Gwen & Art Are Not In Love is a delight. Its funny and its charming. Its an all around enjoyable read. Its my first from Lex Croucher, but now I'm interested in reading more.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

This book is chock-full of slow-burn romances and friendships, all of which made me melt. The pacing of the progression for each relationship was perfect. I was invested in all the highs and lows and never felt like any relationship was being neglected in favor of another. Even the side characters developed relationships among each other and with the main characters, ultimately creating a solid matrix of found family support.

The author also balanced and paced the characters' internal arcs perfectly. All of the moving parts between and within the characters made them feel real and relatable. I was impressed by the subtle complexity the author built throughout the story.

I appreciated that the characters acted their age. Gwen, a 17/18 year old princess, actually behaved like an immature, sheltered teenager. (Don't get me wrong, she behaved like a likeable main character too.) Arthur was the most interesting character to me, with his struggle between giving in to his unhealthy alcohol coping mechanism and still trying to act from a place of positivity. He does some of the jerkiest things, but he also does some of the sweetest ones. Gwen's birthday party was my favorite scene.

Speaking of sweet, Arthur and Gabriel bonding over their mutual affection for animals was possibly my absolute favorite part. There's nothing quite like being co-adopted by a cat or helping a bird to heal to indicate that the romance is unquestionably meant to be.

Another possible favorite part for me (there are so many to choose from!) was the strong dialogue. The banter between characters often made me literally laugh out loud.

Aside from the characters, the worldbuilding was also interesting. I especially liked the cult that rose up around Morgana. While the author did a fantastic job peppering in foreshadowing and clues from the very beginning, the intense focus on relationships for the first 3/4 of the book made the political climax feel a bit over the top. I was a bit lost sometimes, like when a chapter ended mid-scene with one character yelling at another to basically watch out, and then in the next chapter the action is over and we never find out what happened. The whole climactic part definitely got my heart racing, though, and provided the pressure points for the characters to show how they'd grown throughout the story.

All in all, I'm delighted that I read this book. The dialogue alone makes it worthwhile, and the complexity of characters and world is icing on the cake.

You might like this if you like: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers; The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune; the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire; the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc of this book. Below is my honest review.

I always *want* to like King Arthur retellings. For some reason, I rarely do. Happily for me, this one was one of the very few I really enjoyed.

This book takes place generations after Arthur Pendragon was king. We begin right before the start of a royal tournament.

Princess Gwen hates Arthur. She was promised to marry him the day she was born. Not only that, but brother Gabe isn’t betrothed. It is not fair, especially because Gwen just wants to be left alone.

Arthur doesn’t want to marry Gwen, either. When his father alerts him he missed the first day of the tournament, Arthur is shipped off to start officially courting Gwen. He has to stay for the entire summer. Nothing sounds worse to him, did you hear Gwen BROKE HIS WRIST when they were kids?

One day, Gwen saw Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur realized Gwen was interested in Lady Bridget Leclair—and she is a knight! So, clearly they threaten/blackmail each other to keep each others secrets. And hey, while they are at it, why not pretend to get along to mollify their parents. What could possibly go wrong?

Gwen, Gabriel, Arthur, Lady Bridget, Gwen’s lady’s maid Agnes, and Arthur’s body-man Sidney form a most excellent cast of characters. I was rooting for each and every one of the romances and the groups growing friendship was a joy to read. Gwen’s birthday party was a fabulous scene. The Arthurian legend was a key player in the plot, but not overtly so, and it was quite well done.

I’m kinda maybe really hoping we get a sequel…

This book isn’t for Arthurian purists who get nit-picky about things like the spelling of ‘graal’. This book is for people who like the Camelot High scene in Shrek 3 a bit too much. And lucky for me, I fall very firmly into the latter category.

In all seriousness, though, modern Arthuriana has been very hit or miss for me. Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher was definitely a hit. There are a lot of reasons that I think it worked so well - clear, evocative writing, excellent pacing, a strong cast of characters, and absolutely impeccable comedic timing - but I also really loved that it was not exactly a retelling of a single story or even a collection of stories, but rather a reimagining of several centuries of British history. What if England was ruled from Camelot instead of London? What if quasi-pagan Arthurian cultists had coexisted for centuries, mostly peacefully, with Christians? It’s not so much a story of King Arthur as it is an alternate history, a peak at a Britain that still lies under the shadow of Arthur, where noble families hold tight to a claim of distant descent from his knights, and where Excalibur is such a prized artifact that they’re on their ninth version of the sword because it keeps getting stolen. It’s got great nods to stories in the Arthurian canon like the Historia Brittonum, but it doesn’t try to correct them - it expands on them!

This book hit all of the emotional highs for me - it’s by turns laugh-out-loud hilarious and heart-wrenching. I often struggle with Arthurian YA because it feels too gimmicky or overdone, but I never once got that feeling while reading this book. It’s a serious book that doesn’t take itself too seriously. My favorite element was definitely the cast of characters, who each felt fully realized and very vibrant without becoming caricatures of themselves. Gwen and Arthur in particular were so very well-written, from Gwen’s introversion bordering on self-isolation to Arthur’s near-constant snippy dialogue. I fell in love with Gwen, Arthur, Gabriel, Bridget, and all of their friends, and I can’t wait for everyone else to meet them!

Tl;dr - I loved this book, and I can’t wait for it to be out so that I can hold a physical copy in my hands and gush about it more without spoiling it. It’s got a solid place among my favorite modern Arthuriana and it was so much fun to read!

A queer Arthurian retelling that’s not really a retelling? Say less.

Gwen and Art are not in Love was such a cute take on the traditional Arthurian retelling.

Arthur, a future lord has been betrothed to Gwen, the princess of England since birth. The problem? They despise each other. When Arthur is sent to Camelot to formally court Gwen. Within the first day Gwen stumbles upon Arthur kissing a boy. To try and protect himself Arthur goes rummaging around and finds Gwen’s childhood diary with damning evidence of her crush on the one and only knight Brigit Leclair. Gwen and Arthur decide they are better off and allies and embark on a journey of fooling everyone around them into thinking they are in love while covering for each other in their romantic journeys.

This was such a unique storyline and all around enjoyable reading experience. The characters were well developed and the banter was A+. I love the side characters just as much and Gwen and Art, Sidney being one of my faves. You get action packed sword-fighting and battle scenes, emotional romances, amazing banter, found family and so much more.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, watching the characters accept their queerness and live for themselves instead of everyone else.

Final rating: 4.75⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was fun and easy to read, however, I feel that my reading experience was hindered due to my reading tastes. In short, I think it’s a consequence of me taking another YA romance too seriously. For instance, while I found the setting and historical backdrop so interesting and wished the lore was explored in further detail and time, I had to remind myself what genre I was reading and the probable aims and motives of the author in writing this book.

Even though it took place in medieval England, it didn’t read like historical fiction in the sense that a lot of the dialogue and interactions were quite contemporary. It was still fun to read and didn’t deter my reading experience though there were definitely a lot of historical inaccuracies.

However, I just felt underwhelmed in every other regard during my reading experience. While I enjoyed the pining between the characters and the banter, the relationships between the main four didn’t feel as developed as they could have been. In short, the pining was the most exciting part of their getting together. I was just left wanting more both from the plot and from the relationships (especially the sapphic one!).
I also felt like the characters themselves could have been developed with greater detail and with greater clarity. That’s not to say that they don’t have a personality, because they do, but their characters never go beyond a couple of adjectives which describes them. In addition, if the main four felt underdeveloped to me, then any side characters felt absolutely flimsy, including their motivations. As a result, I couldn’t really connect to any of the characters. I will say though that I did enjoy the banter and it was one of the redeeming aspects of this book.

I’m also not sure how I feel about the pacing, the last bit is very fast-paced and kind of comes out of nowhere. I just wish the political stakes of the story were introduced earlier and with greater attention to detail.

However, Bridget Leclair is so hot and I def have a crush on her lol.

So overall, while I rate this at a 3.5, I still absolutely recommend this and I know there’s an audience out there that will absolutely adore this. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t completely to my tastes and high expectations. (Might bump the rating up, we’ll see!)

Everything you didn't know you needed in a tale about Arthurian legend- woman knights, queer love, characters that completely propel off the page, witty banter, and a modern sense of authenticity to self not often found in stories of medieval times. A story that at the core is about self-discovery and friendship, and believe it or not from the title- love. An exceptionally written novel, rife with adventure and warmth. A setting so visceral the picture paints itself and you can't help but be pulled in and not ever want to leave. I can't recommend it enough! The year has barely started but I know this story will not only be the best of the year but one that I love and come back to for a long long time!

Much like my affection for Art, my appreciation for this book increased as the story progressed. This coming of age story starts as Gwen and Art reluctantly come to grips with their betrothal. Art and Gwen (and their compatriots) bring the reader along on their journeys of self discovery; I enjoyed that they had both good traits and bad and by the end of the book, I was pleased to see how they had developed into more confident, accepting versions of themselves.

Although I did find the earlier part of the book a bit slowly paced, I was nevertheless drawn in. The end was fast-paced and action-packed and my misgivings about the first part were (almost) forgotten.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is a young adult romance featuring LGBTQ+ representation all while being set in Camelot during the middle ages. This story begins with Gwen's betrothed, Arthur, coming into town so that they can get to know each other before they are married. Neither of them wants that since they both hate each other. So they decide to keep out of each others way until Gwen finds out a secret about Arthur and Arthur finds out a secret about Gwen. After this happens they both decide to make a deal to keep each others secret. The two start spending more time together and end up becoming friends while keeping their relationships private.
I gave this book a 2 out of 5 stars for a couple of different reasons. I didn't like the setting of the book. I personally don't like knights and duals and princesses and all that. I don't like the medieval era. This book took me a while to get into and I didn't really understand what was going on or where they were. It felt very fast and scattered most of the time. I didn't really like the characters that much either. They weren't very strong or relatable characters which definitely didn't help. Gwen was whining and pining over Bridget while Arthur was getting drunk all the time. The ending was also completely out of no where and I didn't really understand what was happening. Overall, I would not personally recommend. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own

A very fun and easy read, love the romances but enjoyed the found family friendships even more. Lex Croucher is becoming one of my favorite authors.

This was a fantastic book that had me laughing from the begining. It is a brilliantly original retelling of the Arthurian myths. Like a breath of fresh air, it brought modern values of acceptance, diversity, and above all love for your found family.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

I was conflicted about the book in the beginning but it grew on me with time.
I loved the humor and especially the banter between the characters.

i will admit that the writing took me a while to get used to, not because it was hard to follow necessarily, but just because i find any historical fiction hard to get into. when i was about 1/4 of the way through, any doubt that was in my mind previously had been absolved by the care taken with the character dynamics between qwen, arthur, gabriel, and bridget. the banter and pining in particular felt so lived in. the last 100 pages though caught me a bit off guard as the pacing picked up really suddenly, leaving the ending although neatly tied up, a bit undercooked. so happy that i got a physical arc through a goodreads giveaway as well. made the reading experience that much sweeter.

This book is perfect for a rainy day, or really any day.The characters are complex and unique and so loveable.

When the story began, I found myself concerned. I wasn't sure that I would love Arthur or even Gwen, but I'm happy to say I couldn't be more wrong. This book made my workdays so much better. It's the kind of book you can pick up and put down and immediately get drawn back in.

At times, I was laughing while reading, and at other times, it was painfully relatable. The author manages to capture relatable topics and bring them into the stories context. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a cozy LGBTQ+ book.

The only reason this isn't getting 5 stars is that the ending felt strangly rushed compared to the slow build of the rest of the book.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this cozy fantasy book on its release day! NOVEMBER 28 2023!

What a fun retelling of a classic medieval rom com! I'm having a hard time writing a lengthy review on this book just because I am simply blown away since reading it. I'll come back and edit once all my thoughts are totally processed.

GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE is a beautiful love story between unexpected friends and its a pleasant change to the countless historical rom coms that abound. Lex croucher’s upcoming young adult debut is a gorgeous exploration of love, friendship, history, and self-discovery that challenges the idea that you must conform to the standard in order to be content and make a difference in the world.

I enjoyed this book a lot since receiving the Arc, and I'm excited to buy the physical copy and share with my friends and book club.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

For lack of better words, this book left me BREATHLESS. This was anything and everything I ever could have wanted in a book, the characters were absolutely sublime, the plot had wonderful highs and lows that left me absolutely desperate to keep reading. This is genuinely such a phenomenal book that I highly suggest everyone read. It was funny and sad and tense, and the way that everything built up to the finale was perfect. I cannot fully express just how satisfied I felt reading the last few pages.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Lex Croucher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is such a quick-witted, fun read. Its setting is both satisfyingly Arthurian and exceptionally original, its characters are lovably authentic and funny, and its plot is engaging through its moments of lighthearted courtship and contrasting serious reflections on homophobia and sexism alike-- this book is exactly what I’d hoped it would be. My high expectations were met and surpassed!

This novel’s setting was, for me, a major selling point: an Arthurian backdrop, but not as a mere conduit for a retelling. The way this book weaves in elements of Arthurian legend while also presenting a completely fresh story is absolutely compelling. I love how self-aware of contrivance it is, using the overdone-ness of some of its elements as a commentary on exactly that; Excalibur Nine is my favorite example of this, but I also love the characters’ lighthearted frustration with the persistence of etymologically Arthurian names through generations of children. So many Gawains!

To have a Camelot setting where King Arthur and his knights are a debated, distant yet overbearing, almost tired part of history in the eyes of the main cast is so interesting-- the audience can feel how heavily that history lays over the characters, how exhausting it is to be defined by ancient tradition and lore without an ounce of consideration for personal identity. I really think the setting is perfect for exploring the plot and themes of expectation and identity and self-actualization that this book presents, and it manages to cover all of this while also being genuinely entertaining to read and learn about. It’s fun: medieval at times, mystical at others, ironic but with just the right amount of sincerity to counter it.

Much of the vibrance in Gwen and Art are Not in Love’s setting is brought to life by its cast. The two main point of view characters, the titular Gwen and Art, are gloriously witty and endearing-- and their rivalry is all the better for it. The way the characters interact with each other and the world is authentic and relevant despite its setting; self-exploration in the face of a society that refuses to allow it is a timeless theme, and this book handles it with a grace and realism that only characters with this level of authenticity can convey. Every character gave their own sense of charm to the lighthearted parts of the plot, and in turn each patterned the more serious parts with individual emotional depth. My favorite character arcs to follow were those of the title characters, but I also really enjoyed the less focal ones-- even side characters were afforded attention and care by the narrative. Agnes was definitely a favorite for me in that regard.

Overall, I really enjoyed Gwen and Art are Not in Love. It tells a fun but genuine story with real emotional impact, handling serious themes and plot beats with sincerity while also committing to its lighter moments’ brightness. The characters are lovable and authentic, and the writing matches their wit in dialogue and worldbuilding alike. There are a few bits of the plot that feel slightly contrived, but for a YA fantasy novel, that isn’t unusual-- and this book carries a sense of self-awareness that makes such scenes not only bearable, but enjoyable, which puts it leagues ahead of others in its genre. I’m so glad this wasn’t simply a retelling; this book is heartwarmingly and intelligently original, and I appreciate it so much for that.

This is a very fun queer retelling of Arthurian legend. It is set in England a few hundred years after the King Arthur reigned, but his legacy still looms large over everyday life throughout the country.

Gwen is a princess, betrothed (against her will) to Arthur. They despise each other and the banter between them, especially from the very witty Arthur, is great. When they realize that they are both queer, they try to put away their differences, and fake-date in order to cover for each other.

The way that Arthurian legend plays into the story was very interesting and added to the complexity of the world building. All of the main characters are sufficiently complex too with multiple strengths, weaknesses, and interests.

I loved this book for so many reasons!
There was just the perfect amount of humor, seriousness, history and love stories.
The banter was great and flowed smoothly between characters.
Bridget, Sidney, Art and Gabriel are well written characters who will make you fall in love with them all.
I think my favorite part was when Gabriel saved a baby crow.
I enjoyed this whole read and hope for more from the author!
Thanks Netgalley, for the ARC

Thank you St martins Press for this opportunity however I am too old for the target audience of the book. I could not get into the story at all. I wanted to throttle all the characters for making idiotic teenager mistakes. However it is a great book and I would absolutely recommend it to actual teenagers.