💋 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 / 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝗪 💋⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Title: #ToLoveAndToLoathe
Author: @marthabwaters
Publisher: @atriabooks
Pub Date: 4/6/21⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Type: #PhysicalCopy⁣⁣⁣ #eBook
Genre: #HistoricalRomance #RomanticComedy
Must Read Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⁣⁣⭐⁣⁣

My thoughts:

-Missing Bridgerton and need a fix? I have just the book for you! I am falling more and more in love with historical romance books and this one blended 2 genres together so seamlessly that I found my heart swelling one minute and belly laughing the next. Romantic comedies are a huge favorite for me and always provide the perfect palette cleanser between #historicalfiction and #mystery / #thriller books.

-I absolutely adored all of the characters in this book. I also liked that this wasn't a traditional "trope" novel. I am always concerned that characters may be too surface or unbelievable in this genre, but the story lines and background of these characters felt honest and relatable. And let's talk about the sexual tension between Diana and Jeremy!! I was totally invested in their story from start to finish.

-This book is witty, original and just plain fun to read!

Lady Diana Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham have been arguing for as long as they can remember. Now that Diana is a widow and Jeremy is getting older they find themselves arguing at this season’s society balls. When Diana bets Jeremy he will be married within a year, she is determined to make it happen. But then he proposes a different arrangement, one that we today would call friends with benefits, and that starts to complicate things.

This one took me a while to get into, but once I hit the second half I really enjoyed it. Diana and Jeremy had great banter and great chemistry. There was a good amount of tension and scandal without being too much drama. And I love a good enemies to friends-with-benefits to lovers story line. I also loved Lady Helen’s storyline - what a great secondary character to include and I want to know more of her as well!

Full disclaimer, I’ve never picked up a historical romance book before (I know, shocking considering how many romance novels I read). But after watching Bridgerton, I felt I needed to give the genre a try. It definitely took getting used to the language, so I feel that impacted how I felt about this book, especially in the beginning. However, I think if you are a fan of historical romance, you will definitely love this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is the second novel in the Regency Vows series. While you might not have to read the first book to enjoy the second, I would highly recommend it!

I really enjoyed the back and forth between the characters Diana and Jeremy. I have become a big fan of historical fiction and now entering the world of historical romance. This book is witty and fun to read. If you are looking for a light hearted book with all mentioned above this book is for you. 3.5 solid stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for providing an advanced reader copy, all opinions that follow are my own...

I liked Martha Waters’ debut To Have and To Hoax, but I truly loved To Love and To Loathe.

The scene is set with a wager cast between long-time acquaintances and frenemies Lady Diana Templeton and Jeremy Overington, Marquess of Willingham, that he will be married within a year. Soon after, upon receiving a less than stellar performance review from one of his ex-paramours, Jeremy seeks Diana out in order to persuade her to engage in a liaison at his upcoming house party. In doing so, he hopes to receive honest feedback regarding his skills in the bedroom from a woman he trusts not to hold anything back. Diana takes him up on the offer and they enter a mutual agreement— she will give him the truth and he, in turn, will signal to the rest of society her intention to take future lovers and also allow her the chance to further her side of their wager. What follows is a witty, thoughtful, subversive and sex-positive, enemies with benefits/enemies to lovers, story that does not shy away from deeper topics like heteronormativity, misogyny, the constraints of marriage and patriarchy, female pleasure, male privilege etc. that are most often completely invisible within traditional historical romances.

While the characters were intriguing, and the chemistry between Diana and Jeremy was perfectly evident in their bantering, I was most excited to see the sex-positivity infused within their intimate interactions. As most know, the norm when reading a historical romance, or really any romance in general, is that from even the very first time the foreplay and sex are always stellar—the heroine always comes multiple times and during the act of penetration comes first or at the same time as the hero. And while that is part of the romance fantasy, it’s really refreshing to see an author give space for characters to actually have discussions about their sexual intimacy that reflect the reality of the often awkward and extremely vulnerable moments of learning how to communicate with your partner about what each of you needs. Most romances treat men as being naturally and inherently good at sex (hello toxic masculinity!), so having Jeremy be not the best all the time (I laughed very hard and also cringed in solidarity at the fingering scene, bc those of us with that piece of anatomy….Diana we feel you girl) and also open to listening to what Diana is telling him is really important and I loved reading it!!! Give me more sex-positive historical romance please for the love of god.

To sum it all up, this was a really great piece of writing that shows the capacity of historical romance to not only serve as a lovely escapist fantasy, but also as a means of interrogating/critiquing deeper topics surrounding marriage, sex, intimacy, and societal/patriarchal norms. Thank you to Martha Waters for writing it, I look forward to what I can only assume will be the Emily & Julian story (or West and Sophie?) next !!

Martha Waters sophomore effort does NOT disappoint - it shines! I enjoyed the over the top gimmicks of To Have and To Hoax, but I really appreciate the more straightforward storytelling in To Love and To Loathe. The hero, Jeremy, thinks he’s gods gift to women, which is an idea found often in historical romances and no one bats an eye. But here, he’s called out and then schooled. I LOVE that he’s open to new ideas, especially ideas about himself. Which is why the heroine, Diana, is perfect for him. She gives him the smack down on every possible occasion, and she’s not afraid to go after what she wants. She’s unapologetically brave and bold, making the best out of her life within the societal rules.

I loved revisiting with Audley and Violet from the first book, and I can only hope that the next book takes Emily (or Sophie and West?) on an adventure!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 Stars for this one. Diana and Jeremy have been friends for years, but they can only stand to be in the same room with each other for a few minutes before verbal sparring begins. Sometimes, the only you loathe the most could be the one you have just fallen for.
Diana is a widow now and Jeremy has been told by his most recent mistress that he is lacking some skills in the bedroom, so he has a proposal for Diana. He will help her to get noticed by men so that she can take a lover and she will be honest with him about his bedroom techniques. Diana thinks that there is more to Jeremy than a womanizing rake, so she makes him a bet. She bets him that he will be married within a year, because, he is a marquess afterall and needs to sire an heir.
They agree to help each other while she is at his country home for a visit. With the help of their friends, they are able to realize there is more to life than what they thought and as they open up, they begin to see what they have been looking for is right in front of them.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but this one fell a little flat for me. I loved the sparring, but I wish there was more of it. I need to really feel the loathing to call this an enemies to lovers book. They were friends with sexual tension. There were a lot of moments of sweet, so that is why I rounded up to 4 stars here. I also have a bit of an issue with "rakes" and this guy was pretty bad. I had to look past a lot of his conquests that were talked about to make him likeable for me at all. I really adored Diana and love how honest she was with everyone and herself through the whole book. it was refreshing.
Thank you to Atria, Netalley and the author for an early copy of this book!

Allow me to gush about this book for a moment. To Have and to Hoax was probably my favorite debut of last year and this is SUCH a fun follow-up, I was pretty much jumping up and down when I got the ARC.

After an argument at a ball leads to a wager that infamous rake (in need of an heiress), Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham will be married within the year, Diana, Lady Templeton is shocked to find him on her doorstep with a far more sexy proposition. Jeremy's latest mistress did a number to his confidence and he wants a lover who he knows will be honest with him to critique his skills. Who better than his best friend's sister, Diana? Frenemies to lovers and brother's best friend - a perfect comfort read after year of covid!

Given the Austen-esque plot, it felt utterly modern. Things I loved: Jeremy was a complete doll to his Grandma, there was a LGBTQ+ subplot, and witty repartee. All in all this book is seriously fun, and I look forward to the next in the series.

Disclaimer: I didn't read the first book in the series and I still was able to read and enjoy this book for the most part. You really don't have to read these in order.

This book starts out great. Martha Waters introduces some incredibly charming characters and makes historical regency times interesting; which is a lot coming from me who doesn't really read books set in that time period. The connection between Jeremy and Diana is evident and so much fun to read. The enemies to lovers storyline is completely believable and not forced at all.

My biggest complaint with the book was not the characters, clearly. It was more about the plot line. Which is to say, there really wasn't one. The entirety of the book was clever and witty banter and I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen. But it didn't. They just kept talking at each other. And you can't say the book does character development well because everything gets flipped and solved at the end of the book with no hint that it's going to happen or real lead up to it. *SPOILER* In fact, they spend the first 80% of the book discussing how they both hate the idea of getting married, only to turn around after one conversation and find they both want to get married, right now. It just didn't seem believable that the main issue would get resolved so quickly.

If you are a person who doesn't really need the plot to drive the book and just enjoy character connections that this is the book for you. The character connection is so strong in this book, it's just the growth or plot line that I felt it lacked.

With TO LOVE AND TO LOATHE, the second in the REGENCY VOWS series by Martha Waters, follows widowed Diana and the infamous rake Jeremy as they embark on a mutual agreement: for Jeremy to receive feedback about his…performance…white Diana gets to explore her sexuality (as her older husband didn’t seem to interested in the martial bed). However, these two have bickered for as long as they’ve known each other. Does that make this enemies to lovers…friends to lovers? Who knows.

This was a cute novel - a standalone, even if part of a larger series. I loved how this regency-era woman was taking charge of her life and her sexuality, even if the ton frowned on her flirtatious nature.

And the ending y’all. It is cute. It is swoon-worthy.

TO LOVE AND TO LOATHE is out April 6, but you can grab the first novel in the series, TO HAVE AND TO HOAX, now! Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the eARC to review!

