Honestly what a funny, well thought out story. I am a sucker for a good queer romance and this one really got me! The characters were all flawed in their own ways but completely lovable. The banter between Art and Gwen and just Sidney’s whole character really shined to make this funny. Sure, the subplot was a bit predictable but, who cares?! The book wasn’t about the subplot, it was about the character development. This was just a fun read and interesting retelling.

My one complaint is that the book was so character driven that there was very little setting description. I think the idea is that everyone has their own idea of Camelot and Excalibur and medieval England, but a bit more description of the castle and grounds would have been helpful! Other than that, this was a great, quick read. I would read one of the author’s books again for sure.

I had some high hopes for this book, Arthurian book? Heartstopper comparison? Couldn't wait, but honestly, I felt a bit let down by it.

I'll say up front that I liked the plot idea and it had a lot of potential to be a charming and lighthearted read, which it was for the most part, but here are some things that I didn't care for in the book:

First, the characters. For most of the book, they seemed a little flat. Aside from telling you that Gwen and Arthur hated each other as kids, Gwen has red hair, and Gabriel is shy, there wasn't too much in character building. This in part interfered with the romance aspect of the book as it's difficult to see romance when you can't really see who the characters are in the first place. For me, this ended with the characters being not dislikable, but murky and a bit bland.

For plot, there were moments that I think could have been rewritten to give more of a twist or left more of an impact. Some plot points seemed a bit out of nowhere and unnecessary to the story as a whole. Moments that were big and dramatic were condensed into short sequences and told from a far away perspective so we never got the actual interesting side of the story. If this was done for the sake of keeping it more lighthearted, then it may have been best to leave these points out all together.

Finally, general writing style. There was a moment in I think the first 5 pages that I put down the book and had to take a break because of a Riverdale reference. By reference, I mean an almost direct quote of the infamous "highs and lows of high school football". I think that set the bar for somewhat inconsistent tone and style throughout the book. After that reference, I don't think there was another pop culture type reference in the book (keep in mind this takes place in ye olde times with knights and monarchs being the absolute rule). Some moments felt like the work of an immature writer (for lack of a better phrase), and it felt like it dipped a little more towards middle grades language at times.

Overall, I was fairly meh about this book, not falling squarely on either side. If you're looking for a light romance, you might enjoy this. I should note that this book does contain homophobia and sexism as well as a brief on page description of someone being beaten.

4.5/5

Thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU.

I was stressed out all afternoon over this one. Loved the characters, loved the concept, love the queer love. I can't write a long and cohesive review for this book because it has left my head empty and my heart full.

If you want a fake dating trope where they don't end up together because they're gay and in love with other people set with Arthurian legend around it and a female knight, you GOTTA READ THIS. It did take me a little while to settle in (a few chapters) and I didn't always find Arthur charming, but overall I just heckin' loved this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of Gwen and Art Are Not In Love in exchange for an honest review!

This book gave readers a new spin on a King Arthur retelling. As a huge fan of King Arthur and the history of the Knights of the Round Table, I’m used to reading different versions of this story. Normally, authors choose to keep the love triangle of Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot, front and centre. Gwen and Art Are Not in Love gives its readers a spin on this, with each of our main characters finding different love interests. Gwen has her eyes set on Bridget Leclaire, the only female knight competing in the tournament that the royal family is hosting. Art, while dubbed as a player at the beginning of the book, falls for Gabriel, who happens to be the Prince and Gwen’s brother. I found myself rooting for Gwen and Bridget throughout the book, and was content with how the author brought them back together and gave them a happy ending. I was never really sold on Art and Gabriel’s relationship, and I’m not sure that I believe that Gabriel would come out, and risk his safety and status as King to be with Art. Regardless, the author chose to wrap up all of these relationships and give these characters a happy ending.

Overall, I found the book got off to a slow start and continued that way until the end of the book. Most of the action took place in the last ten chapters of the book, which I found to be the most exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed the battle scenes, and the alternating perspectives of Gwen and Art during these moments. I would have to say that my favourite character would have to be Bridget, and I enjoyed that the author essentially made her the hero throughout the book, especially during the end battle scene.

While this was not my favourite King Arthur retelling, I did enjoy how different the story was from the original and how many of the important moments were shown from the eyes of both of our main characters, with these alternating chapter perspectives. I think some readers may absolutely love this book, and I wish I had enjoyed it more than I did.

<b>Characters:</b>
Gwen is the princess of Camelot. She is introverted and wants nothing more than to be left alone and dream about female knight Bridget Leclair. She's very stubborn, cowardly, and anxious. I really liked her character. Art is the son of the lord Maidvale and Gwen's fiancé since birth. He's a prat and quite unlikable. Even for a teenage boy character I found him to be very immature and mean. Even when we as the audience are supposed to feel for him I failed to connect. He's very judgmental, projects a lot onto others, and can do so because he doesn't have the same responsibilities as the other two. Gabriel is Gwen's brother and heir to the throne. I loved how earnest he is about being a good king for all of his people as he believes King Arthur was even though the way he goes about it is not good.


<b>Plot:</b>
Since her birth, Gwen has been betrothed to Art and since her birth they held a childish dislike of each other. As their marriage looms Arthur is forced is spend the summer at court, Gwen sees him kiss a man. This leads to them brokering a deal of peace because Art figures out her crush on Bridget. I didn't like the blackmailing aspect. It's a personal pet peeve of mine. I also feel like the reason Arthur hated Gwen as much as it did needed to be bigger. She did nothing to him, it was all his own personal issues. The crux of my issue with this book is the setting. Since it was an infusion of being modern but also medieval it was hard to tell what the stakes were. The last 25% was a real shift that would have been more interesting if I had liked the characters more and cared about the world more.


<b>Rating:</b> I give this book a <b>2/5🌟 rating.</b> The concept of the book was very interesting but it's execution was not quite there. I think if the characters were more interesting and it built a better understanding of the world and time period I would have liked it more. I didn't connect to it.

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I enjoyed the journey of self discovery that all of the characters went on. I really liked the enemies to friends dynamic that happened, I really wish that had been a bit more of the focal point of the story.
I think the first half of the book was super slow, but about halfway is when the relationships started to develop more.
Overall, it was an ok story, but not something I would read again or recommend to my friends.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is a fun, medieval YA book. Gwen and Art have been betrothed since they were children and are less than fond of each other. They soon make a pact when they each discover that the other has a *secret.*

The characters and their relationships are wonderful and truly carry this book. Each character (especially Gwen and Art, but the secondly characters as well) had such a fun personality and their bickering, jokes, and even heartfelt talks were delightful and kept me coming back for more.

However, not much happens outside of their interactions as it is a very character driven book. The last 10% of the book felt as if the plot was thrown in because not much else happened for the previous 90%. Despite this, it was a fun read that I really enjoyed.

Huge thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC!
Every character in Gwen and Art are Not in Love are so, so dear to me. Each of them are wonderfully fleshed out, even as they fit perfectly into their stereotypes—the titular Gwen, an anxious, fearful young girl slowly learning to break out of her shell; Arthur, a messy, broken boy desperate to hide the ravaged, bruised edges of his personality; Bridget, a sharp-tongued warrior with a heart of gold; Gabriel, the quiet, book-obsessed crown prince; and Sidney and Agnes, side characters and servants (of a sort) who are loyal to their respective employers. This book is centered around Gwen and Art's betrothal, though the title pretty much gives it away: they are not in love. In fact, both of them quickly fall in love with members of the same sex, though it should be noted I found this less of a romance book than a coming-of-age tale. Gwen's determination to become the woman she wants to be—brave and outspoken—is balanced by Arthur's brash demeanor, which hides a softer, damaged part of him. While they start the book as reluctant allies, even rivals, they become each others' closest confidants—not lovers, but as close to soulmates as best friends can be. It is their friendship that carries this book. Even the side characters, from Bridget to Gabriel, from Sidney to Agnes, have their burdens to carry; Lex Croucher balances stereotypes with careful vulnerability, crafting each character with a sort of love and affection not many authors hold for their characters.

The one qualm I hold with the book is its worldbuilding. It's half modern, half medieval, if that makes sense; the backdrop is painted with castles and turrets and magic and swordfighting, but the characters are almost flesh and blood. I can imagine them in front of iPads. I could not place where exactly the characters were supposed to fit in terms of the time period, and the mythology sometimes went foggy and careless in places. There were plot points that should have been explored more, and kingdoms that should have been developed, but ultimately this is a very character-driven book, so maybe that was a false expectation of mine.

