King Arthur's (yes that one) descendant Arthur is set to marry England's princess Gwendoline. Thing is they don't like each other, in fact Art likes her brother Lex and Gwen likes Bridget, a lady knight. When they both find these tidbits out about each other they decide to join forces and help each other pursue their true romantic interests. The witty exchanges between Art and Gwen are great, I love the growth of their relationship and how they help each other.

I liked this overall. It was fun, light-hearted, queer. However, I'm really tired of simple books being over 400 pages. There was so much fluff and filler in this book, I got bored and it honestly damaged my enjoyment of it. If it's not an epic sprawling through time like Heart's Invisible Furies or Tom Lake; or a multi-cast epic like Nine Perfect Strangers; or written by a tried and true master like Stephen King or Jodi Picoult; you do not need 400+ pages to tell a simple, fun, low stakes cozy love story. Hot take, I know.

It's been 100 years since the death of King Arthur. His descendant, Arthur has been betrothed to Princess Gwendoline, since birth. They don't particularly get along, but make a reluctant pact to keep one another's secrets when they spend a summer together in Camelot.

This was a super cute read, though it was rather predictable. We did get a cast of very loveable characters that you couldn't help but adore. The dynamic between Arthur and Gwen was really fun to read. I found my self giggling at times while reading, and couldn't help rooting for both Gwen and Arthur in their quest for love. I loved the found family aspect that developed through out the story as we got to know these characters more. Bridget was a very intriguing character, and I wanted her and Gwen to work out so badly. I loved the side characters, especially Sidney. I vote we get a spin off following Sidney next! (PLEASE)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to receive a copy of Gwen & Art are Not in Love!

What a lovely novel - I tend to struggle with historical fiction and although it took me a while to get there, I enjoyed this! I liked the dynamics between characters and thought Lex Croucher had a dynamic way with words that helped the story unfold. I am looking forward to their next work!

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher is a delightful, witty romp through medieval court life, blending romance, friendship, and personal discovery. The dynamic between Gwen, a princess with no interest in her betrothal, and Art, a prince equally disinterested, sets the stage for a refreshing twist on the arranged marriage trope. Both characters are charmingly rebellious, and their friendship — built on mutual exasperation — feels authentic and engaging as they navigate the expectations of royalty and their own identities.

What really makes this novel stand out is its clever humor and the way it tackles LGBTQ+ themes in a historical setting, without ever feeling forced. Croucher crafts a world where the characters’ queerness is seamlessly woven into the story, giving it both heart and depth. Gwen and Art’s journey of self-acceptance and their growing bonds with others make for a satisfying and heartfelt read. I highly recommend this for fans of historical fiction with a modern, inclusive twist.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for this eARC to review. All thoughts are my own.

5/5 stars!

To be honest, this is not a book I would normally pick as I don't often read YA Contemporary/Fiction that isn't more Fantasy based. But let me tell ya, I absolutely ATE THIS UP. Since I was behind, I did use an audiobook from my local library so that I could also listen/read on my drives to and from work, and I loved the narrators so much that I stuck to the audiobook. They were IMMACULATE. I laughed more in this book than I have in a really long time! Lex made it so so easy to get attached to all of the characters, both main and sides, and I was so invested in their journeys. I was laughing, blushing, gasping in just about every chapter, and honestly I wished by the end that there would somehow be more because I didn't want it to end.

Art was a bit of trope character; I definitely feel like I've read him before. Not a bad thing - he was such a joyful and heartwarming read! Gwen, however, was so much more relatable and such a wonderful representation of baby queer coming of age that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The love interests and side characters made for a supportive and motivating found-family plot. Even the historical fantasy was immersive and intriguing, from the dueling to ye olde pubs!

Cute YA! Love the vibe! The characters each were brought to life and while a bit slow at times, the story was still enjoyable!

This book is one of those that’s just so incredibly fun, that it just forces you to enjoy reading it. This book did deal with a lot of heavier topics, mainly relating to queerness and being forced to hide it, but the writing, characters, and their banter just made it all feel so much lighter! It’s definitely a fantastic book to pick up when you need a generally lighter read, and want a type of writing that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is there just to give you a fun time. The cast is just full of a bunch of queer disasters, and I loved seeing how they all came together to help each other and befriend each other, even if they were not fans of each other at first!

One of the things that I struggled with a bit in this book was maintaining my focus and finishing it up, though it may have been more my fault than the book’s for that. I did end up finishing it up in audio format, and I feel like I would have enjoyed it even more if I read it entirely as an audiobook! I just find it difficult sometimes to push through romance and contemporary books when the main characters are acting difficult and miscommunication kind of takes over, though I can see now at the end that it really wasn’t that bad at all!

One other thing I wasn’t as big a fan of was the sharp turn in focus in the final portion of the book seemed to take. Most of the book felt fairly low-stakes and was a bit more fluffy, focused more on the characters and their romances and relationships with each other, with a touch of politics. The ending is extremely focused on these politics, more so than anything else, and I felt like we lost a bit of the conclusion to the character side of the story because of it. It was also suddenly a lot darker and more harrowing. It made sense for the way the plot turned at the end, but it didn’t fit tonally with the rest of the book for me, and it made the ending feel much more abrupt.

Overall though, I had a lot of fun with this book, and I’ll definitely be reading more by this author in the future!

(Read November 26-29, 2023)

What a fun Arthurian inspired YA romance! 🏰

I thought setting the plot in a Camelot 300 or so years after the original King Arthur period was interesting. Picking to show how the tales of this period slowly turned into myth was a fascinating move for this tale, and it really sets up the characters rather nicely. 🗡️

I thought Gwen as one of the two protagonists rather pretentious at times. She was quick to make her assumptions, but was upset when she was given a similar reception. That and also her notion of being unlike other girls didn’t work for me as it just made me think of her as snooty. I did enjoy her close relationship with her brother though, and along with her budding romance with Bridgette made her more redeemable for me. 📓

Arthur as the second protagonist was more likable for me. His comfort in being himself was a nice contrast to Gwen’s self-consciousness. As much as his motives at the beginning of the book were rather despicable, his friendship with Sidney and his budding romance with Gabriel really helped balance out his character for me. 🐴

As much as I had a good time with the book, I did feel like the plot dragged on at times. 🙁

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read in exchange for an honest review. And to the author for writing a fun Arthurian inspired YA romcom. 👑

Overall: 3.75/5 ⭐️ (3 stars for the first third, 3.5 for the middle third, and 4 for the ending)

A queer historical telling of King Arthur, this young adult novel is sure to be a hit. Witty, fun loving, and spirited, this is one for all high school libraries.

Really enjoyed this one! It gave me A Knight’s Tale vibes and was a nice revisit into King Arthur lore that is not fantasy based like Legendborn.
Always here for queer historical romances and having dual love stories made this one extra fun!

While I originally was interested in this because of the pretty cover and neat premise, I ended up reading it out of spite after reading what is possibly the dumbest review I’ve read in a while that wasn’t purely GIFs, and yet, for some reason, is also highly upvoted here because that’s how the Goodreads community is. The number of personal insecurities people write into their own reviews here is absolutely baffling, and name-dropping Kurt Vonnegut does not in fact make you a review virtuoso. But hey, reading out of spite got me one of my favorite books of the year. Who knew?

