I made sure to read the first in the series before starting this one, and I’m impressed by how well All the Painted Stars managed to avoid the second-book slump of so many series.

Lily and Jo sparkled from the first page, just like the stars on Lily’s battered old shield. I enjoyed the slow build to the romance that gave both characters room to figure out not just who they wanted to love, but also who they wanted to be themselves. I’m also a sucker for a good tournament story with an underdog, so this story felt like a sapphic version of A Knight’s Tale with a beautiful found family reunion in the end. A solid 4.5 stars (all painted, of course)!

Having not read the first book in the series, I found that it was very easy to know what was going on. There were a few times that I knew I was missing a little bit of context, but not enough to detract from the overall book. I wish the slow burn wasn't as long as it was, but can see how anything else may not have worked with the story.

My opinion of Hartswood went up as I read from a slightly slow start, and this book kept it through the whole way. That could possibly just be because I am biased toward sapphic romances that I'm a little more patient with the set up, but I think it also was Denny finding their stride with this follow up. I adored watching different pieces fall together and being like !!!! I knew it!!! I think this book is not only an incredible expansion of the families and world of Hartswood but just a wonderful work from Denny, and has made me into a loyal reader, excited for whatever comes next.

This was a fun sapphic romance placed in one of my favorite settings: Medieval England. There's knights and lords and ladies and a tournament, as well as a small town family running a brewery. It has found family and real family good vibes.

I didn't read the first book and didn't really feel like I needed to to enjoy the story.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loved Tamora Pierce books as a kid and grew up to be queer.

This was a sweet story. I loved the set up and the historical location/time period and how the author made the realities of being a woman in the Middle Ages so clear. I was rooting for both women from the very beginning and loved how they evolved.

4.5 stars. I want to go back in time and give this book to my sixteen-year-old baby lesbian self because she would lose her mind. I loved this book so much. Jo and Lily were incredibly charming, and I was in deep. I've discovered I have a particular fondness for knights and ladies (still trying to unpack what that means for me on a personal level) and this one was a wonderful addition to the collection. The writing here was really good, and the audiobook narrators rocked it.

Thanks to Harper and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for my review.

I loved the story of two childhood best friends there for one another, Jo going so far to disguise herself and enter a tournament to save her best friend from a marriage she doesn't even want. The relationship is a slow and sweet build and the story was a lot more cozy and low stakes then I expected then I first expected. This isn't a knock against it, though there were a few parts that I kinda felt like I was slogging through, but I don't regret hanging in there. These two were extremely adorable.

I picked this up because I am a huge sucker for lady/knight romances, especially when they're lesbians. This is apparently linked to another book that Denny has written, but if you come in blind like I did, you'll still find a fantastic romance between a lady, the woman who loves her (who's also maybe a knight in disguise at the tournament where her hand is supposedly being offered), and the two of them escaping briefly to get a taste at being together before they make their choice. Great sex scenes, fun read, and there were only a few anachronisms (there were not t-shirts in the 1390s) that drew me out of the story.

after reading this i need more medieval sapphic books asap!!! the pacing was kinda slow at times but overall a good read!

thank you netgalley for the arc!

I really wanted to love All the Painted Stars, and there’s definitely a lot to enjoy here! The setup is amazing—Lily sneaking into a tournament disguised as a knight to save her best friend Jo from a forced marriage? Sign me up! And the romance that blooms between them is super sweet and tender.

The countryside setting is lovely, and I could totally picture the blackberry bushes and peaceful lakeside walks. It’s the kind of cozy, escapist read that makes you want to curl up with a cup of tea.

That said, the pacing felt pretty slow to me. There were parts where I just wanted things to move along faster, especially with all the drama going on around Lily and Jo.

My favorite part? Mabel the Brewster and her family—what a badass! She’s tough, clever, and honestly kind of steals the show. I loved every scene she was in.

