User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
this is cute and i think i would have loved it more if i hadnt already read
‘a rogue of ones own,’ because i just couldnt help but compare the similarities.
i liked the idea of the plot, the setting, the writing and dialogue - all help make this a quick and entertaining read. but i honestly dont have much to say other than its decent. nothing really stood out to me other than just the basic pleasantness of it all.
this is definitely a fun and enjoyable story, perfect if you are looking for a easy going historical romance as it can be read as a standalone, but it just happens that ive already read another book that does this kind of story
slightly better.
thanks so much to atria books for the ARC! ↠ 3.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
This is cure to my bleeding soul and dark, sulking mood! It’s not chicken soup but it’s definitely quite lovely, refreshing, brightening vaccine to rejuvenate me! All we need is now to read this kind of sweet, swoon, smart, entertaining books to energize us, putting genuine smile to our faces, motivating us to get through our moody, grumpy natures ( grumpy already became my first name after surviving through 2020 and I’m counting my days to get rid of that bitch! )
A brief introduction to the story: Widowed Lady Templeton cannot help her nonstop banters with Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham. He always knows how to push her buttons which results with more fiery arguments, throwing meaningful insults, sizzling growing intimacy. Both of their reputations at the stake. They’re already infamous among English high society. Considering they’re living in the 19th century, they have less freedom and live under more pressure of their inner circle!
Jeremy’s grandmother wants him elope in one year but Jeremy already lost his confidence at unfortunate attempt with her mistress who relentlessly criticizes his skills on bed. He needs some practice, actually he needs someone who can be straightforward, telling him the ugly truth about his sexual talent. That should be only Lady Templeton who can be honest to his face!
So he suggests her with offer ( frenemies with benefits kind of valuable one) which could help with both of their love life problems. He offers her no strings attached- very tempting encounter to test his skills. And in return when the gossip wheels start spinning, Lady Templeton could signal the charming gentlemen her openness to take a lover.
It starts like a game they both win till their hearts, souls and minds are at stake!
There are some unexpected twists that truly surprise you and some unnecessary angst boils your blood.
So far I enjoyed both of the characters. Their nonstop, laugh out loud bickering, pant melting chemistry in bed, their intimacy stole my heart. I can honestly say I loved this book more than the first installment and I highly recommend the readers who need urgent recovery from darkening moods. This book checked all the boxes for my ideal historical romance and enjoyable romcom criterions!
So I proudly recommend this book to all die-hard romance fans!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sending me this review copy of this lovely book in exchange my honest opinions.
Rating: really liked it
Sigh. It seems that I shall never fall in love with Martha Water’s novels and that’s because *throws up my hands* they’re so
aggravating. I, for one, do not enjoy shouting
“but why would you do that?” but alas, somehow it always comes to that, and I’m tired, okay?
On how conflict is badly manufactured
For a moment there, I thought that I’d enjoy this one more than To Have and to Hoax, because I genuinely liked Diana and Jeremy’s dynamics at first. It’s a shame, really, because there are many things this book
almost does well : Diana is independent and funny, for the most part. Jeremy is charming, he
listens. The discussion on sex and pleasure is good. They have chemistry together. But why,
why must everyone in this be so damn set on dragging situations that don’t deserve to go on more than half a page, so much that I wanted to stop reading?
I have a confession to make : I had to
skim parts because I just –
I couldn’t stand them. Diana’s antics regarding Jeremy’s marriage made no sense, her deception went for
far too long, and irritated the hell out of me. Why put so much effort in complicating one own life?
WHY? I’m begging to understand! I’m so mad at them for ruining such a great chemistry. So mad.
There’s nothing more frustrating than characters systematically choosing the worst option available – worst than that, even: too many times it felt like Diana and Jeremy would look at the choices available,
stare at the worst one, and then twist it to create a new situation so idiotic and unnecessarily cruel that you reader can’t even begin to comprehend how the thought was even allowed to form in their mind. Honestly, reading To Love and to Loathe feels like gaslighting at times : you’re sure you’re not the one overreacting but the characters keep trying to convince you that their reactions are perfectly fine, when it’s clear they’re not.
To keep the plot going, these characters do a 180 and take decisions that just don’t make any sense at all, and as it’s something I found really infuriating in To Have and to Hoax too, I’m sorry but I’m starting to think that
it comes from bad craft. Other things I didn’t like: a non-exhaustive list
▪ Jeremy’s emphasis on Diana’s breast : we get it!!!!
