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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
zophiebrown'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
4.75
A really fun read with a delightful set of characters finding their way to happiness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Alcoholism
Minor: Homophobia and Emotional abuse
bookwyrmjulia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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 Gwen and Art. And everyone else. What a joyful, sweet story with the best Renaissance Faire vibes. Not quite history, not quite fantasy, but definitely a Ren Faire vibe and I loved every second of it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
wolafinch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
i was prepared to be a hater (ok, so its camelot, but they're all gay and they all have trauma and Daddy Issues, this sounds like a book-tok book with no depth behind it) but i was smitten
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
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
Content Warnings
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 thatpipettesandpages's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Murder, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia and Vomit
ronniethereader's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, and Alcoholism
karina5162's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Homophobia
konohimawari's review against another edition
5.0
I knew from the moment I picked this one up at the bookstore that it would be a 5star read. I'm not usually a fan of retellings (was this historically accurate? not at all), but you just have those gut feelings sometimes. It was funny, it was lighthearted (for the most part), it was enemies to friends... it was something I was in dire need for. I'm seriously in love with all of the characters and while the last 25% of the book was a bit sudden and quite violent, though not totally unexpected, I enjoyed every second of reading this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
seventhswan's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.25
April's read for book group: I don't think I ever would have picked this book up of my own accord, as YA isn't a genre I tend to gravitate towards, but I found plenty to like about it. The characters were endearing without being overly irritating and the main storyline, while nothing new or groundbreaking, kept me invested. Everything was fairly tropey and predictable, but as a lighthearted, escapist romance, this worked.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism
talasterism's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
liked it more than i thought i would! the characters were fun, i loveee arthur gabriel dynamic, i also just love arthur - "im partial to being adored"??? what a bitch /pos ! some parts were meh - like the part that made the least sense to me is that it doesn't show in many ways that homophobia is prevelent or even a thing in this world, its only ever said like a fact, yet thats the biggest conflict but like? noone seems to have an issue w that apart from the good ol "you must have kids as a royal" so that inconcsitency in stakes was a bit annoying. also bridget is such an icoooon
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and Vomit
Minor: Homophobia