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! 

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.

The idea is cute, but Gwen and Art are insufferable most of the time and I was given absolutely no reason to root for the two relationships because they felt so surface level. Very little plot until suddenly a lot of plot at the end.

This is a young adult wueer King Arthur retelling. Run to your local small book shop and enjoy it! Its an easy and absorbing read. 

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

Queer Arthurian romp! YA historical Romance! A (mostly) comfy medieval rom-com! This was such a nice comfort read to listen to and unwind after long days at work. This story is full of found family and self-discovery. I loved Bridget Leclair. I mean she's a lady knight; of course, I would love her. I enjoyed seeing the two main relationships develop as well as seeing all of the secondary characters and their friendships develop as well. In this respect, it was so refreshing and nice. 

My one critique would be the tone shift at the very end.

While there were seeds of unrest or some nods of political strife early on, the final scenes with the big overthrow felt a little rushed and jarring for me. The setups almost felt too light in comparison. Maybe I was too focused on the romance and teenage shenanigans, but it felt very fast and resolved very quickly right there at the end. I felt like I blinked and it was over. It was a little bit abrupt for a standalone BUT if she writes more then I'll for sure read them.

 

This book is incredibly fun, addictively fast-paced, and charming in all the right ways. It doesn't push the main characters together just because they're the main characters, it doesn't have a "gotcha, they were secretly straight the whole time" twist, and it doesn't even push the main characters into relationships with their romantic interests too quickly. It lets the characters breathe, lets them figure themselves out and find their places in this politically complicated faux-medieval-England. It lets them grow on the reader, too. That said, it has rough edges where it breaks immersion and characters very occasionally contradict themselves in ways that don't make sense. It combines a fast pace, a loghtheated sense of humor, and a serious plot that doesn't hold back. It also has a very minor plot thread or two that come loose from the main story and never really get woven back in properly. Those last things do bother me, but reading this story and getting to see queer people like myself fighting for their rights even in fantasy was well worth ignoring them.