I have to say the summary: "sword-fighting, found family, and romantic shenanigans destined to make readers fall in love" made me request this book and it definitely lived up to that promise.

The novel is set in the Arthurian universe but not a direct re-telling. Arthur Pendragon existed but more than a century before and Gwen's family is maybe/probably his descendants. The book is still set in medieval times but a slightly more enlightened medieval with lady nights, cultists (who believe Merlin and Morgana had real magic), and a biracial Arthur.

Gwen and Art have been betrothed since they were little and have detested each other just as long. Arthur is too unserious for Gwen and Gwen is too regal for Arthur. However, when Arthur comes to Camelot to spend the summer with Gwen and get to know her better sparks fly. Unfortunately the sparks are not between the two. Gwen is maybe in love with lady knight Bridget LeClair and Arthur finds himself crushing on Gwen's brother Gabriel. The two become reluctant friends entrusted with each others secrets. Add in a funny bodyguard, a too smart crow, and some palace intrigue this book kept me turning pages long into the night.

Overall I would definitely recommend to fans of historical fiction, lgbt romance and/or existing fans of Lex Croucher.

I was provided a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

I quite literally could not stop laughing as I read this book, it had me in stitches over and over again.

Gwen wants nothing more from life than to keep her schedule; morning chess with her brother, afternoon walks, and evenings spent with her embroidery. She certainly wants nothing to do with Arther, her betrothed. And that's okay with Arthur, because he wants nothing to do with her either. Both stuck in an agreement made before they were born and desperate to get out, they seize the opportunity to make the most out of a bad situation. You see, Gwen has been crushing on the Lady Knight Bridget and Arthuer has developed a habit of kissing her brother Gabriel. Agreeing to cover for each other, the last thing they ever expected was to end up as allies and maybe even friends.

I loved it. I cannot begin to describe how much I enjoyed this book. If I loved it any less, I could talk about it more (yes that's a quote). But alas, you will have to bear with me and my meandering rambles about how much I loved this book. I am quite literally going to buy copies of it for all of my friends. I will not shut up about it. You will never hear the end of it.

If I were to sit here and write about everything I loved about all the characters, that would be the only thing I do for the rest of my life. Each of them are so essential to me as a person now, and I think they also represent the many different types of queer identities. All of them handle their identities in their own ways and it is so spectacularly the queer experience that I found myself attached to all of them and their struggles. I saw myself in their fears and hopes. I want to hold their hands and tell them it will be okay and hug them and never let go. Gwen and Bridget were such a true depiction of sapphic pining and dancing around each other forever until you finally get together, and likewise, Art and Gabe were so beautifully representative of finding the type of love you want but are scared to have. And It would be remiss of me to not mention Sidney, the man of the hour! I loved him and all of his witty one-liners.

I have said it before but I'll say it again, the characters can make or break a book for me. And these characters are everything to me. I will comment on the plot, because I think it was very clever to twist the Arthurian legends like they were. I am a sucker for anything King Arthur and Camelot, so this book was an absolute treat for me. Act three did come as a surprise to me with just how detailed and big it seemed, but I actually enjoyed it. It was like a change of pace but a good palate cleanser.

I will never shut up about this book. It is a part of me now and I will never let it go.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I will not be sharing my review of this book on my platforms as I am participating in the boycott of St. Martin's Press and related imprints due to the Islamophobic, Queerphobic, and racist posts regarding the ongoing genocide in Palestine made by one of your employees that has not been addressed by St. Martin’s Press or MacMillan. We are incredibly disappointed with the lack of response from SMP considering our demands are very simple:

1. Address and denounce the
Islamophobia/racism from their employee.
2. Offer tangible steps for how they're going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3. Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to their BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

It is unfortunate that SMP seems to have decided to stand with genocide and hatred rather than take action to protect their influencers, authors, and readers. I look forward to seeing SMP respond and take action towards this incident so that I can share my reviews of your titles with my audience and edit this feedback with my actual review. Until then I will be holding my reviews and all promotion of any books that fall under the St. Martin’s Press umbrella.

🦇 Gwen & Art Are Not in Love Book Review 🦇

❓ #QOTD What classic story would you love to read a queer retelling of? ❓

🦇 Gwendoline and Arthur have been betrothed to one another since birth. Too bad they absolutely hate each other. When forced to spend a summer in Camelot together, Gwen and Arthur discover tantalizing secrets about one another: Gwen witnesses Arthur kissing a boy, while Arthur learns that Gwen has a crush on the kingdom's lone lady knight, Lady Bridget Leclair. Stuck at a stalemate, they make a reluctant pact to cover for each other. While Gwen and Bridget finally connect, Arthur finds himself enamored by Gwen's brother. Can they navigate their messy feelings to find their own places in history?

💜 Oh my goddess, the queer chaos in this is everything. Lex Croucher has spun Arthurian legends of old into a queer medieval YA rom-com that could easily alter history as we know it. Gwen is a bi baby, newly navigating her feelings for a badass lady knight, while Arthur is a gay, sassy messy shooting heart-eyes at Gwen's brother (the one-day king). The dialogue is EVERYTHING; sassy, quick-witted, and all too entertaining. There's somewhat sexy sword-fighting (come on, sword-fighting is always sexy, but when your queer crush is schooling you, it's all the better), fake dating (does it count as fake dating when you've been betrothed since childhood?), and heart-warming found family vibes. The queer panic and nervous humor were all too relatable, even though the story is set in medieval times. That's a true feat; you can connect with the queer chaos, even if you're shooting heart-eyes in the 21st century.

🦇 The only real hang-up for me was the pacing. The ending felt especially rushed, which was a disappointment after the queer chaos dragged a bit. I wonder if the writer paused for a moment, then returned to finish the latter half of the story. I also found the relationship between Arthur and Gabriel (Gwen's brother) a little underwhelming when it had so much potential at the start. Regardless, I appreciated all the queer hijinks and humor.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Heartstopper, Rainbow Rowell's Simon Snow trilogy, Red, White, & Royal Blue, and the TV show Merlin. Get ready for a swoon-worthy, medieval mess of pining and romance!

✨ The Vibes ✨
All the Queer Ships (w/ Serious Queer Panic)
Fake Dating
YA Debut
Found Family
Medieval/Historical Fiction/Rom-Com
Enemies to Allies

🦇 Major thanks to the author @lexcanroar and publisher @stmartinspress / @wednesdaybooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I absolutely adored this book! I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, the banter between Arthur, Gwen & Gabriel, the writing, and really, just the overall theme of the book.

This was a book I knew I wanted to ARC read from the start. I was told that if you loved watching the show Merlin but wished it was LGBTQ, then this is the book for you. I 100% agree with that statement!

I really couldn't tell which way the author was heading in the direction of the book, at one point, just based off how the relationships were going. But I was pleasantly surprised at the ending!

I was hoping for an epilouge involving Gabriel's actual speech in the end. So I'm crossing my fingers on Lex releasing something about the speech or anything further, at some point.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, & 𝘞𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.

This book for sure gives me Red, White & Royal Blue vibes mixed with Knights of the Round Table.
We meet Gwen and Author who are arranged to marry each other. Both from royal families who absolutely despise each other. Throw in that they have romantic interests of same sex and you have an interesting combo. This book for sure is making me smile and giggle within a few chapters. The chemistry between our two leads in a completely platonic kind way for sure has me cracking up with their banter. They are both suffering from inner demons and it makes them both endearing
I honestly felt like the story kind of started to collapse close to the end. It felt rushed and a quick wrap up ending. The romance kind of fell to the wayside and didn’t wrap up the way I was hoping/ expecting.
The humor was on point and I found myself cracking up throughout the book.
Overall it tries too hard to hard to be the next Red White & Royal Blue with a so so success rate. 3 stars.

Thanks to the folks at NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read a ARC of this book. My review is a honest reflection of my feelings towards this book.

This was real cute. I'm not the biggest historical fiction reader, but this queer Arthurian reimagining with just the most delightful cast of characters had just enough magic and fantasy vibes to keep me hooked start to finish. The whole ensemble cast is wonderfully written. The banter? Amazing. I loved them all from the jump. Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a masterclass in how to write all the kinds of representation. (The scene where Gwen sticks up for Bridget when her pelvic pain is dismissed by the royal physician??? My heart is healed even if my uterus isn't.) While I agree with many of the reviews that the latter 30ish% is a major tone shift and a bit jarring, it didn't impact my enjoyment of this book, especially since I'm much more of a fantasy reader than a romcom reader. Highly recommend!

Quick Synopsis:
This is not a retelling. Goodreads compares this one to a mashup of A Knight’s Tale and Heartstoppers. The quick synopsis is that both of the MC’s are gay and they are meant to be betrothed. For this reason, they make a deal to pretend to like one another while they pursue other love interests. The premise sounded so entertaining! I expected more plot from this one. I’m giving it three stars because I read it while under the weather. Perhaps I missed something, I just wasn’t engaged with the story or the characters. This one has great reviews, so it definitely could be an instance of wrong reader.

Storyline/Pacing:
Gwen & Art are Not in Love is a slow burn that provides a glimpse into each of the main character’s lives.

Author:
I appreciated the way Lex Croucher built many of the characters. They were clearly inspired Arthurian legend, and I appreciated the modern twists.

Overall:
I recommend this to anyone who loves medieval romance, sapphic romance, character study, slow burns
⭐️⭐️⭐️stars

Disclosure:
Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the Digital Review Copy. All opinions are my own.

This book. This book! I need more. I need a part two. I want more time with these characters, to walk the gardens with them, sip some wine, and play a little chess. They are all so lovingly and brilliantly written, witty, and full of personality.

I simply just… need more. I want to know what happens next. This book was all about their courting, the creation and building of the relationships. But I need to see them together, enjoying themselves, and being truly happy. That’s the only thing missing from this book. I kept trying to turn the page back and forth, searching for that kind of ending, but alas, it truly was the end. It felt very abrupt with hints at a happily ever after. Every kiss in this book felt stolen or like the last one. My only demand from this book: please give us more!! A sequel is requested!

The book has a dual POV between Art (Arthur) and Gwen (Gwendoline), and it is written in third person which was an interesting choice. It worked well in keeping with the overall tone of the book which amusingly maintained a sophisticated aesthetic full of sublime innuendoes and witty banter.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love was a beautiful mixture of warm and cozy in the beginning with a surprising amount of action heading into the climax. I was shocked (not negatively) at some of the twists and turns this book took, and I was glad the author dared to take them. It was more of a log flume ride than a roller coaster— a gentle beginning and then a grand finale that forced you to keep reading into the wee hours of the night to see what happens next.

The relationships manifested naturally with beautiful dialogue between characters and fantastic one-liners which make me want to read the book again to annotate them.

There were minor dips into mental health with alcohol abuse and verbal abuse, but these were minor in my opinion.
The growth and relationship between characters seems very natural and not rushed and the plot moved along naturally and never dragged.

In all, I loved this book and was very pleased to be given the opportunity to review this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through NetGalley.

I loved reading this new take on the story of Guinevere and Arthur and Camelot. Or rather- the descendents of those figures.

This was such a fresh read with interesting and complex characters. Although I will say I was definitely rooting for Gabriel and Arthur a little harder- I was also heavily invested in Gwen and Bridget. And while the complex romances between lgbtq+ characters in a setting where that kind of love isn't widely accepted, the plot was pretty good too. That battle at the end- it was a pretty good battle scene all things considered.

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love was fantastic. I've been saying that about the past bunch of books I've read. I think I'm in the opposite of a reading slump right now. Maybe that's contributing to my good feelings for Croucher's book, I don't know.

But anyway, I would definitely recommend this book! And thank you Netgallery for the ARC.

This was so fun! Perhaps niche but if you, like me, are mourning the end of Ren Faire season, this might help to fill the void. Jousts, messy relationships, coming out, coming of age, and a princess betrothed to a man she hates while secretly in love with a lady knight—what more could you want?

On paper, this book is not something I would usually pick up, but I could not resist a queered historical YA romance. And it was very queer and very fun.

I love the Arthurian legend and was intrigued how Lex Croucher will use it in a YA novel. First, this is not a retelling. This takes place several generations after King Arthur although his legend is known. Gwendoline is a princess of England and has been betrothed to Arthur, a future Lord since they were children. Arthur is sent to spend the summer with Gwen and they still dislike each other like they have at other meetings. Since it is told in the blurb he has an attraction to her brother and she is interested in the kingdom's only female knight.

Arthur really is an annoying character in the beginning. He’s seemingly a wastrel, usually drunk and living a life of privilege being taken care of by his faithful servant. I like Gwen. She is only 18 and a bit unsure of her place and power as her brother will be the ruler and not her. Also she is nervous to act on her attraction.

The book is enjoyable but comes off uneven. I love the story arc for Gwen and her relationship with Bridget. Art gets a lot of the lead time but not his relationship with Gabriel. For a co-lead we don't get Gabe’s view or inner thoughts. There is humor and frivolity that I expect from the author. And it keeps to kissing only for romance. But it takes an unexpected violent turn with a battle for the castle. It is fitting for a YA audience although I don’ t know if younger readers will catch all the names that come from Arthurian history.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books for the ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving an honest review.

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love

4.5⭐️
Wow this was an adorable YA romance with multiple well written relationships. Over the course of a summer we have enemies to friends and have one of the cutest relationship (Sid and Agnes) come to life.

This was a fast paced, fun read with a fresh new look on King Author history with a new queer twist on its history. Both the main characters grew on me throughout the book because they both were a bit annoying at the beginning but side characters (Bridget, Sid, Agnes and Gabriel) were definitely my favorite people in this book.

I received the audio and digital version and the dual narrators did a fantastic job. I highly recommend the audio version.

