Reviews tagging 'Death'

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

115 reviews

allycereadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Animal death and Injury/Injury detail

sonatica's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really loved this book. It took a while for me to really get absorbed by it, but by the second half I just couldn‘t put it down. The characters are lovable but not without their flaws, and the story between them is bittersweet. I had not expected to root so much for their friendship in the end. Very lovely :)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Violence, Vomit, and Alcohol

winter_b's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A fun light read with some deeper and emotional themes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

Violence:

near the end there is an extended battle scene where there is explicit descriptions of the fighting and injuries

Death of a parent:

Arthur's mother died long ago before the start of the book and is mentioned, near the end of the book Gwen and Gabe's father dies "on screen" through explicit violence

zarap's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and War

seregelda's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Delightful!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

erikagibson126's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring medium-paced

4.25

lgbtq

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War

ceridwen33's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A fun romp of gay panic and enemies-to-friends mischief as they learn to trust each other. There are some heavier emotional moments, but overall a very satisfying and hopeful read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Violence

Contains internalized homophobia

hayleycorrigan's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Gore and Blood

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was really looking forward to this book, so I’m glad I overall found it enjoyable.

The characters are where my thoughts are the most varied. I found all the dynamics and relationships to be varied and unique. Each once seemed to interact in an understandable and in-character way. It really helped me to understand WHY they played off of each other the way they did. The family backgrounds being varied also lent really well to characterisation. Gwen and Gabriel had the most obvious family dynamic, but Arthur’s family was major in his character and even Bridget’s came up and gave more insight into who she is and why. It was a great way to build on characters and why they are the way they are. However, that’s not to say there were no flaws. I personally found the character arcs to be a bit weak. It felt like I was missing the deeper insight into WHY the characters were changing or having revelations. Then, there’s my problem with Arthur. Personally, I found him deeply obnoxious and self-absorbed for most of the book. When the time came for him to show his growth it caught me off guard as well. I don’t think this is entirely the fault of the writing. Personally I think the narrator chosen for Arthur’s POV just wasn’t the best choice. The voice he gave Arthur was never serious and always had a more chipper, carefree sense regardless of scene tone. He also made the women in the book sound whiny and obnoxious which left a bad taste in my mouth for the character.

I also think the balance between the romance and political plot could have been done better. The romances, understandably, had a lot of focus. Gwen and Bridget’s specifically was especially well-written. However, there was a lot lacking in the political plot. There would be crumbs hinting at a larger struggle that would shake the foundations of the characters’ world. It would grab my interest and get me properly interested, only for it to remain untouched for 75% of the book. It was disappointing and made the book feel lacking.

Finally, I think the discussions and theme the book aimed to explore were interesting. I think the exploration of struggling to understand being queer and come to terms in a society where that’s not a thing were well-done and very relatable. I also liked the additional discussion of historical queerness and its erasure to push a certain idea. What felt a little lacking was the books more feminist angle. It touched upon the struggles of gender roles and how women are put down for stepping outside of that, but never went deeper. When it’s such an influence on the sapphic romance, and even a minor one on the achillean romance, I feel like it should be given more attention. 

Overall it was a good read and I think if the book struck a better balance with the plot it could be an easy 4 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

kirkspockreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was fun and cute! I liked the alternate history sort of thing the author did with England and Arthurian legends and that

the main characters find love letters between King Arthur and Lancelot because hi hello QUEER PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE?!

 
Anyway, Arthur is babygirl and I’m also in love with Bridget (how can you not be) and I loved the cat! Books should have more orange cats in them. 

I do have to wonder why sexism and homophobia and religious bigotry exist in this book but racism doesn’t? The main male character is brown and the female love interest is also brown but no one objects to them being nobles? Idk, there should have been more thought put into that. Seems like a weird thing to gloss over. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail