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levesc17's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
4.5
As an adult reader I thoroughly enjoyed this coming of age story— it does get quite tense at then end and I wanted an epilogue!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Violence
winter_b's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
3.5
A fun light read with some deeper and emotional themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Violence:ginalucia's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.75
Gwen and Art are Not In Love is a sweet, thoughtful hug of a book that delivers the perfect balance of relationship-building with a seemingly low-stakes plot.
In essence, it’s one of those slightly addictive stories that’s more about the characters than anything else, and that made it brilliant.
It’s filled with banter, amazing dialogue, characters that feel real, and while you know where the story is going, it’s not clear how you’ll get there. Which made it comforting but still entertaining.
Gwen and Art has an almost Disney-like quality. It’s fun, lighthearted, but with a message you know you're going to get to, and when you do, it’s going to hit hard.
For more reviews and book recommendations, check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ginaluciayt
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and War
Moderate: Homophobia and Violence
ezrazoe4's review against another edition
funny
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
4.75
Pretty good YA romance. I liked the writing style and humour, and the characters are fun. There was a slightly jarring tone shift at the end, but overall I still enjoyed it.
I liked how Gwen was allowed to be a flawed mc and learn and grow throughout the book. It was nice to see how the ‘not like other girls’ mindset was treated by other characters in the book (negatively) and I’m glad she admitted her mistakes and started to change.
I also like how Gabriel has to deal with his internalised homophobia and inadvertently hurts Gwen in the process. It makes it seem more real and grounded. Arthur was funny. I wish Bridget had more scenes, because she didn’t feel as fleshed out as other characters. It would have helped with the chemistry between her and Gwen as well. I feel like it might be because Gwen, Gabriel and Arthur all have backstory together, so there’s a reason why they’re so close to each other. Bridget is kind of an outsider.
The war was a big tonal shift. It went from fun medieval romance to bloody fight scenes with no warning. I don’t know how to feel about it, but I didn’t dislike it, so I’d count that as a positive. It did feel like a completely different story at the end, though.
Overall, I enjoyed it. More queer novels please!
I also like how Gabriel has to deal with his internalised homophobia and inadvertently hurts Gwen in the process. It makes it seem more real and grounded. Arthur was funny. I wish Bridget had more scenes, because she didn’t feel as fleshed out as other characters. It would have helped with the chemistry between her and Gwen as well. I feel like it might be because Gwen, Gabriel and Arthur all have backstory together, so there’s a reason why they’re so close to each other. Bridget is kind of an outsider.
The war was a big tonal shift. It went from fun medieval romance to bloody fight scenes with no warning. I don’t know how to feel about it, but I didn’t dislike it, so I’d count that as a positive. It did feel like a completely different story at the end, though.
Overall, I enjoyed it. More queer novels please!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
chloetremain'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Violence
sapphicsoilscientist's review against another edition
The idea is fun, but the male audiobook narrator has apparently never heard of different types of inflection. He’s supposed to say things ‘under his breath’ or ‘hissed out’ and they’re all ‘british valley girl’ and it does not carry any of the charisma expected. Might try the paper format, because I can tell the book is pretty well written and it’s just the narrator throwing me off.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Incest
They do mention incest a few times but mostly as a slight at Arthurian legend.ceridwen33's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
A fun romp of gay panic and enemies-to-friends mischief as they learn to trust each other. There are some heavier emotional moments, but overall a very satisfying and hopeful read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Violence
Contains internalized homophobiaekgranstro's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
violet_viper'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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
cruel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
3.5
the first ~20% is kinda slow but it quickly picks up and i zoomed right through it. the interactions between characters were great - arthur and sidney being the stand outs. i actually liked it way more than i expected to. however i had to knock off some points because i'd left annoyed that, shocker, arthur and gabriel got WAY more spotlight and overall time to develop, while gwen and bridget were just kinda brushed over; it seemed like the chapters focusing on arthur(/gabriel) would last for ages, while you would blink and miss gwen(/bridget)'s turn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Homophobia