I wasn't sure what to expect from this, since the blurb is pretty bare-bones, but oh my gosh I am in love with everything it delivered. I love a good road-trip trope, and this puts an excellent spin on it with both the 1300s historical setting and the mistaken identity trope that leaves both Penn and Raff thinking that the other is much plainer in identity than he is. Of course, this comes with all sorts of additional delicious tropes - huddling for warmth, pining, sparring as foreplay, to name a few - as they make their way north and both of them stray further from their original intent and further into each other's orbit. From the first moment Raff and Penn meet, I fell head over heels for One Night in Hartswood. With two loveable but flawed protagonists, sizzling romance, heart-stopping tension, beautiful writing, and a brilliant cast of supporting characters who I'm desperate to get to know even more, Emma's found the perfect recipe for an LGBTQI+ romance. Raff and Penn stole my heart, and I can't wait for readers to start falling in love with them too. Joe Thomas, Senior Publicity Manager I wanted more steam, less about them just walking day after day, going to inns, blah blah blah. When something was happening, it was great and interesting, but there was a lot of just these two...not talking enough, almost doing something or wanting to do something, and not doing it, and them delaying the journey North to spend more time together and just have as much freedom as they wanted. Oh what a great romance. What I loved about this was actually how unpredictable it was. Even though I knew it would have a HEA, I could not foresee how it would play out and lots of bits took me by surprise.

Anyway! I would definitely recommend this book to people who like a good love story, and doubly so for those who want it queer. Users who reposted One Night in Hartswood, By Emma Denny, Read by Tom Alexander and Sebastian Humphreys I should also talk about the steamier scenes - I imagine this is the hardest part for an author to get right. In this one it was done SO RIGHT. The sex scenes were so hot and a delight to read - I can't even do justice through this review to how much I loved them - I think this was largely due to the chemistry between the pair, but the author is clearly very skilled and talented. You won't be disappointed by these parts of the book.

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I loved all the lovely moments shared with Penn and Raff. Their personalities were different and yet so similar as they hesitated to make the first moves in admitting their feelings and once they had they didn't hesitate to gravitate towards the other with all the affection they could openly display. 💞 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. 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. But optimism flagged only briefly, as I reminded myself that Freya Marske blurbed this. Freya Marske! 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!

i read this book because someone described it as having "too much gay sex" and i will read anything that has "too much gay sex" in it. One Night in Hartswood is a historical romance that is beautiful and cozy. This is not an overly complicated world which is a change from some of the historical novels that I have read. It is a nice change of pace. It is a simple world that is easy to imagine. It takes place in the 1300s which is the first that I have read for a historical m/m romance. This book is soft, with several moments where the leads try to protect each other. Both leads are loyal, steadfast, & brave, and both show how they’re willing to face pain for the sake of the other.That’s exactly what ONE NIGHT IN HARTSWOOD gives and I fell in LOOOOVE. I mean, Raff and Penn were just soooo good together. The angst. The pining. The stolen touches and glances. The absolute romance of it all. I am smitten. I haven’t had a book feel like this in a minute. The fictional dog, unlike dogs who live around horses in the real world, isn't keeping out of range of the horse's hooves and teeth. See above. Their romance is built on a lot of lies, which naturally explodes in their faces. It was hard to feel bad for either of them when they were both keeping secrets. I found their dynamic on the road interesting. The romance developed slowly because Raff was hesitant to do anything with Penn because of the power imbalance. I wish the slow burn lasted longer and that there were more obstacles. When I saw that this novel was set in 1360, I immediately wanted to read it. Ultimately, I'm glad I did...despite the constant feeling I had that the setting was fairly arbitrary and it really could have been any pre-industrial time period. The two head North toward Raff's home and, along the way, develop a deeper relationship that soon becomes physical. Eventually, they begin to fall for one another, but what will happen when both of their secrets are revealed?

Shortly afterward, I began to suspect that Denny's idea of medieval history went something like this: There were castles. People rode horses and wore tunics.

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There’s tons of story in this, Romeo and Juliet in one sense with warring families, and echoes of the classic peripatetic comic novels of the 18th Century too, such as Tom Jones and Barry Lyndon, in the journey they take together, the strangers they meet etc. But above all, this is a sweeping romance with such highs and such lows. It’s deeply sensual, it’s dramatic, and it is heart-breaking. Towards the end you get such an awful sense of doom, of lies unravelling, and I really began to wonder, how on earth can they possibly have any sort of happy ever after. Don’t read the last section on the bus as I did, unless you’re happy to sob in public. Set in 1360, Penn and Raff are two sons of Earls, one from the south and one from the north of Englan.

This book drew me in immediately and I loved the unique historical take on a traditional road trip story. There is, however, always a bit of tension in queer historical romance where you’re never quite sure what the HEA will look like and how they will find their way there. This is especially the case here as you’re waiting for the truth of their identities to be revealed. Towards the end, the plot got a bit muddled for me, as the politics of the day come into play but I still enjoyed the ultimate resolution. This is a great story for anyone who is looking and emotional romance in a historical setting without a lot of action.Playlists containing One Night in Hartswood, By Emma Denny, Read by Tom Alexander and Sebastian Humphreys The MCs in this story have so much chemistry - it's something a lot of authors don't get right, and the books end up suffering due to it. But that wasn't an issue here. The chemistry was intense and electric and so perfect. I was swooning through about 80% of the book 😍 They're both so adorable. I just loved Penn, and Raff turned my heart to mush. They're so cute together and felt so perfect for each other right from their Meet Cute. A large portion of the book was just the two MCs together, but it was never, ever boring. We can't wait for readers to fall in love with Penn and Raff as much as we have. But which one has stolen your heart? Though Penn in the beginning appears a bit helpless and wholly dependent on Raff but he really holds his own with his charisma and ability to spin a story, getting the pair out of trouble quite a few times! I was not rid of you,’ he spoke quietly --- ‘I have not been rid of you since that first evening in Hartswood Forest.