This was a delightful little tale about Violet and her husband, James.

It all starts on a balcony in 1812. James comes to interrupt Violet kissing his best friend. She doesn't necessarily need saving, though she wasn't having a particularly lovely time. Seeing James, though, changes that fast. She is instantly drawn to him, and he to her. But, when Violet's mother happens upon them, in order to save her virtues, James declares that he intends to propose to young Violet.

Flash forward five years later and we have Violet and James, who while they fell madly in love with one another, only a year into their marriage, the had a fight to end all fights and can barely tolerate each other now. Upon word that her husband was injured doing something she always despised him doing, Violet prepares to leave for their country home to be by his side. Unaware of her impending arrival, he recovers rather quickly and prepares to return home to her in their city home. One misunderstanding after another and Violet decides to create an elaborate plan to fake an illness and make her husband worry.

Throughout the rest of this book, the two concoct scheme after scheme against each other, bringing their friends into the mess, too. At the heart of this debut novel from Martha Waters, is a real love Violet and James have for one another. It may be dysfunctional, but it's real. All the time they spend hating each other is simple that because they are both too stubborn to admit fault and forgive. Stemming from a misunderstanding a year into their marriage, which all stays hush hush from the reader for a good portion of this book (and from their friends and family throughout almost it's entirety), the dislike and distrust snowballs into something bigger, until the two decide whether they want to finally put their past behind them and move on together.

There is a great array of friends and confidants that I adored in this book. Both Violet and James have their respective close friends. The dynamics we see in each friend group is really funny. Also, both our husband and wife are really wonderful main characters. I loved them both so much. Violet for her tenacity and stubbornness and James for his ability to just see through all of her ruses. It was delightful journey through high society in 1800s England.

This was a super sweet and witty book that I enjoyed immensely! I do wish that it didn't take them entirely as long as it did for them both to decide they had had enough of this charade, even though their friends are constantly telling them they should stop.

The real question you learn the answer to in this book: Is their love enough to make them see sense and realize all they need is one another?

“To Have and to Hoax” by Martha Waters
A Regency Rom-Com to keep you entertained for hours. Will they ever find their way back together? This was a fun read. I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley with the hope I would post my honest opinion. This is a worthy read. Happy Reading !!

I thought this was pretty cute, even though it's outside my usual genre selection.

I always appreciate stories of second chance love in ANY form or capacity. So I found myself rooting for them the whole way through, despite silent treatments and arguments.

I do wish I'd learned about the reason for the fight a tad sooner, but I still really enjoyed this!

Despite “failure to communicate” being my very least favorite theme in historical romance, it somehow worked for me in this story. James and Violet *define* communication failure, and they take it to an extreme. After four years of estrangement, an accident leads to a reevaluation of the fight that set them at odds, and changed their marriage from a love match to a social match. Its easy to forget that so many of these marriages were between people too young to have developed much emotional maturity.

Aided and abetted by their close friends the couple fight, make up, fight some more, and gradually start to re-learn how to trust. Martha Waters has created a cast of characters that will hopefully provide more stories.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Set in 1812 in England, this is a story about a husband and wife who had a spat four years earlier. In this time, they have practically lived separate lives in the same house. This is the point that the book starts.

The writing is fine but it just felt that the story was too far-fetched. There was so much description and not enough dialogue. I found that I just wanted the story to be over.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

To Have and to Hoax was everything I love about rom-com. I love historical romantic comedies, I think because there are so many societal rules that are just asking to be broken in them. This was also a lovers to enemies to lovers. So before I even started this book I knew I was going to like it and I was right. I loved it!

This book is a regency era War of the Roses (I’m probably dating myself here), with a married couple who is at war with each other. I did like James and Violet a lot. Though this book takes place in the past, you can tell it was written now. James is very much a man ahead of his time in regard to his views and that made him all the more likable. Violet, of course, was outspoken and stubborn, two of my favorite female character traits.

The story was quite addicting, seeing how these two tried to one-up each other. I couldn’t wait to see what these two would get up to next! It was well-paced and though you knew the outcome you still wanted to keep reading. I also liked that the reason for these two becoming enemies was a bit of a mystery. So when you did find out you knew the characters a little bit and could understand why this would be so impactful to them.

I loved this book, and I highly recommend it!

A Victorian romantic comedy that was interesting to read, but not my cup of tea. Lady Violet Grey and Lord James Audley have been married for five years after a very quick courtship and they had a very large fight that they have yet to work through four years ago, through an interesting circumstance they try to one up each other and it just may help them work through their things.

For me this book was ok, but wasn't great. There were a few moments that didn't feel as though they were completely historically correct and they took me out of the story and were distracting. It just felt as though this book was at times really historical with language and customs and then there would be a break and it would feel current, it was weird.

The other thing that I just didn't love was the pacing and timing of the story. It felt like it just didn't move along as much as it should have and I wanted things to keep moving forward. There would be something happen and then it felt as though the book would just kind of pause and linger and not move from one scene to another.

The characters were entertaining and that kept me reading until the end. I would try another book from this author, but with a little bit of caution.

So I finally dove into the world of @netgalley (how did I just do this???) and I started with this sweet Regency romance, To Have And To Hoax by Martha Waters which comes out on April 7, 2020. We get some solid romance tropes including: love at first sight, misunderstanding, and some lover to enemies to lovers goodness. It’s wonderfully written with lots of humor and the perfect about of smut. I don’t want to reveal too much but basically we have a married couple who were once in love but their relationship has soured due to a misunderstanding. We follow their journey back into love and its charming.
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My favorite parts were the smut (DUH) because the smutty scenes are actually realistic. I was never left scratching my heading thinking “no no I don’t think that works like that” or “wait how did you put that there?” I can’t be the only one who sometimes has issues working out the physics and logistics of some smutty scenes.
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My only real complaint (which is an It’s me not you thing) I don’t really like the whole “misunderstanding” trope in romances. If you also don’t enjoy it you might want to avoid this one since it features heavily in the story. But if not, get this in April. I think you’ll love it. I really hope she makes some spin offs because we have some companions of our main characters who could really use their own romantic moment ❤️

To Have and to Hoax is a historical romance set in the 1800s focused on Violet and James. Two young adults that had a whirlwind courtship and have been estranged for four of their five years of marriage. When James gets in an accident and doesn't think to notify Violet, she quickly comes up with a plan to seek revenge. James figures out his plan and develops his own revenge plan, and it goes on and on. However, does this trickery bring the two closer together?
What a fun read! Violet and James made me want to rip my hair out at time with their revenge tactics but I appreciated it more when Violet opened up about protecting herself and her marriage. I enjoyed this story and will read more in the future by Martha Waters.

Is anyone else looking for fun and lighter reads to add to their TBR right now? I know that I am, and “To Have and to Hoax,” Martha Waters’ upcoming debut totally fit the bill.⁣
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In this Recency-era rom com, Lady Violet and Lord James Audley’s marriage is on the rocks. After a romantic meeting and whirlwind courtship, Violet and James enjoyed a year of wedded bliss before an explosive argument set off four years of near-silence between the two. After James fails to inform Violet of his riding accident, an angry Violet decides to enact revenge, faking an illness that soon turns into a series of hoaxes enacted by both spouses. But is their true aim to get even or to get their loving marriage back?⁣
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This book reminded me a bit of “The Bromance Bookclub,” as both books feature a married couple aiming to get their relationship back on track. At times, it also reminded of the famous “Friends” episode full of ploys where “they don’t know, that we know, that they know.” This was a fun and sweet romance with snappy writing and lots of intriguing supporting characters. In fact, I hope Waters turns this into a series, as I’d love to see their stories completed.⁣
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I will say that much of Violet and James’ behavior seemed immature and kind of inexplicable to me. This is absolutely a book where the conflict could easily be resolved by the characters communicating with one another. I think this is worth looking past for a fun read if you’re a rom com fan, however!⁣

[Posted 3/19/20 on my Instagram account, @emily_lovesbooks]

To Have and to Hoax was an entertaining, fun book, set in historical high society England. The husband and wife (James and Violet), are very much in love, yet estranged in their marriage. This book is full of comical plots and much chemistry. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the early review copy. All opinions are my own.

