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Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining
Caspien Deveraux was poison.
It took me years to realise that he hadn’t been born like that. He’d been cultivated and nurtured by a careful hand and a bitter heart.
When I first met him, he was a bud. One primed to bloom beautifully and deadly. One I should have torn out at the root.
I loathed him. I loved him. And until him, I hadn’t known just how completely those two things could exist at once.
It took me years to realise that he hadn’t been born like that. He’d been cultivated and nurtured by a careful hand and a bitter heart.
When I first met him, he was a bud. One primed to bloom beautifully and deadly. One I should have torn out at the root.
I loathed him. I loved him. And until him, I hadn’t known just how completely those two things could exist at once.
599 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 365 reviews
September 2, 2024
Actual rating 4.5 stars.
I hate Caspien. I want to protect 15-year-old Caspein with my life. I loathe Caspien. I want to hug 19-year-old Caspien so bad. I despise him. Or …
Okay, put a couple of self-destructive people in a book, and I’ll probably love the story. I know, I know, most of you love sweetness and a guaranteed HEA. I love that too but have a soft spot for those fucked-up, toxic, and incredibly tense books, preferably gorgeously written. So yeah, that’s what Oleander is. Just like the plant. Looking beautiful, but also so dangerous.
After reading the prologue, I already knew I’d love this book. All those slivers of the past shining through, all that tension, and then all the hatred that suddenly disappeared.
I rooted for Jude and sometimes wanted to yell at him to stop caring about Caspien and instead start living. But even though he tried, he couldn’t. His scars constantly reopened, and his love for Cas seeped out of those wounds. At these moments, I hated Cas even more. And still …
I kept wondering why Cas did what he did. And I had my suspicions early on. D*mn, Cas, d*mm. Anger exploded inside my body when I found out I was right. I knew early on in the story he was 15 years old when it all started. A kid!
That last email from Jude to Cas broke me, but I also kept hope—hope that they’d both be alright in the end—because that is what those two guys deserved.
This book is written from Jude’s POV, but the last chapter is from Cas’ and I adored it.
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I hate Caspien. I want to protect 15-year-old Caspein with my life. I loathe Caspien. I want to hug 19-year-old Caspien so bad. I despise him. Or …
Okay, put a couple of self-destructive people in a book, and I’ll probably love the story. I know, I know, most of you love sweetness and a guaranteed HEA. I love that too but have a soft spot for those fucked-up, toxic, and incredibly tense books, preferably gorgeously written. So yeah, that’s what Oleander is. Just like the plant. Looking beautiful, but also so dangerous.
After reading the prologue, I already knew I’d love this book. All those slivers of the past shining through, all that tension, and then all the hatred that suddenly disappeared.
I rooted for Jude and sometimes wanted to yell at him to stop caring about Caspien and instead start living. But even though he tried, he couldn’t. His scars constantly reopened, and his love for Cas seeped out of those wounds. At these moments, I hated Cas even more. And still …
I kept wondering why Cas did what he did. And I had my suspicions early on. D*mn, Cas, d*mm. Anger exploded inside my body when I found out I was right. I knew early on in the story he was 15 years old when it all started. A kid!
That last email from Jude to Cas broke me, but I also kept hope—hope that they’d both be alright in the end—because that is what those two guys deserved.
This book is written from Jude’s POV, but the last chapter is from Cas’ and I adored it.
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May 24, 2024
Oleander is an epic story that is hard to put into words. Jude and Caspian go on a long journey where hearts break, misunderstandings run amok and devastation surrounds both characters. I loved how emotional this story was, going on this ride with Jude and Caspian. Their story is beautiful, and heartbreaking, while showing how soul mates may have impossible timing but to never lose hope.
Jude and Caspian are total opposites in personality and overall demeanor. Jude is warm, loving, friendly, and sunshine-personified, while Caspian is prickly, curt, complicated and outwardly cold. Together they go on an intense journey from a pseudo-friendship to enemies to a beautifully rewarding second chance.
Another wonderful aspect of this story is its lyrical prose. I loved how throughout reading I felt like I was reading a classic story, which perfectly fits with this story being a Great Expectations retelling. Caspian speaks eloquently and bluntly, while Jude is much softer and approachable. I thought it was an excellent choice to have the story only through Jude's POV. Jude is a wonderful narrator and seeing this world through his eyes is perfect and keeps a shroud of mystery as to the many truths of the situation.
Caspian is a complicated character. Throughout this story alongside Jude, I was frustrated, angry, and devastated at his choices, but his reveal, without any games or hidden meanings, is so rewarding and amplifies the story.
Overall I loved this story. It was challenging to go through all the pain and suffering, but so worth it for their eventual HEA, which is hard-won and beautifully executed.
*** I reviewed a complimentary copy of this story.***
Jude and Caspian are total opposites in personality and overall demeanor. Jude is warm, loving, friendly, and sunshine-personified, while Caspian is prickly, curt, complicated and outwardly cold. Together they go on an intense journey from a pseudo-friendship to enemies to a beautifully rewarding second chance.
Another wonderful aspect of this story is its lyrical prose. I loved how throughout reading I felt like I was reading a classic story, which perfectly fits with this story being a Great Expectations retelling. Caspian speaks eloquently and bluntly, while Jude is much softer and approachable. I thought it was an excellent choice to have the story only through Jude's POV. Jude is a wonderful narrator and seeing this world through his eyes is perfect and keeps a shroud of mystery as to the many truths of the situation.
Caspian is a complicated character. Throughout this story alongside Jude, I was frustrated, angry, and devastated at his choices, but his reveal, without any games or hidden meanings, is so rewarding and amplifies the story.
Overall I loved this story. It was challenging to go through all the pain and suffering, but so worth it for their eventual HEA, which is hard-won and beautifully executed.
*** I reviewed a complimentary copy of this story.***
June 14, 2024
Infinite stars, I feel like I cried and bled reading this incredible, beautiful, complicated, mesmerising, ethereal, poetic, poisonous, complexed and enthralling book. I absolutely adore this. I will treasure it forever. After four days I see that I wasn't equipped for the void after finishing this book... I don't think I ever will be...
I was reading this always on the verge of crying, angry, and desperate… An agony I didn’t know could come from reading… Physically aching but completely fulfilled in the end.
“I’m yours, Cas,” I told him. “You’re mine, and I’m yours. Always. Tell me you know that, tell me.”
“I know, Jude,” he replied, soothingly. “I know.”
Don’t get fooled by the beautiful words, because this is 90% hurt and 10% suffering comfort! But I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world!
Absolutely adore Luke, we need more altruistic and perfect people like him. Even in the end I don’t know what to think or feel about Gideon… I don’t think I could ever forgive him…
And so now, Caspien and Jude belong to me, I hold them like the most precious things 🖤
ps: to Scarlett Drake my complete surrender!
I was reading this always on the verge of crying, angry, and desperate… An agony I didn’t know could come from reading… Physically aching but completely fulfilled in the end.
“I’m yours, Cas,” I told him. “You’re mine, and I’m yours. Always. Tell me you know that, tell me.”
“I know, Jude,” he replied, soothingly. “I know.”
Don’t get fooled by the beautiful words, because this is 90% hurt and 10% suffering comfort! But I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world!
Absolutely adore Luke, we need more altruistic and perfect people like him. Even in the end I don’t know what to think or feel about Gideon… I don’t think I could ever forgive him…
And so now, Caspien and Jude belong to me, I hold them like the most precious things 🖤
ps: to Scarlett Drake my complete surrender!
September 12, 2024
You know how there are some books that just cut so aggressively to the emotional core of a person that you find yourself breathless? This was one of those books for me.
I loved this book and I loved Jude and his grand capacity for love despite what he has experienced. The way this book described that first, really devastating, soul crushing heart break and the process of recovering from it and how you are never quite the same person after it, of how you kind lose yourself in the madness of being something you don’t recognize, was actually kind of cathartic and I didn’t realise I needed to read it.
Jude relationship with Luke was actually also surprisingly lovely and I think it became one of my favourite elements of the book.
For a vibes check, this was giving me very Cruel Intentions but set in England and like maybe a sprinkling of Saltburn. I kind of think of this book as being Dark Academia adjacent. Whilst it didn’t have a direct academia focus, the setting and feature of Oxford and the sprawling Deveraux mansion and grounds was very significant throughout and put me in that mindset.
This book was so messy and toxic and complicated and I can imagine this wouldn’t be for everyone. The story spans over a 13 year period following the complicated relationship that exists between Cas and Jude and this includes their relationships with other people, but to me it was kind of perfect. I really am a tragically easy sell for queer vicious blonde sad boys and Cas is really the poster child for this archetype.
I didn’t expect the ending to come together the way it did and for me to find it so satisfying. I saw someone else mention this and felt it’s the perfect endorsement of how much I loved it, that despite this being on KU I will be purchasing a copy to keep forever.
(As an aside I would be curious to know if anyone else who has read this picked up modern au Drarry vibes or if it was just me? Cause it never left me throughout. I know that this was a Great Expectations retelling but I would love to know if there was elements of that too)
I loved this book and I loved Jude and his grand capacity for love despite what he has experienced. The way this book described that first, really devastating, soul crushing heart break and the process of recovering from it and how you are never quite the same person after it, of how you kind lose yourself in the madness of being something you don’t recognize, was actually kind of cathartic and I didn’t realise I needed to read it.
