Well, this was thoroughly enjoyable!! I would have loved 50 more pages because the last 20% or so was definitely rushed, but still I enjoyed every bit. Sid - you deserve the world. Arthur - You do grow on people like a fungus, I liked you so much more when you started getting properly hurt ; Gwen and Gabe - Cherish your partners or I swear; Bridget - marry me?

A fun, queer YA romance with a very different storyline to the traditional enemies-to-lovers plot the title suggests.

Gwen and Art have been betrothed since infancy, but they are definitely not in love. In fact, they can't stand each other. Art thinks Gwen is an entitled princess, and Gwen is fed up with what she perceives as Art's cruelty. As a royal jousting competition, and their impending nuptials, force them together, can they find any common ground before they kill each other? And do either of them stand a chance of finding love (with ANYONE other than each other)?

This novel had great characters, great relationships, and plenty of twists and drama. I especially loved Art and Sidney's interactions.

I enjoyed the small nods to the Arthur myth, but - once again subverting our expectations - this is not a retelling, as you might expect from the really clever title.

Gwen and Art are not in love was refreshingly fun and laugh out loud funny.

She has done it again!! I was lucky enough to receive a proof copy for an honest review. And I am so glad! This book is everything I love put all together with great writing, humour and emotions.

As soon as Lex. Said she was doing a book inspired by the Arthurian legend I was sold. This queer and hilarious story is full of action, lust, laughter and jousting!

The book is set a few generations or so after the legendary King Arthur is killed by Mordred. Gwen and Gabriel are prince and princess, and their father, the king has set his palace up in Camelot. Gwen is set to be married to her, betrothed since childhood, pain in the behind, Arthur. However, Arthur and Gwen both have a secret that means that the happily ever after might not follow the same story as the original Gwen and Arthur.

There is so much more to this book than I can write here so will give you a few of my favourite highlights… and oh add in that please don’t let this be a standalone book! I want more Gwen, Art, Gabriel, Bridget, Sidney and Agnes!

Loved the Morgana love 💕 and the idea that people worship her. I loved how the secret letters revealed that perhaps history could have been so much more if it was documented. Plus I loved the setting, the humour and the relationships! Lex is fantastic at creating great relationships and friendships with her characters, they feel so real with their banter, arguments and also their love and care for each other.

Honestly I will read anything this woman writes and ask that she please give me some of her brilliant writing skills as she writes the books I could only dream of writing myself!

n a post-Arthurian Britain the king's daughter, Gwendoline, has been betrothed (at birth) to Arthur, DeLacy, descendent of THAT Arthur, and feckless son of a minor lord. Unfortunately they can't stand each other, so when the marriage is looming, Art is sent to Camelot to spend the summer and to make friends. It doesn't go well, but understanding and potential friendship happens when Gwen catches Art kissing a boy and Art discovers Gwen's secret passion for Bridget Leclair, female tourney-knight. This is a sweet LGBT quirky story which morphs into something more serious (and bloody) Art is totally the opposite of his namesake ancestor. He can't fight and tries not to do too much deep thinking, especially when he's attracted to Gwen's bookish brother, Gabriel, who is next in line for the throne. It's a coming of age story for Gwen who learns what she wants out of life. I enjoyed this, though the ending is a little convenient. YA romantic semi-comedy. Recommended.

I loved this book! Gwen and Art are engaged…but they are also both queer. Once they discover this, what follows is a funny, heartfelt and emotional story which I became so invested in!! Both Gwen and Arthur have their own love interests who are super developed and go from mortal enemies to sort of even liking each other, which makes for a really interesting dynamic between the two of them. I adored all of the characters, they felt so fully realised and were so easy to fall in love with! Overall I really would recommend this book, particularly to fans of Red White and Royal Blue as well as The Song of Achilles as I saw lots of similarities between them!

A 5 stars for enjoyment but a 4 star for the plot so I'd give it a 4.5 overall (but rounding up to 5).

I absolutely adored this book and I was sure from almost the start that it was going to be an unquestionable 5 stars, but I started to get less sure about 80% of the way in when there was quite a big shift in the tone of the book. It definitely wasn't unprecedented and there were hints that it was coming but considering most of the book was a fairly light-toned romance it just took me by surprise slightly.

Having said that, it definitely didn't ruin the book, I just think more of the political and warfare could have been built into the book at an earlier stage. I thought the character development was great and I loved all the different friendships throughout but I especially loved Gwen and Art's enemies-to-friends arc. The romantic relationships between Art and Gabriel and Gwen and Bridget were also really well developed and I was rooting for the them to succeed and be happy the whole way through (as well as smiling giddly at the pages every time Gwen and Bridget kissed).

A book that I will definitely be recommending to a lot of people!!

Oh I did love this title. A smile inducing, heart warming uplifting romantic comedy that I challenge you not to fall head over heels in love with.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.*

<b>Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher is a queer medieval book that mixes historical facts of the Arthurian age and a young adult romance full of humour and heart. </b>

I have to admit I have some <b>mixed feelings about this book</b> because there were things that I really enjoyed and other things I didn’t quite get or connect with.

Gwendoline and Arthur’s parents have decided that in order to help the kingdom they need to get married and do it soon. But of course, they hate each other and cannot stand to be nearby. But what happens when on the first day she spends with her betrothed, Gwen finds Arthur kissing a boy? And when Arthur discovers that Gwen’s crush is the only lady knight in the kingdom (Bridget Leclair)? Well, they accept to fake their love to cover each other and figure out their lives. This is the YA debut of the author Lex Croucher.

The book had some very <b>positive aspects:</b>

- <b>My favourite part of the book were the characters</b>. They are fresh, natural and you can relate to them. Their issues with their sexuality can resonate with many and I believe this is a great reading for a younger audience. The dialogues are fantastic and very funny, which makes this a fast-paced reading that I finished in less than a week.
- The writer uses one of my favourite <b>tropes: found family </b>and I also enjoyed watching the characters grow and get to know each other. This arc felt natural and was well-written. The friendships are the cutest part of the book, even more important than the romantic relationships and I fell completely in love with Gwen and Art’s friendship. I wouldn’t mind reading a book of their adventures and them being funny and silly everywhere.
- <b>Highlight:</b> I must mention that the author talks about period pain and how doctors disbelieve this and even when it was a brief moment, it was something that I really value as we don’t really see this reflected in books often.

However, I’m disappointed to say that <u>this book wasn’t what I was expecting and didn’t meet my expectations for some other reasons:</u>

- I found the <b>historical facts boring and overwhelming</b> sometimes. Even when they added to the set-up of the book they didn’t move the story forward and I zoomed out most of the time. In the same line, the author includes some magic prophecies and fantasy elements that I didn’t quite understand. These elements didn’t add anything and were only mentioned a couple of times.
- Even when I understand the context of the book, I didn’t enjoy the fact that <b>being queer was a problem for almost all the characters</b>. Although I believe the resolution of this “problem” was good, it was something that put me off greatly.
- Another thing I didn’t really enjoy were the <b>action scenes</b>: they were a bit chaotic, and I found myself rereading the same scene a few times to understand what was going on.

<u>This book wasn’t the comfort reading I was looking for, but I believe this can be a great reading for many others.</u> As I previously mentioned, this is a <b>queer retelling that many young people might enjoy </b>and that can help many to understand their sexuality.

I will give Lex Croucher’s books another try as I’m sure their adult books will be more to my liking.

<b>Representation: Sapphic and Achillean characters
Rate: 3/5</b>

Ok so I really enjoyed this, I thought that this was going to be more of a retelling however it wasn’t but I think I liked that better.
I was so taken by this cast of characters, I really loved them all, particularly Arthur (but I always seem to gravitate towards the sarcastic, self-depreciating, really needs a hug character the most). I enjoyed that it was dual pov from Gwen and Arthur’s perspectives but I would have really liked to have some of Gabe’s pov in there too.
The story was compelling, funny and the romances that blossomed between Gwen and Bridget and Art and Gabe were really cute.

The rivalry between Art and Gwen was exquisite but their truce was even better. It’s impossible to imagine this pair of childhood enemies could bury their hatchets but when they discover they have more in common than they knew, they begin to see each other in a new light and their united front (with bickering, of course) is beautiful to see. Will this make your heart ache at times? Sure. Will you be laughing at the top-tier humour throughout? Definitely. This book is chock-full of wit that takes a lot of skill to transfer to the page and I was thoroughly amused by the banter throughout, particularly between Art and Sidney.
Perhaps there could have been a little more chemistry between the couples to land this solidly in the romance genre for me, but the characters were definitely what made this book. Among all the light humour were some tricky subjects and betrayals and a whole lot of baggage but it was incredibly well balanced and whilst the heavy subjects added depth to the story, it still made me feel lighter reading it.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

I don't know what to write in this review because I loved this book so much. The characters are wonderful, charming and delightful. The dialogue is so witty I was cackling while reading. I was kicking my feet and swooning at the romance. I cried at the heartwrenching moments. I am going to be thinking about this for weeks at the very least. No notes

I am not a huge fan of romance stories but this one sounded too good to pass on.

