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DesDoesBooks

I'm a queer reader and educator who loves fantasy, romance, classics, and nonfiction of all kinds! @get.literature on booksta šŸ’–

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Fall 2025 Readalong
Cozy Fantasy
Level 5
My Taste
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Pride and Prejudice
Swordcrossed
Annie Bot
Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)
Reading...
Most ArdentlyMoby-Dick or, The WhaleWolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)Palestine in a World on Fire

DesDoesBooks commented on a post

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  • The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
    Quote from 17% (page 21)
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  • Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)
    Thoughts from 13% (page 67)

    This is already such a devastating read. It is incredible, but I have to keep taking laps around my apartment to deal with the Pain.

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  • DesDoesBooks commented on cj.readsalatte's review of Most Ardently

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  • Most Ardently
    cj.readsalatte
    Sep 28, 2025
    2.5
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

    First off, when I read the synopsis of this book, I knew I had to read it. A published, queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice? "Yes, a thousand times, yes!" (Not that I haven't read the fanfics, but still there's something different about it being published.) And the 'Lizzy' character is trans? Consider me intrigued.

    And yet. Once I finally got a copy in my grabby hands... well, let's just say I'm less than impressed. I love the original story; I don't consider myself a purist by any stretch (reference the fanfics). Still, maybe I'm too attached to the original story to give this a fair chance. If that's the case, I'll own that. But it just seems to me that the changes the author made demonstrate a lack of understanding of the original story - the characters, the GEOGRAPHY, the mores of the time, and even, to a certain extent, the plot.

    Including diverse characters in stories (especially trans ones, given the climate) is so important, and I'm certain the author's experiences informed how he wrote the story. That's valid. Wanting to see someone like yourself in a beloved story is also valid. However, it seems to me that trying to shoehorn the story the author wanted to tell into the existing structure of P&P did a disservice to both.

    To be honest, I nearly DNF'd this when we got to the tight-lacing dream sequence. (I won't go on a rant about how stays couldn't be tight-laced without ripping because metal eyelets didn't exist yet... but wow did that confirm what I was coming to suspect - the author did not do enough research!)Ā 

    Now, on to the nitty-gritty:
    Warning: spoilers. Also, it gets a little ranty... and slightly unhinged.Ā 

    What I liked (let's start with the positive... it's a rather short list):
    <spoiler> - Papa Bennet's immediate acceptance and love for Oliver was touching (if a little out of character); the scene where Oliver comes out actually made me a little emotional. It was well done and even cathartic.
    - the exploration of Molly Houses
    - Oliver/Elizabeth's dual relationships with Darcy. (I think this could have been fleshed out a lot more, but I like the idea. Yet another reason why an original story would have worked better.)Ā 
    - Oh, and the cover is gorgeous.Ā 

    What's bugging me (hold onto your bonnets, folks, it's gonna be a bumpy ride):
    - Hertfordshire and thus Longborn are not in London. Gracechurch is not in the countryside. This makes the plot point where Jane <spoiler>goes to visit the Gardiners in the hopes of meeting up with Bingley completely unrealistic and fall flat.Ā  (There's more English countryside than one location, and the idea that both families would reside in the same location, given their different social standings, is ludicrous. Also, is Mr. Gardiner now landed gentry?? Because in P&P, he works in trade. He needs to be located in an area conducive to his business.) The choice of swapping the locations was at first baffling and made me question the author's grasp on English geography; each subsequent mention was jarring and served to only increase my exasperation.Ā  </spoiler>Ā 

    - The way the women are written is uncomfortable, and after giving it some thought, it's pretty clear, Oliver (and possibly the author) doesn't like women very much. In the original, Mama Bennet is ridiculous, over the top, and embarrassing, but she loves her daughters and Lizzy loves her, too. In this version,Ā  <spoiler> Mrs. Bennet is borderline cruel (until the personality transplant at the end). (The way she sends Jane off to Netherfield is cruelly done, and so out of character, it made me angry. She flat out says she doesn't care if Jane gets sick. People died of the common cold in this time period; it wasn't common, but it happened enough for people to be cautious.) Jane herself doesn't behave quite like the character we know and love; her character is flattened, her goodness diminished. (Side note: why does Lydia have a lisp in the Audiobook?) Why doesn't Lu have a last name (or a formal name at all?)Ā  </spoiler>Ā 

