Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

85 reviews

sapphic_antiquarian's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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? Yes

5.0

This book is so fun, I found myself smiling throughout. Such an entertaining read, a really lovable cast of characters with an array of tropes used in ways which still felt fresh, though the book is right up my alley, especially as I've been undergoing a Merlin rewatch. The ending felt a bit rushed, but given how enjoyable the rest of the book was, this was easily forgiveable. 
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emmatee_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

3.5

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maheandco's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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? Yes

5.0

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savreads28's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

3.75

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micaelacccc's review

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adventurous hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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lettuce_read's review

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4.0

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cassielaj's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

Easy 5 stars. Love love love this book. The story is new and exciting with enough references to Arthurian legend to make it somewhat familiar. It’s queer and lovely and wonderful, full of hilarious banter and mysterious court intrigue and the most delightful cast of central characters. I laughed. I cried. I was on the edge of my seat. I want to read it again. 
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vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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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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aelis_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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tofugal's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense 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? Yes

5.0

This books defied my expectations in the best possible way. Based on the title, I’d expected this to be a queer Arthurian legend retelling. It’s not. Gwen and Art aren’t THAT Gwen and Art, though Gwen lives in Camelot and this Arthur is a descendant of Arthur Pendragon. Also, many hilarious Arthurian legend references are included throughout. 
 
Gwen has been betrothed to Arthur since the moment she was born. They can’t stand each other, something probably not helped by the fact they’re both gay and therefore immune to each others romantic charms. This Arthur is an even bigger prat than his namesake on the BBC show Merlin. Plus, he has a bad habit of drowning his sorrows in wine. Gwen, on the other hand, is everything she’s been raised to be: prim, proper, and powerless (or so she thinks). However, she’s quite taken with Lady Knight Bridget Leclair. 
 
To get their parents off their back, and keep their true infatuations secret, Gwen and Art agree to a fake courtship. The result is a banter-filled enemies-to-reluctant friendship that I didn’t want to put down. While it’s not all lighthearted—there’s some quite impressive action toward the end—it’s still an entertaining romp from start to finish. Highly recommended to anyone who loves swoony sword sapphics and/or wished Merlin and Arthur would kiss. 
 
Lex Croucher is quickly becoming a must-read author for me since I also thoroughly enjoyed and recommend Infamous. 
 
I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.
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