This may be my favorite of the remixed classics series. Most Ardently is one of the most ambitious considering the amounts of remakes and retellings, but this is one of my favorite! Keep reading this book review of Most Ardently for my full thoughts.
Summary
London, 1812 . Oliver Bennet feels trapped—not just by the endless corsets, petticoats, and skirts he’s forced to wear on a daily basis, but also by society’s expectations. The world, and the vast majority of his family and friends, think Oliver is a girl named Elizabeth. He is therefore expected to mingle at balls wearing a pretty dress, entertain suitors regardless of his interest in them, and ultimately become someone’s wife.
But Oliver can’t bear the thought of such a fate. He finds solace in the few times he can sneak out of his family’s home and explore the city rightfully dressed as a young gentleman. It’s during one such excursion when Oliver becomes acquainted with Darcy, a sulky young man who had been rude to “Elizabeth” at a recent social function. But in the comfort of being out of the public eye, Oliver comes to find that Darcy is actually a sweet, intelligent boy with a warm heart, not to mention attractive.
As Oliver spends more time as his true self, often with Darcy, part of him dares to hope that his dream of love and life as a man can be possible. But suitors are growing bolder―and even threatening―and his mother is growing more desperate to see him settled into an engagement. Oliver will have to choose: settle for safety, security, and a life of pretending to be something he’s not, or risk it all for a slim chance at freedom, love, and a life that can be truly his own.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
In what could be my favorite of this whole remixed classics so far, Most Ardently has stolen my heart. For the keen eyed reader, there are so many Easter Eggs to the original from our favorite movie moments, to book nods. Just like with many of the classics remixed series, there’s an attention to detail and to having a conversation with the original. It’s not just a copy paste. There’s an attention to details, to the ways they would have their stories, loves, and possibilities for endings here.
Most Ardently is swooning, charming, and heartfelt from beginning to end. It celebrates the individuals breaking convention and living their lives in this historical fiction time period. The marginalized folks who have always been there. Their joys, futures, and happiness in societies convinced to strike them down, to cut them into small boxes. Most Ardently also explores the possibilities and happiness afforded to these marginalized folks and the ways in which privilege and money intersect. How some ‘happy endings’ are merely survival, are making the best of our circumstances, of stolen happy moments and undercover friends who see us truly.
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If you love a retelling which feels like a conversation with the original, this is for you. There’s this similar approach to the prides and prejudices of Darcy and Oliver which I have always appreciated about Pride and Prejudice. Most Ardently also breathes fresh life and a re-invigoration – deeper themes of finding happiness, of opening our hearts. Find Most Ardently on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.