Ultimately, this book is heartwarming and heartbreaking at the all right places, and it is exactly the sort of thing Arthurian legend needs: a set of gorgeous queer characters right at the heart of it,

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for allowing me a chance at reading this book for an honest review! It very much felt like. .. I'm not sure. Heartstopper meets Merlin? or Heartstopper meets Descendants II?

I struggled more with this book than I would have liked. The characters were charming, witty, and it was set in pseudo-England post-Arthur. I was able to get a rough estimate of when it might have been thanks to one character whose relatives are mentioned as being from the Sukothai kingdom. It's odd, maybe, but I want to know other general historical information. There are one-off mentions to continue ground this is our world-- there's Catholics! Arthur's offscreen mother is mentioned to be Muslim! One minor character is South Asian!

(Which really, as a Jewish person, made me pour through the book to be like "where are the Jews, are we really only Jesus? is this the time period we've been kicked out of England? We've got to exist because Xtianity does and Jesus is mentioned". It's not that I was expecting actual rep, but I was hoping there's be a one-off mention that Guard #238 or whatnot was Jewish)

That being said. . .the characters felt almost too shallow. They were witty, charming, they Had to Dislike Each Other at the start and it felt almost flat and forced. I did enjoy Gwen's journey out of internalized misogyny alongside her sapphic discovery, but it would be tempered with characters using slang that seemed too modern, such as "chill".

It felt cookie-cutter YA. And though I've been critical of this. it's also a great sign of continuing queer mainstreaming.

A tale weaving 2 queer love stories set in an Arthurian kingdom. Easy and fun read about falling in love and standing up for what you believe in.

I was given the e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was more of a slow burn in my opinion. I love that this has LGBTQIAP+ representation, so its really cool to be able to read this story. I had a bit of trouble getting into this story at first, but by the end I found it pretty enjoyable. I don't think this would go down as a favorite of mine, but I think that there are others who would love this. The writing was easy to read.
"The path to true love never did run straight"

TW/CW: Violence, death, mild sexuality

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and am voluntarily writing an honest review.

Gwen & Art Are not in Love is a story of two royal teenagers in the Middle Ages who are being forced into a marriage that neither of them want – mainly because she is into girls, and he is into guys. They decide to pretend to be falling in love as a cover to their real feelings.

I really wanted to like this book. I love the idea of it. Unfortunately, it didn’t really live up to what I wanted. First of all, this book really has absolutely nothing to do with King Arthur. There are brief mentions of him throughout the book, but nothing that is really important to the story. Secondly, nothing really ~happens and for most of the book it’s actually pretty boring. Thirdly, there’s really not a single likable character in the book, which made it really difficult for me to connect.

The three stars I’m giving this book are for the following thing: LGBTQIA+ representation! There need to be more books like this, in that way. The writing – although little happened, the writing was solid and easy to read. And the fact that this book is pretty short – quite a few of the last books I’ve read were way over-long and I appreciate that this one wasn’t.

I love queer romance, but I just couldn't get into this, try as I might.

Thank you so very much for the copy!

4.5 stars- Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC! I LOVED this book. I literally read the entire first half in one night. I really liked that neither Arthur nor Gwen liked each other. It took away a lot of potential awkwardness.

This book was actually kind of funny, like I laughed out loud at some of the jokes, which doesn't happen a lot. A lot of Sidney's comments and "banter" was really funny in particular. I kind of hated Arthur at first, because of Gwen's description, but once we actually saw his point of view, I started to like him, even if he's kind of annoying. Gwen was a little annoying too though, so you know, it balances out.

I enjoyed how it balanced out serious and lighthearted scenes. The book wasn't entirely fluff (which isn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion), but it wasn't all super sad and heavy all the time. This book was just a really nice read, and Gwen/Bridget and Arthur/Gabriel are just so cuuutttteee.

I also think that the book was a beautifully woven web, with all the different plot lines that all came together at the end. Speaking of the end, the fight scene was interesting. I think it was well written, but the ending came really fast, and I only had a moment of suspense in terms of if they would win or not. I think it might have been better if it was a little longer, but still, well written!

