All the Painted Stars
In 1362, Johanna de Foucart is preparing for a tournament at her late father’s Oxfordshire castle. She has had a failed betrothal after her intended groom Penn Barden became romantically involved with her brother Raff, but she doesn’t really mind; it has let her develop a friendship with Penn’s sister Lily.
Johanna’s hand in marriage is being offered as the tournament prize, and Lord Adam Wyck claims her as his bride. Johanna has no feelings for Lord Adam but knows her duty. However, she is drawn to a young red-headed knight-errant, with a shield of painted stars and a rusty sword. The knight is a disguised Lily, determined to stop the marriage.
This LGBT love story sees Johanna and Lily forced to flee as events at the tournament boil over and, as they change from friends to lovers, they are forced to face the challenges of trying to live a life together.
The read was a mixed one for me. The pacing is slow with the tournament taking up around a third of the book, and I felt Johanna was far too old, as a medieval noblewoman, to be married for the first time aged 27. Despite that, it is an easy read, with an interesting twist involving Lord Adam. One for Mills & Boon fans and those of Denny’s first novel, One Night in Hartswood, which tells the Penn/Raff love story.
