Reviews with content warning for Stalking - Most Ardently

Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa

38 reviews

weirdassfanta's review against another edition

inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I truly believe this book is a wonderful addition to queer retellings and historical fictions. While I admit the ending seemed a tad bit rushed with the quick change of Mrs. Bennet’s attitude towards everything, along with not getting to see how the friendship with Charlotte turned out, I rated this 5 based off of how much I enjoyed the book. It furthers the truth of queer people always existing and showing their lives in 1800s London. I figured something like Molly Houses existed then, but I did not ever see representation of them unfortunately. Seeing Oliver push against the traditions of society and not settling for anything but happiness, despite the risk, was a great and necessary experience. The narrative that pretending to be someone you’re not as a trans person is not true survival is something too many people don’t realize. I haven’t read Pride & Prejudice yet, so I can’t say how accurate it is to the original story, but it’s on my shelf. Either way, a great read showing some truth to the lives of queer people throughout history, as we have always been here.

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pey333's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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abby_can_read's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

📱
I had a marvelous time with this book. I had hopes when I started and this book delivered. I thought this was a good transgender queer re-imagining of Pride and Prejudice. Oliver and Darcy were adorable together.

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fierygecko's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

From the incredibly considerate content warning, to the slice-of-life style drama, to the note on historical accuracies, this novel is honestly just really lovely to read/listen to. Oliver is a complex, daring young man whose only obstacles are the fear of being rejected and some really icky men who want to marry him. He makes a lovable main character. I enjoyed that despite the way queer people were ostracized in this society, the drama in this book didn’t feel life threatening or hopeless. I did find that I was able to predict the happenings of the plot after I got about halfway through, but that didn’t stop me from reacting to the events of the book like this was a TV drama. The storytelling of Oliver’s struggles as a trans person felt authentic, and it’s obvious they were written with care.

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kendal_reads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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jean_atlas's review against another edition

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funny hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I enjoyed this well enough, and the author clearly took great care with how they treated Oliver. I also appreciated the historical aspects to add authenticity to the story and the backdrop. I do feel like some of the conflicts were resolved relatively easily, which made for a more lighthearted read when this could have easily been much sadder and darker (which I'm glad for!). I think what held it back a bit was that this is an adaptation. It's a fine one, but I wonder if the story could have been stronger on its own, with its own characters. It was still fun to still Pride and Prejudice through this lens.

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readingwithtemperance's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I am a HUGE Pride & Prejudice fan, specifically the film (The 2005 one with teh Darcy hand flex OBVIOUSLY). And I thought this was such a wonderful adaptation while holding it's own.

I think the highlight if the story for me was Oliver's father and how supportive he was of his transness. Typically in trans books the parents aren't supportive so it was very refreshing to see especially from a father!

I also loved that when

his mother found out she completelyc hanged her tune and said that making her son wear dresses was a ridiculous idea.

Darcy had just the perfect amount of angst and I loved that this story led him to self acceptance and PRIDE.

I also lived when

Oliver became the one who would inherit his family' estate!

The author's note was also quite beautiful! I loved learning a bit more about queer history.

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katebella's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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cyberhavok's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I really hoped this would be good, and it absolutely was! Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books, and I loved this take on the story. It's a significant change for the Elizabeth role to be filled by Oliver, and I think the author did a good job of showing how that change would impact the rest of the narrative. This is definitely written in a more modern cadence, it doesn't read like it's trying to imitate Jane Austen's style, and I think that also suits the story changes and the different character perspectives. I really liked getting to see Darcy and Oliver communicate openly with each other without the limitations of the more historical restricted conversations between sexes, it helped make the romance feel more natural. I do wish the story hadn't ended somewhat abruptly, I would have liked the epilogue to cover more after

Oliver comes out to his family. We don't get to see the sister's reactions, and I would have liked a little more time with his mother treating him as her son. I also wonder how Charlotte would be impacted by her husband's schemes and loss of inheritance and how that would impact her friendship with Oliver.

I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was fantastic.

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