This was an interesting story, with excellent descriptions and unique characters. I'm always interested in historical LGBTQIA+ novels, seeing how characters navigate a much different time. I can't say I loved most of the characters, but I did find it interesting how D'Lance chose to portray them - not what I was expecting, but somehow it worked. The setting certainly came to life around me as I read the book, and it was easy to become completely immersed in it. This might not be what most people are expecting, but overall it was an interesting novel with surprising characters.

One Night with Finbar is an interesting book that left me in two frames of mind of whether I actually liked the book or not. I did put it down a few times, walk away and then return at a later date to see if my first opinion had changed in any way - in a way it did but the constant feeling of not quite knowing how I felt still held on to me.

At first glance, I thought that One Night with Finbar would be one thing, but in the end, I soon changed my initial opinion. I enjoyed the story,

I felt it was a little too cluttered in places, there was a lot going on at times and I did lose track of where I was. I liked the characters, they were well crafted and likeable at times but all the time.

The historical research was second to none and it was what kept me reading, I felt the author put a lot of time and effort into the research which really showed in the story.

Overall, an original story, it had some good moments but didn't always hit the mark but what I didn't like other readers may love.

Warnings: graphic rape
I went into this expecting a story following the development of friendship and maybe more of Martin and Finnbar and how they faced hardship and danger after just a short amount of time together, but what I got was very different.

First what I enjoyed:
The historical atmosphere and obvious research the author did. He really did paint a picture of the time and I enjoyed the little details he included. The writing was also very good.

Now for what I didn't enjoy:
The characters - I hated nearly every single one, especially Martin, he was weak and selfish. I'm not sure if I was meant to like him or not. Finnbar was sweet and innocent, but he was so passive and he went from one situation to another without any character development or effort on his part. The only character I liked was Joe Hegseth and he was just there to help Finnbar from time to time. The villain was one dimensional and the other gay characters were either pretty stereotypical or just horrible.
There was no relationship between Martin and Finnbar not even friendship. They were barely in the same space for most of the book, they never had a real conversation, Martin just lusted after him. Finnbar was supposed to be his bond servant but for some reason spent most of the book on his own going from job to job with Martin just coming to see him a couple of times.
The pacing. For the first half nothing really happened and seemed an excuse to tour the historical setting rather than develop the characters or plot, the main storyline didn't start until at least 50% in.

I'm sad that I ended up not liking this book but I will probably still give the author another try in the future due his writing and historical accuracy.

While generally well written and very historically accurate, it was just very much not for me. Did not finish.

This is a wonderful piece of historic fiction with an under-represented array of characters in this genre. It stays true to the era. Recommending for purchase.