This was not the book I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it immensely. It is a well written YA with such well rounded characters, and so sweet and heartwarming. There were a few points where my interest dipped, but overall it was an enjoyable book! If you are looking for a queer read, and like me had an unnatural obsession with King Arthur (or maybe it was actually about Guinevere lol), I highly recommend this sweet read!

✨Book review✨
📚Gwen and art are not in love - Lex Croucher
⭐️⭐️⭐️.25



This book was really cute. The fake dating and love story was very sweet. I also really like how she made almost a modern twist on something that seemed to have been set in a time in the past. I loved most of the characters & was laughing quite a bit.

The thing that sucked about this book is that I didn't not reach for it wanting to read it. It was cute but not very exciting to me. I could pretend every characters move. Once I started reading it gor the day, it was cute, but I found myself wanting to read other books instead. I also felt like the main female character was very dull.

Thank you netgalley, st. martin press, and wednesday books for this book. This is my 100% honest opinion.

I loved the premise of this book, but I was already 25% in the book and nothing was really happening. The relationships weren't really progressing and the storyline wasn't either. I'm sure other people will love this book but it wasn't really for me.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love… and neither was I. This had a promising premise that unfortunately fell flat in execution. One of the main disappointments is the lack of follow-through on the initial premise of Gwen and Art teaming up to sabotage their engagement. While they do somewhat form a reluctant pact to cover for each other, this aspect of the story is not fully explored or developed, leaving it feeling unresolved and underwhelming.

Additionally, the characters' immaturity, especially considering their ages, further detracts from the narrative. This excessive immaturity makes it challenging to connect with the characters or take their development seriously, diminishing the overall impact of the story.

Furthermore, the novel misses an opportunity to delve into meaningful discussions, particularly regarding a side character's health problems and their relevance to women's healthcare concerns. This subplot had the potential to add depth and relevance to the story, but it is not explored in a way that feels impactful.

Overall, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love fails to live up to its potential, with shallow characters, missed opportunities for meaningful discussion, and a lackluster execution that leaves much to be desired. I’m giving it one star only for Art and Gabriel.

This is a really enjoyable queer rom com involving fake dating, enemies to friends, and knights in shining armor, which is just always fun. Stuck in roles that time and titles force upon them, Gwen and Art are betrothed, much against their will. They decide to be each others cover while they both pursue the true objects of their affections. These childhood enemies will have to trust each other to keep their secrets and be by their side when they inevitably get revealed.

I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn't for me. I feel like even for a YA novel the characters were slightly annoying and it made it hard to get into the story.

I devoured Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher in a single weekend! It's like a medieval rom-com sprinkled with jousting, witty banter, and a surprising amount of heart.

Let me tell you, Gwen is a heroine I instantly rooted for. She's smart, independent, and harbors a secret crush on the badass knight, Bridget. Art, on the other hand, came across as a bit of a goofball at first, but there's a sweetness to him that unfolds as the story progresses.

The whole "fake betrothal" trope could have felt predictable, but Croucher injects so much humor and genuine character development that it feels fresh. I loved watching Gwen and Art navigate their unexpected situation, and their snarky back-and-forth dialogue had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions.

While the romance takes center stage, the book doesn't shy away from exploring deeper themes. Both Gwen and Art grapple with societal expectations and the courage to be true to themselves. And let's not forget the whole political intrigue brewing in the background, which adds a touch of suspense to the story.

Now, I will admit that the sudden shift towards the end, with the inter-kingdom conflict, felt a bit rushed. I would have loved to see a bit more build-up to that part of the plot. However, the final battle sequence was thrilling, and the way it tied back to the characters' growth arcs was satisfying.

Overall, Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a delightful and heartwarming read. It's perfect for anyone who enjoys a good laugh, a touch of fantasy, and a healthy dose of self-discovery alongside a blossoming romance. If you're looking for an escape filled with witty dialogue, lovable characters, and a dash of girl-power in shining armor, then this book definitely deserves a spot on your shelf.

