A review by sunflowerbookwyrm
One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This book was a very slow burn, but that was OK. I really felt the author took the time to make the relationship more believable and wholesome. The romance was the best part of this book.
I admit I did struggle with the first half because it was really slow, but I still found myself enjoying the writing
and the story that was being told. The traveling bits were a little boring, but the interactions were really what made the story, or rather, backstory we would get on Penn.
There wasn't a whole lot of world building but that didn't bother me too much since the focus was the characters.
This was also my first spicy m/m book where I didn't feel like the spice held back, and it was done in a way that was beautiful.
I do wish we had spent a little more time on Raff there were parts about his story I wanted to know more. I would like to see more on his brother and sister.
Raff is bisexual with a close relationship with his sister. He once was close with his brother, but after Ash lost his lover Oliver he was never the same losing. But towards the end we saw a bit of Ash begin to soften, especially when he met Penn.
The whole story is about Penn, born William, being an earl and having to marry Raff's sister, Raff was also of noble birth but since they had never met they both had no idea who the other was.
Raff saves Penn from dying in the woods, and thinks he is the servant/lover to William. Penn, on the other hand, just believes that Raff is a tracker trying to find him. Raff and Penn share a kiss in the woods of Hartswood and both feel a connection.
Raff is scared that something will happen to Penn, and also wants to not be tied down to a role that will happen once his sister marries William. However, his sister does not want to marry and asks Raff not to find William.
William was trying to escape his cruel father and the life he has been born into.
They both go on this trip and Raff promises to protect this stranger he has just met and get him to safety. Meanwhile, they are both keeping secrets from one another.
Towards the end i really empathized with Penn and his story.
He was abused by his father and treated as a thing instead of a person all his life. All he truly wanted was to be his true self. When he meets Raff he sees an opportunity but is also attracted to him and slowly starts to see a bit of himself in this man.
When Penn leaves and Raff finds out who Penn actually is that was devastating to read.
I really liked how Raff, his family Penn, and his sister plotted to free Penn from his father.
I felt this was clever.
I really enjoyed the interactions between not just with the main characters but with the side characters as well.
I found a lot of this story to be entertaining and had a fun time throughout it.
There was a lot of snuggling for warmth and romantic tension before the spice actually happened, which was nice. Sometimes instant loves stories can hard to believe, but there wasn't a second I doubted these two men were falling in love.
I didn't mind the whole bit about them keeping secrets, but I think after the secret was out was when the story really began to pick up and hard to put down.
I really enjoyed this story and if you are looking for a lighthearted read with some LGBT+ romance, a slow burn, and happy end then you should check this book out.
As always thank you to NetGalley for this Arc, these are my honest thoughts.
I admit I did struggle with the first half because it was really slow, but I still found myself enjoying the writing
and the story that was being told. The traveling bits were a little boring, but the interactions were really what made the story, or rather, backstory we would get on Penn.
There wasn't a whole lot of world building but that didn't bother me too much since the focus was the characters.
This was also my first spicy m/m book where I didn't feel like the spice held back, and it was done in a way that was beautiful.
I do wish we had spent a little more time on Raff there were parts about his story I wanted to know more. I would like to see more on his brother and sister.
Raff is bisexual with a close relationship with his sister. He once was close with his brother, but after Ash lost his lover Oliver he was never the same losing. But towards the end we saw a bit of Ash begin to soften, especially when he met Penn.
The whole story is about Penn, born William, being an earl and having to marry Raff's sister, Raff was also of noble birth but since they had never met they both had no idea who the other was.
Raff saves Penn from dying in the woods, and thinks he is the servant/lover to William. Penn, on the other hand, just believes that Raff is a tracker trying to find him. Raff and Penn share a kiss in the woods of Hartswood and both feel a connection.
Raff is scared that something will happen to Penn, and also wants to not be tied down to a role that will happen once his sister marries William. However, his sister does not want to marry and asks Raff not to find William.
William was trying to escape his cruel father and the life he has been born into.
They both go on this trip and Raff promises to protect this stranger he has just met and get him to safety. Meanwhile, they are both keeping secrets from one another.
Towards the end i really empathized with Penn and his story.
He was abused by his father and treated as a thing instead of a person all his life. All he truly wanted was to be his true self. When he meets Raff he sees an opportunity but is also attracted to him and slowly starts to see a bit of himself in this man.
When Penn leaves and Raff finds out who Penn actually is that was devastating to read.
I really liked how Raff, his family Penn, and his sister plotted to free Penn from his father.
I felt this was clever.
I really enjoyed the interactions between not just with the main characters but with the side characters as well.
I found a lot of this story to be entertaining and had a fun time throughout it.
There was a lot of snuggling for warmth and romantic tension before the spice actually happened, which was nice. Sometimes instant loves stories can hard to believe, but there wasn't a second I doubted these two men were falling in love.
I didn't mind the whole bit about them keeping secrets, but I think after the secret was out was when the story really began to pick up and hard to put down.
I really enjoyed this story and if you are looking for a lighthearted read with some LGBT+ romance, a slow burn, and happy end then you should check this book out.
As always thank you to NetGalley for this Arc, these are my honest thoughts.