One Night in Hartswood is MM fairytale romance full of arranged marriage, sword fights, handsome men, and secret lords. When Penn and Raff meet in the Hartswood as Penn is fleeing his arranged marriage to Raff's sister Lily, sparks fly. But Penn thinks Raff is a hunter/tracker just along with the wedding party and Raff thinks Penn is a servant running away from his cruel master (Not the lord's son running away from his horrible father and impending marriage!) Both men want to confess their feelings but what happens when the other finds out the truth about their identity? I read through this is a day because I couldn't put it down. If you like bisexual romance with a medieval twist, this book is for you.

Queer historical fiction is one of my absolute favorite genres, so you can imagine how excited I was to receive an ARC for One Night in Hartswood through Netgalley. Right off the bat, I loved Raff, Penn, Ash and Lily. Overall, I would say this is a really good book for anyone who's looking for queer historical fiction with an HEA. My only issue with the book is that the pacing at times felt glacially slow and it was only more than halfway through the book that things picked up and from there, I devoured the rest of the book. But I absolutely loved it and would recommend it to anyone looking for this genre!

Set in 1300s Oxford, One Night in Hartswood follows Raff Barden as he tracks William de Foucart, the nobleman who disappeared on the night of his wedding to Raff's sister. That night, Raff meets up with a cute man named Penn, who says that he is a servant of William de Foucart who is trying to escape after his master's disappearance. The two have a moment and against his better judgement, Raff decides to help Penn escape. However, Penn is actually William de Foucart who is trying to flee from his impending marriage. The two navigate familial expectations, mistaken identities, attraction, and trying to find happiness in a world that does not affirm deviation from expected norms.

OMG this book!! It honestly had me at 1360 Oxford, not a time or place that I usually see in historical romances! I loved the romance between Raff and Penn. It was very sweet. I usually have some issues with mistaken identities because there is usually such a liar reveal/breakup that I HATE! This book really didn't have that, which made me happy. The hurt/comfort in this book is also top notch! This was just generally a fun ride that I loved reading in the fall. Highly recommend for some atmospheric seasonal reading!

Overall, I loved this book and highly recommend if you are at all into historical fiction or historical romance! I'm very excited to read the sequel!! 5 stars from me. Thank you to Harper 360 and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book, my thoughts are my own!

3.5*

I enjoyed this take on the historical M/M romance by Emma Denny. I really enjoyed our two main characters, Penn and Raff. Their romance really was one of my favorites that I've read in a while. However, the pacing of the first half of the book was a little slow for my taste. The second half of the book, when the plot really started going, I really enjoyed. I think if there was more action while the two characters were on the road, this could've been a 4-4.5* read for me because of how much I enjoyed all of the characters and Denny's writing. I will definitely be reading future novels from Denny!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC. This is my honest review.

4.5 stars!

A chance encounter in a forest on a winter's night. Two men, seemingly lost, find solace in one another. The problem: one man is engaged to the other man's sister, and neither of them knows it. Their chemistry can't be denied as these two embark on the journey of a lifetime. Each longing for escape, they find home in one another...but can it last?!?

Penn is gay, which isn't accepted in 1300s England. As our story begins, he's engaged to Cecily, Raff's sister. Penn feeling trapped, decides to escape into the forest one evening for one last breath of freedom. It's at this point that Penn meets Raff, Cecily's brother, who is also feeling unhappy with his lot in life. They feel an almost immediate bond, which is quickly revealed to be undeniable chemistry. They decide to leave Penn's home together, but not before having a scorching-hot kiss. Penn is looking to get away from his father. Raff wants to see Penn happy, even if they believe they can never be together. They attempt to deny their feelings as they travel across gorgeous landscapes and towns. They begin to fall in love in this beautiful slow-burn romance. But can they overcome prejudice, lies and fears and be together in the end?

I LOVED the writing! This author wrote the scenes beautifully. Winter almost felt like its own character. The forests, the quiet barns, the mountain ranges...I felt like I was THERE. I also reveled in the way the author built their chemistry. The little touches and looks were everything! The spice was there too, building over time and incredibly emotional! The only thing that could have made the writing better, perhaps, was writing in first person from each of their perspectives. It was written in third person omniscient, which meant that we were getting lots of the pronoun "he" and sometimes I got confused about whose eyes were were looking through.

The third act didn't feel quite as BIG as I wanted it to, but still closed with a very satisfying ending. I enjoyed the writing and the story so much that Emma Denny will likely become an auto-buy author for me. An achingly beautiful story that swept me away!

Trigger warnings: killing of an animal, physical abuse (off page)

I'd like to thank Harper 360, Mills & Boon, and Netgalley for the e-ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I started my romance journey over twenty years ago when I discovered my mother’s bodice-ripping historical romance collection. And while I may have ventured away from that genre, when I saw this mm historical romance set back in the 1300s, it called to me and I’m so glad I delved back into this genre (minus the bodice-ripping lol).

Told in third person POV, Raff and Penn’s love story is a slow, sweet, sensual build from camaraderie to lovers. Both are harboring secrets as the travel through the Hartswood Forest but those secrets stay hidden as these two discover a love so deep and endless between them.

I’ll admit, the spice surprised me. I thought it would be more closed door but it had some heat behind it. Bravo!

I’m not one to usually like secrets but I really adored these two and their swoony love. I’ll admit at times I didn’t FEEL like I was in the 1300s. And the use of single quotation marks instead of double was a bit bothersome.

𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦: November 7, 2023
𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚. 𝙈𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely adore queer historical books, so I was very excited about this one. This book covers the topic of abuse while also fitting in a beautiful romance between 2 men in a time period that would be pretty much non-existent. I loved the MC’s and the romance that blossoms between them. This is beautiful and full of heart/comfort, secret identity, and genuine queer love!

Medieval Queer Romance where you fall for your sister's betrothed in an arranged marriage? In Oxford 1360, Raff Braden is the son of an earl and is meant to escort his sister to her betrothed for her politically arranged marriage. Yet the groom is nowhere to be found and now Raff has to track him down to restore his family's honor. William de Foucart, also known as Penn, was forced to abandon his earldom and forced marriage. He is on the run and then he meets a kind stranger, Raff, and asks him to help him escape. Raff has no clue who Penn really is and while surviving the woods together, they begin to fall for one another. But can a relationship between two strangers really work? What happens when their true identities are revealed... can the blossoming feelings between them grow or was it doomed from the start. I was so so excited to read a medieval queer romance, medieval romances aren't that popular when you have historical romances so I was so excited to read this one. Unfortunately, it missed the mark. The book kind of felt all over the place and the story had a rocky start and finally picked up near the 60% mark. The writing and story felt slow and not much seemed to be going on until the end of the book. While this one missed the mark for me definitely give it a go if you are looking for a medieval queer romance, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and Harper 360, Mills & Boon for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I enjoyed this book so much! I love how it was not based in the regency era like a lot of romance novels are. It was something different, and I thought it was done well. You can feel Raff and Penn’s connection immediately! And as they travel together, all of the angst and pining they do for each other is *chef’s kiss*. I really enjoyed the last 40% of the book the most. So so good. Interested to read more from this author!

I thought this book was super cute with a very fun road-trip via horseback. The romance between Raff and Penn was very beautiful and I absolutely adored them! It was great seeing their relationship bloom over the course of their trip across the country! Also who doesn’t love a little “it’s cold so we should cuddle to preserve heat” moment and we get a lot of them in this!

The main reason this book was not a 5 star for me is because their relationship starts on a lie and I always hate that. Raff let’s Penn believe he’s not a nobleman and Penn never tells Raff he’s the runaway groom. I will say the 3rd act breakup does deal with this super well though!
My other issue with this book is I wanted more to happen with Penns abusive father and I felt it fell a little flat there. But I did love seeing Penn navigate the political side of everything!
But all in all this was a very cute story that I absolutely adored and had a blast reading. A great debut from Emma Denny!

CW// parental abuse

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with an arc for my honest review

4.5 stars, rounded to 5 for NetGalley.

A queer historical romance, set in the late 1300s, this book follows the tale of two men whose fates are woven together closer than they would have ever imagined. Penn, William to his father, can’t imagine being married to a woman he doesn’t know and that he knows he’ll never love in the way that his family claims he eventually will. Raff is suspicious about letting his sister marry a man they know nothing about, especially when the rumors of the family are not kind. In an attempt to escape his abusive father and his unwanted engagement, Penn flees into the woods – not considering how ill equipped he is to take care of himself. Raff, unsuccessful in his search for his sister’s missing fiancé, is drawn to this man who’s trying so hard to survive his escape from an unforgiving lord. Raff invites Penn to join him in his journey back home in the north – expecting him to find a good place to settle along the journey. Little do the two men know how much the journey would draw them together. With both of their true identities hidden, what will happen when these secrets are forced into the light? Is their new and fragile love worth risking their lives and the lives of those they love?

