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aceofjades's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.5
Honestly enjoyed reading it, but the historical inaccuracies really took me out at times... No, I'm not talking about the queerness, the historical note at the end (and a quick google search) will tell any reader that queer people did indeed exist in the Regency era. In fact, we've existed since the dawn of civilization.
It's the way characters talk to each other that took me out. I understand that the addressing conventions of IX century England can be confusing for modern readers, but I don't think anyone who isn't at least a little familiar with Jane Austen novels (or at least the movie adaptations of her novels) would be reading this book, so I don't see any reason for characters to be calling each other by FIRST NAME as if they're very very intimate, when in fact they've only just met and/or have animosity towards each other.
Below is spoilers for more specific parts that personally peeved me, might get nitpicky:
It's the way characters talk to each other that took me out. I understand that the addressing conventions of IX century England can be confusing for modern readers, but I don't think anyone who isn't at least a little familiar with Jane Austen novels (or at least the movie adaptations of her novels) would be reading this book, so I don't see any reason for characters to be calling each other by FIRST NAME as if they're very very intimate, when in fact they've only just met and/or have animosity towards each other.
Below is spoilers for more specific parts that personally peeved me, might get nitpicky:
In general, how Mr. Collins and Mr. Wickham were rewritten to be real big baddies, and their nearly comical villanous "death" at the end of the novel... They weren't complex characters in the og novel either, but I feel like there's a missed opportunity for making really "evil" characters look back at themselves and realize their mistakes. Also did the author forget that Mr. Collins is a clergyman? He doesn't just "tell boring stories" to the Bennets, he recites sermons! Making them say terribly misogynistic things to Oliver was... a choice, a choice which genuinely made me uncomfortable and made me root even more for some kind of redemption arc where they become embarrassed of themselves, instead of punished but never changing their ways of thought. Speaking of Mr. Collins, what happened with Charlotte after his and Wickham's schemes are revealed? In general, I think this book was way too short to follow all the little plotlines that were introduced. How did the Bennet sisters react to Oliver coming out? Will Mr. Bingley ever find out too? I would've gladly read a 100 or more pages just to give the plot some breathing room. And speaking of villanous figures, I was kind of hoping for Madam De Bourgh to be rewritten in favour of her nephew's queerness... that's just wishful thinking on my part, and I didn't detract any points for it, but I feel like it's another big missed opportunity... - Not a spoiler, but in general this book is written in a very fanfiction-esque language which really took me out of the immersion at times... I wasn't expecting it to fully imitate Jane Austen's prolix style, but certain metaphors and locutions were really out of place.
Overall, though, the book was greatly redeemed (at least for me) by how wholesome it gets by the end.
There isn't much tension in the midpoint and, as mentioned in the spoilers, the plot didn't have enough breathing room. I feel like the lack of any real tension might be because of that as well. This book would've benefitted from a 100 or so more pages, and I would've gladly read those and possibly given a higher rating.
There isn't much tension in the midpoint and, as mentioned in the spoilers, the plot didn't have enough breathing room. I feel like the lack of any real tension might be because of that as well. This book would've benefitted from a 100 or so more pages, and I would've gladly read those and possibly given a higher rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Sexism, and Transphobia
booksthatburn's review
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? No
4.0
MOST ARDENTLY is a retelling of Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, where Oliver is a trans boy whose family still thinks his name is Elizabeth. When he meets Darcy originally, Oliver is dressed as a girl and the other boy is very dismissive of him. A day or so later, he's at a local fair as himself and ends up spending the day with Darcy and Bingley. As the two sides of his life collide, soon he has to choose whether to declare himself or to let nefarious actors force the issue for him.
One of my favorite parts of this retelling is the way that it provides an explanation beyond plot convenience for Darcy to have inconsistent reactions to Oliver. Instead of Darcy being hot and cold to someone who seems to be the same person, his reactions around Oliver as a girl are impacted by getting to spend time with Oliver as a boy and maybe starting to fall for him. For those not familiar with the original story, this stands on its own and doesn't require any prior knowledge in order to make sense.
I enjoyed this as a retelling and as its own story, a great addition to the Remixed Classics series!
