Thank you to Feiwel & Friends for the digital ARC!

I've loved F&F's series of remixed classics so far, and MOST ARDENTLY might be my favorite yet. Its discussions of trans identity in a historical setting are so poignant, and I felt so represented in a literary canon that too often is exclusionary. The chemistry between Oliver and Darcy is on par with the 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries with all the charm and tension of the 2005 version, but made more meaningful because of the inherent tension that comes with being in a queer relationship in a historical setting.

Loved the reminder that queer people have always been here.

Most Ardently is such a unique take on Pride and Prejudice, and it was so much fun to read a fresh take on the beloved classic. It was impossible to not want to root for Oliver and his desire to live out his life true to himself, as a man and without a forced marriage for survival. I loved reading Novoa's retelling so much that I ended up staying awake reading the entirety in one sitting because I was so interested in the characters and the variations of the story. I do think that Lu and Charlotte were some of the more interesting reinvented characters after Oliver, but this also renewed my soft spot for Mr. Bennett.

While I absolutely recommend this to any Austen fans, I do think that those not familiar with the story may be a bit lost reading this without context. It felt more like fanfiction than a traditionally published novel (this is NOT an insult, technically all retellings are fanfiction), because the original story felt like it was in the background, allowing for Oliver's story as a transman to take precedence over it. It makes sense that it was told this way, but because of that things felt a bit rushed and unexplained, like having characters briefly appear and then disappear without a real explanation because the reader was expected to already be familiar with the source material. Anyway, my point here is that if you're unfamiliar with the original story you may want to either watch the movie or read a SparkNotes summary before you start just so you can fully enjoy things.

My only complaint was the way that the misogyny was handled in the novel, while Oliver had to deal with it, it felt like it was only ever really shown as a negative thing when it came to *his* problems, rather than in general. I know that the women in the novel weren't the focus of the story, but since it's such a strong aspect of Austen's work, it felt odd to have Oliver simply... dismiss his friends' and sisters' mistreatment compared to his own. It wasn't awful or anything at all, but it was something I felt was important enough to mention because well over a week after finishing, the way it was handled has still stuck with me.

It might look like a disproportionate amount of praise to complaints, but I honestly didn't have much to say other than I enjoyed it a lot unless it was going to include spoilers so 😅 Either way, Most Ardently is one of the more creative Pride and Prejudice retellings I've consumed, and I'm so excited for this book to come out and get into the hands of trans teens. Also, the cover is so pretty, the peacock? The hand reaching? *chef's kiss*

i absolutely love when the classics get remixed by queer people - i've always hated pride & prejudice (which might have something to do with being forced to read it) but absolutely adore the 2005 movie. (the hand flex. every. time.)

reading this is a breath of fresh air into a pretty beloved classic that makes it juuuust different enough that you know you aren't reading austen but isn't so far from the og that you're left going "huh???"

anyways 10/10 will read again.

(thanks to netgalley and macmillian for the egalley)

Pride and Prejudice was the first classic I fell in love with and the thing that made me decide to be an English major, so it holds a special place in my heart...and that is why I was so excited to read Gabe Cole Novoa's remix featuring trans boy Oliver and gay Darcy. From the first line, I was instantly captivated. I love how well Novoa worked in familiar Pride and Prejudice lines/plots but with his own twist -- for example, the ballroom scene where Darcy and Oliver first meet.

I am also a sucker for historical mentions of queerness, and so the scenes set in the Molly houses (Regency-era gay clubs/coffeehouses, essentially) were among my favorites. Pure queer joy. Everything here, from the prose down to the dialogue, felt unbelievably true to Austen and so, so wonderful. Darcy is, as always, a delight. Mr. Bennett is, unexpectedly, a delight (and every queer kid's dream parent!!). And Oliver is, of course, the shining star.

The only reason I'm taking a star off is because it went by so fast, I almost wish the book had been longer. Some subplots from the original (such as the Kitty/Wickham one) were cut and I didn't miss those, but I did wish that Darcy and Oliver had gotten to spend more time on the page together.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Feiwel & Friends, and Gabe Cole Novoa for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! This is my first Remixed Classic, but it certainly won't be my last!

This book was… fine? I’d gone in with really high expectations as I’d seen some of my favorite creators review and love it but was quickly let down. I want to start by saying that none of this review will comment on the representation of the main character, Oliver, and his experience as I have no personal experience with it (so please look into the reviews of others in the LGBTQ+ community if that is what you’re looking for). However, I will say that the main character being called by both their real name and deadname was handled very well and wasn’t difficult to follow or comprehend even if both were used in back to back sentences! But, that being said, the diversity in this book is wonderful and authentic (as much as possible) and brings about representation for minorities in a classic piece. That being said, the mixture of diversity and the period style did not mesh well for me. I could buy into one or the other but when the two heavily intertwined I found it hard to believe it and stay engaged. It is written in modern English so much of the talk or verbiage about the diversity of the characters seemed much too current and modern for a period piece. Also at times, the book quoted the original book and the movie adaptation which immediately broke me out of the experience. I understand some of the famous lines might’ve seemed tempting but it created a weird (in my opinion) experience of modern language with some older language lines that didn’t seem to fit into the plot as well.
I love the characters, and many stay extremely true to the classic characters we already know and love, but at times the characters that changed, such as Darcy, seemed rushed. The ending, which I won’t spoil, could’ve taken longer to build or been led up to better as it felt very rushed and out of character for Darcy and Mrs. Bennett in many ways. Lastly, I wish this book wasn’t marketed as YA. The characters being aged down is uncomfortable and also the experiences available and the possible ways to describe would’ve grown had it been New Adult or even Adult. As a YA novel I like it a lot less because some parts of it felt simplified purely for the audience but not being the right choice for the story. The book does have a historical context note at the very end which, had it been at the beginning, would’ve given it another half a star. By placing this context at the end it makes the book seem more fictitious than it is so had I read it first I would’ve had a better understanding of the realistic touches the author took as they were very well done. But, believing they were fiction not historically-based did make the novel seem a bit more far fetched to read.

This book was amazing -- I absolutely loved the flipped perspective of Lizzy being a trans man, and Darcy being a queer man. Their relationship was perfect, and I adored how the author used the framework of this classic story and queered it up.

The Remixed Classics series (Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix, Teach the Torches to Burn, e.g.) is laudable in its efforts to provide queer teens a chance to see themselves in some of the our most revered white cishet classics, but judged on its literary merits alone, "Most Ardently" falls short. The dialogue veers awkwardly between 21st century ally-ship and snippets of Austen's original prose. A romance between a gay Darcy and a transmasc Elizabeth/Oliver is an interesting choice, but most of the 19th century gender dynamics wittily dissected by Austen are lost in translation. The characters are inconsistent; Mrs. Bennett hews closely to her Austen behavior for 95% of the book, only to undergo a complete personality transformation at the story's climactic scene. If you want to read a cute historical romance between two boys, this isn't a bad novel, but in its well-intentioned efforts to provide a queer experience, it sacrifices most of the meaningful themes of the original.

This was cute! I found it a little odd to have all the characters aged down and the story felt a touch rushed, but overall this was well done. A trans Pride & Prejudice retelling that incorporates the most memorable parts of the original with a new storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this advanced copy.

Such a sweet story and really romantic. However, it was all okay for me.

In this Pride and Prejudice retelling, the second eldest Bennett is a trans boy who's not yet out to his family or society. It's less enemies to lovers since Oliver is immediately taken with Darcy when he's dressed as himself, but Darcy's rudeness to him when he wears dresses complicates and is presented as "Elizabeth" complicates their relationship. Especially since Oliver doesn't want him to realize those two people are the same. The writing and dialogue are a bit modern, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Most Ardently is a queer P&P retelling where the second eldest Bennet child is a trans boy and Darcy is gay.

Oliver’s journey carries this book. It’s sweet, but the rushed ending left me wanting more. Some of the parallels from Austen are good, like Charlotte and Lu, but the original scenes didn’t remind me of Austen’s characters. Change the names and there’s nothing of a witty Lizzy Bennet and proud Mr. Darcy.

There’s not much nuance and characterization to anyone other than Oliver, not even Darcy, which is too bad given the importance of female friendships in Oliver’s life. The made-up geography boggled my mind and aging down these characters to 14-18 and calling them girls and boys made the canon-compliant push to get married uncomfortable to read.

While this doesn’t fit the mold as an Austen retelling, I want more queer historicals and queer JAFF. Plus, that cover!

Content note: Oliver isn’t out for most of the book and is often deadnamed, although not in the narrative.

As a self-proclaimed super fan of the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice I was super excited to dive into this reimagining— a YA take featuring a trans MC. This was so fun and heartwarming and despite the challenges and harder topics like transphobia, sexism and class differences the story was overall one of hope and romance. Taking on a Jane Austen classic is no easy feat and I really admire the author for doing a great job with it. Some of the characterisations didn’t feel *quite* like the original in my opinion, though I fully take responsibility for that as someone who’s extremely opinionated about the original! I thought the romance was sweet and loved how it developed, and overall I’d highly recommend Most Ardently for Jane Austen fans looking for a fun and quick remix on a beloved classic!

