Jane Austen Book Club: Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa

Come for the books, stay for the community with Lovestruck Books and Cafe’s Jane Austen Book Club! December 16, 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth and we’ll be celebrating her all throughout the month!

In honor of the literary icon herself, we’ll be reading by Gabe Cole Novoa, a heartwrenching YA reimagining of Pride & Prejudice. Join us for an exciting discussion on how Gabe reinterprets Jane's wit and social observations. We'll explore his unique approach, applying a modern cultural lens that highlights marginalized backgrounds.

To ensure the best discussion, we encourage everyone to read the full book before our meet-up.

🎟️ Already Have the Book?
Sign-up for the $5 "Book Club Entry" ticket option and plan to bring your own copy.

🎟️ + 📚 Want to Purchase the Book?
Purchase a hard copy of the book via the “Book Club Entry + Copy of Book” ticket.Please Note: You will need to pick up your book from the bookstore to read before the event.

Tickets are limited, so grab yours soon! If the event sells out, you can join the waitlist. Should any spots open up, you’ll have 24 hours to register before we offer them to the next person.

See you there!

ACCESSIBILITY
Check-in will take place at our front entrance on Brattle Street. If you have any accessibility needs, you're welcome to use our side entrance (located on the right side of the building), which is wheelchair accessible and has a ramp.

Guests who would benefit from priority seating or any additional assistance are encouraged to reach out in advance — just email us at [email protected]. We're more than happy to make arrangements to ensure you feel comfortable and supported.

We’re always learning and looking for ways to make our events more accessible. If you have suggestions or feedback, we’d love to hear from you!

BOOK PICKUP POLICY

If you purchased a book with your event ticket but can’t make it to the event—and don’t request a refund—we’ll happily hold your book for pickup for up to 30 days after the event date.

We’ll be in touch via the email you provided at checkout to help coordinate pickup. After 30 days, if we haven’t heard from you or made other arrangements, we’ll consider the book abandoned property and may donate it or return it to inventory so it can find a new home.

Thanks so much for your understanding and for supporting our events—we love doing this with you!

ABOUT MOST ARDENTLY

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A STONEWALL HONOR BOOK

A trans boy searches for a future—and a romance—in which he can live and love openly as himself in this heartwrenching YA reimagining of Pride & Prejudice, perfect for fans of Bridgerton and Gwen and Art Are Not in Love.

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. And not to mention incredibly attractive.

As Oliver is able to spend more time as his true self, often with Darcy, part of him dares begin to hope that his dream of love and life as a man could 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, honestly his own.

This bittersweet Pride & Prejudice remix follows a trans boy yearning for the freedom to live openly, centering queerness in a well-known story of longing and subverting society’s patriarchal and cisheteronormative expectations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gabe Cole Novoa (he/him) is a Latinx transmasculine author who writes speculative fiction featuring marginalized characters grappling with identity. Now leveled up with an MFA in Writing for Children, when he isn't being nerdy at his day job, or buried under his TBR pile, you’ll likely find him making heart-eyes at the latest snazzy outfit he wants to add to his wardrobe. Gabe is the author of the New York Times bestseller Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix, The Wicked Bargain, The Diablo's Curse, and the Beyond the Red trilogy, written under a former pseudonym.

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