▪
The tone is all over the place, and it feels like the book doesn’t know what it wants to be ;
▪ Too much time spent on secondary characters I could never manage to care about. I feel ashamed because I usually love friendship between women but here I just found their conversations very grating ;
▪ At some point Violet (!!!) of all people gives relationship advice and excuse me? The audacity of that woman, I can’t even.
▪ One character isn’t who they appear to be and that was obvious from the start, yet Diana and Jeremy, those fools,
are so wrapped in themselves that they don’t even realize.
▪ So many of Diana’s decisions – especially in regards to Jeremy’s marriage – seem to come
out of spite and having read The Day of the Duchess recently, the comparison is inevitable, and not in Diana’s favor.
But the most infuriating part was
when Violet outed a lesbian character to her friends and to Jeremy, for no reasons at all. The fuck? I couldn’t believe she’d be so self-centered that she’d go there but apparently she wanted to crush any leftover sympathy I had for her. Again, it was so unnecessarily cruel and selfish!
– Bottom line –
I’ve said I’d give Martha Waters’ novels another chance.
Sadly, it’s a miss, and we’ll have to part ways. I shall stay firmly in the minority on this. For real, though? I need to stop writing now or I’ll remove another star *slowly takes a step back*.
For more of my reviews, please visit : 
Rating: really liked it
tw: death of a sibling
As someone who hasn't read a lot of historically, I'm not sure if this was meant to be more over-the-top than most of them are but it definitely had that tongue in cheek feel to it. This is a bantering almost rivals to lovers, including a fake (but actually real) tryst meant to help out the both of them. While there is a lot of what feels like over the top behavior from some of the characters, it was overall enjoyable. There is a side character who is a lesbian and it is used a bit as a twist but overall I think the character is handled fairly well for the time period the story is set in. Cute but surface level for sure.
Rating: really liked it
3.5 stars
To Love and to Loathe is the second book in The Regency Vows series but worked very well as a stand-alone book for me.
The widowed Diana Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham, members of the English High Society are both notorious for their bickering and flirting. One evening, at a ball, they enter a wager that Jeremy will marry within the year or Diana will give him 100 pounds. What is a little wager between frenemies? So, Diana is naturally shocked with Jeremy visits her at her home and proposes an altogether different wager - a mutually beneficial one. Jeremy recently had his manhood questioned by a recent lover who had criticism about his prowess in the bedroom. Jeremy wants Diana to help him soothe his ego, test his skills in the bedroom and Diana gets well, a lover with no strings attached. But what happens when feelings get in the way? What happens if Jeremy's marriage-minded grandmother, the formidable Dowager Marchioness of Willingham, finds a future wife for him?
This is a fun book with both characters engaging in witty repartee. They are the perfect frenemies - they bicker, have chemistry and are likeable. There is also a few twists and drama along the way. Both characters are engaging and there is more to both Diana and Jeremy than meets the eye. Will you be rooting for them to connect? Will you be hearing Marvin Gaye singing” Let’s Get it on” while reading this book as I did? Will their arrangement work? Will feelings get in the way? You will need to read and find out!
Another enjoyable fast read which is a perfect choice you want to escape the world and be entertained. I will admit I had some doubt going forward - a Romcom set in the past.... will it work for me???? Yes, yes it did! Quite nicely in fact. I will be on the lookout for book three in the series. I just hope it is as amusing, witty, and fun as this one.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
Rating: really liked it
I don't know about y'all, but between the pandemic and the upcoming U.S. election, I just can't emotionally handle anything other than romance novels that make me feel a bit emo. And lucky for me, Martha Waters' upcoming release
To Love and to Loathe is cuuuuute AF and easily satisfies my never-ending quest for tension-filled enemies-to-lovers stories.
I thoroughly enjoyed Martha Waters' debut novel
To Have and to Hoax (such excellent dialogue!), and I feel like
To Love and to Loathe really built on that momentum. This novel was crisper and cleaner, and both Diana and Jeremy were such wonderfully complex characters with truly complicated struggles. Their agitation and banter was just so well done, and this book also had a few fun twists I didn't see coming. I've! got! the! feels!
There was touch of slightly absurd messiness with some of the inevitable conflicts towards the end of the book, but overall, this one was a fun ride. I can't wait to see what Martha Waters publishes next. (PLEASE TELL ME THAT IT'S EMILY AND BELFRY, DEAR GOD.)
Rating: really liked it
Historical rom com, anyone?! This was SO refreshing. I have not read the first book, To Have and to Hoax, but I certainly want to now.
The two main characters are the widowed Lady Templeton and the Marquess of Willingham, Jeremy. The witty banter flies between them. I mean, it really flies! Of course, the chemistry is building at the same time as they insult each other and argue away.
The banter had me laughing, and overall, this book made me smile! I definitely read this at the right time. May I please sign up for The Regency Vows #3? ♥️
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Rating: really liked it
To Love and to Loathe has a great setup and I thought I would really enjoy it, but it does some things I find irritating and it very poorly handles the existence of a queer side character, including the heroine privately outing them to people SHE finds trustworthy without the consent of the person in question. Outing someone to your friends, especially in a time when things were incredibly dangerous for queer people is NOT okay and I'm not sure how this made it through the editing process.
The heroine is a widow who is determined to maintain her freedom and financial independence, but is interested in casual affairs though she's not sure how to show she's "open for business" so to speak. The hero is her childhood friend and a notorious rake, but after ending things with his last mistress who gave him a bad review of his bedroom skills, he's seeking affirmation that he's as good as he thinks he is before moving on to a new mistress. And so they decide to conduct a brief affair during a house party for both their sakes. Not realizing they have actual feelings simmering beneath the surface.
The setup for this is fantastic and I thought I would love it, but I ended up finding the characters and their actual romance a bit lackluster, wasn't convinced the ending made sense given the personality and concerns of the heroine, and really disliked everything surrounding the treatment of this queer side character. I think the author was trying to say something about how LGBT people found ways to exist during that time, but it was very poorly handled. Others will likely enjoy this more than I did, but ultimately I just couldn't get on board with several elements of it. I received an advance copy for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
Updated rating to 4 stars upon reflection of the issue outlined below re:sapphic characters
While I enjoyed the first book, my main issue with it was that the trope combo felt a little too YA for an adult romance. This book does not have that issue but at all... we've got best friend's little sister. We've got "bang it out of our systems." We've got "teach me how to bang." We've got reformed rake and the world weary widow. So a lot of trope candy that works really well for me. Then we've also got A+ banter, a great group of found family, and a lady artist in the Regency. So... yeah, overall this just hit the spot for me overall.
The only thing that makes me hesitate a bit is the portrayal of a sapphic side character in this book. I am not a part of the community being represented, so I can't say for sure, but there was just something about the way that character was portrayed that felt rather off to me. I'll defer to own voices reviewers for their take on that one (Updated to add: own voices reviewers have pointed out that this character is outed, which was not how I'd processed that plot point previously. However, they are 100% correct and I agree that this is the "off" element I was trying to put my finger on in my initial read)
Hoping we get Emily & Belfry's book next!
Rating: really liked it
Hoping to keep this short & sweet (famous last words) as this has been "finished" since early May...it is now Sept and this *needs* to vacate my CR shelf! 🙈
3.5* as I did enjoy it more than To Have & to Hoax, but in fairness that was not an especially high bar to clear considering the best things for me about that book were the side characters - 2 of which moved center stage for this instalment 🙃
The gang move from London to the Country for a "house party" hot on the heels of the wager between our MCs which morphs into a side project early in this story - the blurb sells this better than I can without spoiling things 🙊
The character interactions are this series strength for me. I think what I love most about Regency themed reads are the witty ways people in society interact and play with words - appearing cordial but more often than not being anything but & these two get off on toeing that line when communicating in public 😈
Bearing in mind the bargain struck between Diana & Jeremy I rather thought this would be steamier and had hoped considering the cut of her gib that maybe Diana could have been a smidge more experienced without being judged for it - I think had those angles been pursued this could have rated higher 🤔
I don't want a complete role reversal - am more than happy for him to be a time appropriate rake. But why not go one step further and make her the self-assured lady she presents herself to be without him? I know this plays somewhat against what she hopes to gain from their deal, but it still feels like a bit of a missed opportunity not to shake things up a little more and set itself apart from other books in this genre which can sometimes get repetitive and formulaic. Nobody seems to think any less of Sophie for her dalliance(s) as a widow so why not make Diana similiarly more experienced 🤷♀️
The artistry was a nice touch, I LOVED the Dowager Marchioness (of course) and it was interesting to see the author introduce an LGBTQ character - altho I like other reviews (eg: Bethany) am iffy on some of the interactions surrounding this character which has also affected my rating 😕
I am curious to see where the author goes with the next book in this series based off those characters interactions in this one, so shall check back in with this gang when that is released but ultimately this one didn't quite hit as I'd hoped it might 🤗
Rating: really liked it
I've given this a B+ at AAR, so 4.5 starsTo Love and To Loathe is the follow-up to Martha Waters’ 2020 début historical romance, To Have and to Hoax AAR's reviewer was less than impressed with it, citing problems with the premise and immaturity of the leads, and overall, reviews were mixed. With so many other books to review on my plate, I didn’t get around to reading it, so I can’t offer an opinion. But I wanted to give the author a try, so I picked up this second book in
The Regency Vows series, because I am a sucker for that whole Beatrice and Benedick sparring-couple-who-are-desperately-in-love-but-would-deny-it-to-the-death thing. And I’m glad I did, because
To Love and To Loathe is funny, clever and sexy, featuring complex, well-rounded characters and incorporating pertinent observations about the nature of privilege and the unfairness of the patriarchal norms and laws that deprived women of autonomy.