This is a great book for fans of BBC's Merlin, as I am, as there is actually queer representation in here. There is a lot of sword fighting and character development, and a whole load of romance.

It was nicely paced and an enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

Gwen & Art Are Not In Love is a delightfully queer historic fiction that is full of heart. The blurb describes it as a medieval rom com and that feels like the perfect fit. Reading it was a joyful experience and yet again I loved Lex Croucher's sharp humour and endearing characters. This is a story of love, family and finding yourself. It is comical, full of sarcasm and banter, but with some lovely heartfelt moments too.

Highly recommended for fans of the author's previous books, but also to anyone who is enticed by the idea of a queer medieval rom com. It won't disappoint!

A widely enjoyable historical ya romance. I adored this, and the fact we have so much romance too! What a bonus!
This is perfect for fans of the BBC show Merlin, but unlike the show, we actually see the mmc get together in the end.
There's a whole lotta sword-fights, yearning and amazing character developments so definitely check this one out ⚔️
Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC

How do I write this without crying?

I must say, despite being extremely excited for this book, I was quite worried. I couldn’t get into some of Croucher’s previous work but this one called out to me. Any time there’s sapphics, I’ll be there. And my God, it did not disappoint.

Now it would be easy to focus on the romantic relationships in the book (there are plenty) but what really stuck out to me was the character development. There is a deciding moment for every single character, protagonists and side characters alike, that sparked a change in their personalities. And that’s what I loved most about this book. Despite being plot heavy, we still got a good balance of characters learning and messing up and learning again.

I LOVED the dynamic between Gwen and Arthur. Their scenes together made me laugh out loud, made me tear up a little, and made me smile with so much joy.

I highly recommend this book to everyone and anyone.

4.5 OUT OF 5 STARS

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is a young adult queer romance set a few hundred years after the death of King Arthur, in a world where, though the legend persists, not all believe in its truth. Gwen, princess, and her betrothed, Arthur, are dreading their engagement but soon figure out they can cover for each other - they're both gay and reluctant to reveal it.

What ensues are hijinks of the highest order, mixed well with serious themes of responsibility and growth. I admit, it took me a while to warm to Gwen and Arthur - initially to me they seemed immature, often whiny, with Gwen additionally snobbish and Arthur additionally inconsiderate of all around him. But, as the story developed I warmed to them. They definitely both grew immensely throughout the story - even if that growth was sometimes a little ham-fisted - and their romances were sweet.

This book also had a few of my favourite tropes in it and some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments too. The finale was agonizing - in a good way - and I admit I shed a tear or two.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and read it all in one go. We know Lex Croucher because we so often sell their adult books in Bath - Jane Austen meets Gilmore Girls is irresistible for visiting Bridgerton fans. I knew this would be fun but I was very pleased to discover how good it really is! I love a YA title that can't really be compared to anything else, especially as YA so easily gets bogged down in trends and copycats, and I think we're going to be selling a lot of this. The characters are very well pitched at teenagers too - I find some of the villainy a little 2d, but given how fun the main crew and the rest of the dialogue was I'm very willing to forgive. There's also some really fantastic and enjoyably meta ideas about the legacy of arthurian legend which I especially enjoyed. All in all it felt rich and fun and thoroughly enjoyable. I'll be keeping a keen eye out for all future works by this author!

God I wish I had had fiction like this when I was a teen.

Charming, adorable, hilarious, some mild peril ... it ticked all the right boxes. It's not one to read for exact historical accuracy, and it's not a retelling of Arthurian legend - so don't go in expecting that. It was a little slow to get started, but once I got to know the fabulous characters, I was completely hooked.

A super fun and wildly enjoyable rom-com that had my grinning from ear to ear and wiggling in my seat. This was so readable and could be enjoyed by someone of any age. The pacing was perfect and stayed consistent the whole way through and I found it so hard to out down. I can't wait for even more from Lex in the future.

A fun, modern twist on the legendary tale. This LGBTQIA+ romance is stunning, heartwarming and a real insight into Gwen and Art themselves. I loved it so much. Huge thank you to the publisher for the chance to read this ARC and review.