I love a P&P retelling, especially a queer one and I was sad to find this was not my cup of tea.

I loved the addition of a trans character, but I think my two main issues were that it didn't feel like a great P&P retelling, and YA is a genre I struggle with (but keep trying from time to time, because I still find ones that really grab me.)

The tone of the book, and our main character Oliver, felt too young. I think it's great to have a teen character in a regency-era book discovering how to navigate the world while being trans (and largely having to hide it), so I think the issue here is that I'm just not the target audience. I also felt like the romance was very rushed, but again, I think that's pretty common for YA romances. The dialogue felt very modern at times too, which made it feel less like a P&P retelling.

I think if this had just been a regency-era book with a grumpy love interest that our main character eventually wins over, I would have had less of an issue. It's easy to slap Darcy's name on some snobby guy, but there's so much more to the story of P&P and it felt like so much of it was cut out (maybe in part because this is YA, idk.) To make matters worse, Mr. Collins and Mr. Wickham were made to be straight-up evil in this retelling and it just felt so unnecessary. I enjoy hating on Collins because he's a silly, insufferable git, but he's not a bad guy! He's just delusional. Having the two of them essentially team up against Oliver felt forced.

If I'd read this between the ages of 14 and 16, it probably would have been a hit. YMMV. ( )

Cute. ( )

Easy and pleasant read that includes a refreshing progressive spin on Pride and Prejudice. The romance is heartwarming and amusing and the time period accentuates the romantics of it all very nicely. The behavior towards trans/queer identities did feel a bit naively optimistic at times, but I don't think the author was going for realism so much as trying to provide representation that feels good and isn't overwhelmingly focused on the struggle of being different/not being accepted that a lot of queer novels fall into (which is true, but can be exhausting and sometimes all you want is happy escapism WITH representation). That being said, nothing spectacular jumped from the pages at me. It is a rather static book, but not necessarily in a bad way. I just typically prefer books with more suspense and/or a more multifaceted plot. Still was a pleasant read though. ( )

Low 3. Strong, fascinating, compelling beginning fizzles out after the first third of the book.The attempts to incorporate P&P actually drag down the story, which could have been amazing if it were only an original one.

Audiobook reading is a 5!!!! Will seek out other books by this narrator. ( )

I went in expecting a Pride and Prejudice remix where ‘Elizabeth’ was a transman and the story would change from there, but would retain its Regency era details, sans any anti-trans attitudes. I knew the book was YA and I have enjoyed YA in the past.

‘Elizabeth’ was a transboy, not a man, unfortunately, with all of the other characters aged down. The regency aspect of the original story was also quite glossed over. The characters didn’t speak in a way that made sense for the era and their social habits were not historically accurate. For example, in the book, Oliver (‘Elizabeth’’s name in the book) says he never learned how to play card games because Mrs. Bennet didn't want her children to learn because cards are not ‘ladylike.' However, playing cards was a regular social thing at the time for all genders, including gambling on cards. In addition, the Bingleys and the Darcys had apparently let Netherfield together? At the recommendation of Darcy's aunt? It's certainly a unique take on regency era behaviors.

Additionally, the language used in the story felt very modern. There were a lot of contractions. Many characters spoke very directly, rather than indirectly, which seemed like it should have caused more problems for the characters, though there never seemed to be any immediate consequences.

I went into this book expecting the book to be written for a YA audience and I was excited to see how the author wove a trans experience into the Pride & Prejudice framework. If you can set aside the modern language and artistic license in regard to regency social habits, I think this book could be a great experience for you. It was, unfortunately, not a book that could keep my interest. ( )