The representation in Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher was outstanding! A great and important read.

That's it. I have a new favorite book. I don't know how anyone could read this book and not immediately fall in love. I was enjoying myself thoroughly from the very first page and that delight stayed strong until the last page had turned. I laughed so hard throughout most of this book and I absolutely adored every second. It was witty and fun and absolutely amazing in every way. The only thing I didn't care for was the moment the book came to an end.

Thank you to NetGalley for this truly amazing ARC!

4.5 stars
Rep: lesbian mc, gay mc, lesbian southeast asian li, gay li

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun, lighthearted read that is easily one of my comfort reads in 2023! I was so pleasantly surprised when I was granted the e-ARC, considering that this book was on my top TBR. Yes, I am a sucker for queer Arthurian retelling, which is not surprising coming from a BBC Merlin fan. Gay Arthur and lesbian Gwen? You have my whole attention.

I just adored Gwen and Arthur from the very start. Their banter was so fun to read, full of sharp humour and snarky comments. I had some really good chuckling as they try to destroy each other and ruin the engagement in the silliest ways possible. And, you guessed it, instead of the typical enemies-to-lovers we get in tons of other cishet romance books, Arthur and Gwen grew from enemies to best friends which is, in my opinion, such a refreshing take. See, this is why queer books are inherently more fun, there are way more creative ways to twist a generic plot line into an engaging story and character development.

I also had fun getting to know the love interest through Gwen and Arthur. Yet, while I have so much joy reading about Gwen blushing and crushing hard over Bridget, I had a hard time warming up to her, mainly because I feel like we don't get to know that much about her and Gabriel, Arthur's love interest. However, Bridget was described as hailing from the Sukhothai Kingdom (i.e., Thailand), and it was such a nice casual representation, as a Southeast Asian myself.

The plot itself feels like it's written in order to develop the characters rather than for the sake of creating a unique plot line, which I really didn't mind considering how much the main characters stood out. I loved how Gwen and Arthur grew as characters, and how they found their own little family with Bridget and Gabriel.

Super cute! Had so many of my favorite tropes (betrothal, royalty, knights, falling for your sibling’s fiancée) and they were executed so well! Definitely had me giggling and kicking my feet. This book was very funny too, which is hard to pull off in a novel. Great characters, swoony romance, and cozy fantasy world; all around a fun time!

This book made my heart SO happy!! I haven't laughed out loud this much reading a YA romance in forever, and the fact that it had LGBTQIA rep as well was icing on the cake.

First of all, having the two main characters NOT be love interests in the story was amazing! Their banter and friendship was one of the best parts of the book, but there were so many good parts it was hard to choose.

The found family vibes made this entire book's description of Heartstopper meets A Knight's Tale so accurate and heartwarming.

This was an easy fast paced read with great storytelling and a perfect balance between plot driven and character driven story. I would gladly read more about these characters!

I love this book. I love Arthur. I love Sid. I love Gwen. I love Bridget. I'm not big on Arthurian legend but this book was funny, heartwarming, and compelling to read. It took me a bit to get into it but once I was hooked I couldn't get enough.

I DNF'd this book within 7 pages because of the dialog. It's a weird amalgamation of "modern" and "classical", with Gabriel ("Gabe") calling Gwendolyn ("Gwen") simply "G", while Gwen tells him to "Please arrive at the point post haste". I also question a YA book opening with Gwen awaking from...a loud sex dream? I can't even.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book!

I adored this book. Truly.

The setting of Camelot was super fun many years after the reign of Arthur Pendragon. The little mentions of Arthurian lore made it super fun and feel grounded in something bigger. All of the characters I feel like grew throughout the book, which is always nice to see some character development. The relationship between Art and Gwen was fun to track, the sibling relationship was well done, and the relationship between Sid and Art had me laughing out loud. I think these relationships and the group relationships were more enjoyable than the romantic relationships to me personally, which at times felt a bit flat, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of it.

The ending was not something I saw coming, and it gripped me more than I thought it would. I’ll be thinking of all these characters for awhile!

Okay yes, I love a queer romance, so fun and cute etc, etc....BUT GOD THE FRIENDSHIP WAS WHERE IT WAS AT. Rarely do novels make me feel like gooey, mushy fanfic does, where you're rolling around clutching the book to your chest because it's so cute...this one definitely did!

This book was a really fun read! It’s set in medieval times (thus the outfit) and follows Gwen and Arthur, who are betrothed to one another, though they hate each other. However, this plan takes a turn when Gwen sees Arthur kissing a boy, and Arthur snoops in Gwen’s diary to find that she’s in love with a female knight. They make a pact to cover for each other, which gets difficult as they both find themselves falling in love.
I absolutely loved the characters in this book and found them very fun, though I wish I got to see more of Bridget, the knight. It was a very fun plot filled with shenanigans and hijinks. My favorite part of this book wasn’t necessarily the romance but rather the reluctant friendship that forms between Gwen and Arthur. They may not be in love in the way they were supposed to be, but they do love each other by the end.

When I saw this pop up on NetGalley and saw it comparing itself to not just Heartstopper but a personal teenage favorite, A Knight's Tale, I knew that I needed to put this on my TBR immediately! It definitely has all of the irreverent fun of A Knight's Tale; however, the only thing about Gwen and Art are Not in Love that is "like Heartstopper" is that your main characters are LGBTQIA+. That's it. I think a better pitch would be that this is like a queer take on A Knight's Tale.

All of that aside, I had SUCH a fun time with this tale. This is set in a world where Arthur Pendragon was 100% real but the few hundred years since have robbed us of the magics and mystery of his court. That doesn't stop noble families from naming absolutely everyone after members of the Round Table. Which brings us to Gwendolyn and Arthur. These two were betrothed to one another from birth but absolutely cannot stand each other. Now that Gwen is turning 18, its time to get these two married off. Only roguish Arthur is harboring a secret and Gwen is noticing strange new feelings for a young woman competing as a knight in this year's tournament.

This book was soooo good. I actually printed it out with 9 pages per page for convenience (I was given an online ARC). I loved the chemistry between the characters, the historical twists, and most of all, the nod to feminism and the fact that some members of the LGBTQ+ community do not accept themselves as queer. I loved Gwen's girlboss moments, as well as when she dropped her guard and felt vulnerable. Arthur was just so perfectly cocky, and paired with Gabriel's quiet wisdom created the greatest couple. Agens was unbearable sweet and Bridget was a character I cheered on. Sidney was the best possible sidekick. I adored this book and it made me look into the author's other books. This book had great character building and a beautiful world. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an opportunity to read this book as an online advanced reader copy before the release date, as well as to Lex Croucher for writing such a splendidly delightful story.

4.5/5 stars

This book was just amazing! As a queer, young adult this book meant so much to me!

Croucher did a phenomenal job with writing authentic characters that you can't help but fall in love with. Arthur was charming but stupid and from the very first moment I met him I loved him. His relatuonship with Gabe was everything! I love, love, love it when one person is super flirty and the other is more shy. Gwen was uptight and timid and at first she was a little boring but as she grew as a character her perspective became more and more enjoyable. Her romance with Bridget did seem to lack some chemistry though. They didn't really talk much throughout the novel. It also got better towards the end of the novel.

I loved the setting of Camelot several hundred years after Arthur's reign. It was such a unique idea and was well executed. I thought the battle between the two religions was also very well executed.

Overall, I really, really loved this book and highly recommend it.

I could not put this book down. Croucher's characters are bright and well thought out, with dialogue that is quick and snarky, yet sentimental. The author sets the scene so beautifully, it wasn't hard to get sucked in to this queer romance. The story came with plenty of laughs, romantic sighs, and a fair number of shocks. It does hit a lull about two thirds into the book, but the last fifty pages more than make up for it. I will be recommending this book to YA readers, queer readers, and romance readers.

Reading a book in the medieval-fantasy genre was completely outside of my comfort zone. I tend to shy away from books that I don’t know anything about. However, what really sparked my interest and drew me in was it was the YA and LGBTQIA+ take on the subject/genre. I’m really glad I was given the opportunity to read this book.

The writing was fantastic. I loved how the dialog was more modern but still fit in with the time and setting. One of the reasons I tend to shy away from books set in medieval times is because I have this connotation that they will always be written in very slow, and hard to understand “middle English”. This was not the case with this book. The conversations and banter between characters was laugh out loud funny. There were parts of this book where I was audibly chuckling at some of the things being said. Each character was lovable in their own way and they were all written in a way where I was able to feel a connection to each of them. It was easy to sense how each character had a bond with one another and how different each of the relationships were. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I feel like it’s the kind of book where there is something for everyone: The trust and friendship between siblings; between two best friends and confidants; same-sex feelings or relationships that must be kept hidden; the relationship with parents who don’t understand and more.

This book had almost as many action scenes as it did romance, which surprised me, but it was really well done. I was able to get a sense of what was happening and a feeling for what the characters were going through without it being too gory or graphic.

I’m once again so happy that I had the opportunity to enjoy this ARC thanks to Net Galley. I’m also an admirer of author Lex Croucher and that my eyes are now open to a whole new genre. Five stars!

I thoroughly enjoyed Gwen & Art Are Not in Love. Historical fiction isn't typically my jam but I couldn't resist a gay interpretation of the classic Arthurian tale. The love lives of Gwen and Art, plus the side characters, were so entertaining. I was wholeheartedly rooting for all of the couples. Plus the witty banter between the characters hits perfectly. It's a laugh-out-loud funny sort of book.
I was thrown off by the pacing of the book though. The first 200 pages followed the relationships. The development of the relationships, both platonic and romantic, was slower and sweet. Then, all of sudden, the pacing picked up and the content and tone got much darker, which I loved! I just wish there was a smoother transition to the climax.

Bottom line: The unconventional romance scenario totally worked.

AAAHHHH!!! ::flailing about on the floor:: 😍😍😍

Okay, I am going to attempt a more coherent review now...

I SO enjoyed this book. It is by far my favourite from Lex Croucher. I've enjoyed both Reputation and Infamous, but nowhere near as much as I loved this one.

I really liked the whole group of "friends" I guess I'll call them, though they certainly don't start out that way. I loved that even the characters that were maybe not supposed to be the nicest were still completely lovable. The book is dual POV between Gwen and Art, but all of the friend group are so well written, they could all be main characters. I also loved that, despite it being set in medieval times, there was still diversity in the book. It would have been so easy to just make everyone white, because that's how everyone thinks it was during that time period, but there were folks from other parts of the world and other cultures there at that time and I love that they were included. And I love that it explained how their families came to be in England. I've really appreciated the way that Croucher makes their books diverse, despite them being historical.

The book is also incredibly funny. It's set in medieval times, but obviously with modern language. It was great to see modern language used to make fun of the time period, as well as being used by the characters to make fun of each other and themselves.

I also LOVED (but also maybe hated a little bit) that one of the characters has the symptoms of endometriosis. This is only the second book I've ever read with that sort of rep and the reason I say I sort of hated it is because the character is treated the EXACT same way women (and people with uteruses) are today when they have these symptoms. They are not believed, male physicians downplay the severity of the symptoms, and they're not even prescribed proper painkillers. I loved it because it's such an obvious dig at the way current, modern medicine STILL treats folks who have these symptoms.

I so completely loved this book, if that wasn't already obvious from the 523456 times I've said love already in this review. So far each of Croucher's books have been better than the last, so I cannot wait to see what they write next!

Thanks to the publisher for sending me this eARC, but I will not be finishing this book. I predict I will pick this up again sometime after the release date just to give it another chance. If you are wanting a queer light-hearted, younger side of YA, and loosely historical fantasy this is a great book for you. It’s not for me. Every scene felt like a rough outline where the writer has a little note that says *will return to add in the details later* but there are no more added details. The historical tone/dialogue was very inconsistent, it rarely read as Medieval England fantasy, more like a contemporary fantasy.

This one was very fun, even for someone who sometimes struggles to follow along with more historical stories. I really loved the characterization in this one, All of our main characters felt like real people. Also, the fact that Bridget is a badass, but still struggles with painful periods? I loved her so much, she may be my favorite character in the whole story

Set in ye' olden days, Art and Gwen are queer, betrothed and do not get along. As they fall in love (with other people), plan schemes, and stir up trouble, Gwen and Art come to realize that though they might never be lovers they do have the potential to become great friends.

I'm a big fan of this type of historical fiction/fantasy in the vein of movies like Rosaline (2022), Ever After (1998) and Ella Enchanted (2004), so I knew that this was gonna be right up my alley. There are some great character dynamics in this novel both between the couples, between the duos like Art and his bodyguard (they were so funny and had me laughing out loud on the bus), and Art and Gwen themselves had a great friendship. The pacing at the begining could be improved, I felt that it was slow going for the first 100 pages and then it was full steam ahead. I also think the magical politics are a weak point since they don't get enough detail or attention as the romances and friendships take center stage, so that plot point had me a little lost until the end. I wish the ending was extended a bit more since the climax had me on the edge of my seat. I wanted more since it felt like things wrapped up too quickly, hopefully there will be a sequel!

Overall, this was a blast! I finished the book in one sitting, and once the plot got going, my attention was grabbed and I was on the edge of my seat. This book was filled with all those cozy first love and found family feels and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys the aforementioned films, or someone looking to get into historical/fantasy romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review (all opinions are my own).