Heart warming story full of romance and fun! I loved the twist on this time period and typical storyline. I found the characters endearing and it sucked me in fully.

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher is a witty, contemporary rom-com that brings together charming characters, humor, and an exploration of identity, love, and friendship. The story revolves around Gwen, a quirky, awkward, and endearing protagonist, and Art, her close friend, as they navigate their feelings, insecurities, and the complex nature of relationships.
The book excels in its exploration of personal growth and the unpredictability of love. Gwen, a bit of a misfit, has to deal with her complicated feelings for Art, while Art himself is dealing with his own baggage. The tension between their platonic and romantic feelings builds throughout the story, creating an engaging dynamic. One of the strengths of Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is its portrayal of friendship, self-discovery, and the importance of communicating feelings, whether romantic or otherwise. The novel highlights how complicated it can be to navigate these emotions, but also how vital it is to embrace one's true self, this is a fun, heartfelt story for anyone who loves character-driven rom-coms with a strong dose of humor and sincerity. It’s a great pick for readers who enjoy books about personal growth, the ups and downs of love, and the messy nature of friendships and relationships.

This was a cute little YA LGBTQ+ Fantasy novel. I loved the tie-ins with King Arthur and the knights of the round table, as the kingdom wanted everyone to know they were family of the famous king. While this might be an enemies to friends instead of enemies to lovers as the main relationship in the book is between two people who are both gay and in love with other people. Gwen and Arthur come to love each other in a platonic way and I feel like that was a great focus for the book instead of the romantic relationships.
Speaking of the romantic relationships, both Gwen and Arthur's are sweet and overall wonderful to watch come to fruition. Gwen with Bridget, who is the most badass knight in the realm and introduces Gwen to witches and those who follow Morgana. Arthur falls in love with Gwen's brother - the future king. Arthur's manservant - Sydney was just the best character in the whole book and he was a great foil to Arthur.
The book was pretty slow until the end where there was a sudden uprising and all the characters have to take up and fight, which seemed out of the blue and was very different pacing and feel than the rest of the book. It was an engaging few chapters but I felt like I had whiplash from how fast everything happened. At one point everyone suspects Arthur to be on the side of the bad guys due to a misheard clandestine meeting and because of that both Arthur and Gabe end up terribly injured at different times.
Overall a great read, fun and sweet and the ending was just so cute.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

*Gwen & Art Are Not in Love* by Lex Croucher is a witty and refreshing historical rom-com with a modern twist. Set in a medieval-inspired world, the story follows Gwen and Arthur, two nobles betrothed since childhood—except Gwen likes women, and Art likes men. As they scheme to escape their unwanted engagement, they develop an unexpected friendship while navigating court politics, romance, and plenty of chaos. Croucher’s sharp humor, diverse representation, and heartfelt moments make this a delightful read. Perfect for fans of queer romance, found family, and lighthearted historical fiction with a playful, contemporary voice.

4⭐ on 🎧

This book had to have been pitched to publishers as "queer Monty Python" and it delivers on this in droves before turning into an action movie worthy final battle scene. This was the perfect escapist romp for the current times!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-book copy!

I was initially excited to read this story as I do like King Arthur retellings but sadly this did not work for me. I have come to terms with the fact that I have less of an interest in reading YA romance/contemporary. I noticed that I started to get annoyed at the young adult characters in the story especially if there is miscommunication. There was a bit of that in here and it just made it hard for me to want to keep reading. So for now, I have dnf'd this book and I don't see myself coming back to it. I would read from this author again if they write in adult fiction.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love was just ok. It might not have been my cup of tea, honestly. It was loosely based off of Arthurian Legend. I loved the LGBTQIA+ aspects of the romance and the whole fake marriage/trope, but I thought the story was a bit of a mess. Everyone else might have loved the set up, but I would have liked a little more similarity to the legends. The writing was very amateurish and the characters didn't sound refined at all. I know it was supposed to be a rom com, but it just didn't hit the spot for me.

I adore Arthurian adaptations, so I was delighted to have the opportunity thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books to read it ahead of publication. Gwen & Art are the heirs (many generations removed from the OG Camelot we know and love) and this adorable queer YA medieval rom com is nearly perfect. It's honestly one of the best books I read in the past year. The banter, character development and romance and just right for YA audiences. I also love to see a MM and FF plot line in a historical romance YA. There are so many quips and nods to Arthurian legend, but it doesn't get in the way or feel info dumpy.

Cute and entertaining YA romcom.
Loved the characters and snappy pacing. Humor is light and gives the story life. Will definitely add the next book to my tbr.

“Nobody else is ever going to care as much as you do about the things you want, Gwendoline. So it’s up to you — you can put them aside forever, if you can live with that, or you can put on your big-girl girdle and demand more for yourself.”

I don’t know what possessed me to request this book on NetGalley back in 2023 besides the pitch of Heartstopper meeting A Knight’s Tale. I mean, based on those two titles alone, I should love this book! I… did not.

Things I Liked —
Did LGBTQ+ folks exist in medieval times? Of course, only it wasn’t as open as this book makes it appear. But do we need fiction books that show characters of this group during historical time periods where they are severely underrepresented? Absolutely.
There was some good banter. This book wasn’t a total bore.

Things That Didn’t Work For Me —
I think this is a classic case of fun book/wrong reader. For whatever reason, I could not get attached to any of the characters in this book. I just did not care. That makes for a super long 400+ pages to get through. Not sure why I felt compelled to continue but I did. This is one that is easily forgettable for me.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I wanted to loooove this book but unfortunately the first 20% dragged so heavily for me that it was hard to really get into the rest of the book without forcing myself to pick the book up. While I agree it was a cute twist to the fake dating trope and a great way to bring the alternate love interests in, I felt like the exposition of these characters was dragged in misery and groveling. I felt like Gwen was so hard to want to like, which made it hard for me to root for her until I got WAYYYY further into the book. All in all, I liked it, didn't love it, but felt it was a refreshing take on a commonly overplayed trope.

I really enjoyed this book! Croucher's depiction of rivals to lovers was sooooo fun and readable. I loved my time with these characters!

A fresh take on a favorite myth. Some parts of this initially reminded me of the Swan Princess, and that kept me going until the story picked up. There was a level of anxiety that was propulsive and gripped me through every page.

Lex Croucher is the absolute master of complex queer romance. This was in all ways absolutely hilarious, deeply romantic, and pulled no bunches when plucking my heartstrings. I highly recommend!

Art and Gwen Are Not in Love has a fun premise and a unique alternate history setting, blending medieval traditions with a modern sensibility. The humor and lighthearted moments were enjoyable, and I appreciated the emphasis on friendship alongside romance. Gwen’s storyline, in particular, kept me engaged—I loved watching her grow and navigate her feelings for Bridget.

Unfortunately, I found Art incredibly annoying and a frustrating character to follow. His antics often overshadowed the story, and I struggled to connect with him. The pacing also felt uneven, with a slow start and a jarring shift in tone later on. While there were entertaining moments, I was left wanting more from the plot and especially from the sapphic romance.

Overall, this was a decent read, but it didn’t fully deliver on its potential. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I just adore reading queer historical romance reads in the young adult genre. It gives a refresh storyline that keeps you interesting. Plus, the representation was top tier to read through.

So so cute!!!!! The characters were well fleshed out and the writing style was very easy to get through. Lex Crouched always writes the sweetest and most whimsical romances ever, I’m so happy I was able to read this

I am very thankful to have been gifted a copy of this book; however, at this point this book will be moving to my DNF shelf. It sounds like something I would have really enjoyed, and will happily come back and re-review once I am in a better mindset for the book.

This was very cute! I am not a romance reader, but I really enjoyed reading this. It's funny but heartfelt. I loved the setting and the characters, the author did a great job.

3.5 Stars

This was so much fun to read. I would definitely describe it as a “romp.” For the most part, it’s just like cheeky queer vibes in an Arthurian setting, which was great for me, and I definitely enjoyed it.

In terms of character dynamics and humor, this definitely reminded me a lot of something like “In Other Lands” by Sarah Rees Brennan. Even though the characters eventually come to form a found family of sorts, they definitely have very strong, competing personalities. So they’re definitely big on that kind of snark and biting wit. They get on each other’s nerves. They’re constantly giving each other a hard time. I would say banter makes up like a good 80% of the story, and honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way.

To me, this is a good sort of escapist story. It’s humor-forward, it’s friendship-forward, and it’s just fun to watch these characters stage all these half-baked schemes so that they can secretly enjoy their gay shenanigans while still putting on this facade of being perfect royals so that no one suspects. I would say a majority of this story is just that element of self-discovery. Both of the siblings, Gwen and Gabriel, have to accept their queerness, which is very new for them, and they go about it in two very different ways.

What took this from being a potentially four-, four-and-a-half star read is that the final act is the story trying to be something it’s not. I think you can tell from the synopsis that this premise is not very plot-heavy, and more importantly it doesn’t have to be, because it already has a lot of things going on. There’s self-discovery, there’s coming to terms with queerness, there’s coming-of-age as the characters face down the reality and responsibility of being royalty, there’s budding queer romance that the characters are trying to keep under wraps for their own safety. Just trying to navigate queerness and figure out what a fulfilling queer future looks like for these characters in this Medieval society is a rich and worthwhile plot in and of itself.

But for some reason, in the final act, the story feels the need to shoehorn in this subplot that’s kind of been intermittently info-dumped throughout. So I’m not gonna say it came as a surprise, but this subplot was nowhere near engaging as the main plot, and it forces the story to shift from being light-hearted and comedic to being intensely dramatic, which feels out of character.

But up to that point, I found it to be delightful and heart-warming. I think it’s a fun story that plays with the concept of queer romance and found family in a fairly unique setting.