Title: Gwen and Art Are Not In Love
Author: Lex Croucher
Genre: Historical YA
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 432
Release Date: 11 May 2023
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Hello fellow book lovers! Today I'm sharing my review for Gwen and Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher, the heartwarmingly hilarious, utterly swoon-worthy and marvellously queer historical rom-com that fans of A Knight’s Tale and Arthurian Legend are bound to enjoy.
Synopsis
It’s been hundreds of years since King Arthur’s reign. His descendant, Arthur, a future Lord and general gadabout, has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England, since birth. The only thing they can agree on is that they despise each other.
They’re forced to spend the summer together at Camelot in the run up to their nuptials, and within 24 hours, Gwen has discovered Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur has gone digging for Gwen's childhood diary and found confessions about her crush on the kingdom's only lady knight, Bridget Leclair.
Realizing they might make better allies than enemies, they make a reluctant pact to cover for each other, and as things heat up at the annual royal tournament, Gwen is swept off her feet by her knight and Arthur takes an interest in Gwen's royal brother.
Review
With Misunderstandings, murder plots and medieval hijinx galore (not to mention the sassy adorableness of Merlin the cat)— you’ll be hard pressed not to fall head over heels for this compelling (and utterly cheeky) cast of characters.
Full disclosure, I did go into this thinking it was a queer retelling of Arthurian legend, but it’s not that at all! It’s actually a medieval coming of age story exploring sexuality, parental/ societal expectations and love in all its many forms—and honestly I LOVED it even more for its refreshing originality.
Both Gwen and Arthur were brilliantly written, witty and fabulously endearing characters whose angsty teenage woes —and journey to self discovery (and acceptance) is sure to resonate with many readers. I adored the back and forth banter between them (as well as Arthur’s banter with Sidney) and enjoyed watching their almost sibling-like bond grow. Plus Arthur’s obvious attempts at being Gwen’s wingman were super entertaining.
The romance was executed to perfection and will definitely get you in the feels with the heartfelt and tender exploration of first loves, found family and friendship.
Overall, this was an emotionally poignant, slightly melodramatic and endlessly funny historical romp that fans of Heartstopper should definitely check out.
Also thank you to Nina Douglas and Bloomsbury for the arc.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
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