Continuing my streak of medieval literature - today I offer you medieval lesbians, knights in dramatic jousting tournaments, and running away with the love of your life to live in a brewery. All in all, I'm quite jealous of Lily and Jo and loved following them on their adventure.

If you've read Gwen and Art are not in Love or you've ever watched BBC Merlin, then you'll already understand the kind of lighthearted historical tone that this book has - everyone is drinking ale or feasting or competing for ladies' favours. And then within this immersive environment, we have yearning, we have daring feats of bravery, and all sorts of dramatic antics.

This was just such a lovely story - and I got all the way to the end before I realised that the brothers who kept being mentioned in this book (who I ironically was thinking should get a spin off) were actually from a first book, and that All the Painted Stars is a sequel - so rest assured there's no need to read one before the other.

This makes such a brilliant addition to the repertoire of books I've been enjoying recently, that lean towards the medieval era/ myth and legend themes!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the chance to read this ARC, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I love All the Painted Stars, it is a breathtaking romance, the letters between Lily and Jo are wonderful and are woven in seamlessly throughout the plot.
I am a huge fan of One Night in Hartswood, so i was thrilled to read this. It has everything, forbidden romance, turmoil, bravery, stunning LGBTQIA+ leads. I couldn’t ask for more, except, maybe a sequel in the future..

This was just impossible to read on a Kindle. I don't know if it was a watermark or a header, but every page had "copyright", "HarperCollins" etc thrown in random places. It's a shame as I was looking forward to it but it was just unreadable.

After thoroughly enjoying Emma Denny’s debut, I was certainly eager to get stuck into her next instalment following the budding romance of Penn & Raff’s siblings - Lily & Jo. When Jo faces an arranged marriage, Lily enters a knight’s tournament posing as a man in the hopes of winning Jo’s favour. Like One Night in Hartswood, All the Painted Stars is full of tender pining, stunning English countryside and an adventures plot full jousting and undercover shenanigans. I really enjoyed both girl’s personal growth, especially Jo’s, and enjoyed how focused on their relationship the story was. Like its predecessor, Denny has a particular talent for very realistic and unsuspecting twists, and I found myself seriously rooting for Jo & Lily by the end! Overall, All the Painted Stars is a wonderful sapphic historical romp I seriously enjoyed, and can’t wait to read anything else she might write!

this was a delight!! thank you so much for netgalley for this arc

this book as in the same universe as one night in hartswood, and although i believe it’s a standalone i do recommend reading that first, as i hadn’t at the start and ended up taking a break to read it, after which certain parts made more sense to me.

however, this book itself was incredible. there was so much to love, including a fake knight fighting in a real tourney, a sapphic awakening, a beautiful romance, and family love. i would love so many more books from this author

“Tender and gallant, this story was everything I wanted in a knightly tale. Beautiful and romantic.”

Thank you to the publisher for giving me an arc through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review!

Man, Emma Denny's books are just a delight. I mean, we can argue back and forth about the "historical realism" of these books, but that does not change the fact that it's just SO fun to see queer people exist in classic medieval romance tropes. The more fantastical turns of events are, in my opinion, grounded through a very genuine understanding of how these characters would feel grappling with their identity in a setting like this, and then all of it is wrapped up with a warm hug and a wholesome message of love and acceptance.
All the Painted Stars, specifically, ticks pretty much every box of what I would want a sapphic medieval romance to be like. Sword fighting! Dressing up as a knight to maybe win your girl best friend's hand! And... making beer? Seriously, I did not expect the entire brewery sequence at all, but it was such an interesting world to get a little insight into.
I seem to have a soft spot for the de Foucart siblings, because as much as I loved both of our protagonists, Jo was definitely my favourite - her journey of self discovery and self determination is handled with a wonderful, quiet strength. And I mean, I can't tell if I would rather date Lily or BE her, because who hasn't dreamed of swooping in on a horse and fighting a sword duel to win their best friend's hand? (No, seriously, organisers of the local medieval fair, hit me up, I've got story ideas for the next joust).
It was also really nice to see Raff and Penn again, however briefly - though I must say that I definitely think this book is best enjoyed if you've read Hartswood. I don't think it's strictly necessary, but what happened with Raff and Penn comes up a lot, so you definitely get more depth and understanding of the story if you have read that one (but, there you go, another good reason to go read One Night in Hartswood, if you haven't already).
All in all, this was a very fun, exciting read, and it once again soothed the bit of my soul that's constantly craving queer medieval romances.

P.S.: since begging for a Lily and Jo book worked last time, I'm going to try again and say that I feel like we need to tie up this trilogy with an Ash book. I know he wasn't very present in this book, but if i recall correctly from Hartswood my man's had it pretty rough, and I think he deserves his own happy ending.

ALL THE PAINTED STARS is technically a companion novel/ sequel to One Night in Hartswood. I didn’t know that going in and I haven’t read the first book. I do think that affected my reading of the earlier chapters – events that had involved background characters (the protagonists’ brothers) were referred to in a way that I felt I was missing something, before I did a little more research. I don’t think you couldn’t read ALL THE PAINTED STARS as a standalone, but I think you’ll get the best experience from it if you check out that first installment beforehand.

The story within ALL THE PAINTED STARS splits pretty evenly in two – time spent with Lily in disguise as a knight while Jo’s marriage approaches, and time when the two of them live undercover in a brewery. From the author’s note, this split was intentional, but to me it did give a slightly odd feeling to the pacing of the story. I do think the official blurb gives away far too much of the plotline, which also lead to the pacing feeling a little out of sorts.

The characters though, I loved. I really liked both Lily and Jo, and the way they portrayed (along with Mabel, the brewer that takes them in) complex, different types of feminism and of womanhood. These characters felt well-rounded, interesting, and likeable – each had their own strengths and foibles.

ALL THE PAINTED STARS was a enjoyable read and a really nice romance. I’d definetly read more from this author in the future but – if you’re interested in both books in this duology anyway – I’d recommend reading them in order.

think my experience was massively impacted by me having not read the first book but i didn't realise it was a sequel!!!! i was just like yo! who are these people!

the premise of this was fantastic but i felt underserved by it. the plot whipped away from what made it actually interesting and everything felt like a digression away from it's more interesting bits.

such a shame cos i think the premise is ... chef's kiss.

4.5 (Painted) Stars

This was fabulous.

It's my first ever F/F book. Would I have picked it up had I not been offered the ARC? I'm not sure, it's not something I'd normally go for, but I did love the title and cover.

I loved One Night in Hartswood - this is set in the same world, and focuses on Raff and Penn's sisters, Lily and Jo. It's technically standalone, but I'd recommend reading Hartswood first, as it's peppered with references to characters and events from that story.

Jo and Lily's story stands apart well from its predecessor - it felt a lot less dangerous, and there was much more focus on the relationship between the characters. Because of this, I'd say All The Painted Stars is much more character than plot driven. Don't get me wrong, the plot is interesting, and has a couple of great twists that really grabbed me. But, for me, it was the characters that made All The Painted Stars truly shine.

I adored Lily - she's loyal, fluffy, fiery, and fiercely independent. It's very clear right off the bat that she feels more that friendship towards Johanna. Jo, on the other hand, is more timid and tends to do whatever she thinks will make people happy. I loved both of them as characters. For me, Jo had the most and best character growth, and I loved following her part in the story.

This I would say had less steam that its predecessor - I'm not sure if that's due to the change from M/M to F/F, or just because the story didn't call for it as much - but the moments that were included were written poetically and beautifully. Emma Denney has just as much skill with words here as she did in Hartswood.

My reason for deducting half a star is that the ARC was a little messy at times, with italicised words being in the wrong places at times, which made parts of the book a little confusing to read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for inviting me to this ARC. This is my honest review.

I enjoyed this, it was really cute!

I didn’t realise however that it was a sequel of sorts to One night in Hartswood and although it can be read as a stand-alone, I think you would enjoy it more if you have read the previous book.

It’s not a complicated or nuanced story, you have your archetypes, they play out a certain type of story, it all quite satisfying and does what it sets out to do. It’s quite a quick read as well and the sapphic spicy scenes are pretty good. Overall, a good read but it didn’t blow me away.

This is the second book I have read by Emma Denny and this has the sisters of Penn and Raff, from the first book, as the main characters. Oxfordshire 1362. Cecily (Lily) and Johanna grew close after spending time together and becoming penpals as such. When Lily learns that a tournament is being held and Johanna’s hand in marriage is being awarded as the main prize she decides to take matters into her own hands and disguises herself as a knight to infiltrate the tournament. Unfortunately a dangerous situation occurs and it leads Jo to help Lily escape and when Jo catches up with Lily a relationship begins to blossom between the two women. But this love comes at a cost.

