I think this book is so important! It’s such a beautiful retelling! I love the references to Molly Houses, as well as the author’s note at the end. I think that it did a very good job of explaining the struggles of being trans. This book, and books like this, are so important!!

Oliver Bennet is not a woman, despite his mother's insistence that he wears frilly dresses and participates in so-called womanly pursuits like playing pianoforte and drawing. The only time Oliver truly feels like himself is when he escapes to his friend Charlotte's and dresses in his secret stash of men's clothing. When two strangers come to town, the handsome and rich Charles Bingley and Darcy, everything changes. Suddenly, Oliver finds himself spending time with Darcy and Bingley as his true self. As Oliver and Darcy spend more time together and discover more shared interests, Oliver finds himself hoping for a future where he can finally live as his true self.

A wonderfully detailed reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, sure to delight new generations of Jane Austen readers. With many allusions to regency England queer history to underpin the plot, Most Ardently is a tender-hearted and hopeful story of two people growing in confidence in themselves and finding a match that helps them thrive.

The coziest, queerest P&P retelling of them all?

Most Ardently follows Oliver, a closeted trans man, through his family dynamics and relationship with Mr. Darcy in this queer Pride and Prejudice remix. Most Ardently is not a historically-accurate retelling— the dialogue and attitudes towards queerness take a more modern approach, similar to books like Gwen & Art are Not in Love or even Bridgerton. These modern attitudes succeed in maintaining the lightness and coziness that many of us love about the original novel, while also allowing a more diverse readership to see themselves in a familiar story. Novoa sometimes struggles to balance modernity and history, and there are times when dialogue or characterization reads as too out of place— many characters are extremely accepting of queerness, while the general public is portrayed as period-accurate anti-queer. In some ways, the story might be more successful as its own cozy regency-era romance set in an alternative queernormative world rather than trying to follow in the very large footsteps of Pride and Prejudice.

That being said, reading this book is the literary equivalent of wrapping your middle school self up in a big queer blanket, and if that sounds up your alley, Most Ardently is absolutely a worthwhile and comforting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s for the opportunity to read and review Most Ardently!



rep: ftm trans & gay mc, cis gay li, wlw relationship sc

tw: dysphoria, transphobia, closeted identity, deadnaming, suicidal ideation, misgendering, period-typical homophobia

Finally! I can actually say I read the original book of a remixed classic!

With that said, I think reading this book made me appreciate Austen a lot more. Even though Novoa did a good job with the enormous task of rewriting Jane Austen's most beloved work of all time, it still fell short in some ways, such as the dialogue being awkward and stilted at some points and Mrs. Bennet being unrealistically supportive when Oliver came out to her (It was immediately, too -- Oliver came out as trans and gay at the same time and, despite all the pushing and nagging his mom did on Oliver being a woman, she just shrugged and quipped "Well, that's why you never liked dresses, huh?")

Besides that, I wouldn't say this was a bad read, whatsoever. Oliver and Darcy had some cute moments, especially when he officially came out to him, and exploring trans/queer identities in the early Victorian era was very interesting. I'm sure this will hit big with its intended audience, but I'm a bit sad that I'm not among them.

This review is surprisingly hard for me to write, because I absolutely loved everything about it, and it’s hard for me to talk about that without either spoiling the book or sounding repetitive. However, there are some specific good things that I want to talk about. I loved the way that the mollyhouse was depicted (accurate to history) as a queer space that was not inherently an explicitly sexual one, because often they are seen as constantly on the same level of brothels, which they are very much not. As someone who has extensively researched the history of queer spaces (for fun), this was a nice thing to see. I also particularly enjoyed the way that gender euphoria was talked about, and how it was connected to the double life that Oliver lived.
Also the ending and the family dynamics were something that I cannot talk about at length because of spoilers– but I cried. That is all I am going to say on the matter of it, but it personally affected me as a trans person myself.
Overall this book is definitely going to serve as a new favorite for me, and if you are even thinking about reading it– please do.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a good book must be in want of absolutely nothing. And when I tell you that this book was easily one of the best Pride and Prejudice retellings, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. The author really made you connect with and feel for Oliver. I was rooting for him so hard and wanted him to be able to achieve happiness as his true self. Mr. Bennett was a treasure and the type of parent every trans child deserves. Seeing Oliver surrounded by a supportive group of friends and family was incredibly uplifting.

I really enjoyed the way the author stuck to the core Pride and Prejudice story while making it his own. I found myself smiling more than once as familiar situations popped up. And I smiled even more when I saw how the author made them even better with heavy doses of queer happiness. The story flowed smoothly with excellent pacing and I didn't want to put the book down.

If you're a fan of Pride and Prejudice or you just want an amazing historical romance that centers around queer characters getting their happily ever afters, this is definitely the book for you.

Most Ardently is a Queer Pride and Prejudice reimagining staring Oliver Bennet a gay trans boy who is out to few people in his life notably Jane, Charlotte and his aunt and uncle.

I have been following the Remixed Classics series but this the one I was most excited for- though I will admit it had a leg up because Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorites already.

I think that Gabe Cole Novoa did a fantastic job in his portrayal of Oliver as a trans boy in the 1800 both aspects of gender dysphoria and the fear of rejection and the gender euphoria and joy of acceptance. The established Austin character were personally a bit hit or miss for me, the characterization of Darcy, Jane, Bingley, Mrs. Bennet, Charlotte and Mr. Collins was in my opinion well done. The Bennet sisters aside from Jane probably didn’t get much mention and Oliver’s aunt and uncle didn’t get much characterization, though I will say that is understandable considering the length of Most Ardently.

While the book's first half was amazing, I genuinely loved the characterization and reimagined aspects of the novel and the incorporation of real queer history, the pacing became jarring as the story progressed. Everything following the departure of the Bingleys and Darcy felt rushed. I’d be surprised if Novoa had not had to condense the story because it did throw me off quite a bit. I won't mention any other criticisms of the book here, as they might spoil the plot.

Honestly I think that ultimately this comes down to wishing it wasn’t a retelling at all. I personally would have enjoyed it better as a novel removed from the expectations of Pride and Prejudice even if most of the novel remained the same (with better pacing). I’ll definitely read more from Gabe Cole Novoa in the future though.

Overall, Most Ardently is a queer Pride and Prejudice reimagining that offers a fresh and diverse perspective on the classic story. It explores the themes of identity, love, and acceptance in the context of the 1800s. The author does a great job of portraying the main character, Oliver, as a gay trans boy who struggles with his gender dysphoria and his feelings for Darcy. The book also incorporates real queer history and references to other works of literature. However, the book suffers from some pacing issues, especially in the second half, where the plot feels rushed and some characters are underdeveloped. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA historical fiction, romance, and LGBTQ+ representation.

Something in this book healed something in me. As a transmasc person who heavily related to Elizabeth Bennett growing up, this retelling was exactly what I needed.
I cried not once, not twice but three times throughout my read of this.
Gabe Cole Novoa is easily an autobuy author for me, and surely will be for many others once they read Most Ardently.

Most Ardently felt almost exactly like the original story we've all come to know and love. The writing felt authentic. Oliver's story added a newness to this beloved tale that I didn't know I needed but ultimately very much loved. I would definitely recommend this title to anyone who enjoys retellings or reimaginings of Pride & Prejudice.

As a book following a trans character in regency period, this book was amazing. I truly felt for Oliver through all his pain and I'm so glad he had supportive friends and he got his happy ending.

But this should not have been called a Pride and Prejudice Remix. Characters like Mrs. Bennet, Lady Catherine and even Wickham were just overdramatic ridiculous versions of themselves that pulled me out of the story. Certain liberties were taken with plot elements that I didn't mind ( it's a remix, it's not going to be an exact retelling) but then actual canon moments from the original book that no longer made sense because of these changes were STILL in there.

I wish this had been just a cute regency trans book.

I don’t envy anyone who is given the task of rewriting Jane Austen. That said, Most Ardently does a very decent job of it. I have been a fan of the other books in this series, so I was very quick to request an ARC of this one as soon as I saw it.

The premise is great and it was well executed for the most part. The main thing that didn’t translate well, and that kept bringing me out of the story, was the way sexism was handled. Several times during the book, misogyny was treated as a bad thing because it was happening to Oliver, and therefore he was being misgendered, but the misogyny itself wasn’t treated as bad in its own right. Some of this was because it came from the original story (Charlotte marrying Collins, even though he is awful, and in this story she is in love with someone else), but Oliver’s criticism and insistence that he would never lower himself to make the same decisions feels very different than Elizabeth’s in the original, because he is a man. Others just made Oliver seem kind of unlikable at times, because it often felt like he thought he shouldn’t be subjected to it because he isn’t a woman rather than that he shouldn’t be subjected to it because no one should. This was made worse because very few female characters have any actual presence. They were two demential and didn’t seem to exist beyond what Oliver needed them for, even though Oliver has 4 sisters, a mother, and a female best friend. And the ending made me very concerned for his future friendship with Charlotte, though the book didn’t seem to even remember her existence by that point.

That aside though, the book was great. A quick and easy read, a wonderful version of Darcy, a fun twist to the classic. I loved how Oliver’s double life influenced the story, and especially his romance with Darcy.