The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

Wonderfully, perfectly adorable. I laughed, I got misty eyed, I swooned. This was such a surprise!

Imagine traveling most of the year to Renaissance Festivals selling goods and chatting with all the locals you know from year to year. That is Madeline's life. But this last year has been tough, her mother passed and it's been an almost year of firsts - all the firsts without her mom. Finally, they are at the final RenFest her mom got to go to before she passed and Maddie is ready to just be quiet at this one - reflect, do her coping mechanisms and get through this final first. But as soon as she arrives, so does an odd Bard.

This story was so many things. Maddie's struggle to find her new "normal" was just heartbreaking but also inspiring. show more It was easy to imagine what she was going through and feel her pain. Arthur was the perfect serenading bard. His adventures and sweetness was just a perfect mix of hilarious and chaotic. You really can't help but love him. There were so many laugh out loud moments but also heartfelt special moments, it was easy to completely forget you were reading a book instead of spending a fun hour with friends. I loved this one, every moment of it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. show less

First sentence from prologue: I was ten when I first met the Wizened Old Wizard.

First sentence from chapter one: I wonder what the wizard would tell me now, if he could see me standing with my elbows resting atop the stone wall looking down below into the lazy river moat with literal alligator floaties. I wonder what he would say if he could see my swirling thoughts.

Premise/plot: Madeline Hathaway, our heroine, is mourning the loss of her mother. The first year anniversary of her death is approaching. She and her father will be spending the summer working at one of their favorite renaissance fairs. (They travel the circuit. They used to--all three--travel the circuit. It's been different since she's died. Both are grieving in their own show more way. Readers don't really glimpse *how* he is handling things, but Madeline journals every little thing--literally. She's a chronicle notice-r. She tallies every little thing--day after day, week after week, month after month. (Every time she does something; sees something; feels something; hears something; etc.) When the novel opens, she is about to meet Arthur, a wonderfully weird kid whose dads are equally obsessed with all things Renaissance. These two kings of the faire [or is it fair?] want--at Arthur's insistence--Madeline (whom Arthur calls Gwen) to be the princess, to play the role of princess. She's hesitant and anxious. But after some thought she thinks her mom would *want* her to do this--to step outside of her comfort zone of peasant/peddler and be a princess for a change. As she gets to know Arthur, she begins having many other unexpected adventures... But are these summer changes permanent?

My thoughts: I liked this one. It was premise-driven, in my opinion, though that's not necessarily a bad thing. I thought a few scenes were unrealistic. Granted, I haven't been in Target lately, but I've never once had any employee volunteer to be my personal shopper and hand-select clothes for me to try on, to be at my own beck and call and bring all the sizes, give opinions on what works and what doesn't. That scene feels like a movie-montage-wanna-be. Again, my opinion. Maybe it was just a really slow day?

Madeline is a larger heroine, and, it's nice to see that in a romance. She's much more than just a size, obviously. And I do wish--at least a little bit--that it wasn't such a plot point. Oh this boy couldn't possibly like me because I'm too large to be likeable. I mean it's the trope. And it's a trope that usually brings satisfaction--lovable heroine realizes she was beautiful all along...

Madeline's dad is very absent--physically, mentally, emotionally. He's just always gone. Perhaps because she is trying to avoid him???? Or perhaps he is trying to avoid her???? But it's rare for them to be in the same place and actually talk. This is typical YA, of course. Parents rarely if ever play an important role however. Arthur's two dads, on the other hand, are VERY present--physically, mentally, emotionally. They are scene-stealers. Madeline has a million conversations with Arthur's parent(s)....very few with her own. They are everything her own father is not. show less

An empowering romance between a fat heroine and a nerdy teenage boy.

Maddie's grown up on the Renaissance Faire circuit, but now she's about to go to her mother's favorite fair with the anniversary of her mother's death looming over her. Even worse, the new owners have changed everything, making it hard for Maddie to recognize the place that was so special to her and her mom. She's determined to spend the summer noticing everything she can - in case she loses someone else - and hiding in her trailer.

But then she's visiting the Renaissance Faire grounds at night and meets a teenage bard who insists on calling her Gwen, short for Guinevere. He's the son of the new owners and has the personality of a mischievous puppy dog. No matter how show more hard Maddie tries to push him away, he keeps coming back. He even convinces his dads to make her Princess of the Faire, pulling Maddie out of her comfort zone in a million ways at once.

The will-they-or-won't-they tension between Maddie and Arthur makes every step of progress feel monumental. Maddie’s struggles with anxiety about her weight and grief from her mom's death are equally dynamic. With a fun setting and great characters, this teen romance encourages both Maddie and the reader to find the courage to laugh again after loss.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

Cute, but it felt rather one-dimensional... I can only stand the misconceptions and lack of open communication for so long before I get bored. Sadly, by the time that Maddie and Arthur finally aired out everything, I had already lost interest. This book will most likely appeal to an actual young adult, but I think I'll personally stick with Jen DeLuca's books for a Renaissance Festival fix.

It was the mysterious wizard at a ren faire years ago that set things in motion. Fast forward to almost a year after Gwen lost her mom to cancer. She's still being home schooled and is emotionally frozen by what-ifs and worries about fate. Her chance meeting with Arthur late one night is the beginning of a bumpy, sometimes awkward journey to wholeness for both of them. Read the book and enjoy the great ride within.