Arther and Guinevere lived centuries ago, but Camelot is still the centre of England. Well, so some people believe. The King is trying to please both cultists – who believe all the magic in the original stories was real – and Catholics by centring court at Camelot and uniting the country. The setting of the story, then, is Camelot 8.0 during the annual summer tournament. In this alternate England we have Gwen (Gwendoline) and Art (Arthur). The pair are betrothed, but there is one slight problem – both are gay. Oh, and they’ve also hated each other all their lives. When Art finds out Gwen’s secret the pair realise that they could help each other. So begins the most delicious fake-dating novel cum fantasy that ever existed.
This Queer fantasy rom-com is so well crafted and written that every twist and turn kept me delighted and kept me hooked. The love story centres around two potential couples: Gwen and knight Bridget Leclair, (who Gwen totally hasn’t dreamed of on a regular basis since the age of fifteen,) and Art and Gwen’s brother Gabriel. Bridget is ready to flirt with shy Gwen but Gabriel, as future king, is divided between what he wants for himself and his duty to the kingdom he will one day rule. Sidekicks Sidney and Agnes meanwhile hook up and provide comic relief worthy of Shakespeare.
Meanwhile the fantasy story centres around the divided views of Cultists and Catholics, and the rift this has caused in the past for the kingdom. I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but I promise that if you adore Arthurian myth this book is no soft romantasy. It is well researched and it uses details from the original stories with flair and with style. The two genres meet with laugh out loud results I loved, for example, the party thrown in celebration of Morgana, (Cultists believe this to be a ritual,) that Gwen thinks she has snuck into under cover. It is in this scene that we meet two other important characters – Adah and Elaine.
The story will also be a hit with anybody who loved Brave. Gwen and Art’s supposedly inevitable wedding is impending and both have parent issues. Gwen’s mother is much like the queen from Brave – straight, socially adept and intent on moulding her daughter into her own figure. Meanwhile Art’s father is emotionally abusive and sees his son only as a pawn in a game to raise his own status. Gabriel, too, would like to please his father. Only Bridget Leclair is supported and encouraged to be herself by her father. She provides all the wonderful jousting and sword fighting and horse riding worthy of a character who is not going to conform to the gendered expectations of her time.
This book is a dream. The references to Arthurian tales are bang on but this is also a whole new take on the topic. Believe the hype around this book. Pick it up when you see an entire table devoted to it in a bookshop. Rave about it to all around you. Camelot meets fake-dating in the YA crossover title of the year.
- Gwen And Art Are Not In Love is available now from Bloomsbury YA. RRP. £8.99
