Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Gwen & Art Are Not in Love

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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enbae's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense slow-paced

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

3.25

A really good, fun read. A medieval courting story about Camelot's heirs turned queer.
I found the pacing a bit slow, until the end - it seemed a little too fast by then.

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.25

I wasn't super into this book at first. I found Arthur annoying, and I think part of that was the narrator for his chapters in the audiobook. I was hoping he might go through some character development and I'd like him more, which happened so gradually I didn't even realize it was happening until I was practically crying for him. The book in general has a bit of a slow start and it took me a while to get invested in the characters and get a sense of where the plot was going. The end kind of rushed at me and I found it hard to put down in the last 70%. There is a pretty big tonal shift after that point as well, I didn't expect it to go as dark as it did. I kind of wish this had stayed a bit more lighthearted.

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wrongdecision's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.75

Hm, this one I had to think about longer to rate it properly.

The book leads strongly with great humor, snappy and interesting conversations and a general good grasp on its characters.
I read the first few pages and already had to stop and read out multiple sections to my Mom, who was in the same room, because they were too good not to share.

Character wise I see no proper flaws, they each have their set personalities that run throughout the book pretty consistently.
I love them all a lot and the shenanigans they get up to are great!

The romance however was a little lacking, specifically for Gwen and Bridget.
While I could see Gabriel and Art getting along and having this pull of 'we should but we will anyways' it fell a little flat with the female leads.
I would've liked more conversations, more common interests between Bridget and Gwen because, as they point out around the end, they barely do anything but kiss.
It does feel more like a celebrity crush from Gwen's side and Bridget just doesn't feel like she had a real reason to like Gwen back. She just started flirting back and that was that.
Gabe and Art talk a lot more to each other about themselves and wishes for the future or general dreams so it's easy to see how they could find themselves falling for each other.
I think the book would have benefitted with the focus on only one main couple instead of two.

The pacing was also too slow for me.
The start was great and fun and gave me all the right pointers to plot and future set ups and then it just... dissipated at some point.
There were a few chapters that had me so bored I thought of leaving the book unfinished because nothing really happened or the same things that were spoken about before just got repeated.
There could have been many more hints toward what happens at the end, some investigating maybe even or just general mentions because the one we got were so sparse and always overshadowed by other concersations that I find them lacking.

When the plot picks back up again it's great!
I sped through the last few chapters hungry to know what happens.
Just the middle part could've been cut shorter.

Generally this was a fun read, i might reread it again and just skip a few chapters in between.

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vr_alyssa's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? No

3.75

Yesterday, I decided to spend a couple hours disappearing into this book - which turned into spending a large part of the day, evening and night with it until it was finished.

I really enjoyed the elements of Arthurian legends, England's history, as well as (of course) the romance. Sometimes I found the back and forth between POV's a bit distracting at times, but it was also enjoyable to witness the story from two perspectives (I don't think it would've worked otherwise).

The characters were easy to connect to, despite their stubbornness at times. It was easy to root and feel sad for them as the story progressed. The last 100 pages or so threw me for a spin.

All in all, an enjoyable 'light' read, couldn't put it down. I'd say: a Sunday well spent.

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seventhswan's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted 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

3.25

April's read for book group: I don't think I ever would have picked this book up of my own accord, as YA isn't a genre I tend to gravitate towards, but I found plenty to like about it. The characters were endearing without being overly irritating and the main storyline, while nothing new or groundbreaking, kept me invested. Everything was fairly tropey and predictable, but as a lighthearted, escapist romance, this worked.

Where this book fell down for me was the final few chapters. The story moved away from romance to more serious depictions of battle, which were well-written but didn't really fit with the tone of the first two-thirds of the book, and meant the conclusions to the romance storylines didn't get properly finished. I wonder if perhaps the author was trying to leave the door open for a sequel? The pacing in general was a bit off, too - to start with I wished the plot would move along faster, and then the ending felt rushed.

Delighted to see not only lesbian, bisexual and gay representation in this story but also characters with a range of disabilities and of various races! I tend to be wary these days of reducing books to good/bad Representation TM, but in books for children and teenagers it does feel more objectively important, for reasons I can't fully articulate.

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btorsi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

4.5

i'm not going to lie and say the beginning wasn't slow af. i almost didn't get through the first hundred or so pages. and the summary on the jacket isn't very accurate -- it boasts a fun arthurian romance, but this book was so much more than a romance. in fact, the romance was staggeringly less than i expected, especially between gwen and bridget. but the characters were lovable, the dynamics were so fun, the dialogue was funny as hell, and the plot sure did heat up. by the end i was the one in love. but it's not 5 stars bc of the slow beginning.

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pynklaady's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I preferred the first 3/4 of the book hence the raiting - not so much a fan of the last 100 or so pages though I did find the *very* end sweet

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