Gwen and Art Are Not in Love

4.5 ⭐️

oh gosh, this book ❤️‍🩹

We are talking about a YA coming of age novel where the characters arcs were beautifully written, the rep is *chef's kiss* and the setting could only be described as perfectly on point. Conversations were witty, funny and the friendships were so wholesome from minute one. But this is NOT a retelling. Or at least not a retelling of any well known stories (I am real bad with history, I'm sorry I can't be more precise).

Gwen and Art were a delight to read, their banter going from hate to that sort of friendship where you're like, ugh I hate them but I've grown attached, it was awesome.

Side characters were also a delight to read.

Sydney was funny as hell, fierce protector but also with a no bullshit policy. I wish we got to see more in detail him courting Agnes, that would have been so sweet.

Bridget was the kind of woman I wish more books had. She knew what she wanted, and she took it. She put herself first and foremost, and made sure everyone around her knew it.

Her relationship with Gwen was so sweet, because while Gwen was all gay panicking towards Bridget, she was being all serious but friendly not knowing what to expect out of their encounters.

Also, Gabriel? I love him, he is my baby, protect him at all costs 🥺. Poor boy struggles so much with the idea of being King, and not disappointing anyone and at the same time coping with all of it by spending time buried into books to the point of not sleeping.

The only thing I really wished we could have seen more of is the development of Art and Gabe's relationship. While Art was so sure about himself and his sexuality, por Gabriel struggled real hard with it, and, I know we could attribute the lack of Art's empathy to him having had his heart broken not long ago, but I wished there had been more moments of understanding between them.

It's such a thin line that in part I was like, good for Art for not wanting to meet people where they are because he's already there (as he says, it saves on the commute 😂) but I also hoped for him to be more lenient with Gabe 💔.

At the end of the day this book kind of felt like it lasted forever, because it kind of felt like it wanted to have equal parts romance and story but I never really got the full picture for either of them?

Like, it feels like so many key parts are missing from both the romance and the plot, but if they had been included the book would have lasted even longer.

Let us be honest, I wanted more romance than plot, but that was just my personal craving when I started the book, but it wasn't necessarily bad. The plot twist at the end tho, I really wasn't expecting things to go down the way that they did :')

I don't know what else to say, I really enjoyed my time with this book and laughed real hard while doing so.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to review this ahead of its release! As always all my opinions are my own, no matter the situation.

If you like rom-comy stories, this is for you. I just couldn't really connect with the characters. Arthur started off as annoying, and as the story went on, he only became a little less annoying. I usually like knights and Arthurian tales, but there just wasn't enough growth/development. There wasn't much in the ways of creating the world around the characters, it was rather vague [I'm a sucker for detail and world building]. The story wasn't balanced, and I wished I could have enjoyed it more. If you like coming of age stories, you will enjoy this.

4.3★
this was so amazing, i loved it with all my heart. the arthurian legend is everything to me, and to get a queer story based on it just makes it all better. i have nothing more to say except it was fantastic, it could've easily become one of my favorite books if not for a couple of less good stuff that, honestly, just weren't for me. and it definitely did not help the fact that everyone and their mother decided to interrupt my reading 3 times per chapter in this FUCKING HOUSE (i'm getting tired of my cousins)

-Crossposted on GR-

Overall pretty enjoyable. I liked the relationship between Gwen and Art and how they slowly started to become closer and support each other through everything. I felt the political aspects of the story needed more work. What exactly was wrong with the cultist's way of thinking other than just the name? Like the story just expected you to understand they're bad simply because they oppose the main characters. To be honest that subplot would have been better off removed since in the end it only seemed to serve the purpose of killing off the king. I also feel like Gwen and Art lacked a meaningful connection with their love interests, Gwen especially. Like it was just "hey, that person's really attractive" instead of something gradual where maybe they fall for their LIs despite their convictions because they've grown so close. I could see Arthur semi falling for Gabriel but it didn't feel exactly mutual, like Arthur learned about Gabe but Gabe didn't really learn about him? I can see the angle of the LIs being a vehicle for Gwen and Art's feelings but if they were going to be added it would've been nice to see those relationships and characters fleshed out more. Cover art is adorable, though, and Gwen is so incredibly real

It's not really a gay retelling of Arthurian legend, it's just set in a world where that all truly happened. This was pretty funny and light-hearted and cute and mocking each other for flirting, with a hopeful ending. And I love friendships where there's shortcuts for schemes, like “diversion 1.5.” 
I would like another book to update what happens next with these characters and trying to make their England a better place.
The injuries were described in more detail than was maybe necessary, that felt a little out of the blue, but otherwise, fun read.

I was really excited about this book and I wanted to like it so badly, but by the end I was skimming to finish it. I know other people love this book and I felt kind of bad that I didn't have the same reaction.

In theory, it should have been a perfect match for me because it has all of the tropes I love — but ultimately, there wasn't enough development to the relationships or the characters to make me want to root for the leads or their romances.

To me, the sibling relationship was well developed but that was about it. I think there was a shallowness and rushedness to the romances that made it difficult to buy into the intensity that shows up later on.

The last third(?) of the book felt really rushed and abrupt and I don't think that the plot needed to go in that direction. The book also leaves a lot of things up in the air and I really felt like if it had a bit more development it could have been a 5 stars for me.

Kind of an abrupt ending but it was still pretty fun!

i enjoyed it but i feel like there were a lot of loose ends that the author forgot about..
i dont like that there was a 3 month skip... how you skip over the kings whole ass death and the coronation of a new one? and also is the wedding for arthur and gwen still on or did gabriel stop that?

Maybe more of a 3.5 or a 3.25 if I want to split hairs, but ultimately it was a book I did enjoy. Even if the road was particularly bumpy at times.

I think the important takeaway for me here is to know what the book is before I fall in lust with the title.

I did wind up liking the characters - quite a lot and a lot more than I thought I would. It just took a lot of time for them to grow into characters I actually enjoyed being in the head of. Especially Gwen, because I really had a lot of issues with her to start. My issues with Art came later, as Gwen started to improve - so at least I wasn't finding both of them insufferable at the same time. (And then Art improved and Gwen was the problem again.)

To be fair, though, I got through most of the first third of the book thanks to Gabriel and at least at one point, I thought Bridget and Gabriel could have done much better than either of their love interests. They do both improve (Gwen in fits and starts, honestly, and I still find her somewhat...shrill at times.) But, really, no one is flawless - though Bridget is about as close as possible and still stay likable - and I ultimately enjoyed spending time with these characters - despite them being total messes.

(There's a tiny bit of a plot floating around, but, really, with this title, even I was here for the romance.)

4.5 rounded up to 5 for Goodreads.

We're Gwen and Art n you're watching Disney Channel

This might be the best queer YA novel I've read since [b:Red, White & Royal Blue 41150487 Red, White & Royal Blue Casey McQuiston https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566742512l/41150487.SY75.jpg 61657690], although surprisingly, the romance plot isn't the highlight. Croucher's YA debut takes place in an alternate medieval England, several centuries after the legendary King Arthur and his Round Table. Nobody believes the magical aspect of that story anymore except a few crazed cultists. The current king's daughter, Princess Gwendoline, has been betrothed since birth to Arthur Delacey, the son of a politically important nobleman. Unfortunately, Gwen and Art, who spent time together as children, viciously despise each other. But now Arthur is ordered to spend the entire summer at Camelot, with the not so subtle hint that it's time to get serious about the happy couple's upcoming nuptials. Gwen is peevish and withdrawn, unhappy that she has no control over her life and confused by the strange feelings she gets when she sees Lady Bridget Leclair, the kingdom's only female knight. For his part, Art knows that he is gay, but due to his future as Gwen's husband, he is resigned to quick meaningless encounters. But there's something about the royal heir, Gabriel...not that Art has any feelings for the quiet, bookish prince, or that anything could happen if he did. Meanwhile, Gwen's lady-in-waiting Agnes and Art's snarky bodyguard Sidney are eyeing each other with interest. The book's tone is light for the most part, with plenty of spirited (and modern-sounding) bro banter between Art and Sidney, and sarcastic one upmanship from Gwen and Art. The story becomes darker and more violent in the last 20% as Camelot's peace is brutally shattered. And despite all of the jokes, the MCs experience significant character growth; Gwen becomes less passive and more daring, while Art learns there are better ways to manage depression than binge drinking and extreme sarcasm.My favorite arc of the book was actually the relationship between Gwen and Art. No, they are not in love, but as the story progresses they go from enemies to mutually-assured-destruction partners to supportive allies. They become less self-absorbed as they help each other, even if they rarely admit their mutual admiration. The romances are....fine, but they are underdeveloped. Art and Gabriel in particular have so few scenes together that it's difficult to worry about the futility of the future king considering an ongoing queer relationship. The found family of the three couples (M/M, F/M, and F/F) is endearing. I wouldn't mind reading more about their adventures in the new, greatly changed Camelot, which would no doubt feature Gwen and Art still messing with each other into their old age.I received an Uncorrected Digital Galley of this book from Net Galley almost nine months before publication, so it may change significantly before release (but I hope it won't).

This was a delight! 4.75 stars.