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4.56 AVERAGE
4.56 AVERAGE
I hated this book so damn much for much of the book and the characters I hated too. It was seriously difficult for me to not be angry at everyone and mostly I didn’t get the love. But damn it I then loved Jude and Cas by the end and loved the book. This is clever writing. So many emotions and even though I absolutely hated the book and the characters for a while, I still thought the writing and the story was brilliant. Insane experience for me.
Update 5 mins later: read some reviews of other people (I should stop doing that because I hate it) but now I’m like “was the hate for this book real and I should’ve given it like 2 stars. Maybe. I honestly don’t know but who cares, it was an experience and it definitely made me feel lots of things which a book should do.
Update 5 mins later: read some reviews of other people (I should stop doing that because I hate it) but now I’m like “was the hate for this book real and I should’ve given it like 2 stars. Maybe. I honestly don’t know but who cares, it was an experience and it definitely made me feel lots of things which a book should do.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Honey, Charles Dickens could never!
I was looking for recommendations on Reddit and someone suggested that I give Oleander by Scarlett Drake a try. I read Drake’s romance Hamartia at the beginning of the year, so when I saw this new title I was definitely excited. When I discovered that it was an M/M reimagining of Great Expectations I was a little discouraged (I fear that I’ve had enough of Great Expectations to last a lifetime) but persisted, and I am glad that I did. I found that this framework worked really well for this novel. In the story, Jude serves as our Pip, being raised by his sister, Beth, and her husband, “Uncle” Luke. It is through Luke’s landscaping business that Jude encounters Caspien (Estella) and his uncle, Gideon (Mrs. Havisham.) As his family’s circumstances are improved, Jude is drawn into Gideon and Caspien’s snare. And from there, we get all of the beautiful, emotional trauma this story has to offer.
The prologue was full of all that delicious angst I crave from this type of romance, so I quickly found myself filled with great expectations for Jude and the cold, but beautiful Caspien. When I first downloaded this title to my Kindle, I planned on only reading a few pages (for a vibe check) and then somehow lost myself in the story for two and a half hours. I had to force myself to stop so I could prolong the experience. The pacing in this book was everything. The length of the story allows the author to fully explore her protagonist while also allowing the reader to form a deeper attachment to the characters. I was swept away by the burning obsession Jude has for Caspien! I wanted to go on a date with Finn or Nathan! There were chest pains and tears at certain points in the story and none of that would have been possible without the connection I felt to these wonderfully vibrant characters and the world they inhabit.
I honestly haven’t enjoyed a reading experience like this one in a while. It didn’t necessarily fit the brief of what I was looking for in my Reddit post, but it absolutely blew me away. Drake navigates certain issues with a sensitivity and knowledge that is sorely lacking in a lot of M/M romance, which isn’t to say the characters aren’t problematic, because they absolutely are. Caspien and Gideon are despicable, and one particularly dark scene really made me dislike Jude for a moment, but there’s a textual awareness of this behavior. It has reasoning and consequences, never allowing the darkness of the novel to feel gratuitous. Everything about this story felt carefully crafted and deliberate. There are a few moments that felt maybe a little predictable and I would have liked to have seen more of Beth and Finn in the last quarter of the novel, but asking for more from this work would feel greedy. In Oleander, Drake extracts the essence of Dickens’ story and contemporizes it with a healthy dash of queerness to create something that is sexy, gut-wrenching, and perhaps most importantly, memorable. I seriously cannot wait to devour whatever this author has planned next! (4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.)
I was looking for recommendations on Reddit and someone suggested that I give Oleander by Scarlett Drake a try. I read Drake’s romance Hamartia at the beginning of the year, so when I saw this new title I was definitely excited. When I discovered that it was an M/M reimagining of Great Expectations I was a little discouraged (I fear that I’ve had enough of Great Expectations to last a lifetime) but persisted, and I am glad that I did. I found that this framework worked really well for this novel. In the story, Jude serves as our Pip, being raised by his sister, Beth, and her husband, “Uncle” Luke. It is through Luke’s landscaping business that Jude encounters Caspien (Estella) and his uncle, Gideon (Mrs. Havisham.) As his family’s circumstances are improved, Jude is drawn into Gideon and Caspien’s snare. And from there, we get all of the beautiful, emotional trauma this story has to offer.
The prologue was full of all that delicious angst I crave from this type of romance, so I quickly found myself filled with great expectations for Jude and the cold, but beautiful Caspien. When I first downloaded this title to my Kindle, I planned on only reading a few pages (for a vibe check) and then somehow lost myself in the story for two and a half hours. I had to force myself to stop so I could prolong the experience. The pacing in this book was everything. The length of the story allows the author to fully explore her protagonist while also allowing the reader to form a deeper attachment to the characters. I was swept away by the burning obsession Jude has for Caspien! I wanted to go on a date with Finn or Nathan! There were chest pains and tears at certain points in the story and none of that would have been possible without the connection I felt to these wonderfully vibrant characters and the world they inhabit.
I honestly haven’t enjoyed a reading experience like this one in a while. It didn’t necessarily fit the brief of what I was looking for in my Reddit post, but it absolutely blew me away. Drake navigates certain issues with a sensitivity and knowledge that is sorely lacking in a lot of M/M romance, which isn’t to say the characters aren’t problematic, because they absolutely are. Caspien and Gideon are despicable, and one particularly dark scene really made me dislike Jude for a moment, but there’s a textual awareness of this behavior. It has reasoning and consequences, never allowing the darkness of the novel to feel gratuitous. Everything about this story felt carefully crafted and deliberate. There are a few moments that felt maybe a little predictable and I would have liked to have seen more of Beth and Finn in the last quarter of the novel, but asking for more from this work would feel greedy. In Oleander, Drake extracts the essence of Dickens’ story and contemporizes it with a healthy dash of queerness to create something that is sexy, gut-wrenching, and perhaps most importantly, memorable. I seriously cannot wait to devour whatever this author has planned next! (4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.)
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
I enjoyed this but it was frustrating that Cas couldn't just be honest with Jude