I’d like to thank NetGalley and Mills and Boon for approving me for an ARC of this book. I was initially taken in by the beautiful cover but, once I’d read the blurb I knew this would be one for me.

Told in alternating POV we are first introduced to Raff and Penn as they prepare for their families to be united in marriage. On the eve of the wedding Raff happens upon Penn in Hartswood forest and the chemistry between them is palpable. Whilst not knowing the true identity of each other the pair go their separate ways to prepare for the marriage of Penn and Raff’s sister. For Penn this preparation involves him escaping via a secret tunnel, in search of his own freedom and happiness, unbeknown to him, Raff, has been tasked with finding Penn and returning him to the castle to save his sister’s honour. It’s not long before our two protagonists find themselves in each other’s company once more and Raff offers to help Penn find a new beginning.

What made this story so enjoyable was the alternating POV, I loved getting the inner thoughts of both men. From the moodiness of Raff to Penn’s naïve and gentle nature these two couldn’t be any more different and that is what makes them work. The lingering stares and accidental touches all added to the sexual tension, that was shining off the pages, and when that inevitable chemistry boils over it certainly knocks the temperature up a few degrees.

There were moments of laughter, sadness and emotion in this story, I particularly loved the transformation in Penn. Raff’s siblings, Lily and Ash, also stole the show a little. It was clear that they had a great relationship with their brother and they played an integral part in the story, as did Penn’s sister Jo. Both of our leading men had their own struggles and reasons for keeping secrets from each other, I desperately hoped that these wouldn’t cause the end of their love affair. When all the secrets were out the final scenes brought about a satisfying conclusion and I’m very excited to hear that there will be two more instalments to this series.

I found this book difficult to read. The genre did not really appeal. I persevered but it was hard work and difficult to relate to. A queer romance set in the 14th century with more steamy sex scenes that would like.

I was so gutted to DNF this book as I had heard such good things on tiktok and instagram about the book for me it just fell flat. I found the story to be really hard to follow and it to be far too descriptive and it felt like a bit much. I was confused over the relationships between the people and who they were to the story so I just struggled to get into and read the book.

*I received an e-ARC via Netgalley for review.

DNF @ 17%

I was drawn to this because of the 14th century setting and the queer romance. It’s 1360 and Raff is accompanying his younger sister Lily on her way to marry William de Foucart, the heir to an earldom and key to cementing his family’s interests in the south of England. Raff is restless, unsatisfied with his life as a younger son, and straining against his responsibilities. He’s happiest alone, in the forest. When he discovers a beguiling young man named Penn in the woods outside de Foucart’s castle, on the night before his sister’s wedding, he has no idea that he has met - and, in a moment of risk, kissed - the bridegroom. When William is nowhere to be found the next morning, jeopardising the alliance, Raff sets out to find him - still entirely unaware that William is actually Penn.

Despite the appeal of this premise - medieval queers! Forest adventures! Mistaken identity shenanigans! - the style and delivery of the story didn’t work for me at all. Although Raff is 26 years old, and Penn is also in his 20s, both of the POVs read as much, much younger. The tone of the narration, the extent of their understanding, is more like mid-late teens. It’s also pretty bland. Other than the fact that Penn and Rafe are both feeling trapped by their privilege, and some very basic physical descriptions, I didn’t get much sense of them as individuals. That made it hard to build rapport or investment in what might happen to them.

The medieval setting is similarly undistinguished and the attempt to build a sense of time and place (beyond ‘there are castles and woods here’) is minimal. It’s not that I was looking for a rich and precise historical fiction but some specificity would be nice, especially when the story arises out of a dynastic marriage.

Hence, the DNF - this was never going to be for me.

This was a such an interesting and sweet story and i loved every moment of it. The characters were written so well and i loved following Penn and Raff. The plot was done so well and i was on the edge of my seat between the action and romance. I really hope there are more in the series as these two were great to follow and i want to see more from them.

Get ready for a swoon-worthy, LGBTQ+ fantasy filled with passion and peril. Really quite beautiful. Had me hooked!

If Jude Deveraux and KJ Charles had a queer child, it would be basically "One Night in Hartswood". It is a historical romance with two male protagonists, and it has some of my favourite tropes, including characters journeying together and hidden identity. The story follows Pen who is trying to escape from his father's cruelty, and Raff, who is looking for her sister's escaped groom. The characters are lovely and full of love for ech other (not that they realise that first, bless them), and I enjoyed the gentle exploration of freedom and comfort.
I did not care at least for any historical innacuracies, if there were any (I am not sure, really), but it was a great read, comforting and enjoyable. I just hope that Emma Denny continues to write, because I will definitely want to read more stories of Barden siblings.

A beautiful queer historical romance following two men, Penn and Raff, and the secrets that they are hiding from the other.

The chemistry between Penn and Raff was so lovely to read, their relationship was clumsy (in the best way) and cute.

Where Raff has inclined to Penn that he is just a hunter and not actually of higher blood, Penn has told Raff that he is a servant and not the son that ran away from his father.

Penn needs help getting away. He cannot survive on his own. And so, Raff and Penn agree to travel together.

But what will happen when they need to part ways? Will Penn and Raff discover who the other really is?

I really enjoyed this book and I'm grateful to the publishers for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

When I first saw the summary of this novel, I was immediately hooked. I needed a good queer historical romance, even though I have never been the biggest fan of the genre itself.
The world Denny creates is easy to fall into, and the character are lovable and relatable, as well as complicated and hurt.
The author skilfully balances romance and instances of abuse, and even though it is never an easy topic to face as a reader, I believe Denny did her best in making sure the characters were properly cared for. The chemistry between the two main characters shines through easily all throughout the book, and it is easy to forget you're even reading.
I definitely enjoyed it, and I will be on the lookout for Denny's second novel when it comes.

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher for this advanced copy.

One Night in Hartswood was a sweet tender queer romance set in 14th century. I love everything about this book. The writing style was so enjoyable and beautiful. Overall, definitely a must read!

*chefs kiss* that is the best way I can begin my review.

This was the queer historical romcom that I didn’t know I needed!
It is beautiful, endearing and completely stole my heart from the very beginning.

Not only do we go on a journey as Penn tries to escape an arranged marriage and horrendous home life, but we get to see the journey of self discovery that both Penn & Raff take.

Although I can’t pick a favourite, I do love Penn’s growth as he finds this inner strength and belief within himself, but this wouldn’t have been possible without Raff hence why I can’t pick between the two.

There was a point during chapter 17 when I got nervous wondering where this was going, if it was just going to stagnate, but I needn’t feared because chapter 18 happened and, Oh, my days! It was brilliant and added more drama, excitement and tender moments. Seriously, my heart is smiling even now thinking about Penn & Raff.

I am a very greedy person and want more from Emma Denny and the gorgeous characters that feature especially Ash! His relationships with Raff & Penn had me laughing (as well as other emotions) I just want more!

Thank you so much, NetGalley & Mills & Boon, for the gorgeous eArc in return for an honest review.

P.S ~ in the email when my request was approved, it asks to hashtag who you love. Well, I’m sorry, but Raff AND Penn have my heart! Lol

This book was in a word boring. It was slow, there was a lot of travel and apart from a couple of sex scenes towards the middle, there was not much to break the tedium until the last hundred pages. Maybe if I'd been more invested in the relationship, it would have been better, but I just wasn't interested in the occasional lingering touch or longing stare. I wanted them to get on with it and get together already.

Half of the plot was the characters worrying about their false identities being found out and the other half was them worrying that the other didn't feel the same way. It was frustrating because both of them were thinking exactly the same thing and if they'd just talked to one another then they would have managed to get together a lot sooner.

It wasn't until the last hundred pages or so that the plot picked up and they finally had some real conflict to deal with. And I will admit that from that point it was a lot more interesting! It really highlighted Penn's cleverness and skill with words and showed off the character a lot better than the rest of the book.

Honestly, I think this would have been better if I'd read the first couple of chapters and then skipped a couple of pages until the end,

Was this book everything I wanted from a sweet romance? Yes
Was everything historically accurate or realistic? No
Did I still love it? 100%

Raff and Penn have my heart. Truly. Their love was sweet and it grew and bloomed into something true and deep. Two men with their own pasts and dealing with their own issues, meet unexpectedly and on a journey made with a promise, find comfort in each other.

There is a touch of spice in there too but it is sweet spice and very fitting for the aesthetic of the Book.

I still don't know how I feel about Ash... I kind of want his own story as I think he would be a great grumpy to a sunshine that would be a wonderful story.

The villainous father was perfectly written. He was present enough that we would hate him but not too much to overshadow the romance.

If you need a book that will make you smile and just warm your heart and soul, then please pick this one up! You won't regret it!

I will definitely keeping an eye out for more from this author as this is her debut!

‘One Night in Hartswood’ is a queer historical romance featuring an arranged marriage and a missing groom, mistaken identities and a journey through a wintery medieval England as the backdrop to a slow-burn romance between the two protagonists, Raff and Penn. This was a tender romance with a traveller’s twist on the only one bed trope and a bit of spice.

