By Nico
Oliver Bennet’s life does not seem too promising. With the impending threat of marriage only the latest reminder that the world still thinks he’s the girl he’s never been, his current solace—slipping out at night dressed in boy’s clothes, getting to be himself after pretending all day—looks on the verge of slipping out of reach. How can he hope to survive in a world, let alone in a marriage, that denies his very existence?
But Oliver meets Darcy, who not just treats him cordially, but seeks out his friendship. At first, Oliver is just glad that Darcy sees him as the boy he truly is. He never would’ve imagined that their friendship could become something more—or that someone could love the real Oliver.
Stuck between a false life, where he’s forced to wear petticoats and respond to a name that’s never been his, and a real one where he slips out at night to meet Darcy and discover the path he’s always dreamed of, Oliver knows that this precarious balancing act can’t last forever. With his family on the verge of learning the truth about him, Oliver must decide on his own terms how he wants to live his life, even if that means risking the only family he’s ever known.
I loved both The Wicked Bargain and Pride and Prejudice, so I knew going into Most Ardently book that it probably wouldn’t meet my extraordinarily high expectations. I was absolutely wrong. Gabe Cole Novoa delivers one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, which brought me several times to tears of joy (not something that often happens!) and, to be honest, gave me hope for the future.
To begin with, Oliver is absolutely fantastic. I immediately fell in love with his palpable longing, his strong friendships, and his worldview, all combined in a character who spoke to me so deeply that I struggled to put Most Ardently down. Due to the book’s short length, there were certainly characters I would’ve loved to see played with more (Mr. Collins and Wickam are the most obvious ones that jump out at me), but the flipside of this meant getting to spend the majority of the book with a smaller cast of characters, allowing me to get to know each of them incredibly well. I particularly loved how Gabe Cole Novoa created Darcy’s character, which felt incredibly true to the original while also gaining its own spark.
Novoa sticks to the original story but is never afraid to branch out to create a book that truly feels like it could’ve existed behind Pride and Prejudice all these years. The plotlines with Mr. Bennet and Wickam particularly leaps to mind, but honestly there wasn’t a single point in this book where my absorption in the story and suspension of belief were broken—something I very rarely see in a retelling, and yet was executed so flawlessly I didn’t even register it until the end.
The only place that might’ve felt a little too perfect was the ending, but honestly, I was so happy for all the characters that I couldn’t bring myself to mind! I highly recommend Most Ardently to readers ages twelve and up, particularly those who love historical fiction or feel-good trans romance.
Oliver Bennet’s life does not seem too promising. With the impending threat of marriage only the latest reminder that the world still thinks he’s the girl he’s never been, his current solace—slipping out at night dressed in boy’s clothes, getting to be himself after pretending all day—looks on the verge of slipping out of reach. How can he hope to survive in a world, let alone in a marriage, that denies his very existence?
But Oliver meets Darcy, who not just treats him cordially, but seeks out his friendship. At first, Oliver is just glad that Darcy sees him as the boy he truly is. He never would’ve imagined that their friendship could become something more—or that someone could love the real Oliver.
Stuck between a false life, where he’s forced to wear petticoats and respond to a name that’s never been his, and a real one where he slips out at night to meet Darcy and discover the path he’s always dreamed of, Oliver knows that this precarious balancing act can’t last forever. With his family on the verge of learning the truth about him, Oliver must decide on his own terms how he wants to live his life, even if that means risking the only family he’s ever known.
I loved both The Wicked Bargain and Pride and Prejudice, so I knew going into Most Ardently book that it probably wouldn’t meet my extraordinarily high expectations. I was absolutely wrong. Gabe Cole Novoa delivers one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, which brought me several times to tears of joy (not something that often happens!) and, to be honest, gave me hope for the future.
To begin with, Oliver is absolutely fantastic. I immediately fell in love with his palpable longing, his strong friendships, and his worldview, all combined in a character who spoke to me so deeply that I struggled to put Most Ardently down. Due to the book’s short length, there were certainly characters I would’ve loved to see played with more (Mr. Collins and Wickam are the most obvious ones that jump out at me), but the flipside of this meant getting to spend the majority of the book with a smaller cast of characters, allowing me to get to know each of them incredibly well. I particularly loved how Gabe Cole Novoa created Darcy’s character, which felt incredibly true to the original while also gaining its own spark.
Novoa sticks to the original story but is never afraid to branch out to create a book that truly feels like it could’ve existed behind Pride and Prejudice all these years. The plotlines with Mr. Bennet and Wickam particularly leaps to mind, but honestly there wasn’t a single point in this book where my absorption in the story and suspension of belief were broken—something I very rarely see in a retelling, and yet was executed so flawlessly I didn’t even register it until the end.
The only place that might’ve felt a little too perfect was the ending, but honestly, I was so happy for all the characters that I couldn’t bring myself to mind! I highly recommend Most Ardently to readers ages twelve and up, particularly those who love historical fiction or feel-good trans romance.
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