This book taught me a lot about Moldovan culture, which I appreciated learning. One thing I would've liked more is more of a build-up of the romance between the two main characters. They are separated for part of the novel, which makes sense plot-wise, but also lessens some of the romantic momentum.

3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)

Tw: sexual assault/rape and incest

I am thankful for Legend Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC and I hope to review more of their books in the future!!

A surprisingly cozy queer historical romance read. I went into this book a little skeptical because of how short it is, but the world building, characters, and romance was pretty satisfyingly fleshed out. The dual POVs really tied this story together and were easy to track and comprehend as the story progressed. However, the first half of the book is a little bit slow to start.

While this is marketed as a sapphic romance, the gender fluidity of Elina was something unexpected, but truly affirming and wonderful to see happen. It affirms that, yes, trans and non binary people have always existed and were a part of even Medieval life.

This book was a little too slow for me. I just couldn’t get into it. I had such high hopes, but it fell a little flat

CW/TW: Sexual assault, incest, violence, character death
RATING: 3/5

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Set in Stone by Stela Brinzeanu takes place in Moldova in the middle ages. It is the story of an upper class girl, Elina, and a lower class girl, Mira, who discover feelings towards each other and struggle to make their feelings work in a time when such things were unspeakable.

The first half of this book had me fascinated as to what was going to happen next. I loved hearing the stories of the three major women as they learned more about themselves and came to discover their strengths. Halfway through the book, though, things started falling apart, and I felt that the book traded some of its depth and importance for the action scenes. Still, this didn't destroy the book, and the ending chapters almost redeemed it. As I think of the book, I think of it as a very dark book, with some brightness from the characters. There is a lot of death in this book, and a lot of near-death as well. The author does not shy away from the brutality of the Middle Ages, especially in the way women were treated, and their lack of options.

Medieval Moldova
Folklore
magical realism
a love story against all odds
friendship
very unique story and way of writing
great premise
what a cover too!

Gorgeous cover? Sapphic romance? Unusual historical setting? Yes please!

Set in Stone takes place in medieval Moldova, which was honestly enough for me to click the request button in itself - if anyone is reading this whilst sitting on an unpublished novel that takes place in a lesser-used historical or geographical setting, you have a reader here.

This is a beautifully crafted tale of friendship and love against historical social norms, with excellent world-building (or re-construction, in this case?) and great characterisation. Inspired by an old Moldovan folk tale, Brinzeanu deftly weaves a gentle queer love story in a setting that outwardly rejected such a notion. Darkly realistic in places, the challenges of such a relationship are in no way shied away from, but are handled by the author without unnecessary sensationalisation or ‘othering’.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Legend Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me and needed trigger warnings for rape & SA.

I love a good WLW story, but this one made no sense. There was no character building, no build up to the romance. The story is set in Moldova, but that just doesn't seem to be built into the story. Worldbuilding in general felt nonexistent. The entire plot until I chose to DNF and 50% felt entirely rushed and had no clear direction. Nothing was fleshed out, there just didn't seem to be a story worth telling.

I appreciate the opportunity to read the galley, but will not be reviewing elsewhere.

Hmmm. I really did enjoy this book quite a bit more than I went into it expecting to, and particularly after a rushed, uneven first half. I'm not sure Brinzeanu really ever fully finds her foothold over this story, instead choosing to tell it in broad, swooping passages that can encompass whole months, and then in immense minute-to-minute detail that feels more randomly chosen than truly purposeful. There are two very disparate stories here, though the author does a genuinely decent job at tying them both together in the end; there is still a sense of disconnect in the level of severity in each of the two leads' lives and problems. At times the story feels punitive to an absurd degree, though knowing that Set in Stone's primary plot is based off of Moldovian folklore does excuse some of that.
As a sidenote, but one that I do feel is important: rape and the results of sexual violence are heavily featured in this novel. I was not aware of this when I began reading, and did feel a bit stunned by the inclusion of it at first. It is not graphically depicted, nor is it treated as anything but unforgivable and abhorrent, but the lack of forewarning did cause some distress on my part. Additionally, I am not sure the proper weight was given, at times, to the severity of the trauma the woman involved must handle post-assault; in my opinion it felt a bit overlooked in an attempt to move the story farther forward, while the more physical fallout from the event is treated with all of the lacking gravitas instead. Experiences will vary and I am certainly not an advocate for purging sexual assault on the whole from fiction, but for me it was a bit of an unexpected curveball that ultimately could have been handled a bit better.
Aside from these complaints, which did hamper my enjoyment of the story to a certain degree, I did find Set in Stone to have a very interesting and moving story at its core. The way each of the main girls' perspectives shifts over the course of the novel felt very nicely done, and made me care for both of them and root for them even when it seemed there was no hope of a happy ending for either of them. I found the last quarter of this book MUCH stronger than the rest, and gripping in a way the rest of the story lacked. I was also a fan of the ending and felt it was much earned and satisfying, if a little neat. As far as historical queer fiction goes, Set in Stone is a bit of a mixed bag with definite high and low points, but an overall compelling story that stumbles its way to a mostly-fulfilling end.

Another lovely addition to the queer historical fiction shelves! Set in Stone has a pace that feels comfortable and familiar, and the writing is well done while not flowery. The twists are obvious, but in a way to makes it seem as though even though it’s your first read, you’re revisiting a world and story you already love.

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel, and found it cozy and inviting, with characters who are easy to love, and some that are just as easy to hate.

In an oppressive, patriarchal, religious society (medieval Moldova) two young women, from different backgrounds, Elena and Mira fall in love. In a world where women's lives are decided for them how can they choose their own path?

This book gives us excellent scene setting and well fleshed out main characters and some great side characters, mainly the widow, Rozalia, who doesn't ascribe to the church. This is not a lighthearted read; parts of this story are devastating. A real page turner.

This book gutted me like a fish. But in the best way possible. Beautiful, well written, and left me feeling hollow. Please check trigger warnings before reading.

Charming wlw historical tale. It didn't grip me at first, because I do struggle with present tense narrative. However, it didn't take long to become invested in the characters. I like how their friendship blossomed into feelings, and how they navigated the restrictions and taboos of their time. I also liked the foreshadowing of one of the final twists, that I really didn't expect. I feel like Elina's storyline was predictable in a familiar way that seems en vogue, whereas Mira's was a lot more interesting- and they were woven together well.

CW: rape. It isn't graphic and much is left to the imagination, but... It leads to a central character contemplating suicide.

I would recommend to fans of The Mercies or The Nightingale and The Bear. Case by case discretion required due to CW above, but could recommend to a mature Yr10+

This book is beautiful. The story is written into an enchanting fairytale, and the sapphic romance gave me everything I wanted it too.

The pacing is good, for the most part. It starts off slow and picks up in the second half of the book. The characters are well thought out and dynamic. The setting and world building is gorgeous. The tale is relevant and important. The book is a beautiful read, and I think it is a must-read.

to lie about your sex in order to gain power sound discouraging but in truth the answer lies in women's rights and the system that allow women to feel like second class citizens, I thought this book was easy to read and was able to navigate the story well, written with vigor and compassion, I would recommend this to anyone interested in learning about women and power

From the first sentence, I was hooked. Brinzeanu masterly weaves her words into a deeply lush, magical story, that, save for the sapphic romance, reads like so many beloved folktales we all know. I really enjoyed the attention to detail in style itself. Folk tales were often cautionary tales. They may have had adventure and romance, but sprinkled throughout are lots of moments of reality, lessons for the audience take note of, and much like classic tales, this story is weighted with topics that have impacted women for centuries- and still do.
The story pacing takes it’s time. The characters and scenery are fleshed out in detail, which I absolutely loved. But the second half picked up a bit more and ultimately I was compelled to stay up deep into the night to finish it. Although the novel is historical fiction, Elina & Mira’s individual stories, and their love story are timely, and relatable. I circle back to my comments about folktales being cautionary tales. Whether it’s Medieval Moldova, or modern day America/UK/wherever- women’s lives are still being *ahem* guided (I’ll choose a nice word here I guess), by historic and social confines and as the saying goes, “history repeats itself”. Brinzeanu gives us the hope that your identity, your story can just maybe be changed.
Absolutely a 5 star read.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my review.

It took me much longer to finish this book than I would have liked, I think in large part because of the writing style and the voice used. I love historical romance, especially medieval romances, but I felt like this book fell short. The character development and the relationships were disjointed in a way, and the chapters were very short and did not really have the length needed to fully develop the situations the chapters focused on. The pacing felt off and the book suffered because of it. Overall, I loved the premise, but I wish it could have been developed a little more.

It took me over twenty days to read this 300+ page book and I only did so because I felt like I ought to as I’d downloaded it as a “Read now”-book. I was incredibly bored. It supposedly takes place in medieval Moldova but apart from the Romanian phrases and words used it could have been taking place wherever.

I also don’t get why the two main characters fell in love…?

At least I can cross off Moldova on my reading challenge now, I guess.

Rating ~ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5
I received this book as an ARC from @netgalley and here is my honest review.
This novel tells the story of two women from opposing backgrounds who fall in love.

Due to the historical period in which the novel is set, women’s roles and options in life are minimal. I wish I could’ve seen more in the book. Still, given its historical nature, the story was limited to the period for obvious reasons.

The closer the women become, the more they have to sacrifice. I felt like some of these actions should've had more impact on the characters for how detrimental they were. Despite that, this book is a fascinating read.

I liked The aspects of Romanian culture that we got throughout the book. The aspects of Romanian culture that we got throughout the book and the world-building were excellent and done in a respectful way that was easy to follow for unfamiliar audiences. The character development was pretty decent, and each one of them feels unique and well realized.

The relationship was there, but I wish I could see more of the romantic development, even if they were just “friends.” I understand the lack of development for the time. But considering the point of view we are looking at; we should’ve been able to see more of it, even if it was between the lines.

We love a good wlw historical romance in this house, but this one, this one kinda missed the mark for me. It was a solid story, the romance was there (I felt it could have been more, but it is a historical setting so that makes sense), but everything felt really rushed. Emotions that should have shattered someone were passed over and moved onto the next chaotic event. Like I said, I liked the story a lot, I just didn't really care for any of the characters in it.

Thank you Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Elina & Mira, two girls of different background caught between love, credulity & uprising.

It will grip you from the first paragraph. The plot is incredible. Strong character development. It's overall an amazing historical fiction. The insights into the  Moldovan culture was just astounding. The Romanian words made the benefit of the story.

My only regret was the addition of Romanian words (glossary) could have been mentioned on the early pages of the book. Maybe it would be different when one get a physical copy but I saw the glossary at the climax of the book.