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A review by chaptersofmads
Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa
4.0
“No matter what, I will always fight for you.”
This was delightful!! Yet another reminder I need to read more of the remixed classics books because I just loved practically every moment of this. It was such a sweet YA retelling, with a focus on queer joy - despite some of the heavier topics.
The only complaints I will raise is that I feel the author... not talks down to the reader, but perhaps spoon-feeds the reader everything? There is very little nuance in this book, from Wickham being an abhorrent villain from the moment we meet him to multiple characters telling Oliver he has fantastic child-birthing hips - something I cannot think would have been said during this time, due to the impropriety of the implications.
There's also an issue of Oliver being slightly... dare I say, prideful without the necessary character development to cancel it out. He's incredibly judgmental of everything Charlotte does - not because of the infidelity (which would have been understandable), but because she's compromising. I understand this is part of the original story, but the changes to Charlotte's character made this seem a bit... naive and privileged from Oliver's end.
Still... this was just a lovely read. I loved the scenes that were added (like the bookstore scene), I loved the nods to the original story and the 2005 movie. I loved how supportive Jane and Mr. Bennett were throughout the story. I loved that - even though dysphoria is a major part of this book - so much of the story revolves around Oliver's joy at being trans, which was just a lovely thing to witness.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this - particularly to people that are aware this a YA retelling of Pride and Prejudice and not meant to be a critique or complete rewrite of the original (as some reviewers seem to be implying.) It's simply a quick, heart-warming, delight of a book and I'm glad I read it.
This was delightful!! Yet another reminder I need to read more of the remixed classics books because I just loved practically every moment of this. It was such a sweet YA retelling, with a focus on queer joy - despite some of the heavier topics.
The only complaints I will raise is that I feel the author... not talks down to the reader, but perhaps spoon-feeds the reader everything? There is very little nuance in this book, from Wickham being an abhorrent villain from the moment we meet him to multiple characters telling Oliver he has fantastic child-birthing hips - something I cannot think would have been said during this time, due to the impropriety of the implications.
There's also an issue of Oliver being slightly... dare I say, prideful without the necessary character development to cancel it out. He's incredibly judgmental of everything Charlotte does - not because of the infidelity (which would have been understandable), but because she's compromising. I understand this is part of the original story, but the changes to Charlotte's character made this seem a bit... naive and privileged from Oliver's end.
Still... this was just a lovely read. I loved the scenes that were added (like the bookstore scene), I loved the nods to the original story and the 2005 movie. I loved how supportive Jane and Mr. Bennett were throughout the story. I loved that - even though dysphoria is a major part of this book - so much of the story revolves around Oliver's joy at being trans, which was just a lovely thing to witness.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this - particularly to people that are aware this a YA retelling of Pride and Prejudice and not meant to be a critique or complete rewrite of the original (as some reviewers seem to be implying.) It's simply a quick, heart-warming, delight of a book and I'm glad I read it.