Bridget & Gabe Are Not Okay: A Novel

The Camelot Disasters #2

by Lex Croucher

Return to Camelot in the much anticipated and funny follow-up to the instant New York Times bestselling and YA Book Prize winning Gwen and Art Are Not in Love.

They fell in love. They won a great battle. It should have been happily ever after. But now, Camelot’s famous couples have fallen apart.

Newly crowned King Gabriel is having panic attacks in cupboards in-between council meetings. He can't tell Arthur just how not okay he is – so he's set him free, to find love with someone who can get through the day without breaking down.

Bridget has lost her spark for sparring, forfeiting again and again in the lists. When she’s invited to join Gabriel's round table, she hopes it’ll be the change she needs. But trying to navigate the post-happily-ever-after reality of a relationship with Gwen, when Bridget no longer feels like the dashing knight Gwen fell in love with, feels impossible.

With the kingdom still reeling from an attempted uprising, and rumoured sightings of the holy grail, the questing beast and the green knight happening across the country, the gang depart on a PR tour destined for disaster. Can Gabriel be the king his country deserves? Can Bridget get her jousting groove back? And will they find their way back to the courtly love that once seemed fated?

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Queer, Gay

416 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication August 6, 2026

About the author

Lex Croucher grew up in Surrey, reading a lot of books and making friends with strangers on the internet, and now lives in London with an elderly cat. With a background in social media for NGOs, Lex now writes historical-ish rom coms for adults (REPUTATION, INFAMOUS) and historical fantasy rom coms for teenagers. GWEN AND ART ARE NOT IN LOVE is their YA debut.

Reviews

[b ☆]

to know me is to know how much i adored gwen and art are not in love. just know that i am seated. i’m so seated that the bookstore employees are actually terrified and begging me to leave, but i am simply too seated.

[LilyElfgreen]

why did i think this was a retelling from Gabe's and Bridget's POV and not a sequel?? I would like the second POV better than "the couples have fallen apart" sequel

[Mac]

lex croucher, the author that you are!

[Quill&Queer]

SEQUEL???

[lorenzodulac]

WE HAVE A COVER PEOPLE!!

[Erin McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Edelweiss for the ARC!

I think this suffered from me not re reading the previous book before reading this, as I had a bit of a harder time getting back into the cadence of the writing and the characters. All in all I think it covered some really important ground and topics, and didn't shy away from certain things or say "and then love fixed it!" I also think the addition of the Arthurian legends was pretty fun.

[Gail]

a SEQUEL to one of my favorite books of 2023!!!!! god loves me so much i am fully prepared to have the time of my LIFE next year

[Serena Bratten]

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET AN ARC

[Ryofire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for the early copy. I did enjoy the first book a great deal, and this leans more towards a 4.5 than a 5 star, but generally it's still quite an enjoyable book and made me laugh and grin a great deal. Since I don't have the best luck with sequels, especially with f/f stories, this speaks greatly of my enjoyment.

I'm not a fan of break-up stories in general, and this one walked the line of comfort in a lot of ways, but overall the heart worked, and it was nice to see where the characters found themselves and each other. The humor was still great, and the banter was fun, and I liked the way Croucher navigated the different plots. I also think end spoiler having the angry mob scene was very important because yes, a lot of queer history was made with violence. And with worse things. And specifically bringing it up from a misogyny angle is important, too. I again find it odd I'm still reading so many stories about grief, but I suppose that's a lot of what life is. I don't feel particularly wiser after it all, but I do appreciate seeing others manage the more complicated aspects of it themselves, to hopefully come out more healed in some fashion. I also really loved the emphasis on friendship and people working together to support each other, not just pair off or so into cliques. Everyone banding together to support Arthur in particular was really nice, given what he went through last book. Though I do wish there was a bit more time spent on his feelings about his father. I found it interesting how he mourned Gabriel's father, but I was curious to explore more of what he related to talking to Florian about Florian's father. It's not the biggest loss, and the story still works as is, but it was something I kept hoping for that we didn't get.

One odd but not bad aspect is the inclusion of what seems very obviously to be Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and Sir Ballister Blackheart from "Nimona" by ND Stevenson. I mean, Sir Leonard, a showoffish character designed as stained glass with nothing between his ears, focused on his looks and with gorgeous "flaxen"/golden hair, and Sir Bowen, who notably has dark hair and is seemingly shown as the smarter member of the duo. Also they're clearly in love from the get-go and focused primarily on jousting, which is, notably, the situation where Ambrosius injures Ballister in the comic. Of course, maybe this is just an entirely random set of blonde show-offish guy and his smart and gruff but wise dark-haired boyfriend. Notably, Blackenloin was a pretty big deal back when they were officially canonized as an m/m couple in 2013, so it makes sense, on a lot of levels, for them to be here. I know that was formative for a lot of folks. And it fits the book in a way, it just feels kind of random. For similar reasons, I'm not sure Viv is a reference to the Lady of the Lake in at least some productions of "Monty Python's Spam-A-Lot", but I don't know that she isn't, either..

