THIS IS NOT A RETELLING!
You’re going to see the tile and think oh they’ve retold the story of Arthur and Guinevere and I can assure you that’s not what this is.
This is a story about Gwen (Gwendolyn) and Art (Arthur) and it’s about friendship, coming into your own, love, fear and the occasional battle. I really enjoyed this book and all the characters that were introduced. It’s on the longer side but it keeps you coming back for more and the last 10 chapters or so are great.
The cover drew me in and the characters made me stay, I laughed and felt their struggle as the chapters went on. Would love to see what they’re up to now story down the line.

This book is kind of weird. I felt bad for thinking that as I read it, then I read the acknowledgements and in the first paragraph the author says it’s kind of a weird book! So, we would probably get along. It is a delightful weird. I haven’t read a lot of fiction related to Arthurian legends, but this feels like a unique take and that is always appreciated.

The absolute best part of the story is Arthur. Many of us have Arthurs in our lives. They are vastly underappreciated. Poor decision-making skills, but a wealth of love, kindness, and compassion. Improbably wise when it comes to others and yet no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Without them, you yourself would be a much lesser person. The second-best part of the story is Sidney, his personal guard. Suffice it to say, without Arthur and Sidney, there would be no “com” in this rom-com.

Gwen’s personality was a zero for me in the beginning. Towards the end I was cheering her on, so the character development is there. Her friendship with Arthur by the end is absolutely heart-warming. The rest of the characters were flat. Part of the problem is that the world is underdeveloped. There are constant mentions of the city, the country, the past, the kingdom, the king and queen, politics, but nothing is ever fleshed out or elaborated on. It was really jarring and threw me out of the story more than once.

Then, out of nowhere, we have sudden deadly conflict raging all about. So very slow in the beginning with a rushed finish. The end made sense, though, and allowed the characters to realistically address the problems in their lives without referring to magical solutions. Overall, while a lovely story, the mostly lackluster characters and scanty world building makes this a 3/5 for me.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A fun YA historical romance that, as another review promised, is not a retelling. This was a bit denser and longer than I expected, especially for what I thought was a YA rom com--probably because it's trying to swing two romances and some side plots all at once, with the end result that none of the plot lines or relationships was fleshed out quite as much as I would have liked. But this was a fun and enjoyable read overall, and I really loved how the friendship developed between Gwen and Arthur.

Betrothed since birth, Gwen and Arthur have loathed each other from a young age. Now blossoming into young adults, their wedding is on the horizon and they have no choice but to spend the summer with each other in Camelot. But when Gwen catches Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur uncovers Gwen's secret crush on a female knight, they decide on a reluctant truce. Now friends rather than enemies they must pretend to fall in love with each other to hide their secrets from the rest of the world. As Gwen falls harder for her knight and Arthur's eye catches on the Crown Prince, they find themselves increasingly caught up in affairs much bigger than themselves. Will they be doomed to hide their true selves forever or will true love win after all?

Perfect for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue and So This is Ever After, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love was a hilarious romcom that is hard to put down. The characters were full of life and easy to love. I also really appreciated the platonic dynamic between Gwen and Arthur. Their enemies turned friends relationship amounted to light-hearted teasing that made them a joy to read. I would happily read another book about all the shenanigans those two could get up to. I believe that their relationship was the highlight of the book, which was unfortunate for a book with so many different relationships and dynamics. I found the romances to be a bit lackluster and underdeveloped, amounting to an incredibly rushed ending. The journey was much more satisfying than its ending. However, I would heartily recommend this to any readers looking for a good time. Despite the shortcomings, the book was such a joy to read and would satisfy many, I believe. While it may not change your life, it will certainly make you laugh and smile throughout its duration and sometimes that is enough.

“They think the first sign of civilization was a broken femur…Because it’s a bad break. It doesn’t heal by itself. Other people have to care about you…They have to make sacrifices that make absolutely no logical sense for their own survival. They have to defy all rationality, in the name of love.”

Oh, Arthur, my sweet, sappy, dramatic child. Watching his frenemy relationship with Gwen turn into a real friendship was super endearing. It was cool the way the author subverted the typical fake dating trope by using it as a set up for our main two characters to work through their childhood squabbles and help each other with their actual love interests. That being said, I think there’s a heavier focus on the developing friendship with Art and Gwen, than development of the romance, but it’s nice that characters do acknowledge that they don’t know each other as well as they hope to (No insta-love). Also on the platonic relationship front, Sidney is a character so hilarious that I wish I could pluck him out of this world and drop him into the background of every book I read from here out.

In terms of pacing, the first hundred pages are a little slow going, but still offer a lot of interesting world-building and set up the ending conflict really well. The last half of the book speeds up dramatically, and it’s super exciting to see the Chekhov’s gun (or Chekhov’s letter in this case) that the author planted early on go off so suddenly! One of my favorite parts of the story was actually afterwards, realizing that a lot of the “throwaway” jokes foreshadowed the dramatic turn as well.


My only critique is that there’s a few parts that don’t end up feeling fleshed out—like it’s suggested that Gabriel actually had a crush on Art when they were growing up. Similarly, Gwen had a crush on Bridget before the novel began, but they only brush on this subject in two lines of dialogue with Art and Gabriel, before moving on. Whereas, it was a key point for Gwen’s motivations in the novel from the opening line. Basically I was left with a lot of questions—When did Gabriel realize he was queer? What was his relationship with Art like before this Summer? It’s also mentioned that both Bridget and Art had bad breakups. Gwen and Bridget have a conversation about how this is affecting Bridget’s perspective on their relationship, but Art and Gabriel never share this level of emotional intimacy on the subject. Same issue with Art’s abusive father—while Art opens up with Gwen about his father’s cruelty, we only get a scene with Gabriel asking something to the effect of, “Who made you feel this way about yourself?” He never receives an answer, and it’s never brought up again, likely because it would’ve affected a miscommunication plot later, but still. I think if we were allowed to sit in certain scenes longer before characters were running off or being called away, the romances would feel a bit more fleshed out. Although, I think it speaks to how interesting the characters are that I’m just left wanting to know more about them!

Overall, the novel really does deliver what it promised—a cute, queer medieval romance with a deadly twist. I can only hope that we get more stories in this world!

I loved this book! Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a historical fiction rom-com, which means a few things: one, it’s not a retelling of Arthurian myth, but a story that *could* have happened several hundred years later, when everyone’s pretty sure all the magic stuff was made-up but still feel like they should worship the Arthurian ideal. It pulls a lot from our world’s history: there’s realistic sexism and homophobia, but also realistic diversity. Also, without spoiling anything, people don’t just magically heal from their wounds, which was a choice I liked.

But because it’s a rom-com, it’s not *entirely* realistic, not a super-serious historical drama where they use anything close to Olde English or speak like actors at a ren faire. The dialogue is anachronistic, which will probably bother the people who didn’t like the new Willow TV show, but those people have bad taste anyway (I kid, but also, Willow is great.) Yes, this is a great story about how sometimes history is different than the way people like to tell it, and it’s also a story that makes a Riverdale reference in the first ten pages. Both things can be true!

I think the Heartstopper comparisons are pretty accurate (saying this as someone who’s only watched the show, not read the comics), although honestly I enjoyed this more than Heartstopper. This is a story about 17-19 year olds just sort of figuring everything out, a coming-of-age-story that also happens to involve swords and castles and mysterious plots.

The ending did feel a bit abrupt, but I’m hoping that just means there’s room for a sequel (she says hopefully)?

I definitely would recommend this book—thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this ARC!

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a YA Novel like no other, from funny characters, diverse characters, LGBTQ+ characters, a cat, birds, knights, and references to a gay Arthur and Lancelot; everything you need to experience joy is in this book!
From the start, you have Arthur, who seems somewhat of an asshole. Still, as time went on I ended up loving him because even if he can be stupid and mean sometimes, he truly wants the best for people and has the funniest dialogue, I would recommend reading this book just for his character. Gwen was adorable and seeing her find her confidence and find friends and want friends was amazing to see, also her being cheered by Arthur was one of the most precious things I have read. Bridget was such a fun character and I loved how stoic she was versus Gwen, I also liked how she and Gwen compromised on their relationship and allowed Bridegt to follow her passions and not just remain miserable, also a female knight will always be good, especially against men.
Gabriel's journey was also as endearing seeing him come into himself and learn he can be himself and have good opinions made me ecstatic to see his development, his relationship with Arthur was also very adorable, and happy to see how Gabriel went from reluctant running away to fully being in a relationship with Arthur.
Overall this book was just so adorable and very funny, a joy to read. I would definitely recommend this book if you wanted a cute, funny, LGBTQ+ book to read with characters you can't help but wish the best for.

