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kinda_bookaholic 's review for:
Oleander: A Great Expectations Retelling
by Scarlett Drake
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
When was the last time you read a book that completely ensnared your soul? That you needed time to recover from? From the first word to the last, I was captivated, hopeful, heartbroken, angry, sad, joyous. I feel like I am in mourning now that it’s over.
Jude and Caspien (Cas) meet at 15 when Jude’s family moves onto the Deveraux Estate owned by Cas’s uncle Gideon (P.S., shout out to brother-in-law father figure, Luke!). Over the next decade, we follow Jude as he navigates his feelings for the mysterious and enigmatic Cas, his personal identity and his sexuality in the most beautiful story I have read in a long time.
This is not your typical romance novel. It is a coming-of-age story full of hurt, suffering, and passion. It’s family and friendship and love and betrayal. It is unconditional love that endures through the most awful of odds.
It is hard to read at some points, I will not lie: there is on- and off-page domestic and child abuse and grooming. The only other book I have read that comes close to the cacophony of feelings I had while reading this story was “A Little Life,” this one not being quite as slow paced.
I am spellbound.
Jude and Caspien (Cas) meet at 15 when Jude’s family moves onto the Deveraux Estate owned by Cas’s uncle Gideon (P.S., shout out to brother-in-law father figure, Luke!). Over the next decade, we follow Jude as he navigates his feelings for the mysterious and enigmatic Cas, his personal identity and his sexuality in the most beautiful story I have read in a long time.
This is not your typical romance novel. It is a coming-of-age story full of hurt, suffering, and passion. It’s family and friendship and love and betrayal. It is unconditional love that endures through the most awful of odds.
It is hard to read at some points, I will not lie: there is on- and off-page domestic and child abuse and grooming. The only other book I have read that comes close to the cacophony of feelings I had while reading this story was “A Little Life,” this one not being quite as slow paced.
I am spellbound.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual violence