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jkneebone's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Against this backdrop, we have the story of Gwen (the princess) and Arthur (a lord's son who is descended from/named for the legendary king himself), who have been betrothed since they were children. There's just one problem: they absolutely hate each other. Although they haven't seen each other since they were children, when Gwen tricked Arthur into breaking his arm, this is the summer they are finally going to be married. So Arthur and his manservant/best friend/bodyguard Sidney arrive in Camelot, glad to be away from Arthur's controlling father and ready to wreak havoc.
Although our POV characters are Gwen and Art, we also get a lot of screen time from Gabe, Gwen's bookish older brother who is the reluctant heir to the throne; Bridget, the only female knight in the country, who Gwen is fascinated by; the aforementioned Sidney; and Agnes, Gwen's lady-in-waiting. The impetus of the plot is that, after Gwen and Art discover that they both aren't interested in marrying someone of the opposite gender, they decide to pretend to be infatuated with each other to get everyone else off of their scents. Although at first they are still putting up with each other, they eventually become friends, while also growing their romantic relationships with other characters.
One thing I really enjoyed about Gwen and Are Are Not in Love was how it felt fresh and modern, but also semi-believably historic. Croucher clearly put some thought into the King Arthur-obsessed alternate historical background, and it paid off. The characters were diverse in terms of race, sexuality, and even neurodivergence, but not in a way that felt like putting modern diagnoses or terms into a setting where they didn't belong. (Maybe it's just my reading, but I definitely got neurodiverse vibes from most of the main characters, haha.) The dynamics between all of the different characters were equally lovely - Gwen and Gabe's sweet sibling relationship, Gwen and Art's reluctant friendship, Sidney being so ride-or-die for Arthur, and of course the romantic relationships as well - and I loved how they all became a group working together by the end. I also liked the backstory/subplot of unrest between the Catholics and the cultists, and Gabe's preparation for becoming the next king of England.
For me, this is only a 3.5 star read rather than a 4 star read because of the tone shift at the end.
In terms of language (none/extremely minimal) and sexual content (on page kissing and extremely brief allusions to more) this is totally high school appropriate. I'd hesitate to hand it to a younger reader because Arthur and Sidney are drunk a lot in the first half-ish of the book. Obviously this is a situation where the characters are teenagers, but adults in the world of the story, so it's not underage as such; it's also made pretty clear by the other characters' reactions - and even Arthur's own self reflection - that he knows his drinking is a problem.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Homophobia
amanda_mh's review against another edition
- 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
🥰 It’s a story of a princess betrothed to a boy , but the boy likes her brother, and the princess likes the only lady knight in the kingdom. 🏳️🌈 🧡🩷 💚💙
Graphic: Addiction, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War
gillian_aftanas's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Vomit
Minor: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
gidgetdraws's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is my second Lex Croucher book (the first being Infamous) and in both works I was disappointed by the lack of trigger warnings for more upsetting content that was in no way hinted at in the marketing of either book. I also liked the side characters way more than the main characters. I will say I liked this book more than Infamous, but I struggled to stay motivated to finish the book in a timely manner.
That being said, I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading this book as there were very cute moments and entertaining banter/shenanigans, however bare in mind the following trigger warnings: parental verbal/physical abuse, graphic depictions of violence/gore/war of a medieval type setting, blood, and homophobia.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
thethingwithfeathers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism
marvelous_mint's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As for the plot, while I felt it did occasionally drag on in some places, I still enjoyed it.
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Blood, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and War
pm_corbett's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Child abuse and Physical abuse
_teoeo's review against another edition
- 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
But the story was really slow and sometimes dragged on, so it was a little hard for me to get through the book.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Incest
ganseys's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
chronicacademia's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Outing, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Incest