Reviews

The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher

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m1kayla143's review

5.0

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I was so excited for this book for so many reasons. Mainly because I am a huge nerd who loves dressing up and the plus size representation!

Madeline is going through some tough stuff as her mother’s death anniversary approaches. We follow her as she gets roped into being the renaissance fair princess and goes on adventures with Arthur. We watch as Madeline and Arthur help each other grow and change.

Madeline and Arthur’s friendship was very sweet. I loved how they helped each other grow. I adored the setting of the renaissance fair and the description of the costumes. Madelyn felt like a real person and all the characters were really lovable. A couple of the jokes also made me cackle!

I read this book so fast and was hooked from the moment I started it! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and had lots of fun reading it.

thunderingnight_reads's review against another edition

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3.0

I will start with the fact that I love the representation of a curvy main character. That is definitely something that I loved right off the bat. Also, I love the idea of the Ren- Faire in the story. This was a pretty enjoyable read. I think I would definitely check out future books by this author. This was not a favorite, but I did really enjoy the romance and it definitely gives the teen romance movie vibes. I definitely think that some of the topics in the book and the representation is worth noting. I would recommend.

kittynovaaaa's review against another edition

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5.0

5.0

one of my favorite romances that has passed through my hands in the year of our lord 2023

mhugie2's review against another edition

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2.0

The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway has ALL of the representations! There was fat representation, handling grief, mental health, LGBQT+, and even skinny representation. For the same reasons that this is an amazing feat for the author, it also acts as content warnings. I can’t praise Ashley Shumacher enough for how she wrote this book. It was so emotional and sucked you in. I think that all teenagers and YA should read this book because there is something that they all can relate to.

Now you may have noticed that my rating seems rather low for me singing the author and book so much flattery, this comes down to my personal tastes more than anything. I loved Arthur and thought him and the side characters were the stars of the book. That being said, I did not like Madeline/Gwen at all. For someone that constantly said she wanted to change the world by making it nicer, she was not a nice person. I would go so far as saying that she was mean. Being in her head for the whole book was really difficult, she is so mentally unhealthy and just not likable. For me, I would have benefited from a second POV so that I could see her through others eyes. I honestly feel like I missed something by only having her POV, because Madeline was not nice and not someone that I can imagine anyone would want to be around.

While there were so many things that are positives, readers should really pay attention to all content warnings when going into this book. There is so much great representation and the author is amazingly talented. Despite not liking this book because of the MC, I will definitely be reading more Ashley Shumacher in the future and think that this book is worth the read for others.

sherwoodreads's review against another edition

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I read this months ago, and there is a lot to like, in particular the lovely way the author evokes the best aspects of Renaissance Faires. Brought back happy memories of the first Faire, up above Malibu, more than fifty years ago, at which I worked for several years before grad school and jobs ate my life.

This book is, I think, meant for a very young audience. Our heroine lost her mother, and is pretty woeful; a boy encounters her, and persists in a friendly, ever-present way to bring her out of her Slough of Despond and to enjoy life, and the Faire.

On the surface, it's a sweet, slow-burn summer romance. But an old, crabbed reader like me, who looks back on experiences of self and others I know (far too many others) with stalker men who know what's good for you whether you like it or not shadowed the book with creep vibes that I am very sure the author did not intend. But we bring our own experiences to every read. Then there was the implication that it takes relationship with a guy to cure what's ailing' ya. Urk.

In short, I'd say, adults, read it first before handing it off to your young reader. If that reader is reading for the Faire, go for it! Anything else, it might be a great book to springboard talking things through. I'd love to see what else this author writes.

allieonreading's review against another edition

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3.75

I love Ashley Schumacher, and find her books wonderful YA stories. This one wasn’t my favorite of hers, even though I did enjoy it. Arthur, Bre, and Noah were particularly fun to read, it was Madeline herself that frustrated me. I understood her and where she was at, but her decisions and views on situations were hard to read. Still a cute story though.