I received an advanced copy of One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny from the publisher Harper360 via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Raff and Penn meet one night in the forest and share a passionate kiss. However, the next day both their lives are thrown up in the air. Penn knowing he cannot hide who he is and live under his cruel father’s treatment so he flees the night before the wedding. When Raff’s sister’s betrothed vanishes, he is called to track and find him to restore his family’s honor, while looking for the missing groom, he run into Penn again and thinking that he is a servent escaping a cruel master, Raff helps him escape. The two journey through the wilderness of the England to Scotland and begin to fall for each other.

What I Loved: A queer historical romance set in Oxford 1360, yes, please! This book is such a creative tale and I loved the premise. I loved getting to see two characters who live under totally different circumstances. I loved Raff’s family and their clear love for one another. I also really loved Raff and found him to be a caring and loving character who was smart and knew his stuff. I really thought he was an excellent character.

What I Didn’t Like: I have to say the mistaken identity lasted longer than I wish it would have, it got to the point where it was ridiculous and absurd. It made the romance seem unfeasible and unlikely to be successful. I also did not love Penn, he was immature and naïve, he did not bring warm clothes when he escaped in winter.

Who Should Read It: People who love a romance set amidst a journey and love mistaken identity trope.

Summary: Two men alone in the wilderness and hiding who they are find one another.

This was a 3.5 star read for me - rounding it up to 4! I usually adore most historical queer romances however I think this time period just isn't my taste. I thought the main characters were good and that their romance was really cute but ultimately it just wasn't a favorite of mine.

4 stars. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I HOPED it would hit a lot of my buttons, going by the synopsis, but there are many promising books that end up disappointing you. Here, I liked both main characters right from the start, and even though the novel is set a full six hundred years before I was even born, the world described in its pages felt very real, very complicated, very rich. Too many historical fiction books feel anachronistic, and sadly, this can be especially true of books with LGBTQ characters, where the author perhaps wants us to relate to characters not having options or even thoughts we would in our age. So kudos for creating a real-life 1360 world in real-world 2023.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I very much recommend this book.

I enjoyed this one quite a lot! Their journey while on their own gave off Robin Hood vibes, and the hidden identities and secret motivations made for an interesting book. Would love to read more by this author!

This was super cute! Perfect for anyone who loves queer historical romance. I also love the secret identity trope in this setting. It was really well executed here.

One Night in Hartswood 🌳🦌

This book is so cozy and sweet with steam and substance and I want to live inside it even if I’ll be cold a lot and have to sleep on the ground and walk miles through the woods. 🤷‍♀️🦌🌲

One Night in Hartswood focuses on two men, both running from a duty they wish to escape, as they travel across medieval Britain. Raff, second son of a lord, longs to explore the forest and live outside the bonds of nobility. Penn, son of a different lord, is suffering from the loss of his siblings and the actions of a cruel father. He decides to escape his fate and meets strong, capable Raff in the woods. The two set off on a journey through the woods, both keeping secrets and pining for the other. Raff and Penn are such a sweet couple. I loved how their story came together! 🥰

🏰 Medieval Romance
🦌 Secret Identities
🏰 Arranged Marriage Escape
🦌 Lots of walking through woods
🏰 Family Secrets
🦌 Only One Bedroll-ish
🏰 Must snuggle for ✨WaRmTh✨😈
🦌Mutual Pining

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary arc. All opinions are my own.

Overall, a very strong debut novel from this author.

I am, in general, a big fan of period pieces, and I don't think that I've seen a whole lot of good LGBT+ romance in this kind of medieval setting (the Regency gets all the good stuff, doesn't it?) The romance between our two leads was really well built and the chemistry was delightful. I just love a slow burn.

I do feel like it could have been a strong choice to have Penn come clean about the lying once Raff was sort of forced to come clean about his identity, but I understand why that couldn't happen.

Also, the settings and descriptions were really lovely.

4 out of 5 stars, would pick up this author again!

I'm generally not a fan of this era in history for stories, but the characters were wll drawn and I wouldn't mind more about the rest of the family members!

Emma Denny writes in her acknowledgements that One Night in Hartswood is "whole book about feelings," and that is a perfect summation of Raff and Penn's story. I got a lot of vibes from the book with surprisingly little grounding, which made the tone and setting pretty light and breezy. So it was easy to sit back, relax, and cruise through One Night in Hartswood and enjoy the ride.

Raff is the second-born son of an earl, traveling with the rest of his family to marry his sister off politically (and quickly) to another earl's son. Raff feels particularly stifled by not only his responsibilities but also having to be around people all day long for weeks at a time during the travel. Lately Raff has had to take on the responsibilities of the first-born son of an earl, on account of his brother recently returning from war with reluctance to take his responsibilities back. However, on the morning of the wedding, it is quickly discovered that the betrothed man is missing, and Raff is sent out to look for him.

Penn is the missing bridegroom, unbeknownst to Raff. After a couple chance encounters, Penn asks Raff to help him leave the earl's county. Penn is even more troubled, deciding that he would rather have nothing (and possibly die) rather than marry a woman he could never love, and desperate to escape his father's abusive control. Raff assumes Penn is a servant to the earl and lets Penn assume he is but a tracker. Raff then agrees to help Penn survive the harsh winter in the outdoors and find Penn work in another household where he won't be recognized. What follows is a bit of a roadtrip adventure on horseback with tons of cuddling for warmth, close combat training with daggers, and lots of longing looks over a fire.

