“They were two boys dancing together for all in the room to see, and Oliver never felt happier.”




Oh, gosh, what can't I say about this book! When it comes down to retellings of Jane Austen classics, I focus on several things: The characters (how 2-Dimensional are they? Do they feel real? Do they grow?) and how closely the author sticks to the original story (Sticking too close to the story isn't always a great thing! It can feel stifling!), and how believable does the setting feel. And Novoa kills all three!

I really love the way Novoa wrote all the characters from the original story, and how he weaved new characters into his retelling as well. I adore Oliver Bennet. I loved this new side of Darcy! I understand the motives of Charlotte Lucus, even though I mourn for her. Every character felt real and wanted nothing more than to see all of them experience this world and grow. Novoa clearly loves the original story and researched the new elements to make them feel believable in this text. He doesn't stick too closely to the narrative-- he makes Pride and Prejudice his own! He took a chance and it really payed off.

I do wish there was more time spent towards the conclusion of this novel, and I do wish more time was spent focusing on how the system is unfair for everyone, and how different people navigate this system, though. That said, I really enjoyed that the transgender and queer characters were treated with nothing but respect not only in the narrative (the narrator never misgenders Oliver,) but by other characters as well. The interactions between Mr. Bennet and Oliver were so heartwarming I cried. Transgender readers really do deserve this sort of support and recognition. I feel like me, as a cisgender reader, understands how Oliver feels about being misgendered, and I think that's a lovely lesson to leave a book with.

The author describes this best in his epilogue: "To my trans siblings: We deserve romance that will sweep us off our feet, too. That's why this book is for you."

"Most Ardently" is such a breathtaking relief after the transphobic nightmare that was Curtis Sittenfeld's "Eligible." The transgender character is not here for shock value, nor to be edgy and different. Oliver Bennet is a real, 3-Dimensional character with wants and dreams who grows into himself. Every book in a library has a reader; If a reader wants a transgender main character in a Jane Austen or Regency romance where the character thrives in the original world, this is their book.

Absolutely beautiful. The Classic Remix series hasn't failed me yet.

I’m a huge fan of fairytale retellings, and last year, I learned that there are retellings of various classic novels. So here we are with an LGBT remix of Pride & Prejudice. I’m a fan of the original book, so of course I was all over this retelling the second I saw it. We follow Oliver Bennet, a transgender man living in London. It’s 1812, and he’s forced to pretend to be a woman among the majority of his family as well as the world during family outings in society. Oliver savors every second he is able to live as his true self rather than being forced into corsets and dresses and go by a name that was never his.

One of the things that I love about this book is that there is so much depth to the characters. While I’m a fan of the original story, I always preferred its movie adaptations because I always felt that the book was lacking in a few ways. However, this retelling gave me what I always felt was missing and then so much more. Oliver and Darcy are the two characters that we know the best throughout the story. I truly felt for Oliver at every turn, especially as we watched him struggle with the prejudices against him and anyone in the LGBT+ community. One of the most heartbreaking things was to watch him deal with the fact that he may lose some of the family members he cared so much about once they learned he is a trans man.

Generally, Darcy is a very closed off character, so it was nice to see him given so much depth. I could really see how and why Oliver falls in love with him. I could also see and understand why Darcy appears to be extremely closed off and stand offish to most people. It was extremely exciting to read Gabe’s take on Darcy as well as his budding friendship and romance with Oliver.

While it would’ve been nice to see more time devoted to getting to know more supporting characters, I am satisfied with the other supporting characters. Jane is extremely supportive of Oliver and every bit the kind and caring character she’s always been. There are a few other characters who accept Oliver from the second he trusts them to see and know his true self, but I don’t want to say who they are because that’d be a smidge spoilery. That said, I absolutely loved Gabe’s take on these characters even though we didn’t get to see much of some of them beyond the surface.

The overall story is absolutely excellent. I breezed through the book because I didn’t want to put it down. A few of the characters are not harmless like they are in the original book, and it was interesting to see what happened with them as their plots came to an end. I will say that one of those characters does impact one of Oliver’s friendships, so it was kind of strange to see that loose end left completely in the air even through the epilogue. I think that’s the only complaint I really have because it’s a pretty major loose end that crops up right at the end of the book and then is left in the air as if that friendship was suddenly long forgotten. Otherwise, this is a truly excellent book and I look forward to checking out the author’s other work.

This book made my heart happy. Almost any and all historical queer books do, and almost any and all Austen retellings do, so this was truly the perfect book for me. For starters, I loved Oliver. He was a fantastic character, with a lot of nuance. And he was a book lover, which made me love him even more. He also had amazing development, learning to be more true to himself. On top of all of that, he had great relationships with those around him, especially with Jane, Charlotte and Lu, and his father. I liked his relationship with Darcy, as it was wholesome and sweet, but I struggled a bit with Darcy himself because I felt like not all of his flaws were well addressed. I also struggled a bit with the plot of the book. I loved the way the author twisted the original story and characters, making the story his own and so fantastically queer, but I wish that the ending had been a bit more dramatic and felt more complete, especially in regards to Mrs. Bennett. However, overall, I really did love this queer, trans Austen retelling and I highly recommend it.

I LOVE the idea of remaking classics with a realistic twist that highlight real stories, like this one. I loved other books in this series, and this one was cute. An easy, quick read. I think that there were a few bits that didn’t translate as well from the original but it is still a good remake. No boiled potatoes mentioned, though. 😉


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book! Opinions are my own.

*4.5 stars

I'm always down for a queer P&P retelling and this hit the spot! I do wish the book was longer since it did feel like there were a few rushed things. But ultimately I read this in four hours which tells me I was invested all the way through and enjoyed it.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and am very glad to have read this book.

It's a truly immaculate premise for a fellow trans boy-ish gay person to read. Oliver Bennett moves through a rough approximation of Pride and Prejudice, but with fun asides and story changes along the way. I deeply enjoyed watching Oliver navigate his life, watch him navigate his relationships both as himself and as a pretend girl, and seek out new experiences. It was great to see the fair, to see Molly Houses, and other queer folks in the Regency. Reading about a bunch of queer people finding each other always makes me feel like I've stumbled upon a treasure box.

With all of these things in mind, I'm giving this two stars for a few reasons:

There was no need for the characters to be aged down to teenagers. It was very clear that they were aged down to market the book as YA, but in the original book, Elizabeth is about 20. This is not wildly out of the YA market range. Making him 17 in this book was distracting, and frankly pointless. It makes Mrs. Bennett's urge to get him married more alarming, since 17 was still considered young to be married in the Regency.

Secondly, and most importantly, there was very little nuance with the emotional notes and characterizations. Oliver is debilitated by dysphoria in an almost stereotyping way, and he doesn't have a realistic method of navigating his world. He behaves as though secrecy and safety are lies he is telling people, rather than necessities that he can learn to navigate. I do not love a transphobic world. But in the transphobic framework of the world that is established in this book, Oliver is deeply out of step with how I think he would be. It is impractical and dangerous to assume the happy ending here would be living publically, out loud, rather than in privacy and security.

Along this vein, the villains are villainous in a comically overdramatic way, with everything they say apparently specially designed to give a trans person dysphoria. There are no microaggressions here, there are hammers here like "You have beautiful child bearing hips." It's unbearably black and white, and ludicrous to read. Likewise, the heroes of this story never falter, never have anything less than perfect acceptance and understanding.

I would be fine with the unwavering support but unfortunately it is also boring. One can be a supportive father of a trans son and still be surprised, can still be funny, can still have emotionally deep and interesting conversations about it. But even the supportive comments are copy-and-pasted "I love and support you and I'm proud of you." There is nothing of substance there, nothing complex and human, nothing with teeth.

I was very set up to love this book, but it just missed the complexity and the heart.

“I can’t imagine, that you could ever be unextraordinary.”

Pretty sure I swooned my way through this read.

I love Pride and Prejudice, so reading a trans MLM retelling? Chefs kiss amazing.

I loved Oliver’s joy in this book, it made my heart soar and the romance is so so endearingly sweet. It kept so many things from the Classic I loved while adding new dimensions to Mr Bennett and other characters.

A must read retelling.

A very solid retelling of a well known classic. This book twists the original story of Pride and Prejudice to made it LGBTQ+ while also maintaining the original story of the book. Oliver’s story was a heartwarming tale of becoming the person you were always meant to be and this book is very important for young people facing similar struggles.

A cute reimagining of a classic novel! It definitely convinced me to add the original to my TBR or at least check out one of the many adaptions in the future.

Thanks NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC! I’m a sucker for any Pride and Prejudice themed or retelling books and this did not disappoint. The representation in here were done amazingly, never would I have thought of a classic retelling with a Trans MC, I also loved the additions of Molly Houses (that were definitely a real thing in this time period) along with the mix of new plot lines and old ones. If you love queer books and Pride and Prejudice. Then this is the book for you, incredible read with wholesome moments that balance the true reality of queerness in the 1700s-1800s.

I don’t normally enjoy historical romances very much but I really enjoyed this one. I loved the way the family and friends accepted Oliver so easily. It was so comforting to see and it made me so happy for the character. I also loved Darcy but I love the grumpy characters in books anyway. This was really good except I have a few critiques I don’t want to lay out in my review. I would definitely recommend this book and it made me want to explore more of the remixed books.

I want to begin my review with an important disclaimer: I am an adult cishet college professor, and therefore not at all the target audience for this novel. I’m evaluating this book as a literary scholar who teaches both children’s literature and nineteenth century literature. I’ve taught both Austen and Austen adaptations in the past, and I wanted to read MOST ARDENTLY partly because I might include it on a future syllabus. (I also both read and write historical romance, but I’m trying NOT to talk from that perspective in this particular review.)

When I view MOST ARDENTLY purely as a YA romance, it’s adorable. Oliver is an awesome lead because he is sweet and vulnerable but also determined. He knows what he wants and he’s willing to work to get it—even if his desires seem impossible, given his time period. He makes some mistakes in his evaluation of characters but, like Elizabeth Bennet in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, he is able to correct his assumptions and adjust his opinions. The way he and Darcy bond over books is great, and their cautious kisses and confessions of love are downright swoony. The teen romance aspect of the book is on point, at least for readers who don’t demand spice.

When I view the novel as an Austen adaptation, I can see that it deviates from the original in a lot of ways, especially with regard to characters and character development. Like many of the writers who’ve adapted P&P, Novoa is interested in redeeming characters whom Austen did not bother to redeem. (Let’s face it, Austen is sometimes cruel to the flawed secondary characters in her novels.) While I agree with some reviewers that [Mrs. Bennet's development seems unrealistic}, I also appreciate the importance of Oliver finding the acceptance he needed from his family. Oliver’s father is a much better parent than the original Mr. Bennet, but his character is consistent throughout the novel. His relationship with Oliver builds on the rapport that Elizabeth had with her father in P&P.

It's when I view MOST ARDENTLY as historical fiction that I have objections. One of the reasons people read historical fiction is to “visit” a past time period and try to understand what it might have been like to live then. This is why “historical accuracy” does matter to some extent, maybe particularly in books aimed at readers unfamiliar with the historical time period.

Sometimes MOST ARDENTLY succeeds in revealing the past, as when it introduces readers to Molly Houses and the queer culture that existed in Regency London. I suspect many readers (both adult and teen) have never heard of Molly Houses. I love the way MOST ARDENTLY shows not only that queer people have always existed but that they have formed supportive communities and built affirming spaces even in harsh times.

On the other hand, the book misrepresents some aspects of Regency life. This is particularly true with regard to the ages of the characters. The rules of YA demand that its leads be teens, which means that all the characters are aged down. For some of the characters, this works, but for others, it really doesn’t. For example, Lydia would not have attended balls at all, because balls were only for girls and men who had already entered the adult world. The problem gets worse when it comes to Darcy and Bingley, but please skip down to the final paragraph of the review if you are not interested in a longwinded explanation!

Longwinded explanation: In the Regency period, women joined the adult world and were considered old enough for courtship and marriage at a young age, sometimes as early as 17, more often around 18. Once women got into their mid-20s, they were considered to be old maids. Conduct book writers explicitly said that a woman’s physical prime lasted only from ages 16-21, so women ought to focus on finding husbands then (cringe!). The novel gets that right: Charlotte’s worries about her economic future are perfectly reasonable for this time period, and it’s also understandable that Oliver’s family consider Oliver old enough to marry, given that they mistake him for a girl.

What MOST ARDENTLLY gets wrong, or misrepresents, is the age at which wealthy young men like Darcy and Bingley were considered old enough for courtship and marriage. Men of the gentry class did not typically court women till after attending a university, and often not until their mid-to-late 20s. Some advice writers explicitly said that men should not marry until at least 21, and in practice men often waited longer to marry, especially those men who needed professions. This is the reason for the large age gaps in many nineteenth-century novels and some historical fiction.

If Darcy were really only about 19 (as he seems to be), he would probably still have been up at Oxford or Cambridge, and his family would not have expected him to marry. So, in depicting him as being just a little older than Oliver, the novel gives an inaccurate depiction of what life was life for young men in this time period. If Novoa wanted to make Darcy, Bingley, Collins and Wickham of marrying age, these characters should have all been between 24-30. Once he hit 25, Darcy’s family might have started pressuring him to marry. They wouldn’t have done so at the age he was depicted in MOST ARDENTLY.

Similarly, the real life Watier’s was an exclusive men’s club known for high stakes gambling. I can’t imagine it having a special night for “boys and young men,” because schoolboys were not supposed to be gambling in men’s clubs. That wasy something they might start doing in their early 20s, after leaving their university. Oliver watching performances at a fair is historically accurate, but not his going to Watier's with Darcy.

Of course, a 17-year-old and a 25-year-old having a romantic relationship would be extremely problematic (if not outright criminal) in our 21st century world. I understand why Novoa would not/could not write an age gap like that in a YA book. But as a result, the novel inaccurately depicts the lives of young men of the gentry class in 1813. There are also some stumbles in its depiction of social status, but they seem less significant than the age issue.

TL; DR: Though MOST ARDENTLY is an adorable YA romance, readers should be cautioned that its setting is more historical-ish rather than historically accurate. The novel could certainly be used in a high school or college classroom as an Austen adaptation, but an instructor might want to discuss some of the historical inaccuracies.

It physically pains me to DNF (Chapter 7) this. Especially when others are enjoying it so much.

Gabe Cole Novoa is an excellent writer. He has a strong voice and a compelling perspective that I enjoy. One of my absolute favorite aspects of own voices stories is the way they bring to light the "little" things that people outside the group don't think about but that mean A LOT to those within it. Things such as looking at your reflection or being reminded of parts of yourself you don't like.

I have faith that Novoa wrote a brilliant story about personal growth and self acceptance which is why I've given this 3 stars without completing the book.

However, I cannot bring myself to give it more than 3 stars or keep going. I don't think it was horrible book or that it warranted a lower rating. It was fine. However, this is NOT a Pride and Prejudice retelling. This is its own story which uses familiar names and plot points to try and take the reader on a new journey. The whole point of the original novel is the antagonistic relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy, spurred on by the fact they don't really know each other, and can't be bothered to overcome their own shortcomings to change that. That's not the case in this story. Oliver gets an insight into Darcy's character long before "Elizabeth" is given a good enough reason to dislike him.

My other objections are small alterations to the plot/setting that are likely to bother P&P purists, like the prominence of London (within walking distance), Darcy being labeled as "hating women", and Jane being sent out in the rain not before it. These are not big things, and I know that, but they matter if you're trying to use them in this way.

Ultimately, I feel that Novoa has something interesting to say but this story and the style of writing (attempting to emulate Austen) doesn't suit him as an author. If you're interested in his work I'd recommend The Wicked Bargain. It was phenomenal.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This concept is amazing! This series retells classic stories like Pride and Prejudice but changes the characters from heterosexual Caucasians to people in the LGBTQ community and changes their race.

Oliver is an enjoyable, well-rounded character. Oliver is confident as a man with quick wit and a sense of humor. He quickly makes friends and is living his truth in men's clothing. He can travel all over town without escort and enjoy the privilege that comes with being a man.

Due to keeping his identity a secret from his family it adds a layer of trauma. At home he is forced to wear dresses and answer to his dead name Elizabeth. His freedom is stripped away when he is being misgendered. His intelligence is frequently insulted and reminded his only value is to care for the home and bear children. His mother frequently lashes out about refusing to dance or not wanting to wear dresses. Attached to his mistreatment are the trigger warnings for body dysmorphia and breakdowns about being misgendered.

The author doesn't truly address misogyny. Oliver doesn't take the stance that misogyny is wrong. But that as he is a man then he shouldn't be treated as poorly as women in the time period are.

I have not read the original Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice or seen the movies, so I can't compare the similarities. But I do know the original slow burn involving Darcy is epic. And this story does a fantastic job with the slow burn as well. Darcy is grumpy initially and completely rude.

These remixes breathe new life into classics and may spark an interest in an entirely new generation. After reading the remix I think I will watch Pride and Prejudice tonight! I will be adding the original by Jane Austen to my TBR.

At its heart, Most Ardently is an excellent retelling. It retains a good chunk of the source material, so it really does feel like a gay and trans Pride and Prejudice, while also adapting plot points and introducing new material to really compliment the retelling and make it feel like a new story steeped in familiar roots. Darcy’s queerness and personality work so well together, and both Oliver’s and Darcy’s queerness really elevate the source material and make for such an excellent, interesting story. The impact their queerness has on other storylines (particularly Wickham’s) is SO GOOD and made me scream with joy.

I will 100% be preordering this book because it's one I desperately need to have on my bookshelf & be able to visit again in the future (also, it's *gorgeous*).

Here are some of the specific things I loved about this book:
- GCN does such a good job of balancing dysphoria with joy. The dysphoria feels affirming and real and validating to the reader, without (in my experience, at least) being triggering or overwhelming. Trans joy and affirmation in the MC’s gender outshine the dysphoria, and are so hopeful and happy to read. From the small moments, like Oliver talking about how nice it is to have his reflection be “in harmony” with who he is, to the big moments (like Oliver dressing as himself in public and having his peers read him as a man) are wonderful and validating and hopeful.
- I love that Oliver has supportive people around him. Without giving spoilers, from the beginning of the book Oliver has queer friends and is out to a selection of family members, who are supportive and help Oliver find ways to express himself and his gender. I was pleased with how the family handled Oliver’s coming out as well — prospective readers don’t need to be worried about this plot point.
- Oliver’s relationship with Darcy is *so good*. I loved watching them get to know each other and click so well when Darcy meets Oliver as Oliver. It adds a whole new layer of complexity to their interactions when Oliver meets Darcy when he’s forced to dress as a girl. No spoilers, but I was really happy with how their relationship unfolded, Darcy’s reaction when he found out Oliver’s truth, as well as with where the book left their characters in life.
- Overall, I really love GCN’s writing style. He has a gorgeous way with words, and manages to evoke the tone of Austen’s prose without actually writing in, like, 1800s English.
- The introduction of Molly houses is a perfect fit for this book. I love that GCN worked in some actual queer history to this book, and that Oliver discovered a safe queer-affirming place where he could comfortably be himself.

3.5

I was initially really excited when I first heard about this book. Tragically, I haven't read the original Pride and Prejudice, but I did watch the movie version for the first time this year and really enjoyed the story and execution. So a trans MLM remix sounded cool as hell, lots of interesting themes from the source material to play around with. I was a little disappointed upon finishing, however.

I think it was mostly the fact that the narrative pushes for Oliver to be upset about his treatment as an AFAB person solely because he's not a woman, rather than have him also upset at the way actual women are treated in this time period's society. He didn't seem super upset that sexism existed, he just wanted to escape it himself. I also was surprised at the way things wrapped up in the end. Oliver's mother, Mrs. Bennet, spends the entire book livid about Oliver's masculine tendencies, only to completely change her mind once he officially comes out to her. Apparently a single, masculine daughter is out of the question, but a transgender son is okay? Everything seemed a little too quickly resolved, and many of the side characters feel very irrelevant by the end (especially Charlotte, who, hello, is Oliver's best friend, married to Mr. Collins now, a man now permanently banned from the Bennet household).

Everything else was quite lovely, though. I enjoyed the easy writing style and realistic descriptions of gender dysphoria, as well as the romance between Oliver and Darcy. I do wish there was a little bit more tension between the two, though, but I do have a bias since this was my favorite detail about the pair from the original story. I think ultimately, this book was a cool idea executed by someone who really cared about it. Stories like this are important even when they're not perfect, and I do think a lot of people, especially younger trans people, will really enjoy this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the opportunity to read this as an ARC!

OH MY FUCKING GOD. as a queer die hard pride and prejudice lover reading this feels like coming home and getting wrapped up in a hug all at once. i feel so happy that such a book exists, especially since it was such a picture perfect retelling. the integration of the characters identities throughout the story felt so tangible and made so much sense. i’ve always thought pride & prejudice was for the gays and this just made it so much better. highly, highly recommend this book to everyone who loves pride & prejudice, and to every queer kid who just wants to curl up with a classic love story that holds a little bit of their heart as well.

I love Pride and Prejudice, so it's no surprise I loved this book. Elizabeth as a trans man makes so much sense. I loved Collins and Wickham getting their comeuppance a little harder. I didn't know anything about Molly Houses or much about trans people, so I learned too. A fabulous take on a story I love.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

An innovative reimagining of a classic, this retelling of Pride and Prejudice offers a everything we love to see from the original: themes of love, societal expectations, and personal growth. The book goes by quickly, perhaps too quickly in some areas, incorporating gender identity nuances into the narrative while still maintaining the charm of Austen's original. Many of the same main story beats remain, while others are fully cut, sometimes to the story’s benefit and other times not. Similar to other reviewers, I wonder if I would’ve enjoyed it as much or understood it as much without the context of having read the original.

It’s no small feat to tackle a retelling of Pride & Prejudice, let alone incorporate entire new layers to the story. Overall, I wish it had been longer to allow for more exploration of these new themes and layers, but loved it all the same!

A very sweet and easily digestible LGBTQ retelling of Pride and Prejudice that was fun as fluff but frustrated me in certain ways it used the original narrative, so I’m torn. On the whole, a recommend with caveats for a nice little bit of trans period romance written for younger fans of Austen.

First, as a trans-masc person, some of the writing about how Oliver experiences his gender hit right on. Some of his interactions with his family made me teary eyed and I loved especially how Mrs. Bennett’s eventual stance was handled. We need more of this. I read it very quickly and it felt like a comforting, fluffy fanfiction, but I wish it had been a little more.

The writing of Wickham and his relationship with Oliver left something to be desired- Oliver immediately clocks Wickham as scummy which means we lose the beat of his infatuation with him, despite Oliver being taken in by Wickham’s good looks being entirely believable. We miss Oliver truly building anger towards Darcy based on Wickham and thus miss the character growth when he realizes he was wrong. We also miss the beat with Lydia and Wickham and while the story does a good job injecting danger in other ways but misses the impact of Darcy’s intervention.

I liked Darcy and Oliver’s dynamic, I just wish there was more tension between them than “oh Darcy might be a little misogynist” in a social setting where EVERYONE is misogynist (including Oliver sometimes). I think the Wickham subplot being handled better would have been the perfect opportunity.

Understandably, the story assumes familiarity with the original text, but I think a little bit too much is just assumed as already known by the reader (again, the fanfic feeling). Mary, Lydia, Kitty are just sketched in- even Jane, Bingley, and Charlotte are forgotten about.

Also- personal pet peeve- incorrect understanding of period shapewear. The waist reduction wasn’t the point and the emphasis on lifting and separating the breasts could have been the center of Oliver’s dysphoria with the garment. The inaccuracy wasn’t necessary and it is just one of my pet peeves.

I know, this sounds like a lot of complaints, but I promise I did enjoy it. I love Pride and Prejudice, I love asserting queer identity in historical narrative, I loved Darcy reading gay smut and the details the author included about Molly houses. This story has a lot of potential and was still fun, but could have been more and that’s the source of my frustration.