An excellent remix of Pride and Prejudice in which Elizabeth Bennet is a trans boy called Oliver. I very much enjoyed this story. The ending was a little saccharine but I loved watching Oliver and Darcy come together - differently, but still the same in a lot of ways. The descriptions of Oliver's gender dysphoria were also spot on and gave me the shivers. Overall this was an excellent book.

The last thing Oliver Bennet wants is to become someone's wife. But as a 17 year old trans boy in 1812 London (and one who most people don't know is a boy) that's exactly what the people around him are pushing him to become. His only temporary escape is to tell his family he's going to his friend Charlotte's house, where he has boy's clothes stashed, and then venture out from there as his true self. But when Fitzwilliam Darcy comes to town, things get complicated. When Oliver was presenting as a girl, Darcy was rude to him; but when they meet again with Oliver openly being a boy, Darcy is pleasant, and the two of them strike up what could even be considered a friendship. But Darcy doesn't know that the two people he's met are the same person, and Oliver lives in constant terror of being found out, even as he longs to openly live as himself--the Bennet son.

Most Ardently follows Pride and Prejudice fairly closely, which I found fun. It's set in the same time period, with the same characters--the biggest changes made are ones involving Oliver's gender, and anything that might impact. It's everything I love about Pride and Prejudice, plus a lot more. Most Ardently is very well done, and I will definitely be thinking about this book for a long time.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I gave this book a 3.7 ⭐️ I was really looking forward to this book because I’ve been wanting to read more lgbtq+ stories and main characters. The story of Oliver Bennet was very intriguing but I felt myself just aimlessly reading the story. I didn’t have any emotional attachment to the characters and the storyline.

I did like how the author added their own twists like the Collins and Wickham scheme.

Overall I would def recommend this read! Just because I had a few issues doesn’t mean anyone else will!

my interest for this book was sparked by the beautiful cover! thank you for to netgalley and the publisher for this arc! this book was very cute! i liked the romance but the plot itself was a bit slow for me. i recommend this book to lovers of P&P!

I'm a huge fan of Pride & Prejudice and love reading retellings and reimaginings of the story. Most Ardently is an incredible entry into this set of novels.

There is incredible nuance put into the character of Oliver. Novoa detailing the hard parts of Oliver living as he is. I thought he did a fantastic job of putting this story into the context of the time.

I find Darcy to be a more open character in this novel than the original, and it allows Darcy & Oliver to progress more quickly.

Overall I thought the book was much more fast paced than the original, but I was in the mood for something like that and I thought it still worked well, although we didn't get a lot of time to spend with other side characters.

I enjoyed the changes that were made while still being true to those iconic plot points. I highly recommend this book as an inclusive homage to the original.

Oliver Bennet is tired of living two lives. When Bingley and Darcy come to town the whole Bennet household into chaos. Oliver and Darcy get along famously but Darcy doesn’t seem to like Elizabeth. Oliver is trying to find a way to live as his authentic self while finding a way to love. I wanted to love this. The plot was fine, but the writing was very staccato. The story would jump between story beats and it was a bit jarring. I still loved Oliver’s journey, it was a sweet tale.

I enjoyed this adaptation of P&P with a trans main character- Oliver is a well-realized boy living in a time when he would have been expected to conform to a lot of gender expressions that would not suit him.

I like that Oliver is true to himself, and unfliching about his needs and his future. I think the queer indentities reflected in the world of the novel feel true and real. I also love that Oliver's relationships with his father and Jane remain close and loving in this retelling. Sexism is also not addressed in a lot of places as being bad for its own sake, but rather bad as directed at Oliver, since he's actually a boy. I do think most of the women in this story are woefully underwritten, and there are times one might forget Oliver even has more than one sister.

The plot is where things fall a bit flat for me. I like the Darcy romance, and I wouldn't change it in the slightest. I do think that the Collins and Wickham plot felt overthought and underproofed. Why would Wickham want to marry him? Oliver has no great inheritance, and he would probably not be a very good wife. Collins has no reason to believe that Oliver could inherit the house, even though he is a boy, the law has no prescedent for a trans boy to inherit his father's property. I do like that Oliver gets to inherit his father's property, but Collins scheming over it feels weird and unnecessary,

This has the bones and basic structure of the original story, with a new and fun remix of sorts! I loved seeing the queer representation in this regency society, and this was a lovely interpretation of the characters.