At the age of eighteen, the Honourable Diana Bourne is well aware that most men are fools, but a man doesn’t need to be clever to be possessed of a hefty fortune, which is exactly what she’s looking for. Since the death of their parents, she and her brother have lived with relatives who have seen her as nothing but a burden and who resent the expense her presence incurs. So Diana is determined to snare a wealthy husband so she will never have to worry about something as vulgar as money ever again.
The one tiny glitch in her plan is her brother’s best friend, Jeremy Overington, Marquess of Willingham, who while just as much of a fool as every other man, is nonetheless a massively
enticing fool who has only to walk into a room to turn the head of every woman in it – and set Diana’s heart beating just a bit faster than she would like. But no matter how handsome and charming Jeremy is (or how strongly she’s attracted to him), he’s irresponsible, overly fond of drink and women, and – most importantly – almost broke, so he won’t suit Diana’s purposes at all.
A few years later, Diana is a wealthy widow and Jeremy is still cutting a swathe through the beds of the bored wives and widows of the ton. Their inability to agree on anything is widely known throughout society, as is the fact they’re engaged in a game of one-upmanship involving a constant barrage of well-aimed barbs and cleverly chosen put-downs. On one particular evening when Willingham again scoffs at the idea of matrimony, Diana impulsively wagers him that he’ll be married within the year – or she’ll pay him the sum of one hundred pounds. Of course, Willingham accepts – and only afterwards does Diana realise it was perhaps not the wisest thing she’s ever done, because honestly, she can’t see him marrying in the next twelve months, either.
Shortly after the wager is made – and just before Diana is to travel to Jeremy’s country estate for his annual house party – he comes to her seeking her help on a very delicate matter. His most recent mistress implied he couldn’t satisfy her in bed – and Jeremy can’t get her accusations out of his mind. Looking for reassurance, he turns to the only woman he knows he can rely on to tell him the absolute truth – and suggests to Diana that they embark on a brief affair during the house party. Diana isn’t inclined to agree to this – until he points out that a discreet affair with him will send the right signals to other gentlemen that she is interested in taking a lover.
“I’m not certain that the signal I’m looking to send is that I’ve joined the legion of women who’ve lifted their skirts for the Marquess of Willingham. I’m surprised they haven’t formed a society. With matching hats.”She’s still not convinced – until Jeremy points out:
“If nothing else, it would finally dispel whatever this is between us,” he added, waving his hand at the space between them… “And don’t tell me you don’t know what I mean… Because I know you do.”Of course as any romance reader knows, the old let’s-do-it-once-to-get-it-out-of-our-systems chestnut never works the way the participants intend it to. Diana and Jeremy are obviously head-over-heels for each other from the get-go and have been that way for years, but there are obstacles preventing both of them from fully acknowledging the truth of their feelings for one another – obstacles that feel authentic to who these two people are; flawed but immensely likeable characters who learn about themselves as they gradually reveal more of their true selves to each other.
I really liked that Diana and Jeremy were so clear-sighted about each other, even as they had things to learn about one another. Jeremy viewed the younger Diana’s eagerness to marry as somewhat mercenary, but didn’t know the reasons behind it; Diana suspects Jeremy is hiding his intelligence behind the wastrel he presents to society, but hasn’t fully understood the depth of his grief and anger over the death of the older brother who left him with a title and responsibilities he’d not been brought up to and didn’t want. They’re both perspicacious and fully up to each other’s weight when it comes to their ‘merry war’, and their chemistry as they snark and flirt their way towards their HEA is terrific.
I liked them individually and together. Diana is clever and funny and her status as a widow means she’s allowed more freedom to do as she wants than an unmarried woman would be, so her reluctance to consider giving up her independence in another marriage is understandable. And I loved Jeremy, a decent, considerate, generous man who has spent years making certain no-one would ever expect anything of him or take him too seriously because of his deep sense of unworthiness. Their inner conflicts are very well articulated and I loved watching them come to a greater understanding of one another.
I really enjoyed the book, but there are a few things that keep it just out of DIK territory. Part of Diana’s plan to win the wager involves her trying to find someone else to get Jeremy married off to – and she decides to throw him together with Lady Helen, a young woman known to be desperate to find a husband and who is widely disliked. Hints are dropped that Lady Helen is not what she seems, but Diana doesn’t know this and her determination to marry the man she loves (even if she isn’t ready to admit to it) to a young woman who is so patently wrong for him and would make him utterly miserable just didn’t sit right with me. I get that it was a mark of Diana’s desperation not to admit to how she felt about Jeremy, but it felt childish and petty.
The Big Mis that occurs near the end is a misfire, and I wasn’t wild about the amount of time given to setting up a future book in the series, which interrupted the flow of the main narrative. It’s well done and skilfully integrated into conversation and multi-character scenes, but I could still have done with a bit less of it.
All in all however,
To Love and To Loathe is great fun. The writing is crisp and clever, the characters are engaging and the dialogue sparkles. For those of you who – like me – have been struggling to find really good historical romance lately, I’m happy to say that it’s well worth a look.
Rating: really liked it
To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is book 2 of the Regency Vows series, and just like book 1 (To Have and to Hoax), I simply adored it! It is full of snark, humor, romance, and just enough steam to get you going. I usually don't read historical romance, but this is a series I love coming back to, and I really liked the way Waters brought back characters we have already had the pleasure of meeting in the first book. I am such a huge fan of the way this author writes, and even though I tend to read this series slower than I normally read, I still love every minute of it. I snickered and laughed out loud more times than I can count, and I loved our lead characters, Diana and Jeremy. The book is told from both of their perspectives and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
I do want to say a quick word about the audiobook since I decided to check that out for the last part of the book. Anais Inara Chase & Joel Froomkin narrate it and I thought it was so fantastically done. They were the perfect narrators for Diana and Jeremy and even though I always love when there is more than one narrator, I especially loved it for
To Love and to Loathe. I think the audio is a great option if you like listening to books, and I can tell you that you definitely won't be disappointed by Chase and Froomkin. This is such a refreshing series and I always love the banter between all of the characters. Diana is one of my favorites by far, and I was so happy to get her story through this book. If you like romcoms in any form, I highly recommend both of the books in this series!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: really liked it
Series: The Regency Vows #2
Publication Date: 4/6/21
Number of Pages: 384
Barbara’s Rating: ** 2.5 ** Stars
I have just finished reading four outstanding, exciting, thrilling, edge-of-your-seat, 5-star historical mysteries and I wanted something light, humorous, entertaining, and romantic to read next. From the description in the book blurb, I decided this would be the perfect book to read next. Unfortunately, for me, it fell far, far, far short of being light, humorous, entertaining, or romantic. I was okay with the male lead, Jeremy – I didn’t love him, but I didn’t dislike him either. The female lead, on the other hand, is one of the most despicable, conniving, and sly mean-girls I’ve ever read – and I’ve been reading a very long time. If you took this same story and made it about bullies in school who were picking on and conniving against someone who couldn’t really fight back because they didn’t know what was happening behind their back – you wouldn’t find it the least bit funny. To me, Diana is that lead bully and she does some very despicable things to Jeremy. I absolutely cannot believe he could come to love her.
