A review by wardenred
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

emotional inspiring 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

Royal sons meant promise – they carried the hope and glory of their lineage, however reluctantly; royal daughters were born to be promised to somebody else.

A friend recommended this book to me as a "YA historical," but I think it's more of a... post-Arthurian fantasy with no magic. The vaguely medieval England is steeped in Arthurian legend, not actual history (and oh how I loved the characters poking fun at all the staples of the Arthurian myths!), and the characters behave in a rather modern way—and all of that is without a doubt part of the book's charm. I very much enjoyed this story with its quirkiness, queerness, and focus on found family. I also found myself way more immersed into this fictional England's politics than I expected to be. Mostly, though, I was invested in the characters.

In the early chapters, Art and Gwen made me think about one of my favorite childhood animated movies, Princess Swan. As I read about their recollections of their childhood shenanigans, I swear I had This Is My Idea playing in my head! :D Though unlike Dereck and Odette, when these two meet again when they're older, they don't immediately fall for each other. Instead, they catch each other being decidedly non-heterosexual with other people and strike a pact: "Let's fake being nice with each other so our parents leave us to our own devices."

Now, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, and fake dating are all among my favorite romance tropes in the world. But apparently, I also love it when they're all mixed together and given a non-romantic spin! This was so refreshing and fun to read. I also loved how these two's arcs mirrored each other as they both struggled with the expectations their families and society placed on them. I think Gwen's way was more relatable to me, but Art's was more interesting to read about... though at some points of the book, it was kinda vise versa? Honestly, both of them are so relatable and interesting, and I can say the same for all the other characters. Sydney in particular absolutely stole my heart, and my one regret about the book is that Gabriel didn't get any POV chapters.

An awesome read, definitely one of my favorite books of the year. I'll be looking out for more novels from Lex Croucher now!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings