I'm always going to read what Ashley Schumacher writes! I will do that on the strength of Ameilia, Unabridged. If you have not read it, rectify that immediately.

The Gwen of this novel, real name Maddie, is grieving the death of her mother and coping by making meticulous notes, or 'noticings' but not actually living. Maddie and her father live in a travel trailer called Britomart, selling his leather journals and her handmade jewelry on the Renaissance Fair circuit. Maddie is lamenting all the changes in her mother's favorite fair in Oklahoma, when she is interrupted by a very unusual guy named Arthur who persists in calling her "Gwen", yep, as in Guinevere.

Maddie is insistent on keeping her world small, because if you don't care it won't hurt. But Arthur is relentless and charming. Suddenly she is Princess of the Faire and traveling to offbeat destinations with him, trying (and failing) not to care.

I found Arthur and Maddie/Gwen's friendship turned 'more' delightful. Frankly, I don't know who could resist Arthur. The portrayal of grief seemed realistic and relative to young adults - and made me want to hug Maddie. I think I have thoroughly overused 'delightful' and 'charming' but I stand by it. I was charmed by this delightful book.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest opinon.

This is a very cute YA novel that anyone who enjoys a light romance will be happy to read. It all takes place at a Renaissance Faire, and it has a sweet cast of characters. Madeleine is mourning the death of her mother a year ago, and continuing to travel with her dad to Run Faires around the country. She has had little opportunity to interact with other kids her age due to taking online classes because of the travel, and she is self-conscious about her weight, as is so common in teen-age years. So when she meets a cute boy at the newly improved site of the next Ten Faire, she isn’t sure how to handle things and is afraid to get attached. The story takes place over the summer run of the Faire, and builds to a nice gentle conclusion. I enjoyed it as a refreshing change from the heavier fare I usually read.

I received a preview ARC from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was such a sweet book. Madeleine and her dad have been on the Renaissance Faire circuit where her parents met for most of her life. When they arrive at a favorite spot, it’s been overhauled: dirt paths are now gravel, buildings are permanent structures, and everything has a Hollywood sheen. The son of the new owners, Arthur, seems determined to win her over, and dubs Gwen the Princess of the Faire. Reluctantly drawn in, suddenly she is schewing plans with her dad, hanging out with friends, and trying to remember what her mother’s laugh sounded like. Will shaking up her routine make her forget her mother?

This lovely book deals with grief so beautifully, and also addresses body image, budding romance, and LGBTQIA issues (Arthur has two dads). The device of a best friend to Zoom with and a journal provide opportunity for Gwen to process, but so do her conversations with Arthur. This is a great for fans of Well Met who also enjoy coming of age romance.

I received a free, advance reader’s review copy of #TheRenaissanceOfGwenHathaway from #NetGalley.

A sweet romance set at a Renaissance faire, this novel also deals with grief and healing. The romance is middle school appropriate; recommended for 8th grade an up. A delightful read!

Another solid book by Ashley. She creates the best characters and warm fuzzy feelings. I’ve read all of her books and will continue to do so. Thanks NetGalley!

This book was such a wonderful surprise! I did not expect to enjoy the renaissance fair setting as much as I did, but here we are! What a charming and warmhearted story about processing grief, finding hope in friendships and falling in love along the way.

'The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway' is a sweet young adult contemporary romance. The book centers on a teen named Maddie who has grown up touring with her parents on the renaissance faire circuit. The first anniversary of her mother's death overlaps with her mother's favourite Renaissance Faire on their yearly circuit. Maddie is finding it difficult to stay connected and enjoy life and the faire they way she used to with her mother around, Enter, Arthur, a persistent and exuberant young bard, who is adamant in becoming Maddie's friend even though she's hesitant about letting another person into her life that she could potentially lose.

First and foremost, I loved the Renaissance Faire setting. It just made the metaphors, the Shakespearean references and the silliness in the character's that much more fun. I wish the author spent a little more time on the everyday life in the faire in certain chapters because that would led to more exciting side plots for Arthur and Maddie.

