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purrson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I’ve been waiting to read this for quite a while, and am so happy now that I finally have! It’s long enough to really get comfortable with—to be honest, the title had me wondering if the story would take place during the titular ‘one night in Heartswood’, making more a novella-length. In fact the night happens early on and concludes relatively quickly, but remains hugely influential for the rest of the novel.
Our two main characters, Raff and Penn, are each looking for escape from their current circumstances. When they stumble upon one another by chance one night at the start of the story, each logically decides to conceal a portion of his identity—his class & parentage—from the other. A large part of the story takes place as pair trek away from Penn’s home, growing closer amid the tension of traveling in rough weather, and secretively at that, trying to avoid notice as much as possible.
Throughout the journey there are complications and twists that keep the tension up, and stakes rise organically as Penn and Raff each slowly shift from trying to find a way forward independently, to hoping a future together might not be impossible. Their relationship is a very earnest, romantic one, and I enjoyed seeing Raff and Penn grow and change under each other’s influence—there is subtle but good character development here.
The world-building is grounded well enough in history and just expansive enough to feel real, just as the villains are truly cruel and entirely commonplace. Queerness is treated as normal though not without its dangers—but thankfully this takes place about 200 years before The Buggery Act of 1533, so things are not so dire. There are references to physical and emotional abuse of a character by their parent, which is heartbreaking and may be triggering to some. There are also depictions of loving, accepting family.
All in all I absolutely recommend this MM historical fantasy. Open door spice, lots of active consent.
Our two main characters, Raff and Penn, are each looking for escape from their current circumstances. When they stumble upon one another by chance one night at the start of the story, each logically decides to conceal a portion of his identity—his class & parentage—from the other. A large part of the story takes place as pair trek away from Penn’s home, growing closer amid the tension of traveling in rough weather, and secretively at that, trying to avoid notice as much as possible.
Throughout the journey there are complications and twists that keep the tension up, and stakes rise organically as Penn and Raff each slowly shift from trying to find a way forward independently, to hoping a future together might not be impossible. Their relationship is a very earnest, romantic one, and I enjoyed seeing Raff and Penn grow and change under each other’s influence—there is subtle but good character development here.
The world-building is grounded well enough in history and just expansive enough to feel real, just as the villains are truly cruel and entirely commonplace. Queerness is treated as normal though not without its dangers—but thankfully this takes place about 200 years before The Buggery Act of 1533, so things are not so dire. There are references to physical and emotional abuse of a character by their parent, which is heartbreaking and may be triggering to some. There are also depictions of loving, accepting family.
All in all I absolutely recommend this MM historical fantasy. Open door spice, lots of active consent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
There is one animal death near the beginning:vaguelyredhead's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and War
sariereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
magic_multicolored_miracle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A delightful romantic romp, between two young men who are smart when it comes to other people, but incredibly dumb when it comes to one another. The will-they-won't-they keeps you on edge through every twist of their journey, and the book will keep you on edge until the very last page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal cruelty, Deadnaming, Suicidal thoughts, and War
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ONE NIGHT IN HARTSWOOD is everything I hoped for, and more; a gay romance which mostly takes place during a several week journey by horse, as one man returns home and the other flees an oppressive household. I love romances that are built on communication, which is somewhat ironic, given that both Raff and Penn are keeping major parts of their identities secret, even if they talk about everything else. Normally, lying in relationships stresses me out, but the symmetry of the fact that both of them are keeping the same level of secret and don’t know if the other one is safe to trust with it helped it be less stressful for me.
This is set up to have at least one sequel, though its particular story is self-contained. Rather than leave an obvious story hook open, it ends with the characters in new situations which grant the possibility of future events without demanding any particular follow up.
I love Penn and Raff, I like them as individual characters and I enjoy how well they work together. They each have very different relationships with their families. Penn seems to be close with two of his several siblings, despite neither showing up for very long. His father is terrible, rather unambiguously playing the villain. Raff has close and mostly loving relationships with his sister and brother, and, despite their differences, they seem to understand each other fairly well. Not much is shown of Raff's relationship with his father, but what is there seems to be filled with respect and care.
Other things I love, in no particular order: how much of the time is spent just traveling and sleeping in the woods and dealing with inns; the wound care towards the end of the book; the way Penn obviously grows as a person; the more subtle ways that Raff starts to trust in other peoples' competence.
This was great, I want more, and I'm eager for the sequel.
This is set up to have at least one sequel, though its particular story is self-contained. Rather than leave an obvious story hook open, it ends with the characters in new situations which grant the possibility of future events without demanding any particular follow up.
I love Penn and Raff, I like them as individual characters and I enjoy how well they work together. They each have very different relationships with their families. Penn seems to be close with two of his several siblings, despite neither showing up for very long. His father is terrible, rather unambiguously playing the villain. Raff has close and mostly loving relationships with his sister and brother, and, despite their differences, they seem to understand each other fairly well. Not much is shown of Raff's relationship with his father, but what is there seems to be filled with respect and care.
Other things I love, in no particular order: how much of the time is spent just traveling and sleeping in the woods and dealing with inns; the wound care towards the end of the book; the way Penn obviously grows as a person; the more subtle ways that Raff starts to trust in other peoples' competence.
This was great, I want more, and I'm eager for the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
wildatheart1339's review against another edition
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Medical content
Minor: Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Classism
thaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for the opportunity to read this as an ARC!
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Homophobia, Death of parent, and War
cateemma's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Death of parent, and War
llyfrauginger's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I devoured this book. Beautifully written and so easy to get lost in. The romance is well paced and the characters are loveable; you can tell the author herself really loves the characters, which gives everything such warmth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and War