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friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, War, Gore, Medical content, Classism, Death, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Medical trauma
Minor: Stalking, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Lesbophobia
Skin picking, quite a few vomit scenes but they didn't trigger my emetophobia.readwithria's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
4.0
Gwen & Art Are Not In Love is a fun, gay coming of age story with romance, adventure, and intrigue. I had a great time reading it!
Gwen and Arthur are wonderful POV characters, and I really liked getting into their heads and seeing their growth. I was rooting for their friendship, the whole book, and loved seeing it develop.
I also loved the secondary characters! Gabriel, Sidney, Brigit, and Agnes all added to the world and the story in unique ways, and I really enjoyed reading about them. I wish we had spent more time with Agnes and Brigit, but the time we did spend with them was lots of fun.
I do think that the pacing was sometimes a little wonky, especially toward the end, but overall this book was what I wanted it to be in a very good way. 4 stars
Gwen and Arthur are wonderful POV characters, and I really liked getting into their heads and seeing their growth. I was rooting for their friendship, the whole book, and loved seeing it develop.
I also loved the secondary characters! Gabriel, Sidney, Brigit, and Agnes all added to the world and the story in unique ways, and I really enjoyed reading about them. I wish we had spent more time with Agnes and Brigit, but the time we did spend with them was lots of fun.
I do think that the pacing was sometimes a little wonky, especially toward the end, but overall this book was what I wanted it to be in a very good way. 4 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Lesbophobia, and Biphobia
fanboyriot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
♡ Rom Com
♡ Royal Fantasy Vibes
♡ The Lady Gets the Knight (but make it Sapphic)
I loved the humor in this book. The way the characters interacted was nicely done as well.
When I read this I wasn’t in much of a mood for it but pushed through and ended up really enjoying it. The plot wasn’t too confusing as some fantasy books can be, but this kept my interest. It was such an entertaining read.
And the queer rep was better than I was expecting actually.
Spice Level: n/a
Angst Level: 💧(1/5)
POV: Duel, Third Person
Release Date: 28, November 2023
Rep: Sapphic (Main Couple), Achillean (Main Couple), Thai (Side Character), Biracial Iranian/White (Side Character)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, War, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Murder, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol, and Medical content
Minor: Kidnapping, Animal death, Gaslighting, Biphobia, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Gore, and Outing
chasingpages1's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and War
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Blood
mirandyli's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? It's complicated
4.5
This was an adorable, hilarious, lighthearted queer story that was a super quick read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Sexism, Cursing, War, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Hate crime, Homophobia, Death, and Death of parent
ariep's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.5
Really enjoyed this read!! It was such a fun story, and I thought the characters were unique and lovable. It reminded me of a webcomic I used to follow, High Class Homos! I thought it had a good balance of fun and funny moments along with emotional and dark moments as well. The characters felt very fleshed out, and the world was intriguing, I truly enjoyed this book.
Content Warnings
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
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
I thoroughly enjoyed the main dynamic between the characters and how much they learnt from each other, especially how such a silly and relatable character like Arthur is able to help so much amidst the drama and hilarious scenes. They are all dramatic queens and we love it. I appreciate the representation of dread/self-loathing/depression Arthur brings due to his relationship with his father. Same as Gabriel's whole conflict about being the ideal he thinks his father and people want him to become when he inherits the throne and what he actually wants. This dilemma is reflected in all the characters beautifully and painfully.
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).
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).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Blood and War
Minor: Death of parent
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
It's been too long since I last picked this up, and quite frankly, too long since I've started reading it to not be finished it by now. I was enjoying it whenever I did pick it up though, so I will probably return to it at some point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Violence
Internalised homophobia/lesbophobiaangelofthetardis's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Princess Gwendoline of Camelot has been betrothed to Arthur DeLacey since the day she was born. There are two problems with this: 1, they cannot stand each other. And 2, her romantic interests lie elsewhere. When Art is sent to Camelot for the summer to prepare for their upcoming nuptials, it goes about as well as expected. Until Gwen discovers Art has a secret love too. Playing along to distract the world from their real feelings, might events conspire to allow them a true happily ever after? Or will they be stuck together forever, definitely not in love?
I'm not usually one for the fake dating trope, but the fact that this one comes with a bit of a twist makes it much more enjoyable to me. I was more invested in the development of the relationship between Gwen and Art purely because it was clear that there wouldn't be any romance between them; I was intrigued to see how far they would move from enemies to friends, and just how it would be achieved. While they do bounce off of each other very well, I will be honest and say that I much prefer Art as a character - he's the lovable rogue; the confident, cocky young buck compared to the petulant teenager that is Gwen. She does improve as the book progresses, but even her 'heroic' moment is quite muted compared to Art's.
While the story overall is a fun, lighthearted ride, and the ingenuity of the setting - a Camelot that knows King Arthur existed and is trying to recapture his magic, even though his story has faded into legend - is brilliant, I did feel that the writing lacked purpose. None of the characters, with the possible exception of Art, have much depth to them; even the love interests feel more like rough outlines rather than fully fleshed out people.
Similarly, the plot was fairly limited and, while there are a couple of moments that hit the mark, more seem to be trying to set up a sub-plot that don't go anywhere, or are moments of intrigue introduced far too late and wound up far too quickly. Likewise, a lot of the 'revelations' lose their impact or are overshadowed by wider events - it feels like there are so many missed opportunities. I just wanted more of everything!
Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable read and I would like to see a sequel dealing with the newest version of Camelot - there's plenty of scope for more from these characters!
I'm not usually one for the fake dating trope, but the fact that this one comes with a bit of a twist makes it much more enjoyable to me. I was more invested in the development of the relationship between Gwen and Art purely because it was clear that there wouldn't be any romance between them; I was intrigued to see how far they would move from enemies to friends, and just how it would be achieved. While they do bounce off of each other very well, I will be honest and say that I much prefer Art as a character - he's the lovable rogue; the confident, cocky young buck compared to the petulant teenager that is Gwen. She does improve as the book progresses, but even her 'heroic' moment is quite muted compared to Art's.
While the story overall is a fun, lighthearted ride, and the ingenuity of the setting - a Camelot that knows King Arthur existed and is trying to recapture his magic, even though his story has faded into legend - is brilliant, I did feel that the writing lacked purpose. None of the characters, with the possible exception of Art, have much depth to them; even the love interests feel more like rough outlines rather than fully fleshed out people.
Similarly, the plot was fairly limited and, while there are a couple of moments that hit the mark, more seem to be trying to set up a sub-plot that don't go anywhere, or are moments of intrigue introduced far too late and wound up far too quickly. Likewise, a lot of the 'revelations' lose their impact or are overshadowed by wider events - it feels like there are so many missed opportunities. I just wanted more of everything!
Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable read and I would like to see a sequel dealing with the newest version of Camelot - there's plenty of scope for more from these characters!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Violence, War, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Lesbophobia, Vomit, Grief, Homophobia, and Cursing
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
I listened to Gwen and Art are Not in Love via audiobook, and it did not disappoint! The cast of narrators were phenomenal, and they brought to life such a fun, engaging read. I especially loved Bridget and Gwen’s relationship, and Gwen’s character development over the course of the novel. The last 30% or so did catch me off guard, but it was still a read I would highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, War, Death of parent, Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit