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

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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