Jude relationship with Luke was actually also surprisingly lovely and I think it became one of my favourite elements of the book.
For a vibes check, this was giving me very Cruel Intentions but set in England and like maybe a sprinkling of Saltburn. I kind of think of this book as being Dark Academia adjacent. Whilst it didn’t have a direct academia focus, the setting and feature of Oxford and the sprawling Deveraux mansion and grounds was very significant throughout and put me in that mindset.
This book was so messy and toxic and complicated and I can imagine this wouldn’t be for everyone. The story spans over a 13 year period following the complicated relationship that exists between Cas and Jude and this includes their relationships with other people, but to me it was kind of perfect. I really am a tragically easy sell for queer vicious blonde sad boys and Cas is really the poster child for this archetype.
I didn’t expect the ending to come together the way it did and for me to find it so satisfying. I saw someone else mention this and felt it’s the perfect endorsement of how much I loved it, that despite this being on KU I will be purchasing a copy to keep forever.
(As an aside I would be curious to know if anyone else who has read this picked up modern au Drarry vibes or if it was just me? Cause it never left me throughout. I know that this was a Great Expectations retelling but I would love to know if there was elements of that too)
July 27, 2024
I read this book on KU and then purchased it. That's really all I need to say, but I'll say a little more. This is the book I've been searching for since finishing Every Breath After: Part 1. An angsty coming of age story spanning a decade filled with painful encounters, failed attempts to move on and so much pining. It reminded me of some of my favorite series - Captive Prince, The Heart Rate of a Mouse, Lost Boys, Between the Teeth, Baron & Eddie. It was gut punch after gut punch and it called to the masochistic reader inside of me who can't help but want a love story that hurts. This was one of the best new releases I've read so far this year and one of the best books I've ever read overall.
There are things in this book that I know some MM romance readers won't like - cheating, an MF relationship, sex with other people. For me, context is everything and none of those things bothered me in this story. Jude and Cas were flawed characters. I wasn't supposed to believe they weren't. They were kids trying to act like adults and making a mess of it. They both made me want to scream numerous times. Cas made me feel like I had to constantly read between the lines. Jude made me want to pull him to the side and tell him to stop giving so much of himself away. They tested my patience and they broke my heart and they kept me up past my bedtime and I wouldn't change a thing. I loved this book and highly recommend it to all of my fellow masochistic MM romance readers. Yes, it's long, but I would have happily read another 200+ pages about these characters.
There are things in this book that I know some MM romance readers won't like - cheating, an MF relationship, sex with other people. For me, context is everything and none of those things bothered me in this story. Jude and Cas were flawed characters. I wasn't supposed to believe they weren't. They were kids trying to act like adults and making a mess of it. They both made me want to scream numerous times. Cas made me feel like I had to constantly read between the lines. Jude made me want to pull him to the side and tell him to stop giving so much of himself away. They tested my patience and they broke my heart and they kept me up past my bedtime and I wouldn't change a thing. I loved this book and highly recommend it to all of my fellow masochistic MM romance readers. Yes, it's long, but I would have happily read another 200+ pages about these characters.
June 9, 2024
~ ranting: 2,5 ☆
~ spice: 2 🌶
Suddenly, everyone was talking about this book and of course, I got excited and immediately started to read it. You know that feeling, when everyone loves the book, but you just don't? yeah, kinda sucks... i know.
!This review may contain spoilers, proceed at your own risk!
Well, this book is about a boy who becomes obsessed with another boy but turns out this boy couldn't care less about the other boy.
“I'd have thought my leaving the country would have been enough to stop your stupid infatuation with me, but clearly not.”
“I truly thought my leaving would help you figure out what it was you wanted, but evidently, you're still behaving like a child.”
Honestly Caspien and Jude had 0 chemistry, their relationship felt forced and pretty much toxic. I lost count of the times when Jude would just humiliate himself so he could feelloved by Caspien... We definitely can't choose who we love, but no one should feel the need to beg for love.
I barely felt any development in the characters, they pretty much stay the same throughout the book. I think it would be so much better if they didn't end up together; Jude needed someone like Nathan, who was willing to show him eventually how he could be properly loved and Caspien would eventually find someone worth his love, after overcoming his own demons.
I don't know how that ending makes me feel tbh... it was a pretty bad excuse just to put them together.
When love starts hurting, it's time to let it go.
~ spice: 2 🌶
Suddenly, everyone was talking about this book and of course, I got excited and immediately started to read it. You know that feeling, when everyone loves the book, but you just don't? yeah, kinda sucks... i know.
!This review may contain spoilers, proceed at your own risk!
Well, this book is about a boy who becomes obsessed with another boy but turns out this boy couldn't care less about the other boy.
“I'd have thought my leaving the country would have been enough to stop your stupid infatuation with me, but clearly not.”
“I truly thought my leaving would help you figure out what it was you wanted, but evidently, you're still behaving like a child.”
Honestly Caspien and Jude had 0 chemistry, their relationship felt forced and pretty much toxic. I lost count of the times when Jude would just humiliate himself so he could feel
I barely felt any development in the characters, they pretty much stay the same throughout the book. I think it would be so much better if they didn't end up together; Jude needed someone like Nathan, who was willing to show him eventually how he could be properly loved and Caspien would eventually find someone worth his love, after overcoming his own demons.
I don't know how that ending makes me feel tbh... it was a pretty bad excuse just to put them together.
When love starts hurting, it's time to let it go.
June 4, 2024
Oleander made me feel so many things, I’m completely overwhelmed. Jude and Cas’ love story is written in the stars and will remain in my heart and memory forever.
Scarlett Drake is an amazing writer, a magician, a poet. She created a magnificent piece of art with her words! I'm so grateful for this book. It instantly became one of my favorite books of all time.
It made me FEEL!!! So much! It was very painful but oh so beautiful. The writing is so stunning! The love, the hate, the manipulations, the betrayals, the PASSION, the chaos, I freaking loved every bit of it! THIS is why I love reading! Oleander is a special book and I will keep talking about how great it is!
The story focuses on Jude and his evolution as a teenager and as a man. I enjoyed reading every step of his life. His discoveries about himself, his sexuality, love, the people around him, the world. Mistakes were made, risks were taken, hearts were broken. And of course, there’s Caspien the cruel. Who’s actually completely misunderstood and honestly, I totally understand Jude because I love Cas unconditionally too. I just wanted him to be happy and finally love himself and accept Jude’s love. You only have to read his story until the end and see by yourself how deserving of love he is. Jude and Cas’ relationship is more than complicated but it makes it even more epic and incredible. They’re true soulmates and their love made me cry of both sadness and happiness.
This review might not make much sense because this book is not meant to be analyzed, it's meant to be read, felt, and experienced. If you’re looking for a coming-of-age story that really touches your heart and makes you vibrate to the core, then you should definitely read Oleander by the amazing Scarlett Drake.
Scarlett Drake is an amazing writer, a magician, a poet. She created a magnificent piece of art with her words! I'm so grateful for this book. It instantly became one of my favorite books of all time.
It made me FEEL!!! So much! It was very painful but oh so beautiful. The writing is so stunning! The love, the hate, the manipulations, the betrayals, the PASSION, the chaos, I freaking loved every bit of it! THIS is why I love reading! Oleander is a special book and I will keep talking about how great it is!
The story focuses on Jude and his evolution as a teenager and as a man. I enjoyed reading every step of his life. His discoveries about himself, his sexuality, love, the people around him, the world. Mistakes were made, risks were taken, hearts were broken. And of course, there’s Caspien the cruel. Who’s actually completely misunderstood and honestly, I totally understand Jude because I love Cas unconditionally too. I just wanted him to be happy and finally love himself and accept Jude’s love. You only have to read his story until the end and see by yourself how deserving of love he is. Jude and Cas’ relationship is more than complicated but it makes it even more epic and incredible. They’re true soulmates and their love made me cry of both sadness and happiness.
This review might not make much sense because this book is not meant to be analyzed, it's meant to be read, felt, and experienced. If you’re looking for a coming-of-age story that really touches your heart and makes you vibrate to the core, then you should definitely read Oleander by the amazing Scarlett Drake.
August 24, 2024
I know I said I was going to wait and come back to finish this book, but I didn’t want the words of an inconsiderate author to be hanging over me at such a difficult time of year, so I read through what was painful with the necessary support in place if I needed it - something I would have been able to do from the offset if this author had listed the content warnings in their book. Instead they relied on a hyperlink…in an ebook that I was reading on a kindle with a notoriously bad web browser. I don’t even have an old kindle and it’s unreliable at best, impossible at worst to get the web browser to work. I just found that to be so irresponsible, especially because the precursor to clicking the link for more detail on the content warning only alludes to issues of a sexual nature:
“The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic content and themes of an adult nature. It is intended only for those aged 18 and older”
Miscarriage, stillbirth and the loss of a child does not only happen to people older than 18, neither does grooming or child sex abuse . Yet these were not hinted at and I’d say are hugely triggering situations. You can’t assume everyone has read Great Expectations either and use that as an excuse for not listing these - I certainly haven’t read any so-called classics unless it was school/uni compulsory reading. Try putting yourself in the shoes of someone who has experienced either miscarriage, stillbirth or child loss and then getting to 30% of a book and being slapped in the face with it when you have no clue it’s coming. And yes, there are differences between miscarriage, stillbirth and child loss - if you don’t know them and want to, message me, there isn’t a question I won’t answer. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who has been groomed and abused and then have it appear from nowhere…. It honestly put me off this author and I don’t want to read anymore of their books.
Sure I could have just DNF’d the book, but by that point I was already a third of the way through and invested in knowing what would happen and I really loved the character of Jude. The coming of age aspect of this book was really interesting to me and had me hooked, until a trauma bomb was essentially thrown at me. It’s not easy to offend me either and I’m not overly sensitive, but I just can’t get over the way this was approached. It was such a shitty way to treat your readers. If you consider the content warning to be a spoiler to the story, list them in the book but put a page before to let people know the content warnings are there and may spoil it. The reader can choose to skip them completely, or skim over them looking for their particular trigger - something I do with every book because I only have two triggers, but they’re huge ones.
Another unpopular opinion probably, but I hated Caspien the whole way through, even at the end. It romanticised choosing money over love, and he put Jude through way too much for me to believe he cared about him at all, let alone loved him. Throwing money at something doesn’t mean you love someone, and coming back at the end of the book to say that everything Jude suffered through for over a decade was because he loved him… fuck off with that bullshit! But Jude just accepted the way Cas treated him and he sabotaged his own life when he refused to move on, so by the end I didn’t like Jude either. My honest thought was that he seriously needed some counselling to work on self-esteem and self-worth.
If I remove all of the stuff I hated, and just focus on the story, then yes, I liked it and I felt an emotional bond to Jude throughout his journey from teenage boy to adult man. I cried a lot for him throughout his story, but ultimately I had no respect for him and I didn’t think they should be together. I’m also sure that my opinion on them wouldn’t change if there had been adequate trigger warnings either, but I probably would have rated it 4 stars rather than 3.
“The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic content and themes of an adult nature. It is intended only for those aged 18 and older”
Miscarriage, stillbirth and the loss of a child does not only happen to people older than 18, neither does grooming or child sex abuse . Yet these were not hinted at and I’d say are hugely triggering situations. You can’t assume everyone has read Great Expectations either and use that as an excuse for not listing these - I certainly haven’t read any so-called classics unless it was school/uni compulsory reading. Try putting yourself in the shoes of someone who has experienced either miscarriage, stillbirth or child loss and then getting to 30% of a book and being slapped in the face with it when you have no clue it’s coming. And yes, there are differences between miscarriage, stillbirth and child loss - if you don’t know them and want to, message me, there isn’t a question I won’t answer. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who has been groomed and abused and then have it appear from nowhere…. It honestly put me off this author and I don’t want to read anymore of their books.
Sure I could have just DNF’d the book, but by that point I was already a third of the way through and invested in knowing what would happen and I really loved the character of Jude. The coming of age aspect of this book was really interesting to me and had me hooked, until a trauma bomb was essentially thrown at me. It’s not easy to offend me either and I’m not overly sensitive, but I just can’t get over the way this was approached. It was such a shitty way to treat your readers. If you consider the content warning to be a spoiler to the story, list them in the book but put a page before to let people know the content warnings are there and may spoil it. The reader can choose to skip them completely, or skim over them looking for their particular trigger - something I do with every book because I only have two triggers, but they’re huge ones.
Another unpopular opinion probably, but I hated Caspien the whole way through, even at the end. It romanticised choosing money over love, and he put Jude through way too much for me to believe he cared about him at all, let alone loved him. Throwing money at something doesn’t mean you love someone, and coming back at the end of the book to say that everything Jude suffered through for over a decade was because he loved him… fuck off with that bullshit! But Jude just accepted the way Cas treated him and he sabotaged his own life when he refused to move on, so by the end I didn’t like Jude either. My honest thought was that he seriously needed some counselling to work on self-esteem and self-worth.
If I remove all of the stuff I hated, and just focus on the story, then yes, I liked it and I felt an emotional bond to Jude throughout his journey from teenage boy to adult man. I cried a lot for him throughout his story, but ultimately I had no respect for him and I didn’t think they should be together. I’m also sure that my opinion on them wouldn’t change if there had been adequate trigger warnings either, but I probably would have rated it 4 stars rather than 3.
July 20, 2024
"It was the first time I met Caspien Deveraux, and I loathed him with a passion I didn’t know I was capable of. And though I didn’t know it then, I’d soon come to love him with the very same ferocity."
You know sometimes you read a book and you know it's going to stay with you long after you finish the last page? Well Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining is THAT book. I'm also making an early call that Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining is going to be my favourite book of the year. Everything about it is completely and utterly divine and I have used way more of the author's own words than usual in my reviews to try and capture its essence.
Jude and Caspien are beyond precious, beyond broken. I totally adore Jude and his ability to love unconditionally, but there's something about Caspien's hardness and fragility and ruthlessness and vulnerability, that makes him one of my favourite MCs ever - he is an absolute paradox, so conflicted and complex and fractured. Bravo Scarlett Drake!
"It came from nowhere, but I felt it everywhere. The need to kiss him. I imagined the soft, wet pink inside of his mouth, the taste of his lips, the shape of his tongue. It was an onslaught of want. Loud and hot and violent."
Don't get me wrong - this book literally broke my heart. Scarlett Drake has the most exquisite command of the English language and she writes with a sublime poetry and cadence that just sucks you in, until you're almost drowning in the emotion of the story. I'm fairly sure I only just managed to keep my head above water through some of the most excrutiating moments. But hang in there, it's totally and completely worth it.
"My emotions were not as easy to define then. I knew them only as loud, chaotic things which burned a path straight through me without clarity or warning."
Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining is a coming of age love story, but it's not for the faint-hearted; be prepared for dark themes, dark behaviour and broken hearts covering a ten year period. It's brutal at times and Scarlett Drake is the queen of twisting the knife.
"If I counted all the little ways he broke my heart, totalled them up, and set them on a scale, I doubt they would even come close to that first, deep break. The one that felt like a crack tearing through stone and earth, through things that had existed since the beginning of a life, to alter it irrevocably."
That said, every twist along the way leads us to the hard won and so well-deserved epilogue. Honestly, if you only read one book this year, you need to make it Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining.
"I’d love him in spite of everything he was and everything I knew he could be. No matter what he did, no matter how much he hurt me, in this I would be constant. As long as Caspien Deveraux breathed, I would love him.
If you read one book this year, make it this one. ❤️🔥
You know sometimes you read a book and you know it's going to stay with you long after you finish the last page? Well Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining is THAT book. I'm also making an early call that Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining is going to be my favourite book of the year. Everything about it is completely and utterly divine and I have used way more of the author's own words than usual in my reviews to try and capture its essence.
Jude and Caspien are beyond precious, beyond broken. I totally adore Jude and his ability to love unconditionally, but there's something about Caspien's hardness and fragility and ruthlessness and vulnerability, that makes him one of my favourite MCs ever - he is an absolute paradox, so conflicted and complex and fractured. Bravo Scarlett Drake!
"It came from nowhere, but I felt it everywhere. The need to kiss him. I imagined the soft, wet pink inside of his mouth, the taste of his lips, the shape of his tongue. It was an onslaught of want. Loud and hot and violent."
Don't get me wrong - this book literally broke my heart. Scarlett Drake has the most exquisite command of the English language and she writes with a sublime poetry and cadence that just sucks you in, until you're almost drowning in the emotion of the story. I'm fairly sure I only just managed to keep my head above water through some of the most excrutiating moments. But hang in there, it's totally and completely worth it.
"My emotions were not as easy to define then. I knew them only as loud, chaotic things which burned a path straight through me without clarity or warning."
Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining is a coming of age love story, but it's not for the faint-hearted; be prepared for dark themes, dark behaviour and broken hearts covering a ten year period. It's brutal at times and Scarlett Drake is the queen of twisting the knife.
"If I counted all the little ways he broke my heart, totalled them up, and set them on a scale, I doubt they would even come close to that first, deep break. The one that felt like a crack tearing through stone and earth, through things that had existed since the beginning of a life, to alter it irrevocably."
That said, every twist along the way leads us to the hard won and so well-deserved epilogue. Honestly, if you only read one book this year, you need to make it Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining.
"I’d love him in spite of everything he was and everything I knew he could be. No matter what he did, no matter how much he hurt me, in this I would be constant. As long as Caspien Deveraux breathed, I would love him.
If you read one book this year, make it this one. ❤️🔥
September 8, 2024
5 ⭐️
One of my favorite books I’ve read this year.
This book captivated me from the very first chapter. I couldn't put it down. There is a constant sense of foreboding in the air, which makes reading it so exciting.
For a long time you are left in the dark about what is going on with Caspian. I couldn't believe that there would be a plausible explanation for his arrogant and cold (Lauent-like 🤩) behavior. But I was proven wrong.
God, these boys own my heart now! Jude for his big heart and unconditional love for Caspien. Caspien for what he sacrificed for Jude! ♥️
Read this book if you like a painful, heartbreaking epic love story with a hard-won HE.
Side note: Caspien named his cat “Laurent“! 😉
One of my favorite books I’ve read this year.
This book captivated me from the very first chapter. I couldn't put it down. There is a constant sense of foreboding in the air, which makes reading it so exciting.
For a long time you are left in the dark about what is going on with Caspian. I couldn't believe that there would be a plausible explanation for his arrogant and cold (Lauent-like 🤩) behavior. But I was proven wrong.
God, these boys own my heart now! Jude for his big heart and unconditional love for Caspien. Caspien for what he sacrificed for Jude! ♥️
Read this book if you like a painful, heartbreaking epic love story with a hard-won HE.
Side note: Caspien named his cat “Laurent“! 😉
October 18, 2024
What was one more battle scar on my heart when the war was this glorious?
Oleander follows Jude throughout his teenage years and early adulthood, as he meets, falls in love with, and repeatedly has his heart broken by the captivating Caspien Deveraux. Intertwined with their love story is a tale of mystery, deception, and coming of age.
Whilst there are romantic elements to it, I felt as though it was more of a character study than a typical romance, and I really enjoyed following Jude’s POV throughout the years. Let’s be honest, the boy is DOWN BAD for our dear Cas, but I admired his unwavering dedication and love for him. Over the years his obsessive teenage infatuation develops in to a more mature love, although Caspien cannot give him the same in return.
I really felt for Caspien’s character, and I honestly didn’t feel like he was the asshole he was made out to be, although it’s hard to see him hurting Jude repeatedly. There is so much more beneath the surface, and it was his character journey that finally broke me, and unleashed the tears.
I do think that Cas and Jude’s romantic relationship could have been more developed though, as I felt like a lot of it happened off-page and I didn’t fully understand where the love came from. The ending also felt too abrupt, and I would have liked to get more closure and have some more of the loose ends tied up.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re into the classics/dark academia vibe. Scarlett’s writing is absolutely beautiful, I loved the UK setting, and I haven’t been able to get it off my mind since I stopped reading.
June 25, 2024
Nooooooooooooooo!!!!
I wanted to love this. I DID love it, for a moment. But this ended up being a giant disappointment.
It’s a tumultuous story with deceit and betrayal, and while that was intriguing, it was also frustrating and overdone.
I still don’t quite understand why things happened in the way they did. I became easily frustrated with how Jude simped over Caspien. Caspien himself was extremely cruel and unforgivable (if you ask me). And the whole Caspien and Xavier relationship just seemed so oddly placed in the story. Drama for the sake of drama.
More importantly, the ending sucked. With all the push and pull, the conclusion to their story was entirely lackluster. You make me read nearly 600 pages of drab and then give me a HEA in like, 5 pages?
Shit, I think any reader who managed to get through this book certainly earned more than that.
I wanted to love this. I DID love it, for a moment. But this ended up being a giant disappointment.
It’s a tumultuous story with deceit and betrayal, and while that was intriguing, it was also frustrating and overdone.
I still don’t quite understand why things happened in the way they did. I became easily frustrated with how Jude simped over Caspien. Caspien himself was extremely cruel and unforgivable (if you ask me). And the whole Caspien and Xavier relationship just seemed so oddly placed in the story. Drama for the sake of drama.
More importantly, the ending sucked. With all the push and pull, the conclusion to their story was entirely lackluster. You make me read nearly 600 pages of drab and then give me a HEA in like, 5 pages?
Shit, I think any reader who managed to get through this book certainly earned more than that.
November 10, 2024
I know what I'm supposed to feel by the end of this, but I can't help not feeling it. So I'm just going to put my thoughts about this into words in the order I had them while I read it.
“One day you’ll look back on this moment and hate me so much for it that you won’t be able to fucking look at me.”
Not only did Jude neverrrrr get to this moment, he never really even hated Cas. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why.
Jude reminds me of Far From The Madding Crowd's Gabriel Oak. And not in a good way, though to be fair, I don't know if there's a good way to be reminded of Oak.
You know those MCs that take so much shit that at first you feel incredibly sorry for them for their shit luck, but the pattern continues and they never once stand up for themselves and it gets to a point where you lose all respect for them, past, present and future?
That's how I feel about Jude.
I've called people down bad before but this was a discovery. I was not familiar with this level of pathetic.
It got to a point where whenever Cas showed up, I'd tense in anticipation of the pain that was sure to follow.
“And you’re just as gullible as you always were.”.....coming from a man that's consistently hurt you in unthinkable ways would have been my 13th reason because WHAT? I needed Jude to stand up just once in his godforsaken life.
But...
'What was one more battle scar on my heart when the war was this glorious?'
Yeahhhhhh this guy couldn't be helped. It got to a point where I was pulling out my hair because SURELY no sane person could let it get this bad??? Like there was no threshold below which his pride kicked in.
He had the kind of love for Cas that you hope you or anyone you love never feels about anyone. Oleander was an apt title for this because the feelings here were a toxic poisonous thing.
And I'm mostly mad because I read romance for the happy feels. But there was nothing happy about this.
Just one guy taking a LOTTTTTT of hits, and building himself back up just enough for the other guy to come take it out on him a little more. And again. And again.
And again. I kid you not. It was THAT bad.
He declared his love so fervently, so vehemently, all the time. Almost as though he thought if he just loved him hard enough , it would be enough to keep both of them afloat.
It wasn't. Not once. He just drowned (alone, mind you) each and every time.
So the thing is, I know the last 20% of this was meant to be this perspective shifting hail Mary on Cas' justifications and intentions.
I don't buy it, sorry.
You know when one MC does something so heinous that you're almost giddy with excitement to discover how the author redeems him to get you rooting for him? For them? I love that shift. Usually.
I didn't get it here.
Cas was so incredibly mean and careless with Jude that even with the revelations, I couldn't quite root for him.
It's not just that I don't buy the whole 'thing' we're supposed to believe a selfish, self-centered sixteen year old had the mind to do. I mean, I don't buy it — it's not really in line with the rest of what we know of Cas. And I guess that's supposed to make it even more endearing but I digress.
It's not just that. It's the fact that even when he did it, it wasn't out of love. That whole spiel with Gideon making a huge deal talking about 'He chose you'...... No the fuck he didn't.
Cas chose himself then, just as he had always done prior. And he admits to that too.
He said he did it because he couldn't have chosen Jude then, and he would have broken his heart regardless.
Like Cas himself admits, what happened later couldn't have been predicted, so he doesn't get credit for what he did at 16. So that's one heartbreak entirely Cas' fault.
Yes. I'm keeping count. And, hell, I'll be generous and leave out all the tiny baby heartbreaks that Jude put up with before then because those were there too. But both were 15 so I'll give a discount on that. I'm magnanimous like that.
Next. Oxford. Finlay's birthday. Yet another day, another story of Cas choosing himself and his wants over Jude's. But you know, by this time, I'd started to kind of get over the whole forever love thing Jude was selling himself.
At some point, it's on you.
He could have had Finlay. Sweet, ready to meet him halfway Finlay.
He could have had Nathan. Older, wiser, willing to meet him more than halfway. Open to loving him the way he deserved to be loved.
I think after Nathan is when I gave up on Jude. You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved.
Then London happened. The end of the London debacle is the only time I'll give Cas a pass. It's the only time in this long story that his actions made sense and were clearly selfless, misguided though they were.
But the last 20% failed to land him as a redeemable MC for me. And I get that this may be an unpopular take because of what we discovered after London.
I get his trauma. I do. I'm not an emotionless monster. I GET that he had a lot going on. He was going through a lot of shitty things. Fine. But HE was the shitty thing in Jude's story.
And clearly Jude can get past that, but I couldn't. I don't think it's the kind of romance that I can root for.
A happy ending for these two in my estimation was at the point of the long separation. Cas got out of his.......situation and was fine. Jude finally saying enough is enough and meaning it. For once in his bloody life.
Until he didn't. Mean it. 8 years on the wagon and then what. More Cas. I want to understand. I really did but.......Cas was the prize?
Sometimes the capacity for forgiveness people exhibit in romance novels is astonishing because I can't even imagine it.
I get Jude knowing Cas is the love of his life. I really do. Especially after London. Probably felt they were star-crossed lovers or some shit. Should have stayed that way.
I would have maybe grudgingly rooted for them if Cas had made a single overture first. At any one point.
Even when he had that two year window to get one thing right, he never did. This is why I'm so annoyed by the 'Cas chose you' revisionism because Cas didn't. Not once.
Half a time maybe. At 16. And that wasn't choosing Jude. That was a buyout clause, to put it bluntly. Thanks for your service. Severance, if you must.
This entire book is an argument for the fact that if you decide to be an 'understanding boyfriend', more often than not, people will give you things to understand.
5* because I loved this book and I loved how it broke my heart even though I'm vehemently opposed to the ending.
“One day you’ll look back on this moment and hate me so much for it that you won’t be able to fucking look at me.”
Not only did Jude neverrrrr get to this moment, he never really even hated Cas. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why.
Jude reminds me of Far From The Madding Crowd's Gabriel Oak. And not in a good way, though to be fair, I don't know if there's a good way to be reminded of Oak.
You know those MCs that take so much shit that at first you feel incredibly sorry for them for their shit luck, but the pattern continues and they never once stand up for themselves and it gets to a point where you lose all respect for them, past, present and future?
That's how I feel about Jude.
I've called people down bad before but this was a discovery. I was not familiar with this level of pathetic.
It got to a point where whenever Cas showed up, I'd tense in anticipation of the pain that was sure to follow.
“And you’re just as gullible as you always were.”.....coming from a man that's consistently hurt you in unthinkable ways would have been my 13th reason because WHAT? I needed Jude to stand up just once in his godforsaken life.
But...
'What was one more battle scar on my heart when the war was this glorious?'
Yeahhhhhh this guy couldn't be helped. It got to a point where I was pulling out my hair because SURELY no sane person could let it get this bad??? Like there was no threshold below which his pride kicked in.
He had the kind of love for Cas that you hope you or anyone you love never feels about anyone. Oleander was an apt title for this because the feelings here were a toxic poisonous thing.
And I'm mostly mad because I read romance for the happy feels. But there was nothing happy about this.
Just one guy taking a LOTTTTTT of hits, and building himself back up just enough for the other guy to come take it out on him a little more. And again. And again.
And again. I kid you not. It was THAT bad.
He declared his love so fervently, so vehemently, all the time. Almost as though he thought if he just loved him hard enough , it would be enough to keep both of them afloat.
It wasn't. Not once. He just drowned (alone, mind you) each and every time.
So the thing is, I know the last 20% of this was meant to be this perspective shifting hail Mary on Cas' justifications and intentions.
I don't buy it, sorry.
You know when one MC does something so heinous that you're almost giddy with excitement to discover how the author redeems him to get you rooting for him? For them? I love that shift. Usually.
I didn't get it here.
Cas was so incredibly mean and careless with Jude that even with the revelations, I couldn't quite root for him.
It's not just that I don't buy the whole 'thing' we're supposed to believe a selfish, self-centered sixteen year old had the mind to do. I mean, I don't buy it — it's not really in line with the rest of what we know of Cas. And I guess that's supposed to make it even more endearing but I digress.
It's not just that. It's the fact that even when he did it, it wasn't out of love. That whole spiel with Gideon making a huge deal talking about 'He chose you'...... No the fuck he didn't.
Cas chose himself then, just as he had always done prior. And he admits to that too.
He said he did it because he couldn't have chosen Jude then, and he would have broken his heart regardless.
Like Cas himself admits, what happened later couldn't have been predicted, so he doesn't get credit for what he did at 16. So that's one heartbreak entirely Cas' fault.
Yes. I'm keeping count. And, hell, I'll be generous and leave out all the tiny baby heartbreaks that Jude put up with before then because those were there too. But both were 15 so I'll give a discount on that. I'm magnanimous like that.
Next. Oxford. Finlay's birthday. Yet another day, another story of Cas choosing himself and his wants over Jude's. But you know, by this time, I'd started to kind of get over the whole forever love thing Jude was selling himself.
At some point, it's on you.
He could have had Finlay. Sweet, ready to meet him halfway Finlay.
He could have had Nathan. Older, wiser, willing to meet him more than halfway. Open to loving him the way he deserved to be loved.
I think after Nathan is when I gave up on Jude. You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved.
Then London happened. The end of the London debacle is the only time I'll give Cas a pass. It's the only time in this long story that his actions made sense and were clearly selfless, misguided though they were.
But the last 20% failed to land him as a redeemable MC for me. And I get that this may be an unpopular take because of what we discovered after London.
I get his trauma. I do. I'm not an emotionless monster. I GET that he had a lot going on. He was going through a lot of shitty things. Fine. But HE was the shitty thing in Jude's story.
And clearly Jude can get past that, but I couldn't. I don't think it's the kind of romance that I can root for.
A happy ending for these two in my estimation was at the point of the long separation. Cas got out of his.......situation and was fine. Jude finally saying enough is enough and meaning it. For once in his bloody life.
Until he didn't. Mean it. 8 years on the wagon and then what. More Cas. I want to understand. I really did but.......Cas was the prize?
Sometimes the capacity for forgiveness people exhibit in romance novels is astonishing because I can't even imagine it.
I get Jude knowing Cas is the love of his life. I really do. Especially after London. Probably felt they were star-crossed lovers or some shit. Should have stayed that way.
I would have maybe grudgingly rooted for them if Cas had made a single overture first. At any one point.
Even when he had that two year window to get one thing right, he never did. This is why I'm so annoyed by the 'Cas chose you' revisionism because Cas didn't. Not once.
Half a time maybe. At 16. And that wasn't choosing Jude. That was a buyout clause, to put it bluntly. Thanks for your service. Severance, if you must.
This entire book is an argument for the fact that if you decide to be an 'understanding boyfriend', more often than not, people will give you things to understand.
5* because I loved this book and I loved how it broke my heart even though I'm vehemently opposed to the ending.
May 21, 2024
This story was absolutely beautiful. Infinity stars. Caspien and Jude are raw and real and perfect. I wish I could read this for the first time all over again tomorrow. 🥹
June 14, 2024
I’m so overwhelmed by this book that I’m having a hard time putting my thoughts into words….but I’m gonna try.
When I saw this book recommended, I knew it would be my type. Words like “heartbreaking,” “couldn’t stop crying,” “devastating,” “angsty,” and “masterpiece” were used to describe it. So, if you know me—instant TBR.
I’ve never read the book or seen the movie that inspired it, and I’m glad. I think it would have spoiled the experience for me. Instead, I was constantly anxious, hurting, and in fear because of the foreshadowing throughout the book and the crushing prologue that told me it was going to hurt badly. It kept me on the edge of my seat and unable to put it down.
This book is hard. It’s painful, weirdly cozy, and gut-wrenching most of the time. This epic love story is beautifully written. (Hamartia was good, but Scarlett outdid herself here.) I was in awe because it’s such a huge book with a story that spans so many years, but the pacing was perfect. All the events were told in detail without being boring or rushed.
I loved Jude immensely. Jude, with his enormous heart and the way he loves Cas... it’s an undeniable and universal truth. It’s part of his being, and he was Cas’s constant.
“I loved him. I was as certain of that as I was my own name, both universal truths. I am Jude Alcott, and I am in love with Caspien Deveraux.”
“Stop looking at me like that,” (…)
“Like what?”
“Like that.”
“Don’t all the boys you do that to look at you like this, after?” (…)
“No,” He said. “No one looks at me the way you do.”
“So in that moment, Caspien was transformed. Or rather, how I perceived him changed so permanently that I saw him only for what I wanted him to be. Vulnerable and lost and in need of something only I could give him.
Love. Unconditional.
Only I could love Caspien how he deserved to be loved. And so I would.
I’d love him in spite of everything he was and everything I knew he could be. No matter what he did, no matter how much he hurt me, in this I would be constant.
As long as Caspien Deveraux breathed, I would love him.”
And love him he does, despite everything that happens, that never changes, and that’s why they both make it in the end. What I loved most about Jude, though, was that he wasn’t a doormat (at least in my eyes). He fights back, he gives his all.
Caspien, always so arrogant and sharp-tongued, never knew love until Jude, and he couldn’t recognize it for a long time. He was always so cold and distant. He broke my heart so many times, for what he did to Jude and to himself. When he finally shows his vulnerability later on, he won my heart. I told a friend that he reminds me a little of Laurent (from The Captive Prince), physically, obviously, but mostly because of the way he holds himself. He hides his emotions so well, the perfect mask always in place. He does what he thinks is right or what he thinks has to be done, and he doesn’t look back.
A shout-out to an incredible secondary character, Luke. Strong and down-to-earth Luke, who loved Jude with all the warmth and care. He was always there for him with the right words, and Jude loved him fiercely.
If you love epic, hard-won happiness, strong feelings, look no further. Go read it, you won’t regret it!
When I saw this book recommended, I knew it would be my type. Words like “heartbreaking,” “couldn’t stop crying,” “devastating,” “angsty,” and “masterpiece” were used to describe it. So, if you know me—instant TBR.
I’ve never read the book or seen the movie that inspired it, and I’m glad. I think it would have spoiled the experience for me. Instead, I was constantly anxious, hurting, and in fear because of the foreshadowing throughout the book and the crushing prologue that told me it was going to hurt badly. It kept me on the edge of my seat and unable to put it down.
This book is hard. It’s painful, weirdly cozy, and gut-wrenching most of the time. This epic love story is beautifully written. (Hamartia was good, but Scarlett outdid herself here.) I was in awe because it’s such a huge book with a story that spans so many years, but the pacing was perfect. All the events were told in detail without being boring or rushed.
I loved Jude immensely. Jude, with his enormous heart and the way he loves Cas... it’s an undeniable and universal truth. It’s part of his being, and he was Cas’s constant.
“I loved him. I was as certain of that as I was my own name, both universal truths. I am Jude Alcott, and I am in love with Caspien Deveraux.”
“Stop looking at me like that,” (…)
“Like what?”
“Like that.”
“Don’t all the boys you do that to look at you like this, after?” (…)
“No,” He said. “No one looks at me the way you do.”
“So in that moment, Caspien was transformed. Or rather, how I perceived him changed so permanently that I saw him only for what I wanted him to be. Vulnerable and lost and in need of something only I could give him.
Love. Unconditional.
Only I could love Caspien how he deserved to be loved. And so I would.
I’d love him in spite of everything he was and everything I knew he could be. No matter what he did, no matter how much he hurt me, in this I would be constant.
As long as Caspien Deveraux breathed, I would love him.”
And love him he does, despite everything that happens, that never changes, and that’s why they both make it in the end. What I loved most about Jude, though, was that he wasn’t a doormat (at least in my eyes). He fights back, he gives his all.
Caspien, always so arrogant and sharp-tongued, never knew love until Jude, and he couldn’t recognize it for a long time. He was always so cold and distant. He broke my heart so many times, for what he did to Jude and to himself. When he finally shows his vulnerability later on, he won my heart. I told a friend that he reminds me a little of Laurent (from The Captive Prince), physically, obviously, but mostly because of the way he holds himself. He hides his emotions so well, the perfect mask always in place. He does what he thinks is right or what he thinks has to be done, and he doesn’t look back.
A shout-out to an incredible secondary character, Luke. Strong and down-to-earth Luke, who loved Jude with all the warmth and care. He was always there for him with the right words, and Jude loved him fiercely.
If you love epic, hard-won happiness, strong feelings, look no further. Go read it, you won’t regret it!
May 21, 2024
Oh my freaking goodness, this book was WILD. Oleander was one of my most anticipated reads, and it absolutely didn't disappoint. Though the story itself was not quite what I was expecting, I'm amazed at how true it was to Great Expectations - it's a pretty faithful retelling! Did I have to go and look up the plot of GE to know that? Yup, absolutely (I'm pretty sure I read it in 9th grade). Am I so incredibly impressed that Scarlett took a novel from the 1860s and made it into an incredibly modern gothic romance? Yes, yes I am!
Oleander is primarily a coming of age story for Jude. When he first meets the mysterious and alluring Caspien, he immediately hates him. He's is unlike anyone Jude has ever met - spoiled, impetuous, and conniving. However, Jude is also drawn to him in a way that he doesn't understand. As the boys grow up together, Jude finds that he's fallen completely and irreparably in love with Cas, a fact which Cas continually uses to hurt him. Will Jude ever find a way to get over him? Or will his heart forever be broken by a man who doesn't seem to love him back?
Wow, this story is so unique, it is NOT a typical romance. Though the focus of the entire book is on love, the major themes are about unrequited love and how to live with a broken heart. Poor Jude goes THROUGH it for Cas, who makes things difficult for him for years. However, in some ways, the struggle is kind of necessary (you find out why in the end), and FEAR NOT THERE IS A HEA! It's just very hard won.
Y'all, this book has INCREDIBLE vibes. It reads like a classic gothic romance, very atmospheric with GORGEOUS writing. And I absolutely loved all of the subtle nods to the original text - it's the perfect reimagining of Great Expectations. If you want to get completely lost in a story - THIS IS IT.
*just a note that there is a slur mentioned in the book that was not listed in the CWs at the time I read it, so be mindful
Oleander is primarily a coming of age story for Jude. When he first meets the mysterious and alluring Caspien, he immediately hates him. He's is unlike anyone Jude has ever met - spoiled, impetuous, and conniving. However, Jude is also drawn to him in a way that he doesn't understand. As the boys grow up together, Jude finds that he's fallen completely and irreparably in love with Cas, a fact which Cas continually uses to hurt him. Will Jude ever find a way to get over him? Or will his heart forever be broken by a man who doesn't seem to love him back?
Wow, this story is so unique, it is NOT a typical romance. Though the focus of the entire book is on love, the major themes are about unrequited love and how to live with a broken heart. Poor Jude goes THROUGH it for Cas, who makes things difficult for him for years. However, in some ways, the struggle is kind of necessary (you find out why in the end), and FEAR NOT THERE IS A HEA! It's just very hard won.
Y'all, this book has INCREDIBLE vibes. It reads like a classic gothic romance, very atmospheric with GORGEOUS writing. And I absolutely loved all of the subtle nods to the original text - it's the perfect reimagining of Great Expectations. If you want to get completely lost in a story - THIS IS IT.
*just a note that there is a slur mentioned in the book that was not listed in the CWs at the time I read it, so be mindful
June 11, 2024
What was one more battle scar on my heart when the war was this glorious?
It’s a masterpiece. Intense, heartbreaking, beautiful. Just perfect.
This perfectly blends the source inspo of Great Expectations with modern storytelling to give a timeless quality to the work. It’s poetic in its heartache. The characters are messy and flawed since it starts with them as teens and spans about 10 years. So much gets explained in the end that casts a new light on the story and the reveal is so, so worth the wait.
Jude is just your average guy going through life and he’s so relatable while Caspien is such a captivating presence it makes him feel unreal or untouchable at times. The way their lives dance around each other over years is simply a work of art. I don’t know if I’ll ever move on and I’m so grateful to have experienced this book.
A few things I noted that might bother some people and are worth mentioning: there is cheating (on both sides), on page relationships with other people, abuse from various sources, and consensual but quite rough sex in the middle-ish.
Thanks to Scarlett Drake and Passion Author Services for the ARC.
It’s a masterpiece. Intense, heartbreaking, beautiful. Just perfect.
This perfectly blends the source inspo of Great Expectations with modern storytelling to give a timeless quality to the work. It’s poetic in its heartache. The characters are messy and flawed since it starts with them as teens and spans about 10 years. So much gets explained in the end that casts a new light on the story and the reveal is so, so worth the wait.
Jude is just your average guy going through life and he’s so relatable while Caspien is such a captivating presence it makes him feel unreal or untouchable at times. The way their lives dance around each other over years is simply a work of art. I don’t know if I’ll ever move on and I’m so grateful to have experienced this book.
A few things I noted that might bother some people and are worth mentioning: there is cheating (on both sides), on page relationships with other people, abuse from various sources, and consensual but quite rough sex in the middle-ish.
Thanks to Scarlett Drake and Passion Author Services for the ARC.
October 10, 2024
5⭐️
I was 99% sure this book will be good.
Guess what? It REALLY is.
I read Great Expectations in my late teens. It was so long ago I remember almost nothing about it. But I do remember two things. I absolutely loved it. And it had this really hopeless feel to it.
And while I don’t think Scarlett Drake recreated that same vibe (neither should she necessarily), it was still pretty close.
The ball of lead sitting in my gut while I read this book. The lowkey hum of anxious despair. The stench of old an new pain. I can’t say reading this book was always pleasant. But that, THAT is what talent looks like. Making you feel a certain way on purpose.
Anyway. For anyone who hasn’t read this yet (I feel like lots of people I know have). If you’re not afraid of pain, read it. It’s cruel and it’s resilient and it’s so very very beautiful.
Also. The narration is perfect
I was 99% sure this book will be good.
Guess what? It REALLY is.
I read Great Expectations in my late teens. It was so long ago I remember almost nothing about it. But I do remember two things. I absolutely loved it. And it had this really hopeless feel to it.
And while I don’t think Scarlett Drake recreated that same vibe (neither should she necessarily), it was still pretty close.
The ball of lead sitting in my gut while I read this book. The lowkey hum of anxious despair. The stench of old an new pain. I can’t say reading this book was always pleasant. But that, THAT is what talent looks like. Making you feel a certain way on purpose.
Anyway. For anyone who hasn’t read this yet (I feel like lots of people I know have). If you’re not afraid of pain, read it. It’s cruel and it’s resilient and it’s so very very beautiful.
Also. The narration is perfect
July 14, 2024
Just finished. Speechless right now. My heart is officially broken, then put back together but still feels fairly stomped on. 5+++ stars. RTC.
November 9, 2024
This is not a romance. Nor was Great Expectations. Both MC's are completely unlikeable. Cas is honestly despicable and there is really no believable reason why he needed to do alllll that. Jude - my guy, I wanted him so badly to get over Cas and find someone who treated him the way he deserved. But nope. The ONLY character in this book I give a single fuck about is Luke. That is a real man 👌
It was time to come update this review because I HATED this. I know this is beloved by many but
Jude & Cas were toxic AF and not in a sexy way.
Original Review:
I've never read Great Expectations so I don't know how much of this held true to the original book but I don't feel like I can critique or give opinions when I haven't read the original.
It was time to come update this review because I HATED this. I know this is beloved by many but
Jude & Cas were toxic AF and not in a sexy way.
Original Review:
I've never read Great Expectations so I don't know how much of this held true to the original book but I don't feel like I can critique or give opinions when I haven't read the original.
September 19, 2024
I shouldn’t have picked this up. I knew I wasn’t going to like it but I had a terrible case of FOMO seeing all the good reviews.
But the problem is, Great Expectations is not a romance. It’s a sad and depressing story of a boy who held a torch for way too long for someone who never deserved his love. And unfortunately this book portrays that sentiment. Caspian is not likable. He’s cold and cruel and I didn’t even feel bad for Jude because he only loved Caspian because he’s beautiful.
I just can’t enjoy a romance where the MC’s are shallow and have no redeeming qualities.
But the problem is, Great Expectations is not a romance. It’s a sad and depressing story of a boy who held a torch for way too long for someone who never deserved his love. And unfortunately this book portrays that sentiment. Caspian is not likable. He’s cold and cruel and I didn’t even feel bad for Jude because he only loved Caspian because he’s beautiful.
I just can’t enjoy a romance where the MC’s are shallow and have no redeeming qualities.
June 2, 2024
Wow. I read Oleander by Scarlett Drake like a mad man in less than 24 hours. I came home from work, read, went to sleep, woke up and finished it. I think it may be a true 5 stars for me.
Oleander is not a typical romance, I’d honestly say it resembles a lot of my favorite literary coming of age novels while still containing the romance aspect. I honestly think you will enjoy it better if you go into it knowing it’s not going to read like a traditional romance novel, but it will absolutely still appeal to romance readers.
While it is a Great Expectations reimagining, I could honestly compare it to everything from The Goldfinch to Normal People to Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos to Leta Blake’s 90s Coming of Age series while containing those gothic themes I loved in classics like Wuthering Heights and Rebecca and newer gothic romance like Never Leave, Never Lie. Scarlett Drake just really hit the nail on the head with what I would like in a book.
Oleander follows Jude Alcott from 15 into his 20s and his fraught relationship with Caspien Devereaux. Jude is such a sweetie and I was always rooting for him even when I wasn’t always proud of him. The character work in this book was really excellent. Caspien is a bit of a prickly one, he has been poisoned from a young age to believe he’s unloveable and it really shows, but I loved him nonetheless. He’s a classic Vicious Blonde Sad Boy™.
This book put me through the emotional wringer but I genuinely loved every second of it. There were times when the writing had me feeling wistful and nostalgic and others where I was breathless and anxious. I was very impressed with the writing overall.
Honestly my only complaint is that I wish it was longer haha it was 600 pages on kindle and I’d probably have read 1000.
Oleander is not a typical romance, I’d honestly say it resembles a lot of my favorite literary coming of age novels while still containing the romance aspect. I honestly think you will enjoy it better if you go into it knowing it’s not going to read like a traditional romance novel, but it will absolutely still appeal to romance readers.
While it is a Great Expectations reimagining, I could honestly compare it to everything from The Goldfinch to Normal People to Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos to Leta Blake’s 90s Coming of Age series while containing those gothic themes I loved in classics like Wuthering Heights and Rebecca and newer gothic romance like Never Leave, Never Lie. Scarlett Drake just really hit the nail on the head with what I would like in a book.
Oleander follows Jude Alcott from 15 into his 20s and his fraught relationship with Caspien Devereaux. Jude is such a sweetie and I was always rooting for him even when I wasn’t always proud of him. The character work in this book was really excellent. Caspien is a bit of a prickly one, he has been poisoned from a young age to believe he’s unloveable and it really shows, but I loved him nonetheless. He’s a classic Vicious Blonde Sad Boy™.
This book put me through the emotional wringer but I genuinely loved every second of it. There were times when the writing had me feeling wistful and nostalgic and others where I was breathless and anxious. I was very impressed with the writing overall.
Honestly my only complaint is that I wish it was longer haha it was 600 pages on kindle and I’d probably have read 1000.
June 23, 2024
Wow this book was long, I have to give it credit that it kept my attention the whole time..the writing was beautiful !
Now regarding story itself, when I break it down in my mind I honestly don’t get the connection and obsession.. the mc’s were apart for most of their lives, this book is written in a 10 year span and if we add all the time they were “together “ it doesn’t even add up to 6 months
I think maybe if the book was written as a dual narrative and not only from Jude’s point of view maybe the connection would feel real. Toward the end I was hoping Jude would fall in love with jasper, Nathan or anyone but Cas that really made me believe he was just not into Jude
Again beautifully written but I feel Jude deserved better than what he got.
Now regarding story itself, when I break it down in my mind I honestly don’t get the connection and obsession.. the mc’s were apart for most of their lives, this book is written in a 10 year span and if we add all the time they were “together “ it doesn’t even add up to 6 months
I think maybe if the book was written as a dual narrative and not only from Jude’s point of view maybe the connection would feel real. Toward the end I was hoping Jude would fall in love with jasper, Nathan or anyone but Cas that really made me believe he was just not into Jude
Again beautifully written but I feel Jude deserved better than what he got.
October 19, 2024
5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟Oleander - Scarlett Drake
Jude Alcott was orphaned in his mid teens and was taken in by his older sister Beth and her husband Luke who was like a father to Jude and when Luke was employed by the Devereaux Estate as their Gardner they all moved into a lovely cottage on the Estate. They were all delighted with the improvement in their circumstances.
Jude was introduced to the owner Gideon Devereaux and his nephew Caspian. Initially disliking Caspian and his weird ways of speaking, thinking and behaviour, he came to like and enjoy his company. He became so besotted by him it nearly destroyed him. It changed his life in so many ways, he even achieved his dream of going up to Oxford, where he made some good friends in Finn (who was Caspian’s cousin) and especially Nathan.
The story is narrated solely from Jude’s POV which was an excellent choice as his dream was to become a writer and he gives us the whole rotten story told beautifully, warts and all. Half way through I put down the book because my heart was breaking for Jude. Gideon and Xavier Blackwell are such damaged older men, whatever happened to them in their early life has made them horrible, manipulative, despicable men in their 40’s.
Here we see what went on in Jude and Caspian’s life over a 10 year period from when they first met each other. During this timeframe their meetings were few and far between and it is in this between time that hearts are broken in such cruel ways it made such hard reading for me. They are so opposites in every way, Jude is outgoing and warmhearted and liked by all his school friends. Caspian is very reserved, withdrawn with such a cruel streak at times that makes it hard to like him.
When we get to the truth of it all you’ll need your Kleenex close by for you will surely need them. I think ‘Oleander’ is one of the emotionally impactful reads I’ve come across and when books effect me on such a level I’ll remember them for a long, long time.
So with the dark Autumn evenings drawing in, take this book, curl up on your sofa, wrap yourself in a nice comfortable blanket by a blazing fire, have some hot chocolate and Kleenex beside you. Better make it a weekend so no one at work or college will see your red crying eyes.
Scarlett Drake has done an excellent job in the writing of ‘Oleander’ which must have been difficult given some of the events covered in the story. Checking for TW’s is recommended as physical and mental abuse is mentioned and might be upsetting for some, plus loss of baby through miscarriage.
Jude Alcott was orphaned in his mid teens and was taken in by his older sister Beth and her husband Luke who was like a father to Jude and when Luke was employed by the Devereaux Estate as their Gardner they all moved into a lovely cottage on the Estate. They were all delighted with the improvement in their circumstances.
Jude was introduced to the owner Gideon Devereaux and his nephew Caspian. Initially disliking Caspian and his weird ways of speaking, thinking and behaviour, he came to like and enjoy his company. He became so besotted by him it nearly destroyed him. It changed his life in so many ways, he even achieved his dream of going up to Oxford, where he made some good friends in Finn (who was Caspian’s cousin) and especially Nathan.
The story is narrated solely from Jude’s POV which was an excellent choice as his dream was to become a writer and he gives us the whole rotten story told beautifully, warts and all. Half way through I put down the book because my heart was breaking for Jude. Gideon and Xavier Blackwell are such damaged older men, whatever happened to them in their early life has made them horrible, manipulative, despicable men in their 40’s.
Here we see what went on in Jude and Caspian’s life over a 10 year period from when they first met each other. During this timeframe their meetings were few and far between and it is in this between time that hearts are broken in such cruel ways it made such hard reading for me. They are so opposites in every way, Jude is outgoing and warmhearted and liked by all his school friends. Caspian is very reserved, withdrawn with such a cruel streak at times that makes it hard to like him.
When we get to the truth of it all you’ll need your Kleenex close by for you will surely need them. I think ‘Oleander’ is one of the emotionally impactful reads I’ve come across and when books effect me on such a level I’ll remember them for a long, long time.
So with the dark Autumn evenings drawing in, take this book, curl up on your sofa, wrap yourself in a nice comfortable blanket by a blazing fire, have some hot chocolate and Kleenex beside you. Better make it a weekend so no one at work or college will see your red crying eyes.
Scarlett Drake has done an excellent job in the writing of ‘Oleander’ which must have been difficult given some of the events covered in the story. Checking for TW’s is recommended as physical and mental abuse is mentioned and might be upsetting for some, plus loss of baby through miscarriage.
August 5, 2024
This is not a romance, but it sure is an absolutely incredible story. I would read more by this author happily.
I don’t know anything about The Great Expectations, but this story is so emotional and full of complex characters which mostly range from kinda shitty to absolutely awful people.
The whole book is angst. It’s full of things I hate in a romance novel. It is definitely more a character study than a romance though, and I really wish we got more of Jude and Cas in the end. It was still a fantastic story.
I don’t know anything about The Great Expectations, but this story is so emotional and full of complex characters which mostly range from kinda shitty to absolutely awful people.
The whole book is angst. It’s full of things I hate in a romance novel. It is definitely more a character study than a romance though, and I really wish we got more of Jude and Cas in the end. It was still a fantastic story.
August 21, 2024
Full review to come once I’ve had some fucking therapy or something to recover.
Okay… I’m going in. This is one of the most immaculately written books I’ve ready in a very long time. The descriptions were vivid and I even found myself highlighting exceptional metaphors. The prose was beautiful without becoming purple.
I had to read this quickly because it gave me a stomach ache. There’s this underlying sense of dread to every single page because even in the good moments you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop and rip your heart right back out again. It was actually agonising to read at points.
All the characters were incredibly well developed, including all the side characters.
This book hurt my heart and I’ll probably never read it again because it made me anxious but I’m glad I read it. Phenomenal writing and a brilliant retelling of a classic.
I feel like I need something light to recover now though 🥲
Okay… I’m going in. This is one of the most immaculately written books I’ve ready in a very long time. The descriptions were vivid and I even found myself highlighting exceptional metaphors. The prose was beautiful without becoming purple.
I had to read this quickly because it gave me a stomach ache. There’s this underlying sense of dread to every single page because even in the good moments you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop and rip your heart right back out again. It was actually agonising to read at points.
All the characters were incredibly well developed, including all the side characters.
This book hurt my heart and I’ll probably never read it again because it made me anxious but I’m glad I read it. Phenomenal writing and a brilliant retelling of a classic.
I feel like I need something light to recover now though 🥲
June 9, 2024
5⭐️
A queer coming of age Great Expectations retelling. This is the story of Jude and Cas, love and loss, hurt and comfort, and heartbreak and passion. I was truly enthralled by this entire book and can't really put into words all my feelings about it but I'll try.
Jude is 15 when his uncle starts working on a job at the Deveraux house. Jude immediately hates Caspien, the intolerable nephew of the owner of the house, Gideon. Pressured to become his friend and play nice, his obsessive dislike soon turns into passionate feelings for Cas that overtake and shift his entire world.
Not your typical romance, this book closely follows Jude as he goes from a naive and hopeful teen through all the love and heartbreak that follows him into his twenties. He is steadfast in his love for Cas to a fault. He grows and learns but never loses that hopeful, innate goodness that helps him love Cas through everything Cas throws at him. Cas is a complicated, enigmatic character. He is going to be misunderstood, but he is a product of his not-so-great environment. Cas's story is better told through the pages of this book than anything I can write.
I loved this book because there is so much to discuss about it. I think it would be a perfect book club read because I could talk for hours about Jude's journey, Cas and his choices, and the similar themes to Great Expectations. It's a reimagining, so knowing any of the story isn't necessary (I hadn't read it before), but if you do know how the story goes you can definitely pick out the similar themes. Jude and Cas have the spotlight but the other characters added so much richness to the story, I could go on and on listing all my favorite details of every character.
It was written so well, and even though it's longer I still wanted more by the time I was finished. From beginning to end I was captivated by Jude's story and his unceasing love for Cas. The only thing to make this more perfect would be a happily ever after epilogue novella with nothing but happy times (please).
Read if you like:
• coming of age
• hate to love
• slow burn
• Great Expectations retelling
•••••••••••••••••••••
A queer coming of age Great Expectations retelling. This is the story of Jude and Cas, love and loss, hurt and comfort, and heartbreak and passion. I was truly enthralled by this entire book and can't really put into words all my feelings about it but I'll try.
Jude is 15 when his uncle starts working on a job at the Deveraux house. Jude immediately hates Caspien, the intolerable nephew of the owner of the house, Gideon. Pressured to become his friend and play nice, his obsessive dislike soon turns into passionate feelings for Cas that overtake and shift his entire world.
Not your typical romance, this book closely follows Jude as he goes from a naive and hopeful teen through all the love and heartbreak that follows him into his twenties. He is steadfast in his love for Cas to a fault. He grows and learns but never loses that hopeful, innate goodness that helps him love Cas through everything Cas throws at him. Cas is a complicated, enigmatic character. He is going to be misunderstood, but he is a product of his not-so-great environment. Cas's story is better told through the pages of this book than anything I can write.
I loved this book because there is so much to discuss about it. I think it would be a perfect book club read because I could talk for hours about Jude's journey, Cas and his choices, and the similar themes to Great Expectations. It's a reimagining, so knowing any of the story isn't necessary (I hadn't read it before), but if you do know how the story goes you can definitely pick out the similar themes. Jude and Cas have the spotlight but the other characters added so much richness to the story, I could go on and on listing all my favorite details of every character.
It was written so well, and even though it's longer I still wanted more by the time I was finished. From beginning to end I was captivated by Jude's story and his unceasing love for Cas. The only thing to make this more perfect would be a happily ever after epilogue novella with nothing but happy times (please).
Read if you like:
• coming of age
• hate to love
• slow burn
• Great Expectations retelling
•••••••••••••••••••••
June 21, 2024
4.5 ⭐️ ✨
July 8, 2024
What a ride. This book is almost 600 pages long, but I picked it up and basically couldn't put it down until I finished. Scarlett Drake obviously laces her prose with crack because I had a pretty similar experience with Hamartia, which ended up being one of my favourite reads of the last few years. She really does frustrated longing incredibly well. So this is meant to be a queer Great Expectations retelling, but honestly knowing nothing about that book did not hurt my experience at all.
This story is told almost entirely from the perspective of Jude, a teenage orphan being cared for by his big sister and her husband. The husband, Luke, ends up as a groundskeeper on a mansion property own by an eccentric lord. The lord, Gideon, lives in this gothic-feeling great house alone with his teenage nephew, Caspien. Wealthy, wordly, prickly Caspien immediately becomes an object of fascination, then infatuation, for Jude. Jude, who wears his heart on his sleeve, who has no defences against the chaos that the beautiful and capricious Caspien will unleash on his life.
The book spans years and years of Jude's life, which has essentially been ruined by a teenage love-affair. I felt very frustrated with Jude at times because he spends almost the entirety of this book just completely stuck in the past, emotionally handicapped at sixteen by an absolute demon of a boy. Sure, Caspien is damaged as hell, but it was so hard for me to feel sorry for him for most of the book. He's a compelling character, though.
This wasn't an easy read. The book is filled with foreboding and has some sinister characters and dubious relationships. I also kept forgetting how bloody young the MCs are, they felt far, far too mature for their ages. There are also heavy content warnings that I would urge you to be aware of if you have triggers, because it's a lot.
This was a really intense read for me, but really good. I am fully a huge fan of Scarlett Drake now. Can't wait for her to write more stuff.
This story is told almost entirely from the perspective of Jude, a teenage orphan being cared for by his big sister and her husband. The husband, Luke, ends up as a groundskeeper on a mansion property own by an eccentric lord. The lord, Gideon, lives in this gothic-feeling great house alone with his teenage nephew, Caspien. Wealthy, wordly, prickly Caspien immediately becomes an object of fascination, then infatuation, for Jude. Jude, who wears his heart on his sleeve, who has no defences against the chaos that the beautiful and capricious Caspien will unleash on his life.
The book spans years and years of Jude's life, which has essentially been ruined by a teenage love-affair. I felt very frustrated with Jude at times because he spends almost the entirety of this book just completely stuck in the past, emotionally handicapped at sixteen by an absolute demon of a boy. Sure, Caspien is damaged as hell, but it was so hard for me to feel sorry for him for most of the book. He's a compelling character, though.
This wasn't an easy read. The book is filled with foreboding and has some sinister characters and dubious relationships. I also kept forgetting how bloody young the MCs are, they felt far, far too mature for their ages. There are also heavy content warnings that I would urge you to be aware of if you have triggers, because it's a lot.
This was a really intense read for me, but really good. I am fully a huge fan of Scarlett Drake now. Can't wait for her to write more stuff.
May 22, 2024
"Oleander" is one of the most beautiful books I've read in a long time. I would even call it a masterpiece. Although I haven't read "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens, it's unnecessary to enjoy this book.
In this coming-of-age story, we follow Jude Alcott's journey into adulthood. After losing his parents, he moves in with his sister and her husband, Luke, and they settle in a cottage near Deveraux Mansion where Jude helps Luke restore the gardens. Little does he know that he's about to meet Caspien Deveraux, the most ruthless and arrogant boy who will ultimately change his life.
Jude at first despises Caspien for his snide remarks and sarcastic attitude, but when the two of them are urged to get along, he suspects that there might be more to Cas than he lets on, and his hate develops into an all-consuming obsession and love for the only person who seems incapable of ever loving him back.
I couldn't help but feel so much love for Jude, seeing him navigate through life as he repeatedly gets his heart broken by Caspien. And Cas, well, there's not much I can say without spoiling the story but let's just say he's a layered character who's been nurtured to be bitter and cruel.
Oleander is not your typical MM romance, so it's best to go in with an open mind and enjoy the ride. The narrative is rich in substance and reads like a classic, with prose and imagery that are absolutely stunning.
If you love dark academia vibes, Oxford, London, old money aesthetics, island vibes, complex characters, and the notion of soulmates, I promise you will love this book.
*Tropes: Enemies to lovers, high angst, lots and lots of pining, bi-awakening, second chance, coming of age, slow burn, infidelity, low spice, single POV.
In this coming-of-age story, we follow Jude Alcott's journey into adulthood. After losing his parents, he moves in with his sister and her husband, Luke, and they settle in a cottage near Deveraux Mansion where Jude helps Luke restore the gardens. Little does he know that he's about to meet Caspien Deveraux, the most ruthless and arrogant boy who will ultimately change his life.
Jude at first despises Caspien for his snide remarks and sarcastic attitude, but when the two of them are urged to get along, he suspects that there might be more to Cas than he lets on, and his hate develops into an all-consuming obsession and love for the only person who seems incapable of ever loving him back.
I couldn't help but feel so much love for Jude, seeing him navigate through life as he repeatedly gets his heart broken by Caspien. And Cas, well, there's not much I can say without spoiling the story but let's just say he's a layered character who's been nurtured to be bitter and cruel.
Oleander is not your typical MM romance, so it's best to go in with an open mind and enjoy the ride. The narrative is rich in substance and reads like a classic, with prose and imagery that are absolutely stunning.
If you love dark academia vibes, Oxford, London, old money aesthetics, island vibes, complex characters, and the notion of soulmates, I promise you will love this book.
*Tropes: Enemies to lovers, high angst, lots and lots of pining, bi-awakening, second chance, coming of age, slow burn, infidelity, low spice, single POV.
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