I liked it, but I feel like the initial set-up was lacking - as in, the original proposition that brought the characters together. It felt forced!

To Love and to Loathe is witty, flirty and fun. I honestly loved it. I'm not a huge fan of historical fictions, I find them hard to get into but I really enjoyed this one. The banter between Diana and Jeremy was amazing. I'm a sucker for some good sexual tension banner and this book if full of it. The characters are well written and fun. It's also steamy. I was pleasantly surprised by how stream their scenes were. The chemistry between them was palpable.

A fun follow up to anyone who enjoys Julia Quinn, historical romance, regency romance, and enemies to lovers plots!

As many of you know, I'm on a bit of a regency romance kick! And I was lucky enough to have this arc in my arsenal.

Overall, it was okay! It was cute and I loved the back and forth between Diana and Jeremy. This was the second installment in a series, but you definitely didn't need to read the first to understand the characters or story. It tended to drag in certain moments, which made me lose interest in the story progression.

I'm not sure how I felt about Diana's character, quite honestly. I found her to be a bit much, and not in the way I normally like. What really made me dislike her was when she found out a secret about another character, something that could have potentially ruined her, and decided to share with her friends, even though Diana promised the other woman complete secrecy. That made me give Diana major side eye. 👀
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Thank you Net Galley and Atria Books for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

In Martha Waters new book, To Love and to Loathe, readers are taken on a fun romp through the lives of dueling aristocrats. Both characters, who have sworn off marriage for good, find themselves at war with one another over a "friendly" wager. Now, what was once a simple game becomes more complicated and more hilarious. Readers will find themselves laughing out loud as they traverse with the characters through pithy conversations and intricate interactions. A worthwhile read, Waters has created a cast of characters that leave her readers with the desire to know what comes next at every turn.

Diana and Jeremy have always been life long frenemies, full of snarky banter, and unresolved sexual tension. A few years down the road and Diana has become a widow and Jeremy’s grandmother is trying to get him to marry. Thus begins their first bet: If Diana manages to get Jeremy married within a year he owes her 100 Pounds. Diana, now a widow, is finally free and has her money, her freedom, and is enjoying being able to flirt and just live. Jeremy, experiences a rather alarming breakup with his mistress who calls to his attention that he might not be as great in bed as he had thought. Jeremy proposes to Diana, an arrangement in which she becomes his lover and helps him on his bedroom skills and in turn he’ll help her by gossiping to other gentlemen that she’s interested in a lover. Throw in some friends, various matchmaking plots, some twists and turns, and the very sweet romance that springs between these to characters who just love to loathe and poke fun at each other. This story was one to definitely love, and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a cute rom com!

*Thanks Netgalley and Atria Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I was SO excited to get to read this book - with an eye-catching illustrated cover & an adorable play on words title, this one was a must-read for me!

While normally I’m a stickler for reading books in a series in order, I was so excited to read this one after winning a paperback copy thanks to @bibliolifestyle that I went ahead and devoured it in pretty much one sitting, with no regrets.

I adored this delectable Regency-era romance that gave me the strong female character in English high society that I didn’t know I needed before this.

“The last thing I ever intend to do is something as unutterably foolish as to fall in love.”

Nothing like famous last words to really set the pace for your romance novel & let you know it’s about to get good….

Diana and Jeremy were the ultimate frenemies you knew loved to hate one another until they’re so close to that line they agree to a proposal that will change everything. I was 100% HERE for the simmering looks, built-up tension between them, and the exposed secrets that kept coming in this book!

Be prepared to laugh, swoon, & cheer on all of these delectable characters — Do yourself a favor and pick this one up, and I daresay treat yourself with To Have and to Hoax because I am sure it is just as wonderful!

Thank you NetGalley & Atria for an eARC, I will be recommending this one to everyone 4.5 stars for me!

Martha has done it again! Her writing style and story line is absolutely amazing. Always left wanting more from her lovely stories. Looking forward to reading more from her.

