Category: book Nook
I was just wondering if anyone out there has read any of the V.C Andrews books they are pretty good, alot of them are about family experiences but some of them are horror. She is one of my favorite authors.
I read the whole series that began with "flowers in the Attic". The books were quite spellbinding, but I really thought "Flowers in the Attic" was the best of the lot, and I found myself wishing she had just written that one and left it there. I mean, Catherine and Chris were such strong and likeable characters in the first novel, and then, in the rest of the series, they were disappointingly weak, like leaves in the wind.
I haven't read any of her other books yet.
I've read most of them, most of the series. The Dabeers series was my favorite. I also like eye of the storm and music in the night.
the landry series was one of my favorites too.
I have just read the the book broken flower that is the newest book she has out I think and there is a second one too but forgot what it is called they are very good.
I read the entire series starting with Flowers in the Attic as well as a few other of her series. I can't remember the names of the rest though. I got tired of the themes of incest and child abuse that ran through all the books I read.
She is actually dead now, and her books are being written by someone else. I heard that at the time she had died, there were several books partially written, so all the ghost writer had to do was finish them. But I think now they are being written from beginning to end by a ghost writer.
i've read flowers in the attic and the rest of the series is on my long list of books to read. it was a good book and i'm hoping that the rest will be good also.
I do like her series, but yes insest gets a bit old after a little while. The ones i've read all in are.
Flowers in the addic don't ask me to spell that last name.
Landry series. (loved it)
Cutler series (great accept the one part with nile and the window really gives me night mares still)
falling stars which is a new series by the ghost writers. I really do like the art theme. It does have a bit more variation. She really does like the family secrets and the hidden pasts, but hey I guess hevery writer has to have a main theme.
oo, shooting stars, the falling stars series, was good.
I haven't read the broken flower series yet, what's the series name?
also, after the gimin i series with celest, there are some new ones. what are those titles so I can go find them?
Agreed with Becky. The child abuse and incest thing got rather old. I read the entire series with Flowers in the Attic, which was the best one, and I've also read the series Candi mentioned, about Cutler's Cove and such. I've definitely read better, but they're decent books when I don't want to have to really focus.
I think the broken flowers is the early spring series and there are two books to that series.
yes I do agree too the insest thing is getting old so I changed pase for a while and started another book.
I started reading VCA when I was 15, (I'm 34 now) and got around to rereading them a few years ago. I was honestly surprised that I still liked them, but I'm really only a fan of the Flowers/Foxworth series. She only wrote that one, Audrina, and the first two Heaven books. The rest are all ghost-written, and garbage, as far as I'm concerned. They are not like VCA's original books, and the characters are shallow and unmemorable. The incest is creepy because there's absolutely no reason for it in the ghost-written stories--it's just there for the sake of tossing it in, unlike in Flowers.
I think it's unforgivable this has been permitted to continue for 20-plus years! VCA's own work has been buried under all this other junk that now bears her name, and seems to be aimed at 12 year olds, when, clearly, her original books are not, even though they start off being about children.
Okay, little rant over, for now. *smile*
I've written some fan fiction based on Garden of Shadows, and I'm working on more... just because it's fun, and the characters are haunting and fascinating, to me. (can be found on FanFiction.net)
After the claustrophobic atmospere of Flowers, I loved all the changes in setting we got in Petals, though I find I dislike Cathy, with each reread. Still, she's not boring! I enjoyed the descriptions of the ballet, too.
I didn't realize that so many of the books ahd been ghost written. But you're right about the ones actually written by V.C. Andrews being the best.
well I haven't read all her books, but i like the ones i have read. I read one in the star series, or 2, can't remember, all the flowers in the attic, and my sweet audrina, and one of the landry series, and i think 3 of the cutler series. I like her books, because they are as close as i can get to gothics, which I'm crazy about.
wonderwoman
Hey, WonderWoman. I'm another fan of gothics. Which authors do you like best? I need to compile a list, and suggestions would be much appreciated! *smile* Once I get a few authors names, I suppose I'll be doing some power scanning.
I'm posting this here, hoping other visitors to this thread may also have ideas, since I assume if you all read V.C., it means you probably enjoy other gothic novels.
So, what's the key ingredient that makes a good gothic, for you? For me, a key element is the house. I love it when the house in a book is almost a character, itself.
Marcia Davenport's "My Brother's Keeper" was excellent, in this regard. It's one of my favorite all-time books, along with Philippa Gregory's "Wideacre." Wideacre in fact is the first of a trilogy, but IMO is best taken as a stand-alone novel. The second in the trilogy wasn't very good, and the third was.
Speaking of particular authors, has anyone read anything by Elsie Lee? I'm not sure whether she's more on the romance side of things... I don't much care for romance fluff.
More later, when i can sort out my thoughts.
Hi christina,
well my favorite gothic novelists include, phyllis a whitney, Victoria Holt, also writing under the name Phillipa Car, Barbara Michaels, and Dorothy Eden, though it's been ages and ages since I'veseen anything by her, and I never see anyu of her boioks being reissued by nls, so not sure if you'll be able to find books by her or not. I guess what makes a book for me, especially a gothic story is a feeling of something unknown, but terrible and sinister, a feeling of something being horribly wrong, but you don't know what, and the chills tingle up and down your spine. If I hafve to see romance in a book, and there is usually always some romance in every type of story, whether it's mystery or even science fiction or fantasy. I like the sort of romance where the people grow closer through shared good times and bad, discovering how much they have in common, as opposed to shallow romances. I use to read harlequin romances, but got tired of them, because they were all the same, it was like reading the same book all over again, with different towns and characters. I hate stuff like, as their hands touched,she immediately felt the spark of electricity yuck! what garbage, almost makes me sick. good look with your book collection.
wonderwoman
,
i have read flowers in the attic and still have the others in the series to read no didn't like cathy much and the grand mother was scary and the climax was a shock to the system i really didn't guess that would happen.
I've read the Flowers in the Attic series, as well as what I believe is called the Web of Dreams series. It's the one that starts with Leigh, then leads to Heaven, then Annie. I knew many of the books were done by ghost writers now. However, I never really thought much of the ones VCA did write. I read them with kind of this morbid fascination, not liking the horrible things I was reading, but unable to put it down, either. After those two series, I saw the incest and child abuse themes running through every single book, and decided I'd had enough.
the, Hudson series was interesting I think. I really like the last book in it,
"end of the rainbow"
Yeah, insest is old, but I do still like them, it's weird.
and Petals on the Wind was my favorite Flowers book.
Yeah, I read dawn, twilight something, and Flowers in the attic. Didn't really appeal to me, but they are all right. Rofl! My friend forced me to read them. I might give more of them a try since it was a couple of years ago, and I was rather young, so they scared the shit out of me then.
Hi All,
For those VC Andrews fans, check out:
http://www.completevca.com/index.shtml
As I mentioned before I'm a VC fan. I've read all but like 5 or so of the series listed here. The site is accessible, and gives some good information about the serieses, individual books and VC herself.
Very good site. It's cool!