The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
sapphic_antiquarian's review against another edition
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.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Minor: Vomit
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, War, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
asipofcozy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
3.0
I wanted to love this so bad.
An Arthurian re-telling with queer characters and lots of representation, I thought YES sign me up! What I got instead was two characters hating each other for 70% of the book, making a pact to save-face, and the rest of the book was them having a horrible time dealing with their feelings on their crushes. It was the last 10 pages of the book that only made me happy.
Where was the medieval rom-com I was promised? I felt like this book was angst and anger.
An Arthurian re-telling with queer characters and lots of representation, I thought YES sign me up! What I got instead was two characters hating each other for 70% of the book, making a pact to save-face, and the rest of the book was them having a horrible time dealing with their feelings on their crushes. It was the last 10 pages of the book that only made me happy.
Where was the medieval rom-com I was promised? I felt like this book was angst and anger.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, War, Vomit, Violence, and Death of parent
sarahlizzie's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
5.0
What I thought was going to be a super cute, easy-going romance turned out to be a deeply emotional, at times slightly terrifying but beautiful hug of a book, that was also super cute and very funny. Several times I had to put this book down and just scream. I will recommend this book to everyone I know and I will be re-reading it. While this is listed as YA, it is definitely relatable for adults and has a breadth of emotional touchstone for everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Death of parent, War, and Violence
Minor: Vomit
booksandteatime's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, War, Death, Sexism, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Misogyny
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 whereGwen 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!
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
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
tofugal's review against another edition
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.Â
Â
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.Â
Â
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.Â
Â
Lex Croucher is quickly becoming a must-read author for me since I also thoroughly enjoyed and recommend Infamous.Â
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I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Death
Minor: Homophobia and Vomit
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
4.25
Thanks to Macmillan for the free copy of this book.
 - GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE is everything I hoped it would be. Queerness and silliness and strong personalities and deep emotions, what else could you want?
- I loved that both Arthur and Gwen got to have unlikable characteristics but were still granted full humanity by the others.
- For all the shenanigans in this book, there is still a layer of darkness as well. The crown weighs heavy on all of them in different ways, and each character needs to figure out how they will approach the life they've been dealt.Â
 - GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE is everything I hoped it would be. Queerness and silliness and strong personalities and deep emotions, what else could you want?
- I loved that both Arthur and Gwen got to have unlikable characteristics but were still granted full humanity by the others.
- For all the shenanigans in this book, there is still a layer of darkness as well. The crown weighs heavy on all of them in different ways, and each character needs to figure out how they will approach the life they've been dealt.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Cursing
Moderate: Homophobia
ana_avidreader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
(full review pending because of the boycott. publishers plz fix ur shit. do better)Â
-gay. good. dense. first 100 pages hard to get through. i feel like this is one of the books where the sequel HAS to be better cus this entire story was a big set up. unnecessary gory detailed injuries.Â
-gay. good. dense. first 100 pages hard to get through. i feel like this is one of the books where the sequel HAS to be better cus this entire story was a big set up. unnecessary gory detailed injuries.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Vomit, Child abuse, 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
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
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