Interesting and fast-paced. Although this was predictable and the characters were shallow, this was a perfect light pandemic read.

This regency romance (in the vein of Bridgerton or Bringing Down the Duke) started off ok. The first half of the book was boring, what the author clearly thought was humor was not really funny or witty. However, what would have been a 3 star book took a turn for the worse. ***Spoiler alert*** The main character finds out someone is gay and going straight into outing them to all her friends. This is not okay! This was a terrible plot device and made me hate everything about that character (who I only sort of cared about before) after that. How did this book get past it's editing like this?? It was so insensitively dealt with and made this just ok book a total failure for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy for review.

This book gave me Bridgerton vibes. The two main characters Loathe each other but slowly peel back layers of each other. The reason for the 3 stars was because I don't usually read historical romances which made it difficult for me to get through it quicker. Though the love story was cute it was not an epic love story. I wasn't at the edge of my seat like I expected to be.

Truly delightful book, couldn't stop grinning at the writing and scene plotting and even though parts of it felt.. far too modern for a historical setting I couldn't care less because of the pacing and the vibrancy of every one of the characters in the book. The lead pair is fascinating and the enemies-to-lovers & childhood-friends-to-lovers trope combined makes it that much more powerful.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader's e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the book. The plot and settings are great. Like the characters. The author did a great job describing them and linking them to each other. I discovered this title while looking for historical fiction books and was not disappointed.

This is cute and I think I would have loved it more if I hadn't already read ‘A Rogue of One's Own,’ because I just couldn't 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 don't have much to say other than it's 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 I've already read another book that does this kind of story slightly better.

This book was delightful. I really enjoyed the complexity of the two main characters. They were both a bit messy and had solid backstory to support the decisions they were making. I really enjoyed the set up and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. There was a third act plot point that I'm not sure I liked/it could've been handled better. Overall, really enjoyed getting to know these complex characters.

31/2 stars

4.5 Stars

Sometimes there’s a danger to requesting ARCs. For example, I requested To Love and To Loath while I was looking for historical romance to satisfy my craving after watching “Bridgerton.” By the time my ARC came in, I had read three historical romances and been disappointed by all of them. So I was thinking that I had issues just with the genre as a whole, and was kind of regretting reading another one.

But boy am I glad I was wrong.

To Love and To Loath features the witty, widowed Lady Diana Templeton and her ongoing bickering with Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham. First, Diana bets Jeremy that he will be married within the year. Then, Jeremy comes to Diana with a proposition. He needs some assurance on his...bedroom skills. He proposes they embark on a short affair. But of course, nothing goes as planned as the two of them try not to lose their bet or their hearts.

This book read like Much Ado About Nothing fanfiction. And I mean this in the absolute best way possible. Martha Waters perfectly captured a Beatrice and Benedick style relationship based on bickering to hide true feelings. Enemies to lovers where it’s not really enemies to lovers, they just argue and antagonize each other because they actually like the other one but don’t want to even admit it to themselves? It’s absolute gold. This is the exact type of romance that I am interested in reading.

The romance and the plot were definitely well written, and overall I really enjoyed the book. The reason I can’t bring myself to rate it 5 stars is just because of the politics? And this is an issue I have with historical romance. Or, white historical romance I guess. It makes sense for the book to address the gender politics of the time. But all of it is so white-upper-class-feminism it feels icky. Like, there’s a whole plot about Diana having to marry rich in order to not continue to be a burden to her relatives and about her having financial freedom as a widow, which will be retracted if she remarries. And like, I get all that and women shouldn’t be their husbands property, etc. However, there’s also this whole thing where she’s seen as benevolent for not firing her maid because her maid likes to talk back. It comes up multiple times where she’s like, “I should really fire her for talking to me that way, but I am weirdly attached to her and also don’t want to go through the hassle of finding another maid.” I mean the privilege is insane and glaringly obvious. It attempts to talk about class but only in a manner of dividing the middle class from wealthy, not ever mentioning lower classes even though they are right there serving them the whole time. And really there’s no reason Diana couldn’t have been a proponent of workers right she just wasn’t.

However, I did still really love the romance and will be re-reading it in the future because it is my favorite type of romance done extremely well, which I appreciate.

"Busy ladies had no time to dwell on kisses." — To Love and to Loathe
To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is beguiling in the best of ways. Completely charming from the first page, I immediately got lost in the pages and found it hard to say goodbye.

Diana is a woman who not only knows what she wants, but will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Jeremy is the friend of Diana’s older brother. He is also an impossible rake and determined to win every verbal sparring contest he and Diana enter into. To Love and to Loathe reads like a combination of the matchmaking schemes of Jane Austen’s Emma, with the banter and obliviousness of feelings of Pride and Prejudice.

What surprised me the most is that even though Jeremy and Diana have always been at odds with each other, they both hold a great deal of respect for the other. Simple banter turns into a wager as to when Jeremy will find himself a wife. Diana becomes determined, and Jeremy equally so. When Jeremy finds himself in need of some reassurance of his bedroom skills, he takes it upon himself to solicit Diana to help him. They both agree to terms that guard their hearts and reputations, but when Jeremy’s Grandmother starts to scheme in order to help Diana win her bet, both Jeremy and Diana begin to realize that their feelings run deeper than what they had thought.

Watching Diana and Jeremy’s chess match of a relationship play out was wrought with romantic tension. The chemistry together was full of combustible energy, which made the culmination of their story really and truly a Happily Ever After. The one point of To Love and to Loathe that I felt was fumbled, was when one of the characters entrusts another with keeping a secret that would be in the height of scandal for the time. Unfortunately, that secret is not kept, and while that particular plot device was never resolved, it struck a weird chord for me.

Overall, I truly enjoyed To Love and to Loathe. I loved the setting, the vibrancy of the surrounding characters, and every interaction between Jeremy and Diana. If you love historical romance, specifically Regency Romance, then do not miss out on this one!

(3.5 stars)

As enjoyable as the back-and-forth banter and scathing remarks between Diana and Jeremy were, this book sure took its sweet time getting to the affair that was promised in the synopsis. The wager was funny and added another layer to the plot, particularly Diana's scheming, but it was annoying how much time was spent on this when it was so obvious that Diana and Jeremy would end up together. (It's a romance novel after all...) It was two-thirds of the way through the book before they moved much beyond a kiss, so if you get annoyed with super slow-burn romances, this one might not be for you.

The number of pages that focused on Lady Helen was also a bit much... She ended up being a more complex character than initially portrayed, but I still would have liked more of the focus to be on the relationship between Diana and Jeremy. Thankfully, many of the scenes featuring Diana throwing Lady Helen at Jeremy were really funny!

The supporting characters in this series are wonderful! The little quips from Violet were hilarious, and I often found myself rereading whole scenes that featured her (and James) saying and doing ridiculous things. The dowager marchioness was a welcome addition to the cast as well. She and Diana had some interesting conversations, with the one about appreciating cheekbones being particularly funny. The friendship Diana shares with Violet and Emily was lovely. I'm intrigued to find out more about the romance brewing between Emily and Julian. (Their book has to be next!)

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy To Love and to Loathe. I found the entire premise of the book to be very soft and unclear and the chemistry between Jeremy and Diana non-existent. Diana's motivation for entering into this arrangement with Jeremy was quickly dismissed (and really lacked any kind of clear likely outcome) and similarly Jeremy had no real motivation for entering into the wager that he be married within a year. Along with the storyline, I found that the historical aspect of the book was underwhelming. I did not feel transported to a different time and found the friendships and setting to be very modern day.

ARC provided through NetGalley and Atria Books! I was so excited to request this one as I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between Diana and Jeremy in Waters' first book, To Have and To Hoax. This story follows the two as Diana makes a wager that Jeremy will not marry within the year... while Jeremy also asks Diana to help him critique some skills best suited for marriage. Simmering tension, subtle angst, a lot of sweetness, and mild meddling from the whole Regency Vows cast ensue! I enjoyed how this couple reflected on their shared history and how that not only impacted their banter, but their understanding of one another. Plus, I'm a sucker for the "brother's best friend" trope.

This book also has a some background LGBT representation which I felt was handled interestingly for the period.

This book was just what I needed during such horrendous times. This rom-com book focuses on the two perspectives of Jeremy and Diana, also known as the Marquess of Willingham and Lady Templeton respectively. The pair seem to make the most of trying to get the better of the other, while seemingly ignoring the growing feelings that exist between the two. "To Love and to Loathe" provided a wonderful balance of romance AND comedy, as I found myself laughing frequently. There were some elements of the story that makes me curious about more sequels to come (*cough* I'd love to learn more about Lady Helen, Lady Emily, and Penvale *cough*). Some parts were a little slow for my taste. I could also see the ending from a mile away, but I still greatly enjoyed it.

