Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher has sword-fighting, found family, and romantic shenanigans. 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.
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a book with a little bit of everything- but no one aspect of the book takes precedence. There is romance, there is coming of age and trying to figure out who you really want to be. There is also danger, family, and intrigue. I enjoyed the read and the way the book uses legends combined with the struggles of people trying to find their place amid expectations, social pressures, and conflicting desires. I love how timeless some of these ideas are, and that the era and setting of this book do not make these themes any further removed from the reader than the pages of the book. There characters were well written, as imperfect and questioning as real people even though they are facing things we are never going to. I think this book will be a much loved book for many young, new, and those of us older adults.
