Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the eARC.

I really liked the premise of this book. That and the gorgeous cover definitely drew me in to read it.
But I felt like the story was missing something.

It's pace felt kind of off. Major events happened incredibly quickly and the characters didn't always get to fully react to them. And there could have been some more plot development.
Though I get that turning a short fairy tale into a full length book can't have been easy.

While I really liked the idea of the book, it just ended up feeling kind of rushed.

"Words are useless tools if you're digging for truth, she thinks. They lie, deceive, and distort. Only in the absence of words can there be truth. That's why people talk, because they have something to hide."

Strong trigger warnings for rape, incest, and anti-Roma racism/xenophobia.

I think at this point it's safe to say that this book is the biggest disappointment of the year. The premise is intriguing and I was interested in based on the premise. Admittedly, I only learned some more about Moldova and the country's history this year, given the rising tensions and the war taking place right there, so an opportunity to learn more about the country's history and legends through a sapphic story seemed ideal.

Unfortunately, this ended up being very reminiscent of my experience reading "The Reckless Kind" by Carly Heath, down to the never-ending trauma lasagna. I was ready to DNF "Set in Stone" not even halfway through, and I don't necessarily regret getting to the end, but I wish it had been a better book. Some of the things that made me relive the pace of reading "The Reckless Kind" were:

1. A protagonist that suffers an injury, leading to a physical disability;
2. Inconsistent pace and time-skipping;
3. The conflict of christianity vs. paganism;
4. The aforementioned trauma lasagna – a small good thing happens, followed by a series of miseries, because you know what misery loves?

Given the amount of Misery™, it's quite hard to determine the reader's level or intended audience. The writing style felt quite YA, yet not even 50 pages in you're hit with an on-page rape/incest scene. After a while it's possible to pretty much predict whether the chapter will be a short moment to breathe or another tragedy that bestows the protagonists. On top of that, it doesn't feel rewarding at the end. A few plot lines (one of which seems pretty important given the circumstances) disappear, and the final chapters just... fizzle out.

While the writing style didn't really work for me, I think Elina and Mira were distinguishable enough where their POVs didn't feel overly similar. They had different upbringings and beliefs which impacted their thoughts and decisions. Their skills were well-utilised, though I have some issues with some of Elina's latter chapters.

Speaking of Elina and Mira, other reviews weren't kidding about the instalove being /very/ instant. However, it creates a strange situation where they're in love so suddenly yet they spend most of the time apart, making they feelings heavily "tell" and barely "show". It's hard to root for them when they practically don't know each other. It made more sense on Elina's end – in her interactions with strangers, she seems overly trusting and somewhat naïve. With Mira, it's a little less believable. More on-page interactions—actual interactions, not mere hints of the short time they spent around Rozalia—would've made Mira's inner conflict more believable.

There are issues with the treatment of Roma characters in the book. The word g*psy is thrown around constantly, and the characters fall into stereotypes. Other reviewers have done a better job describing these issues.

This is a small gripe, but the historical setting is also somewhat confusing. There aren't really strong indicators of time or place (though some Moldovan words are sprinkled throughout the text and a couple of villages are named). Additionally, the book is described as set in "medieval Moldova". However, in a comment on Goodreads, Brinzeanu said that it was set in the 17th century.

Overall, "set in Stone" is, sadly, a great concept in theory that fell short on its execution.

2.5 rounded up
The premise of this book is excellent: a retelling of a folktale from Moldova, set in the medieval era, centering women and a sapphic romance. However, underdevelopment plagued this book.

I would've appreciated id the original folktale was stated in the intro of the book, on the author's note.
I appreciate the themes brought forth during the story, many plot points touching on sexism and how it was/is propelled by religious zeal. However, the underdevelopment of many aspects, particularly the romance (the central plot) and the pacing, made it hard to keep me engaged during the first half of the book. The second half picked up my interest, and the ending was cute.
The most interesting character has to be Rozalia, the wise woman/healer of the village, and I would've loved to know even more about her. Generally, the characters could've been a bit more developed, which I think would've given a lot more gravitas to the events of the story. This goes for the romance too, where the characters were dramatically in love after two interactions with not much meat to them (I know there was a famine but come'on).
I don't have much to say on this book really. Good premise, lacked execution.

TW. Incest, Rape, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Blood/Abortion; Racial slurs (against Roma), Slavery, Confinement, Death of parent

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a Romanian living in London and a reader who is always on board to read historical fiction, this book surprised me completely. It was incredibly beautifully written and the plot developed nicely.
The main characters, Mira and Elina, were not your typical characters for a novel written for that time and place and that brought a much needed freshness to the book. On their own, their stories were impressive.
As a romance, however, I felt as though the characters fell suddenly in love and there was no development on that side of the story. I would have liked for it to be a slow burn, a time period over which we would get more into their minds and see how they think things over, how they struggle with their attraction.

While I didn't need it I appreciated the glossary of Romanian terms. Something I didn't see in other books written by Romanian authors or foreign authors getting inspiration from Romanian folk tales.

The story is set in Medieval Moldova, and focuses on the love story of two women from opposing backgrounds. Both women experience a lot of trauma but find solace in each other. I wasn’t completely invested in Mira and Elina’s relationship as it lacked development. I did enjoy the writing style and Brinzeanu’s handling of difficult subject matter. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

An interesting book, a little disappointing in that it makes so much of its Moldovan setting in the blurb but it doesn't particularly come through in the text. Mira and Elina are interesting characters, and I appreciated what the book had to say about their respective statuses, but they never felt particularly close or developed to me. I liked it, but expected to love it.

content warnings ⚠️: the usual torture and consequences of living in medieval moldova ; beheading, violence, brutality, hunting also circumstances of sexual assault & abuse. ⠀
⠀
i really enjoyed this book! other than the gorgeous cover (🤌🏻), i also adored the forbidden romance aspect (especially sapphic 😻), the world building was so gorgeous and the amount of research Stela did alongside being from Moldova was evident and really interesting. ⠀
⠀
I love the fact that Stela provides a voice for women who are often silenced, and portrayed the society where women are seen as lesser than men (🥴) perfectly. The two protagonists (Mira and Elina) fight for their love and happiness and as the reader you just find yourself cheering them on and keeping your fingers crossed that the ending will be a happy one. ⠀

Medieval Moldova and forbidden sapphic love, what could possibly go wrong?

I enjoyed this book and when I started reading it, after a few chapters I could not stop. I loved the setting (never read anything set in Moldova, nor by a moldavian author) and got attached to the characters, however something was missing. Development.

Many things were happening, especially in the second part of the book, but what I needed was more of the characters - their thoughts and emotions, and more of the f*cking romance. I know Elina and Mira were from the opposing backgrounds, but they had means to meet and they did meet each other on a reagular basis, so why most of it was "off-screen"?

In the overall, I like the storytelling with the gothic setting and romance, but the latter really lacked development.

I really liked how twisty and gothic this book was! The characters felt incredibly tangible and their personalities and struggles felt very realistic. The setting was super well fleshed-out, and how Elina and Mira were depicted interacting within their social roles (and in defiance to them) and with their world was really intriguing. I enjoyed how this story was not easy or predictable, and held my attention throughout the whole book. I would have liked to have a bit more clarification at the beginning of the book as to what is happening because the flashbacks were a bit unclear, but the way that Brinzeanu unfolded the plot was really nice.

This book read more like a fairytale which I usually enjoy but I have to say that this book does have trigger warnings so please mind that when/if you read this. Loved the cover!

SET IN STONE is a story about two young women who come from polar opposite places in society. What connects them is a mysterious older woman in their village who performs what the villagers call "black magic" but is really just using the land and its spoils as a means to help others; she heals them, tends to their illnesses, and tries to ease their suffering. But this older woman is cast out from the town she helps - they only come to her when they need something and then turn around and chant scripture to try to cleanse their sins. These two young women end up learning a lot from the older woman and what it means to carve your own path.

{ S P O I L E R S}
I actually ended up really enjoying this book. I felt the stab of the patriarchial system and caste system set up in medieval Moldova. Mira and Elina - a peasant and boyer's daughter, respectfully, - were two really interesting and well-rounded characters. Mira was my favorite of the two. They each had a deep and winding character arch. Rozalina (or Rozalia?)'s character I liked but found annoying at her "read between lines" trope. Although I felt a great deal of sadness after her demise. All three of these women were great characters.

There's so much that happens but at times nothing also happens, which means the book feels longer than it should be. And the lack of repercussions for the men in the book who SA and hurt Elina and Mira (the masonry and the uncle) is my biggest gripe. The fact that both of their fathers die is a tragedy and I don't think is really fair. The fathers were truly trying to help their daughters, no matter how short-sighted their efforts were.

Some have taken issue with the writing style but I really enjoyed it. It was immersive and to the point. The chapters weren't long.

Had a bit of a struggle with this one. Mostly the topics of sexual assault and homophobia. But it was a compelling read nonetheless.

This was an interesting Novel however I struggled to enjoy this book. I felt I was reading a Fairy Tale and I found that very off putting and some of the scenes are quite bad but still I did finish the book as I thought the story was important to read for many reasons.
Overall not the best Historical book but not the worst either.

Set in medieval Moldova, Set in Stone follows two women from different classes who fall in love. This story is inspired by a story from folklore that I was unfamiliar with, but I love myth retellings, especially in a historical context, so I was very excited to read this book!

This is my first book that I have read set in Moldova. I enjoyed getting to learn about the culture and traditions of a culture of which I was unfamiliar. This book has a lot of Romanian words in the text that I liked getting to read. I liked seeing the characters' relationship progress and reach a nice conclusion.

That being said, I felt like this book dragged om some places and I felt like the same plot points kept getting repeated. Attraction, argument, event that brings them closer, renewed devotion. I found it pretty repetitive. I really think that this book had a lot of promise and it just fell a little flat for me. This story also gets pretty violent so I would make sure that you are prepared going into the book.

Overall, I'm glad that I read this book and recommend it if you want to read a new historical folklore retelling. 2.75 stars from me rounded up to 3. Thank you to Legend Press and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

CW: Sexual assault, violence

I struggled with this, both from the perspective of the difficult issues covered (rape and homophobia being just two) and also I couldn't get past the fairytale style.

This book didn't click with me, I don't know what it is. I just feel like the plot could have been carved out a bit better, and while I loved all the characters, everything just felt a bit flat to me.

This felt like a fairytale, but I felt like there was something missing. It didn’t feel complete. The writing style also I think was not what I usually like.

The story Set In Stone tells of religion and class is importen and still relevant today.

The pacing of the book is rather weird at times – often, the big events occur almost on top of each other without buildup. The same goes for the romance. While very sweet at times, it sadly lacked buildup.

Moldovan folklore is new to me, and it is interesting to be immersed in the culture. Maybe if I was better versed in the folklore, I would have appreciated the storytelling more.

I'm surprised by how much I ended up loving this book. Brinzeanu brings to life a medieval Moldovian story she grew up hearing. Two girls, one royalty, the other a peasant, fall in love against all odds. This story is about loss and growth and hope and fighting for your loved ones. It wasn't my favorite writing style, but it worked nonetheless. I loved many of the characters and Brinzeanu kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The ending pleasantly surprised me, too.

tw rape

Reading this felt like reading a fairytale. The story was quite compelling, and the female characters were so dynamic, but the writing style just was not for me.