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syl_val15's review
5.0
Olivia Twist by Lorie Langdon
5/5 Stars!
What's not to love about this book?
1) The story take place in the 19th century in England.
2) A retelling of Charles Dicken's infamous book 'Oliver Twist'
3) Oliver Twist's gender is the opposite from the original tale
4) A lead character who is also a badass woman in th Victorian era
The author did a really good job on reimagining on a gender-bending take on the classic Oliver Twist, this delightfully frothy romance set in a comfortably recognizable London, has well-drawn characters and excellent pacing and plotting, it made a quick and fun read for me, I also enjoyed the romance between the tw main characters, as well as the historical period.
The pratoganist Olivia Brownlow was forced to spend the majority her life living as a boy named Oliver Twist for her own sake in order to protect herself among the street gangs in London. Until she was rescued by her long-lost uncle at age 12 while she was pick-pocketing him. Now she's living in a luxury with her uncle and attending to high society parties, also to find and marry to a suitable husband, because we are talking about the 19th century.
She never forgot who she was and where she came from and who took her under his wings while she was living on the streets as an orphan little boy. She disguises herself as a man at midnight and goes helping less fortunate and orphan children. When she encounters Jack MacCarron, she recognizes him as the boy who saved her when they were just kids, and her world turns upside down, they sense the familirity about each other, however for Jack it as a bit difficult to recognize her fully, because she was disguising herself as a boy many years ago and now she's a high society, grown lady. And so on an attraction grows between the two of them. Will they have to sacrifice and lose everything in order to be together or will they have to forget about one another?
The writing style was lovely and the whole story was written very beautifuly, I loved Olivia for her sassiness and her kind heart and I loved Dodger for his scrappiness and also for his heart. Dodger aka Jack may seem as a cocky, arrogant and a ladies man but at heart he was more than that, the complete opposite of his apperance.
Overall, I really enjoyed every part of this book. HIghly recommended!
5/5 Stars!
What's not to love about this book?
1) The story take place in the 19th century in England.
2) A retelling of Charles Dicken's infamous book 'Oliver Twist'
3) Oliver Twist's gender is the opposite from the original tale
4) A lead character who is also a badass woman in th Victorian era
The author did a really good job on reimagining on a gender-bending take on the classic Oliver Twist, this delightfully frothy romance set in a comfortably recognizable London, has well-drawn characters and excellent pacing and plotting, it made a quick and fun read for me, I also enjoyed the romance between the tw main characters, as well as the historical period.
The pratoganist Olivia Brownlow was forced to spend the majority her life living as a boy named Oliver Twist for her own sake in order to protect herself among the street gangs in London. Until she was rescued by her long-lost uncle at age 12 while she was pick-pocketing him. Now she's living in a luxury with her uncle and attending to high society parties, also to find and marry to a suitable husband, because we are talking about the 19th century.
She never forgot who she was and where she came from and who took her under his wings while she was living on the streets as an orphan little boy. She disguises herself as a man at midnight and goes helping less fortunate and orphan children. When she encounters Jack MacCarron, she recognizes him as the boy who saved her when they were just kids, and her world turns upside down, they sense the familirity about each other, however for Jack it as a bit difficult to recognize her fully, because she was disguising herself as a boy many years ago and now she's a high society, grown lady. And so on an attraction grows between the two of them. Will they have to sacrifice and lose everything in order to be together or will they have to forget about one another?
The writing style was lovely and the whole story was written very beautifuly, I loved Olivia for her sassiness and her kind heart and I loved Dodger for his scrappiness and also for his heart. Dodger aka Jack may seem as a cocky, arrogant and a ladies man but at heart he was more than that, the complete opposite of his apperance.
Overall, I really enjoyed every part of this book. HIghly recommended!
deschatjes's review
4.0
Clever twist on the original while keeping true to the spirit of Dickens with coincidences abounding and favourite characters reappearing in different guides
leasummer's review against another edition
4.0
I was not expecting this to be a romance! It was really enjoyable. Historical romance, cross dressing, mystery and stabbing! A dog side kick, orphans and an inheritance brings out a half brother. So much adventure and drama! I loved it. Unexpectedly delightful.
valentinaburbank's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
pacific_blue4's review
1.0
Overall: this book was a surprise and not in a good way. When I saw the title, I was intrigued. I absolutely love Charles Dickens and was interested in how the author would pull this off.
This book has so many negatives...where to start??
One: the writing leaves a lot to be desired. It's sentence after sentence of the author placing adjectives by every noun. This got annoying. It also has the hallmarks of a romance novel, chief among them being absolutely ridiculous physical descriptions. You know the kind: silver or violet or amber colored eyes, physical descriptions that verge on the absurd.This is a huge pet peeve of mine.
I found this book in a Christian bookstore, and I was surprised by the content: language, sexual content (main characters come very close to having sex), and, as is typical with books like this these days, the male 'protagonist' is a creep. He's violent and bad-tempered and abusuve (esp. toward the main character), but, of course, this is absolutely excusable because he's the love interest and for some insane reason that is now the thing in novels. To top things off, Olivia makes the dumbest choices. Each chapter is these characters conveniently bumping into one another for a lust-filled encounter.
The plot was weak, characters cliche and unintelligent, writing unengaging. I do not recommend this read. Stick to the original Oliver Twist. If you must read this, get it from the library.
This book has so many negatives...where to start??
One: the writing leaves a lot to be desired. It's sentence after sentence of the author placing adjectives by every noun. This got annoying. It also has the hallmarks of a romance novel, chief among them being absolutely ridiculous physical descriptions. You know the kind: silver or violet or amber colored eyes, physical descriptions that verge on the absurd.This is a huge pet peeve of mine.
I found this book in a Christian bookstore, and I was surprised by the content: language, sexual content (main characters come very close to having sex), and, as is typical with books like this these days, the male 'protagonist' is a creep. He's violent and bad-tempered and abusuve (esp. toward the main character), but, of course, this is absolutely excusable because he's the love interest and for some insane reason that is now the thing in novels. To top things off, Olivia makes the dumbest choices. Each chapter is these characters conveniently bumping into one another for a lust-filled encounter.
The plot was weak, characters cliche and unintelligent, writing unengaging. I do not recommend this read. Stick to the original Oliver Twist. If you must read this, get it from the library.
mallowmelt_butterblasts's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
krystlethegreat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
readmorebooks_09's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Murder and Abandonment