I also appreciated Bridget's exploration of being genderqueer. I'm not going to put a label on it, but it was an interesting exploration of the character. It really worked with the ending message of the narrative: be fierce, not meek, and everyone who hates you can choke. If you must go down, go down fighting, not cowering. Considering the increased rise of misogyny and transphobia these days, this was a good message for the story.

If I have one criticism, it's that I had an early review copy that still had a few too many typos. It was obvious this was going to be edited more before it moves down the publishing line, but truly, maybe have someone give it at least one more full look-through. The typos aren't everywhere, but there are a number of them.

Overall, it's a very enjoyable follow-up. If you're wary of sequels in queer books, maybe give it a chance, since it's quite good.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I didn’t expect a sequel to this book, so I was excited to see I was invited to read it!

This unfortunately wasn’t as good as the first one. I wouldn’t say it’s not worth the read if you liked the first book, but I don’t know if you necessarily need to jump on it right away.

I respect the author for wanting to explore mental health representation as well as a from of PTSD, but I don’t think breaking up the characters to start the novel is the way to go.

I can’t stand when we wait a whole book for the couples to get together, only for the sequel to have them break up. I get that authors want to add conflict, but there are other ways to explore that. Have Gabriel and Bridget go through their struggles, but let Arthur and Gwen be a part of that journey and help them out!

The miscommunication was awful. I get it may be hard to talk about your feelings, but Gabriel and Bridget should know Arthur and Gwen well enough that they love them and wouldn’t judge them for how they are feeling. If they were open and honest with them, half of their pain would have never happened. I also can’t stand when a character assumes what is good for another person and makes a decision for them. Gabriel and Bridget really hurt Arthur and Gwen by pushing them away. If Arthur and Gwen decide it is too much for them to handle, then at least they had a choice! I get that it may be hurtful to tell someone your struggles and they decide it’s too much, but again Arthur and Gwen clearly loved the two of them, and that wouldn’t have happened.

I hate to say it, but there wasn’t really a point to this book. It felt like it was just like, oh the first book did well enough, let’s just write a second. I think the character’s struggles are important to talk about, but everything else that happened wasn’t really necessary. I personally feel like everything we got in the first book was enough for me! Sure I was a little curious how the aftermath would be and to see more of the couples, but it could have been a novella or something brief, not a whole entire book.

The best thing about this book that was consistent with the first book was the humor! The humor is 10/10. Practically every page I was actually laughing out loud. The banter is so funny, as well as the character’s inner thoughts. Any comedic bit was my favorite part about the book and thankfully there was a lot of it.

Arthur remained the best character. I do really love him and Gabriel. I loved Gabriel and my heart ached for him at how scared and overwhelmed he was feeling. I thought Bridget and Gwen were a little underdeveloped compared to the first book. They were in it a decent bit, but I thought they sort of took the back burner for Gabriel. Which in a way makes sense, since he is the king, but still.

I really liked all the characters we were introduced in this novel. I loved Neil, he was so endearing. Sir Bowen and Sir Leonard were also pretty funny! Sidney wasn’t in it too much, but when he was he stole the show. Florian was my favorite addition to the cast of characters! I loved him. He gave off such baby energy. Not that he was childish, but just so adorable and endearing!

I wasn’t as impressed with this one as the first book, but if you want to read another book with these characters in it, it is not a terrible read.

[Amy Dickinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these characters so much, and I find it so easy to slip into the worlds that Croucher creates. The writing style, the chemistry between friends and romantic interests, the adventures and the personal challenges all feel so real and full of heart. I had the best time reading this and loved every bit of the drama, intrigue, humor and heart.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and Edelweiss for the ARC!

[Rae Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad this is becoming a series!

[Lia !! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I CANT WAIT!!!! And it's expected to be released on my birthday!!!! I can't wait to see the group again!!

[Selah Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

PRE READ!
Omg this sounds absolutely AMAZING consider my calendar booked for August 6th!!!

[emma 🇵🇸❤️‍🔥]

AHHHH THIS BOOK WILL MAKE MY YEAR

[finny]

ME CAIGO DE ORTO

[Abigail Astorga-Paz]

I'm praying Gabe doesn't hurt Art because Art has been through A LOT already

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC!

[Pula]

i am SO EXTREMELY excited to be brought back into this world. thank you Lex Croucher i am literally shaking in anticipation. if i could sacrifice my first born child for an ARC i would
i obsessively check this goodreads page every couple weeks because i'm absolutely itching to be thrown back into this world again <3