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kmartro's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Cursing
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Alcoholism, Gore, and Murder
ariep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Sexism, War, Outing, Violence, Lesbophobia, and Classism
tinyjude's review against another edition
- 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
AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON GWEN AND BRIDGET. OH MY LESBIANS. MY PRINCESS AND KNIGHT TROPE WINNING AGAIN. This was soooo made for me. I will never say no to a scene between them, the knight teaching the princess how to use a sword and the typical *sword against the neck and intense stares*. I screamed when they finally kissed, my girl went through so much pain but she was brave and allowed herself to be happy.
I liked how it tackled important issues while also providing comedy, so it turns out to be a lighthearted, easy to read novel, which uses elements of Arthurian legends and medieval fantasy settings with a twist. I loved how queer it was and how it wasn't shy to discuss the fear and self-hate a lot of us go through while figuring things out or trying to communicate who we are to our beloved ones.
I wished we had more time to explore in depth the relationship between the couples and we got to hear Gabriel's speech (I think it could have been an incredible final note or epilogue, I wanted to hear his thoughts so bad) in the end, but still I loved every main couple so much. And, especially, the main focus also on the siblings dynamic, which is not always a focal point but is one my favourite things of all time.
To sum up this book: LETS GO LESBIANS AND GAYS! (and the minor straight couple that somehow was also cute, we love Agnes and Sidney in this house, both really good friends to Gwen and Art).
Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Blood and War
Minor: Death of parent
zophiebrown's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Violence and Alcoholism
Minor: Homophobia and Emotional abuse
wolafinch's review against another edition
- 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
even arthur, who i really started out really not liking, i grew to enjoy (like a fungus or a mold, as another character describes him)
for a book about camelot, princes, and princesses, it was surprisingly grounded and realistic (in a good way), the main characters all felt like rounded people and their character develop was all really nice and natural, and reminded me in parts of my own coming out process
ofc, all the non-main characters can end up feeling kind of one note and like, you can tell they're characters in a book (sidney at one point just falls alseep when the plot doesnt require him anymore), but theyre still enjoyable and i can tell effort was made. Just an especially sharp contrast against the main characters
didn't really like the ending tbh, just with some character choices that felt off from how i wanted it to be, but whatever, and not bad enough it ruined the book or anything
Moderate: Alcoholism and War
Minor: Homophobia
I would say the homophobia here is "homophobia-lite", more like referenced as an aspect of the world they have to deal with, but it never really becomes a problem for the characters. I do have a lot of trauma with my coming out and this didn't trigger any of thatchrisreads52's review
- 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
Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism
ronniethereader's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, and Alcoholism
seventhswan's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Where this book fell down for me was the final few chapters. The story moved away from romance to more serious depictions of battle, which were well-written but didn't really fit with the tone of the first two-thirds of the book, and meant the conclusions to the romance storylines didn't get properly finished. I wonder if perhaps the author was trying to leave the door open for a sequel? The pacing in general was a bit off, too - to start with I wished the plot would move along faster, and then the ending felt rushed.
Delighted to see not only lesbian, bisexual and gay representation in this story but also characters with a range of disabilities and of various races! I tend to be wary these days of reducing books to good/bad Representation TM, but in books for children and teenagers it does feel more objectively important, for reasons I can't fully articulate.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism
madlysoph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Arthur and Sidney are an absolutely hilarious duo whose antics and banter were so fun to read. Once they stop fighting, Arthur and Gwen are equally hysterical. Their friendship is the heart of this book and it’s lovely to watch develop. They have great banter and are funny but also have a very tender connection. Despite the romances, friendship is the heart of this book and what makes it work. The romances were sweet and fun to watch develop.
I found the world building very interesting, it was a unique take on Arthurian(kinda) England and how that legend became distorted and revered over time. The world building was simple, but effective. Thankfully there is no explicit homophobia in here, just vague mentions of it. Overall this is a fun book about friendship and coming to terms with yourself.
Graphic: Alcoholism and Violence
btorsi's review
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Death, Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse