Gewn & Art Are Not in Love is a winking but genuine take on Arthurian legend with a queer romantic spin. Gwen and Art are betrothed from birth, absolutely hate each other, and both secretly queer - and have found out about each other, spurring a secret plot and eventually friendship. I already loved Lex Croucher's voice and writing style - sardonically funny, a bit silly and chaotic, very queer, with a fun modern sensibility - from their adult books, and Croucher translated this to young adult so well. Gwen, Arthur, and the cast of characters around them are so funny and delightful to follow as they figure themselves out, the lives they want to live, and get into some shenanigans along the way.

Despite the humor and generally light tone, Croucher is genuine and thoughtful when it comes to the leads' internal struggles and the nuances of identity. I just wish the romantic plotlines were actually stronger. Surprisingly, we didn't ultimately spend too much time on the development of Gwen and Art's respective relationships, which are quite charming but underdeveloped. The book ends on positive, hopeful notes for all involved, but it sometimes felt like the political elements getting them to the end overshadowed the relationships themselves.

https://lesbrary.com/gwen-and-art-are-not-in-love-by-lex-croucher/

Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher is not an Arthurian retelling, nor is it particularly converned with historical accuracy. What it is instead is a queer YA romcom set in a Camelot that is slightly obsessed with King Arthur several hundred years after his death, starring a princess (Gwen) and a noble (Art) who have been engaged since they were children, and who also can’t stand each other. Rather than fall for each other, as the romcom structure would typically dictate, they instead grow closer in the aftermath of Gwen catching Art kissing a stable boy and then Art finding Gwen’s diary, wherein she fantasizes about the kingdom’s only female knight. From there, they decide to more or less act as each other’s wing(wo)men for the summer, resulting in what may be the sweetest, funniest, and all-around most entertaining book I have read this year.

Reading this book felt like reading fanfiction, and I mean that as the highest compliment. When I stopped reading published books in my free time and switched over to fanfiction for years because it was the only place I could find what I was looking for, this book right here is exactly what I wish I had. These characters felt like old friends right from the beginning, and I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much at a book. Like, the dialogue in this book was impeccable.

I can’t gush enough about how much fun I had reading this book or all of the things I loved about it because it really was pretty much everything, so instead I’m just going to note the two things that kept sticking out at me that made me appreciate this book even more:

For one, I loved the way this book challenged the idea of being “not like other girls,” because yeah, as a queer nerdy teenager, I definitely could have related to Gwen’s assumption that all of the other girls were shallow stereotypes gossiping about her when she’s not listening, and I also could have used a reminder that other teenager girls aren’t the enemy just because they’re more comfortable making friends than you are. I thought this book incorporated that really nicely, without it feeling heavy-handed.

Most importantly, I loved how much love was in this book. Between Gwen and Art’s blossoming friendship, their respective blossoming romances, and Gwen’s close friendship with her brother, there really is no shortage of love of all kinds, something that I think is especially important in queer YA. It was a joy to watch these kids fall in love, and then also be able to talk about it with their outside support systems, or help each other work through their feelings, or go let loose together at a party on their birthday.

My only note, if you will, is I did feel like the sapphic relationship got the least pagetime, predominantly because Art’s love interest is also Gwen’s brother, which means that while Gabe is a major character in both Art and Gwen’s chapters, Bridget is mostly only in Gwen’s. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this was a failing on this book’s part, because I truly do mean it when I say I loved every page of this book, but I did wish I got as much of Bridget as I did of Gwen, Art, and Gabe.

From the very first page, I thought this was legitimately one of the funniest books I have ever read, but it did not take long for this book to prove itself full of just as much heart, as well as characters I would protect with my life. If I could give my teenage self just one book, it would almost certainly be this one.

A delightfully fun and queer historical Arthurian retelling that captured me on the first page! Lex Croucher’s writing was, as always, wonderful

One of the things about YA romances that can get tiring is the style they are written in. They aren't poorly written but there is a simplicity to them that can get boring. This novel did not have that problem. The writing was tight and impactful. It felt that it was written at the level of the characters age, which isn't always the case.

The characters are all three dimensional. It doesn't take long to understand the kind of people, Arthur, Gwen, Gabriel and the others are. Even characters with less page time, like Agnes, are well developed. I loved Arthur's wry voice and how his personality, in some many ways, is the exact opposite of what comes to mind when thinking about his namesake King Arthur.

The romance plots were nice slow burns that felt appropriate to the characters and their positions in society. There was the classic misinterpretation of a letter that occurs in so many romances but something has to create conflict and I think it was handled well.

Best of all the queer relationships didn't end in tragedy or even in bittersweet parting. They ended full of life and with the promise of pushing back against societal expectations.

DNF. This book starts with a teenage girl having a sex dream, immediately followed by her brother walking in on her naked. Admittedly, this is a YA book, so as an adult this probably makes me more uncomfortable than it would make a teenager. That being said, especially since this is YA, let’s just call this an odd way to start a story. Also worth noting that this YA book is filled with millennial humor and millennial pop culture references. I didn’t get a whole lot further in, but it didn’t seem like it was going to improve drastically enough for me to enjoy it and I have enough other books to read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a ARC of this novel.

“I think it’s what you’ve told yourself you want, to make it hurt less when it’s all you get in the end. I think you’d rather try to make yourself into an ideal than accept that you are a real person, because it feels safe. You’ll still be you, even when you’re king. So what do you want to do with your one slightly dull but nonetheless precious life?”

I am a huge sucker for retellings. There is something about them that just scratch a small part of my brain. I think mainly it is because you are taking a classic story we all love and making it into something new. Now if you make a retelling queer then might as well just take all of my savings. While this isn't a true retelling it still has some of the same aspects.Gwen and Art is a scintillating queer tale that is a semi retelling of King Arthur. Our two main characters named after two famous characters in history King Arthur and Gwendoline. This novel gives a new spin on the well known world and showcases what happens many years after the time of magic and King Arthur =.

The first 30-40% of this book to me was somewhat slow but when I got over that hump man was it worth it. It turned thrilling and swoon-worthy. My favorite thing about this novel was the characters. Each character was fully fleshed out and had their own characteristics and personality. They each had their own time to shine. We really got to know about each character and get to know them personally. In relation to that the characters all complemented each other, Each one was unique but they. came together wonderfully.

This review will also be posted on Goodreads and Instagram.

This was (mostly) cute and fluffy. I liked the dual narrators - one for Arthur and one for Gwen. Both were wonderful!

Overall, the plot of this book was a little thin... but it was cute. I wish there had been a little more focus on the relationships, as at times things felt a little lacking, but I did think all of the couples were sweet. The dialogue was fun.

This wasn't just romance. This also had wonderful moments of friendship, family dynamics, and character development. The friendships in this were so so sweet and wholesome.

While this wasn't a romance between the main characters, the relationship between Arthur and Gwen was by far my favorite (and the most fleshed out imo). Their development over the course of the novel was so cute. I love seeing books where a man and a woman are truly just friends!!

I will say that the ending section felt a little out of place, as it was kind of a big tone shift! Up until ~70/75% this is lighthearted and happy and cute, and then something "bad" happens and things take a bit of a turn. I wasn't really expecting it - but it resolved well and I liked it overall. I actually wish there had been a bit more "serious" stuff in the earlier sections.

This is a really amazing retelling with a ton of representation for queer people, unfortunately it just didn’t work for me in the execution style, a me problem, I can see this being a big hit otherwise.

This was a fun and cute YA romance set in the Middle Ages, but with modern-day language (reminiscent of the movie A Knight’s Tale). In this story, the prince of England likes boys and the princess likes girls! I enjoyed all the amusing banter and hijinks, and the lovable cast of characters that help these queer royals come out of their shells. There’s also political drama that raises the stakes of the story and had me at the edge of my seat during the final climax of the book! Overall, a very enjoyable and worthwhile ride!

A rom-com love story that might well surprise you. Art and Gwen are meant to marry each other but they resent being told what to do and then there's the problem that they both care for someone else. This is all about being your true self . Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A fun read with dynamic characters and a positive outlook.

This was so cute! I expected a slightly cringe YA retelling of King Arthur, and instead I got a fascinating world exploring a post-Arthur England, a clash of religions,and a cast of characters who all shone in their own way.
I have a particular soft spot for Bridget...but absolutely everyone, including Gwen (her name is Gwendoline), Arthur (not THE Arthur, just named after him) and Gabriel was delightful.
I could genuinely read a series set in this world, as it was both a delightful rom com and a lovely coming of age story.

Gwen and Art are Not in Love, by Lex Croucher, takes place in a Camelot several centuries after the reign of King Arthur. Princess Gwendoline (Gwen) has been betrothed to Arthur, a future lord, since childhood, and they have despised each other almost as long. When they are forced to spend the summer together as they are finally of age to be married, they find that they have more in common than they thought—namely, that they are never likely to be attracted to each other. In this queer romance story, the characters learn to seek what they want regardless of what they perceive to be their duty, all against a background of rising tensions in the kingdom.

I had extremely high hopes going into this book, but, having finished, my feelings are mixed at best. Unfortunately, I feel like this book suffered from a confused tone and voice—it doesn’t quite know what it’s trying to be, which makes it hard for the reader to discern what it is either.

Most of the book is unquestionably a lighthearted, fun pair of queer romances, one between Gwen and the only female knight in the kingdom, and the other between Arthur and Gwen’s brother, Gabriel. The sapphic romance was, unsurprisingly, my favorite; Gwen and Bridget’s dynamic was so fun, and I loved seeing Gwen’s years-old crush grow into an actual relationship. My feelings about Arthur and Gabriel are more complicated. I adored Arthur, but found that I just could not connect with Gabriel and didn’t find him remotely compelling, making the romance feel a tad forced and unbelievable.

Regardless of my feelings on the main romances, the first 75% of the book was still such a fun and upbeat read. I was pleasantly surprised by the emphasis placed on Gwen and Arthur’s friendship and on Gwen learning to accept her queerness—she unquestionably has the best character arc and growth over the course of the story, as the rest all felt somewhat stagnant. Gwen and Arthur’s friendship made me wish enemies-to-friends was more of a trope, because it was so lovely and my absolute favorite part of the book.

Despite all of those positive things, the book shoots itself in the foot a bit when the last quarter turns into a story of betrayal and war extremely unexpectedly, completely altering the tone of the book. This might have been fine if the darker tones of the book had been more built up over the course of the story, but as it is the conclusion feels out-of-place and completely out of step with the rest of the book. It feels as if the author remembered near the end that they were writing a Arthurian-inspired story and thus decided they needed a battle-based conclusion, rather than letting the story grow organically toward an end that would have felt much more aligned with the rest of the book. I genuinely cannot understand the logic behind the plot decisions made.

Overall, despite adoring the vast majority of the book, I cannot give it more than 3.5 stars due to the confusing and disappointing tone shift in the last portion of the story. I would still recommend it for anybody looking for this sort of fun queer romance, but the ending detracted from my enjoyment of the book enough that I can’t give it any higher of a rating.

DNF. I think this author and I just don’t get along. I really liked the synopsis of this book and thought I would love it. A queer retelling of Camelot would be something I really thought I would like but again, I think just the author's style is just not for me. The writing was not my favourite and everyone seemed a little whiny. The book just dragged on despite everything and nothing happening. I don’t need to read it all, I know how it’ll end. I do think my younger self would have liked this but just for current me, it was not the book I thought I was diving into.

oh my sweet heavens I LOVE LOVE LOVE every single element of this book!

I had been seeing this book all over social media in the spring and it sounded like something I might enjoy, but didn't know what to expect, and I was not at all prepared to fall HEAD OVER HEELS in love with this story! I'm an instant fan of Lex Croucher's narrative voice, humour, and intricate weaving of plot and character development. This is such a fun, heartwarming, exciting read, I was so in love with the characters that I had to see how everything would play out as fast as I could, I could not put it down.

The diverse and complex characters really tie the story together, they feel like believable teens working through very real personal issues while simultaneously navigating an actual Camelot and all that entails. This is a great read for any age, but I think it'll be great for queer teens who need a little escapism mixed with validation of their complex feelings about their own queerness.

I can't praise this book enough, it's an instant favourite. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy! Thank you so much Netgalley for the arc!

Phenomenal characters. This is less of a retelling than a story inspired by the original legends. This felt very character driven and had a good balance of light and funny with serious life issues.

This book was fine. I didn’t really connect with the writing style and that took me out of the story. I think this book will be a hit with the target audience, but it just didn’t work for me.

Don't worry - this isn't a run of the mill medieval romance between Arthur and Guinevere. (For starters, it's Gwendoline now.)

But all jokes aside, this is a cute queer book about teenagers coming to terms with their sexuality. It's just extra fun because it's set against the backdrop of Camelot. I really enjoyed Bridget as a character, along with Sidney. Gwen and Arthur are a bit insufferable at the beginning, but they also grow into themselves and become close friends. The narrators also did a great job at each of their point of views without any exaggerated voices for the opposite gender. Give me a glass of mead and a copy of this for a reread please!

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC*

I have been so excited to read this book! This has been my most anticipated read and it definitely did not disappoint!

Everything in this book was so FUN! From the characters to, the plot, to the HUMOR. Congratulations to this book for being the first (of hopefully many) to actually make me laugh out loud!

It was so heartwarming and I will definitely be recommending this book to people

A Knight’s Tale, but make it queer and FABULOUS. This is more than a queer medieval rom-com; this is about love, friendship, and being brave enough not to be afraid to lose everything. Lex Crocher has taken historical YA to a whole new level and has set a new standard for how queer romcoms should be written. Not only is the writing executed to perfection, but you instantly fall in love with the characters that you are at the end of the story before you even realize it. This is the queer novel that everyone needs to read. Thank you Lex. Thank you.

- Medieval RomCom
- Historical
- Queer Romance
- Retelling

I was provided an ARC of Gwen & Art are not in love, All thoughts are my own.

I DEVOURED this book. Croucher paints a wonderful picture of a kingdom split by religious ties, the monarchy that is trying to hold it together, and the heirs to the throne that just want to live their lives. This was easily one of the best YA books I have read all year.

I fell in love with all the characters - even the secondary ones that did not get a lot of page time - which is a difficult thing to get me to do. They're a bunch of idiots, but I love them all the same. I also loved the relationships - platonic, familial, romantic - between the characters. I wish we got to see more of the adults, who all seemed to have their own interesting stories, but it makes sense why we did not.

I found myself laughing aloud at parts, which made the reading experience all the better. The banter was fantastic, and some characters (cough Arthur cough) had some of the best one liners I've read in a long time.

People have said in other reviews that they didn't like/couldn't make sense of the politics, but I honestly found them very intriguing. While they were not fully fleshed out in this book, we saw the kingdom conflicts from the perspective of the younger generation, who likely would not have all of the details. I feel like this set up a great opportunity for a sequel that takes place shortly after the events of this book.

Overall, this was a fun, witty, and heartwarming read that I would recommend to anyone in need of a mostly lighthearted queer YA romance. If you like F.T. Lukens or Becky Albertalli, this is the book for you!