A review by wilybooklover
One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

4.0

Most of this, I adored. How tender and caring the romance was; how charming the two leads and their siblings were. The characters were well fleshed out with distinct personalities and I loved the delicious pining in the first half of the book. I thought the author dealt with the topic of abuse thoughtfully, especially in regards to the intimate scenes. Raff's family dynamics were great; I'd love to read more about Ash or Cecily in a sequel or two.
 
However, the pacing felt a bit off. There was virtually no plot for the first three quarters of the book (which I actually loved, as a big fan of 'no plot just vibes' books) and then a lot of action and drama crammed into a final act that was drawn out far too long. At times the dialogue felt a bit clunky and there were some jarring POV switches, which I'm attributing to this being a debut.

I also wish the early mediaeval setting had been explored a little more in depth. It was really just scenery for the most part and could have been set at any time pre-18th century given how little detail there is. There wasn't even a mention of the plague! 
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