A review by bookishmillennial
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? No
General disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. Thus, no stars doesn’t indicate that the book wasn’t worthy of any starred system. It just means I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all, even if the lesson is that I’m a ho for the smut, recognizing a genre/book/author is not for me, or confronting my own mommy/daddy issues lol. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Happy reading! Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial 

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is not a retelling -- it's set in an alternate history a few hundred years after the events of King Arthur & the round table. Also Arthur is half-Iranian and Bridget is Thai. I think I sped through too quickly because I didn't catch this but was reminded haha. Love this representation! 

This was a pensive, slow-burn coming-of-age with a romance subplot with somewhat current dialogue, which kept the mood lighthearted and goofy. I know others may not like this for a historical fictional book but I thought it brought levity and fun to an otherwise serious storyline! As far as the plot, ye be warned because there is ultimately zero plot until the last 20% of the book, as this mostly focuses on character relationships and personal growth in each character, especially as they come to terms with their sexual orientations. 

Arthur and Gwendoline only fake date to be able to further explore their queer connections with
Bridget and Gabriel,
but Arthur has already become more comfortable with his sexuality, making self-deprecating jokes and displaying lots of dry, sarcastic humor. 

Meanwhile Gwen struggles a bit more to go after what she wants and to vocalize what she is feeling. Her repressed sexuality and her shame is so relatable, and I loved when she was finally able to
ask Bridget for what she wanted/needed with her.
Bridget is a badass butch lesbian and is not afraid of anyone. She is focused on her goals and living a full life. Bridget truly is goals! 

The other side characters were fun too: Sidney & Agnes! I loved the friendships and the sibling dynamics. So sweet! I think this whole group was so lovely to get to know, & I'd happily take spinoffs for Sidney & Agnes. The chaos of this group is just delightful. 

The issue of marrying someone of your same gender or just non-heterosexual marriage is interesting in the way Croucher presents it and I wish they had shown
the final resolution ON PAGE at the end but it's fine. I will imagine that eerything ended well and that gay marriage was legalized in this world there haha.

Last but not least, one of the characters goes through severe period pain and there is a bit of a storyline about medical gaslighting with making the women feel like they "simply can't handle pain" and OMFG THE WAY I FELT SO SEEN! *insert sob session* I loved how powerful this moment was, where they did not accept "get over it" as medical advice and looked for alternative medical opinions, to help with the character's nausea, fatigue and pain. 

Quotes that stood out to me:
  • “The path to love never did run straight.”
  • “I like some risk now and again, if what’s at stake is worth having."
  • “How am I supposed to know what I want?” Gabriel said quietly. “There’s only ever been room for what I’m . . . destined to have.”
  • “𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘳 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦.”
    “𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘳 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?”
    “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺—𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”
  • “Looking at her felt a lot like wanting something.”
  • '"Cheers," Arthur said despondently. "To a long and happy life together."
    "Don't say that," Gwen said, wincing and taking a sip of her own tea. "I'm already depressed enough as it is."'
  • '"...plus I'm a fantastic kisser. If you'd kissed me, you'd be singing a different tune.'
    'That's not a tune,' Gwen said. 'That's the sound of retching.'"
  • "'Off to bed then?' he said, for lack of anything else.
    'Actually, I-I'll probably go to the library.'
    'In the middle of the night?'
    'In the middle of the night.'
    'Oh,' said Arthur. 'That's...admirable, I suppose.'
    'Is it?'
    'Well, somebody's got to do it.'"
  • “Nobody else is ever going to care as much as you do about the things that you want, Gwendoline. So it’s up to you—you can put them aside forever, if you can live with that, or you can put on your big-girl girdle and demand more for yourself.”
  • I said no to giving up my whole life to wait around for moments with you, whenever you could spare them. That’s not who I am, and it’s not what I want, and I think that, given some time, you’ll realize that it isn’t what you want either.”
  • To be truly brave, first you must be afraid—and to be afraid, you must have something you cannot bear to lose.”
  • “I don’t think doing a difficult thing and being happy are mutually exclusive, Gabriel. I think you could both have some of the things you want, if you’re brave enough to ask for them.”
  • “If you think about it, some variety of magic turns up in the story of every country and kingdom in the world. It goes by different names, but it’s always there. Other religions have their own magic words—their own rituals. It seems unlikely that magic never existed, and yet everybody came to the same conclusion of their own volition.”

Fun Facts:
  • They have a cat named Merlin
  • Gwen loves embroidery as a hobby
  • Since we spend a lot of time insides castles and around princesses and princes, there is a LOT of velvet and gold mentioned, along with ornate, ornamental, regal, delicate designs -- it's very easy to imagine this world
  • Flowers mentioned: bluebells, roses
  • Scents mentioned: orange, sandalwood, grapefruit, ginger, cinnamon

I think people who enjoyed BBC's Merlin, A Knight's Tale, Heartstopper, and Sex Education would love this! 
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