Think twice if…
- Content warnings: Child abuse (referenced), Emotional abuse, Cheating, Terminal illness, Violence, Pregnancy loss / miscarriage, Drug use, Addiction, Toxic relationships, Sexual content
Oleander
by Scarlet Drake
A beautifully devastating Great Expectations retelling that spans a decade of obsessive love, grief, and the impossibility of escaping someone who has already ruined you.
goodreads 4.53/5 4,323 ratings
storykind_community 5/5 2 ratings
Quick fit
Is this story right for you?
A decision-first view of the reading experience.
Length599 pages
Story statusStandalone
Spice5/5 · Emotional / loving
PacingMedium
Story profile
What the story promises
The strongest reviewed signals about romance, fantasy, and the reading experience.
Romance promise
- Enemies to lovers
- M/M
- Slow burn
- High
- Emotional / loving
- The angst delivered
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- Dark/tortured soul
- Love/hate tension
- Intense / passionate
- Cathartic release
- Morally gray
- Class difference
- Slow burn with late spice
- Book hangover
- Mutual pining
- Tension
- Beautiful grief
- Obsessive love interest
- Anticipation
- He falls first
- Eye contact intensity
- Touch starvation
- Longing glances
Fantasy promise
- Contemporary romance
- Second chance
- Manor house / estate
- Contemporary
- Humans only
- Hidden past revealed
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- Small town / village
- Gothic
- Right person wrong time
- Fairytale retelling
- Forbidden love
- Corruption arc
Reading experience
- First person
- Medium
- Dark
- Lyrical
- Devastating
- Gay
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- Emotional
- Melancholic
- Atmospheric
- Brooding
- Intense
- Dramatic
- Heartbreaking
- Raw
- Angsty
- Bittersweet
- Emotional devastation
- Will make you cry
- Decade-spanning love story
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Different because
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Similar because
Fairytale retelling · Gothic · Obsessive love interest
Different because
It is completed rather than standalone. A shorter read (416 vs 599 pages).
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Similar because
Right person wrong time · M/M · Heartbreaking
Different because
It is completed rather than standalone. Spice is lower (3/5 vs 5/5).
Book details
- Length
- 599 pages
- Language
- English
- Format
- Book