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amanda_reads89's review
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
medium-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: Dysphoria and Deadnaming
Moderate: Outing, Sexism, and Misogyny
katbotelho's review
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I really liked the way this book was written,, something about it really helped the reader to feel the disconnect between Oliver and his true self vs how the world perceives him. And it accomplished the frat of making want to read pride & prejudice which i know for a fact I would definitely not enjoy nearly as much as I enjoyed this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Sexism
shelvesofivy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I'm not gonna lie: I was beyond excited for this book from the moment I heard that there would be a Pride & Prejudice installment of the remixed classics. And that excitement only grew with everything I learned about it leading up to the release. (Plus, this cover!!!)
That is to say, my personal hype made way for a very large possibility that I'd be disappointed if this wasn't executed well. But that wasn't the case at all. I love the original love story, and fell in love with this version as well ♡
And there's just something so special and beautiful about reading stories with trans joy in a historical setting.
(I do have so many more thoughts and things I love about this book, but words are failing me right now.)
That is to say, my personal hype made way for a very large possibility that I'd be disappointed if this wasn't executed well. But that wasn't the case at all. I love the original love story, and fell in love with this version as well ♡
And there's just something so special and beautiful about reading stories with trans joy in a historical setting.
(I do have so many more thoughts and things I love about this book, but words are failing me right now.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Misogyny, Sexism, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Transphobia, Classism, Outing, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Stalking
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Deadnaming, and Transphobia
dalek_caan's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
4.0
Cute read! Both emotional and upbeat, it definitely stayed closer than I was expecting to the original story. All in all a fun book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Outing
mitchell_1's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Misogyny, Deadnaming, and Sexism
venusinfauxfur's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Unfortunately, this book really didn’t do it for me. I was very close to DNF-ing a few times, but pushed through since it was pretty short. This is not to say that it is at all a bad book; rather, I think it just hit too many of my pet peeves with both historical and trans-themed fiction. The historical anachronisms particularly frustrated me: e.g., historically inaccurate language, a tight-lacing scene (despite stays of the era being relatively unrestrictive), and, notably, a rather modern interpretation of transgender identity transposed over a historical narrative. While this is certainly a matter of personal preference (nor do I think authors should be expected to include period-accurate depictions of homophobia or transphobia), I felt that the narrative suffered as a result of this choice.
Everyone around Oliver seemed to, for the most part, immediately accept and understand his identity, which resulted in a general lack of narrative tension while simultaneously feeling unrealistic even from a contemporary trans lens. The language used in his various coming-out scenes felt extremely cookie-cutter (e.g., “I love and support you”) and was delivered with little hesitation; there were no hiccups, no fumbles, no awkwardness, no lapses in understanding. While I could maybe see this as some kind of wish-fulfillment fantasy coming out scenario, it honestly felt kind of alienating to read as a trans person myself. I would have found it far more compelling if we were able to see Oliver truly struggle to understand where he fits (or does not fit) into conventional narratives of gender, familial expectation, and high society (this is, after all, what makes Lizzy Bennet so lovable in the original Pride & Prejudice). It also would have been interesting to see him come to terms with his identity without necessarily having language to easily voice it—as was the case for many queer historical figures.
Oliver does obviously suffer myriad sexist and transphobic remarks, though these often felt painfully on-the-nose (the “beautiful birthing hips” comment comes to mind). Most of his struggle as a trans person seemed to be rooted in heavy-handed sexism, without ever really addressing the more nuanced crossover between his dysphoria as a trans person and his experience living as a “woman” in Edwardian society.
In addition, the short length of the book makes the romance between Oliver and Darcy feel very insta-lovey, again hindering the potential for narrative tension and making the ending much less satisfying than that of Austen’s original novel. Neither of their characters felt very fleshed-out by the end, which left me feeling rather apathetic when it came to their ultimate confessions of love. At the end of the day, I can imagine many people loving this book, but as a trans Pride & Prejudice fan, I came out of it feeling disappointed.
Everyone around Oliver seemed to, for the most part, immediately accept and understand his identity, which resulted in a general lack of narrative tension while simultaneously feeling unrealistic even from a contemporary trans lens. The language used in his various coming-out scenes felt extremely cookie-cutter (e.g., “I love and support you”) and was delivered with little hesitation; there were no hiccups, no fumbles, no awkwardness, no lapses in understanding. While I could maybe see this as some kind of wish-fulfillment fantasy coming out scenario, it honestly felt kind of alienating to read as a trans person myself. I would have found it far more compelling if we were able to see Oliver truly struggle to understand where he fits (or does not fit) into conventional narratives of gender, familial expectation, and high society (this is, after all, what makes Lizzy Bennet so lovable in the original Pride & Prejudice). It also would have been interesting to see him come to terms with his identity without necessarily having language to easily voice it—as was the case for many queer historical figures.
Oliver does obviously suffer myriad sexist and transphobic remarks, though these often felt painfully on-the-nose (the “beautiful birthing hips” comment comes to mind). Most of his struggle as a trans person seemed to be rooted in heavy-handed sexism, without ever really addressing the more nuanced crossover between his dysphoria as a trans person and his experience living as a “woman” in Edwardian society.
In addition, the short length of the book makes the romance between Oliver and Darcy feel very insta-lovey, again hindering the potential for narrative tension and making the ending much less satisfying than that of Austen’s original novel. Neither of their characters felt very fleshed-out by the end, which left me feeling rather apathetic when it came to their ultimate confessions of love. At the end of the day, I can imagine many people loving this book, but as a trans Pride & Prejudice fan, I came out of it feeling disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming
Moderate: Transphobia, Sexism, Homophobia, and Outing
nimeneth's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
This was a good retelling of Pride & Prejudice, and an enjoyable read. The feel of Austen's story wasn't changed, even if the specific details were, and Novoa was very respectful in translating the original into this work. That said, I have some conflicted feelings on the choices on how some of the characters were presented, and I think my biggest complaints are mostly based on my ardent love for the original. I didn't enjoy that:
-Lydia and Kitty were essentially left out except as tittering fools in the background. They're both minor characters in the original, true, but Lydia's arc in Pride & Prejudice was important in fleshing out Darcy's character, and leads to an opening towards the end where Kitty can become her own person rather than being an extension of Lydia.
-Wickham is so utterly evil in this retelling. He's no peach in Austen but boiling him down to bring driven by money alone (instead of status and jealousy in addition) feels like a disservice to what he was.
-Mrs. Bennett and Lady Catherine weren't annoying enough lol
Despite my complaints above, this does still feel like a properly modernized retelling, and it's definitely an approachable way to present something that is dense and hard to read, even without factoring in the heteronormative lens it Austen was understandably writing through. The writing was good, the pace was excellent, and Novoa has a way of evoking emotions that had my cis self feeling Oliver's emotions, particularly his panic over the dysphoria and misgendering, in a very gut-wrenching way. The nightmare scene about 2/3 of the way made me deeply uncomfortable, poor Oliver!
-Lydia and Kitty were essentially left out except as tittering fools in the background. They're both minor characters in the original, true, but Lydia's arc in Pride & Prejudice was important in fleshing out Darcy's character, and leads to an opening towards the end where Kitty can become her own person rather than being an extension of Lydia.
-Wickham is so utterly evil in this retelling. He's no peach in Austen but boiling him down to bring driven by money alone (instead of status and jealousy in addition) feels like a disservice to what he was.
-Mrs. Bennett and Lady Catherine weren't annoying enough lol
Despite my complaints above, this does still feel like a properly modernized retelling, and it's definitely an approachable way to present something that is dense and hard to read, even without factoring in the heteronormative lens it Austen was understandably writing through. The writing was good, the pace was excellent, and Novoa has a way of evoking emotions that had my cis self feeling Oliver's emotions, particularly his panic over the dysphoria and misgendering, in a very gut-wrenching way. The nightmare scene about 2/3 of the way made me deeply uncomfortable, poor Oliver!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Sexism, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Outing and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Classism and Sexual harassment
barometz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Stalking, Deadnaming, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, Misogyny, and Transphobia
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Sexual harassment
Minor: Biphobia
rhi_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Sexism, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Classism