A cute, sexy Regency rom-com that I very much enjoyed reading! Funny enough, after binging Bridgerton on Netflix I had decided to read all of the Bridgerton books, and took a break in the middle of those to read To Love and to Loathe...which ended up being very similar to those books, with its scheming main character, sizzling sexual tension, and of course the Regency setting! This is a great read, especially for those who appreciate a good Regency romance!

This was a good fluffy pandemic-times read and I would certainly recommend it to patrons as such. It wasn't my favorite read of the month-- it felt a little too modern at times?, but it was overall enjoyable. Getting updates on the characters from To Have and to Hoax was fun but I think I ultimately liked that book and those characters more. Diana and Jeremy didn't quite have the umph to make the ending super satisfying. Plus there just weren't enough steamy scenes in To Love and to Loathe.
It was cute though, and definite escapism in these crazy times. but it's probably a 3.5-4 star read.

This is the perfect book to pick up if you're in need of a light-hearted story that makes you laugh and snort to yourself alone in your bedroom. In the usual Waters fashion, this is about two absurd, impossible people trying to rile each other up at every opportunity. Which is a very interesting dynamic considering this is a friends with benefits romance. Double the interesting if said impossible couple has person a trying to marry person b off to someone else to win a bet. I mean, this is set for a disaster. Or is it?

A feel good Regency romcom that never fails to immerse the reader in its story.

The description of this book, as well as the cover, caught my attention, which is why I requested the eARC from NetGalley. This was a quick, easy read, with several moments that made me smile, or even laugh. That being said, I wasn't drawn into Jeremy and Diana's story as much as I expected.

Diana is a young widow, with no desire to remarry. Jeremy is a rake, a long-time friend of Diana's brother, and has had a fascination with Diana for many years. The two like to needle each other, to see which can get a rise out of the other. Wagers are made, bargains are made, eventually love is found.

I'm not sure if the character development was lacking, if the storyline just wasn't believable enough, or what. But, I just didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an advanced copy of To Love and To Loath. I loved Martha Waters’ previous book To Have and To Hoax, so I was so excited to see her story continue with To Love and To Loathe. Although this novel picks up where To Have and to Hoax left off, it can be read as a stand alone book. It follows the widowed, Lady Templeton and her relationship with the renowned rake Lord Willingham. I was highly entertained by all of the quirky characters and laughing out loud every couple of pages. Like before, I became so absorbed in the story that I raced through this book and ended up staying up late to finish it in a single day. I adore the world that the author has created and can’t wait for her next installment.

For me period romances are really hit or miss – I either love them or I hate them...or loathe them or love them, I should say. While loathe is a strong word for how I felt about this book, it's in the same family. I simply didn't connect with the characters and the story in a way that made it worth reading. But, I think this book would appeal to many other readers, especially those who primarily read period pieces. Just not my cup of tea.

This book is a welcome addition to the Historical Regency genre! Sparkling wit and simmering chemistry, it was truly a delight. Highly recommend for fans of Tessa Dare and Sarah Maclean!

A cute and light hearted romance. It definitely had the feel of a modern romance set during a historical period. It didn’t feel especially atmospheric it true to the time period, but it was a fun and easy read. Very low stakes and characters weren’t deeply developed, it had a hard time capturing my full attention. The story was ok, but there wasn’t any sense of immediacy or drama, I found it difficult to be “gripped” as the story trundled along on expected pathways. Fans of contemporary romps looking to sip their toes in a historical romance may enjoy this one while fans of gritty or accurate historical romance may find it less fulfilling.

While not traditionally a regency romance sort of reader, the cover and the premise of this book stood out as possibly fun, and I decided why not?

And I'm so very glad that I did decide to give it a try. Diana, the widowed Lady Templeton, and Jeremy, the yet unmarried Marquess of Willingham, have known each other for a long time, flirting and bantering with an occasional edge for most of that time. Jeremy, scorned by a woman who lays question to his abilities to please a woman, goes to Diana to propose an affair, and of course also to boost his ego. Diana, who did not have much experience with her older husband, decides she has something to benefit from as well before she goes on to take on other liaisons. Neither are interested in marriage, but of course, both are drawn to the other.

