This book was a great balance between thrilling adventure and cozy sweetness, with humor thrown in. There was a reveal late in the book that I only partly guessed in advance, but I was delighted to find out the rest (I'm pretty sure I cackled).

What I liked the most about this book was how vivid the descriptions were, so that I felt like I could see the embroidered dresses, taste the sweet blackberries, feel the cool lake water. Like this opening line to Chapter 1:
"Long strands of vibrant red hair caught on the brambles of the blackberry bush, snagging in the thorns and twisting in vivid dashes across the plump berries."
If you're the kind of person who can see in your mind the things you read, you should enjoy the imagery here.

Overall, this book was fun and charming, with a very sweet romance.

This is a romance specifically for the girls who loved Chappell Roan's VMA performance. I don't read a lot of romances with knights and ladies, but this was so cute.

Lily and Johanna met in the previous book (which I have not read) when Lily was betrothed to Johanna's brother but then he ran off (to be with Lily's brother) and besmirched her reputation. So like any other Renaissance girls, Lily is destined for the convent and Johanna is expected to be married off to some guy. When Lily finds out that her best friend is going to get married off to a knight in a tournament, she gets the bright idea to cut off her braids and dress up in her brother's armor to rescue Jo from ever having to marry a man she doesn't want. Bless. So there's "William," a chivalrous but poor knight fighting in a tournament while Johanna deals with the guy her stepmother really wants her to marry. When stuff happens and the besties have to run away together, well, a little more time away from the annoying nobles won't hurt, right?

Just by the characters' ages, this feels more like New Adult Romance, since I feel like I remember Lily saying she's 23 in one of the scenes. Definitely feel like Lily's impulsiveness feels very young-20s! The Best Friends to Lovers romance was so cute that I was anxious in the middle that things would go wrong, but this remained fun and cozy! I have a feeling that the first book is cute too.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper for this cute romance.

This was a fun sequel to One Night in Hartswood; it can be read without the first book. It follows sisters of each of the main characters from the first book as they deal with arranged marriage, a jousting tournament, and fleeing from the keep.

This was told from the perspectives of Jo and Lily. Jo is the sister to the Earl and is about to be married off while Lily is trying to secure Jo’s freedom by posing as a knight. We see how they help each other and watch their relationship blossom.

Overall I enjoyed the story as it was well paced and had some plot twists.

I was given a copy by the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!) and all opinions are my own.

Emma Denny's "All the Painted Stars" serves as a sequel to the novel "One Night in Hartswood." This cozy story revolves around a friends-to-lovers narrative, where the damsels take charge of their own destinies and rescue themselves.

The plot unfolds as Penn's sister Jo prepares to wed the victor of a jousting tournament, leading to her friend Raff's sister, Cecilia/Lily, disguising herself as a knight to compete for Jo's hand.

The ensuing chaos, adventure, and the characters' pursuit of independence make for a compelling read. I recommend this novel, especially to fans of Natasha Siegel and Lex Croucher. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for providing the ARC.