I received a copy of this book to review for my my honest opinion from NetGalley

To Love and to Loathe was such a cute story! I enjoyed it very much and I can’t wait to see if she writes a third book to follow the other characters.

Diana was not your normal Lady, when she became of age her goal was to marry a man of higher breed and wealthy.

She grew up with an older brother and his friends along with Violet and Emily who was a little younger then the other two girls. Her brother had a friend named Jeremy. Diana and Jeremy were like oil and vinegar.

One night they make a bet of sorts. One hundred pounds if Jeremy marries in one year. Jeremy was a marquess born to high society. He was interested in women, drinks and doing his own thing. Marrying was far from his mind.

A summer party at his house proves to both Diana and Jeremy that the bickering and flirtatious acts were more then just that. I loved this whole story and the characters. Easy light read.

This was an enjoyable title. A reader doesn't have to have read the first in the series to get into this installment. The characters are well drawn and the banter between the characters is enjoyable. I can't wait to read more from the author in this series. I think Lady Emily needs the spotlight next. Patrons should enjoy this one, especially if they enjoyed the first in the series.

The banter between Diana and Jeremy in the beginning hooked me. But then it seemed to drag and I found myself skimming the pages. There is a lot of storyline exploring other characters that while probably needed for future books it felt too much for me. I wanted more Diana and Jeremy. I also felt that for a woman who was nervous about taking a lover after only one perfunctory time with her late husband, Diana proved to be far more knowledgeable than I had thought based on earlier chapters. All in all it was a cute story.

Overall Rating: 4.5 (Rounding up to 5)

The perfect read if you are looking for something after reading Bridgeton! Dare I say...It may be....even better.

Going to into To Love and To Loathe, I was completely unsure what to expect. I did not realize it was a second in the series, nonetheless it did not matter. I was completely consumed from page 1 and read it in two days.

Martha Waters brings you in the world of regency London high society where you get introduced to the young beautiful widowed Lady Diana Templeton and the handsome Jeremy the Marquess of Willingham.

Diana and Jeremy have known each other since childhood, but as they grew to adulthood they increasingly enjoy getting under each other’s skin. Starting with a marriage bet and indecent proposal (and no not of marriage) both of these characters continue their love/hate relationship and bring it to a whole other level.

Needless to say, I loved this book. I have always been a complete sucker for a haters to lovers romance but this was one was even better than most. Both Jeremy & Diana were funny and charming, I loved that it felt like you were reading a modern romance set in the past, it gave it a unique and fun twist.

I absolutely loved this book and can not recommend it enough. So, if your itching for a good regency romance after reading Bridgerton - I would run not walk to get a copy of this!

Thank you to Net Gallery & to Atria Books/ Simon & Schuster for the eARC for an honest review.
To Love and to Loathe will be released April 6th. 2021!

Diana and Jeremy have known each other for ages, as Jeremy is Diana’s older brother’s friend. They razz each other constantly, and when Jeremy semi-seriously proposes to Diana, she laughs and goes on to marry a wealthier (and older) man. A couple years down the line, Diana is a wealthy widow. She makes a bet with Jeremy that he will marry within the next year, or she owes him 100 pounds. Shortly after that, Jeremy makes Diana another proposition—to keep each other… ahem… company at his upcoming house party, in part to soothe his wounded pride after his last mistress disparaged his prowess in the bedroom and also because he’s been just a li’l bit in love with her. Diana thinks this house party would be an opportune moment to try to find Jeremy a bride and also practice her wiley widow ways.

I was just meh about this book. I don’t know if it would have helped for me to have read the first in the series, but I felt like I could follow along pretty well. I enjoyed the frenemy-to-lovers tension between Jeremy and Diana, but I kinda wanted their scenes to be a little spicier. It was cute, but not my favorite historical of late!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the free ARC in exchange for my opinion.

Having not read the first in this series, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A bit slow at times, the connection of enemies (or at least antagonizers) to lovers was touching. The community of characters was well built and grown.

I'm a sucker for a regency romance, and this one hit a lot of good notes -- female friendships, slow burn romance, hate(ish)-to-love, etc. The banter was good (if a little self-congratulatory) and the characters were moderately interesting, but not interesting enough to warrant the near-constant “lost in thought” moments in which they found themselves. Neither Diana nor Jeremy could make it through a conversation without slipping into an internal soliloquy about their backstory or their feelings or their motivations – none of which were that compelling – and it was, in a word, exhausting. I could’ve overlooked this if I’d gotten some of the steam I was led to believe I was getting, but alas, ‘twas not to be.