Reading Guide: VC Andrews Ruby Series Books in Order
If you’re not familiar with VC Andrews, she is an American author who is best known for writing the novel Flowers in the Attic. And while Flowers in the Attic is her most notable work, she’s also published other novels that are part of multiple different series, including The Landry Family. In today’s blog post we’ll be going over vc andrew ruby series books in order.
This series is not for the faint of heart. It features dark themes and dark family secrets, as most v.c. andrews novels do. If you’re looking for a story about happy people with a happy life, this is not the series for you. But if you stories with family drama and dark secrets, this gothic horror series might be just what you’re looking for.
Today we’ll be discussing the vc andrews ruby series books in order, so make sure you keep reading for full book summaries as well as a list of the books in order.
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VC Andrews Ruby Series Books in Order
What is the plot of Ruby by VC Andrews?
Ruby is the first book in The Landry Family series and was published in 1994. In this first novel we are introduced to Ruby, who is a teenage girl living in the bayou with her grandparents. Ruby’s story is one of true love and deception. A full book description will be shared below.
An innocent bayou girl uncovers a world of trouble in this suspenseful series debut by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Flowers in the Attic.
With her mother gone and her father a mystery, Ruby Landry was raised by her loving guardian Grandmere Catherine, a Cajun spiritual healer. Her life is filled with hope and promise, especially as she finds love with handsome, young Paul Tate. But Paul’s wealthy parents forbid him to associate with a poor Landry, and Grandmere urges Ruby to focus on her dream of becoming a great painter.
A shocking deception comes to light when Ruby sees her father for the first time in a faded photograph. Suddenly on her own, she ventures to New Orleans to seek an explanation. But she soon finds herself caught in her father’s world of lies, torment . . . and madness. (from Amazon.com)
Pearl in the Mist
Next came Pearl in the Mist, which was also published in 1994. This second novel in the series follows Ruby as she starts a new and normal life with her father and his family. But she soon runs into issues with her stepmother, and the twin sister she never knew. A full book description will be shared below.
Fate has whisked Ruby away from a simple life in the Louisiana Bayou but her new riches bring more treachery than happiness in this unputdownable and darkly evocative novel.
Even a year removed from living in the bayou, Ruby still wonders at the splendor of her family’s New Orleans mansion. She rejoices in the love of the father she had never known, even as true happiness remains as elusive as swamp mist. Her stepmother sneers at her backwater upbringing, and while discovering she has a twin sister should be a cause for joy, Gisselle has greeted Ruby with nothing but a bitter heart.
When Ruby’s father chooses an idyllic boarding school for his daughters’ senior years, a fresh start with Gisselle seems possible. But Ruby’s kind isn’t welcome at Greenwood, and the legendarily strict headmistress plots with her stepmother to make life miserable. Worse, with her twin on a mission to break every school rule, Ruby is left to suffer the humiliating punishments. So when a terrible tragedy leaves Ruby alone in a world that never really wanted her, only her Cajun strength can give her daring escape plan any hope of success. The weather on the bayou was nothing compared to the storm about to tear through her family. (from Amazon.com)
All That Glitters
In 1995, VC Andrews published All that Glitters. It follows Ruby as she moves back to the bayou after things don’t work how how she had hoped. But she has her true love and the rest of her life to look forward to. Although maybe love can’t conquer all. Keep reading for a full book description.
Driven from the ornate Dumas Mansion back to her beloved bayou, Ruby struggles to begin her life anew in this atmospheric and thrilling novel.
Living again in a humble shack, Ruby is determined to make a secure and happy home for her precious daughter, Pearl. At her side once more is Paul Tate, her first love, now a man of dazzling wealth. Whisked away to his grand house, it seems Ruby can forget the shocking reason she and Paul must wed in secret and remain husband and wife in name alone.
But the grand walls of Cypress Woods cannot shut out the cold eyes of Paul’s mother. And when Ruby’s venomous twin sister, Gisselle, arrives to taunt her with news of Pearl’s secret father, the twisted lengths to which Ruby will go for love surprise even her. To save her family and her heart, she ally with her greatest enemy to do the unthinkable. (from Amazon.com)
Hidden Jewel
She also published the next book which is Hidden Jewel. While the first three books focused on Ruby, this fourth book is about Ruby’s daughter named Jewel. She dreams of a better future than her mother had, but after an unfortunate incident her life takes a drastic turn. Keep reading for a full book description.
The classic Landry series continues with this thrilling and spellbinding novel following Ruby Landry’s daughter as she tries to blossom even amidst the dark family secrets she worries will one day overwhelm her life.
Raised in a New Orleans mansion filled with kindness and laughter, Pearl dreams of becoming a doctor. With all the finest families wishing her well, her high school graduation party is almost as festive as Mardi Gras itself. But the sultry Louisiana heat only seems to intensify her family’s sinful legacy and when a cruel accident befalls one of Pearl’s twin brothers, her tormented mother flees back to her Cajun roots.
Pearl’s faith in her mother abides, but she cannot hold back tears when her other brother falls deathly ill, and her father retreats into his own bourbon-soaked world. As her dreams of success swirl away with the hurricane winds, Pearl journeys to the swamps in search of her mother and the shocking truths of her heritage. Luckily, she discovers a blessed refuge in the warm embrace of a gentle Cajun man. But, until the storm clouds clear, Pearl cannot savor the springtime sweetness that always, always seems beyond tomorrow. (from Amazon.com)
Tarnished Gold
The final book in the series is Tarnished Gold, which was published in 1996. This story is about Gabriel Landry, who is the mother of Ruby. This book is a bit of an origin story, if you will.
Growing up in Louisiana, Gabriel’s young life is a happy one, despite the growing rift between her mother and her conniving, whiskey-drinking Daddy. Her dreams for a bright future as an artist are cut short, however, when her innocence is shattered by the rich cannery owner Octavious Tate.
Pregnant and desperate to spare her mother the scandal, Gabriel agrees to a shocking plan that will allow Octavious’s wife Gladys to claim the baby as her own and will net Gabriel’s father a huge payoff. Hiding in a tiny abandoned playroom in the Tate mansion, Gabriel is miserable. Her only visitor is her mother, whose mission as a Cajun healer gives her an excuse to treat Gladys Tate’s supposed pregnancy. But nothing prepares Gabriel for the wrenching moment when her baby is taken away forever.
Returning home to the swamp, Gabriel drifts in a world of gloom, brightened only by chance glimpses of her son. But as her father’s reputation as a swamp guide grows, a hunting party brings handsome, gentle Creole millionaire Pierre Dumas to the bayou. Falling desperately in love, Gabriel will not heed the voice warning that her new joy may bring her more grief than she can bear. (from Amazon.com)
In Conclusion
I hope you found this book on VC Andrews Ruby Series Books in Order helpful for future reading. Sometimes you want to read the books in a series in order so that you don’t miss anything, but it’s hard to tell what the order should be. This post is a way to keep track of all the books in the Landry series so that I can read the books in order and not miss out on any plot points!
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