I love, love, loved this book. I didn't really have any idea what I was getting into, but I enjoyed it so much. The characters and banter was enjoyable, the friendships developed realistically and ended up being so sweet, the romance was swoony and full of longing. The whole thing made me want to go straight to a renaissance faire. I found the alternative history to be interesting and well fleshed out, the twist was creative, and the sudden action was a surprise but I was into it.

This is a wonderful medieval love story about Gwen and Arthor being betrothed to each other. You would think of Camelot and the fairytale romance but there is a twist to this story. Firstly, Gwen and her betrothed fiancé loathe each other. Secondly, they each fancy another person and neither of their parents are accepting of this.

As they fake an engagement to keep the kingdom of England happy, especially their parents, there is an attempted murder and the victim is none other than Arthur himself. We get to this around 74% into the book which the intrigue truly picks up. That's a little late in the book for me to really get into, for me personally.

As a debut novel, I found many of the characters to be underdeveloped and did feel as if I understood them better until the 65% mark. The pace was good but dips heavily in the middle but it was the relationship between Gwen and Lady Briget Lecalair that I found most enjoyable.

I even found Queen Margaret to be whiny and not that supportive to her daughter, Princess Gwen, which is a shame.

I thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for their advance e-copy for my honest review.

Nothing like a cute fake dating book to end summer with. I absolutely love this book and definitely found it to be fun, queer and couldn’t put it down. Anyone with a love for queer stories would enjoy this books.

thank you to netgalley for this ARC def getting this one for my nieces

4.5 stars. This is pure joy. I hate comp-titles, but this really is Heartstopper meets King Arthur. I loved the ENTIRE main cast! All of them are so distinct and complex, and I love them all so much, ESPECIALLY Arthur! I can’t wait for everyone to read this in November!

This YA, queer Arthurian romance was a lot of fun to read!
Gwendoline, the Princess of England, is betrothed to Arthur, a descendant of King Arthur. But, they definitely don’t fancy each other. It’s only when they discover each has secret feelings for another—Gwen for a lady knight named Bridget, and Arthur for Gwen’s brother and the heir to the throne, Gabriel—that they decide a marriage of convenience might help them both.
I enjoyed getting to know each of these characters, and loved the quirky banter. The pacing did feel too slow throughout the first half, but the last quarter is full of action, with an exciting end.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is a fun fake dating story. But not in the traditional way. Gwen and Art are absolutely not in love with each other. They've been betrothed since Gwen was born and antagonized one another their entire childhoods. But pretending to actually be attracted to each other makes life easier when Gwen has feelings for a lady knight and Art prefers the company of Gwen's brother.

A fun story of coming to terms with queerness mixed with court politics and intrigue. The beginning was a bit slow to hold my attention but I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Queers supporting queers is always a good time.

I received the audio arc of this book and will be leaving my full review on that copy.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Gwen is betrothed and she is not pleased. Not only does she hate the idea of getting married but she also loathes her betrothed, Arthur. Actually, the loathing is a mutual feeling and possibly they only thing Arthur and Gwen have in common. They are forced to spend time together before their wedding and they discover maybe they don't know each other as well as they thought. Gwen catches Art kissing another boy and Art realizes Gwen has a crush on Lady Bridget. They decide that maybe they can make this marriage work out the sake of their secrets and they can help each other out along the way. Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is hilarious, full of sass and sword fights. I hade a blast reading this story!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC!

“Gwen & Art Are Not in Love” follows Gwen and Arthur who have been betrothed since they were born, but can’t stand each other. Arthur’s father tells him that he and Gwen are to be married soon and that he has to spend the summer in Camelot. As Gwen and Arthur are forced to spend time together, Gwen discovers Arthur kissing a boy while Arthur learns that Gwen has secret feelings for Bridget LeClair, the only female knight in the kingdom. When the pair learns of each other’s secret, they agree to become allies.

I adored this book! I love retellings of Arthurian legend, so reading one with an LGBTQ+ twist was right up my alley and such an enjoyable experience. One of my favorite things about this book was the banter and how the characters interacted with each other. I loved all of these characters with my whole heart, but Sidney might just be my favorite. I enjoyed seeing Gwen and Arthur’s friendship develop throughout the book. I also loved seeing Gwen grow as a character as the book progressed. It made me so happy to see her go from being timid and unsure of herself to strong and confident by the end. This was my first book by Lex, but I’m definitely interested in checking out more of their work.

“To be truly brave, first you must be afraid—and to be afraid, you must have something you cannot bear to lose.”

As someone who has seen A Knight’s Tale dozens of times and chronically rereads Heartstopper - not to mention watching Merlin purely for the gay subtext - GWEN & ART ARE NOT IN LOVE feels like it was made specifically for me. It’s a queer-as-fuck YA historical romance rooted in Aurthurian legend with comedic modern feel. The cast of characters is a delight: uptight and smart Gwen, snarky and rebellious Art, brash and butch Bridget, bookish and steadfast Gabriel - and of course Sidney and Agnes. There’s a delightful enemies/betrothed-to-friends arc, a homoerotic “let me teach you sword fighting” scene, loads of witty banter, mlm and wlw solidarity, an uncovering of queer ancestors, and a burgeoning sense of self in all of the leads. Plus a very mischievous cat! An absolute romp. Thanks to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio for the review copies; this book is out 11/28.

Content warnings: violence, injury, war, death of a parent, homophobia, sexism, child abuse, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts

I have read this titled and also listened to the audiobook. I absolutely adore it in both ways of consuming the story. I love the queerness of the story and I devoured it completely. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to see a queer story set in the past.

OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS BOOK AND IT BROKE MY HEART IN THE BEST WAY. Lex Croucher I don’t know how you manage to make every single book so freaking relatable and real, but it was incredible.

I feel bad that half the reason I was not in love with this was mostly due to thinking it was a retelling when it really clearly is not. It just is a book about two characters living in Camelot that just HAPPENED to have the same names.

Not exactly a King Arthur or Camelot retelling, Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is basically a more fun Hallmarky loosely based adaptation.

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a queer medieval romcom about love, friendship, and being brave. King Arthur did exist in this universe centuries ago. The story is told from his descendant's perspective. Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is full of sword-fighting, found family, and all the shenanigans.


Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a review copy.

4.5 Stars
Long story short, I had such a great time with this book and any of my major complaints are related to my own (wrong) preconceived notions of the book. I’ll go over my personal issues just in case you happen to have any of these same notions. My main beef was that I thought this was going to be a more direct Arthurian legend retelling with the main characters falling into more traditional stereotypes of characters from the original legends. I did actually enjoy the actual direction of the book better where the characters just share some name similarities to the legends and live in a world where King Arthur is part of their history. This misunderstanding worsened my other major complaint about the book: the character development wasn't immediately as strong as I wanted it to be. I was trying to fill the gaps in early character development with traits from their namesake characters in the Arthurian legend and that DID NOT work well.
I am a big-time character reader and by the end I loved all of the characters. I think they each were able to be developed and have their personalities shine through, but I will not lie some parts certain characters were a bit insufferable. They were insufferable because of their own personal demons and their insufferable-ness was part of their character arc so it was ultimately for the good of the plot but mildly frustrating to read.
I personally enjoyed each character being in different stages of accepting their queerness and having to work through their personal demons to find love and joy. At the end of the day, this book is a fun medieval romp through shenanigans, tomfoolery, and finding oneself.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for this advanced copy! You can pick up Gwen & Art Are Not in Love on November 28, 2023.

I loved this! The relationships, banter, and romances were absolutely delightful. Gwen and Art were such dynamic, relatable characters, and it was so sweet to watch their friendship unfold. Both of them grew so much throughout the story, as individuals and as leaders.

The ending took me completely by surprise but in the best way. I didn't expect the stakes to get so high or emotional, but it added so much to the story! This book is silly and full of whimsical romance for sure, but it also tackles tons of underlying issues and the realities of war!

If you're looking for medieval queer love stories full of laughs and tears, this one's for you!

I loved ‘Gwen & Art’ so much. Croucher’s character work and dialogue truly make the book. Gwen especially felt so real to me and I found myself relating to her on so many occasions. I loved how we begin with a cheeky introspective romcom and end with a dive into Arthurian-Catholic politics that wraps up so nicely, and the depiction of queer characters in a medieval setting was so well-done while not being too heavy and angsty for a YA novel. I would read a dozen more additions to this world. My main critique is that Lady Bridget Leclair felt extremely underwritten to me compared to other characters.

- for watchers of bbc merlin.
- lesbians with swords
- lesbians with swords
- an fmc that reminds me of the song ‘king’ by florence and the machine
- MUCH banter
- unapologetically queer
- very relatable internalized homophobia that is resolved with kind talks amongst fellow queer people
- many ill-tempered animals
- fantastic ending

the relationships between all the characters was so fun to read about. the story and growth, and everyone’s dynamic was enjoyable and entertaining. it also had its moments of seriousness that brought it back down.

This book is everything I never knew I needed. A queer spin on Arthurian legend that was an absolute delight. The characters were so well written and incredibly easy to love and relate to. The banter between Gwen and Art had me laughing out loud and reminded me so much of friendships in my own life.
I have a feeling this will be a new comfort read for me.
Easy 5 stars!

DNF @ 18%

I really wanted to love this. A queer medieval rom com sounds right up my alley. It just didn't feel medieval at all. The way the characters spoke and interacted with each other was really modern. And there wasn't really anything to establish the setting being in the past. It kinda felt like the whole reason for it being historical was to add in a reasoning for an arranged marriage.