Starting with Maddie - she's a strong willed, jewelry maker, plus-sized and renaissance faire expert. She grew up in that life and has known only happiness with it. Her mother passing away hurts her so deeply that she's afraid to let anyone else in so she doesn't have to experience that pain again. Watching her flourish and be kinder to herself as the story progressed brought me so much joy. Maddie has a lot of internalized shame about being fat that often presents as anger and seeing her overcome this by being around good, diverse people was so important. Arthur makes her smile and breaks her out of her shell. She makes more friends and bonds with her father. It just made me so happy to see a young character have such a wonderful supportive network around her.

Now, Arthur. I love this boy - I truly do. He was fated to meet, befriend and fall in love with Maddie. This character is kind, funny and genuine-to-the core. It made me so happy to see Maddie flourish and open up again to adventure and joy just by hanging out with Arthur. He's so attentive to her needs and understands her in a way even she doesn't understand herself. He's going into my list of "sweetheart characters".

I really enjoyed the slow-build romance between Maddy and Arthur. It was very sweet and realistic. They go on day trips and slowly fall in love and that was so lovely to witness. I do wish we got to see them interact more with other people and have more plots attached to the ren faire. Also - I really needed an epilogue about their life after the conclusion!

Overall, this book was a fantastic, queen and light-hearted read that makes you go 'aww' every few pages.

Thank you so much St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Netgalley for giving me an eARC of this book!

I never realized how badly I needed a ren-faire book until I picked up this Schumacher book. I can't express how much I loved this. It touches on tougher subjects, like death, grieving and loss. The author took great care and approached the subject beautifully I felt. I can't recommend this one enough.

It’s no surprise that I loved YA romance The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway since I’m a huge fan of author, @ashwritesbooks. I’m so grateful to @WednesdayBooks for a copy of this one.

Madeline is still processing the death of her mom. She copes by tracking things she notices about people so she won’t forget, but her noticings may actually be a way to avoid life. The first anniversary of her mother’s death is coming up when Madeline and her father stop at what was her mother’s favorite Renaissance Faire on the circuit they work year-round. But the Faire has new owners and everything has changed. On her first day there, she meets Arthur, a bard at the Faire, who is determined to be her friend whether Maddy likes it or not.

Even with Maddy processing so much grief, this book is still lighter than Ashley Schumaker’s previous books. Which doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of depth. Obviously there’s the loss of a loved one which the author handles beautifully. Then there’s Maddy being a plus-size teen. I’ve read some reviews that said they didn’t like the “fat shaming” in the book, and I have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. This felt like a very true-to-life (take it from someone who was also a plus-size teen) story and felt so much more realistic to me than a lot of the excessively body-positive books I’ve read. I mean, those are great. But I don’t believe them. The only body shaming in the book comes from Maddy herself and there’s lovely character development as she learns to accept herself more throughout the book. I also loved the relationship Maddy had with her father, who was also struggling with his own grief, and the backstory about Arthur’s two dads.

For anyone who loves a Renaissance Faire setting, this book delivers in spades and the slow-build romance between Maddy and Arthur was so sweet, if a tad drawn out. My only complaint was that I wanted a little more of them together at the end, but I understand why the story was structured the way it was.

I highly recommend this one to fans of YA romance.

A great rom com about coming into yourself and letting someone else love you just as you are while also learning to love yourself. A plus sized heroine that gets to be princess of the Faire in a world that normally doesn't see her body as worth anything this was a breath of fresh air!

Love this is set in the Ren Faire with the younger set. A father and daughter who just lost the Mom and are grieving and trying to figure out their new life. But Maddie wasn't doing well until she met this bard who was around her age who gave her attention and brought her out of her comfort zone when she needed it the most. Sometimes change is what helps when grief is too much, new memories you know they would love that you were doing. Loved that she was a plus size character and although she had some issues with things he just wanted to be around her. A sweet coming of age story with a sweet romance.

Thank you wednesdaybooks for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Love love love to see more plus sized rep in YA! I was drawn to this because I love the Well Met series by Jen Deluca and it did not disappoint! Such a great and fun book for early Spring reading.

I really enjoyed this book but found myself wishing for more development on several plot points (the adventures, daily Ren Faire life, etc.) which ultimately is what kept this book from being a 5 star read for me.

This one was not for me but that’s not to say this book is not well written. It’s about a girl grieving in her own private way. Perhaps if I had read it another time I would have enjoyed it more.

A sweet coming of age book. "Gwen's" grief is the center of the book. Losing her mother, and being in the Renn Faire circuit with her Dad (as has always been her life) and no longer having her bestie Fatima in the circuit with her creates a loneliness that is palpable and relatable. She's not angry, not hurting anyone but instead retreating inwards and constantly putting herself down. Essentially it's a story of a lovely girl, with a lovely support system who meets a boy who has his own issues but takes care to be her friend (bc he needs one too) and watch as her life opens up. Its difficult and frustrating at times, but also really sweet to watch a young girl come into her own and just "be". There's nothing groundbreaking here, but that's ok. Huzzah !
3 stars.

3.5 stars

The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway is a cute young adult contemporary romance. It's about a teen named Maddie who has grown up touring with her parents on the renaissance faire circuit. But after her mother's death, Maddie isn't sure how to handle the faire without her mom there. She meets a boy named Arthurr who proves to be a loyal and persistent friend, but Maddie isn't sure if she is ready to make a deep connection with anyone yet.

I really loved the renaissance faire setting. It is a world that I know nothing about, and I thought it was fascinating to read more about in this story. Definitely a unique setting and that was my favorite thing about this book.

However I was feeling my age with this one. I had to keep reminding myself that it was for a teen audience, because as an adult, I just didn't thinkt here was enough conflict between Maddie and Arthur to keep the whole book going. The things that she would get upset about (both with him and with herself) were the same things over and over again, and I thought that led to a slow plot. Yet I know that these issues may seem like bigger deals to teenagers and therefore they may find the plot more compelling than I did.

In summary, this was a cute story and I enjoyed it...especially the unique renaissance faire setting!!

This was so fun! I didn't expect to like it as much as I did and I'm glad I gave it a shot. Looking forward to whatever else Schumacher writes.

This is a very cute romance. I didn't expect some of the more sensitive topics touched on in this book, but they were very well handled with tact and sensibility. I would definitely recommend this as a new read for this summer!

The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher was outstanding!! In this YA novel, the author masters such sensitive Our main character, Maddie, is dealing with grief after the loss of her mother while traveling with the Renaissance Faire. While on the Faire tour, Maddie meets Arthur who is the son of the new owners at her mother's favorite stop on the tour. I love seeing their connection and how they grow. The story was entertaining and kept me engaged from the first page. Highly recommend this read!

I just finished this book in one sitting. I literally could not put it down. It’s 3 am before work and I have no regrets. The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway is perhaps one of the most delightful books I’ve ever read. The emotions, the humor, the Ren faire setting, the relatability, the growth, the swoon. Oh my goodness. I will be rereading this to relive Maddie’s incredible summer and to continue falling for Arthur. I will absolutely be checking out Ashley Schumacher’s other books. I can’t thank NetGalley and Wednesday Books enough for this opportunity to read and review this beautiful arc.

Oh Ashley, oh Arthur, Mads..... my heart.

Schumacher we gotta stop meeting like this with all the tears! No wait, don't stop. You know I love it.

This sweet story of a summer renaissance romance with sunshine and grump is sure to tug on the heartstrings of every reader. I just loved it so much.

Yet again more brilliance from Schumacher.

Thank you SMP and Netgalley for letting me devour this piece of art!