Reviews tagging 'Outing'

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

15 reviews

raptorq's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Gore, Grief, Vomit, Alcoholism, Outing, and Death of parent

kayceeisbookish's review

funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

It was rather boring since nothing much happened until the very end. It was a decent read. Wish more plot could have been sprinkled throughout.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Cursing, Death, Outing, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexism, Blood, Alcohol, Classism, and Lesbophobia

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

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

mattiedancer's review

funny lighthearted sad 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

Writing: 4.5⭐️/5 

Lex Croucher did a good job with this novel. Not only did I feel – viscerally and fully – the emotions and internal conflicts of the character, but I also understood deeply the mood and tone of the novel with ease. I liked the ease of writing, which at moments did turn to beautiful prose. 

Characters: 4.5⭐️/5

I thought the characters were extremely fun to read about. Where some of the characters may have felt a little trope-y, I’m willing to forgive because they also felt real and raw and conflicted. I loved their struggles to come to terms with both their histories and their desires and how to move forward in a world that is unlikely to accept them. 

Plot: 3.5⭐️/5 

I think 90% of the plot is so well done. At the end of the novel, it takes a turn I wasn’t expecting and, though it made sense in the course of the book, it really moved it from a fun, romantasy read to a more serious fantasy plot. The sudden change was jarring, but overall the plot was still enjoyable. 

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Fans of King Arthur retellings – with twists
• Those looking for a light fantasy-esque novel with LGBTQIA+ vibes

Content Warnings? 

Death of parent, death, war, violence, homophobia, biphobia, outing, misogyny, sexism, gore, blood, classism, emotional abuse, gaslighting, injury, injury detail, excrement, vomit, physical abuse, 

Post-Reading Rating:  4⭐️/5

Cute, sweet, and a little jarring at the end.

Final Rating: 4⭐️/5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Blood, War, Excrement, Vomit, Physical abuse, Biphobia, Classism, Violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Outing, Sexism, Gore, and Misogyny

sabernezumi's review against another edition

funny hopeful 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Blood, War, Homophobia, Violence, Lesbophobia, Death, and Outing

Minor: Murder, Vomit, and Death of parent

axel_p's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny 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

5.0

Why was this so fucking good

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, War, Ableism, Body horror, Grief, Blood, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

ezwolf's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

I love all things Arthurian legend so this title grabbed my attention right away. I wasn't fully sure what to expect, but I enjoyed it immensely. This book fully embraced the potential for queer jokes which I found hilarious and relatable as well. 

Gwen was incredibly relatable for me and her and Bridget's relationship was my favorite in the book, but I enjoyed Arthur point of view and his relationship with Gabriel too. Gwen and Gabriel's sibling relationship was also great, I liked how much they were there for each other. 

This is the third or fourth book I've read this year that's included periods and it's such a little thing but I can't really remember reading any books growing up that normalized periods in any regard, let alone in a historical (fantasy-ish?) kind of book. 

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: War, Misogyny, and Outing

Minor: Misogyny, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

bubbles_ishere's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense 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

3.75

While I did really enjoy the book and the way the characters developed, I felt like it rushed at parts in order to have a lot of things happen. 

I would have preferred further introspection from the characters before acting, but for people who like to read books where things "happen", this is a good choice. 

The book very much feels like a romance that decides half way through that other plot events are more relevant and then decides to change genre. 

Spoiler for how plot/character focused the book was during certain events:

At first it felt like the book would focus further on the interpersonal relationships of the characters. In the beginning, a lot of time was spent on the characters panicking over being in situations. The first kisses of the couples got portrayed, after which the characters had to face various challenges to come to terms with their feelings. However, when it came to actually getting into a relationship or showing the conversations needed for that to happen the author skipped forward and just told the audience that the couples were now in functioning relationships, caused by a major plot event. 

Personally, I would've preferred to see how the characters got to where they are, instead of being told that the threat of death made them realise their priorities and then see them kiss.

I really liked how the characters developed and got more loveable to the reader; their actions seemed to make sense in the context of their character, and the development of their actions made sense. 

The romance itself felt a bit rushed to me, but it is still enjoyable, if somewhat frustrating because it doesn't go very in-depth and fails to resolve or address certain topics.

The book mentions a few tidbits that fans of Arthurian legends will recognise, which I thought was very nice. 

All in all an enjoyable read, in my opinion this book would've been 5/5 stars had it been 200 pages longer and actually explored the relationships and worldbuilding further. But then again I really like high-fantasy and worldbuilding.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Outing, Sexism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Religious bigotry

refrejarator's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense 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

5.0

Aww. I laughed, I cried, I relieved my Merthur shipping days. This is the most beautiful, sweet, and tragically romantic book, and i can't wait to read from this author again!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Biphobia, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Violence, and War