Oleander

A Great Expectations Reimagining

De: Scarlett Drake

Narrado por: George Naylor

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.

©2024 Scarlett Drake (P)2024 Scarlett Drake

Absolutely beautiful

I saw the amazing reviews and had to check this out. I barely ever leave reviews unless something blows me away and I read multiple books a week. This was probably my favorite book of the entire year. Absolutely beautiful writing. the character development was everything I want in a book. The writing style was just beautiful. Can't emphasize it enough. Don't even get me started on the insanely talented narrator. Everything about this book and the way it was narrated just blew me away. I didn't want it to be over. Don't take my word for it; check it out yourself and thank me later!

Heartbreaking 💔

This book consumed me for two days. I could feel everything deep inside as the author read.

Ups and downs

I knew what I was getting into but still just didn’t love it. It’s beautifully written and I love Scarlett Drake but it’s just tooo long. And pretty miserable. I don’t mind extended separations in books and some angst but only if they have an actual established relationship (at any point) and you just didn’t get that here. Also a lot of it didn’t really make sense in the end, like how certain things connected to others (don’t want to spoil anything). Plus there wasn’t even enough spice to make the misery worth it. Lastly, Jude’s attitude towards his sister made no sense considering how forgiving he was to Caspian’s many many flaws. If you’re younger you’ll probably find the story endearing and romantic but being in my late thirties, it was just unrealistic and I had trouble connecting to the mcs melodrama. The narration is perfection!

Absolutely devastating and hopeful

My heart was heavy throughout the whole book. I had a hard time relating to caspien until the last portion of the book, but Jude? Ugh! I just wanted to hug him. It was definitely a hard earned HEA and worth it. The narrator was amazing and I couldn’t believe how well defined each character sounded. Loved this so much!

This one will leave a mark.

Beautiful story, with lovely, almost poetic writing and an amazing performance. Anyone who has felt heartbreak will recognize it here. Strongly recommend - but only if you’re prepared to give up the next 17 hours to it.