V.C. Andrews's Landry Series Was Wild

V.C. Andrews needs little introduction. If you are familiar with Flowers in the Attic, you have some hint about the types of books she wrote. The only thing wilder than the books Andrews wrote were the books written by the ghostwriter who followed her.

These books are full of dark rooms, secret adoptions, fake marriages, twins, death, and so much more. The Landry series contains all of this and so much more.

First things first. You need to know the premise of this story. The Landry series begins with the book Ruby, in which the titular character lives with her grandmother, a Cajun healer. When her grandmother dies, Ruby finds out that the father she never met lives in New Orleans. And, oh yeah, she has an identical twin.

Ruby and Paul Tate Learn They're Related

Ah, young love. Unfortunately, Ruby and her boyfriend realize they have to split up because they're related. Before she embarks on a journey to find her father, Ruby learns that she and Paul Tate share a biological mother.

Ruby's Dad Is Filthy Rich

Ruby's life takes on a major change when she finds out that her mysterious father is a millionaire. Not only does he live in a mansion with his wife and daughter, but he can also afford to buy her everything she ever needs. For 12-year-old me, the shopping scene was a dream.

Ruby Puts a Curse on Her Sister

After Giselle, Ruby's twin, gets her into trouble, Ruby decides to put a curse on her. She literally visits a voodoo practitioner to put a curse on her sister, who is immediately paralyzed in a car accident.

Giselle Impersonates Ruby

Pearl in the Mist is the second book in the Landry series, and it follows the twins as they go to boarding school. In this book, Giselle realizes that she is able to walk but decides not to tell anybody. Instead, she pretends to be Ruby so she can sleep with the groundskeeper, otherwise known as Mr. Mud.

Giselle Is Kind of the Worst

Not only is Giselle a terrible sister, but she's also a terrible person. She reveals to the private school that Ruby's friend, Abby, has a black grandparent. The administration decides that Abby is no longer a good fit for the school, but it's not really addressed on any socially aware level.

Beau is Also the Worst

Beau decides he wants to date Ruby because Giselle is kind of an ass. When she expresses disinterest because he was dating her sister, Beau decides to strip down naked in her painting studio and intimidates her into painting him.

Oh yeah, he also decides to dip when he finds out Ruby is pregnant and blames his parents. And then he marries Giselle.

Ruby Marries Her Half-Brother

Ruby makes the terrible decision to marry her half-brother Paul after she returns home in All That Glitters. This allows her to save her reputation in her small town. Paul is creepy the whole time.

Giselle and Ruby Switch Husbands

Giselle gets encephalitis, so Ruby and Beau decide she should go back home with Paul. Paul tells everybody Giselle is Ruby, but she eventually dies. Ruby gets mad that Paul is trying to get medical care for Giselle, and then she attends her own funeral. Paul dies soon after Giselle.

Oh yeah, this also means that Ruby has to go to court and convince everybody she is herself so that she can have custody of her own daughter. There's also the fact that Beau wants to put Pearl, a toddler, on the stand to testify.

Hidden Jewel Was an Awful Book

The rest of the Landry series was kind of a wild ride. I mean, it was bad in a fun way at least. Hidden Jewel had nothing for me. Ruby and Beau now have young twins. One dies and the other becomes catatonic, so Ruby thinks it's because she cursed Giselle 20 years ago. There's also another appearance by the terrible Buster Trahaw, who assaults every woman he meets.

Gabrielle's Pregnancy

Tarnished Gold is a lot like Flowers in the Attic, except that the person locked in the attic is one pregnant teenager. Gabrielle spends half the book galavanting in the bayou and the other half locked in the Tate family's attic where she will eventually give birth to Paul. Gladys pretends that she is pregnant and even pretends to give birth to a fake baby in the next bed over.

Grandpere Jack Can’t Stop Selling Children

Grandpere Jack successfully sells two children in one book. He almost gets a third, but Grandmere Catherine is able to stop him. Pa Casteel would be proud.

One takeaway from this book? A few random French words here and there that I still remember.