Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Lex Croucher for the ARC and allowing me this opportunity to read and share my thoughts!

“To be truly brave, first you must be afraid— and to be afraid, you must have something you cannot bear to lose.”

➤Plot

"Gwen And Art Are Not in Love" follows the dual perspective between Gwen, the current princess to the King, and Arthur, her betrothed for political gain. But can you truly marry someone that both parties despise? Especially when your betrothed was just seen kissing another boy secretly and Gwen eyes always fall upon a female knight that keeps taking her breath away? The two quickly realize they are both in the same problem and decide to form a fake alliance to act like they actually do love each other while courting the people they actually do long for.

This is everything I ever wanted from a book. I scream when I saw the concept and I screamed even louder when I was given the chance to read the arc. As a child I always had a fascination knights but as I grew older and learned more about myself - I really gave up the hopes of having a romance book that would take my heart with the medieval that is LGBTQA+ focused.

Lex Croucher, thank you. From the child me that always longed for this story.
You wrote this tale amazingly and I can't wait to buy this physically so I can force my friends to always experience this amazing tale.

When I told you I cried and was so scared at the end... It was all worth it.

➤Characters

The plot was already amazing but the characters are even more stunning! They feel so... real. Croucher understood these characters. They were not cookie cutter. They were people with flaws, strengths, hopes, dreams, and fears. I laughed so much with Arthur and sobbed for him. I understood Gwen and saw how her flaws made sense for her outlook on life. I connected with Gabriel so strongly and still wanted to shake him because... It felt like I was looking in a mirror. I admired Bridget and desired her strength that she showed so passionately to the world.

Sydney was the best friend that you long for and Agnes was so much more than when you first meet her.

This characters were amazing and worked so well together. They butt heads and argued but you could never truly be mad at them because you get to know them so well, it made sense. It felt like these characters were ALSO your friends and you just wanted them to be happy.

➤Enjoyment

If you got to this section... UH YEAH I LOVED THIS. This might be shocking, especially since I read so many great books this year, but this might be my all-time favorite of this year. AND WE ARE ONLY THREE MONTHS IN!!! I need this book in my hands. I need to have it on display. I need to mark the pages and show how much I love this story that I got lost in.

This story was a perfect tale. A tale I longed for.

Thank you so much Lex Croucher, again. We can tell how much you worked on this story and you deserve all the praise. Thank you.

Is this book perfect? Maybe. Do I wish I could never leave this world? Strong Possibility. Do I need a series following around Arthur, Gabriel, Gwen, Bridget, Sydney, and Agnes? Absolutely.

When we say we want banter, THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN.
This book was hilarious.
I rooted SO HARD for the couples.

GAHHH I loved this book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an ARC (my very first one!).

I am a big fan of historical fiction and fantasy, but lately, I've been in a romance mood, so when I saw this book, I thought it would be a perfect blend. I wasn't necessarily wrong, but I also wasn't right. This book is set in some vague post-Arthurian England society, but these characters - and their personalities - are written to be incredibly modern. I wasn't sure how much I would like this book but when I saw the author had written the literal quote-for-quote of Riverdale's most iconic scene ("the epic highs and lows of high school football") into the first scene, I was hooked.

And not because it's a good quote or because I enjoy Riverdale (I actually don't), but because I knew her humor was similar to mine, and I couldn't resist a cringy yet self-aware pop culture reference. And boy, was I right about us sharing a sense of humor. This book had me audibly laughing the entire time. Croucher's humor and ability to write banter are phenomenal. Arthur is the shining star of this book and could whip out a joke or jest at the drop of a hat. I will admit, Arthur deeply annoyed me in the beginning and all anyone would hear from me is that Arthur sucks. If you begin to read this book and think that way too, please just give him a moment, he's working through things, and at the end of the day, HE'S A GOOD MAN, SAVANNAH, A GOOD MAN.

Obviously, I have a soft spot for Arthur but I also enjoyed Gwen, Gabriel, and the myriad of other characters. The characters really made this whole entire book. Unfortunately, they actually did make the whole book. The plot was a little lackluster and the majority of the book felt stagnant. The pacing was a bit slow at times and I found myself just skimming to the parts where the characters interacted with each other. I wish the subplot and conflict had been more thought out and developed throughout the story so that the ending was more impactful. The conclusion felt a bit rushed and almost flippant to the very real problems Gwen and Gabriel will be facing. I guess that's just my historical fiction-loving self wishing for more realism of court intrigue and the social warfare of power vacuums (not really the vibes I got from this book so, understandable).

I also wish there was more emphasis on the "Arthurian" theme. It felt as though it was a pretty loose theme and was only used to pluck vague references and tie in the underlying plot of the book. It had a lot of potential and I wished it was used more. In turn, as someone who doesn't know a lot about Arthurian legend, a lot of the references went over my head and I wish we had gotten a little more explanation or information to help readers like me understand it better.

All in all, it was definitely a cute weekend read and I would recommend it! I actually might buy a copy of the book just because the cover is so nice too.

Gwen & Art might not be in love, but I sure do love them! What a delightful queer love story. This book was so funny and heartfelt. What a wonderful exploration of love, friendship, and self-discovery. Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is definitely a new comfort read for me.

Although set in a time before time of love is love, the joy this book brought in knowing there is always a chance to be in love, no matter the time. This book is the perfect mix of heart warming, funny and a little mischievous; in the best way. A book that will leave you smile with tears in your eyes. You will connect and fall in love with the characters. A book worth reading any time you need a pick me up.

This title and description immediately hit me in the lols. I could not wait to read what Lex Croucher had done with this age old story. I love retellings of super well known stories they are so fun to read and see what the new author does to give a new spin to it.

Refreshing fantasy read. Great job threading the needle blending Arthurian mythology and High-middle ages fantasy. It was so fun to be read into an England where cultists inspired by King Arthur are a political faction!

I found myself being annoyed anytime I had to put this book down and so excited to return every time. The characters are witty, and their dialogues made this book for me. As many have said before me I love the idea of a new take on an old premise without it being a standard retelling. Brilliant premise and delightful execution.

True rating is a 3.75!

Gwen and Art Are Not In Love is a vaguely Arthurian inspired romance that is mainly focused on two siblings, Gwen and Gabriel, who are navigating their newfound queer identities, the war in this kingdom, and finding themselves. This story is fun and I adored the platonic and romantic relationships, but I found the politics in the kingdom a bit lacking.

I think the relationships, both platonic and romantic, are where this book really shines. The titular characters, Gwen and Art, are betrothed despite hating each other and both having affection for others- mainly those of the same sex. They have a really enjoyable character arc where they go from hating each other to truly being friends and helping one another out. Gwen is truly in love with a female knight named Bridget who is competing in the tournament in her kingdom, while Gabriel finds love in Arthur himself, along with a side relationship between Gwen's lady-in-waiting and Arthur's bodyguard.

The humor and wit in this book was a lot of fun, and especially some of the interactions between Arthur and Sid reminded me of the snark and humor in MCU movies, in a good way. I truly enjoyed and cared about all of the characters, and they all felt very real to me.

Unfortunately parts of this book felt a bit flat to me. It could be that I know very little about the Arthurian legend, but the politics in this book were confusing to me, especially in the beginning of the book when the schism between the cultists and Gwen's father was not clearly explained. I know the politics was not the main focus of the story, but I do wish I could have understood that better. I also found the pacing a bit off, it seemed to mostly meander until the last quarter of the book.

Overall I did enjoy this book, and I think that someone who knows more of the Arthurian legend would have even more fun with it. This was an enjoyable historical, queer romance.

What a bingeable read. I loved Reputation by Lex Croucher and was so excited to see how they would handle a different time in history as a setting. I was so glad to see all the usual current humour and colloquialisms blended perfectly against the backdrop of post Arthurian England. The queer take on these often played out historical tales was so fresh and the side characters were GOLD (Sid? Can he be in every book I read).

Seriously this is an adorable forray into YA for Croucher and I'll continue to read everything they write.

3.5 stars - GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE is an enjoyable book that is humorous and poignant in equal measure, giving a much needed and refreshing queer rep to the historical genre that typically deems queer people non-existent.

The characters and their dynamics are what make this book. They all struggle with living up to or reject others' expectations with being true to themselves, the stakes higher with their social positions. We see them wrestle both without and within, and ultimately grow and develop all while relying on one another. Gwen and Art comprise an enemies-to-friends combo that actually lives up to the trope; Gwen and Bridget are smoldering together; Art and Sidney the bro-est besties.

The book is appropriately serious and poignant when it needs to be, but Croucher's use of humor is perhaps my favorite thing about the book. The narrative voice is memorably wry and the characters - especially Art - are effortlessly hilarious, be it with their words, actions or situations they find themselves in. However, while the climax is surprisingly but welcomingly action-packed and dramatic, I wish the ending was at least a little longer. Currently the aftermath of the violent coup is only mentioned offhandedly in the last chapter with only a couple of sentences, inadequate in showing the full aftermath of a significant event that has both high personal and political stakes for the main characters. Art's father, for example, has been shown to be an abusive and despicable man, and I wish we learned what comeuppance he got in the end.

In sum, this is a rollicking book that is equally poignant and humorous, led by a cast of lovable and multidimensional characters, one whose ending I wish was less abrupt.

(Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the digital ARC—please refer to my Goodreads for the full review!)

4.5 STARS - To be completely honest, the only thing I know about Arthurian legend comes from LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn, and I requested this book just because I thought the cover looked cool (and also because I’m a sucker for found family and historical fiction and retellings that aren’t (but kind of are?) retellings). I expected it to be good, but GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE completely surpassed any and all expectations I had when I first started reading. This book is told from two perspectives: the first being Gwendoline’s, the princess of medieval England, and the other being Arthur’s (not Pendragon), a future lord and Gwen’s betrothed. We learn very quickly that they are not betrothed by choice, however, because Gwen and Art hate each other. They cannot stand each other—the title is a gross understatement. After years of avoiding each other, the queen informs Gwen that Arthur will be staying in Camelot for the summer and the two will be married by the end of the season. As it turns out, though, they may (begrudgingly) have one thing in common, and that is their complete disinterest in each other on top of their mutual hatred. Gwen has her eye on Bridget Leclair, the infamous lady knight of Camelot, and Arthur is starting to think that Gwen’s brother Gabriel may not be quite as menacing as he seems.

The first 75% of this book relies on a loose plot that consists of character interactions and Arthur convincing Sidney, his bodyguard/best friend/scapegoat, to let him make stupid decisions. I know some people don’t love this style of writing because it’s not super action-heavy and it's more just Characters Doing Things, but I swear these types of plots were created solely for my enjoyment. I can also see some readers being frustrated with this book's lack of historical accuracy, but I never found it to be an issue. Normally I am such a stickler for writing styles—I wouldn’t be able to tell you directly what it is about certain writing styles that I like better than others, but there’s something about them that just makes them superior (perspective, humor, tendency to make the whole book feel like it was laced with crack, etc.) The characters in this story are set in a centuries-old time period, but their more modern language never seemed to bother me in the way that other YA historical fiction tends to. It helps that the humor in this book was so fantastic that I very genuinely laughed out loud multiple times and was probably reading this book with the biggest (and dumbest) grin on my face the entire time—I am not generally a romcom girlie but this book is making me reconsider that.

I also saw some people say that this was their new comfort read, and I think you guys are delusional because I have never been more stressed than I was reading the last 25% of this book. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it uses the miscommunication trope (which feels like an insult and GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE deserves much better), but I can say that Lex Croucher must have been out for blood when writing the climax and I was clearly the intended target. The characters and the Arthurian-inspired world Croucher builds are so realistic that when Arthur puts together the pieces of the cultists’ plot towards the end, it really does feel like his panic is your panic. This book is escapism at its finest, with just enough relatability that it keeps you reading through the end.

My one complaint (which really shouldn’t even be much of a complaint, but I’m really trying my best to be as critical as possible here) is that I think the ending fell a bit flat. The climax was so emotionally packed and the ending just…wasn’t? The end was also a bit too short for my liking, but maybe I’m just having withdrawals from this book and wanted more Gwen/Arthur/Bridget/Gabriel/Sidney/Agnes content. I just think the characters could’ve done with a little more closure!

There’s probably a lot more I could say about GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE (The relationships??? The character complexity??? The Lancelot letters????????) but if I don’t stop talking now, then whichever intern at St. Martin’s Press accidentally approved me for this book is really going to figure out that they made a mistake and they’re never going to approve me for another YA historical fiction romcom (or any book, for that matter) ever again. Go read this when it releases in November or else Arthur Delacey is going to dig up all of your darkest secrets and tell everyone that you wrote about Bridget Leclair in your diary.

Fun and full of snark, this book gives women a lot of agency they most certainly did not have for this time period, but that is not a bad thing. I think teen readers would baulk if the women in this book were historically accurate. I like the freedom they are able to have, although there is still plenty of historically accurate male-centeredness.
I love snarky dialogue, and this book has plenty of that.

Swooning for Gwen & Art! This book is a breath of fresh air- a YA retelling with classic references to Camelot and medieval England. An arranged marriage between Arthur and Princess Gwendoline, childhood enemies, turns into a journey of alliances supporting sexuality and queer love.

This book had me smiling and laughing into my kindle. Lovable characters paired with unexpected twists and turns! I wish I had a book like this when I was in high school.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC! Look out for this booking coming to shelves November 2023.

4/5

This was a really creative interpretation of the traditional Arthurian legend that goes beyond its source material. I enjoyed how the main cast learned to trust (and love) each other, becoming a family. The plot moved forward at a steady pace, not feeling rushed or dragging on too long.

I loved Arthur's personality the best. He had an endearing growth arc In realizing he is more than the selfish man he thought he was. My least favorite character was Gwen. She definitely redeems herself to me at the end, but for most of the story she comes across as whiny and sheltered. I get that she was supposed to grow stronger in her experiences, but she just got on my nerves at times. This doesn't take away from my rating but I wanted to mention it.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it.

I received a copy of this eARC from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for sending me an ARC of Gwen & Art Are Not In Love in exchange for an honest review!

"It turns out we've been living up to the ideals of Arthur Pendragon all along. I think it's time people knew that. I think... it's time to do things differently."

Gwen & Art Are Not In Love follows the two royal siblings of Camelot, Gwendoline and Gabriel, trying to navigate royal responsibilities, sexual identity crisises, friendships, and young love several hundred years after Arthur Pendragon ruled Camelot. Gabriel is struggling with the fact that he is the heir to the throne and is obsessed with trying to possess every aspect of Arthur Pendragon. Meanwhile, Gwendoline, or Gwen for short, is fighting the arranged marriage created by her parents to Lord Arthur Delacey and dealing with an identity crisis.

This YA novel was so much fun from beginning to end! The development of relationships between the characters was so fantastic and I rooted for everybody from the very first page, especially Arthur and Gabriel. Arthur and Sidney were incredibly funny as they built a friendship with Gwen and Agnes. There were so many beautiful moments throughout this book between Gabriel and Gwen that I definitely connected with because of the relationship between my brother and myself. Bridget was also a fantastic character, who really helped Gwen come into her own.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read it again in the future. Based on the ending, I'm also hoping that maybe there will be a sequel at some point in the future. Do yourself a favor and go read this book! 5/5 stars!

This book was a thoroughly enjoyable, quick read for me! I enjoyed the plot and the romance.
One down side is I did find some of the characters a bit off putting at times, just some of their written quirks had me not loving them as much as I expected.
That said, very well written and easy to love! Would pick up another title from the author and look forward to buying a physical copy when it releases.
Thanks for the ARC!

A descendant of King Arthur, Art i s betrothed to England's princess, Gwendoline. Since childhood, they have not gotten along, and not they are forced to spend a summer together in Camelot. After Gwen discovers Art kissing a boy, and Art learning Gwen's long time crush on a lady night, they become unlikely allies.

This was a refreshing read set during the medieval times. Gwen and Art may have had strong hatred for each other since childhood, but as teens, they are more alike than they thought. The banter not just between the two main MCs but also among the other characters is fun and entertaining. While it is a romcom, the plot is not all about love itself-there is love, friendship, and learning about oneself.

Gwen & Art are not in love? HAHAHAH. That's hilarious.

Right from the title, I knew I was in for a treat with this one. The cover is gorgeous, and I love the details of each character.

While Gwen & Art might not be in love, I am MOST definitely in love with them. But I can't forget Gabriel, Bridget, and don't you forget Sidney! This was such an upbeat and sharp-humor story, making it delightful to read. I had a smile on my face multiple times thanks to the humor in this. This contains so much laughter, heartfelt moments, and uplifting vibes, but at the same time a serious story.

This historical YA romance is one to add to your TBRs. Coming out November 2023!

I am ABSOLUTELY hoping for a sequel!

I stayed up until 4 am reading this because I HAD to know what was going to happen. The story itself was intriguing and was made all the better by the main four characters all of whom had individualistic dimension and charm.

I was a huge Merlin fan back in the day having watched the show three times over and this story delivered a contemporary, LGBTQIA+, YA, and romantic version/re-telling that had me blowing through the book. The relationships between Gwen, Art, Bridget, and Gabriel were cute and loveable but also complex and believable. I found myself laughing out loud through at least half the book and then giggling the other half. I was so invested in these characters and their relationships with one another that I physically couldn't put it down until I knew how they'd unfold.

Each character's growth individually was made more apparent and important thanks to the influence of the others around them. Art's carefree nature and ability to accept himself helped Gwen loosen up and go after what she wanted. Gwen's strong will and determination helped show Art there's more to life than booze and hidden romps in the hay. And both of them helped show Gabriel that he didn't have to hide who he was or become someone he didn't truly want to be. And Bridget showed Gwen that there's validity to standing up for what you want, even if it isn't necessarily what everyone else wants. Overall, the characters grew individually while helping those around them change.

In addition, the book's medieval spin throws a comforting lens over some pretty intense/important topics. Struggles with sexuality, familial obligation, personal expectations, and even familial pride were talked about and confronted during the story making the characters more relatable.

Overall, this was a hilarious, wonderful, insightful, and joyous read that I'd recommend to just about anyone!