian, is one of the more intriguing of the bunch. He sort of reminds me of 'The Women of Eden.' He wishes to control and never be left, but takes a cruel, sadistic pleasure once the woman is too vulnerable to leave his side. The women he attracts - from Audrina's mother, aunt, sisters, etc., blossom mainly under him only.
You see their personalities only in how they react to how he treats them. With Audrina's mother, you hear her regret of not pursuing a career in music and how she relates to the father, with the aunt you hear about her relationship with the father, and it's the same with everyone else. It makes me wonder why V.C. Andrews did that in a way. Seeing a woman as herself with personal problems not involving one man would have been refreshing too, but she could have done this to show the extreme degree the women were dependent on Damian. Either way, it ended up being one of the more fascinating areas of the book. The last few pages were chilling, and without giving anything away I'll just say I'm happy with the ultimate decision. Strangely I shouldn't be happy, I should be the opposite. It's strange that somehow, to a degree, Andrew's words had the power to put me under the same spell Damian wove over the other women.
It's a given the book wouldn't be as exciting since I remember the end, but I ignored that fact. I'm not sure how many first-time readers will guess the big finale, but I imagine the book will turn out a lot better for those who remain clueless. It's a whopper if you don't know what's coming, sort of comparing the viewers who watched The Sixth Sense. I debated on Audrina's reaction with Arden. Was she too harsh, or not harsh enough?
As a summary, if My Sweet Audrina had been more tightly edited, it would have proven a better experience. Too much psychological whining and not enough action grew boring, and the writing style at times was too dramatic. On the other hand the characters - especially Vera and Damien - were engrossing enough to where you could never stop reading. The family, house, and style of writing were so odd and haunting that it's power can't be forgotten. The ending gave me a strange chill, as most of her books do. Despite the dramatic flair and occasional flaws, it's no wonder V.C. Andrews became such a legend in the first place and blissfully remains one to this day.
July 26, 2021
This is the worst thing I've ever read. I listened to the audio book and god bless the poor woman saddled with this nonsense. I listed at 1.6 speed and it was still like 30 hours long. Why was this so long? Why was everyone so terrible? Who read this? Who let this person write more books?
I'm so tired and cold now...
I'm so tired and cold now...
November 24, 2024
Well, this book was fucked up. I can’t wait to talk about it in book club. 😶
October 4, 2025
Now, if I were able to calm my anger down, I would say something smart like this:
That’s the calm, academic version of me.
Unfortunately, she’s dead now.
Because what in the cursed, gothic fever dream, rocking-chair-from-hell did I just read?
Audrina wakes up every morning trapped in a Groundhog Day of misery, trauma, and Papa-induced amnesia, like “Oops! Did I dream my identity again?”
And then — VERA.
My god. Vera.
The human embodiment of a mosquito bite you can’t reach.
Every page she’s in feels like someone turned up the tension by setting the curtains on fire. She is envy made human—sharp-tongued, vicious, and so consumed by jealousy she can’t see anything beyond it. The way she needles Audrina, undermines her, poisons her every happy thought—it’s infuriating, and yet, somehow, brilliantly done. This girl managed to sabotage everyone, commit crimes of emotional terrorism, and still strut around the house like she owned it.
I hate her. I loathe her. I want to drag her ghost back up those stairs just to shove her down again for dramatic effect. But in a book this twisted, her role makes horrifying sense. She’s the mirror Audrina needs, even if it cuts her to pieces.
By the end, when Vera’s finally gone, there’s this awful quiet...and you realise her chaos was the pulse of the story all along. She was the noise that made the silence unbearable.
And Audrina… poor, sweet, endlessly gaslit Audrina. The way this girl tried to piece together her mind like it was a 1,000-piece puzzle of trauma is both heartbreaking and weirdly hypnotic. By the end, I wanted her to burn Whitefern down, salt the ashes, and start a new life as a successfull broker, making big bucks and showing all these assholes how they did not even were worthy enough to be the dirt under her nails....
And still, Arden’s breathing, Damian’s manipulating, and Audrina’s forgiving.
Four stars because I’m unwell.
Four stars because Vera is the worst and the best thing that ever happened to this story.
Four stars because gothic trauma has never been so absurdly addictive.
This book is like living in a fever dream built out of grief, guilt, and gaslighting—and somehow, I couldn’t look away.
Audrina is a girl raised in a web of manipulation, secrets, and trauma so thick she can barely tell what’s real. Her father, Damian, rewires her mind to erase the memory of her childhood, creating a false identity meant to protect her but instead trapping her in psychological limbo. The house at Whitefern becomes both her sanctuary and her prison, where memory, grief, and control blend into one endless loop of confusion.
Within this oppressive cycle, Vera emerges as a destructive but essential force. Her bitterness and hostility are fuelled by rejection and her desperate hunger for Damian’s approval. She holds key knowledge about the family’s secrets—truths that fracture Audrina’s already fragile sense of reality. Despite her cruelty, Vera’s chaos becomes the push that forces Audrina to confront her fears, uncover the truth, and reclaim her identity. In that way, Vera becomes both a weapon of harm and a reluctant catalyst for resilience. Through their toxic entanglement, Audrina learns that clarity often comes from pain—and freedom from finally facing it.
That’s the calm, academic version of me.
Unfortunately, she’s dead now.
Because what in the cursed, gothic fever dream, rocking-chair-from-hell did I just read?
Audrina wakes up every morning trapped in a Groundhog Day of misery, trauma, and Papa-induced amnesia, like “Oops! Did I dream my identity again?”
And then — VERA.
My god. Vera.
The human embodiment of a mosquito bite you can’t reach.
Every page she’s in feels like someone turned up the tension by setting the curtains on fire. She is envy made human—sharp-tongued, vicious, and so consumed by jealousy she can’t see anything beyond it. The way she needles Audrina, undermines her, poisons her every happy thought—it’s infuriating, and yet, somehow, brilliantly done. This girl managed to sabotage everyone, commit crimes of emotional terrorism, and still strut around the house like she owned it.
I hate her. I loathe her. I want to drag her ghost back up those stairs just to shove her down again for dramatic effect. But in a book this twisted, her role makes horrifying sense. She’s the mirror Audrina needs, even if it cuts her to pieces.
By the end, when Vera’s finally gone, there’s this awful quiet...and you realise her chaos was the pulse of the story all along. She was the noise that made the silence unbearable.
And Audrina… poor, sweet, endlessly gaslit Audrina. The way this girl tried to piece together her mind like it was a 1,000-piece puzzle of trauma is both heartbreaking and weirdly hypnotic. By the end, I wanted her to burn Whitefern down, salt the ashes, and start a new life as a successfull broker, making big bucks and showing all these assholes how they did not even were worthy enough to be the dirt under her nails....
And still, Arden’s breathing, Damian’s manipulating, and Audrina’s forgiving.
Four stars because I’m unwell.
Four stars because Vera is the worst and the best thing that ever happened to this story.
Four stars because gothic trauma has never been so absurdly addictive.
This book is like living in a fever dream built out of grief, guilt, and gaslighting—and somehow, I couldn’t look away.
July 29, 2016
This is an absolute mess. I wish I could say that with any ounce of surprise, but I knew exactly what I was getting myself into.
I have this weird sort of respect for V.C. Andrews. Not many authors could unabashedly churn out such unadulterated trash and get away with it, much less build it into a 35+ year empire. She knows how to weave a twisted enough story and knows exactly what she's doing with every disturbing, nasty plot development that has you shouting "what the fuck" into your fifth glass of wine at 3am (not that that's ever happened to me). For this I applaud her.
My Sweet Audrina follows the life of seven-year-old Audrina Adare, who wants nothing more to be as great and as perfect as her older sister, The First Audrina, who died before she was born. To drive this point home, every night her father forces her to rock in The First Audrina's old rocking chair so she can hopefully begin to take on the likeness of her older sister that was apparently better than her in every way, and while in said chair, Audrina has visions of the horrific death her sister faced in the woods outside their house. If that's not weird enough, Audrina also has trouble with her memory and loses track of the days, months, and even how old she is, so she never really knows what the hell is going on.
In typical VCA fashion, that's just the tip of the iceberg of the shit show that unfolds throughout this book's duration. The melodrama is constantly cranked to eleven, with my favorite scene being two characters having the wildest sex of their lives in an undug grave in the middle of a lightning storm for no good reason at all. However, this story doesn't have the fun trashiness that Flowers in the Attic did. Audrina is an awful protagonist that just bumbles from one soap operatic event to the other. It's easy to understand as the story goes on why she's as listless and traumatized as she is, but that doesn't mean it's fun reading to be inside her head for 400+ pages. This whole novel hinges on learning the Big Secret that everyone but Audrina knows, but by the time that big reveal happened I was so tired of it all I didn't care. And I love a good man-bash as much as the next person, and this entire novel sets out to prove how awful anyone with a Y chromosome is, but that theme sort of just dissolved as the novel went on. It was great seeing Audrina grow up through the years and actually learn to stick up for herself, but at the end it undid all the character development that came before it.
Don't get me wrong, though, you're not going to read this searching for great character development or feminist themes. This is nothing but a soap opera set in a big, creepy house; Flowers in the Attic just used those parameters a lot better.
I have this weird sort of respect for V.C. Andrews. Not many authors could unabashedly churn out such unadulterated trash and get away with it, much less build it into a 35+ year empire. She knows how to weave a twisted enough story and knows exactly what she's doing with every disturbing, nasty plot development that has you shouting "what the fuck" into your fifth glass of wine at 3am (not that that's ever happened to me). For this I applaud her.
My Sweet Audrina follows the life of seven-year-old Audrina Adare, who wants nothing more to be as great and as perfect as her older sister, The First Audrina, who died before she was born. To drive this point home, every night her father forces her to rock in The First Audrina's old rocking chair so she can hopefully begin to take on the likeness of her older sister that was apparently better than her in every way, and while in said chair, Audrina has visions of the horrific death her sister faced in the woods outside their house. If that's not weird enough, Audrina also has trouble with her memory and loses track of the days, months, and even how old she is, so she never really knows what the hell is going on.
In typical VCA fashion, that's just the tip of the iceberg of the shit show that unfolds throughout this book's duration. The melodrama is constantly cranked to eleven, with my favorite scene being two characters having the wildest sex of their lives in an undug grave in the middle of a lightning storm for no good reason at all. However, this story doesn't have the fun trashiness that Flowers in the Attic did. Audrina is an awful protagonist that just bumbles from one soap operatic event to the other. It's easy to understand as the story goes on why she's as listless and traumatized as she is, but that doesn't mean it's fun reading to be inside her head for 400+ pages. This whole novel hinges on learning the Big Secret that everyone but Audrina knows, but by the time that big reveal happened I was so tired of it all I didn't care. And I love a good man-bash as much as the next person, and this entire novel sets out to prove how awful anyone with a Y chromosome is, but that theme sort of just dissolved as the novel went on. It was great seeing Audrina grow up through the years and actually learn to stick up for herself, but at the end it undid all the character development that came before it.
Don't get me wrong, though, you're not going to read this searching for great character development or feminist themes. This is nothing but a soap opera set in a big, creepy house; Flowers in the Attic just used those parameters a lot better.
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