Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

13 reviews

summerfalkenrath's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

This book was everything I wanted it to be! I was so in love with all of the characters and they were all very well rounded and had realistic flaws, habits, desires, and doubts. It made me laugh very often and I was always intrigued by where things were going in every single chapter. There was not a moment of slowness and I was so eager to keep listening ASAP whenever I had to pause for life. Both narrators were very talented and great at portraying the emotions of the whole cast. I felt like the actions of each character felt very realistic and was very happy that a lot of common tropes were evaded during this book. I'm very excited to read more from this author in the future!

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lovosii's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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eldervampire83's review

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emotional funny hopeful tense 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

To be truly brave, first you must be afraid. And to be afraid, you must have something you cannot bear to lose.

The best way to structure this review is to go over my thoughts on Gwen and Arthur's character arcs separately, and then my thoughts on the general plot events after.

Gwendoline

Through the course of the story, Gwen learns to love herself and not doubt her own abilities. All of this is while struggling with becoming a young adult and being betrothed to a young man that she hates. I love that she begins as essentially an unreliable narrator. She had to have the people around her, including Arthur, explain to her different her versions of reality was compared to what was experienced by everyone else around her.
Her budding romance with Lady Bridget Leclair was pretty funny, and I'm happy that Gwen learns what it means to compromise in relationships and friendships. She learns how to grow up and see past her own bubble, and that was refreshing to see in YA.

Arthur

My one gripe with the audiobook is that the voice Arthur's narrator used for him was far too chipper. He's a depressed alcoholic fighting his own internal conflicts, and the narrator took the "I'm pretending to be suave and fun so that I can mask my own pain better" a little too well. Gwen's narrator portrayed his personality a lot better.
So, Arthur's story is both comedic and upsetting. He's a young man that was unable to cope with his mother's death, his abusive father, or the fear that no one would try to get to know him on a deeper level or love him. He has a larger than life personality, but it takes almost the entire book for people to realize how much he's hurting. His growth in coping with his emotions and moving forward with his life beyond his father and what people originally thought of him was satisfying to watch.
His own romance arc

with Prince Gabriel

was so sweet. I love how it was Arthur that helped both royals (with a little bit of blackmail

and some much needed reassurance from King Arthur himself and Sir Lancelot

) learn how to love who they were and how to not fear expressing themselves.

After his brutal attack, all feels hopeless (especially since his father was the one who ordered it), but he was able to both redeem himself with the royals and have a second chance to turn his life around after such a harrowing experience. And he got the boy of his dreams! I couldn't have asked for a better ending for this character.

The final quarter of this book was truly gripping. It went from this sweet romantic comedy to a high stakes emotional roller coaster complete with violence and heartache. It made me enjoy this story all the more.
The topic of internalized homophobia is discussed for a good portion of the book, and it was great to see that type of conflict resolved in a healthy and respectful way.

It was truly a shame, however, that Gabriel and Gwen never got to tell their father about themselves, and that Gabe never got to show him the letters from King Arthur and Lancelot. That was an upsetting lack of resolution, but that sometimes comes with sudden deaths. Not everything gets resolved. At least, the rest of Camelot will get to learn and accept the way people love.

The ending was a little rushed, but other than that, this was quite an enjoyable read.

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dragongirl271's review

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emotional funny hopeful fast-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

3.75

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author_d_r_oestreicher's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

In Gwen &Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher, newborn Princess Gwendoline (not Guinevere) was betrothed to two-year-old Arthur. Growing up, he teases her, and she breaks his wrist, but the primary obstacle to a royal wedding is that both are gay. The story is set in a post-Arthurian England where the king (Gwen’s father) represents the Catholics and Art’s family belongs to the cultists (followers of Arthur Pendragon, Lancelot, Guinevere, Morgana, and Merlin). Some hope/imagine the wedding might unite these two factions. Unfortunately for Gwen and Art, the two factions are already united by homophobia, and the royal couple is closeted. A delightful queer medieval rom-com for teens and young adults.

For my extended notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2024/07/gwen-art-are-not-in-love-by-lex-croucher.html

Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for Omega Cats Press books and book recommendations.

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friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

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4.5

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vr_alyssa's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective tense 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

Yesterday, I decided to spend a couple hours disappearing into this book - which turned into spending a large part of the day, evening and night with it until it was finished.

I really enjoyed the elements of Arthurian legends, England's history, as well as (of course) the romance. Sometimes I found the back and forth between POV's a bit distracting at times, but it was also enjoyable to witness the story from two perspectives (I don't think it would've worked otherwise).

The characters were easy to connect to, despite their stubbornness at times. It was easy to root and feel sad for them as the story progressed. The last 100 pages or so threw me for a spin.

All in all, an enjoyable 'light' read, couldn't put it down. I'd say: a Sunday well spent.

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knockoffrainbow's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.75

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kittiesss's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

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vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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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

4.0

**Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review eARC**

This was real cute. I'm not the biggest historical fiction reader, but this queer Arthurian reimagining with just the most delightful cast of characters had just enough magic and fantasy vibes to keep me hooked start to finish. The whole ensemble cast is wonderfully written. The banter? Amazing. I loved them all from the jump. Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a masterclass in how to write all the kinds of representation. (The scene where

Gwen sticks up for Bridget when her pelvic pain is dismissed by the royal physician

??? My heart is healed even if my uterus isn't.) While I agree with many of the reviews that the latter 30ish% is a major tone shift and a bit jarring, it didn't impact my enjoyment of this book, especially since I'm much more of a fantasy reader than a romcom reader. Highly recommend!

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