3 Stars. I enjoyed the beginning half and the overall vibes of the story. However, something about the characters felt flat to me. I eventually lost interest and put the book down. I still think this could be a story I enjoy at a future time. It may have been a case of right book, wrong time because the premise sounds amazing to me. I may pick it up in the future.

I love everything Lex writes but this one fell a little short with me. It seemed like almost everything was revealed by the back of the book and I wish that the fake relationship aspect went a bit farther. It was quickly started and revealed which confused me as it seemed like it would be a larger part of the book. The book took a very serious turn at the end with really intense war and battle that seemed out of place. In general, the tone seemed like it was all over the place.

Unlike in their previous books, I never felt like I really got to know or relate to the characters. My favorite was the MC's brother though. I also really loved the setting and wish as a reader that I got to see more of it.

I still think this is worth the read and I in no way hate the book, but I think maybe it could have used a bit more refining. I would also say for a YA book it had very adult content (but that may just be my American viewpoint lol - maybe in the UK drinking young is way more normalized).

3.5
So gay I love it. King Arthur spin off (not really a retelling). Found family in the best way. Didn’t feel like high stakes, but the plot had a lot. Cozy and reaffirming and happy. I’m here for it.

This was so fun to read. It was mostly light hearted, with witty banter and likable characters. Although there is romance, it is very sweet and the friendships really shine. The audio is recommended for listeners!

Gwen was a princess, already betrothed to Arthur since she was still a kid. One summer when Gwen almost 18, Arthur ordered by his father to spend the summer at Camelot castle to get to know Gwen better. Soon its discovered that they both had crushes to other people, despite their betrothal. Then they agreed to keep their charade and keep each other’s secret.

Honestly i couldn’t really connect with the story. Sure it was funny sometimes, but they seemed to be just fucking around without any concerns about other stuff. All that matter were their romantic affairs. And the fact that they’re all barely adult????? I know that’s because the book’s age range is YA but it didnt sit right with me somehow.

Then suddenly after 80% mark its action packed. At that point I couldn’t care less about the book, thought about dnf it but didn’t want my time wasted for nothing. So here we are.

This was a fun YA queer romance.

I think it works perfectly for the demographic and still manages to resonate with an older crowd.

I really enjoyed this one! I liked the medieval setting, and the characters were a lot of fun. It was a great dual enemy to lovers/friends to lover's story.

The romance was a small portion of the story compared to the friendships that were made throughout, which I found to be the best part.

I had a lot of fun from beginning to end and would definitely recommend it!

The comparisons to A Knights Tale are perfectly apt for this irreverent medieval rom com. Years after King Arthur, a princess betrothed to the person she loathes most discovers they share a secret that might just bring them together: neither of them is straight. And as they try to woo their crushes and withstand threats to Camelot, they realize they might not hate each other as much as they thought. Enemies to lovers friend edition!

A Knight's Tale is literally my favorite movie of all time, and I have it pretty much memorized. I felt a bit nervous to read this book because it was marketed as a cross between A King Arthur retelling (another genre I love) and A Knight's Tale-it felt like super big shoes to fill. Ultimately I enjoyed this book and had a really good time. I do wish that it wasn't YA, not because of spice or lack thereof, but it felt like there were issues that the characters were dealing that could have been managed with a tad more maturity. YA felt right in the beginning but as it continued I started to feel like something was missing.

4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

I did not expect to have such a good time with this book but I enjoyed this read so much! Very much a coming of age, discovering yourself type of story for Gwen. For Arthur, it’s more about finding purpose and love. I loved them both! Such opposites with very different kinds of main character energy!

I found the sarcastic, dry humor to be so entertaining with these young people but it was fitting for their circumstances. I liked how it was dual pov though obviously not with the characters falling for each other. Gwen and Art’s friendship was so good once it gets to develop! In terms of romance, it does read more like a single pov since their love interests don’t get narratives. Not spicy and slow burn. The HEA was very sweet!

A rather interesting take on the story of King Arthur but one I really liked. This is not a retelling of any kind though! I would recommend this to historical fiction lovers for sure!

If you’re recommending this to a young person I would be mindful of the heavy drinking and violence in this story!

I wish I hadn’t taken so long to read this book. It was so good. The narration has a strong voice that enriches the story too.
It’s a fast paced book with a bit of a rushed ending, but it works.
The two main characters Gwen and Art are the most developed and so delightful. The side characters were there but felt underwhelming and not as developed to me, except maybe Sidney, he was great.
The found family I think is meant to make up for it.
The romance and falling for each other kind of takes a side seat to the political plot and the friendship that develops between Gwen and Art from their original animosity and I thought that part was really cute and well done.
I loved the spin on this myth and thought it was well done.
A very cute read that I would easily recommend.

DNF at 35% - premise is phenomenal but execution is honestly kind of boring. I wish it had been more exciting, but it just was not.

Super cute! A super fun retelling of the king author tale. I loved the gender switch and thought a few of the nods to the historical story was very clever.

Fun and a little corny! Overall this was really cute and silly. Arthur annoyed me a bit, but the other characters were great. This was a fun Arthurian retelling though I would have liked a bit more focus on the fantasy aspect and less on the romances (there were so many romances!)

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity

Very good. YA ish

While this started off a little too slow for me, I did thoroughly enjoy it and I can’t wait to read more from this author. This quickly became a title that I would like to see books comp to.

A queer YA rom-com retelling of King Arthur?

I went into this one with a solid dose of skepticism and a willingness to DNF if it became too frivolous. But to my welcome surprise, I actually really enjoyed this book. Was there silliness? Yes. Did I need to need to check my disbelief occasionally? Again, yes. Did I walk away from it having developed a bit of a sweet spot for the characters? Absolutely. Especially Sid ❤️❤️

My only criticisms would be that the battle scenes in the last third are jarringly graphic and brutal after the lightheartedness of the early parts of the book.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for gifting me an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

To be honest, not much to say about this one from me. I enjoyed the meat of the book, but I found it a bit difficult to get into and the ending to be disengaging. I think I'm a little over the King Arthur "retellings" (I realize this one is not a retelling, but it is set in that "world"), but I was never really that into them in the first place so I'm not sure why I keep picking them up besides the fact that I found this cover to be too sweet. I enjoyed the characters and the body of the story, but it's not one I'll likely pick up again. I read it physically and listened to parts over audiobook, which I thought was very well-narrated. All in all, not a book I regret picking up but not one I'll shout from the rooftops about.

Gwen and art are NOTTTT in love, but i am definitely in love this book. Will recommend till the day i die.

This was a adorable ya romance with Arthurian feel to it and loved every moment. This story follows Arthur and Gwen who are forced into an arranged marriage. While everyone sees this as the perfect political match Gwen and Art have other ideas. Arthur has feelings for Gwen’s brother soon to be king . Gwen had her sights set on Bridget the only female knights. This story felt like a slice of life novel as there wasn’t much plot as much as just following these characters but the characters are so well done that it held my interest. The writing in this book was quick witted and easy to follow and really kept me entertained and chuckling throughout. I can definitely see the comparison to knights tale and look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.