All I can say is I’m in love. This was such a heartwarming romance, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I adored how considerate both men were of the power imbalance between their real life position and the mistaken identity of the opposing man. They put the idea of a romantic relationship on the backburner to protecting each other. I also thought it was incredibly nice that while they obviously acknowledged the stigma and dangers of being in a queer relationship in the 1300s, ultimately that wasn’t the main barrier to a happily ever after. The real villain and obstacle was an innately abusive father who can’t stand his son being anything other than an exact replication of his expectations. This book had tons of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and was overall an absolute delight to read (I read this book in two sittings). My only complaint was that I’m not used to seeing both characters’ perspectives in one chapter, and I was a bit confused at first as I got my bearings for the story.

CW: physical abuse, injury, violence, blood, sexual content, death of a parent (prior to events of book)

Set in 1360, this queer medieval historical romance follows Raff Barden, who is trying to track down his sister's fiancé, who has gone missing the night before their wedding. Shortly after setting out, he runs into Penn, a man fleeing his father's household who is vastly unprepared to survive on the run during the dead of winter. Unbeknownst to Raff, Penn is actually William de Foucart, the missing fiancé he has been sent to find. Both men are keeping secrets from one another, but as they travel, they begin to rely on one another, and soon find their relationship blossoming into something more.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book. I don't think I've ever come across a queer historical romance set in medieval times, and I do love a good medieval romance. This...was not that. The historical setting was not well depicted--I didn't get a good sense of the setting at all. A lot of characters/politics were confusingly dumped on the reader at the beginning of the story, but the majority of the book was just Penn and Raff traveling through the woods, which got a little tedious after a while. Despite that, I had a hard time getting a sense of each of them as individual characters, which made it hard to be invested in what was happening to them. I felt like their lies to each other went on much longer than was reasonable as well.

I do appreciate how the author crafted the ending. Despite the fact that Raff's family seemed a bit unrealistically accepting of their relationship, it can be hard to work out realistic HEAs for queer historicals, and I felt like that was sorted out well here.

I believe this was a debut book and overall, it felt like it read like a debut--the characters weren't super developed, the writing was just okay, the historical setting was not well-researched. I think this author shows some promise, but this one didn't do it for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

We read a lot of historical romance, but not a ton of medievals, and definitely not a ton of queer medievals. In fact, we think this was our first trad-published LBGTQ+ medieval romance. It hits a lot of spots:

It's a road trip romance set in a time when just traveling through the forest was a scary undertaking;
A romance where both leads are hiding aspects of their identities from each other (but are able to be more themselves by not being their "public" selves);
A hard look at families of origin, and how they end up affecting us in ways we might not even realize;
A tender romance between two really appealing characters who get a true HEA.

We wouldn't say this is lighthearted, but it's not as angsty as MM Medieval Romance might make you think. It's also an open door romance - Emma Denny doesn't shy away from showing the reader what weeks of forced proximity on the road will explode into once our characters get a chance to act on their feelings!

Definitely recommended for fans of historical romance who are looking for something new!

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

First I was lucky enough to get an arc copy so thank you to the publishers and NetGalley.

Second, I am not big on historical romances because they can come off a bit dry and this one did but I will say it was still a nice read. I enjoyed the overall tone but I don’t think this is my cup of tea and some of the descriptions had a lot to be desired.

And finally, I would try another book by this author but I don’t know if it would be this one. Yes, we need more lgbtq+ in stories but we also need it to not only hope that will save the book.

This was a very beautiful story of two people stuck in lives they wish to escape. Raff and Penn meet in the woods while Penn is attempting to escape his father and getting married to Raff’s sister. Throughout their entire journey together through the woods, they do not disclose their true societal standings with one another. It isn’t until the second half of the book where things begin to unfold. The relationship between Raff and Penn was lovely. They were each fighting with their own personal battles and wanted to escape the lives they had.

The pacing of the story felt slow at time. They spent a lot of time traveling through the woods trying to avoid Penn being recognized. Spending all the time in the woods did allow their relationship to blossom. Raff and Penn’s relationship felt natural. The way they care for one another was heartwarming. Also the fact that they were willing to protect each other no matter the cost made me love them that much more.

This book was full of adventure, longing, and sacrifice. Raff finds Penn in the woods and helps him to escape to a safer place, but they've both lied about who they are. Revelations of how their paths ha e already been intertwined will either pull them apart or closer together.

I loved how they really began to fall for one another. It was sweet, desperate, and so pure. The romance was not left out of this one, and it left me with a warm fuzzy feeling of comfort.

One Night in Hartswood follows Raff whose sister is arranged to get married to William. But William does not want to get married so he abandons his fiancé. But William is ill-equipped to survive on his on. He runs into Raff a kind stranger to help him escape. They are both unaware that Raff is William’s fiancés sister, and Raff does not know who William is. Soon they both start falling for each other. But will things stay the same once there secrets are revealed?

This book was cute. I did feel like the romance in this one started a little too fast. It made the book feel rushed. I wish the characters got to know each other a little more before the romance started. But I really enjoyed this one. I thought the book had the perfect mix of adventure, finding one’s self, and romance. It was beer cure and I think I would suggest it.

Reading the synopsis for this book, I expected to really like it and I'm glad to say that I was right. I really enjoyed the book. The writing was very good and the characters were really likeable. I left the book feeling not quite satisfied, though. I think it was because, at least for me, the climax didn't feel as...well, climactic as it could've been, and so, when everything was getting wrapped up, it all felt a little too neat. Not to say I don't enjoy nice, neat endings, but to me it just seemed a bit underwhelming. Like I said, it definitely didn't keep me from enjoying the book, I just feel like it could've better stuck the landing. Overall a great debut novel, though.

I really enjoyed this read! It was adorable and hopeful, and I’m so glad that it had a happy ending. I already want a second book focusing on Ash and Penn’s older brother. It’s a very quick read and for that I was thankful, I’ve been in such a spot where I don’t want to read because everything’s so long. The quotations took a second to get used to but otherwise was seriously amazing!

PRE-READ THOUGHTS
This sounds fun and cute and like a book that will get me out of a slump if I ever fall into one. High predictions!

STATS
⚠️ Stay Safe, Friends: animal injury/death, child abuse, scars
⛰ Cliffhanger: NO AND I AM SOARING
🌶 Spice Check: Tobasco on my spice scale (you can find it in my profile!)
⭐️ Rating (?/5): 5/5!!!
🔂 Re-Readability: Y E S

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

TROPES SPOTTED IN THE WILD
•Arranged political marriage (adjacent?)
•Lust at first sight
•Hidden identity
•Royal lovers

SUMMARY + BASIC CHARACTER INFO AND RELATIONSHIPS
Raff and Penn, known to the rest of the world as William de Foucart, meet on the night before William is due to wed his new bride in Hartswood Forest. Raff and Penn team up and escape, unaware that their lives were intertwined before their first meeting. Freedom is their original goal, but maybe love will become more important.

🗡️Raff: protective, loyal, trusting, sturdy, golden-hearted, selfless and almost self-sacrificing. He's the one you want on your team, to be your ride-or-die. He's willing to help, if he can, and he has a strong sense of justice.

👑Penn: a little feisty, no self-love to be seen, cunning, witty, intelligent, quick and strategic. He's an asset as a political strategist and great at manipulating scenarios that will benefit those he is working to protect. He may not be able to save you with a dagger, but he's able to save you with his tongue (wow).

Like every book, there's a fun cast of side characters! I definitely enjoyed Raff's family way more than Penn's. Shocking myself, I ended up loving Ash after the first little bit. (view spoiler)

WHY YOU SHOULD PUSH THIS ONE UP/DOWN YOUR TBR

UP
•It's a quick and enjoyable read! The pace is fast, reading like a contemporary romance, and it never felt sluggish or like a chore to get through.

•Raff and Penn's relationship was just so wholesome and sweet and endearing, even when things got a bit angsty or uncertain. I was rooting for both of them, as a couple and as individuals. They are a couple I know I can go back to when I need a comfort read; I feel like that is so hard to find, which just makes me cherish them and this book even more.

•Common tropes that drive me insane (like miscommunication or jumping to conclusions) happen here, but they aren't beaten to death and they are resolved pretty quickly which makes them more effective and digestible.

•Ash really added a level of (I hate to say) mystery and intrigue that I really didn't expect. He was like a thin hidden layer of darkness and grit in an overall sweet and (mostly) lighthearted historical romance. In the beginning, I was sure I would dislike Ash and would want to skim through his page time, but it didn't take long for him to grow on me. My precious troubled boy 😭.

DOWN
•I.. don't think there's anything in here that is enough to make you push this down on your TBR? Not gonna lie, I'm a little shocked to realize I can't think of a single thing that bothered me or flagged enough to actively note it as a negative.

OVERALL
I loved this so much. So, so, SO much, especially coming off the back of reading The Trouble With Hating You. It was so nice to read something and not only love it but also be so excited for any future books that may join this universe.

Finding a new comfort read wasn't on my October 2023 bingo card, but we're here and we're winning!

Until next time!