This is as well written as the previous book. I haven’t read many sapphic books and you do find yourself hoping that they can overcome the odds and become more than friends.There was a small twist that I had an inkling about and I was right but it didn’t take anything away from the storyline for me. The ending was perfect and there was another twist that I definitely didn’t expect. This book does follow on from the first book but I am sure it can be read as a standalone. Definitely worth reading.

It was cute and charming in the way you want your escapist fantasy of a queer historical to be cute and charming! It's a light read, without any particular depth to it, and the plot isn't as tightly wound as I would have liked it to, but I spend a good evening in the company of these characters, and I enjoyed myself.

I loved this sapphic medieval romance! I was caught up in the lives of Lily and Jo from the very start, invested in their differing situations (both of privilege, it should be said). and their exploration of freedom and choice. Theirs is a friendship that develops into a romance, and Denny writes it beautifully from each POV, sweeping the reader along in a gorgeously executed slow burn. All tied up into a story with jousting and sword-fighting, people in disguise, handkerchiefs and knives, dramatic escapes, rowdy musicians, embroidering and brewing, and chickens that do not know their place. Hats off too to Mabel, one of my favourite characters of the story because of her expansive generosity and kindness.

Oh, I wish I liked this book. The premise was perfect, but the execution was just... ok. There was a lot of handwaving at key points, and coincidences which, a few is cute and expected in a romance, but this was almost an unbelievable amount of coincidences.

The pacing was fine, but the end was oddly clean and neat.

The good things? When they finally got to the spice it was well written.

This book is one of my favourite genres, with one of my favourite tropes (lady dresses as knight), but it just felt flat to me.

For fans of the genre it's a perfectly fine read, but easily forgettable.

All the painted stars is a historical romance novel by Emma Denny.
If you love historical romance novels, then this one is for you. It's beautifully written and the story is easy to follow. I was hooked from the very first page and kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. The main character's chemistry was sweet and I kept wanting them to be together. Overall a beautiful novel that I highly recommend.
💖 Thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

If you're looking for a charming and heartwarming historical lesbian romance that'll have you laughing and falling in love with the characters while they fall for each other, this book is the one for you.

“But we find our own places. We carve them ourselves, in the work we do, in the people we love”. This quote perfectly represents the message this book portrays. It's a beautiful work that weaved its way into my heart and made me truly care for the characters. The exploration of femininity and masculinity in queer women as they find themselves in the world was refreshing. Overall, I loved the characters in this book the plot was strong and kept me engaged, bonus points because lesbian knight!! It's a plotline I can't resist. I was able to follow this book without reading its predecessor, but this book has left me eager to go and get to know the other characters even better.

All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny is the fourth historical romance i’ve read in as many days and it’s by far the best one i’ve read this week.

All the Painted Stars follows Lily and Jo as they battle love and marriage in 14th century Oxfordshire. Jo is due to be married off the someone at the upcoming tournament and Lily just isn’t having it so in typical historical fashion Lily disguises herself as a man and infiltrates the tournament in order to win Jo’s hand and save her from marriage. Hijinks ensue and Lily and Jo end up running away and finding safety, and love, in a brewery.

While the story is slow at parts, and sort of exists in bit of a peak and trough sort of way, i really enjoyed this book. The characters are fantastic and I loved the whole main ensemble and how they interacted. I also appreciated the dual POV so that we could see how both Lily and Jo were dealing with falling in love.

I did feel like I was missing out slightly by not having read the authors other book in this series and i felt like i was missing certain aspects of the story but it’s still easy to understand without having read the other book.

I think this is a great historical romance which really captures the yearning of sapphic love and being in love with your best friend.

So despite the fact that this can be slow in areas it really is a great romance and I would 100% recommend this if you enjoy a good historical romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and to HQ for allowing to read an arc of this book for honest and fair review

The characters were amazing and the plot was really enjoyable. There was a lot of chemistry between the heroines from the start. What I also liked was the author got right to the story from the start I personal can not stand long drawn out chapters that are only there to pad the book out . So well done to the author.

There was plenty of action and danger and just as many sweet moments, I loved the plot twists,towards the end (no spoilers sorry, you will have to read the book). I must admit to reading the book in one evening because I needed to know what to the heroines.

I highly recommend this book.

DNF at 10%, this writing style was just really not for me, I struggled to get into it which is a shame as the premise was promising