This book was really adorable. The pacing was great. I loved the banter between the characters and it also made me go back and read all the previous books in this series. The main character, Jane, was extremely relatable to me and I adored her!

Such a fun read! Would definitely recommend! The humor was great throughout the story, and the slow-burn romance was great!

To Swoon and to Spar is the fourth novel in The Regency Vows companion series by Martha Waters, but I saw it as a standalone having not read the other books in this world. It follows Penvale, who is desperately trying to get back his family estate. When he gets the chance by marrying Lucy, the ward of his uncle who is the current master of the family estate, he jumps at it. Lucy doesn’t want a husband in her space so she concocts a plan to “haunt him” and scare him back to London. This book was slow for me. I liked the idea of the plot, but I wish the haunting would have packed more of a punch or taken a bigger turn. It was a little underwhelming. Lucy wasn’t the most likable heroine, but I did enjoy seeing Penvale break down her walls and how she blossomed to the point where I felt for her in the end. Overall, this was a cute regency romance but it left me a little underwhelmed.

Instead of my usual rom-com palate, I decided to try a historical romance and the premise sounded fun. This book started slow for me. About halfway through, I finally latched onto the characters and was really into the story. Overall, this was a cute read.

I like this author and this series. Both the covers and the stories are cute. A good standard historical romance. And I definitely would recommend to a friend.

I have been a huge fan of this series (Regency Vows), so I was thrilled to receive an e-arc for review. Everything about this series is wonderful, and this 4th book is no different. A very lighthearted, witty, endearing regency rom-com with all the angst and hilarious banter that Martha Waters is so great at writing. In this edition, The Viscount Penvale marries Jane, a country girl unknown to him, to gain the title to his family home. What follows is an entertaining folly of ghost hunting as the two gradually get to know whom they have married. As feelings develop, you cannot help but route for this couple. It's another charming and irresistible love story, and a quick read as I was excited to see what would happen next. Thank you so much to Martha Waters, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc! Would definitely recommend!

Enjoyed the story - Penvale and Jane were hilarious in their banter and adorable in their chemistry. I would not recommend to students because of the sexual content, but I'd recommend to adults who love Bridgerton!

My only qualm with this series is the immature nature of the MCs. Trying to trick your husband into thinking his house is haunted? That's ridiculous. Why can't the MCs have real problems and real communication needs? Additionally, with this book, it felt that Jane never truly opened up. Penvale did, but she didn't. That annoyed me also.

Each of Waters books has been an enjoyable read, and this one was no exception. This one was probably more like 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for me, I didn't find myself as emotionally invested in this one as previous books in the series. However, it still had its moments of comedy met with charm and heartwarming relationships. It delivered on being a pleasant dose of fun!

I think the follows as the rest of the series did. I wasn’t as invested in this story as the previous ones. It’s still good but just didn’t hit all the notes that I wanted. It felt slow at times and the two MCs just didn’t draw me in. I still enjoyed and loved the romance aspect. I’ enjoy the writing and find humor alright. I just want more after feeling much like the previous stories, same humor, same type of conversations. Needed something fresh for me.

I could not get into this one, the storyline wasn't for me, I liked Penvale but Jane was not my cup of tea. I felt the haunting theme was weird. I like the other books in this series though.

There is very little relatable or enjoyable about Jane for a long while, whereas Penvale is amazing from the start.

I haven’t read the series in a while, so the friend group was a bit separate for me, but I still love them.

Favorite lines
“He largely found that their happiness was rather important to his.” - what a beautiful was to describe friendship

For fans of Bridgerton you will love this! It was a perfect summer read and I was so thankful to get the ARC

Such a fun and light read! The MFC was strong, determined and i loved her whole personality. The MMC was so kind, and sweet and I loved him so much! It was an excellent read! The auhtor had a wonderfull writing style that just kept me glued to the book. I will definetly read more of the work.

a little underwhelming. but cute! the rest of martha walters regency books have been on my tbr forever so i might go back and check them out

You know that thing where you have to get married so you don’t get kicked out of your beloved home, but you don’t want your new husband to spend any time there so you try to make him think the place is haunted so he will leave you alone? But then it turns out your new husband is actually kind of nice and cute, and now you’re just lightly gaslighting a guy you kinda like? You know that thing? We’ve all been there.

Martha Waters is the queen of historical romance shenanigans. I adore her books, her characters, and the hilarious situations they find themselves in. The banter is always impeccable and so is the romance. I’m sad there is only one book left in this series because I have become so attached to the characters! Thank you so much to @atriabooks for the early copy; To Swoon and to Spar is out now!

To Swoon and to Spar
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Martha Waters
GR: 3.68

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Atria Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Viscount Penvale has been working for years to buy back his ancestral home, Trethwick Abbey, from his estranged uncle. And so he’s thrilled when his uncle announces that he is ready to sell but with one major caveat—Penvale must marry his uncle’s ward, Jane Spencer.

When the two meet in London, neither is terribly impressed. Penvale finds Jane headstrong and sharp-tongued. Jane finds him cold and aloof. Nevertheless, they agree to a marriage in name only and return to the estate. There, Jane enlists her housekeeper for a scheme: to stage a haunting so that Penvale will return to London, leaving her to do as she pleases at Trethwick Abbey. But Penvale is not as easily scared as his uncle and as their time together increases, Jane realizes that she might not mind her husband’s company all that much.

My Thoughts: This is book No. 4 in The Regency Vows series. I loved the play on 1800s gothic romance in London. As so often in the Regency Era, this is an arranged marriage, or a marriage of convenience.

Jane made an amazing heroine, she loves to speak her mind, which in this time era did not happen much, most ladies were seen rather than heard. The characters were developed well, were swoony, witty banter, and overall well done. The characters from previous books were a tad more on point, but the characters here are still done well. The humor injected into the novel was great, I really enjoyed that aspect of it. There was a medium amount of steam and spice. While Jane is trying to “scare” Penvale away, it ends up bringing them closer, which was very meet cute. I also loved the little updates we got on the other couples, probably one of my favorite things about series books.

Overall, an enjoyable read. My only con was that the characters were not as luster as in previous books in this series. I would still recommend picking up.

It wasn't bad, but there wasn't much going on? Sure, the romance had a nice arc, it made sense, but it wasn't all that swoony and adorable and I wasn't here pining for them to be together forever.
The old writing also kinda fucks up with my brain. Personally, I just find it annoying to read.
A big part of this book is about fake ghosts, and I'm like, okay get over it. It's not interesting anymore lol

I was really excited to get an eArc of this book as I had never read a Martha Waters book previously but the reviews I had seen were very good.

I found that reading the previous novels wasn’t too necessary to pick up with this novel - especially since the heroine was not in the previous works.

I would recommend it for those who love historical romance but dont enjoy the sex scenes - as I know that is difficult to find in this genre and I will say the novel was surprising in that; not necessarily in a bad way, just unexpected. For myself, I’m fine with a historical romance book not being steamy but if its not then I need tension and longing! This book didn’t really have that. While there were some cute interactions there were not any real “swoon worthy” moments and that is something I need in a romance novel.

I also really didn’t vibe with the female lead, Jane Spencer. She is portrayed as “shy” but the author I think did a poor job of conveying awkward shyness and instead made Jane as a character insufferably rude. I can understand having a character be a bit reticent, even closed off, but the way Jae was portrayed wasn’t shy so much as mean. To everyone. The male lead, Viscount Penvale was okay; he might’ve been more interesting if he had been able to get with a less aggressively rude woman than Jane. But instead I found myself wondering how he could like someone who was so mean to him all the time. Jane’s behaviour to Penvale was a large part why I felt that as a couple, they lacked chemistry.

Overall, I can’t say there was anything egregiously wrong with the book but at the same time it wasn’t the romance book for me.

What a fun regency romance! I loved our characters, even with all their quirks, and found the ghost stories aspect of this novel hilarious!

Definitely add this to your tbr if you're in the mood for a fun regency romance!

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
To Swoon and to spar is a cute book, 4th in the series, about Jane and Penvale. They have entered into a marriage of convenience and end up with a whole lot of trouble.
This book was a little tedious at times and I felt like the banter could have been more on par with the other books in the series.
This can be read as a stand alone but has recurring characters. 3.5 stars rounded up.