One of my favorite parts of this retelling is the way that it provides an explanation beyond plot convenience for Darcy to have inconsistent reactions to Oliver. Instead of Darcy being hot and cold to someone who seems to be the same person, his reactions around Oliver as a girl are impacted by getting to spend time with Oliver as a boy and maybe starting to fall for him. For those not familiar with the original story, this stands on its own and doesn't require any prior knowledge in order to make sense.
I enjoyed this as a retelling and as its own story, a great addition to the Remixed Classics series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Classism, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Deadnaming
Minor: Death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Outing, Classism, Deadnaming, and Sexism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Incest
Minor: Homophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Lesbophobia
ghostingarden's review against another edition
4.75
saying this through tears this book actually means so much to me. as a retelling there’s probably some things that I wish were done differently but on its own I adored it so much it’s earned such a special place in my heart
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Dysphoria, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Outing and Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia
katialena's review against another edition
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? Yes
5.0
Full of heartwarming trans affirmation balanced by living with dysphoria and the struggle to live authentically. Overall a great remix on a fave with an ending for queer joy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Deadnaming, and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
stardustandrockets's review
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, and Sexism
Moderate: Classism and Dysphoria
ashley_mrose530's review
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? Yes
4.5
I loved this retelling. I've always been a big fan of Pride and Prejudice and I love that this remix made it queer. It was exactly what I was looking for. I also loved that it kept all of the major plot points of the original book while spinning them to match the new characters and their story.
I loved Oliver and his struggle to be who he really is rather than who society tells him he should be. And though they took the pride out of Mr. Darcy, I still loved him and how supportive of Oliver he is when he found out who he was.
I do think a lot, if not all, of the female characters in this book were pretty flat and one-dimensional. They seemed to only be there to either hit major plot points from the source material or move Oliver's struggles along whereas the original source material focused on all of the female characters and the misogyny they all had to deal with. For example, I was really wondering how confronting Mr. Collins was going to affect Oliver's relationship with Charlotte, but she seemed to have been forgotten unfortunately because that was not addressed at the end of the book at all.
In all I had a really great time with this book though and I loved to see more trans representation.
I loved Oliver and his struggle to be who he really is rather than who society tells him he should be. And though they took the pride out of Mr. Darcy, I still loved him and how supportive of Oliver he is when he found out who he was.
I do think a lot, if not all, of the female characters in this book were pretty flat and one-dimensional. They seemed to only be there to either hit major plot points from the source material or move Oliver's struggles along whereas the original source material focused on all of the female characters and the misogyny they all had to deal with. For example, I was really wondering how confronting Mr. Collins was going to affect Oliver's relationship with Charlotte, but she seemed to have been forgotten unfortunately because that was not addressed at the end of the book at all.
In all I had a really great time with this book though and I loved to see more trans representation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Dysphoria, Sexism, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Deadnaming
ariel_99's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.0
I liked this retelling of a classic story. I was giddy with excitement each time Oliver and Darcy interacted.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
rookthomas's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.5
maybe it's just because I'm a trans man (who often has to pretend that I'm not) but I absolutely loved this remix of a story that I love very much. The story was fresh and exciting and wonderfully queer!! There were a few story beats that seemed a little clunky and rushed, but it was just such an enjoyable experience that I didn't mind at all :]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Homophobia
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I feel a little nervous to write a review for this book... I am so incredibly glad that this book exists with the queer rep interwoven into a classic. I think it was brilliant to have the characters as queer characters, and it made so much sense for these character's identities. Especially getting to have a Charlotte who is truly queer where the original character is only queer-coded. (Or at least as many of us in the fandom believe.)
I think this didn't work for me for a few reasons, but mainly the book didn't have enough space to really delve into the big themes, I don't think a lot of YA works for me anymore, and as an Austen fan, there were some things changed that I really struggled with and bothered me throughout the book. I don't want to focus on the small things - but little things like saying Gracechurch is in the country, kind of irked me, since that is a real place in London... Could have picked a different place. Or that everyone calls each other by only their last names - no Mr. or Ms., which would have been rude and improper. I think this was an attempt to modernize... But I digress.
The one piece that really bothered me is that in order to delve into the themes of transphobia and dysmorphia, the author took away all of the feminism that Austen imbues into her works. This was a time when feminism wasn't quite a thing, yet having your heroines make these decisions for themselves despite their circumstances, push for marriages of love instead of marriages of convenience, and push the boundaries of female propriety were the acts of rebellion and feminism that women had at the time. This book somehow did the complete opposite. While we definitely have pieces true to the story - where Oliver makes decisions to stay true to himself, and finds the support of his family to live a life that makes him happy and content - there are these conversations that are not only against all society rules but are just incredibly... awful. I get what the author was trying to do, truly, but it just continually irked me. There would be multiple scenes with characters saying things that were really unhelpful to the story and kind of... out of character as well.
For example, there is a part where Mr. Wickham (and yes, he will always be referred to as MR. Wickham) makes rude comments about Oliver's body - commenting on the femininity and "child-bearing" which would have been the height of impropriety at that time. Another scene between them, Mr. Wickham says: "Nonsense. You have some unrealistic fantasies of the future, certainly, but what young girl doesn't hold fanciful notions? It is a weakness of your sex to struggle to differentiate between flights of fantasy and reality. All the more reason why you need a strong husband to guide you." ....... "Insult you!" Wickham looked aghast by the suggestion. "Quite the opposite. Why, I'm here because I think you're beautiful, and more importantly, interesting. I'm certain you'll make a diverting wife for a husband of superior intellect."
Look, I am not a Mr. Wickham apologist, but even this is beyond his character... while he might have thought some of these things, he doesn't say them out loud. His character is all charm and proper.
Anyways, overall, I just wish some of these scenes had been handled... differently. It felt unnecessary to add these in some way when this book could have been much more empowering for well, everyone.
As I mentioned, I am incredibly glad this book does exist, and if it makes people interested in Austen or they can better see themselves through this queer representation of Austen, then I am all for it! I just wasn't the intended audience I think.
I think this didn't work for me for a few reasons, but mainly the book didn't have enough space to really delve into the big themes, I don't think a lot of YA works for me anymore, and as an Austen fan, there were some things changed that I really struggled with and bothered me throughout the book. I don't want to focus on the small things - but little things like saying Gracechurch is in the country, kind of irked me, since that is a real place in London... Could have picked a different place. Or that everyone calls each other by only their last names - no Mr. or Ms., which would have been rude and improper. I think this was an attempt to modernize... But I digress.
The one piece that really bothered me is that in order to delve into the themes of transphobia and dysmorphia, the author took away all of the feminism that Austen imbues into her works. This was a time when feminism wasn't quite a thing, yet having your heroines make these decisions for themselves despite their circumstances, push for marriages of love instead of marriages of convenience, and push the boundaries of female propriety were the acts of rebellion and feminism that women had at the time. This book somehow did the complete opposite. While we definitely have pieces true to the story - where Oliver makes decisions to stay true to himself, and finds the support of his family to live a life that makes him happy and content - there are these conversations that are not only against all society rules but are just incredibly... awful. I get what the author was trying to do, truly, but it just continually irked me. There would be multiple scenes with characters saying things that were really unhelpful to the story and kind of... out of character as well.
For example, there is a part where Mr. Wickham (and yes, he will always be referred to as MR. Wickham) makes rude comments about Oliver's body - commenting on the femininity and "child-bearing" which would have been the height of impropriety at that time. Another scene between them, Mr. Wickham says: "Nonsense. You have some unrealistic fantasies of the future, certainly, but what young girl doesn't hold fanciful notions? It is a weakness of your sex to struggle to differentiate between flights of fantasy and reality. All the more reason why you need a strong husband to guide you." ....... "Insult you!" Wickham looked aghast by the suggestion. "Quite the opposite. Why, I'm here because I think you're beautiful, and more importantly, interesting. I'm certain you'll make a diverting wife for a husband of superior intellect."
Look, I am not a Mr. Wickham apologist, but even this is beyond his character... while he might have thought some of these things, he doesn't say them out loud. His character is all charm and proper.
Anyways, overall, I just wish some of these scenes had been handled... differently. It felt unnecessary to add these in some way when this book could have been much more empowering for well, everyone.
As I mentioned, I am incredibly glad this book does exist, and if it makes people interested in Austen or they can better see themselves through this queer representation of Austen, then I am all for it! I just wasn't the intended audience I think.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Gaslighting, Alcohol, Homophobia, Bullying, and Misogyny