Thank you to Net Galley Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio for my review copies!

Not one or two but THREE budding, young loves in one book? How did they do it? Seriously. The concept here is that Gwen and Art are betrothed to each other and… aren’t in love. Sorry for the spoiler. In fact, they kind of despise each other. Over the course of the book, Gwen and Art fall in love platonically, all while watching each other’s backs so they can each have their own summer romances without getting outed for being queer.

I’m still scratching my head as to how Lex Croucher was able to successfully pull off so much relationship building in one book. First, it helps that the book is YA. Second, the book is set over the course of a summer. These smart choices help set the expectation for the relationships as the teenage summer fling variety – lusty and short-sighted. When the relationships aren’t so deep, there’s lot of room to play in the shallow end. And it’s a fun time, let me tell you.

That’s not to say the book is too shallow. By the end we see deeper connections formed and forming, especially between Art and Gabriel. Their relationship moves a bit faster than Gwen and Bridget. That being said, I kind of wish the book didn’t take quite the plunge that it did in the final 20%. The backdrop of political unrest that is very much just backdrop for the first 80% of the book comes to the forefront at the end and that didn’t entirely work for me. I don’t want to spoil things, but there is a really big tonal shift toward the end and the story, and things take quite a violent, traumatic turn. I found it jarring and after a while started skimming to get through this part faster. I think if some of the trauma was dialed back or these scenes didn’t go on for quite so long it would have worked better for me.

The other remarkable thing about this book is the banter. It’s delicious. Snappy and funny and just…perfect. That’s obviously gone during the Big Traumatic Event but makes a reappearance at the tail end. And that’s another reason why the Big Traumatic Event didn’t work for me. I couldn’t enjoy that banter as much anymore because…how are they back to normal so soon? They haven’t even had therapy!

Anyway, I loved 95% of this book so much that even the 5% that didn’t quite land for me isn’t enough to change my opinion. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC!

I know I keep saying I'm not really a romance reader and then what I read directly contradicts that. Maybe I'm in denial? Roast me.

This book was adorable. For a very what-you-see-is-what-you-get book such as this, I mostly read it because A Knight's Tale was mentioned in the pitch, so of course I'm gonna be all over it. I mean, queer Arthurian fantasy is practically my middle name. However, this was a unique take on romance tropes that I found really refreshing. This isn't a fake dating romance (in the traditional "fake dating turns into real dating" sense) as much as it is an enemies to friends who act as wingmen for each other while they live their best queer lives. There's drama. Hijinks. Buff lady knights. Assassination attempts. So much miscommunication. A full on grisly battle against the bad guys who've been plotting to overthrow the crown and rule England (as one does). What more could you want, really? Also, to be clear - this isn't a retelling of Arthurian myth but it very much engages with it and takes place in the same world, if far after those events.

I appreciated the discussions of the joy of being able to find language to describe your queerness and the many different approaches to identity queer folks can have. I also loved the growth from being a "not like other girls" princess to recognizing that she was making unfair assumptions and there's nothing wrong with other girls, actually. I was happy that they made Arthur Iranian. My biggest and only gripe is that while I think a contemporary writing style suited the story Croucher was telling, it felt a bit TOO contemporary at times.

This was an enjoyable, fast-paced, fun read that, while it has elements of the traditional Arthur Pendragon lore, feels like a wholly original story. Gwen and Arthur are both extremely relatable, and the other side characters (Gabriel, Sidney, Bridget, Agnes) are also well-developed. I liked the representation and the discussion about living for yourself instead of for others' expectations. The story had just the right amount of familiarity with yearning, tension, and pining sprinkled in. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Arthurian tales, who is looking for a solid coming of age story, and who wants to read about burgeoning friendships, romantic relationships, and their ups and downs.

This was a fun lighthearted very queer book. It made me giggle out loud several times. Arthur was very obnoxious but he grew on me throughout the story.
Definitely will be watching A Knights Tale after this.
Yes, to making Arthurian characters queer and fun!


Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the arc

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Is this my favorite book of 2023?? It might be.
Gwen & Art has been on my radar for so long now and I’m almost mad I took so long to read it. Balancing humor, heart, and some of the best characters I’ve ever read, it was nearly impossible to put this book down! Red, White, & Royal Blue and A Knight’s Tale could not be truer comps as you follow Gwen and Art and their lovable pairs through a tournament as unrest and the need for change looms in the kingdom.
The amount of times I laughed out loud then swooned at the adorable and soft moments as queer love played out in an imagined and magical historical setting are too many to count. This will easily become a comfort reread for a long time to come.

3.5⭐️

This was a really cute queer romance. While I did not love the characters at the beginning, their character growth had me rooting for them at the end.