My second book by Lex Croucher, and I cannot wait for the next. A queer, coming-of-age with everything you'll ever want to have in a book.

A dream of a novel! There's literally nothing I don't like about this book. As a former Arthurian-obsessed teen, Gwen & Art delighted me.

I loved this book! Croucher peppers this medieval historical reimagining of post-Arthurian England with contemporary dialogue that's snappy and fun, with queer characters finding love while having to hide in a culture that's divided between "Arthurian-cultists" and Roman-Catholics. The tone is light, even while the characters deal with a repressive society with rigid gender roles and expectations.

Opinions are my own and do not reflect the institution I work for.

Please check the trigger warnings, as this was far more graphic than I anticipated going in. This was a pretty adventure in camelot, but not the genre for me.

Honestly an overall disappointing read. The premise was really intriguing but the whole book turned out to be so surface level. I feel like I don't know anything about Art or Gwen. The whole book was so rushed and there was not enough info to rationalize that ending. I've read Croucher 1 too many times, I think I'm moving on now.

I loved this book and was so excited to receive this arc. The plot was so sweet and i absolutely loved the characters.

- So gay. 10/10
- Romance / historical fiction slay
- Lex Croucher said but what if all were gay? And I respect this
- Fantastically easy to love characters (witty, charming, flawed but forgivable)
- We love happy gays (happy for the most part)
- Really can’t have imagined how I would’ve loved to have read this at a younger age
- YA but never juvenile !
- Revolutionary to me
- A must read!!

Loved this book, read it in basically one plane ride. I was hooked, and it had such rich and well developed characters that really came alive. Would have loved to have read this as a young adult. Looking forward to more from Lex Croucher!

Thank you for the e-arc, this was a fun book that read like a television show. The pace was fast until the middle, which did make it drag on for a bit before picking up pace again towards the end. This part could have been better, as it made me set it down for a few days before picking back up.

This is one well-crafted, well-executed book - the characters are fun and engaging, the writing is solid, the storytelling and pacing are good. I liked the solid friend and sibling relationships portrayed here, because both of those are a rarity. Sometimes Gwen needed to take a chill pill, but at the same time her relationship with Arthur felt very 2000s Disney channel comedy, which got a big thumbs up from my book. It's blurbed as being like "A Knight's Tale," but I'm always skeptical of those blurbs. Blurb accuracy sometimes leaves a lot to be desired (but then, their main concern is getting you to purchase the book, after that they don't care). I think that vibe is why the modern language used in the dialogue worked so well; this book was obviously not concerned with being historically accurate, because its biggest concern was being a rom-com. I think it pulled off everything it wanted to with gusto. In every sense this book is an easy four star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion! As someone that is part of the LGBTQIA+ community, I greatly loved this novel. The relationships the author chose to focus on were very fun while also being heartbreaking at the same time. I loved how descriptive the author was and how fleshed out the characters and their storylines were. All of the characters grew so much during the novel and it was amazing to see how the everything played out. A few moments during the story did bring me to tears, both happy and sad. Overall, I think this novel was so well-written and I will definitely be picking up a physical copy for myself.

writing was hard to get into for me but plot was nice. i liked the characters but felt like the love interests needed to be fleshed out a bit more. liked it tho!

An absolutely gorgeous book. I was enthralled from the first page.
I love the bickering between Gwen and Arthur, and the way the story develops is absolutely gorgeous. I’m excited to buy the published copy!

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. This is a story of descendants of king Arthur set in Medieval times. The story went from fantasy rom com to game of thrones to unrealistically happily ever after. I liked the premise. not necessarily the ending. It was decent until the last ten pages.

4.5 stars - This was honestly so fun and I had the time of my life listening to this on audio (so I would highly recommend!). I really enjoyed all of the characters - they all had different personalities and motivations. Their interactions with one another was fun to read and their dynamics felt incredibly real. Additionally, this novel does not shy away the more "knight" aspects of the time period and although some people mentioned finding it a little to graphic for a romance novel, I feel like it really added to two specific characters and was an engaging aspect to the plot. I would love to read more about these characters because I really enjoyed their romances and their friendships while also loving the political discussions in the book. It was fun, it was sweet and I couldn't have asked for a better reading experience for the end of the year!

I adore this cover. It is just perfect. I am such a fan of King Author retellings and this one did not disappoint. I loved all its queerness! When this was compared to Heartstopper meets A Knight's Tale I knew that I had to read it. I loved all the wit and banter between the characters. There is some mystery happening that you are trying to figure out. I loved that. This book also has one of my favorite tropes, found family. I cannot wait to read more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I adored this book! As a queer young adult, I would have loved having this book during my formative years. This book had wit, romance, humor, and excellent aesthetics. A great read!

3.5 stars rounded up

This was definitely a little different, although having read Mists of Avalon, the romance between Art and Gabe was totally believable. Without revealing spoilers, queer love made sense in that context. But that story is about 1000 pages long, so this book is way more accessible and written for a younger audience, although the violence near the end did catch me off guard. I'm not saying it didn't fit, but the mood definitely shifted to a more somber and serious one.

What did I love? While I didn't particularly like Gwen and Art as individuals, I love them as their friendship started to grow. This was definitely a case of each person bringing out the best in the other. Gwen lived her entire life hiding her true self, trying to live by the rules, and worried that someone might find out what a terrible person she was. Art lived a seemingly carefree life, flouting the rules, but in reality, hating himself. I loved how the influence of the other slowly brought them both to realize their own value. This was one of the highlights of the story.

Gabe also ignored everything that had to do with his own personal wishes and worked to live what he thought was the life of an "ideal ruler". I loved his sensitivity, his love for his sister, his love of the birds and other animals, and his love for the people.

Sid was an awesome friend and I loved his conversations with Art and his obvious love for his best friend, up to and including when he told him (often) he was being an idiot. And even when he KNEW Art was not making the right choice, he was still willing to stand by him. His romance was sweet and made a nice counterpoint to the other four characters and their bumbling efforts at love (well, Bridget was not bumbling).

Bridget was a fantastic character. I loved that she clearly was in love with Gwen, but she was also willing to stand by exactly what she needed. The conversation she had with Gwen regarding staying or not staying through the winter made me cheer her own. But then again, Bridget's upbringing was very different from Gwen's in that she was very much loved, supported, and cherished by her father and he obviously didn't care about whether she fulfilled societal expectations. In Gwen's family's defense, she WAS the princess and had responsibilities. But I loved how Bridget was able to love Gwen and at the same time state what SHE needed.

Regarding the violence near the end--yes, it did fit in the greater context of war between rival factions, but of course it was set up to be more than that and potentially about what Art was doing at the time he was attacked. It was a bit startling, but in the end, I can see why it was included. I do wish the author had given us a little bit of warning. It definitely set us up nicely for the big fights at the end, but I had no idea the story was headed that way. That said, I just got the audiobook, and I might listen to this story again and see if I can pick up all the clues along the way. I think they are there, but I also think I may have missed them because I was tied up by the relationship stuff with the four main characters.

Overall, this was a fun and refreshing read. The pacing was a bit uneven at times, but I always got drawn back into wanting to know what would happen next. So there were times I had to push through less interesting parts, but the story always drew me back in. I would definitely be interested in reading other books by this author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was really excited for this one. I'd seen tons of influencer reviews, so when I had the chance to read this, I jumped at it. Unfortunately, it really didn't meet the hype for me, and I didn't finish it. Maybe I just wasn't in the mindset to read it, or maybe it was the wrong time for me, but I really struggled with the writing style. It wasn't engaging and I found myself constantly having to reread passages to understand what was going on and to keep myself in the story.

Romantic and funny and smart and perfectly queer. Full of great things like fake dating and chosen family and will-they-won’t-they and loyal best friends. My favorite book of 2023. Cannot recommend it highly enough.
Perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell.

The first third was a little slow for me but then I was invested (got caught crying near the end there, iykyk).

These characters definitely grow on you, some a bit like mold, but all redeemable is some way or another.

Gwen grows up so much and I'm so proud of her. Gabe learns to stand tall for what he believes. Arthur puts his neck on the line for the ones he loves. Bridget fights no matter what anyone says (I love her so much). Sydney is there to protect everyone, he's really doing his best. And Agnes is loyal until the end.

Once you get hooked into this story it's very hard to put down.