    - Why is the personality of our "Lizzy" character so altered??? <spoiler> Gone is the sparkling wit, her personable nature. Everything we know and love about this character is just gone. Oliver is so thoroughly miserable almost all the time (except when he's dressed in "boy clothes" - don't worry, we'll get to that), that it makes it hard to sit with him or even root for him at times (but I think this stems from the way he looks down on women). And the repetition of his dissatisfaction with his female form is... well, repetitive. I get that this is a constant struggle IRL for people with gender dysphoria, and I sympathize, but it's mentioned so many times, it got tedious to read. TBH, it feels like Oliver's transness is becoming the plot, or at least shoving other aspects of the plot out of the way so we can sit with how miserable Oliver is. (Also, I'd just like to submit for consideration: why Oliver when Eli was right there?) </spoiler>Ā 

    - WHY is everyone aged down so much??? Referring to the love interests as "boys" when marriage is on the table is off-putting. I get that this is a YA book, but technically so is P&P and Lizzy is 20. Making Oliver 17 means that marriage wouldn't yet be such a serious topic of discussion. And Darcy, at 18 wouldn't even be thinking about marriage. The average age for marriage in the Regency period was early to mid 20s for women and Mid to late 20s for men. And, Charlotte, at 19, is nowhere near the spinster-in-the-making that she is presented in the original, which should change her desperation to get married.

    - Speaking of Charlotte, why is her name and social standing inexplicably changed? It's Lucas, not Lewis! Her father is a knight, and she has siblings (and a mother). These changes make no sense. Part of the reason she is so desperate to marry, in addition to her "advanced age" of 27 is the fact that she has sisters, who can't come out into society until she does.

    - Wickham. All I can say is what the hell? <spoiler>Why is he associating with Collins? (Who, speaking of which, is apparently NOT in the clergy???) Who is this random cousin of Wickham's that Darcy is supposed to marry?? Why does her name randomly change? Why keep the seduction of Georgina if it's not going to mirror what happens with Lydia? Again, why were these changes made?! </spoiler>Ā 

    All of this makes me think that the author either doesn't have a good grasp on the story he is supposedly "remixing" (whatever that means) or doesn't like the original story. Which begs the question - why write it?! Why not just write the original story he clearly wanted to?

    I honestly don't know if I'll continue. I'm worried I'll wind up in yet another reading slump if I try to force it.

    Update:
    REGENCY ERA "corsets" DID NOT TIGHT LACE!!!!!!!!!! That's not how they worked! They were stays! Metal eyelets didn't EXIST!!!!!! ASJFGHASGOUGWSHUASGOU! GOD! Do some goddamn research!

    Also, the marriage proposal?! <spoiler>It comes even further out of left field in this version than the original. Did Darcy and "Elizabeth" even have a conversation in this one? In true Jane Austen fashion, a good chunk of the scenes that a reader would have liked to witness were cut or summarized. How did he land on Elizabeth to propose to? He doesn't come to Rosings to see her; he just shows up. If the goal was simply to marry to appease his aunt (at 18), why not pick someone who wouldn't cause a scandal?? Remember "In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you"? (Swoon, right?) And then he proceeds to insult her by listing all the reasons why marrying her is a bad idea. In this version, Darcy's just like "I gotta get myself hitched (at 18) because reasons. And you'll do, I guess, even though I don't love you." Are you fracking kidding me? Where is the romance? Where is the tension? Where is the enemies to lovers? Where is Pride and Prejudice??? Again, WHY WERE THESE CHANGES MADE????? (To be read like Jess asking Rory "WhY dId yOu drOp oUt of YaLe?") Ā  </spoiler>Ā 

    Update:
    I did finish it. <spoiler>The climax was ridiculous. Where did Lady C hear the rumor that Oliver and Darcy were going to marry? In the original, it came from Collins; I doubt he was the culprit here. Mama Bennet made a shift in attitude so fast it gave me whiplash. And we don’t get to see how anyone else reacts, but then none of the other characters were really important in this version, are they? There is no HEA, or really an ending to speak of. Oliver now gets to begin his life, more or less as he wants, which is nice for him. Though, TBH, I’m not entirely sure what that entails.</spoiler>

    This book could have been so good if a little more thought, research, care, etc. was put into it. It also could have benefitted from being longer; too much was cut or glossed over. And, in the end, the story is Oliver’s transness, everything else is secondary. And if that was the story the author set out to tell, that would have been fine, great even for an original story. This, however, only bears a passing, surface-level resemblance to Pride and Prejudice.Ā 

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  • Post from the Most Ardently forum

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  • Most Ardently
    Thoughts from 16% (page 68) geography continued

    It has become clear that the author apparently thoyght n P&P when they walked to Meryton (2 miles) they were walking to London (24ish miles). I love rewrites and adaptations, and I usually don't care about being loyal to source material, but paying attention to the setting basics really feels like the minimum in a story like this where the premise (Netherfield being let at last to Bingley, introducing himself and Darcy to the story) do rely on the period specific mechanics of gentry having country estates far from the city and homes in London for the season. How can Bingley disappear to London causing Jane to doubt their future when that's apparently a minute or two away?

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  • DesDoesBooks commented on a post

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  • Most Ardently
    Loving the queer twist, struggling with the geography

    So far this is quite enjoyable! My only issue is they keep walking into London from the countryside. It breaks the immersion somewhat to picture a casual 24 mile walk every day.

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    The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

    The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

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    Post from the Most Ardently forum

    3d
  • Most Ardently
    Loving the queer twist, struggling with the geography

    So far this is quite enjoyable! My only issue is they keep walking into London from the countryside. It breaks the immersion somewhat to picture a casual 24 mile walk every day.

    4
    comments 1
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    Most Ardently

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    Gabe Cole Novoa

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    The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

    The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

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    Moby-Dick or, The Whale

    Moby-Dick or, The Whale

    Herman Melville

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    DesDoesBooks commented on a post

    2w
  • 1984
    Is AI Newspeak?

    So I was reading this book this summer and Thailand and I was eating dinner at a restaurant by myself and this older white gentleman sitting next to me started talking to me about the book right. And he said ā€œdid you know ai is basically newspeak…you shouldn’t use it!ā€ And I’m wondering what ppl thing about that šŸ¤” Bc in a way ai is itself expanding its vocabulary and capabilities but at the same time the more ppl use it the less they themselves have to think? Idk lmk what yall think.

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  • DesDoesBooks commented on a post

    3w
  • 1984
    Is AI Newspeak?

    So I was reading this book this summer and Thailand and I was eating dinner at a restaurant by myself and this older white gentleman sitting next to me started talking to me about the book right. And he said ā€œdid you know ai is basically newspeak…you shouldn’t use it!ā€ And I’m wondering what ppl thing about that šŸ¤” Bc in a way ai is itself expanding its vocabulary and capabilities but at the same time the more ppl use it the less they themselves have to think? Idk lmk what yall think.

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    comments 10
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  • DesDoesBooks made progress on...

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    The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

    The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

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  • The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
    Quote from 17% (page 21)
    spoilers

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  • The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
    Quote from 17% (page 21)
    spoilers

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    comments 7
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    The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

    The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

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  • Goblin Mode: How to Get Cozy, Embrace Imperfection, and Thrive in the Muck
    DesDoesBooks
    Nov 01, 2025
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 4.5Quality: 5.0Characters: Plot:
    🐌
    🧶
    🐸

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