Reviews with content warning for Confinement - One Night in Hartswood

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.

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booksthatburn's review

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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.

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cateemma's review against another edition

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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

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alreads13's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I absolutely adored this book! A runaway heir, fake identities and a slow burn romance? What’s not to love?!

Penn and Ash are thrown together in the woods one night and their stories become entangled from there as they search for freedom from their respective roles and expectations. They traverse the forest side by side as their feelings for each other secretly grow until they’re forced to reckon with the burdens they’re running from.

I fell in love with these characters! They took me on such a rollercoaster of emotions! And the LONGING in this book is tangible and almost painfully real. I couldn’t get enough of this story and tore through it! This book is perfect for fans of Cat Sebastian and/or Alexis Hall, I promise!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360, Mills Boon for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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clairew97's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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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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llyfrauginger's review against another edition

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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.

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