Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix

Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa

197 reviews

midgereads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

Nothing beats P&P, but this book was very cute, fun, and wholesome. I really liked Oliver and I liked the author's twist on the story.

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keioyana's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

4.25

This was really good! The author's writing was such a joy that was easy to read through! Because of that, I look forward to read more of his works in the future!!

I will say that the dysphoria in this novel gets really heavy at times, so much so that I did have to take a break from reading it but it's happy ending made up for it, really! The characters for the most part are very much so loveable too!! Not to mention, it was such a pleasant surprise to find out that

Oliver's parents were supportive of him being a transman!!

The novel's conclusion isn't the most realistic, which I didn't mind. Though, I would recommend keeping that in mind when approaching the story itself !!

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sglance9's review against another edition

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challenging 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

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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djm_chal'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

5.0

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yannaj's review against another edition

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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!

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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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.

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evarinya's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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eleos01's review against another edition

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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

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