Anyway, yes, the book is not a retelling of whatever people think it might be a retelling of (certainly no one here is claiming to be Welsh and there’s no precise discussion of the Arthurian stories as culturally appropriated colonialist propaganda). It’s certainly not “Lancelot and the Lord of the Distant Isles” retold but with Arthur starring instead of Lancelot outside the extra dramatics and fake relationships bit, even if, to a degree, it gets perhaps unintentionally close (though is there significance to Gabriel having a G-name like Galehaut - Lancelot’s boyfriend - does, beyond his sister’s name? Who knows?). A better description would be that it’s some kind of cross of the 1994 animated “The Swan Princess” movie (particularly the opening through “This is my idea”, as well as “Princesses on Parade”) meets Cassandra/Rapunzel fan fiction from “Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure” with a bit of “The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue” tossed in the mix for flavor. I haven’t seen all that much of BBC’s “Merlin”, though I can see from what little I know where folks might draw parallels. I don’t, personally, based on the aforementioned having not watched much of it. There are at least some parallels between Art and that Arthur, with a bit of Monty thrown in the mix, outweighing everything else, and if Monty were gay instead of bi/pansexual. It’s interesting because it pretty well explains the character of Sidney, if Art/Monty wasn’t in love with his best friend. Sidney is not Percy, but they certainly feel somewhat narratively close (and Percy’s character is kind of split between Sidney and Gabriel). In a way it also reads similarly to the “Fence” novels (not the comics, the novels).

It’s historical fiction meets romantic comedy with a group of upper-age teenagers dealing with crushes and the ups and downs of emotional turbulence you have at that age, with a smattering of pushy expectations that will make or break their lives, parents with some misogynistic patriarchal issues they really haven’t dealt with, and a bit of <spoiler>emotional and physical abuse</spoiler>. Along the way there’s friendship through adversity and happenstance, and belief in a better tomorrow against all odds. The second half is a bit darker than the first, in a way many modern Arthurian stories go.

The cast is honestly a lot of fun. Gwen is an introverted young woman crushing hard on a lady knight she sort of idolizes without necessarily wanting to be like her, perhaps working on some of her own suppressed wishes for freedom, which has been formed by being raised Catholic. Beatrice is a determined young knight who believes in fairness and who clearly has an interest in Gwen that Gwen is, as teenagers and most people often are, completely oblivious to. Gabriel is a young man pressured to become king who adores his sister, has his own cluelessness about patriarchy to deal with, and who really just wants to adopt cats quietly in the middle of nowhere and for people to leave him alone so he can study whatever books he wants. Art is a lonely boy who’s had his heart broken too many times, been told he was absolutely worthless by his father since he was a young child, and has proceeded to do what many boys in patriarchal societies do: blame it on the woman in the situation. And while I do feel compassion for his situation, as is often true in patriarchal societies, no one has called him out in any meaningful way beyond one that might be rather permanent. He is also my favorite character.

Important side characters include Gwen’s lady-in-waiting, Art’s alcoholic and lust-focused bodyguard who seems to be Art’s only friend and confidante, and Gwen’s parents, who are at turns doting and frustrating.

Despite not caring much for f/f these days, and being at turns more frustrated with Art than not (his sexism is, well… present), I honestly enjoyed this. It’s a bit corny at times and the teenagers act shockingly like teenagers at times, for better or worse, but overall it’s funny, cute, so full of heart, and enjoyable. Art is enough like Monty to keep me seated, basically, even though I would definitely prefer rereading “The Gentleman’s Guide” to this, but goodness is this a fun ride all the same.

Is the world-building a bit wonky? Sure, yeah. But any Arthurian premise that doesn’t tackle the colonialist roots of modern pop culture interpretations of him is going to be. Even “Lancelot and the Lord of the Distant Isles” was racist, and that was the 1200s! Perhaps the weirdest aspect of this is how it does and doesn’t sidestep the role of Christianity in screwing things up royally, particularly by the adding the uh, “cultists”, whoever those are supposed to be. But if you like Arthurian stories and are okay accepting the usual wonkiness that comes with that, it’s about as fun a romp as the best of them. But what do I know, “Excalibur” 1981 used to be my favorite movie, my opinion is as dubious as “Your lust will hold you up” is good as a line.

