Q U I C K S T A T S
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Setting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
T H E B O O K
// Content Warning: Death of parent (mentioned) / Death / Grief / Murder / Violence //
Publisher: Blink/HarperCollin
Age rating: 14+
Genre(s): Historical fiction
Pub date: 06/03/2018
P R E M I S E
Olivia Brownlow is no damsel in distress. Born in a workhouse and raised as a boy among thieving London street gangs, she is as tough and cunning as they come. When she is taken in by her uncle after a caper gone wrong, her life goes from fighting and stealing on the streets to lavish dinners and soirees as a debutante in high society. But she can’t seem to escape her past … or forget the teeming slums where children just like her still scrabble to survive.
Jack MacCarron rose from his place in London’s East End to become the adopted “nephew” of a society matron. Little does society know that MacCarron is a false name for a boy once known among London gangs as the Artful Dodger, and that he and his “aunt” are robbing them blind every chance they get. When Jack encounters Olivia Brownlow in places he least expects, his curiosity is piqued. Why is a society girl helping a bunch of homeless orphan thieves? Even more intriguing, why does she remind him so much of someone he once knew? Jack finds himself wondering if going legit and risking it all might be worth it for love.
Olivia Twist is an innovative reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic tale Oliver Twist, in which Olivia was forced to live as a boy for her own safety until she was rescued from the streets. Now eighteen, Olivia finds herself at a crossroads: revealed secrets threaten to destroy the “proper” life she has built for her herself, while newfound feelings for an arrogant young man she shouldn’t like could derail her carefully laid plans for the future
M Y R E V I E W
↬ PRE-THOUGHTS
This concept is mind boggling and I'm 100% ready for it.
↬ PLOT
Imagine Oliver Twist except Oliver is a girl who enjoys regularly cross dressing and meeting with orphans like the Secret Seven. Except the main ship here is Oliver and Dodger. Now that I think about it, I wish it was canon in the original work.
This retelling sticks to the original storyline but includes some extra jazz like Olivia's potential marriage (about that; the 'fiancé' disappears like halfway through the book and never comes back) and the murder which was highly unnecessary. I mean the character was annoying so oh well.
↬ WRITING AND SETTING
Victorian England, how I love the setting. Do I have anything else to say besides this? no.
↬ CHARACTERS
Olivia was an immediate favourite and I loved her. I loved how she managed to go undetected as a boy through the same streets she'll don gowns and walk in.
Jack reminded me of Thomas Cresswell (from Stalking Jack the Ripper aka my husband) except the criminal version. Something like My Brother's Spare except less assassiny and more pickpockety.
Them as a couple? *chef's kiss*
↬ CONCLUSION
Pros: Dodger (but as Jack)
Cons: Max and murder (but highly unnecessary)
Overall rating: 4/5
S I M I L A R B O O K S
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
↬ Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget
B O O K S M E N T I O N E D
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
My Brother's Spare by Shira Behore
A D D I T I O N A L R E S O U R C E S
F I N D M E
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