I really struggled with how to rate the book. I was confident in my 2.5-star rating, but since I could only go with a 2 or a 3 on Goodreads, my conundrum was whether to round up or down. The only way I could convince myself to round up to 3 was because of the last 15% of the book and I just didn’t feel as if that made up for the first 85%. Diana was one person during the first 85% of the book and a totally different one during the last 15% of the book. The author tries to convince us that the person we met in the first 85% of the book was just a mask that Diana wore in order to ‘protect’ the real person. I could have almost bought some of that if she hadn’t done such hateful things to people who were not harming her in any way at all. It wasn’t only that she did hateful things – it was that she was gleeful and thoroughly enjoyed what she did and gave absolutely no care whatsoever about the life she was trying to sentence two innocent people to. I’m sorry – I couldn’t find even a little bit of liking for her. Her reason for needing to protect herself with a ‘mask’? She and her brother were orphaned and then raised by an aunt and uncle. Diana and her brother had no money, but they were well-clothed, well-fed, warm, and lived in a comfortable home where friends were welcome to visit. However, she felt ‘unwelcome’ though nobody ever actually said so – they did comment, however, on how expensive it was to raise her. She must have been a really insecure individual to have developed such complete trauma over being raised that way.
One of the despicable things she did was to try to trap Jeremy with a vile woman and force a marriage. Why would anybody want to do that to another person? Yet, not only was Diana slyly and gleefully trying to do that, her friends were going along with it – even Jeremy’s friends weren’t calling her on it.
Another despicable thing was that Lady Helen discussed a very, very private and dangerous secret with Diana – because Diana intimated she already knew the secret (she didn’t). This secret was one that could get Lady Helen hanged in that period. So, what does Diana do? Why she heads right in to share it with her friends – after swearing them to secrecy of course. Later, she tells Jeremy – though he already knew.
Another thing I disliked about Diana (and her friends) was their total disrespect and disregard for males. There are many, many, many mentions of how stupid and useless the males of the species are. It just goes against my grain because I think there are very intelligent females and very intelligent males – and I think there are also very unintelligent females and males as well. Why does it always have to be winners and losers rather than respect for each other?
Why did I think Diana was gleeful in the harm she was trying to cause? Here are only a couple of quotes, but keep in mind I had an ARC, so these may not all make it into the final cut of the book. There are LOTS of them, but here is a couple.
“Diana, being a naturally devious person by nature, occasionally took advantage of this fact in her conversations with Emily…”
“Lady Helen seemed to be just as odious as she appeared. Which, in turn, begged the question: how was Diana possibly going to convince Willingham to marry the lady?”
“Diana thought that it was a great shame she had been born female, for she would have made an admirable general. All the people around her were players on a chessboard, moving about the board according to her plans.”
I really, really wanted to love this book because I was in need of a lighthearted, humorous, happy, and romantic read. I just couldn’t get there no matter how hard I tried. I definitely wouldn’t read this book a second time – and even though Emily seems like an interesting character, I won’t be reading her book either.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
This was the very first book that I have read from this author and I'm so glad that I took a chance on her and the series because this really was just so much fun.
The banter between these two was definitely tension filled in all the very best ways and the enemies to lovers trope has always been a favorite of mine. Through in some hijinks, things not always going as planned and some deep seeded passion and you had one heck of a read all set in a time of place that was magical.
Such a fun read that lets you get away for a few hours and be transported somewhere else, into a much simpler time and into a steamy romance that anyone is sure to love.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
Rating: really liked it
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for this advance review copy; all opinions are my own! Full review with quotes included to come closer to Pub Day but for now...
Everything I liked about To Have and to Hoax was even stronger in To Love and to Loathe. Sharp banter, dynamic characters, fast-paced and deliciously domestic setting. There's something cozy about Waters' writing--while she keeps the narrative moving and engages you with the plot, you know you can rest easy in her hands, that happily ever after is coming, with plenty of laughs along the way along with the satisfying journey through both main characters' growth toward their realization of their true-love-feelings.
I'll also say how deeply I appreciated the self-awareness infused in the dialogue--be that about the privilege of heteronormative relationships, the unfairness of patriarchal norms, the despicable misogynist laws that wiped away a woman's autonomy, finances, and independence. Historical romances often gloss over this, and I really valued seeing it included. I also really enjoyed there being open communication about pleasure, personal preference for how it's achieved, and the degree of vulnerability both Jeremy and Diana were open to in the bedroom. Love to see sex-positivity and intimate communication normalized in romance!