One Night in Hartswood is perfect for MM historical romance lovers who like it on the light side, with a supportive family and side characters, but plenty of character growth and pining to leave you turning pages for more!

This books fell flat and I will tell you exactly why. This book reads like a fantasy novel that was switched to historical fiction with only 10 minutes to switch it over. The historical setting was more Harry Potter than 14th century. The characters were interesting, the plot had potential, but the setting and the writing style didn't work.

DNF at about 20%

I was so excited about the premise of this story. It had so much promise. The writing style just didn't work for me. I kept getting confused about which POV I was in, and who was who. It just wasn't the reading experience I expected.

Thank you to Net galley for this chance. I love the book the chemistry between to two guys was just amazing which made the spicy scenes so enjoyable they were spicy but also decent not too into the adult stuff. I loved the adventure these 2 went on together i hope there is more with these two the characters are so incredibly done.

Cute, not particular historical except in setting, I suppose, but I adored the characters, the conflict, and how much each character grew throughout the story. One Night in Hartswood is a bit of a misnomer, as the two characters spend several nights there and outdoors and on the road, but in one night, our two protagonists met randomly and couldn't shake each other off. Amazing, they found each other and were just what the other needed to be saved. A fun lil' queer historical romance!

WOWW!! okay so just take everyone one of my heart strings and yank them why don’t you.

this author has an AMAZING prose and the writing in the book was so beautiful. i was sold just from that. it’s rare that a book takes my breath away just from the writing alone, but this one did.

i also LOVED these characters. raff and penn are so complex and just troubled guys trying to find themselves in a world determined to rip them apart. their love felt raw and real. these two men found each other and fell in love in such an organic way and i believed these two were real men in love, not just words on a page.

the spicy scenes in here were written so tasteful and beautiful. i loved the exploration of each others bodies and the insecurity such a thing comes with. i thought all of the self hate was dealt wonderfully.

all in all, i loved reading this and i think this is a book that will stick with me for a while

✨ Review ✨ One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny

Penn and Raff have an encounter one night in the woods that shapes the course of the rest of this book. Penn (aka William de Foucart) is about to marry Raff's sister, the daughter of an earl from the north. Neither knows who the other is, and so when Penn escapes on the eve of his wedding, and Raff stumbles upon him while hunting for William, they're both in the dark as they agree to travel north together as Penn escapes.

Miscommunication can be annoying sometimes, but it worked in this, creating the perfect blind spot as these two grew closer together. The pacing is admittedly a little slow -- the first 1/2 to 2/3 is just Penn and Raff traveling through the woods and small villages, getting to know each other, but there was something cozy and enjoyable about that slow plot. Eventually, things heat up and get exciting, bringing this book to an exciting conclusion.

Queer + medieval historical fiction is so rare and that made this feel like a delight. The cover compared it to Red White & Royal Blue meets The Queer Principles of Kit Webb and this is such a great description of this book. I loved that it created a loving happy space for these two and found them their HEA.

A great debut book for Denny and I'm hoping she's back with more!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: m/m historical romance
Setting: Oxford/rural UK in 1360
Reminds me of: Red White & Royal Blue meets The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
Pub Date: out now

Read this if you like:
⭕️ queer historical romances
⭕️ outdoor settings
⭕️ lots of character development, less plot
⭕️ medieval setting

Thanks to Harper 360, Mills & Boon and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

This book had me wrapped up in anticipation with every chapter I finished. One Night in Hartswood is perfect for fans of The Scottish Boy. I loved watching Raff and Penn slowly fall in love (or maybe slowly discover they’re in love). I found their companionship so endearing. Medieval queer romances seem to be my thing these days. Secret identities, forced proximity, a tale of boar hunting, and undeniable chemistry are just some of the things you can expect when reading this one. I couldn’t stop rooting for Raff and Penn the whole time.

Absolutely adored this book! Super sweet and lovely romance, that had me smiling while reading. I fell in love with the characters, and would love to read more of their adventures

A sweet romance that was enjoyable to read.

Raff's sister is set to marry a neighboring Earl's son. No one knows who he is or what his family is like. The day of the wedding, the prince is announced as missing. Raff is sent to find him. Penn is the prince in question. Straining against his cruel father and the expectations placed on him as heir, he decides to flee. Chance brings them together, but neither knows the other's true identity. Traveling in the frozen winter, they form a friendship and more. But will their secrets destroy everything they have built?

The first half or so is a slower burn traveling story, with all the classic tropes (one bed, etc.). This part felt cozy and sweet. It was nice to watch these two men open up to each other and fully be themselves for once. A little after the halfway point, things took a bit of a turn from "cozy," The stakes weren't raised, per se, but were rather made clear how high they actually were. I definitely preferred the later half.

Overall I enjoyed the reading experience, and discovering how things would be revealed and then resolved. I did find the characters a but forgettable. Fun to be with while reading, but not ones that will stay with me. This will not be a new favorite, but it was a solid read.

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc! I really enjoyed One Night in Hartswood. There are so few sweet, queer romances out there (though more and more each year!), that it's such a treat to discover them. I grew up with just Paks as an example of anything not heteronormative and it's always a pleasure to see others represented. That aside, Denny did a great job with her characters. She has a thoroughly engaging story set in a beautiful world!