All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny (14th Century Oxfordshire #2)
Oxfordshire 1362
When Lily Barden discovers her best friend Johanna's hand in marriage is being awarded as the main prize at a tournament, she is determined to stop it. Disguised as a knight, she infiltrates the contest, preparing to fight for Jo's hand. But her conduct ruffles feathers, and when a dangerous incident escalates out of Lily's control, Jo must help her escape.
Finding safety with a local brewster, Lily and Jo soon settle into their new freedom, and amongst blackberry bushes and lakeside walks an unexpected relationship blossoms. But when Jo's past catches up with her and Lily's reckless behaviour threatens their newfound happiness, both women realise that choices must always come at a cost. The question they need to ask is if the cost is worth the price of love...
CONTRIBUTOR(S): Farrah Cave (Narrator), Kristin Atherton (Narrator)
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 336 pages (11 hours 36 minutes)
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Historical, Romance
RECOMMENDED: Highly
Queer Rep Summary: Lesbian/Sapphic Main Character(s), Genderqueer/Nonbinary Main Character(s), Closeted/Questioning Main Character(s), Ace/Aro Main Character(s).
ALL THE PAINTED STARS continues the story of Lily and Jo which began when Lily was supposed to marry Jo's brother, but instead Lily's brother married him and Lily has enjoyed her freedom from social expectations of marriage ever since. Jo, however, has had no such reprieve. Her (abusive, controlling) father has died, and she is expected to marry a noble man to secure her own household. To this end, she is to be the prize at a tournament. Lily disguises herself as a man to compete for Jo's hand.
As a sequel, it's helpful but not strictly necessary to have read ONE NIGHT IN HARTSWOOD. Lily and Jo were present, and met each other there, but that history is covered well enough in ALL THE PAINTED STARS that it would be easy for a new reader to catch up. This is partly because most of their prior acquaintance took place in letters which were not read by either of the first book's protagonists, their brothers. The storyline (before and after the tournament) is almost entirely new, with several major things both introduced and resolved. It has a satisfying conclusion which could serve as the end of the series, but since there is another Barden sibling in the mix I hope he gets his own book after this one. It doesn't specifically leave anything for later (other than the relationship status of that sibling), but the characters and the world are more than built up enough to easily support more stories of their lives and relationships, however the series goes from here.
Lily and Jo are excellent together, I've been interested in their story since they first appeared, and I like how it turned out. Structurally it's quite different from ONE NIGHT IN HARTSWOOD, despite both containing significant journey sections, and it's done well.
If you like this you may like:
- Swordcrossed by Freya Marske
- A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
- Greenwode by J. Tullos Hennig
Graphic/Explicit CW for sexual content.
Moderate CW for bullying, blood, violence, injury detail, medical content.
Minor CW for emotional abuse, physical abuse, vomit, parental death, death.
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