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A review by clairebartholomew549
All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for giving me an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review!
The premise of this book is ridiculous and outrageously fun: set in 1300s England, we follow a noble lady, Johanna, whose family has arranged a marriage for her based on a jousting tournament, and her best friend, Cecily ("Lily"), who disguises herself as a knight and enters the jousting tournament to save her. Of course, shenanigans ensue, and along the way they fall in love.
I loved the set-up of this book and enjoyed Lily and Johanna's love story and journey to figure out what they want and how to be together in an incredibly patriarchal and homophobic society and time. There obviously aren't many books written about queer people in Arthurian England, and this book is a really valuable addition because of course there were many queer people back then trying to figure out how to be themselves and have the love they wanted and deserved. Where this book fell flat for me was the writing - I found it a bit childish at times, and the constant use of italics irked me. It never really felt like the stakes were too high, and I wish some of the other characters had been fleshed out more. But at the end of the day, this is a fun, sexy romp with heartwarming messages.
The premise of this book is ridiculous and outrageously fun: set in 1300s England, we follow a noble lady, Johanna, whose family has arranged a marriage for her based on a jousting tournament, and her best friend, Cecily ("Lily"), who disguises herself as a knight and enters the jousting tournament to save her. Of course, shenanigans ensue, and along the way they fall in love.
I loved the set-up of this book and enjoyed Lily and Johanna's love story and journey to figure out what they want and how to be together in an incredibly patriarchal and homophobic society and time. There obviously aren't many books written about queer people in Arthurian England, and this book is a really valuable addition because of course there were many queer people back then trying to figure out how to be themselves and have the love they wanted and deserved. Where this book fell flat for me was the writing - I found it a bit childish at times, and the constant use of italics irked me. It never really felt like the stakes were too high, and I wish some of the other characters had been fleshed out more. But at the end of the day, this is a fun, sexy romp with heartwarming messages.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism