I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If anti-chemistry is a thing, these two have it! This is a love story about two disaster queers forced to marry each other, set in a medieval Camelot many generations after the original Arthur.
There are parts of this book that I really loved. It is cute, queer and heartwarming.
That being said, I did not love our FMC/MMC as the story progressed. Their problematic behavior (like Gwen gleefully considering physically harming her maid) made it hard to root for either of them to get their happy endings. Gabriel and Bridget deserved better.

This playful and witty romp through Camelot is a delightful read that combines humor, romance, and a touch of medieval intrigue. The inclusion of the annual royal tournament, complete with sword-fighting and daring feats, infuses the narrative with a sense of adventure and excitement. The portrayal of found family in this novel is one that everyone will love. The novel's pacing is well-managed, and the chapters flow smoothly, making it an engaging and breezy read that I would put in the same category as novels like “Red White and Royal Blue”.

Actual Rating 4.5

Gwen & Art are Not in Love by Alex Coucher is an extremely funny, witty, and well written queer romcom about King Arthur's descendant, Arthur who has been betrothed to Gwendoline since birth. They've been enemies since child's and have never gotten along but they end up making a reluctant pact to cover for each other while Gwen is swept off her feet by her knight and Arthur takes an interest in Gwen's royal brother.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. There were so many scenes that had me laughing aloud. It's chockfull of innuendo and with. A spoiler free funny quote is:
"Walk like you don’t care where your limbs are," Agnes said, doing a much better job of it than Gwen "as if it’s no consequence to you where they end up. Like this. (…) and you should act at all times like your crotch is a burden."
"Now hang on," said Arthur "I’m a man and my crotch isn’t a burden"
"Maybe not to you," said Gwen, "but it’s a burden on the rest of humanity."

A lot of the banter reminds me of Hamilton the Musical where characters would ping-pong off each other with just a word and the double meanings of those words. It’s so interesting and quite a breath of fresh air.

About halfway through, there's a small women's health disability rep scene that teenage girls would definitely find welcoming to read and subsequent discussion on that is pretty good as well..

This truly would be such an entertaining read for an upper YA audience. Overall, this was a brilliant read and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's been generations since King Arthur ruled in Camelot, but his legend is still potent enough that the current monarch finds it politically useful to betroth his daughter Gwendoline to Arthur's descendant of the same name. Having been shoved together since childhood, the pair detest each other. However, when they discover that both of them are queer, they agree to fake infatuation so they can pursue their real interests. As adorable as it is to watch Gwen come out of her shell and Arthur learn sincerity, inevitably political reality threatens their happiness. There's quite a tonal shift from snarky banter and slow-building romance to the violent finale.

5*

I loved this book. As soon as I heard it was a queer Arthurian mythology, I was absolutely on board. Croucher brings to life a rich, diverse world that feels both new and familiar.

The dynamics between the characters, the drama and the romance, it was all perfect. Croucher is an expert at delivering character driven stories and this book is no different to any other the others she's written.

I highly recommend this book for someone who likes a little bit of battle with their romance.

This book was so cute, I was obsessed. I love that it was written more modern even though it is historical romance. I think that will make it very accessible for its YA audience. I loved the characters and honestly I just want to give them all a giant hug. I can't wait to reread this one!!!

There are two reason I am so sad that this book doesn't publish until the end of November. 1.) I want all of my friends to be able to read it immediately and 2.) I really want a finished copy in my hands right now.

This book was an absolute delight. I had initially thought this book was going to be about *that* Gwen and Art, but I think that it ended up being even better the way it is. There's still some relevance and ties to the original Arthurian Legend, but this book has the ability to stand on its own two legs (and a handful of wink wink references to the original legend). Now do I still want a book about Guinivere falling in love with Morgana (which is what I thought this was)? Yes. Absolutely. But I really am happy with what I got.

There is so much humor and heart in Gwen & Art Are Not in Love. There's fabulous lessons in friendship, family, and what we believe we are meant for. So much packed into such an unassuming book. I feel like me saying "I loved it" really doesn't do it justice, but I also need y'all to understand how obsessed I am with this book because I want everyone to read it immediately.

I also listened to the audiobook which was its own level of awesomeness. The narrator for Gwen was especially great.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Please read Gwen & Art Are Not in Love when it comes out in November 2023.

I really liked this, even the fact that the book changed complete tones & shifted in the last third of the book.
It is not historically accurate by any means, so if that is a dealbreaker for you, don't pick this up. But if you love a historical book that has characters that sound completely modern, then Lex Croucher is totally the author for you. I loved the characters, how they each had a distinct personality and issues they worked through, and I loved the found family of it all and how delightfully gay everything was (even with the token straight couple).
Very cute, until that tone shift in the last third of the book, but it was still so good and engaging.

I can’t say YA fiction has ever been one of my favorite genres, but this book may have changed that. This is a queer take on a classic story with some twists I didn’t see coming.

I really enjoyed the mix of serious and comedic moments. I’m also a sucker for the found family troupe and that’s a large part of the story. It was interesting to see the main characters evolve from pawns in a larger game to being independent people.

The only thing I didn’t particularly like was Bridget having to be away from Gwen. I thought for sure she would be a personal guard or something similar. I can see, however, how she would have felt stifled in that position. Still, it would’ve been nice for them to stick together like the guys got to.

Don't even talk to me if you don't like this book. Gwendoline and Arthur might not be in love, but I sure as heck love them -- and Gabriel and Bridget and Sidney and Agnes. It has been a very long time since I read a book with such a wonderful set of characters. They come off the page and just make me extremely happy. I think this book could have been even longer and it still would not have given me enough time in this world. It did have rather a slow start, but once the stage is set, BAM! I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. What I loved besides it being queer and hilarious and action packed was that it is NOT an Arthurian retelling. These characters live in vaguely the same world we do with King Arthur possibly being a myth, but none the less people believe. That made it feel so real to me, like this is a forgotten piece of history! (That said if you're looking for some BCC Merlin and Arthur banter vibes? Arthur and Sid will fill that hole for you!) I highly recommend this!! I can't wait to gush with other fans about it!

I had never read a medieval queer rom-com before I picked up this story, and now that is all I want to read! Don't let the title fool you. This is not an Arthurian retelling, despite most of the characters having Arthurian names. This story is set generations after King Arthur when Princess Gwendoline is betrothed to Arthur, but neither one of them is excited about the marriage. When Gwen catches Arthur kissing a boy, and Arthur discovers Gwen's crush on the only lady knight, they come to a tentative truce to help each other find happiness. The characters were so fun and distinctive, and I loved watching them grow into more confident versions of themselves as they explored their sexualities and their place in the kingdom. The political intrigue was also an interesting element to the plot, but the climax of the story on the political side kind of came out of nowhere. The first 70% of the story was so focused on the romance and interpersonal relationships that the political drama was a little jarring but still entertaining to read.

I love Lex Croucher's books and how they write queer rom-com stories! I can't wait to pick up the book they write next! Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Love love loved the premise of this book, and it didn't disappoint. All I'll say is that the banter alone makes this worth a read—characters were great. I was engaged and entertained the whole way through. Highly recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I honestly think it is hard to put a number on how much I enjoyed “Art and Gwen are Not In Love”. The portrayal of young queer love, the witty banter, and the thrilling adventures all captivated me to the point where I couldn't bear to set the book aside. What truly immersed me in the story was my genuine desire to befriend each of these characters. I yearned to share laughter with Art, engage in reading with Gabe, revel in parties with Syd, indulge in gossip with Gwyn and Agnes, and even partake in swordplay alongside Bridget.

Hundreds of years after the time of Arthur Pendragon, his descendent Arthur Delacey is betrothed to Gwen, the princess of England. If only she wasn't more interested in the only female knight in the realm; if only he wasn't more interested in her brother...

I picked up this book because I was excited by the premise, which seemed sure to have plenty of humor and romance, and because I was interested in the setting, which is a sort of alternate history set in an England where King Arthur is a factual figure whose life and rule is an important part of the country's heritage.

This is a very cute book, populated with lovable characters. I really liked that the developing friendship between Gwen and Arthur was given as much attention as their respective romances with Bridget and Gabriel. It was fun seeing Gwen come out of her prickly shell, and Arthur was just a ridiculous rogue. I also really loved Sid and Agnes, who are often much more sensible than the people they work for. There's plenty of cute, humorous moments throughout that had me laughing out loud.

However, I did think that the book suffered from an uneven tone. The first half of the book is very light-hearted, so the sudden swerve into much darker territory in the second half is jarring, even though the actual plot points were foreshadowed earlier on. I feel that I would have enjoyed the book better had the escalation in stakes was smoother. I also wished we got more of an understanding of Bridget and Gabriel; though we spend plenty of time with them, I didn't feel that we got in their heads as much as I would have liked, especially Bridget.

Gwen and Art are not in love. In fact, they kind of hate each other. But when mutual secrets are uncovered, they grow into unlikely friends.

This book was fun and funny both. This may be the first book I’ve read with two central love stories playing off each other and it was done really well. It was so refreshing to have a final conflict that wasn’t solely based off the love interests miscommunicating too! While the ending did feel a bit rushed, I was happy with the plot overall and actively rooting for all involved.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Interesting take on a classic story. This book follows two teenagers as they face battles within themselves and their families. I had heard of this book before and I was excited to take a look. I wouldn’t say the book let me down, but I felt like the end fell short. The book handled concepts such as gender inequality, and sexuality, but it never felt like they wholly approached the subjects. It was a little bit of this and that , but never a full circle for each topic. I did however enjoy this book, and think others will too.

One ofy favorite things to read is a book with great banter. This definitely had that! I was laughing so much while reading this. The read was fun and engaging. The world building was good. I loved this story so much. I would read more books with these characters in a heartbeat.

I really loved this! I enjoyed the characters and their relationships with each other as well as the setting was very interesting to read about. The plot was entertaining and I couldn’t put it down in anticipation. I liked the distinct personalities to all of the characters and the romances and friendships felt very natural.

Someone, for my own good, take this book away from me I am OBSESSED. I wish, more than you know, that I could have had books like this to read when I was growing up. Especially as a kid who was raised on Arthurian stories, who was enamored of every Lady Knight that crossed her path, and who could have really benefited from knowing that that it was okay to love a Lady Knight, not just want to be here. (It certainly would have helped little Jessica sort through her complex feelings for Alanna the Lioness, just saying.) When we say that queer books are important, books like Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is what we mean. This book has changed me even as an adult. The effect it could have had on younger me if it had been available at the time would have been profound. Sweet, funny, emotional, and full of memorable and lovable characters that I can't wait to meet again on my next reading, Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is about finding yourself and discovering your own path through life as you navigate the often heavy expectations and demands of the world around you.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audio ARC and the e-arc!

Gwen and Art have been engaged since they were children. Problem is, they don’t like each other. Art, doesn’t like any women like that and Gwen has a HUGE fascination with a real muscle-y lady knight named Bridget. Here’s the thing, this is so endearing. Gwen and her brother Gabriel are the cutest little Gay-bies!! They have Expectations™️ thrust on them since birth and they are trying their darndest to do their best, even though Gwen desperately wants to just be left alone and introvert and Gabriel wants to be left with his books. Honestly, it’s so relatable.

Art is hysterical and I loved being in his point of view. I loved how he pushed the royal siblings to grow and learn new things about themselves while he was on his own character arc. Also Bridget is a literal dreamboat. More books should have buff lady knights and that’s honestly all I’ll say about that.

The audiobook, which I listened to during most of this book, is killer. Seriously both these narrators were PERFECT!

Lex Croucher writes such whimsical and entertaining stories in every book they’ve written. The characters are always deeply flawed and make tons of mistakes but end up being endeared to the reader anyway. It’s queer historical romance with just a mix of fantasy that I’ve always wanted!