3.5⭐️
A queer YA Arthurian retelling romcom, sign me up!
I really enjoyed the first 1/3 of the story, the banter between Gwen and Arthur is so fun and is really the highlight of the book. Although they weren’t the romantic focus of the book I really loved watching their relationship flourish from enemies to friends.
I enjoyed both romances, Gwen and Bridget’s story was so fun. The hero knight with the betrothed princes but make it sapphic! Art and Gabriel’s story was more fraught as Gabriel is dealing with the pressure of being a king and becoming comfortable with his sexuality out in the public.
The side characters in this story were great too, it made for a great found family trope. I just wish we could have gotten to know the characters a little more outside their relationship with the main group (maybe a Sidney and Agnes spin off???)
My main issue with the book was that it was a little too long for what it is. It takes a long time to get to the nitty gritty of the story and by the last 1/4 of the book it goes into another direction away from the fun/soft YA romcom it was supposed to be.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc in exchange for a free and honest review.

What I disliked (because there’s not much)
the pacing was very slow in the beginning and around the 60%. It felt awkward reading during those times because the character’s banter also became different for whatever reason.
The ending. This ending came so quickly and felt rush. I’m not gonna say much because this is an arc, but the resolution came really fast as well. I think if the author wrote more for the ending, then I would be satisfied
Idk if this is a series or not. The ending felt incomplete, but I still had questions.
(This isn’t being published in the UK until May, so I’m sure this all will be resolved by then)

What I liked
Platonic Relationships. Gwen and Art’s relationship is developed before any of the romantic relationships are. I never see this romance, but when I do it’s very refreshing.
The romance. Gwen and Bridget are adorable. There’s a scene where they spare together. I also enjoy how Bridget keeps her own interest while dating Gwen. Arthur and Gabriel were just as enjoyable. There’s a library scene when Gabriel is telling Arthur about the history of Camelot and Ik I made that sound boring, but it was adorable
Coming of age. I appreciate how Gwen came to terms with being a lesbian, by talking to other LGBT characters (Arthur and Bridget). Gabriel was the same, but with Arthur and Gwen. I simply appreciate it when queer characters come to terms with that with the help of other queer characters.

So this book is being released on November 28th in the US and I would highly recommend it.

Representation: lesbian mc and love interest, gay mc and love interest, Bridget is Thai, and Arthur is half Iranian.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

Heartstopper meets A Knight's Tale is an excellent description of this. The blend of modern and medieval requires some suspension of disbelief to really enjoy what's happening. A younger audience might enjoy this more, but I found Gwen and her brother Gabriel unlikeable and unchanging throughout the book. Art and Sidney are the best part, providing comic relief and the only sane perspective of gender and sexuality. I would rate it higher because the central message is important, but I don't know if I really enjoyed reading it. It's a very slow start with none of the characters really being likable. It does pick up eventually with an exciting ending, but it felt too long without any real character growth except for Art.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and something I’ve been really wanting more of is medieval stories. This book delivered all my wishes and dreams on a silver platter. I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. By the first chapter I was hooked and didn’t stand any chance of escaping.

The relationship between Arthur and Gwen is probably one of my favorite relationships of all time. They give off the biggest sibling energy and I love how it’s carnage every time they’re near each other. Their banter was top tier.

I loved all the characters. They were giving everything that can be given. I just really loved the development between Gwen and Art. It really was just two siblings wanting to beat each other up (out of love) and I was there for it.

I usually have complaints but there really isn’t anything I’d change in the book. I thought it was ridiculous and over top but Lex did it in a way that wasn’t cringy. It was executed really well. I’ve been having to fight the urge to reread since I read it. It was a very enjoyable book.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked each of the characters and the dynamics between them. I particularly liked the friendship between Gwen and Arthur.

I struggled with the historical aspects of this book. The book tried to walk a line between being set in a specific century and being ahistorical and as a result it felt very confused at times. I think this is the historian in me and many readers won't struggle the same way but regardless, I would've preferred something to indicate that this wasn't meant to be set in specific place or time.

Overall, it was enjoyable.

It's 3:04 am, I've just finished this book, and I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes just completely wrecked. There are so many books that I love and have so much to say, but this is not that. This is one that I love and cannot fathom words encapsulating how I feel about it. "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more" or however that quote goes. The important thing is that this book reached into my chest and wrenched my heart out, but in a very loving way, if that's possible. I love queer love stories, I love queer historical love stories (we've always been here!!), and I love queer found families. For me, this was everything I'd hoped it would be, and then some.

This book was just the palate cleanser I needed after being in a nothing but fantasy mode. The characters are fun and queer, which is always a welcome addition. The story itself is endearing. The fact that it's set in a world where Arthur Pendragon wasn't just a story doesn't really play a whole lot into the story itself but it adds an interesting background.
Gwen and Gabriel both truly grow into their own especially in the end when their world is turned upside down.
Arthur is still Arthur even in the end, though maybe with less wine.
And Agnes and Sidney, oh Sidney, absolutely delightful

Highly recommend if you enjoy queer stories in historical settings

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is not your typical love story, and that's just fine!

I enjoyed the witty dialogue, funny situations, and heartfelt moments brought to life in this historical tale.

This unique coming of age story embraced diverse and well developed characters that I was routing for.

At times the pacing felt a bit slow and perhaps the book could have been shortened a bit. Overall though, an entertaining, easy read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC for review.

Im going to break this review down into my perceptions of characters and my feelings through the story:

Characters:

Gwen: I really enjoyed seeing her character growth throughout the book! I think she was the one who grew the most as the story progressed; she was small at the start of the book but by the end she was loud, courageous and proud and I loved reading it.

Arthur: he stayed relatively stagnant character-wise but he did still grow. I also really appreciate that the author didn’t fully heal up Arthur after he had been battered severely. I liked him quite a lot for the wise-cracking, unserious and unapologetically queer character he was.

Gabriel:
He didn’t feel fully developed to me. I feel like a lot of his development was “tell not show” (meaning we didn’t really get to read what caused his changes). I do feel for him though, as he was born into a role he certainly didn’t want, a role he felt he was unfit for, a role he couldn’t be himself. Overall, I wish he was fleshed out more.

Bridget:
Who doesn’t love swords and lesbians? I honestly wish we got to know Bridget even more than we did— she was very fun to follow!
Bonus points: the talk of painful periods and male physicians not listening. Similar to Gabriel, I wish she was fleshed out more.

Ok, now that we had a chat about my feelings on the characters:

Selling points: Found Family, Lesbian knight, Wise-Cracking Male lead, Friendship, Crows, cats and other cute animals, nice writing style overall.

This is not a retelling, I promise you that.

We open up with a Princess and Noble being betrothed, nothing uncommon with that, right?
Nothing but the fact that they’re both vying for the other team. Gwen has her eyes set upon the only female knight, admiring her from afar. Arthur seems to have a penchants for curly-haired, emotionally-unavailable men and Gabriel the soon-to-be King fits the bill.
We’re in a world of religious turmoil threatening the very crown. It’s Catholics vs the Arthurians although we don’t follow too closely with the politics, it is a romance after all. We’re mostly at the castle or around it during the story be it in one of the royals rooms or the fairgrounds. I do wish that we would have been able to explore more of Camelot though.

I feel like Arthur and Gwen were extremely developed by the end of the book compared to the rest of the characters. We get to witness Gwen at the start being a coward, afraid of her own voice, to the end of the book where she’s brave and proud of her voice. We get to witness Arthur shift from a wise-cracking idiot with bad coping skills, to a wise-cracking idiot with significantly less bad coping skills.

As you may have gleamed I do have a few things I wished had been a bit different:
- I wish that there had been less “tell” and more “show”.
- I wish that the world had been a liiiiittle more developed (especially around the magical politics).
- I also wish that the love interests had been a bit more developed as well.
- **This is me being nit-picky but I disliked the uses of “err” and “uhh” at the start of the book

With the above being said, this was an extremely fun reading experience all in all.

3.5 stars!
First thing I noticed about this book was the cute cover! I love love love character covers and I have to say that this is one of the prettiest cover that I have ever seen! When reading this first, I had a hard time getting into the book but the more I read into the pages, the more I started to enjoy the books. Sometimes books are worth giving a second chance and I am glad I did! I love the queer and historical romance combination and these days, queer historical romance has been my fav. This isn't really a retelling and the characters are funny and is a slow burn and emotional as well!

Thank you Lex Croucher and Netgalley for providing me this e-ARC in exchange for a honest review!

Thank you so much St. Martin's Press for sending me this early copy!

This book is so good!!! The queer yearning portrayed by our two main characters is off the charts. Not the mention the fun banter amount the characters. So fun and an absolutely solid read.

Oh how I loved this book. I had a rocky start getting into it, but once I understood the time period and the world; I was fully obsessed. Funny, charming, delightfully queer with a great cast of characters. I loved every second of my time reading this story.

I really liked what I read of this. The summery had me curious immediately, and I can't say I was disappointed by what I got. Of course, I am the exact type of person who loves inclusive, humorous, remixes of older stories like this one. The style and tone might not be for everyone, but it hit a lot of my personal buttons. Granted, they aren't *that* Arthur and *that* Gwen, but go with it. There is a lot of humor and heart to be had here. I'll for sure want to read this again when it comes out in print.