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

book cover for Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix

Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa is a very enjoyable take on a classic! I’m a big Pride and Prejudice fan and also a fan of classics retellings. This one kept quite a few of the pivotal scenes and lines from the original with it’s own twist which I definitely appreciated.

We follow Oliver Bennet, a gay trans teenager, who is known to most of the world as ‘Elizabeth’. Only a trusted few know his true self, so he is expected to wear dresses, attend dances and eventually marry and become someone’s wife. He meets Darcy first at a ball where he sees how poorly Darcy treats ‘Elizabeth’, but then later meets Darcy again as himself, and gets to see a different side of Darcy.

I’ve been following along with the classics remixed series, and this one is probably my favorite so far. I enjoy Oliver as the main character and his interactions with not only Darcy, but his family and friends ring true to the character of Elizabeth Bennet from the original series. I thought the story started out a little bit slow but once I reach the halfway point, I couldn’t put it down. My only other issue with the book is that the ending seem to wrap up a little too neatly and quickly. I wish there was a little more time spent on wrapping everything up.

Overall, I definitely recommend checking out Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix if you liked the original or are a fan of queer regency stories. Make sure you check the trigger warnings as there’s a lot of deadnaming, homophobia and transphobia throughout the book. I like that the author also includes a warning in the author’s note before the story starts.

I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC. All opinions are my own.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Rating: 4.25 stars

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