What a charming story! To start off, I have to say that I adore this author’s interpretation of Camelot and the way history and myth were woven together to create a unique and fresh setting. I feel as though Arthurian mythology has been regurgitated backwards and forwards so many times in YA but without any real change or effort, so it was a huge relief to encounter something more creative in this text. I also found the characters to be utterly charming, especially Arthur and Gwen. I enjoyed the fact that the author devoted as much time to developing the friendship between the two as they did the romantic relationships in the story. Oftentimes fictional friendships get sidelined in the favor of romance, and I must say I am glad this is not the route the author chose to take; it’s a better book for it. The banter between the two was fun and witty and it was truly a joy to experience their relationship blossom into a strong and lasting camaraderie in a way that felt genuine and authentic. The romances were very cute as well, and I will always adore a good ‘princess and her knight girlfriend’ story.

I did find the political conspiracy plot line to be somewhat lacking, though, and thought it could’ve used some more development as it often got reduced to a sideshow and only seemed to pop up when convenient; I almost would’ve preferred the author to cut it out entirely, as there just wasn’t enough force behind it to make it feel like a crucial element to the tale. The ending could’ve also been a bit more developed as well as I found it to be somewhat rushed. I would’ve loved to see more of the aftermath of the battle as well as Gabriel’s speech. Perhaps an epilogue could’ve been added as well to smooth some things over. All in all though, this was a very enjoyable and lighthearted read; I enjoyed it immensely and I would definitely recommend it to add some cheer to a rainy afternoon.

quite frankly, I am stunned that I loved this as much as I did. it's deliciously witty with well rounded characters, and as much as I have found some of my best adventures in YA, I've also found some massive disappointments and consistent missteps - so, this was a surprising turn for YA. the language and humour fits in a way that reminds me of bad luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" or "A Knight's Tale", with the kind of modern take that still works without using 2000s slang and still making you. feel as if you're in a fun medieval time period.

usually, historical fiction -- regardless of if it's fantasy or romance or whatever -- makes me feel immediately on guard and somewhat resentful. I just feel grossed out by characters who are so limited in what they can do or say or be in historical time periods, particularly because periods like the medical times often feel so removed to me that it just doesn't feel necessary? if that makes sense. for me, it hits a point where it feels unrealistically limiting, and authors often write characters who feel less like they "have" to be a certain way but aren't actually, and instead become caricatures with no depth.

I don't think I verbalized my beef with historical fiction properly -- not really beef, but just my personal taste often can't handle the realities of history, lol. I just get frustrated and hate reading it.

obviously I wouldn't be giving five stars out if this were something I felt fell into the above context, because everyone was interesting and so, so fun to read about. the gross realities of true medieval times didn't invade the story too much, which let me escape into this nice little world that was JUST real enough for it to feel legit.

the romance wasn't as heavy as I think I expected/wanted, but I was absolutely here for the queer platonic friendship between Gwen and Arthur. It's the highlight of the book. Gave me giggles and warm fuzzies throughout the whole thing.

Wow wow wow!

This blew me away. This is my first book by Lex Croucher and she did not disappoint. I was originally drawn to this story because I am obsessed with anything Arthurian legend related, but I loved that it was so much more than that. It had everything you could want in a medieval romance -- queer characters, action, romance, royalty, and profound loyalty. It's funny, witty, and warm with super lovable characters. It really was a joy to see all the characters growing and coming together as a found family. The characters were quite literally ride or die and made the most rag-tag squad ever. I was even surprised that there was a prolonged action sequence that really brought the 5 stars home for me at the end.

It used on Arthurian legend to set up the plot and characters without leaning to heavily on the myths and magic of it all. It was a super cool twist for a Arthur-Merlin-Morgana nerd like me. It had just enough historical mentions, but never felt overly done like you were getting hit on the head with Excaliber.

All around a super fun adventure! Read if you enjoy medieval romances with queer characters and also a bit of action! Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a chance to read early in exchange for an honest review!

This book was such a fun read. I got so captivated in the story I didn't want to put it down. All the characters were lovable and well crafted, you found yourself rooting for everyone.

This was a surprisingly good book! I say that, because I almost put it back down at the beginning. I couldn't tell what time frame the story was in, the characters were annoying and the set up was weird...

But 1/4 the way, once the story got rolling it was very entertaining and enjoyable. I laughed quite a bit!

It's like an enemies to friends, found family, queer romance. Characters who were believable, who didn't massively change to become a hero, they didn't miraculously pick up talents quickly they just were themselves, flaws and all until the very end. It was quite refreshing.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.