Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Gwen and Art Are Not in Love

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love takes place in a sort of alternate-history, King Arthur-inspired England. In this world, Arthur and co. are distant, maybe-mythological figures who still heavily influence the political landscape of England - the country is ruled by Catholics, but there is also a faction of cultists who believe that King Arthur was a real person who will eventually return to rule again.

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.

Although I didn't really mind the suddenly raised stakes of the battle, I wish that Gwen had been given more of an opportunity to shine w/r/t strategy and kingdom management, which I thought was where things were headed. And even though part of me liked the ending, I did feel it was a little too happily-ever-after - even in this alternate history, I thought Gabe announcing all of their relationships was pushing credulity. I would have liked it better if they'd come up with some kind of plan to let them fly under the radar for longer.

However, I do think it is a super fun read. It's not actually a fantasy, but it has more fantasy than historical fiction vibes; I think the feel is modern enough that even readers who aren't usually into those genres might be persuaded to give it a go.

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.

He even decides to stop at the end of the book, although it's fairly glossed over.

That being said, it felt excessive and uncomfortable to me as an adult reader, because it was clearly unhealthy, but I wouldn't want this to be a younger reader's first introduction to how teenagers should or do interact with alcohol.

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sea_sea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

5.0

I loved this book so so much!!! The romances were so cute and well written and the plot too!!
The twists and turns this story had?!?!? Also it was so funny xD
A cute queer camelot romcom! xD
Would 100% recommend!

The only thing that threw me of a bit in the beginning was the modern language, because the book plays in medieval times, but I got used to it quickly.

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knockoffrainbow's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.75

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shelbibroeking's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

3.75

I enjoyed this book and this Arthurian world quite a bit. I felt like the climax towards the end of the book was a little rushed and slightly unexpected, but my love of the characters and their interactions made this less of an issue in my mind. Thoroughly enjoyed the character development throughout the story. :)

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elerireads's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.25

Ah this really hit the spot. Read it in one day and it just solidly delivered what I was hoping for. Easy to read YA, rom-com still covering serious things but with a light touch, well-written characters that aren't one-dimensional, Camelot vibes plus everyone is gay. Iconic. Honestly I was a bit confused by the world-building but that may be on me for having read it so quickly. Anyway, would solidly recommend, especially for anyone wanting an easy pick-me-up or getting back into reading.

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fatimaelf's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

This was a fun read! It felt like a weird rom-com, found family book for about two-thirds of it, then turned quickly into a fast-paced espionage royalty novel as the ending picked up a whole lot of speed. This book isn’t set in Arthurian times, but a hundred years after, but it kind of resembles modern times in terms of attitudes and speech — minus, of course, the pretense of monarchy, knights, and tourneys. The cultists versus the Catholics, though, felt very relevant. I will say that I found Arthur unbearable for a lot of the book; his sarcasm, barbs, and general demeanor were just cruel, and the explanation of his abusive father didn’t do enough to make him sympathetic. I would have liked to have seen much more interaction between Arthur and Gwen, Gwen and Bridget, and Arthur and Gabriel, because all of their relationships felt just a bit rushed, but I enjoyed when they came together and the dialogue was witty and fun. The world building was sufficient for a YA novel, and did a great job of setting each scene. The ending wasn’t quite unexpected — it wasn’t a book that relied too heavily on mystery — but it was satisfying enough and I put the book down feeling as if it had delivered its promise. Overall a mostly light-hearted, very enjoyable book.

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brep23's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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? No

4.75

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