Overall, it’s a fun story. If you like cute miscommunication teenage drama with a dash of Arthurian sprinkling in a historical fantasy backdrop, this is the thing for you. It’s got echoes of Tamora Pierce’s “Song of the Lioness” (particularly “Protector of the Small”, to be honest), and like a lot of those books, is about hope in dark places. About how we’re stronger together than we are apart. And it’s funny and sweet and the cast is lovely. If that sounds up your alley, pick it up. If you want more queer Arthurian stuff, maybe pick up “Lancelot and the Lord of the Distant Isles”. It's a tough read, but worth it.

I really enjoyed this one! An excellent queer retelling, some of the writing style wasn’t quite up my alley but I still liked it!

This was so cute!! I really liked Gwen and Arts slow introduction into really getting to be friends, and how they eventually helped each other. I also love how we somehow got TWO different slow burns in the same book! We had Arthur, who was comfortable with his sexuality falling for Gabe, who Arthur didn’t even KNOW was queer, and who fervently denied it until Arthur was hurt. We also had Gwen, who knew she was different but just chose to hide it, falling for an openly queer knight. I loved the dynamics between the four of them, plus Arthur’s guard and Gwen’s handmaiden. Ultimately a great book, and definitely something to recommend to people who are learning about themselves and their sexualities.

**I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and this is my honest review**

This review was delayed due to the SMP Boycott.

Solid 4.5 star read!

This is a heartwarming but still filled with it's own strife story about three young people discovering who they are and fighting to be true to themselves set in a medieval-esque England long after the rule of King Arthur.

Gwen and Art have been betrothed since they were children and however incompatible they may be, their wedding date is fast approaching. Complicating matters is the fact that they don't love each other, or even like each other. But when Gwen stumbles upon Art sharing a kiss with a boy and Arthur digs up her diary and notices her ongoing crush on a lady knight, well suddenly reluctantly betrothed enemies become reluctant allies.

I loved the character development of both the main characters and the side characters. There were so many laugh out loud moments and fantastic banter. Gwen and Art's relationship development with each other was the cherry on top ending with an exciting ending. Arthur's relationship with his father felt very real and his reactions to those around him including his addictions were handled well.

I think my only qualms is the premise for the "break-up" as it could be called, was a little shaky until it was explained, and I wish we saw more of Bridget so I could get to know her and her motives a little better.

I think Croucher is quickly becoming one of my must read authors. The characters queerness doesn't feel forced or complicit in tokenism. There is a variety of backstories and the side characters also stand on their own two feet. I feel like I really do know the characters by the end of the book without long monologues from them.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. Review previously  withheld as part of a pro-Palestine review boycott of St. Martin’s Press titles. 

While I’ve had mixed experiences with Lex Croucher’s work to date, Gwen & Art Are Not in Love was different enough from her previous work that I had hope that this would work. 

While I’m only peripherally familiar with Arthurian legend, I loved how this story took some of the familiar aspects and  plopped them in a later medieval English setting, appealing  to my love for the Plantagenets and the Tudors, while also not being massively historically accurate at all. It’s pure fun, and I love that this story didn’t take itself too seriously. 

Gwen and Arthur are both fun characters, even if they can be a bit over-the-top and unlikable at times. But Croucher manages to make them endearing, in spite of their myriad flaws, and I loved the dynamic between them, flipping the familiar fake-dating trope on its head in a delightful queer way. 

An issue I’ve had is that Croucher doesn’t always write the most engaging romances, but while there are romantic arcs, I didn’t get the sense this was meant to be as much of a romance as her other books. Gwen and Bridget in particular were cute together, and I liked that the brief nature of their acquaintance was acknowledged in-text, and it wasn’t treated like it was meant to be an everlasting love. Rather, the various relationships among this ensemble cast, both romantic and platonic, all shine in different ways, and the book worked all the better because of it. 

I really enjoyed this book, and hope Lex Croucher writes more in this “world” or in this vein. If you’re looking for a fun, whimsical story that loosely reimagines Arthurian legend from a queer lens, I’d recommend checking this one out!

I finally read this almost a year after I was approved for this! Honestly I’m not sure why I waited this long. Just based on the synopsis, this was a really interesting concept. I really loved the friendship between Gwen and Art. Maybe not at first, but the way they grew to care about each other more was really sweet. The romance part wasn’t as great. The author writes about the separate relationships between Gwen and her knight, and Art and his guy. This leads to each relationship having to develop in double time, something that it greatly suffers from. I find this happens in books that are in split time periods as well, when there are two separate plot line each one has to be a little less detailed. Overall, this was a great book and I enjoyed it, but I wish that some parts didn’t feel so rushed.

I would recommend this book a thousand times over. I was lucky enough to read the ARC of this thanks to Netgalley, and have since purchased my own copy to continue reading again and again.

TITLE: Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
AUTHOR: Lex Croucher
410 pages, Wednesday Books, ISBN 9781250847218 (hardcover, also e-book and audio)
I am sucker for anything Arthurian, and especially these days for anything that tweaks the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot triangle, so a title like Gwen & Art Are Not in Love, with appropriate medieval dress characters on the cover, was bound to attract my attention. Especially so if the book posits queer relationships for the titular king and queen. I somehow missed the part of the book description that says this novel takes place “hundreds of years after King Arthur’s reign.” And you know what? I’m not disappointed at all.

In college, as part of a course on science fiction, I created my version of a world in which Camelot never fell. It was very different from the world Lex Croucher created for Gwen & Art Are Not in Love, but that didn’t stop me from really enjoying the world Croucher did create, and the characters they populated that world with.

In the present day of the novel, Arthur’s descendant line no longer rules Britain, and the city of Camelot is a shadow of its former self even though it is still the capital. King Arthur’s descendant Arthur is well known as a womanizer and gadabout. He’s also engaged to the current Princess of England, Gwendolyn, and neither of them is happy about it. Especially not when they’re forced to spend the summer together as a lead-up to their nuptials, where they quickly discover that Arthur likes men, and Gwen has a crush on the only female knight of the realm, Lady Bridget. Add in Bridget’s bookish brother Gabriel, next in line for the throne, Arthur’s man-at-arms and confidante, Sidney, and Gwen’s lady-in-waiting Agnes, and you have a fine group of main characters with sometimes-competing agendas and interests who find they have to work together to survive not just the summer tournaments but bigger problems.

Because there is also political upheaval across the land. A group of cultists who want a return to the “pure” ways of King Arthur are making increasingly bold moves against Gwen’s father, the current King. This starts as background world-building but slowly builds to being a major part of the book’s climax. Croucher seeds this development well. Near the end, I found myself thinking back and going “Oh, that’s what that was about...” a couple of times.

All the main characters are well-developed. The book is not in alternating first-person (as so many queer romances seem to be), but the primary points-of-view are Gwen and Art’s, allowing us to see events through both their eyes (sometimes, the same event). Even with chapters focused on the two of them, I felt like we got to also see complexities in the personalities of Bridget, Gabriel, Sidney, and Agnes that fleshed them out as real people rather than love interests and sidekicks. I can’t say the same is true for the older adults of the book – Gwen and Gabriel’s parents, Arthur’s father, and the other members of the King’s Court that we see are for the most part one-note. But that’s okay. They perform the function tertiary characters are supposed to perform and don’t necessarily need to have deeper inner lives in an alternate-historical romance like this. (I hesitate to call the book a fantasy romance (or “romantasy”) because other than the difference in history, I don’t recall any truly “fantasy” elements in the world-building.)

In addition to characters I cared about, the book was paced well. There are just enough sub-plots and side-encounters to keep the ultimate outcome of the romances and the political intrigue delayed without feeling like they are just delaying tactics. The book is just the right length for the story Croucher wants to tell, neither too short nor too long.

If you’re looking for an Arthurian romance that takes place outside of, and builds on, the known Arthurian lore, with queer protagonists and plenty of swordfights and happy endings all around (well, except for the bad guys), then Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is for you. Check it out.

I received an electronic advance reading copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. I received the e-ARC well before publication date but never posted the review. Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is available now wherever books are sold.