My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

This book was tremendous fun. Croucher does a great job of keeping the tone and language true to the period while also making it all feel relatable and timeless. The comparison to A Night's Tale in the blurb is spot on. I really liked all the characters but, in particular, adored Arther, scoundrel that he was!

An enjoyable romp all around.

A fantasy romcom masterpiece!

Gwen and Art Are Not In Love is the queer fantasy romcom I didn't know my heart needed. From the first chapter, the character of Gwen, Art, and their beloved friends come alive and off the page, feeling like I've known them all along. I fell instantly in love with the roguish, silly Art (I'm a sucker for sarcastic cinnamon roll boys) and, of course, with his opposite, the refined Gwen. I rooted with them through a series of unfortunate events that had me laughing hysterically (and getting misty eyed).

More than that, there were moments that this book gave more than what I would expect from a romcom. The discussion of internalized homophobia, the individual character growth, the unexpected disability rep, and even thumbing the nose at doctors who write off women for "women problems" (Lex Croucher, I APPLAUD YOU!) make this book so much more than the 'weird' book the author describes it as in the acknowledgements.

I think this book will be loved by fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue, but adds a fantasy setting with lots of Arthurian myths in. I think it deserves to be a bestseller, and I will recommend it to every single person I know. My only complaint is that it ended, because I want so much MORE of these characters.

I received a free ARC of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

** I'd like to thank St. Martin's Press for giving me an eARC of Gwen & Art Are Not in Love in exchange for an honest review **

rating: 3.8 ⭐️'s

I loved the aspect of this book and the overall storyline presentation. I enjoyed the queer representation, angst and finding oneself, and overall coming into your skin. Both characters are relatable, but both can rub people wrong depending on how they relate to characters. The relationships were slow burn, but could've received a bit more attention (particularly Arthur and his boy). The story dragged a few times, but that's bound to happen with such a long book! Overall, this is a good read full of comedy and the feels - perfect for any people looking for wlw and mlm romance mixed in one. Though, it might have been better presented as a duology with each book focusing on Arthur and Gwen respectively to build them up equally.

Highly recommend, but it doesn't not have faults. Happy reading!!

This was a super fun Arthurian tale with a queer twist, that will appeal to fans of Heartstopper as well as the Miracle Workers television show. I really enjoyed the way the author let the characters be the teens that they are, even teens about to become kings. Funny, often silly, and a fun read!

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

5/5

I’m a strong believer that the best types of characters are idiots. The main characters who are super capable and yet also incredibly stupid and oblivious to the most obvious things. In fantasy they’re capable of leading armies and ruling countries, but would never guess that someone they know may have feelings for them. ‘Gwen and Art Are Not in Love’ is full of these types of characters and it’s what makes this book as good as it is.

This novel is incredibly lighthearted and fun and every character has something to add to the story. While the plot itself has lots of action, battles and royals causing chaos. This Arthurian rom com follows Gwen and Art, who are NOT in love, despite their betrothal. They hate each other and are complete opposites in every way, or so they think. Don’t be fooled however, this is not an enemies to lovers story (it’s even better). When Gwen soon discovers Art kissing a boy and Art discovers Gwen’s romantic interest in a lady knight, they agree to cover for each other. They discover hidden plots while sneaking around the castle and must find a way to protect camelot while struggling with their respective potential relationships. Full of cute and awkward romantic relationships, entertaining sibling dynamics and friendships, the writing in this book is full of humour and heart and makes this story beyond enjoyable.

If you’re looking for a character driven romance fantasy with hilarious characters that’s full of jokes and doesn’t take itself too seriously this one is for you

"To be truly brave, first you must be afraid- and to be afraid, you must have something you cannot bear to lose."

I was hooked from page one. That was by far one of the best new adult romances I’ve ever read. It has everything I love; lgbtqia+ romance, witty banter, swordplay, politics, war, a spicy cat, a LIBRARY! I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect book.
Sidney and Arthur are by far the best male friendship ever. The unconditional love they have for each other is something everyone should strive to obtain.
Bridget is a badass and I’m actually in love with her.
Gwen and Gabriel come so far in terms of finding themselves and what they stand for.
Just, wow. I can’t wait until this is published so that I can add a physical copy to my shelves. This was beyond good.

