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Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'
Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa
158 reviews
yannaj's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-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? No
4.5
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
As a hardcore Pride and Prejudice fan (Kiera Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen for the win), I wasn't sure how I would feel about a remixed version, but Most Ardently is a triumph!
If you know P&P you know the rough storyline, but here we get Oliver Bennet- still falling in love with Darcy, still facing Wickham dillemas- but all against the background of his transness and the expected path and responsbilities placed upon him since most people in his life assume him to be a woman. This adds another dimension to the story that layers really well on Elizabeth's traditional tale.
Fair warning: there is deadnaming, dysphoria, and transphobia BUT good things happen for Oliver and he ultimatley ends up happy!
THe fact that Oliver's family accepts him is so beautifully done! (Makes me love Mr. Bennet even more. Love the historical reference of Molly houses and the historical epilogue note. Also, the audiobook is so well done!
As a hardcore Pride and Prejudice fan (Kiera Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen for the win), I wasn't sure how I would feel about a remixed version, but Most Ardently is a triumph!
If you know P&P you know the rough storyline, but here we get Oliver Bennet- still falling in love with Darcy, still facing Wickham dillemas- but all against the background of his transness and the expected path and responsbilities placed upon him since most people in his life assume him to be a woman. This adds another dimension to the story that layers really well on Elizabeth's traditional tale.
Fair warning: there is deadnaming, dysphoria, and transphobia BUT good things happen for Oliver and he ultimatley ends up happy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming
Moderate: Dysphoria and Transphobia
sunmaebee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Misogyny
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Stalking
jayisreading's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
4.0
Most Ardently is an interesting queer take on Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. I admit that I picked this one up without reading the synopsis, so I was only aware that it was Novoa’s own spin on a classic that happened to be queer. It was certainly a surprise to discover that Elizabeth Bennet in this retelling is actually Oliver Bennet, a trans teenage boy. This decision to have a trans protagonist made it that Novoa added another complex layer to the existing discussions about gender dynamics in the original novel. It was interesting to see how Novoa’s queering of Pride & Prejudice impacted the direction of the story, which was simultaneously familiar yet not, as a result of having to attend to what it meant to be queer during the Victorian era. I thought Novoa handled this pretty well without getting too caught up in the details to lose the plot. I did feel that Oliver’s thoughts were a bit repetitive once you’re further in the novel, but this might not bother everyone.
Also, a warning to trans readers: Considering the time period and the protagonist being trans, it shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that transphobia is rampant in this novel. There’s very frequent deadnaming and misgendering, which is critical in the development of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Dysphoria, and Transphobia
Moderate: Outing, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Stalking, Lesbophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
evarinya's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Misogyny, Dysphoria, and Sexism
Moderate: Outing, Transphobia, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts
eleos01's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Deadnaming, Sexism, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Incest, Classism, and Outing
ayoitme's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.5
This is the first Pride & Prejudice content I have consumed, never read the original or seen the movie. This is a queer retelling of the story, and I had seen it circulating on booktok and wanted to give it a go.
I'm not normally a historical reader, but this story was incredibly engaging. I found Oliver a wonderful narrator and even though he was an unreliable narrator at times, it felt very vulnerable and honest which I appreciated. There were some scenes that were hard to read, but also some scenes that warmed my heart. I think the author did an amazing job at balancing historically accurate opinions and sad and tense moments with lighthearted and feel good scenes and a happy ending. Obviously this is a retelling so most people probably knew where the story was going, but I was happy that this was not just dump a bunch of trauma onto a trans character.
I'm not normally a historical reader, but this story was incredibly engaging. I found Oliver a wonderful narrator and even though he was an unreliable narrator at times, it felt very vulnerable and honest which I appreciated. There were some scenes that were hard to read, but also some scenes that warmed my heart. I think the author did an amazing job at balancing historically accurate opinions and sad and tense moments with lighthearted and feel good scenes and a happy ending. Obviously this is a retelling so most people probably knew where the story was going, but I was happy that this was not just dump a bunch of trauma onto a trans character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Deadnaming
spark_879's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
i loved this book! i highly recommend it to anyone considering reading it :)
in a few places the story seemed a bit too good to be true but i think that was something i needed to read when i kept expecting bad reactions from everyone at all times when learning about the mc being trans.
in a few places the story seemed a bit too good to be true but i think that was something i needed to read when i kept expecting bad reactions from everyone at all times when learning about the mc being trans.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Misogyny
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Stalking
stalking:neglet's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I love the premise of this book: take the basic starting situation of P&P, but make the two leads a trans boy whose mother lumps him in with his sisters and a rich boy who's not interested in women. The development of their relationship is lovely, but I found myself wishing the plot strayed a bit from the original a little more, just to give the story a bit more tension. The ease with which Oliver's parents accept him as trans is beautiful and affirming, but it rather robs the story of conflict. But I imagine I'm not the target audience for this book, so I wouldn't say that's a drawback, just not to my taste.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Misogyny
its_vendetta's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this book was so beautiful!! I loved Oliver so much and it’s so nice to see historical romances about trans people. Trans people have always existed and I think this book does an amazing job at representation in an accurate, yet uplifting way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Dysphoria, and Transphobia
Moderate: Outing
Minor: Stalking and Classism
james_orion's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
3.0
as a gay trans man who had a hyperfixation on pride and prejudice a few months ago this book feels like it was written for me. I had a fantastic time listening to the audiobook and just enjoying this story. Oliver's conflict with Charlotte was a really strong point for me and their queer identities enhance their perspectives in a different way that I really enjoyed. the romance was so cute and I really liked the scenes early on with Darcy and Oliver.
This might have been more apparent with the audiobook but I felt like the word 'boy' was really overused, and while they were teenagers I think using the word 'man' would have been less jarring and weird for me On occasion it was very confusing why Oliver was acting a certain way with darcy. I think it was supposed to convey that he was conflicted about him but in reality it ended up being confusing why onw moment they were flirting and the next oliver was thinking about how much he didn't like Darcy. I think this is a fault of trying to stay too true to the original work, in P&P Elizabeth and Darcy misunderstand each other often but Oliver and Darcy here don't really do that? it feels like Oliver just wildly swings back and forth on Darcy at times. Also I wish this story had dived a bit more into class issues more along the lines of the original, there are hints of it (Bingley and Darcy being able to afford books that would be a huge luxury to Oliver, and Charlotte living in near poverty compared to the rest of our main characters) but I would have really loved to see these things explored more.
This might have been more apparent with the audiobook but I felt like the word 'boy' was really overused, and while they were teenagers I think using the word 'man' would have been less jarring and weird for me On occasion it was very confusing why Oliver was acting a certain way with darcy. I think it was supposed to convey that he was conflicted about him but in reality it ended up being confusing why onw moment they were flirting and the next oliver was thinking about how much he didn't like Darcy. I think this is a fault of trying to stay too true to the original work, in P&P Elizabeth and Darcy misunderstand each other often but Oliver and Darcy here don't really do that? it feels like Oliver just wildly swings back and forth on Darcy at times. Also I wish this story had dived a bit more into class issues more along the lines of the original, there are hints of it (Bingley and Darcy being able to afford books that would be a huge luxury to Oliver, and Charlotte living in near poverty compared to the rest of our main characters) but I would have really loved to see these things explored more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria and Outing
Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Homophobia