The story was focused on the blossoming romance between Raff and Penn, which Denny developed with finesse. I liked that both characters were keeping their true identities from each other, as this brought balance to the situation. The romance is not all fluffy, with Penn dealing with insecurities and the trauma of both emotional and physical abuse.
Raff’s siblings, Lilly and Ash, were engaging side characters and I would definitely pick up a novel about either of them. I would have liked a bit more details about the setting as I didn’t get a strong feel of medieval England.
(3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars)

The story is full of hidden identities, lies, witty banter and a lot of pining - what more could you want?

The writing style made this book such an easy and quick read. Exactly what I was looking for! Raff and Penn are both very likable characters. They also have great chemistry, so it was easy to root for them! I also loved the side characters and really want to see more of them. Maybe give Ash his own story?

The only thing is that I would have liked a bit more exploration of the historical context!

Overall, if you are a fan of historical romances, but often miss queer representation, I recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

One night in hartswood by Emma Denny

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to netgalley, Mills & boon and Emma Denny for the opportunity to read this book

If I've learned anything in the last year it's that I love a historical romance, especially if it has multiple points of view. The romance aspect here did not disappoint. You could really feel them falling for each other. I havent seen many M/M historical romances so it was nice to see the genre get a little more inclusive. There are some smut scenes and I liked that the author put consent at the forefront of those moments.

I do wish that there was a bit more plot outside of the romance and the miscommunication between our main characters. There was potential to look at the politics of the era and throw in some more drama on the road. I also think it may have been better if the point of view switches were less jarring, it was sometimes hard to tell it had switched.

If you enjoy a more character based book this one is definitely a great choice for you. For me personally I'd give it a 3 star rating and I would check out future works by the author.

Unfortunately had to DNF this at 20% due to strange formatting. I couldn’t tell when one POV started and another ended and it made for strange reading.

3 stars for what I did read and it’s a shame as I was enjoying the characters!

4.5/5

This was a really strong debut and very romantic in the prose and story. The actual prose is lush and almost dreamy, really fitting for a medieval romance.

Overall, I really enjoyed this! The quality of the prose was a huge part of it but I also really liked our main leads and the dual POV. Right off the bat, I found the dynamics between their respective family members to be really well laid out. Raff more so, and I felt Raff had stronger characterization between the two. The supporting characters are limited, and a bulk of the story is just Penn and Raff alone together, but I felt that they all grounded each other relatively well. I particularly loved Raff’s siblings and wished we spent more time with all of them.

However, there wasn’t much holding the setting together for me. There’s the occasional references and some interactions having to do with Raff being Scottish and the tension between England and Scotland at the time that tie the characters to the time period, but otherwise this felt like it could have been almost any other historical time period or generic medieval fantasy without the fantasy era. The medieval setting was more of a colorful stage setting than an actual environment the characters lived in. If you read historical romances for the historical elements and influences along with the romance, you might be left wanting.

I also found the pacing to be very slow during the middle. I got through the first 20% easily, it was engaging and there was character and plot movement. But the middle 30-60% really slowed down and got a bit monotonous. It took too long for the miscommunication/misunderstanding to come to light, especially because you’re waiting for the inevitable.

But overall, I did enjoy the main characters and I love mistaken identity and the yearning. There was so much romantic and sexual tension between Penn and Raff.

I will definitely be keeping an eye on any of Denny’s future work after this great debut!

Raff and his family have arrived for the wedding of his sister to William. Shrouded in the unknown (as was common for arranged marriages), they have no idea who this noble is but it's an important day for Raff - he is finally able to let go of his promise to keep her safe; this will be Williams job now.

The night before the wedding, in the heart of Hartswood forest, Raff meets Penn - a servant to the nobles and a chain of events that will lead him to the one thing he is avoided for so long - love.

I adored this story so much. an LGBTQ+ novel set in medieval times, the attitudes are far advanced for what we'd expect of the era and as a result , the feelings that develop between William and Penn come across as unfiltered and heartwarming,

A must for fans of They Both Die at the End.

I have always enjoyed a good historical romance. This one finds the reader following the complicated lives of both Raff and Penn. There is family drama, societal pressure, a sweet love story that will grab you by the heart(and have you routing for the heroes against all the odds), as well as many of the typical aspects of a medieval romance. This book kept me hooked from start to finish. I was absolutely invested in the story and needed to know how it ended, while also trying to draw out the reading experience.