4.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of these thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this book! It was laugh-out-loud funny in a way that never made me cringe. The writing was a super fun mix that gave you modern day mixed with aurthurian legend. The characters were spectacular, and I especially fell in love with Art. Each is distinct and grounded in a very real way, each has understandable motivations and flaws. At one point I thought the book was going in a very predictable direction, but it did a quick 180 on me and flipped that on its head, completely surprising me. I loved that! Would highly recommend this super fun and heartfelt read.

Gwen is betrothed to Arthur from birth, but as their wedding date grows near, it is apparent that not only do they not get along, they’re both queer (Gwen is bi and Arthur is gay).

Not quite a King Arthur retelling but more like an alternate Camelot universe, this enemies to friends story is a fun read.

I struggled with the first 30% or so of this book. Gwen is 17 and a princess and Art is a 19 year old nobleman. They’re both bratty and entitled and self centered and pretty insufferable. It’s probably a combination of character growth and the characters growing on you but by 1/3 way through they became more tolerable. I think more than the multiple blooming romances at Camelot, I enjoyed Gwen and Art becoming friends. There was plenty of levity and comic relief - overall and enjoyable read.

This was so good! This book is a lot of things, some expected and some very unexpected. The expected were the cute relationships: f/f, m/m, and m/f. I liked seeing Gwen and Arthur go from enemies to friends as they realize exactly why they’re not a good match. The story is both cute, sweet, and a bit heart wrenching as they all come to terms with who they’re attracted to, the implications, and finding ways to be open with each other and their love interests. Gabriel squeezed my heart the most as the one who struggled the most with who he wanted to be.
The last 80% went crazy though! I was not entirely expecting the bloody action movie it turned into, and what each of our characters had to go through. The ending was ultimately hopeful and sweet. I would have loved a more drawn out and definitive ending or an epilogue though. But I still really enjoyed this book and highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested copy to review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher for sending this to me as an ARC!

Lex Croucher creates a mystifying world that would captivate any reader on first glance. Medieval worlds, captivating characters, and laugh out loud moments set this book up to be one of the biggest queer romances of the year, in my opinion.

I do, however, think that this world falls a bit short in the first half. Worldbuilding that becomes important later in the story is only half explored at the beginning, making most mentions of it confusing in the first half of the story. The entire plotline about Catholics vs. cultists could have been fleshed out much more quickly and would have made for a much smoother read in my opinion. Along with this, I think that almost all of our character development happens in the back half of this book, making the first half not feel nearly as important.

Despite these flaws, though, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love shines in its witty characters who made me audibly laugh at times, and the relationships in this found family, as well as Lex Croucher's ability to explain emotions that many young people experience in a way that is palatable for any reader. Sindey was easily my favorite character in this book. He is a side character who's romance with Agnes I'd read an entire spin off book of. He is the cause of many of the laughs in this book for me, and his unwavering loyalty is something that I love in a character. The way that the author describes Gwen's emotions throughout the story as she battles her sexuality in a world that doesn't accept her has made me more aware of my own feelings, and I'm sure will put names to feelings of many young queer kiddos who need it. A beautiful example of this is:

"Gwen felt like a child clutching at handfuls of water, unable to understand why it wouldn't stop running through her fingers."

This is just one example. Gwen explores who she is through this novel and as she describes her feelings for Bridget, it opens up the reader to think, "oh, I've felt that, too."

All of this to say that while Gwen and Art is not perfectly written, it will make an impact on this generation of queer readers, and it sure did make an impact on me. I think that is more important than any world building mishap that most teens won't notice anyway.

I wanna preface this by saying that on my rating scale, 3/5 means that the book was pretty good, just not a favorite.

I really enjoyed the messages given in this novel. I REALLY connected with the characters and love how this showed the struggled in self-discovery and acceptance as an LGBTQ+ individual, especially when other paths are expected of you. Croucher did an amazing job at not straying away from this coming-of-age focus to only highlight the blooming romances we see.

With that, I do think that the relationships could have been developed a smidge more. While I do appreciate that it wasn’t just “i’m gay, you’re gay, problem solved”, I would have enjoyed if the characters, especially Arthur and Gabriel, were developed a bit more — even if this was through means other than romance such as friendship or relating to one another. Because of this, I think the book seemed a bit slow and/or repetitive at times, seeming to expand parts that didn’t necessarily need to be prolonged.

Anyways, I loved each and every character and found them all EXTREMELY relatable in one way or another. Art deserves the world, the G siblings are literally me and have my heart, and we stan Bridget for literally everything she’s ever done ever.

This was a fabulous book. It was enjoyable and had wonderful pacing. I would read this author again. I would recommend this book to others.

Overall, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is a delightful read that is sure to please fans of queer romance, medieval fiction, and witty humor. I highly recommend it.

The story follows Gwen, a young woman who is forced to marry Arthur, a prince she doesn't know. Despite their initial dislike for each other, Gwen and Arthur slowly start to love each other as they work together to solve a series of mysteries.

One of the things that makes Gwen and Art Are Not in Love so enjoyable is the characters. Gwen is a strong, independent woman who is not afraid to speak her mind. Arthur is a kind and gentle soul who is just as intelligent as he is handsome. The supporting characters are also well-developed, and they add a lot of humor and heart to the story.

The plot of Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is fast-paced and engaging. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep readers guessing, and the ending is satisfying. The author does a great job of weaving Arthurian lore into the story, and this adds an extra layer of depth and interest.

Thank you to Lex Croucher, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Lex Croucher for providing me with this eARC.

As a queer imagining of Arthurian legend I knew I had to pick up this book, even though it’s not a retelling. I genuinely loved the characters from Gwen and Art Are Not in Love so much. Each of them grew in their own ways on an individual level and within their relationships. Despite there being less of a focus on the romance between Gwen and her love interest, Bridget, and Art and his love interest, Gabe, than I expected I found that didn’t really matter to me. I was much more invested in Gwen and Art’s friendships, both with each other and the other characters, including their own and each other’s love interests. The book was very character driven, but the very end was quite plot driven. The ending was very interesting and enjoyable but it felt like there was too slow of a buildup to it. Besides that one detail I truly loved the book and the characters in it.

I'm not usually one for Arthurian tales, but not only are Gwen and Art not in love, they are also not Guinevere and Arthur Pendragon. They're just teenagers saddled with their legacy, and trapped in a betrothal. And therefore, it was downright delightful! I curled up into all the happy things like sassy banter amongst a quickly cohesive collective of queer young adults, of surprisingly diverse backgrounds, with medieval shenanigans in the background. Only complaint would be the sometimes jarring anachronistic turns of phrases that would be more in line with Gen Z speak rather than the period this is supposed to be occuring in. Regardless, excited to check out more Lex Croucher!

3.5 stars rounded up!! I really love the found family trope, especially if there’s royal ties and complexion and queer relationships within it. It definitely delivered with that. My only complaint is that I felt like there was a lot of unfulfilled knowledge of what was happening outside of the main group. This didn’t create plot holes, just a less informed audience. I will say the last 100 pages blew me away. I really liked this book!!

I absolutely loved this book as much as I thought I would. It was written in a light easy to read manner but had poignant themes. Arthur was sarcastic and hilarious, but just the right kind of mess to have on your side. I love how the characters ended up embracing their true selves at the end and stepping outside their comfort zone to share that with the rest of the kingdom. I highly recommend this book!

From what I read I really liked this book. I liked the story well enough even though it seemed to take quite a while to fully take shape. Not sure how it ended so I’m going based on what I did read. Too bad my arc ran out before I finished.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the arc.

Give this book to any teens that enjoy going to Renaissance Fairs/Festivals, that loved the Alanna books, legends of King Arthur, Heartstopper series, etc. It's a modern take on historical fiction with some legendary references thrown in (and tossed on their heads for fun!) Check it out!

This is a super cute and adorable story. I always love Lex’s writing. It’s very fun and queer, borderline fantastical, and silly.

It’s still odd to be that this is out in the UK but not here in the US? Publishers make some interesting choices. Overall, a fun tale.