Sometimes all you need to brighten your day is a romcom. And “To Have and to Hoax” delivers on charm and wild scenarios (though they don’t always make complete sense).

The book starts off with a great start, immediately throwing us into the Regency era, where we meet Violet and James. It then fast forwards several years, where Violet and James are now married.

But after a catastrophic fight, the couple lead separate lives. Their once non-existent relationship is quickly flipped on its head following some mixed communication. The couple then slowly finds their spark again, pulling some (mildly) amusing pranks.

I love the enemies to lovers trope, so this lovers to enemies flip immediately caught my attention. Although the two main characters weren’t always my favorite, their group of friends made up for it. I could see the supporting characters having their own spin-off books in the future and I would definitely pick those up.

I just wish there were more opportunities for the characters to have fun while messing with each other. They genuinely seemed to hate each other at times. And it takes so long to learn what actually transpired between the characters that by the time everything was revealed, it felt like a bit of a letdown.

But even when I was side-eying Violet and James, there was still something charming about the novel and I had a good time reading it. It’s quick and fun – it would be perfect to read by the pool this summer.

Loved To Have and to Hoax! Perfect for anyone who has ever wondered what happens after the happily ever after bit in a Jane Austen novel.

To Have and to Hoax was a funny and ridiculous historical set in Regency England.

Violet and James quickly marry during Violet’s first season when she’s 18 (due to an adorable meet-cute on a balcony) and for one year live happily in wedded bliss. After one year they have an argument so bad they are essentially estranged for the next four years of their life. And we don’t find out what their argument entailed for AGES.

When Violet receives a letter that James has fallen from a horse and is unconscious, she panics and rushes to his side, realizing she still loves him. What comes next is a series of funny and OTT antics where Violet – and James in rebuttal – attempt to get their respective spouse’s attention. It got a little old after a while, as I wondered why couldn’t they just COMMUNICATE with each other. But then I remembered this was rich people during Regency England; they had nothing better to do with their time anyway.

Overall To Have and to Hoax was engaging, amusing, and lighthearted.

To Have and to Hoax is a the kind of historical romance I can't quit. Longing looks in ballrooms, clandestine meetings in alcoves and on balconies? Yes, please. Then add in the modern sensibilities of a strong independent woman and her feminist and yet stubborn husband? Give me more. But wait, the majority of their story takes place after they're already married? TAKE ALL MY MONEY.

I loved this read.

This was such a fun read! For some reason with historicals, I always have the fear that they are going to be challenging with language or style, but this was not. I enjoyed the throwdown between this married couple who have fallen into a long habit of ignoring each other after a fight. It reads like a contemporary version of a Jane Austen novel, and was definitely delightful.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity, however, I unfortunately could not finish this book. I realize that this is someone's work and dedicated effort, however it was not for me. I could not connect to the characters and the narration.

Thoroughly silly and somewhat repetitive (it was mentioned about every other page that Violet and James has been estranged for 4 years and the kissing scenes used the same descriptors), but still a fun and light read. I’m assuming this will be a series and I’m interested to see how Violet’s best friends’ stories play out.

Amusing, but not as humorous as I had hoped. Both James and Violet had the emotional range of a toddler which grew quite tedious after awhile, but their barbed banter was entertaining. I think I would actually be more interested in hearing the stories of some of the side characters, which were left with plenty of open threads.

Sadly, this wasn't as humorous and full of hijinks as I expected/wanted it to be. I really enjoyed the scenes that did have those elements, but they were few and far between. Overall I found the story to be overly-angsty and slightly boring. It seemed like the same things were hashed out over and over again, and the characters had very little development over the course of the book. The plot leans very heavily on miscommunication-- and it's self-aware of that fact, as every single secondary character counsels the main pairing to communicate with each other. I also didn't really buy that the couple love each other; what we see of the relationship seems mostly founded on lust and societal expectations. The banter is sometimes fun and seems indicative of chemistry, but it's undermined (imo) by the constant references to their once-healthy sex life and continued desires (and SO MUCH "bosom"s and "decolletage"s!).

In the end, To Have and to Hoax isn't bad, and I was able to finish it fairly quickly, but it wasn't the light-hearted, banter-y, shenanigan-filled romcom I was looking for. 2.5 stars