A tad unsatisfying at parts (looking at the end in particular) but so so sweet and special.   Also reminds me of Shannon Hale’s Goose Girl series!!! Which is the highest compliment

Bloody brilliant! *will add more detail and specifics later because I have a lot of thoughts. So many quotable quotes and opinions on characters*

 If you’ve read other fantasy novels, particularly those of Shannon Hale and Kristin Cashore, you will be just fine in terms of content warnings and the like. You will also very likely love this book as much (if not more) than I did. Plus, the acknowledgements section features an absolutely GOATED list of queer authors: Alice Oseman, Becky Albertalli, Casey McQuiston, and Rainbow Rowell (among others)!! 

You can tell a lot of thought and care was put into this book and it was delightful overall. We need this book, and so many more books like it. So many air kisses and hugs to the author and all who made it possible. MWAH!

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.

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.

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.

Un roman difficile à lâcher (j'en ai d'ailleurs lu plus des 3/4 en deux nuits. Dormir c'est surfait...) et qui m'a beaucoup fait rire/ricaner ! J'ai beaucoup aimé les personnages et notamment Art et sa complexité, à la fois courageux et lâche, bon et gris à la fois. L'ambiance générale du roman m'a donné l'impression de retourner dans l'univers de la série Merlin que j'ai tant aimé adolescente, la diversité et la présence de personnages ouvertement LGBTQIA+ en plus ! Les relations entre les personnages sont belles, ponctuées de hauts et de bas et finement accompagnées de complots et de jeux d'épées qui m'auront tendue jusqu'à la fin (vraiment les chapitres juste avant les deux derniers m'ont fait retenir ma respiration jusqu'à la fin). Bref un coup de coeur 💙

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love takes place in a sort of alternate-history, King Arthur-inspired England. In this world, Arthur and co. are distant, maybe-mythological figures who still heavily influence the political landscape of England - the country is ruled by Catholics, but there is also a faction of cultists who believe that King Arthur was a real person who will eventually return to rule again.

Against this backdrop, we have the story of Gwen (the princess) and Arthur (a lord's son who is descended from/named for the legendary king himself), who have been betrothed since they were children. There's just one problem: they absolutely hate each other. Although they haven't seen each other since they were children, when Gwen tricked Arthur into breaking his arm, this is the summer they are finally going to be married. So Arthur and his manservant/best friend/bodyguard Sidney arrive in Camelot, glad to be away from Arthur's controlling father and ready to wreak havoc.

Although our POV characters are Gwen and Art, we also get a lot of screen time from Gabe, Gwen's bookish older brother who is the reluctant heir to the throne; Bridget, the only female knight in the country, who Gwen is fascinated by; the aforementioned Sidney; and Agnes, Gwen's lady-in-waiting. The impetus of the plot is that, after Gwen and Art discover that they both aren't interested in marrying someone of the opposite gender, they decide to pretend to be infatuated with each other to get everyone else off of their scents. Although at first they are still putting up with each other, they eventually become friends, while also growing their romantic relationships with other characters.

One thing I really enjoyed about Gwen and Are Are Not in Love was how it felt fresh and modern, but also semi-believably historic. Croucher clearly put some thought into the King Arthur-obsessed alternate historical background, and it paid off. The characters were diverse in terms of race, sexuality, and even neurodivergence, but not in a way that felt like putting modern diagnoses or terms into a setting where they didn't belong. (Maybe it's just my reading, but I definitely got neurodiverse vibes from most of the main characters, haha.) The dynamics between all of the different characters were equally lovely - Gwen and Gabe's sweet sibling relationship, Gwen and Art's reluctant friendship, Sidney being so ride-or-die for Arthur, and of course the romantic relationships as well - and I loved how they all became a group working together by the end. I also liked the backstory/subplot of unrest between the Catholics and the cultists, and Gabe's preparation for becoming the next king of England.

For me, this is only a 3.5 star read rather than a 4 star read because of the tone shift at the end.

Although I didn't really mind the suddenly raised stakes of the battle, I wish that Gwen had been given more of an opportunity to shine w/r/t strategy and kingdom management, which I thought was where things were headed. And even though part of me liked the ending, I did feel it was a little too happily-ever-after - even in this alternate history, I thought Gabe announcing all of their relationships was pushing credulity. I would have liked it better if they'd come up with some kind of plan to let them fly under the radar for longer.

However, I do think it is a super fun read. It's not actually a fantasy, but it has more fantasy than historical fiction vibes; I think the feel is modern enough that even readers who aren't usually into those genres might be persuaded to give it a go.

In terms of language (none/extremely minimal) and sexual content (on page kissing and extremely brief allusions to more) this is totally high school appropriate. I'd hesitate to hand it to a younger reader because Arthur and Sidney are drunk a lot in the first half-ish of the book. Obviously this is a situation where the characters are teenagers, but adults in the world of the story, so it's not underage as such; it's also made pretty clear by the other characters' reactions - and even Arthur's own self reflection - that he knows his drinking is a problem.

He even decides to stop at the end of the book, although it's fairly glossed over.

That being said, it felt excessive and uncomfortable to me as an adult reader, because it was clearly unhealthy, but I wouldn't want this to be a younger reader's first introduction to how teenagers should or do interact with alcohol.

This is everything I needed in a story! It’s all about love, friendship and unexpectedly a little bit of kingdom politics. The characters are so real and my heart goes out to the main six 🥰  the writing is heart warming, tear jerking, while also being laugh out loud funny in different moments. 
 
🥰 It’s a  story of a princess betrothed to a boy , but the boy likes her brother, and the princess likes the only lady knight in the kingdom. 🏳️‍🌈 🧡🩷 💚💙