My Sweet Audrina

While very predictable, this book still haunts me. It's very disturbing, but some of the characters are over the top and phony, like Vera and Billie. I still find myself thinking about this book every so often. There are a lot of errors that will bother you if you try to work out ages and such as well. I've finally given up on trying to figure out that aspect.

Interesting easy to read,holds my attention and I enjoy her books.

Very weird until the end. Took me a week to read.

LISSSSSSSP! Can't do it. Good book, bad narration. Too distracting.

It has a slow and annoying start however it was very good glad I held on for the ending!

This book was without doubt the most terrifying thing I read that year. Horror really ain't my thing, but damn she is just so subtle; I didn't know it was a horror story 'til I was done reading it and started having nightmares.

Every family has its secrets... I understand that but this family was full of manipulators. Jeesh!!! I was so confused, I didn't even know who to believe! This novel was pleasurable and disturbing at the same time. I couldn't put it down though. Lol. I'm actually ready to check out the sequel which doesn't come out until July, I think. My only gripe was that it took a lot of pages to get a point that could have been reached in half the pages. It really was not that big of a"wow" moment, it was a little predictable. But as I said it was entertaining.

I have not read V.C. Andrews since high school and Flowers in the Attic (didnt everyone read this one!) And since I have been in a small reading slump lately and what better than V.C Andrews to pull me out. These books had me engrossed from the very start. Between the eerie house with the locked doors and strange places, to the weird characters like Vera with her brittle bones and her Femme Fatale ways…this is V.C Andrews at its best. The way these characters interact are unique and bizarre. Their deviant behavior just amazed me from the very first word. The family is exactly what you expect from one of these books, weird, strange and downright creepy especially with their family secrets and lies! It is psychological drama that lures the reader in with the expectations for more darkness and creepiness. And did I mention the house…yes…I did…the house..I want to explore so badly!! I did find Whitefern a little less enchanting than My Sweet Audrina. I don’t know if I read them too close together or if my expectation was too much. But, I found that Audrina was a little more strange than in the first book, almost too whiney for my taste. I also caught a few errors and the story and the characters were a little flat and did not capture my attention like the first book. What a psycho, abnormal gothic horror series. The foreboding atmosphere create a strange, odd world to totally get lost in. I cannot wait to see what weirdness the next installment will take.I received these novels from Simon and Schuster as part of XOXperts

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. The writer, (Andrew Neiderman), did an excellent job of picking up the original author’s distinct cadence, in order to create an atmospheric tale of family secrets, lies, manipulations, and grotesqueries. 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!

Great book, many twists and craziness

In the early summer of 1983, right after graduating college I visited my best friend who had recently moved to Va Beach. It rained and rained and rained. I found a used book store and picked this up. Here is the review I found in my 1983 journal "400 pages of sheer idiocy. Sheer idiocy. After the 1st chapters I knew it was going to be idiotic, but kept hoping it would pick up. It didn't." Get the feeling I didn't like it very much? I remember reading it like it was yesterday. Lord, it was humid. MTV was more or less new so this book is mixed together in mind with videos for Idol's "White Wedding" and Madness's "Our House." And with Pina Coladas. Good memories, lousy book. I was hoping for something more in the creepier Capote or Oates line, but this was just icky want to take a shower to wash away the icky-ness creepy.

This is one of my favorite books. I think I read it about 10 times. (not all at once of course.)This book has a little of everything in it. Mystery, murder, love,.... I Highly recommend this book over and over.

I loved this book when I read it 15 years ago and I loved it this time around. I had only remembered the basics so much of it felt new to me. VC Andrews tells an amazing story. Her characters are complex and full of mystery.

Audrina is almost startling. She remains sweet and kind despite suffering many losses and frequent ill treatment. Vera made my skin crawl just as much as the first time around. Her behavior towards her father/uncle is just shocking. I also can't understand how she could run away and no one cared?

The only thing that really baffles me is what year was this meant to take place in?

My Sweet Audrina was one of V.C's best books in my opinion. Audrina is constantly in the shadow of her dead older sister who was also named Audrina. Her controlling parents will not let her out of the house and she feels trapped. One day Audrina's parents finally loosen the reins and what she finds out next will change her forever.

My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews is the mysterious story of a young girl named Audrina, who spends most of her time being a shut-in with her parents, aunt and cousin. Because of something that happened to her older sister (the First and Best Audrina), she (the Second and Inferior Audrina) cannot go to school or be around boys. Eventually Audrina starts to have somewhat of a normal life, with piano lessons, school, and a friendship with the neighbor boy, Arden, which turns into love. Yet she cannot shake her sister's death from the shadows, and realizes there is something about the First Audrina she must know.This is the only stand-alone novel penned by Andrews. While I didn't care for the romance between the Arden and Audrina, her cousin Vera is by far the best villain ever written in the Andrews books to date. This was a book actually written by Andrews (and not her Ghostwriter), so it has that authentic sense of Gothic horror and sick, twisted family relationships her fans have come to know and love. A guilty pleasure for sure, but sometimes we all need easy reading.

Interesting ending, but a bit too twisted even for me!

this book is amazing! a twist ending that you will never see coming.

Loved this when I was 12, I remember reading my library copy during study hall when I should have been doing my homework. For me, Its a childhood great read, but did not stand the test of time. It was however, my favorite V.C. Andrews book and I give it 4 stars to honor the 12 year old girl who grew up to be me.When ever I hear about people having a problem with their 11 year olds reading Harry Potter, I cringe wondering what they'd think of my former V.C. Andrews habit

V.C. Andrews gave us penny dreadfuls for a modern age--and that's a good thing. These books are a favorite guilty pleasure of mine. Spend an afternoon with one of these gems. It feels a bit like putting on all your costume jewelry and polishing off a box of chocolates while sipping on inexpensive champagne. A lovely gaudy holiday to be savored joyfully and often.

My Sweet Audrina, the first book by V.C. Andrews that I ever read. I was in 7th grade, twelve years old. My memory of the book had faded, but do remember liking it very much and it introduced me to the world of V.C. Andrews. I continued reading her books for a couple years, including the Dollanger, Casteel, and Cutler series’. The Cutler series being my favorite.I enjoy re-reading books from my youth and picked this one since it was the first and only one not part of a series. So… how did it hold up after all these years? Lets just say I won’t be re-reading Dawn anytime soon. My Sweet Audrina is about a young girl who cannot remember anything before her seventh birthday. She “loses time” frequently and is constantly reminded of her dead sister who was the “best” Audrina.Through the entire book you are trying to figure out why she has no memory and what secret everyone is keeping from Audrina. Unfortunately it was very easy to “figure out” and it seemed to drag on longer than needed. The book had horrid and mean characters, strange authority figures and much tragedy and death. All in all your typical V.C. Andrews book. It just wasn’t as mysterious and shocking as I remembered. Even if I had not read it when I was young I think I would have felt the same disappointment.So… as a teen I give it 3.75 stars as an adult I give it 2.25 stars.

This book is horrible!!! But I loved it when I was in Junior High. I'm ashamed that I still own it, but, what can I say? Sometimes there's nothing like trashy young-adult fiction to hit the spot!

Probably my favorite of all of Andrew's books, this is her only stand alone novel. While it was predictable in some aspects, I wanted to continue reading to find out just how the story would unfold no matter.

This book was terribly predictable. From the first time she sat in the chair, I knew who she was and what would happen. Like the reviewer before me, I tend to agree with the predicatability of Andrews along the line of the poor little rich girl and the sinister relatives. Watching grass grow is more interesting than this book.