Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

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.

Content Warnings

lunarlibra's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

Yes. YES.
Picked this up on a whim and devoured it. I had such a hard time putting it down! The characters have real flaws that we see them address and grapple with, we have reluctant allies to good friends, we have sapphic yearning, and a group of teenagers coming into their own.
It's so good and so many things, while also being straightforward enough to read (relatively) quickly and even pick up on the crumbs of foreshadowing scattered throughout.
I feel like it's about, in no particular order,:

first love
healing from first love and finding true love
learning to stand up for what you believe in
queer solidarity
(in some ways) queer mentorship, like when you make your first gay friend or when a baby gay learns from people who maybe never had the option to be in the closet
the political and personal importance of coming out of the closet (even if just to yourself)
the power of friendship
learning to be brave
the pain of parental pressures and disappointment
the almost-miraculous feeling of having your first gay kiss (especially after believing you'd never get to experience it)
learning from stories and myths while keeping a keen eye on the present reality
the beauty and strength of platonic relationships!!!
Did I mention the power of friendship?
"changing for love" not in a shallow and misogynistic way, but in the sense of being inspired by someone you respect to work on personal growth

The writing is evocative, funny, and heartfelt. It felt personal to me and like a completely new story.

It would be a 5 stars read for me if not for one of my pet peeves, which is "miscommunication as the source of drama/conflict". It made sense in the context of the characters, and was somewhat short lived, and given how it wound up fitting into the character development of both of the main characters, so I might change my mind and say it is a five-star read after all.
This book gave me the emotion that makes me love reading, and love books. I can't wait to read the author's other works!

Content Warnings

mrsherrera's review against another edition

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adventurous funny slow-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

3.0

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dragonlilly's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

This story was actually so fun, with characters that get more interesting and enjoyable as the story goes on. I loved the humor between Arthur and Sidney from the start and the audiobook narrator excels at the dialogue and banter, which is most of the story, making the audiobook a good choice. The romance is cute and a there are a lot of funny scenes, but there's a lot more than just romance, and I felt the growing friendship within the story very heartwarming and lovely. We get a really sweet group of friends by the end of the story who have gone through a heck ton of stuff together, including some tragic things, and it all makes sense because of the story's setting. Even the misunderstanding, which I still wasn't a fan of as a general thing, at least made sense within the politics of the story.

The book was written great, and fit the genre and humor very well. I also thought the period discussion when a character experiences a very painful period that makes her almost faint was very notable to me and really cool representation. It addressed the lack of attention by doctors in a way that made sense for the time and setting, but can also parallel to how the modern day isn't much different within the realm of women's health. A super fun and generally lighthearted story, but with a pretty big dark section at the end, and some sad bits throughout but with a inspiring discussion on figuring out what you want in life, allowing yourself to accept that you want it, and then taking the action to achieve it.

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ekgranstro's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

enbae's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense slow-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

3.25

A really good, fun read. A medieval courting story about Camelot's heirs turned queer.
I found the pacing a bit slow, until the end - it seemed a little too fast by then.

Content Warnings

callidoralblack's review

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adventurous emotional lighthearted

Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

raptorq's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

5.0

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