I am still giggling because this book was too cute! I always eat up a marriage of convenience in historical romances, but this one was an entirely different story. I haven’t read many books from this genre that have this kind of romcom vibe with a lot of humor so it was a very nice surprise.

Nothing screams fun more than a staged house haunting to get rid of your husband, especially when said husband happens to be quite the practical person and doesn’t truly believe ghosts are real. I gotta give it to Jane though, she was very determined and gave her full self to this plan she made it almost her full time job, but I don’t think she thought it would backfired like that! Oh well! Love!

The romance between Penvale and Jane is a bit on the slowburn side. They were absolutely adorable and cute though when they were spending time together. I enjoyed their witty banter, she was really snarky when she wanted to be and they both liked to vex each other. I found myself giggling more than once.

I am very interested now to read the other books of the series because I haven’t yet and just by reading about the other characters through Jane and Penvale’s eyes made me very curious about them.

Regency romances are one of my favorite genres to read, so I'm surprised I haven't come across Martha Waters before, as this novel was my introduction to her work. But I'm so glad I found it, as I enjoyed the book quite a bit, and am now reading her previous novels. Like most regency romances our couple's relationship develops slowly over time while the events of some silly subplot unfolds around them. In this particular novel that silly subplot is a haunting. The haunting was a bit of a stretch for me —she really thinks she's going to get him to believe there are ghosts roaming around?— but it's handled in such a humorous way that I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. 

Though very enjoyable, this novel is just shy of four stars, more like 3.8 in my opinion. One of my reasons for the slightly lower rating is that at times I found the speech, character behavior, and some descriptions to be too modern given the time period, which I found distracting. But overall, a good read, and I would recommend it to other regency romance fans.

ARC was provided by Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Martha Waters - I would read your shopping list if you published it and I am sure it would be filled with witty banter that would make it difficult to not smile. To Swoon and to Spar is the fourth book in the Regency Vows series by Marth Waters but can be read as a standalone book as well. However, I am not sure why you would want to, the other books are fantastic! This book centers around the story of Lord Penvale, who must marry his Uncle's ward, Jane, in order to gain his ancestorial estate. So this story includes a couple of my favorite romance troupes including marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, and single bed. The other really cool thing about this particular installment is that is borrows from gothic novels. They imagery of the windy cliffs and rolling moors of the countryside reminded me of Wuthering Heights.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I would highly recommend. The only issue I had is that Diane's story (I think book 2 of the series) was my favorite and she is one of my favorite characters, but her portrayal in this book wasn't always in the most flattering light which didn't seem to match with my previous thoughts. However, that could just be that she was interacting with Jane, who is also not the easiest person to converse with.

Anyway, you should read this book. And the others in the series.

This was such a fun regency romance and a twist on grumpy/sunshine where she is the grump. Well, Jane isn't really grumpy, she is just shy and it comes across that she likes no one. Penvale is the life of the party and everyone's friend. When he gets the chance to buy his childhood property that he has been coveting for years, it comes with one stipulation; he must marry the charge his uncle has taken and she will remain at the estate.
Jane wants nothing more than to stay at the abbey, but now she has to deal with the nephew of the man she deeply detests. She has always been on her own, and intends to keep it that way. She has scared off the uncle, now she just needs to do the same for the nephew. What she doesn't understand though, is that Penvale has deep roots in the house and won't go away without a fight.
As they become closer, opening themselves to the possiblity of more, Jane starts to question why she wanted to be alone for so long and if it is ok to trust a man. Penvale wouldn't have chosen Jane as his wife under other circumstances, but as he is learning, he wouldn't want it any other way. He loves sparring with Jane and passing the days by the sea.
I really enjoyed these two learning to live with each other and coming together and their relationship growing slowly from strangers. I loved how Penvale didn't think his world would really change when he was married, but he started to realize it was never going to be the same.
Thank you to Atria, Netgalley and Martha Waters for an early copy.

Penvale desperately wants his uncle to sell him back his family estate. He even agrees to marry his uncle’s ward to get it. Jane, ward to the loathsome uncle, is happy to “haunt” the estate to get the uncle to go back to London, now she must do it again to get her new husband to leave her in peace in the countryside. After spending time with Penvale, she realizes she might want him to stay after all. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Atria Books for my honest review.

This started out really fun, and it was nice reading about all the characters from To Have and to Hoax which is the only other book I’ve read from this series but to be entirely honest I don’t love regency novels. I also think Martha Waters books get really repetitive and boring. The characters were super immature and I was only entertained by the ghosty things in this book for about 100 pages before it got really annoying. Overall, I think Martha Waters is a clever writer, but her books seriously lack plot. If you are looking for a book where nothing happens you should pick this up

It’s a marriage of convenience between Penvale and Jane. However, sparks fly and their mutual dislike starts to dissolve as they try and discover the mystery of the apparent haunting of their Cornish Estate.

I liked both characters, especially Jane’s awkwardness and outspoken manner. I also liked the gothic twist to this novel. This book was a very slow burn, but cute nonetheless.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing me with a eARC of this book to read and review!

A regency era romance. How did I not know this was a series! I enjoyed reading for the most part. I think I found myself a little bored a little over halfway through.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

4.5 stars — oh these books just keep getting better. By far my favorite in the series!

Penvale finally gets his own book — and his own reluctant bride, crumbling manor, and haunted hallways. After twenty long years he finally has reached the goal he has been singularly pursuing — the return to his ancestral home.

But said return comes with a sharp-tongued new wife and continued unexplained occurrences that appear to be of the supernatural variety. As he begins to learn more about his new wife Jane, he starts to see the barriers she puts up around herself to save herself from her shyness & insecurities amongst others. Said barriers often include running around the house in a white nightgown in the effort to convince him it’s haunted. Can’t blame a girl for trying.

I loved watching these two tenderly acknowledge their lives of loneliness and begin to forge a relationship that is real. Of course, it couldn’t be done without many hilarious misunderstandings that require intervention from all our old friends from previous books. I loved this couple and I loved the additional glimpses we got into these other marriages as well. I better be getting West & Sophie soon!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC

While the previous books in this series have been on my TBR for quite some time, I had yet to jump into the world of Martha Waters and I really enjoyed getting the chance to! To Swoon and Spar is the 4th book in 'The Regency Vows.' Viscount Penvale, brother and friend to our hero and heroines from Books 1-3, wants nothing more than to get back his family's home Trethwick Abbey. Jane Spencer, ward of the uncle who is keeping Penvale from his ancestral home, wants nothing more than to be left alone and away from the men in the world who wish to control her. When Penvales uncle appears out of the woodwork with an offer to buy back the house on the condition he marries Jane, Penvale jumps at it with little thought or consideration to his uncle's post-sale caution about the haunting of Trethwick Abbey. Jane, cold and uncomfortable around others and harboring a very low opinion of Penvale, is forced to accept these conditions but is pleased to be able to stay in the home she loves as well. As hauntings increase, so do the sparks between Jane and Penvale.

My largest critique would be around Jane and her relationship with Diana. I am not usually a fan of the women can't get along storyline unless there is a really understandable reason for it and I just didn't feel it with this, and it felt way too much, even with Janes's shyness. I am also someone who is introverted and nervous around new people, and though I acknowledge that I deal with it differently, Jane's cold aggression sometimes was a little too far for me that it started to tread on unrealistic.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading books 1-3 and any future ones!

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t super excited to hear that we were getting a book about Penvale and a yet to have met female heroine. However, I was proved very wrong and I think this might be my new favorite of the series! I absolutely adored Penvale! He was so sweet and caring and observant and I loved how he took lessons he learned from his friends’s relationships to make his even better.
This is a great book for those who love Bridgerton and those wonderful gothic novels like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. A bit of “ghosts” and a lot of romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for a eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book releases in April and is a regency era book. In order for the Viscount to get his family home back, he must marry Jane, a ward of his uncle. When he and Jane move back to the Abbey-strange things start to happen around the house. The Viscount doesn’t believe in ghost, but his does believe something or someone doesn’t want him hanging around.

The book was very cliche and started off pretty good-I felt about 75% in, things started to slow down and became quite boring.

To Swoon and to Spar was such a fun read. I haven't read the others in the series, but I'm looking forward to reading them now. I don't feel like I missed anything by not having read the others in The Regency Vows Series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

Viscount Penvale's uncle finally agrees to sell him the ancestral family home. But there's a catch: Penvale must wed Jane, the uncle's ward. When Penvale meets Jane, they fall deeply in hate—yet a marriage of convenience is the only way for each of them to reach their goals. They come to an agreement and move into the home that the servants claim is haunted. Will their ghost-hunting adventures lead to love?

The books in this series get better and better. This one is an all-out romp that kept me laughing from start to finish. It's witty and clever and a pure joy to read.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

If you have enjoyed the antics of The Regency Vows series to date, you are sure to enjoy To Swoon and to Spar. It has plenty of slow burn swooning and Jane Austen reading and even a little bit of ghostiness, a la all the great gothic novels. All in all, very sweet, very romantic. I will say, after the first three books, I wanted a little more of an epic love story for Penvale - it took a long time to feel the chemistry and subsequently the heat between Jane and Penvale; the book made up for it by having our sweet hero weep over Jane Austen and start to show *some* emotional vulnerability by the time we reached the finish line and I thought it all tied up amiably + neatly!

This might be my favorite of the series! I've been waiting for Penvale to get a story and hoped it wouldn't disappoint. Penvale must marry his uncle's ward in order to take possession of the family estate, but his bride is no shrinking violet. She has no interest in a husband and what results in all the sass and humor we've come to expect from this series. I loved the Northanger Abbey nods and the haunting storyline was hilarious. I can't wait to see what comes next in this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I would like to thank the person/people at the publisher for reaching out to me with a review copy of this book, because it finally gave me an incentive to read the other books in the series, all of which I owned but hadn’t gotten around to yet. All of which I adored, because they were romantic and unhinged in a delightful way.

This entry in the series was probably the most unhinged in terms of plot and I love it for that. As someone whose favorite Austen novel is Northanger Abbey, I couldn’t help but love the gothic tone to it, and I honestly found myself giggling a couple of times at the antics.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable regency romance romp, and I couldn’t help but appreciate the dual POVs. Without seeing Jane’s POV chapters, I could easily see how one might come to dislike her character, but seeing inside her head and the reasons for her seeming rudeness gives context and empathy to all that and makes the inevitable romance feel more authentic.

I am eagerly crossing my fingers for another installment: West and Sophie, maybe? Pleeaasee?

I could read Martha Waters' Regency Vow series forever! The series as a whole is engaging, warming, thoughtful, a tad steamy, and overall a lot of fun to read. Every time I sit down to read one of Waters' stories, I am immediately immersed back into this world and get taken in by the characters she has so lovingly created. To Swoon and to Spar is no different in that respect, but we see a modern take on an age-old trope - an arranged marriage. Penvale wants Trethwick Abbey back so badly that he agrees to his uncle's terms to marry Jane (his uncle's ward) without ever having married her. It wouldn't be the first time in history that women were used as bartering tools, but Waters gives Jane Spencer a voice and a clear attitude with which she attempts to force Penvale out of Trethwick for good. Jane Spencer goes not seem like a lovable character, but she is one that I feel like a lot of women could relate to. She has a mind of her own and uses it to trick the men in her life to do as she pleases, but is blindsided by the kind and caring behavior her husband, Penvale, demonstrates. A marriage born out of the exchange of an estate turns into a love story between two unlikely mates. Learning to love one another as you grow and seeing the best attritbutes in a partner, I think, is one of the most realistic parts of a marriage that not all love stories tell. So, kudos to Waters for writing another brilliant tale of love - and all that love entails.

P.S. Would highly recommend reading on a rainy day with London Fog Latte in hand. It was perfection.

I love a light romance with substance as a palate cleanser and this one did the job well. I loved the challenges of shyness as a theme. I could have used some more spice, but this was still very enjoyable in a PG-13 way. This is my first book by this author and I would definitely pick up another one.