CWs: experienced sexism; references to parental death; some depictions of excessive drinking; some descriptions of violence, injury, and vomit; exploration of internalized homophobia; and some descriptions of physical assault

A queer medieval romcom that is inspired by Arthurian?! Sold! I loved this book, I thought it was so freaking adorable! The characters, the banter, the plot! Loved everything about it!! Thank you so much for sending a copy of this book, I enjoyed it very much!

I really wanted to like this book because I really liked the premise. HOwever, I could not connect with teh characters and found this to be difficult to get into. Did not finish.

Synopsis: In a semi-retelling of the legend of Arthur and Guinevere, their descendants, Arthur and Gwendoline have been betrothed since birth. They’ve also despised each other for that long. Arthur is sent to Camelot to spend time with her before their wedding, but also to listen for gossip for his father. While there, he and Gwen engage in a truce for the sake of their individual and cumulative secrets. In said truce, they end up forging a friendship and a little crew of oddball characters.

Review: I absolutely adored this cute and quirky story and cast of misfits! Art & Gwen both remind me of people I know, and the quick and hilarious dialogue felt like conversations with friends. The story was a tale as old as time, but with modern takes. It is not quite a romance, but definitely fits the bill for romance readers. Very sweet and highly recommend! Thank you to the author and @netgalley for the advanced copy!

A very charming fantasy book with lovable characters. I believe any YA Reader would enjoy this book tremendously. Thank you for giving me the chance to review this arc

This is late but I read this book and loved it! A queer romance with loose ties to Arthurian legend, this book is funny, heart wrenching and exciting all at the same time. I loved all the characters and I hope that the author revisits this world in the future.

✨ PRINCEMAN REVIEW ✨

📝 Arthur, a distant relative of the ARTHUR, has been arranged to be married to Gwendoline since their births. Unfortunately, they absolutely despise one another. Arthur spending the summer at Camelot is meant to bring them finally together. Instead, the opposite happens. Gwen finds Arthur kissing a boy, and he discovers her diary professing her love of a lady knight. Can these two team together? Or are they doomed to ever unite?

What I 🤍:
🗡️ Spin on Arthurian Legend
🤝 Enemies to Allies
🕰️ Historical Rom-Com
💞 Several Love Stories
😂 Hilarious Banter

You can't help but root for both these teens. Arthur & Gwen are being forced into a marriage neither of them wants, while coming to grips with who they individually are. I loved the character development, and watching them grow. At times, they drove me nuts, but that is part of the comedy and humor of this book. I listened to this book on audio, and the narrators absolutely nailed it! They have British voices, and you could feel the character's personas off page.

Prince's Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Passion: 🔥 (Kisses)
Read If ➡️: You enjoy historical romances, or strong heroines!
📍 Historical England
Read 📅: Summertime ☀️
CW ⚠️: Death on Page, Homophobia

Overall I wanted to love this book, but it felt a little flat for me. It was a little bit all over the place with the relationships, battles and war. I wish maybe one storyline had been fleshed out more deeply. By the end, I often zoned out a bit. Also, I would have loved the ending to be a bit different. In a way, this is a fairytale, so I kind of imagined/hoped it would happen. It was a satisfying conclusion, I just wanted more.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for a copy of this book. My review will soon be on my Instagram Page (@LifeWithPrinceMan) soon.

This book was a blast! Entirely unique in its premise of being a Queer Knight’s Tale but familiar in that it felt like a warm hug. It’s primarily the story of Gwen & Art… but also of Gabriel and Bridget.
Gwendoline, the Princess of England is betrothed to the troublesome Arthur, who drinks too much, is sarcastic all the time, and whom she despises. But one night Gwen sees him kissing another boy, and although she’s surprised, she’s definitely not horrified. After all, how could she be when she’s harboring feelings for a certain badass swordswoman, Bridget Leclair. After that night the two make a tentative, truce (aka blackmail) that evolves into the story of 4 people finding love, just not to whom society expected.
This is a cute, lovely story with fully formed characters that you can really root for. Highly recommend, especially for any queer history nerds. I’ll definitely be reading Lex Croucher again!

I received an eARC courtesy of St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I am all for retellings of the Arthurian legend, so I was really looking forward to this. The overall story was very intriguing and I found the characters to be immensely likeable. There were pacing issues at times, but overall this was great.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lex Croucher for providing me with an ARC of Gwen and Art Are Not In Love in exchange for an honest review.

Having stayed up until well past midnight to finish this book, I’m happy to report that Gwen and Art Are Not In Love has successfully pulled me out of my worst reading slump in years! This sweet, Arthurian-inspired story features not one, but two adorable queer love stories, while centering an enemies-to-allies-to-friends arc that turned out to be my favourite relationship in the book. Lex Croucher writes some snort-into-your-tea funny banter, and not only manages to create compelling main characters, but a well-rounded cast of sidekicks and love interests as well. The medieval setting is really a backdrop here, and so is the Arthurian legend—this is not a retelling, so don’t go in expecting one. Delightfully subversive, tongue-in-cheek, and just refreshing overall, I recommend reading this when you need a giggle-inducing pick me up. A solid four stars.

This wasn’t exactly what I expected which is both good and bad. I kinda wish there was clearer intent with the character development but will definitely read from the author again.

i really liked this one! fake dating but in a historical setting was perfect, not to mention the found family aspect as well! love how well-rounded these characters were!

Lex Croucher is an author who always finds a way to exceed my expectations. With each and every book, I find myself enchanted by amazing queer representation mixed into stories and legends that you wouldn't initially expect. The stories are always original and fascinating and the characters are so unique and powerfully written. -political landscape the main characters have to navigate. Art, Gwen, and Gabriel have a destiny- which is to basically re-enact the traditional roles of the Arthurian trio. Unfortunately, none of them are temperamentally suited to these roles.
From setting to dialogue, Lex Croucher has so many outstanding features in this book, it's hard to clarify exactly what the most outstanding piece of this book is. But with every character's unique voice and perspective, the plot is driven forward in such a way that the tropes don't feel too cliche or forced and the story feels effortless and true.
I really enjoyed this book both in audio and visual format. I'm sure many others will as well.

If you're a lover of rom coms, historical fiction, found family stories, or all of the above, I recommend this book!

This was not the book I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it immensely. It is a well written YA with such well rounded characters, and so sweet and heartwarming. There were a few points where my interest dipped, but overall it was an enjoyable book! If you are looking for a queer read, and like me had an unnatural obsession with King Arthur (or maybe it was actually about Guinevere lol), I highly recommend this sweet read!

✨Book review✨
📚Gwen and art are not in love - Lex Croucher
⭐️⭐️⭐️.25



This book was really cute. The fake dating and love story was very sweet. I also really like how she made almost a modern twist on something that seemed to have been set in a time in the past. I loved most of the characters & was laughing quite a bit.

The thing that sucked about this book is that I didn't not reach for it wanting to read it. It was cute but not very exciting to me. I could pretend every characters move. Once I started reading it gor the day, it was cute, but I found myself wanting to read other books instead. I also felt like the main female character was very dull.

Thank you netgalley, st. martin press, and wednesday books for this book. This is my 100% honest opinion.

I loved the premise of this book, but I was already 25% in the book and nothing was really happening. The relationships weren't really progressing and the storyline wasn't either. I'm sure other people will love this book but it wasn't really for me.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love… and neither was I. This had a promising premise that unfortunately fell flat in execution. One of the main disappointments is the lack of follow-through on the initial premise of Gwen and Art teaming up to sabotage their engagement. While they do somewhat form a reluctant pact to cover for each other, this aspect of the story is not fully explored or developed, leaving it feeling unresolved and underwhelming.

Additionally, the characters' immaturity, especially considering their ages, further detracts from the narrative. This excessive immaturity makes it challenging to connect with the characters or take their development seriously, diminishing the overall impact of the story.

Furthermore, the novel misses an opportunity to delve into meaningful discussions, particularly regarding a side character's health problems and their relevance to women's healthcare concerns. This subplot had the potential to add depth and relevance to the story, but it is not explored in a way that feels impactful.

Overall, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love fails to live up to its potential, with shallow characters, missed opportunities for meaningful discussion, and a lackluster execution that leaves much to be desired. I’m giving it one star only for Art and Gabriel.

This is a really enjoyable queer rom com involving fake dating, enemies to friends, and knights in shining armor, which is just always fun. Stuck in roles that time and titles force upon them, Gwen and Art are betrothed, much against their will. They decide to be each others cover while they both pursue the true objects of their affections. These childhood enemies will have to trust each other to keep their secrets and be by their side when they inevitably get revealed.

I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn't for me. I feel like even for a YA novel the characters were slightly annoying and it made it hard to get into the story.