Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

18 reviews

nearbethexperience's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

4.5

SUCH a fun read. It was a really smart choice on the author's part to set the book in a post-Arthurian world, to be able to play with it and not be burdened by the actual myth. If you don't like anachronistic dialogue this book is not for you, but I thought it was fun and the Riverdale reference made me actually laugh out loud! I did feel the HEA ending was a little bit unearned but that is just the tiniest critique, and hey it's YA. Overall this book was a balm for my inner Arthurian nerd child!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, War, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Physical abuse

flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, War, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

**Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review eARC**

This was real cute. I'm not the biggest historical fiction reader, but this queer Arthurian reimagining with just the most delightful cast of characters had just enough magic and fantasy vibes to keep me hooked start to finish. The whole ensemble cast is wonderfully written. The banter? Amazing. I loved them all from the jump. Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a masterclass in how to write all the kinds of representation. (The scene where

Gwen sticks up for Bridget when her pelvic pain is dismissed by the royal physician

??? My heart is healed even if my uterus isn't.) While I agree with many of the reviews that the latter 30ish% is a major tone shift and a bit jarring, it didn't impact my enjoyment of this book, especially since I'm much more of a fantasy reader than a romcom reader. Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Medical content, and Mental illness

Minor: Bullying, Gore, Chronic illness, Vomit, War, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, Grief, and Violence

aliteraryescape's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gore, Blood, and Misogyny

nefariousbee's review against another edition

emotional relaxing fast-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? No

3.75

an easy YA read. there are two romances in this book so there was not enough space to really dive into both. it's not necessary bad, it's just a thing that has to be done if you wanted to have an average length novel.
some things bothered me, like the way race was underdeveloped (that's not fair. not developed is better) even tho it was tapped into, the internalised homophobia, the domestic abuse, it was all laid there and then it didn't have time to get into in any meaningful way and that's a shame, really.
as it is now, it's an easy, sweet YA romance book inspired by the Arthurian myths. nothing more, but also nothing less

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Alcohol, Physical abuse, War, and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Bullying, Vomit, Blood, and Gore

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

refrejarator's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-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

5.0

Aww. I laughed, I cried, I relieved my Merthur shipping days. This is the most beautiful, sweet, and tragically romantic book, and i can't wait to read from this author again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Biphobia, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Violence, and War

purplepenning's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

A queer medieval alt history with all the camp, humor, and heart of a Knight's Tale!

Betrothed enemies Gwen and Art become reluctant (read: blackmailed) beards for each other during a time of increasing unrest in the medieval kingdom descended from Camelot. An unlikely but hugely likeable group of friends emerge, splinter, and rise anew in a tale of hope, identity, courage, found family, shenanigans, and adventure.

Armor your heart — it's about to get battered, bruised, and absolutely stolen by this merry medieval band!

[I listened to the audiobook for part of this one, and did not prefer it.]

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Homophobia, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and War

maddalynmoon's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Hate crime, Blood, War, Death of parent, Gore, Homophobia, Violence, Alcohol, Classism, and Grief

krisalexcole's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: War, Death, Medical content, Sexism, Chronic illness, Gore, Death of parent, Hate crime, Murder, Blood, and Homophobia

Minor: Self harm, Cursing, Grief, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry

eloisewatson18601's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

4.5

I went in to this book expecting some fluffy, off-brand BBC Merlin fanfiction and my expectations were met and then thoroughly exceeded. This book truly has it all: lesbian sword fights, engagement with Arthurian lore, witty dialogue, gay pining, family trauma, and -stupendously- Riverdale references. Brilliant!

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Gore, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Medical trauma and Vomit