Book Description 

Heartstopper meets A Knight’s Tale in this queer medieval rom com YA debut about love, friendship, and being brave enough to change the course of history.

It’s been hundreds of years since King Arthur’s reign. His descendant, Arthur, a future Lord and general gadabout, has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England, since birth. The only thing they can agree on is that they despise each other.

They’re forced to spend the summer together at Camelot in the run up to their nuptials, and within 24 hours, Gwen has discovered Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur has gone digging for Gwen’s childhood diary and found confessions about her crush on the kingdom’s only lady knight, Bridget Leclair.

Realizing they might make better allies than enemies, they make a reluctant pact to cover for each other, and as things heat up at the annual royal tournament, Gwen is swept off her feet by her knight and Arthur takes an interest in Gwen’s royal brother. Lex Croucher’s Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is chock full of sword-fighting, found family, and romantic shenanigans destined to make readers fall in love.

My Review 

I have been a fan of Lex Croucher’s Regency era novels for adult readers, so I was both excited and curious to see what they would do with a YA novel set in the medieval era. Reader, the result is delightful. 

Gwen and Art have spent so long in a state of mutual loathing that they never realize the potential for friendship. An alliance is just what they need to set about achieving their true goals. It was so much fun to get to see these two scheming together instead of plotting the other’s destruction. Either way, the banter is top-notch and the wit is rapier sharp. And of course, a cat manages to steal the show at every possible opportunity. 

I will say that there is a point in the book where things take a sharp turn and become a lot more serious. Yes, there are hints along the way building up to that point, but it still took me by surprise. I don’t mention this as a criticism or even as a content warning, but more as a cautionary suggestion that things are not all jolly hockey sticks throughout the narrative. I will say, to Croucher’s credit, the transition is seamless and handled masterfully. 

I would absolutely recommend Gwen & Art Are Not in Love. While this book is written for a YA audience, it still bears all the hallmarks of a Croucher novel and will therefore  appeal to fans of Croucher’s other books. I am looking forward to Croucher’s next books!   

I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley