Fun and a little corny! Overall this was really cute and silly. Arthur annoyed me a bit, but the other characters were great. This was a fun Arthurian retelling though I would have liked a bit more focus on the fantasy aspect and less on the romances (there were so many romances!)

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity

Very good. YA ish

While this started off a little too slow for me, I did thoroughly enjoy it and I can’t wait to read more from this author. This quickly became a title that I would like to see books comp to.

A queer YA rom-com retelling of King Arthur?

I went into this one with a solid dose of skepticism and a willingness to DNF if it became too frivolous. But to my welcome surprise, I actually really enjoyed this book. Was there silliness? Yes. Did I need to need to check my disbelief occasionally? Again, yes. Did I walk away from it having developed a bit of a sweet spot for the characters? Absolutely. Especially Sid ❤️❤️

My only criticisms would be that the battle scenes in the last third are jarringly graphic and brutal after the lightheartedness of the early parts of the book.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for gifting me an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

To be honest, not much to say about this one from me. I enjoyed the meat of the book, but I found it a bit difficult to get into and the ending to be disengaging. I think I'm a little over the King Arthur "retellings" (I realize this one is not a retelling, but it is set in that "world"), but I was never really that into them in the first place so I'm not sure why I keep picking them up besides the fact that I found this cover to be too sweet. I enjoyed the characters and the body of the story, but it's not one I'll likely pick up again. I read it physically and listened to parts over audiobook, which I thought was very well-narrated. All in all, not a book I regret picking up but not one I'll shout from the rooftops about.

Gwen and art are NOTTTT in love, but i am definitely in love this book. Will recommend till the day i die.

This was a adorable ya romance with Arthurian feel to it and loved every moment. This story follows Arthur and Gwen who are forced into an arranged marriage. While everyone sees this as the perfect political match Gwen and Art have other ideas. Arthur has feelings for Gwen’s brother soon to be king . Gwen had her sights set on Bridget the only female knights. This story felt like a slice of life novel as there wasn’t much plot as much as just following these characters but the characters are so well done that it held my interest. The writing in this book was quick witted and easy to follow and really kept me entertained and chuckling throughout. I can definitely see the comparison to knights tale and look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Another great one from Lex! I love everything they write.

ARC from the publisher via NetGalley but the opinions are my own.

The setting, the character attitude, and the plot felt tacky and absurd. It made it really hard to care about the characters or the story.

I'm not typically one who reaches for historical fiction books. This one looked cute and ended up being so. I struggled at the beginning, as it starts very slowly, but eventually, I began to enjoy it,

I devoured this book, enthralled by the witty banter and humor that permeates every page. The characters are lovable, if slightly flawed, and I found myself laughing out loud at their ridiculous antics. Gwen, Arthur, Sid, Gabe, Bridget, and Agnes are all well-written and relatable, each with their own unique quirks and charms.

The romance is sweet and tender, with a delightful slow-burn quality that builds tension and anticipation. I loved watching the relationships unfold, particularly between Arthur and Sid, whose friendship is warm and genuine. The medieval setting, inspired by the Arthurian legend, is a delightful backdrop for the story.

I enjoyed the book overall. The humor, characters, and romance are all top-notch, making it a great read for fans of queer romance. If you're looking for a fun and cute medieval rom-com with a modern twist, "Gwen & Art Are Not in Love" is definitely worth checking out.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy to review. As always, my thoughts are my own.

I am withholding my review in solidarity with the #SpeakUpSMP boycott and will provide feedback once SMP secures the safety of their influencers, employees, and authors who may have been harmed by the behavior within the publishing house.

I’m sad I didn’t love this one as much as I thought I would? I adore King Arthur retellings (which this was not) and books set in medieval settings but this just wasn’t it for me. I think the biggest problem I had was the tone of the story telling. Everything just felt goofy and like a big joke and for some reason (idk why) it was grating on my nerves lol. The humor wasn’t very humorous at all. I enjoyed the characters and what this book was trying to do. But the writing style or something just wasn’t clicking with me unfortunately. Also I’m not a huge romcom reader and if I am, they’re set in modern times, so that could also have been the issues. This was more of a it’s me, not you kind of situation lol.

This was the first Lex Croucher book I’ve read, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Since this is her young adult debut, there was a balanced mix of strengths and weaknesses to the execution of the story. There were also points where I genuinely enjoyed this story, while other moments where I struggled to push through it.

If there is one thing this reader loves, it’s using fiction to take back history and its heteronormative nature. And, wow, did this book deliver in that aspect. I could not look away from the moments where that commentary came through and related to its modern-day reader. While subtle at times, the commentary did a great job of pointing out the ways that religion (in the case of this book, Catholicism) erased LGBTQ+ history and acceptance in society. Watching the characters work through that lesson and re-embrace their power and agency made me choke up at times, and I respect how well Lex Croucher handled that topic.

The writing style fits in well with other young adult novels on the market. However, there was a strong use of colloquial language within the novel’s medieval setting. I’ll admit the colloquial language often took me out of the story; with the descriptions and introspective moments feeling more aligned with the medieval setting, that colloquial language choice felt a bit random. Outside of that, Arthur and Gwen provided the comedy and banter that was needed to balance the last section of the book.

When looking at the plot, I would say this book was character-driven. (If there is one thing to know about me, I do prefer a plot-driven story.) I did struggle with that aspect a bit because so much of the book seemed focused on the characters’ day-to-day lives rather than focusing on their internal journeys to acceptance of identity and agency. (I will say the character development was done well; you could see Gwen, Gabriel, Arthur, and Bridget all change because of each other. I loved that quartet!) The plot culminated in the last sixty or so pages, when the conflict and cartoonish villain arose, which didn’t feel fully set up within the front half of the novel. The set up was subtly present, but I wish it was drawn out a bit more to help offset the random feeling the last part of the novel has.

Overall, this was a fun, witty, and often sweet young adult novel. I wouldn’t say it was my favorite young adult novel, but it was enjoyable all the same. I look forward to reading more of Lex Croucher’s books in the future.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This was such a cute title! I adored the cover, and I thought that the author did a really good job of remixing Arthurian legend. I loved all of the characters, and I thought that the romance was written very well.

This was an excellent read featuring a diverse cast of intriguing characters. It would have been even better to have a more thorough exploration of the repercussions of the ending. Overall a fun read.

To be completely honest, it took me multiple times to get into this one. I kept starting and putting it off. I love the trope and I loved the idea of the story, but it only held my attention a little at a time.

I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the character dilemmas, I enjoyed the humor, and I enjoyed the romance in it. I didn’t love it though.

It wasn’t the worst, but I didn’t connect with it.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC

4 ⭐️ All the characters are so well-written. They are a bunch of lovable idiots who sometimes find themselves in the most ridiculous situations. I can't even choose who my favourite was or whose relationship I loved the most.
Gwen and Arthur were often pretty insufferable and bratty, but I absolutely loved their banter, as well as the banter between Arthur and Sid. Sid is such an amazing and loyal friend, I loved his friendship with Arthur so much. Gabe, Bridget and Agnes were just as wonderful and the romance part of the story was really sweet. I will definitely be picking up other books by Croucher!

Though the plot felt predictable at times, the charming characters and witty banter kept me entertained. If you enjoy found family, sword-fighting, and romantic shenanigans, give this one a try!

One of my favourite reads of the year so far, I loved this from start to finish. This was my first read of Croucher's and will definitely have me going back for more. Historical romance at its most fun and engaging.