What follows is a story with fun banter, society scandals, some sexy times, a lot of very direct conversations about relationships and sexuality, and of course a man and a woman who are very definitely not interested in love and marriage, determining that they might want precisely that.

Highly recommend for fans of more modern regencies, and perhaps anyone who enjoys romance between two smart characters, with flirtatious dialogue, and finding openeness and vulnerability. This was an excellent read to finish out 2020 and begin 2021.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley, and it was a light, fun Romance. The best parts of this was the banter between the two main characters. They had been friends/enemies for a long time, and I love a trope of a romance between someone and their sibling's best friends. He. of course, is a rake with a secret kind heart. She has quite the wit. She takes everything very seriously, and definitely gives as good as he does. I like that he has to beg for her. This is a really slow burn--lots more dialogue and less physical--but it's a great quick read. Nothing new and surprising for this genre, but you don't always need bells and whistles. This is exactly what it should be.

This was a very quick read that admittedly didn’t live up to super high expectations but I enjoyed nonetheless for a quick historical romance. If you like the genre then it fits the bill.

My review of this will be available on my blog closer to release date.

Let me preface this by saying I enjoyed the first book in this series. I thought Waters had an interesting take on Regency Romance. It was a fun adventure, the first book. I remember laughing out loud during the entire book, and being unable to put it down. Thus, I was VERY excited when I heard that there was going to be a second one about Diana and Jeremy. I knew that I had to read it, and I was practically squealing in excitement when I learned that it was on NetGalley. I rushed to request the book as quickly as possible.

So here we are. I have been accepted, I have read the book. And I have feelings. And these feelings are not necessarily good. Cue me being extraordinarily disappointed. And I hate saying that. Because this book was supposed to be a fun romp like the first book. It was supposed to be cute and uplifting and give me warm fuzzy feelings that I could cuddle when I was done reading. I could sigh in happiness and just feel joy at the simplicity of getting a HEA in a book. And yet, that didn’t happen. I finished the book and I was just left…wanting. And not in the good way. Hah.

This book has one of my favorite tropes friends/enemies to lovers. There is little more that I enjoy than a good enemies to lovers. Of any sort. I like it all. This book had such promise to me, because it was called To Love and to Loathe. I was intrigued because I thought that this book would be just as good as the first, but it definitely wasn’t. There were some issues I had overall with the book, and that has made it really hard to judge what I wanted to rate this book on Goodreads.

I’m going to start with the writing. Martha Waters is a talented writer. And her writing still shines through even when I am not enjoying the book as much as I want. Honestly, the writing helped make the book easier to read. Waters has writing that is so easily readable, and it makes the experience all the better. You feel drawn into her writing. The dialogue is usually fairly good, and the prose is accessible and quick to read. Overall, I did like the writing, and it helped lift up some of the parts that I thought were less than great.

I thought that the plot would be enjoyable, and it was to an extent. However, the romance portion of the plot I was so ready to love just fell flat to me. I didn’t become invested in Diana or Jeremy’s relationship. And I understand there are supposed to be obstacles and angst in a book, but I just felt…it wasn’t there. It was boring and I found both characters insufferable. I liked them both in the first book, but just not as much in this one. And then we get towards the ending, and the last ten percent is where a lot of the plot goes down. It was frustrating, because I felt that it was very contrived and didn’t work for me. It just didn’t sit right. Generally, I loved their banter, despite the fact I struggled with other aspects of their relationship. There were, a few hilarious scenes.

I loved Diana and her friendship with Violet and Emily. Those portions were always the highlight of the book for me. They were witty and amusing and felt true. They were amazing to read and enjoy. Violet although a background character in this one, still retained her character in this book from the first one, as did Emily. And we do get a bit more of Emily’s predicament in this book even as Diana herself is struggling.

Overall, I really felt this book had so much potential but fell short for me personally. I did enjoy it, but I was so excited, but it didn’t live up to me excitement.