CW // death of a family member; death of a spouse

There is a lot to enjoy with this story. It’s a fun enemies to lovers romance filled to the brim with lots of delicious banter. Plus the side characters are delightful additions that help enrich the story and the main characters. But the best part is the gorgeous writing. The prose is crisp and witty and kept the story flowing beautifully.

Not as fun as the first one and I couldn't bring myself to finish. I think I struggled with the pact premise. DNF.

Maybe 2.5 stars

After reading the first book in the series and thinking it was pretty good, I was looking forward to the next book – especially since both Jeremy and Diana seemed likable in that book.

Basically, Jeremy, the Marquess of Willingham has been told by his former mistress that he isn’t up to snuff in the bedroom and as a rake with a reputation to uphold, he needs to find out if this true or just his ex being spiteful. Enter Diana, the widowed Lady Templeton, she is thinking that she might be ready to take a lover and an affair at a house party with Jeremy will alert other men that Diana is fair game. As an added twist, Jeremy and Diana have made a bet that Jeremy will marry within the year or Diana will fess up £100 – so while she is engaged in this affair, she is also trying to win the bet – by means fair or foul.

The writing was good and the premise was fun, so I really wanted to like the book, but OMG – Diana was such a nasty, rotten person for most of the book that I wanted Jeremy to fall in love with someone else! And when he fell in love with her I just had to wonder about his mental acuity. Diana did so many things that were just plain mean and hurtful, the greatest of these being outing a friend who shared a secret that had the potential of not only ruining them but possibly causing legal ramifications or even death. After that, I was done and didn’t want her to get her HEA and nothing thereafter changed my mind. This is the second book in the series and honestly, I am not sure if I would read another book in this series. But that is just my personal opinion and the writing was good – so by all means, read the book and decide for yourself.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *

3.5/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I have a few mixed feelings about this book. I did enjoy my time reading it. The chemestry was good, The characters were ok. I just feel like the story went on a little too long. I found that after a little while I got a little bored because there wasnt much happening plot wise. Overall it was an cute, easy to read and I had a great time.

I am so sad to report that this book didn't click with me, whatsoever. I hate leaving bad reviews, especially for new authors. I really appreciate the amount of work that went into this book and I hate to be disparaging about it for that reason. However, I can't in good conscience give this book more than two stars based on my reviewing system to date, based on the following reasons:

*I wasn't invested in the characters.
This was a big one. I was half-heartedly (at best) rooting for the two main characters the entire time. They're just not that sympathetic OR captivating. I think the author tried her best to make them both "victims of their time" but I also felt like they were WAY too self-aware of that fact, as well. It felt too unbelievable.

*I have read A Rogue of One's Own.
Another big one. This story felt like a really watered down version of that book. I loved that one and this just didn't come close to hooking me or making me feel what I did while reading that one. The characters, the setting, the love scenes, none of it came close to what A Rogue of One's Own accomplished, unfortunately.

*FILLER.
Another big one. I think this might actually be the biggest reason why I didn't connect with this book. There was SO much filler. It felt so boring and repetitive to be in Diana's head (And Jeremy's, too, honestly.) I actually skimmed some pages and that's basically sacrilege to me.

*Side characters.
This one was less important, but it was irksome when I was trying my hardest to care about the characters. It was entirely too clear that they were all there simply to facilitate the "love story" of Diana and Jeremy. They didn't feel important, special, or even very interesting. And I actually can't believe they were all still invested in the boring thing happening between Diana and Jeremy, to be honest.. It sounded like most of them had more important things to think about, really. I think Emily's story sounded a lot more interesting than this one! Or even Penvale, trying to win back his ancestral land! That genuinely sounded more interesting, too.

Which leads me to..

*There's no actual conflict.
This happens quite a bit in romance and it's always disappointing. They are the only ones standing in their way! In fact, everyone around them is encouraging. They are of equal enough station. Nobody has to overcome anything to make it happen. Just their own stubbornness, that is based in.... nothing. They have just decided to be pseudo-enemies, which even *they* recognize as flirting.


To be fair, I think a lot of people will enjoy this book. I just read a lot of similar books, so the bar has basically been set already. I felt similarly about "The Heiress Gets a Duke." They're not inherently bad, they just don't compare to Evie Dunmore's series for me personally.


Thank you to #Netgalley and #Atria for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book will be released on April 6th, 2021.

3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this eARC. Historical romance is not my usual genre, but this one was enjoyable! This book follows Diana and Jeremy. He was friends with her brother growing up so they've known each other forever and had a flirtatious relationship but it never became anything. Now they're adults and she had the goal of marrying for money because she came from humble beginnings and she was successful in doing so, but then a couple years later was widowed. Jeremy has yet to take a wife and so one night they strike up a bet. She says he'll be married within a year or she will give him 100 pounds. He has no desire to marry so he's eager to take the bet. Shortly thereafter he propositions her to start a physical relationship because one of his last escapades said he was bad in bed. She agrees because she wants to establish the precedent that she's ready "open for business" and ready to gain experience. I thought that was a little interesting, but didn't pull me out of the story. I liked our main character and thought she was very empowered. Both of the characters felt very modern in a historical setting so it made this book easy to read as a non-historical lover. The rest of the book follows as you'd assume. They've got these bets and start a physical relationship that turns to love and voila! It's got good banter and a fun tone. Overall I'd recommend this book if you're into the series or this author!

I was provided a free advanced copy of this book by @netgalley and @atriabooks in exchange for my honest review.
About a year ago I read @marthabwaters first book, To Have and To Hoax, and really enjoyed it, so when I was invited to read this one, I was super excited! This one again was filled with great banter and fun characters! It's a light hearted, quick romance story! It is a sequel of sorts to her first book, although the main characters are different. Both books follow the same core group of friends. I don't think you NEED to read the first to enjoy this, but I gave both of them four stars!
If you enjoy fun romance stories, you'll enjoy this one! It doesn't come out until April 6th, so you still have time to read the first book beforehand! 😁
#NetGalley

This book was a BLAST. I loved it. I did not read the first in the series and for that I am very sad, because I can already tell I'm going to love it (trust me, it's on my tbr).

This book was sweet, steamy, laugh out loud funny, and feminist without feeling like forced feminism. This trend (although to call it a trend makes me feel like it will end, and I truly hope it never goes away) of feminist, consent-seeking period heroes and heroines is so REFRESHING, Too many romance books of old have consent that is questionable at best (esp. where half of the couple says no but like.....really enjoys it so they MUST HAVE IMPLIED CONSENT), and more and more romance books now have scenes where consent is gained and I. LOVE. IT. I also really appreciated that the impact of power and it's effects on a relationship (and the ability of a woman to say no) was explored.

The humor in this book was delivered with perfect timing, and I am not kidding when I said I laughed out loud, I legit was lying in bed laughing like a loon. It's just on point.

I don't want to write any more because I just loved it so much and I really think that Waters is going on my auto-buy list.

I loved the first book in the series, To Love and to Hoax, and this was just as good - light-hearted and funny m/f historical romance with a serious core.

This romance features a house party and a marriage, frenemies-to-lovers and it all worked great for me. There is also lovely minor f/f subplot. I appreciate how queer relationships were discussed in the text, no homophobia but easy acceptance instead. Initially I was worried about the representation of the marriage obsessed over-eager noble lady and how misogynistic it came across but I am happy to say that the truth about her turned out to be rather different and I loved it.

I really liked a lot of the story elements, besides the romance - the exploration of roles of men and women in Victorian society, how they play them and can use them to subvert the norms, how power and freedom intersect. I liked seeing both the men and women carving a place for their happiness in a very strictly regulated world. The story says a lot about the masks people wear in society and how the real person behind the mask can be much more interesting and real.

Both MCs were wonderful in their own way. Diana and Jeremy are both currently in a situation of privilege but also aware of it and trying to use it to care for themselves and for others.

Very much like the first book in the series, there is a strong element of playfulness here, Diana and Jeremy expressing their feelings for each other through pushing each other's button, lots of witty banter and play pretend.

I loved the element in their intimacy where she teaches him how to give her pleasure. There was fun and joking in the bedroom but also deeply honest and somewhat awkward conversations around pleasure and desire.

The ending felt a bit rushed and his proposal was too public for my taste though I have to admit it was a good fit for them.

I loved the glimpses of Emily and Belfry and can't wait for their (I hope) story.

A decent historical romance! This is my first time reading this author- I have not read the other book in the series. I enjoyed the chemistry and witty banter between the two leads. Their connection was palpable and really easy to read. While this didn’t blow me away, I enjoyed it nonetheless.

To Love and to Loathe is the first book I’ve read by this author. To Love and to Loathe is full of witty banter which I love. Witty banter is my kryptonite. However, it wasn’t enough to sway me to give this book a higher rating.

To Love and to Loathe has all of the necessary ingredients to be a 5 star read, but, for me, it fell a bit flat. There wasn’t enough depth to the main characters and their romance. Don’t get me wrong, I found the characters to be entertaining and likable. I just needed more. I wanted more from them and the story.

Diana is an independent, headstrong widow who never plans to remarry since she now has true freedom for the first time in her life. Meanwhile, Jeremy is a rake and playboy who claims he will never marry. These two have always had a spark between them. A spark that causes them to snark at each other nonstop. They live for baiting each other and provoking the other to lose their temper--which is great for us readers, you’ll always be entertained when they’re on the page together.

If you’re looking for a book full of banter, rivals to lovers, headstrong heroines, and historical romance then you should definitely check out this book. I’ll definitely be checking out To Have and to Hoax, the predecessor to this book.