Gwen & Art Are Not in Love

LoveReading4Kids Says

Winner of the YA Book Prize 2024 | May 2023 YA Debut of the Month | Shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards 2023

It’s no secret I love Lex Croucher’s writing — I have reviewed all their books for this website and will do so until someone forbids being a big fan. Every time I read a new one — which is, praise be, generously often because of how much of an outrageously talented powerhouse they are at producing more novels per year than mere mortals would aspire to write in their whole life — the latest novel always becomes my new favourite.

And yes I DID love this book. A queer Knight’s Tale (that should persuade you already) this romcom has a glittering cast of adorable characters, cheeky world-building (the royalty are so obsessed with their potentially magic lineage to King Arthur that there’s a court wizard) and more witty repartee than you can shake a sword at.

Not only is the setting and voice a delight, from a technical point of view, it’s perfectly executed. It’s all in close third person, but Croucher alternates which of the Gwen & Art pair we’re following, and I was always equally invested in both arcs and the interweaving mingling of their relationships with the cast of their confidants: like Gwen’s brother Prince Gabriel, more interested in books and birds than being heir to the throne; Arthur’s fiercely loyal, salt-of-the-earth bodyguard Sidney, who falls for Gwen’s underappreciated maidservant Agnes; and of course Lady Bridget Leclair, the kingdom’s only female knight, who is so dangerously sexy when she’s competing in the jousting championships that it’s practically treason.

I was so invested in the love square that when the characters kissed I literally gasped. I dogmarked so many pages I gave up — Croucher writes with vivid exaggeration and touching relatability the wild adventures of love and lust, yearning and horniness. We all dutifully pledge allegiance. 

Billy Lindon

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