If you’re into medieval storylines, then this might be the book for you. I thought the characters were really relatable, and aspects of the story were really enjoyable and engaging. However, I felt like a lot of the storyline dragged on, and I found myself just wanting it to be over.

This is a fun twist on the legend of King Arthur and Guinevere. Centuries later, princess Gwen finds herself betrothed to Arthur (descendant of the famous King). Gwen can't stand Arthur - in fact, she has a crush on a lady Knight.

This was just delightful read - the banter and bickering between Gwen and Art is quick and fun. A bit of a spoiler - I thought this might turn into an enemies to lovers story, but I was glad that it stayed true to the characters and really just pursued them being enemies to friends instead.

Who doesn't love a queer YA rom-com? Set that rom-com in medieval times and that's the icing on the cake. The best thing about this charming and enchanting story is, by far, the dialogue and interaction between the characters. They are quick, witty, and affectionately rib each other in such an adorable way that I couldn't stop turning the pages. Betrothed but attracted to other people, Gwen and Art need to become partners in crime to get what they want. They start resentful that the other isn't what they want, with memories of childhood antics that left them thinking they would be miserable around each other. But they have grown, and they are similarly trapped in a path that isn't the one they would choose, which helps them develop into friends who want to help each other find happiness. I LOVED their honest exchanges and ability to confide in each other.

This book was a lot of fun for most of the time. Gwen and Art aren't in love, but they're really good friends. Their jokes and how they get along are the best part. They hang out with Sid, who's also their friend, and some other folks like Gabe, Bridget, and Agnes. Together, they end up in some really funny situations.

But as the story gets towards the end, things change. Suddenly, there's a part that's a lot more violent than the rest of the story. It was a big surprise and felt kind of strange compared to the rest.

Even though Gwen and Art aren't a romantic couple, their friendship is what makes the story cool. The whole story is based on the Arthurian legend, but it's different. It's like a new story that's inspired by the old one. If you're into movies like "A Knight's Tale" or stories with lots of adventures like Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey's "Adventures in Aguillon," then you might find this book interesting because it mixes jokes with a medieval kind of world.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the queer friendship aspect of this story, and how to MCs were not each other’s love interests-super refreshing. However, I sometimes find that books like this try too hard to be “retellings but not” that a lot of the story is lost.

I was given an ARC by St. Martin’s Press. All opinions are my own.

The title of this book might be an obvious spoiler, but it doesn't spoil the fun that comes from reading about medieval gay people with swords. In secret relationships. Seeping with banter. Lex Croucher is an absolute master at writing the nuances of platonic, romantic, and sibling relationships, while also tackling some really dark topics, especially for a YA novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

This cozy fantasy is everything you need this holiday season. It’s cute and covers the struggles many young queer folk face.

WHAT A ROMP. There are not enough words to describe this book. Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is hilarious and comforting and full of so many touching shenanigans (often at the same time). It is full of smiles and laughs and deep pangs of wistfulness in the chest because goddamn it, this book is that good.

GWART is exactly the medieval romcom you need to read. We follow two perspectives: Gwendoline — the introverted princess of England who is quick to anger but in the sort of way I deeply approve of — and Arthur — the incredible mess who who tries very hard to not give anything any thought. Gwen has been betrothed since birth to Arthur, a future Lord and descendent of King Arthur (although it's been a couple hundred years). But Gwen and Art despise each other, and always have. When Gwen finds Arthur kissing a boy and he finds out about her crush on the only lady knight, they decide that an alliance may actually work to their benefit.

The relationships in this book were everything, and each character paved their own little way into my heart by first third of the story. Between the sharp wit and bickering that builds the foundations of Gwen and Arthur's relationship, to the unconditionally loving relationship between Gwen and her brother Gabriel, to Arthur's unabashed tomfoolery with just about everyone he encounters, and even to the little side romance we see between Gwen's lady-in-waiting and Arthur's whatever-Sidney-is-to-him, there wasn't a single relationship that felt underdeveloped.

The plot kept me thoroughly entertained and I absolutely laughed out loud, multiple times. Usually I save/highlight quotes that really speak to me, but all the ones I did this time around were just the characters being absolute fools:

"Not everybody lives for the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of the little black and white squares."

"God, Gwen thought wistfully. I hope she stabs me."

"They call me Little Arthur Two Hats."

(There were many more lines, but for the sake of not plagiarizing the entire book, I'll hold off there.)

Each character was imperfect and messy and in need of some serious Talks from time to time. They were infuriating and delightful and absolutely the type of characters I want to read about, know about, and hold in my arms.

And still, while this was an absolutely hilarious book, it managed to make me feel. For these characters, for what they went through, and for the preciousness of an ode to queerness in history, wrapped up in the funniest book I've read all year.

I was so excited for this book! As a 'Gwen' it was obviously for me. And a QUEER retelling? Sold. Two couples falling in love in multiple POVs over one book is quite a lot, and it felt well done to me!!! I love Gwen, but Arthur's man felt like he needed a little more development to be an interesting well rounded character.

I really liked the first 75% of the book, and the last 25% was a little bit of a shock to the system. Also, I really would have liked to see a little series instead of trying to put so much in one book. BUT overall I really enjoyed this book and am glad it exists!

This book is such a great fantasy read. I love how it is kind of based on the legend of King Arthur so there are familiar characters and also that is has such a great LGBTQ+ rep in it. All the main characters are very loveable and the squad they form all together is one one would wish to have themselves. It also involves much action and humour that keeps the story rolling at a good pace.

I thought the book took a cute spin on the traditional forced marriage (forced betrothal?) + fake dating premise. Gwen and Art are betrothed, but they're very much not in love. Such a set-up usually promises an enemies-to-lovers romance, but in this case, both main characters are gay, and so they actually do find their happily-ever-afters with other people. Gwen harbours a years-long crush on Bridget, a badass knight and only female knight in the kingdom; Arthur starts off kissing a stable boy, but eventually develops feelings for Gwen's studious brother Gabriel. When both main characters find out about each other's romantic secrets, they agree to fake-date to get their parents off their backs.

It's a cute premise, and one I'd expect to love. Unfortunately, the book started off slooooooow for me. The first couple of chapters failed to hook me at all, mostly because it took so long for the main characters to win me over and make me care about them. Gwen just seemed like a miserable person to spend time with, and while I can kinda see why she wouldn't want to marry someone as irresponsible and unreliable as Arthur, the specific incidents she complained about just made her seem bratty and petulant.

Arthur won me over more quickly, partly because his struggles with alcoholism and a power hungry father made him a more nuanced and textured character from the get-go. But what really made Arthur's scenes shine almost from the start is his side kick (body guard? man servant?), Sidney. To me, Sidney stole the show. I found him witty and compelling, and I would totally read a whole book about his misadventures and his eventual romance with Gwen's maid.

In fact, Gwen and Arthur owe a lot to the secondary characters. Despite Gwen and Arthur eventually going through full character arcs (Gwen needs to learn to get over her cowardice, and Arthur needs to learn to step up to his responsibilities), it's the secondary characters, specifically Sidney and Bridget, who drive the momentum of most of the plot. It isn't until later in the book that Gwen and Arthur actually start taking matters into their own hands. When they do, the story definitely picks up, but it takes a while to get there.

The final third or so takes a sharp turn from lighthearted romance to inter-kingdom politics and battle. The seeds were planted throughout, and the climactic battle is certainly a powerful section. Both Gwen and Arthur have their respective moments to shine, and demonstrate their character growth.

But the eventual happy ending does come at a cost, and a rather surprising tonal shift that unfortunately felt rushed. And while the denouement makes sense, it also feels oddly flat. Not quite rushed and not quite perfunctory, but not quite satisfying either. There's a rather momentous point in the battle that adds so many layers of complexity to what comes next, yet it feels like the ending glosses over all that and focuses only on the happily-ever-afters of the central romances. Don't get me wrong: I love genre romance and I love happily-ever-afters. Yet in this case, it doesn't quite hit its emotional mark.

+

Thank you to Raincoast Books for an e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book more. It just felt too long and the setting too ambiguous. In all honesty, I came into this book thinking it would be set in modern times and was a little disappointed that it wasn't. I can appreciate the challenge of putting queer characters in an environment that is very unfriendly to them, but I found the ending unbelievable because of that. I also just...didn't really like Gwen or Arthur. I didn't care much what happened to them.

I think this book just wasn't sure what direction it wanted to go in, so it ended up diverting in a few too many directions.

DNF after 40%.

I really, really wanted to love this book. I really loved the premise however the two main characters were too infuriating, annoying and immature. I couldn't make myself continue, and I'm alright with not knowing how it ended.

My second book by Lex Croucher, and I cannot wait for the next. A queer, coming-of-age with everything you'll ever want to have in a book.

A dream of a novel! There's literally nothing I don't like about this book. As a former Arthurian-obsessed teen, Gwen & Art delighted me.

I loved this book! Croucher peppers this medieval historical reimagining of post-Arthurian England with contemporary dialogue that's snappy and fun, with queer characters finding love while having to hide in a culture that's divided between "Arthurian-cultists" and Roman-Catholics. The tone is light, even while the characters deal with a repressive society with rigid gender roles and expectations.

Opinions are my own and do not reflect the institution I work for.

Please check the trigger warnings, as this was far more graphic than I anticipated going in. This was a pretty adventure in camelot, but not the genre for me.

Honestly an overall disappointing read. The premise was really intriguing but the whole book turned out to be so surface level. I feel like I don't know anything about Art or Gwen. The whole book was so rushed and there was not enough info to rationalize that ending. I've read Croucher 1 too many times, I think I'm moving on now.

I loved this book and was so excited to receive this arc. The plot was so sweet and i absolutely loved the characters.

- So gay. 10/10
- Romance / historical fiction slay
- Lex Croucher said but what if all were gay? And I respect this
- Fantastically easy to love characters (witty, charming, flawed but forgivable)
- We love happy gays (happy for the most part)
- Really can’t have imagined how I would’ve loved to have read this at a younger age
- YA but never juvenile !
- Revolutionary to me
- A must read!!

Loved this book, read it in basically one plane ride. I was hooked, and it had such rich and well developed characters that really came alive. Would have loved to have read this as a young adult. Looking forward to more from Lex Croucher!