I absolutely adore this cover! However, I just could not get with this story. Maybe it was the characters or the overall tone of the story. Maybe I was older than the intended audience. Everything just fell a bit flat for me with the characters and the plot set up. Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. This breaks my heart because I'm a lifelong lover of BBC Merlin and the energy here was so reminiscent of Arthur and Gwen there.

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a fun, snappy romcom with a twist. Though it was a quick and easy read, I found myself a bit bored with the story. The characters, especially Gwen and Arthur, are annoying at first but they eventually grew on me. I enjoyed the reluctant friendship that Gwen and Arthur formed as they got to know each other. Both romantic relationships were cute though I would've liked a bit more development from the characters. The tonal shift towards a darker story at the end felt a bit awkward and out of place. Almost as if the book was stretching to be something it wasn't meant to be. Overall, I enjoyed this but its not one that will stick with me.

I had a lot of fun with this gorgeously queer take on Arthurian legend. Plus it was funny! Will definitely read more from Lex Croucher in the future.

[4.5 stars]

Thank you for the eARC. I love an Arthurian tale, especially one that turns something about the original stories on it's head. I enjoyed this story, but parts did feel very predictable. Gwen and Arthur were both lovable and annoying at the same time. Did appreciate their story arcs. Would love an epilogue.

Am looking forward to coming back to this one when I’m in the right headspace for YA because it’s so good and so fun and Lex is an incredible writer.

i love arthurian stories, so obviously i was excited to get the chance to read this one! i really enjoyed it!! and i absolutely recommend it :)

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I also received a physical ARC from my former teen librarian, so I toggled back and forth between the two copies, depending on if I was at work or at home. I picked this up at last on the recommendation of my current teen librarian (since we have a copy in the library, I suppose that brings me up to 3 copies total!). I remember being excited about this when I first heard about it, but I was never super motivated to dive in, and reading it honestly felt like kind of a slog.

So full disclosure - romance will just never be my jam. I have tried so many times, in so many ways, to get over my (somewhat irrational) hatred of romance. After all, I also used to find mysteries super boring and now they’re practically all I read! I just have yet to find that romance book that really makes me excited about the genre. The best I can ever say is that I didn’t hate it! I think I prefer it when romance is more of a flavor, rather than the main event. Like the Parasol Protectorate series - yes, there’s definitely romance, but there’s quite a bit more going on besides that. So even when it does fall into some of those obvious and annoying traps (like miscommunication), it’s less frustrating.

Here’s the thing I *do* appreciate about this book - it is NOT a boring “enemies to lovers” story where Gwen and Art snipe at each other for 200 pages and then spend the next 200 pages being in love. Fifteen years ago, that absolutely would have been the direction this story took. It’s a great twist on an extremely tired concept (also, I know my opinion on romance tropes doesn’t mean much, but I just loathe enemies to lovers - I think it’s why I’ve never been Team Logan [Team Piz! Yes I said it]). Gwen and Art are betrothed, and they’ve hated each other since they were children. The other complicating factor is they’re both gay - well, Art is definitely gay, Gwen is more questioning, but definitely attracted to one woman in particular. I’ve read some reviews that Gwen is coded as aromantic; I don’t know enough about that particular orientation to comment on whether or not that’s accurate. Gwen’s brother Gabriel is a bookworm, and even though he’s next in line for the throne, he’d much rather just go off into the sunset with his books and be left alone. He’s also gay, and yes he and Art have a thing, and no, I didn’t really buy that they were all that into one another.

The story is set in post-Arthurian England. It’s…kind of a fantasy? Kind of historical fiction? Kind of neither? Like, Gwen isn’t named for Guinevere, she’s Gwendolyn. But Arthur is definitely named for THE King Arthur. This is all set about 200 years after all the Round Table stuff, and there’s mention of “cultists” who still believe in all of the magic and that Arthur will maybe come back? The problem is that all of this is really unclear and undeveloped in favor of…the romance. The world building just isn’t there - is this meant to be alternative history? Like, there’s a plot point where Gabriel finds letters Arthur wrote to Lancelot, proving that they had the hots for each other (because even though this is maybe alternative history, people are still bigoted), so in this universe Arthur and Merlin and all the rest actually did exist; they aren’t just legends. There are rumblings of a rebellion, and a jousting tournament that seems to last for 6 months, but very little actually happens (beyond gratuitous wrenching) until the last 60 or so pages. Then there’s an actual battle and an actual tragedy but it’s really hard to care about any of it.

The other thing that bugged me is that I never really understood what any of these people saw in each other. Gwen seems more into the *idea* of Bridget LeClair than the reality of being with her…yet by the end they’re all snuggly and in love, but we never really see them do the work to get to that point. Bridget does try to tell Gwen that they aren’t really meant for each other…because they hardly know one another. And Gwen pitches a toddler tantrum about it because she likes kissing her. But like…what do you talk about when the kissing is over? It’s kind of the same with Gabriel and Arthur - I get why they gravitate towards one another at first, but they seem to decide to be together just because they both like dudes so why not. All of which would be totally fine if these two couples weren’t presented like great love stories who will spend the rest of their lives together teaching England about tolerance (or whatever). I’d much have preferred it if all four of these fools went their separate ways at the end - better and stronger for having been together, but with the knowledge that there’s more out there for all of them.
Yes, the dialog is witty, and I did love Arthur and Sidney’s friendship. I wish Gwen had had a friend of her own besides Gabriel, because he’s sort of a wet blanket (again, no idea what Arthur saw in him other than a willing kissing partner). And I’m never going to be mad about more queer representation in YA. In fact, there are millions of boring straight people romances out there, so it’s time to see some wider representation in the “no plot, just vibes” genre!

Always intrigued by an updated retelling but I just couldn’t get into this one. I definitely think it’s a case of wrong reader and doesn’t say anything about the book. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

this was amazingggg. tbh i don't really know the original story of arthur and guinevere so i was going into this blind, but i've been wanting to read more medieval stories and this book DELIVERED. i absolutely love queer novels esp queer historical novels and i just felt so safe reading it. it was everything i wanted and more <33

(3.5 rounded down to a 3)

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher is a queer YA historical romance.

Art(hur), a descendant of King Arthur, is betrothed to Gwen(dolyn), the princess of England. But turns out, Art is gay and Gwen is at least bi, so they strike a deal to pretend to be into their engagement to hide their true selves.

This book was just okay for me, though I did laugh out loud a few times. I liked it enough to finish it, but it moved a little slow and was pretty long so it felt meandering at times. I also think it's a little bit more on the younger side of YA than I typically like to read.

The prose was good, and I've read other things by this author and will continue to read from them. The end of the book had a lot more action than the first 3/4s and if it was more like that throughout I would have been more engaged in the plot.

Aside from queer representation, Arthur's mother was Muslim and Bridget, a lady night, is Thai.

If you like YA books and you're looking for a queer spin on the mythology of King Arthur, you should give Gwen & Art Are Not In Love a try.

This is a cute queer book, but I felt very underwhelmed. I didn’t feel super drawn to the characters and I didn’t really care what happened to the characters. There’s this big event near the end and I didn’t see why it happened. I understand that a lot of romance novels have that they are friend or whatever, then fall in love, then something bad happens, but then they get their happy ever after. But this was strange.

I really wanted to like this, but it ended up just not working. The pacing was weird so I was bored quite a bit of the time, none of the characters were super lovable, and there were some plot holes/inconsistencies that were irritating. I was really intrigued by the premise and there were some parts that were super promising, but the outcome was something that did not leave a lasting impression.

A really fun read by Lex Croucher that only made me love them more! This queer historical romance has already been super successful and I have no doubt Lex Croucher will only became even more of a powerhouse in the future. Officially an auto-buy author!