A queer Arthurian retelling that’s not really a retelling? Say less.

Gwen and Art are not in Love was such a cute take on the traditional Arthurian retelling.

Arthur, a future lord has been betrothed to Gwen, the princess of England since birth. The problem? They despise each other. When Arthur is sent to Camelot to formally court Gwen. Within the first day Gwen stumbles upon Arthur kissing a boy. To try and protect himself Arthur goes rummaging around and finds Gwen’s childhood diary with damning evidence of her crush on the one and only knight Brigit Leclair. Gwen and Arthur decide they are better off and allies and embark on a journey of fooling everyone around them into thinking they are in love while covering for each other in their romantic journeys.

This was such a unique storyline and all around enjoyable reading experience. The characters were well developed and the banter was A+. I love the side characters just as much and Gwen and Art, Sidney being one of my faves. You get action packed sword-fighting and battle scenes, emotional romances, amazing banter, found family and so much more.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, watching the characters accept their queerness and live for themselves instead of everyone else.

Final rating: 4.75⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was fun and easy to read, however, I feel that my reading experience was hindered due to my reading tastes. In short, I think it’s a consequence of me taking another YA romance too seriously. For instance, while I found the setting and historical backdrop so interesting and wished the lore was explored in further detail and time, I had to remind myself what genre I was reading and the probable aims and motives of the author in writing this book.

Even though it took place in medieval England, it didn’t read like historical fiction in the sense that a lot of the dialogue and interactions were quite contemporary. It was still fun to read and didn’t deter my reading experience though there were definitely a lot of historical inaccuracies.

However, I just felt underwhelmed in every other regard during my reading experience. While I enjoyed the pining between the characters and the banter, the relationships between the main four didn’t feel as developed as they could have been. In short, the pining was the most exciting part of their getting together. I was just left wanting more both from the plot and from the relationships (especially the sapphic one!).
I also felt like the characters themselves could have been developed with greater detail and with greater clarity. That’s not to say that they don’t have a personality, because they do, but their characters never go beyond a couple of adjectives which describes them. In addition, if the main four felt underdeveloped to me, then any side characters felt absolutely flimsy, including their motivations. As a result, I couldn’t really connect to any of the characters. I will say though that I did enjoy the banter and it was one of the redeeming aspects of this book.

I’m also not sure how I feel about the pacing, the last bit is very fast-paced and kind of comes out of nowhere. I just wish the political stakes of the story were introduced earlier and with greater attention to detail.

However, Bridget Leclair is so hot and I def have a crush on her lol.

So overall, while I rate this at a 3.5, I still absolutely recommend this and I know there’s an audience out there that will absolutely adore this. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t completely to my tastes and high expectations. (Might bump the rating up, we’ll see!)

Everything you didn't know you needed in a tale about Arthurian legend- woman knights, queer love, characters that completely propel off the page, witty banter, and a modern sense of authenticity to self not often found in stories of medieval times. A story that at the core is about self-discovery and friendship, and believe it or not from the title- love. An exceptionally written novel, rife with adventure and warmth. A setting so visceral the picture paints itself and you can't help but be pulled in and not ever want to leave. I can't recommend it enough! The year has barely started but I know this story will not only be the best of the year but one that I love and come back to for a long long time!

Much like my affection for Art, my appreciation for this book increased as the story progressed. This coming of age story starts as Gwen and Art reluctantly come to grips with their betrothal. Art and Gwen (and their compatriots) bring the reader along on their journeys of self discovery; I enjoyed that they had both good traits and bad and by the end of the book, I was pleased to see how they had developed into more confident, accepting versions of themselves.

Although I did find the earlier part of the book a bit slowly paced, I was nevertheless drawn in. The end was fast-paced and action-packed and my misgivings about the first part were (almost) forgotten.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is a young adult romance featuring LGBTQ+ representation all while being set in Camelot during the middle ages. This story begins with Gwen's betrothed, Arthur, coming into town so that they can get to know each other before they are married. Neither of them wants that since they both hate each other. So they decide to keep out of each others way until Gwen finds out a secret about Arthur and Arthur finds out a secret about Gwen. After this happens they both decide to make a deal to keep each others secret. The two start spending more time together and end up becoming friends while keeping their relationships private.
I gave this book a 2 out of 5 stars for a couple of different reasons. I didn't like the setting of the book. I personally don't like knights and duals and princesses and all that. I don't like the medieval era. This book took me a while to get into and I didn't really understand what was going on or where they were. It felt very fast and scattered most of the time. I didn't really like the characters that much either. They weren't very strong or relatable characters which definitely didn't help. Gwen was whining and pining over Bridget while Arthur was getting drunk all the time. The ending was also completely out of no where and I didn't really understand what was happening. Overall, I would not personally recommend. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own

A very fun and easy read, love the romances but enjoyed the found family friendships even more. Lex Croucher is becoming one of my favorite authors.

This was a fantastic book that had me laughing from the begining. It is a brilliantly original retelling of the Arthurian myths. Like a breath of fresh air, it brought modern values of acceptance, diversity, and above all love for your found family.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

I was conflicted about the book in the beginning but it grew on me with time.
I loved the humor and especially the banter between the characters.

i will admit that the writing took me a while to get used to, not because it was hard to follow necessarily, but just because i find any historical fiction hard to get into. when i was about 1/4 of the way through, any doubt that was in my mind previously had been absolved by the care taken with the character dynamics between qwen, arthur, gabriel, and bridget. the banter and pining in particular felt so lived in. the last 100 pages though caught me a bit off guard as the pacing picked up really suddenly, leaving the ending although neatly tied up, a bit undercooked. so happy that i got a physical arc through a goodreads giveaway as well. made the reading experience that much sweeter.

This book is perfect for a rainy day, or really any day.The characters are complex and unique and so loveable.

When the story began, I found myself concerned. I wasn't sure that I would love Arthur or even Gwen, but I'm happy to say I couldn't be more wrong. This book made my workdays so much better. It's the kind of book you can pick up and put down and immediately get drawn back in.

At times, I was laughing while reading, and at other times, it was painfully relatable. The author manages to capture relatable topics and bring them into the stories context. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a cozy LGBTQ+ book.

The only reason this isn't getting 5 stars is that the ending felt strangly rushed compared to the slow build of the rest of the book.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this cozy fantasy book on its release day! NOVEMBER 28 2023!

What a fun retelling of a classic medieval rom com! I'm having a hard time writing a lengthy review on this book just because I am simply blown away since reading it. I'll come back and edit once all my thoughts are totally processed.

GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE is a beautiful love story between unexpected friends and its a pleasant change to the countless historical rom coms that abound. Lex croucher’s upcoming young adult debut is a gorgeous exploration of love, friendship, history, and self-discovery that challenges the idea that you must conform to the standard in order to be content and make a difference in the world.

I enjoyed this book a lot since receiving the Arc, and I'm excited to buy the physical copy and share with my friends and book club.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

For lack of better words, this book left me BREATHLESS. This was anything and everything I ever could have wanted in a book, the characters were absolutely sublime, the plot had wonderful highs and lows that left me absolutely desperate to keep reading. This is genuinely such a phenomenal book that I highly suggest everyone read. It was funny and sad and tense, and the way that everything built up to the finale was perfect. I cannot fully express just how satisfied I felt reading the last few pages.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Lex Croucher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is such a quick-witted, fun read. Its setting is both satisfyingly Arthurian and exceptionally original, its characters are lovably authentic and funny, and its plot is engaging through its moments of lighthearted courtship and contrasting serious reflections on homophobia and sexism alike-- this book is exactly what I’d hoped it would be. My high expectations were met and surpassed!

This novel’s setting was, for me, a major selling point: an Arthurian backdrop, but not as a mere conduit for a retelling. The way this book weaves in elements of Arthurian legend while also presenting a completely fresh story is absolutely compelling. I love how self-aware of contrivance it is, using the overdone-ness of some of its elements as a commentary on exactly that; Excalibur Nine is my favorite example of this, but I also love the characters’ lighthearted frustration with the persistence of etymologically Arthurian names through generations of children. So many Gawains!

To have a Camelot setting where King Arthur and his knights are a debated, distant yet overbearing, almost tired part of history in the eyes of the main cast is so interesting-- the audience can feel how heavily that history lays over the characters, how exhausting it is to be defined by ancient tradition and lore without an ounce of consideration for personal identity. I really think the setting is perfect for exploring the plot and themes of expectation and identity and self-actualization that this book presents, and it manages to cover all of this while also being genuinely entertaining to read and learn about. It’s fun: medieval at times, mystical at others, ironic but with just the right amount of sincerity to counter it.

Much of the vibrance in Gwen and Art are Not in Love’s setting is brought to life by its cast. The two main point of view characters, the titular Gwen and Art, are gloriously witty and endearing-- and their rivalry is all the better for it. The way the characters interact with each other and the world is authentic and relevant despite its setting; self-exploration in the face of a society that refuses to allow it is a timeless theme, and this book handles it with a grace and realism that only characters with this level of authenticity can convey. Every character gave their own sense of charm to the lighthearted parts of the plot, and in turn each patterned the more serious parts with individual emotional depth. My favorite character arcs to follow were those of the title characters, but I also really enjoyed the less focal ones-- even side characters were afforded attention and care by the narrative. Agnes was definitely a favorite for me in that regard.

Overall, I really enjoyed Gwen and Art are Not in Love. It tells a fun but genuine story with real emotional impact, handling serious themes and plot beats with sincerity while also committing to its lighter moments’ brightness. The characters are lovable and authentic, and the writing matches their wit in dialogue and worldbuilding alike. There are a few bits of the plot that feel slightly contrived, but for a YA fantasy novel, that isn’t unusual-- and this book carries a sense of self-awareness that makes such scenes not only bearable, but enjoyable, which puts it leagues ahead of others in its genre. I’m so glad this wasn’t simply a retelling; this book is heartwarmingly and intelligently original, and I appreciate it so much for that.

This is a very fun queer retelling of Arthurian legend. It is set in England a few hundred years after the King Arthur reigned, but his legacy still looms large over everyday life throughout the country.

Gwen is a princess, betrothed (against her will) to Arthur. They despise each other and the banter between them, especially from the very witty Arthur, is great. When they realize that they are both queer, they try to put away their differences, and fake-date in order to cover for each other.

The way that Arthurian legend plays into the story was very interesting and added to the complexity of the world building. All of the main characters are sufficiently complex too with multiple strengths, weaknesses, and interests.

I loved this book for so many reasons!
There was just the perfect amount of humor, seriousness, history and love stories.
The banter was great and flowed smoothly between characters.
Bridget, Sidney, Art and Gabriel are well written characters who will make you fall in love with them all.
I think my favorite part was when Gabriel saved a baby crow.
I enjoyed this whole read and hope for more from the author!
Thanks Netgalley, for the ARC

Thank you St martins Press for this opportunity however I am too old for the target audience of the book. I could not get into the story at all. I wanted to throttle all the characters for making idiotic teenager mistakes. However it is a great book and I would absolutely recommend it to actual teenagers.

I was so excited to get an early copy of this since I am such a fan of both Reputation and Infamous by Lex Croucher. Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is the author's first foray into YA and it was honestly a lot of fun. First, it's hilarious; the writing is sharp and witty and I laughed a lot. Second, I loved all the characters even though, because this is YA, they were all a total mess. The book is set in Camelot, long after the Knights of the Round Table, and centers around Princess Gwen, her betrothed, Arthur, her brother, Prince Gabriel, and a certain knight of note named Bridget. There's pining, self-discovery, jousting, political intrigue, falconry, and some slight magic as these four figure out what they want and if they are brave enough to actually go after it.

The only qualms I had with this overall had to do with both the pacing and overall world-building. I feel like this drew me in immediately but then dragged on quite a bit in the middle before racing through an intense and surprising climax and then what felt like a bit of an abrupt and vague ending. Also, I'm still not quite sure why this was set in a vaguely Arthurian world or if it ultimately worked or not.

I will still eagerly read whatever Lex writes in the future and can't wait to get a physical copy of this book and its beautiful cover when it's out in the UK and the US later this year.

*Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.*

Gwen & Art, officially the cutest book I will ever read, and I stand by that statement wholeheartedly. Nothing could have prepared me for how much I was going to LOVE this book! I am a huge historical book girlie, and this book was easily one of the best books I read in the historical YA genre.

All the characters in this book were really likeable, which was nice while reading because it really felt annoying to have to read scenes with any of the characters. They were funny, sweet, loveable, and just so preciously cute together that you can't help but falling in love with them all!

Their love stories deserve so so so so much love, because Gwen & Art deserved all the happiness in the world and they got exactly that. I am truthfully in desperate need of more of all the characters, it's never too early for a girl to dream of a sequel with more content right? This was genuinely one of the best books I've ever read and I can't wait to read more for Lex!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC!

Despite my long rant further down, I actually did enjoy this book. I enjoyed it a lot. The characters were all well-written and well-developed. The relationships, romantic and otherwise, were beautifully teased and executed. I liked the rom-com tone and how that blended into the dramatic climax. I liked how the book addressed the systemic erasure of queer history and heterowashing of queer historical figures.

I absolutely would recommend this book, but there were some things about it that bothered me while I was reading.

The biggest issue I have with the story is the setting and the historical inaccuracies. I know what you’re thinking: this is a fiction story set in a world where Camelot and the Arthurian legends are remembered history (as opposed to Geoffrey of Monmouth’s fanfiction/longstanding attempt to justify colonization), etc. Of course it’s historically inaccurate. That’s not what I mean. I’m referring to issues like the complete erasure of Wales:

1. Camelot was in Wales, but the name Wales (or Cymru, Brython. Britton is only mentioned in terms of a language.) never once appears in the entire story. There was no period in history where Wales stopped existing. Are they claiming this is a world where Arthurian cultists and everyone else bowed down to the national rule and naming conventions of invaders without any resistance?

2. Gabriel tells Arthur a bit of the history in one scene: “Then after the Saxons invaded, there was a bit of a muddle with lots of old gods in the mix, and then the country was Catholicized very rapidly” (Kindle Locations 1660-1661). I sincerely hope this isn’t trying to imply that Wales?/Camelot? wasn’t Christian before this Saxon invasion. That is a gross misunderstanding of both history and Arthurian ideas, if so. I mean, Catholic missionaries were accepted in “England” before Wales, that’s true, but it was because the Welsh were already Christian and weren’t sure why some guy in Rome was trying to change/take over their established church of hundreds of years.

This pretend English homogeneity creates missed opportunities to include real history and additional motives for the political conflict in the book. It’s also insulting to erase an entire nation and its people because they don’t fit into your narrative.

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

How can you not love a quirky, queer, medieval rom-com about two young people betrothed to be married since they were practically born who absolutely hate each other? And who may or may not have eyes for two very different characters?

This book was super cute and wildly entertaining. As immature as it got sometimes, I loved Art and Gwen's bantering and bickering. It was one of my favorite parts of the whole thing. Gwen was a little obnoxious at times, but part of her growth over the book is shedding some of that. Art is such a self-sabotaging, reckless little shite, you can't help but love him. Also, his friendship with Syndey was adorable.

Bridget was an absolute badass. A lady knight? That scene where she's teaching Gwen how to sword fight is maybe one of the hottest scenes I've read in a while. And those last few chapters with her were just *chef's kiss*. My gosh.

And Gabriel. Oh, my love. I would give my kingdom for Gabriel. Just an absolute sweetheart who deserves the world.

The plot does meander a bit at times and it's a bit slow-paced in areas, which I think is why it took me a while to read. But it was so entertaining, I didn't care. I wanted to hear more about Art and Sydney's misadventures or Sydney's infatuation with Agnes, or see Art and Gwen snipe at each other a few more times or Gabriel get buried in books or care for an injured animal.

And the last handful or so of chapters were like an emotional gut-punch, so maybe the slow pace of the others wasn't so bad.

Was it full of anachronisms? Sure. Do I care? Absolutely not. That's not why I'm reading a fun romance novel to begin with. I actually think I would have disliked it if all the language had been era-appropriate.

All in all, enjoyed this muchly and would recommend to a friend.