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A review by elwirax
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a really fun book and of course, I can never say no to a Queer Arthurian re-telling.
The writing was really enjoyable, it didn't read too young but still had that lightness that is to be expected from YA contemporary fantasies. I also really liked the action in this book, it delivers everything one would expect from a medieval set story: jousting, secret societies, war, and a smidge of political intrigue.
While I love some quality banter, I think it could have been toned down in this book to move the plot along faster. A lot of the serious action took place in the last 20% of the book. Having the fluffier aspects shortened would have made for a smoother transition into the more high stakes action and made the political intrigue stronger. There was also a lot of info dumping at the beginning that considerably slowed down the pace of the book.
Character wise, I really liked Arthur and Sydney, their friendship and banter was very entertaining. Gwen and Gabriel were solid characters albeit a bit underdeveloped in certain areas. I wish we got Gabriel's POV for a more nuanced understanding of his character. Where I was most dissapointed was with Bridget's character. She wasn't very present and felt very secondary despite being Gwen's love interest. I think the romances in this book were very shallow in general and I didn't really feel any of the yearning being described.
The ending was rather abrupt and again, I think that if the the start was shortened the focus could've been shifted to develop the ending a bit more.
Overall, this was a fun book. Could have perhaps focused more on robust character building but I did like aspects of the world building and the banter.
The writing was really enjoyable, it didn't read too young but still had that lightness that is to be expected from YA contemporary fantasies. I also really liked the action in this book, it delivers everything one would expect from a medieval set story: jousting, secret societies, war, and a smidge of political intrigue.
While I love some quality banter, I think it could have been toned down in this book to move the plot along faster. A lot of the serious action took place in the last 20% of the book. Having the fluffier aspects shortened would have made for a smoother transition into the more high stakes action and made the political intrigue stronger. There was also a lot of info dumping at the beginning that considerably slowed down the pace of the book.
Character wise, I really liked Arthur and Sydney, their friendship and banter was very entertaining. Gwen and Gabriel were solid characters albeit a bit underdeveloped in certain areas. I wish we got Gabriel's POV for a more nuanced understanding of his character. Where I was most dissapointed was with Bridget's character. She wasn't very present and felt very secondary despite being Gwen's love interest. I think the romances in this book were very shallow in general and I didn't really feel any of the yearning being described.
The ending was rather abrupt and again, I think that if the the start was shortened the focus could've been shifted to develop the ending a bit more.
Overall, this was a fun book. Could have perhaps focused more on robust character building but I did like aspects of the world building and the banter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Alcohol