If you’re into soft, historical romances with a lot of heart, you’ll probably enjoy this one. It wasn’t a perfect fit for me, but I still had a good time with it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

I'll admit, I did not read the synopsis closely enough when I requested a review copy. I only knew that a chaos sapphic was going to be fighting dudes for her lady love and thought "yes, please." Unfortunately, the tournament itself is a much smaller part of the plot than I had anticipated. I was hoping to watch more of the fights, see Lily get down on her luck and rely on her love of Jo to keep going. I wanted the tension of seeing other competitors doing well and wondering if they would be the one to win Jo's hand. But all of that is thrown out pretty quickly. In fact, the characters don't actually stick to the "win the tournament to win her hand" premise. So with the base concept I was so interested in glossed over or thrown out entirely, I spent the second half of the book pretty disappointed.

That isn't to say there wasn't merit in the middle third. It was pretty cozy and obviously well researched medieval facts. I loved the emphasis on the female-led occupations of the time and it didn't go overboard with the "medieval times were dark and cruel" myths that so many historical fiction novels can fall into. The steamy scenes were well written for the most part (little too much mention of "hair furring" across skin, but nothing egregious) and there was one reveal of a character's identity that I particularly enjoyed.

Unfortunately, the pacing got a little wonky towards the end. A giant amount of conflict is crammed into the last 50 pages, which felt jarring after so much time with few issues. I can't tell if the reveals at the end were telegraphed or I just fixated on the hints too much, but nothing was really a surprise. I did like Jo's arc of reclaiming her power and there was a sweet scene just before the epilogue that was nice.

Overall, it's a pretty good romance. Not quite what I had been hoping for, but still worth the read.

Review

This book was very well written, I loved how some of the things introduced in the first part of the book paid off at the end. The author really made you care about our two main characters Lily and Jo. They are three dimensional characters and all of the side characters are well developed as well. Almost all of the side characters serve a purpose in the narrative which is something I appreciate.

The author admits this book is full of tropes they enjoy and I have to say I’m a fan of most of them as well. From a woman in armor, who doesn’t love that after seeing Chappell Roan. It is also full of romantic tropes like only one bed. However far from being a trite repetition of such concepts this book plays with and turns these tropes on their heads in new and interesting ways.

For the spice level I’d say about a one or a two, there are open door scenes but they are narratively appropriate and very much add to the plot and the characters romantic relationships, but are most definitely not the focus of the book. I found the ending to be wonderful, however the book does follow one trope I like which is the third act 'breakup'. I understand why it has to be there. Genre demands it if nothing else. But that is still my only criticism.

I’d have to give this book five stars. It is definitely rivaling Godkiller for my favorite book of 2024!

Johanna and Lily often send each other letters and have become good friends. Through a letter, Johanna informs Lily that she is supposed to get married, and that a tournament will be held to determine who she will marry. Lily Barden is intent on disrupting the tournament, because Johanna is reluctant to get married.

This book was wonderful. It was interesting, had a good romance, and was a "page-turner." Emma Denny did a great job having the connection between the characters and keeping the reader interested in other plot lines including the romance.

I hadn’t realized that this was the second in a series until I started reading. While I think it definitely works on its own, I do wish I had read the first one so I could come to the story already having that history and vibe between Lily and Jo. As a historical romance, I loved the way that queerness was centered in the story, and sapphic love was not only present but celebrated. I also really loved how the letters between Jo and Lily were woven into the story — they added a fun, romantic depth to the larger story.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny is a knight x lady historical romance with a Sapphic twist. Jo is the older sister of the new earl following the death of her abusive father in whose memory a tournament is being held, with Jo's hand being the ultimate prize. Unbeknownst to her, however, her friend and penpal from up north, Lily, has stolen her brothers' armor and has disguised herself as one of the knights seeking to free Jo from any unwanted matches. During the events of the tournament the two women grow closer and run away, slowly falling more and more in love.

The story is a lot slower and cozier than I had originally expected, especially after they run away from the tournament and find a new home hiding in a brewery and befriending the kind woman who runs it, but I certainly wouldn't complain. This is because Denny makes a masterful use of these slow moments to show a growth in quiet intimacy, love, and support that wouldn't have worked with a faster and more action-packed story or too much drama.

Likewise, as someone who has always been a fan of history, especially of the Medieval period, I felt this book did a very good job of portraying daily life at the time and really immersing the reader in the world at that time.

Content warning for mentions of child abuse

I would recommend this to fans of Sapphic relationships playing with the classic Medieval knight x lady trope, fans of historical romance, and anyone looking for a cozy and comforting romance to read.

I loved One Night in Hartswood, the first in Emma Denny's Barden Series, and was excited to read its sequel, All the Painted Stars. This time, the sisters get a chance at love.

Jo de Foucart is due to marry, and a tournament to celebrate her young brother’s rise to earldom is also a chance for a lucky man to win her heart. Never mind that a husband has already been chosen for her. But Jo is hesitant about marriage, despite accepting that it’s her duty, and says as much to her friend, Lily, in a letter. Lily Barden recently escaped her own unwanted marriage, and she wants to give Jo that same freedom. So Lily disguises herself as a man and enters the tournament as the Knight of Stars. Things go south, leading Jo and Lily to escape. But can they find freedom—and even love—together?

Tropes & Narrative Devices:
- Friends to lovers
- Secret identity
- Winning her love
- Marriage of convenience?
- Kissing lessons
- Gay awakening
- Dual third-person POV (Lily and Jo)

What I Liked:
- Another fake William. In the last book, Penn’s given name was William, though he never identified with it. Here, Lily dresses up like a knight and uses William as her fake name. What a funny coincidence that, once again, William isn’t the true name of a character! But really, I love a good secret identity, and this one has slight Mulan vibes to me.
- Escape! Another recurring theme is our main characters going on the run. This time, Lily and Jo are facing some violence, so they flee to avoid danger. Along the way, they find a nice place to hide, which leads me to my next point…
- Found family. This is a popular trope among LGBTQ romances, and for good reason. Here, Lily and Jo find a safe haven, a feeling of acceptance, and a found family they can rely on. I loved how this all unfolded! Some things were delightfully shocking!
- Discovering her romantic identity. While Lily is already aware of her own interest in women, Jo has never had much opportunity to consider what her romantic inclinations are. She’s always assumed she’d marry a man, as she’s been raised to do, but was unsure how that would go in terms of physical intimacy. Jo considers Lily a very close friend… but has she realized they could be more to each other?

What Didn’t Work for Me:
- Nothing, this was great!

Final Thoughts
All the Painted Stars has a lot in common with the previous book in the series, One Night in Hartswood: secret identities, an escape, and more. However, instead of feeling repetitive, it feels like a knowing nod to that with intentional changes to make this one stand on its own. Indeed, this book has its own spark and is a luminous sequel. I loved it as much as the first book, and I can’t wait to for the next one. Ash Barden is due for his own romance, and I look forward to reading it as soon as it’s available.

A cute romance about a woman going in disguise as a knight for the woman she loves. If you like historical romance novels and do not mind the modern twist of the two leading ladies then this all around is a cute little story.

Cute medieval romance with great queer representation. The character development was fun to follow along with!

DNF at 20%

Sadly, another sapphic release that didn't work for me and the second by Emma Denny that I didn't finish. Once again, the modern writing in a historical setting just doesn't work for me and takes me out of the world. There is a chance that I will finish this if I can get my hands on the audiobook, but we'll see. The idea of a woman competing in a tournament in disguise for the sake her beloved is pretty cool. Wish I loved the book as much as I love the cover!

I fell in love with Lily in One Night in Hartswood and was so excited to be gifted an e-arc by NetGalley of Lily and Jo’s story.

While I already adored Lily going into my read I was delighted to fall in love with Jo and her journey of finding herself. I absolutely adored how cozy and beautiful All The Painted Stars was.
It’s packed full of self discovery, character growth, and queerness and what else do you really need.