A review by rai_ishardtoplease
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
(ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!)
“To be truly brave, first you must be afraid—and to be afraid, you must have something you cannot bear to lose.”
Fun fact:
I LOVE historical comedies.
And when I say “historical comedy,” I don’t mean a comedy that was written in times past (although, Pride and Prejudice can GET IT). I mean, hand a classic IP to a queer Zoomer who majored in English Lit and minored in History and tell them to make it funny.
I have no idea if Croucher’s credentials meet those specifications, but either way, it appears she’s up to the task.
H o w e v e r
Side effects of reading this may include:
- Giggling in the dead of night like a deranged schoolgirl
- Sapphic panic
- Long-suffering sighs
- Emotional damage
- Existential dread
No, you didn’t misread those last two. No, I’m not reviewing the wrong book.
For a purportedly wholesome, Arthurian-derived YA… this got quite a bit more grisly and emotionally harrowing than I expected. In fact, the more I read, the more often I had to remind myself that this wasn’t written by Madeline Miller and therefore (probably) wouldn’t end in tragedy and buried gays.
(I wish I could say I’m kidding)
Of course, there’s
Then there’s the whole “we can only ever be each other’s dirty little secret” conflict. Which, again, not unexpected… but still hurt a surprising amount?
There’s also some pretty graphic injury and violence present.
Plus multiple major-character death scares.
And a coup culminating in several gruesome battle chapters, the death of a parent, and lifelong disability.
So… yeah. Um. Pretty chill.
I wouldn’t say any of it was handled poorly. I wouldn’t even say that it ought to be tempered or taken out.
I just wish I had a little more… I don’t know… warning? Transparency about what I was getting myself into? As much as I prefer cozy fiction, I can handle heavier material. I promise. I just need a chance to prepare myself first.
I’m not quite sure if the problem here is overly-optimistic subversive advertising or a lack of self-awareness. Maybe it’s neither. For all I know, the tonal bait-and-switch might’ve worked like a charm for some readers. But the only experience I can speak to is my own, and personally, I felt a little blindsided.
That said, I still enjoyed GAAANIL. I wouldn’t have minded more than two short aftermath chapters, but then again, I’m just happy it ended on a high note.
Ya know. Considering.
“To be truly brave, first you must be afraid—and to be afraid, you must have something you cannot bear to lose.”
Fun fact:
I LOVE historical comedies.
And when I say “historical comedy,” I don’t mean a comedy that was written in times past (although, Pride and Prejudice can GET IT). I mean, hand a classic IP to a queer Zoomer who majored in English Lit and minored in History and tell them to make it funny.
I have no idea if Croucher’s credentials meet those specifications, but either way, it appears she’s up to the task.
H o w e v e r
Side effects of reading this may include:
- Giggling in the dead of night like a deranged schoolgirl
- Sapphic panic
- Long-suffering sighs
- Emotional damage
- Existential dread
No, you didn’t misread those last two. No, I’m not reviewing the wrong book.
For a purportedly wholesome, Arthurian-derived YA… this got quite a bit more grisly and emotionally harrowing than I expected. In fact, the more I read, the more often I had to remind myself that this wasn’t written by Madeline Miller and therefore (probably) wouldn’t end in tragedy and buried gays.
(I wish I could say I’m kidding)
Of course, there’s
Spoiler
homophobia: internalized, externalized, internalized turned into externalized. I wouldn’t say that it was unexpected, given that homophobia is a staple of queer literature, but I will admit to finding it inexplicably gut-wrenching here.Then there’s the whole “we can only ever be each other’s dirty little secret” conflict. Which, again, not unexpected… but still hurt a surprising amount?
There’s also some pretty graphic injury and violence present.
Plus multiple major-character death scares.
And a coup culminating in several gruesome battle chapters, the death of a parent, and lifelong disability.
So… yeah. Um. Pretty chill.
I wouldn’t say any of it was handled poorly. I wouldn’t even say that it ought to be tempered or taken out.
I just wish I had a little more… I don’t know… warning? Transparency about what I was getting myself into? As much as I prefer cozy fiction, I can handle heavier material. I promise. I just need a chance to prepare myself first.
I’m not quite sure if the problem here is overly-optimistic subversive advertising or a lack of self-awareness. Maybe it’s neither. For all I know, the tonal bait-and-switch might’ve worked like a charm for some readers. But the only experience I can speak to is my own, and personally, I felt a little blindsided.
That said, I still enjoyed GAAANIL. I wouldn’t have minded more than two short aftermath chapters, but then again, I’m just happy it ended on a high note.
Ya know. Considering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and War