Exactly who is manipulating whom? To Woo and to Wed is a fun story where, of course, there is lots of maneuvering going on behind the scenes. West and Sophie were in love. As happened in England among their caste during regency times, they are separated but the forces that caused that were not clear to Sophie so for years she's hated West. West planned to marry Sophie but his powerful father had other plans, especially after West was seriously wounded.

Sophie always puts her sisters front in her life. She'll do anything to ensure their happiness so when Alexandra indicates who won't marry the love of her life because she won't leave Sophie alone, Sophie devises a plan to make Alexandra believe she is marrying West so her sister will wed. Easy since she has no feeling for West, right?

Being a romance novel you can guess what comes next. It's a fun tale of two people meant for each other working their way, unknowingly, through past hurts and current issues to find they really are each other's one and only.

The story has enough going on to be interesting, well-written characters and was just a very pleasant way to spend a few hours.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Waters does it again! I INHALED this book!! A great ending to an amazing series. All lovers of the Regency Vows series have longingly awaited Sophie and West's romance as it has been hinted at over the last four books, and it does not disappoint. Waters has hit most tropes with these five romances and a fake wedding was not what I expected to be Sophie and West's, but I adored it all the same. The ending, where all of the former characters in the series meet up, was perfect and had me cheering for all of them. To Woo and to Wed was a fantastic composite of all that came before it, and I will be sad to leave these characters. However, I'm excited to see what Martha Waters has in store for us readers next!

This was a great continuation of the series that I really enjoyed. I am really glad that the characters got a second chance. Thank you for sharing. Such a sweet story.

TO WOO AND TO WED
Martha Waters

TOO WOO AND TO WED is the latest and closing installment of Martha Waters' Regency romance series. I’ve loved following the characters over the years. It’s sad to see them go but mostly, I was so excited to see how it all played out.

In TO WOO AND TO WED we are following Sophie and West. They are not new to each other they know each other very well. Newly widowed, Sophie has sworn off love and is more interested in seeing that her sister, Alexandra, is married off and settled in such a way that she can consider her duties done.

The only problem is Alexandra refuses to marry until Sophie is settled and married herself. What a quandary! Sophie convinces West to play along with a fake dating scheme to convince Alexandra that Sophie is in love and more than taken care of.

Will it work? What will happen in the meantime? Will they or won’t they again?

Only time and Martha Waters, TO WOO AND TO WED will tell.


Martha Waters turns falling in love again into a thrilling prospect. I enjoyed TO WOO AND TO WED. The number 1 fictional duo that I want to see together and live happily ever after. It stands as my favorite out of all the books in the series. I was so happy to experience all of it.

TO WOO AND TO WED helped get me in the mood for BRIDGERTON season 3 (coming May 2024!). If you’re free on Valentine's Day perhaps finish what you started with Waters so many years ago. TO WOO AND TO WED is out today!

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy!

TO WOO AND TO WED…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for this eArc copy!

The final installment of the Regency Vows series follows the Marquess of Weston and Lady Fitzwilliam Bridewell as they reunite after events involving meddling father's and near fatal accidents seven years prior set their love story off course that results in her marrying another. Now years later, widowed Sophie is concerned her widowed sister, Alexandra is holding herself back from love. And Sophie is the reason why. Determined to ensure that her sister follows her heart, Sophie concocts a scheme and proposes her plan to West--a fake engagement. If Alexandra believes that Sophie is settling down again, then she too will move on with the earl she is fond of. It's a simple plan. They announce their engagement and then break it off after Alexandra is happily married. But it's not like they will fall for each other again after all that has happened?

Sarah's thoughts: Sophie was a strong and independent FMC, who did not apologize for being who she was. West was adorable! I swooned over his inner thoughts while he tried to convince Sophie of his true love. The banter between them was addicting, which made rooting for their happy ending easy. The snippets of Harriet made her my favorite of Sophie's sisters and would love a book for her because I could only imagine how much I would laugh during it especially if people wouldn't be surprised if she would challenge someone to a duel.

While this is a part of a series, the book can stand alone. I did not once feel lost or as though I was missing as the author does an excellent job of weaving little pieces of the previous books into this one, which makes me all the more excited to read the rest of them. But I highly suggest reading the entire series!

Read if you like:
💕 Second Chance Romance
🥰 He Falls First
👯‍♀️ Scheming Sisters (& adorable sister bonding moments)
🕰️ Dual Timelines
😉Witty Friends that are more like family

I love a fake engagement, but second chances romances can be tough. Sophie annoyed me a bit with her thought process and I wanted to chuck something at her a few times – and don’t get me started on her family, but West was just as amazing as I expected him to be! From the summary, you may think there was a miscommunication, but you’d be wrong. It was angsty with banter and it was hard to put down! I giggled a lot and I almost cried, it was a fun emotional read!

I loved all the cameos from the other characters, and, of course, Cecil. So sad this series is over! I love this friendship group and we’ve been waiting for West and Sophie’s story for years. The ending did not disappoint!

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria books, and Martha Waters for the opportunity to read the ARC of ‘To Woo and To Wed’ in exchange for an honest review.

What an amazing way to end the regency vows series. As I suspected, I sped through this and finished it in two days. Throughout the series, Diana and Jeremy’s story remained my favourite (To Love and To Loathe), but this book may have made me reconsider - West and Sophie’s story was the perfect ending to this amazing series.

Suspensful, witty with a hint of nail biting drama. Martha Waters has a way of writing that makes reading feel like you are watching a movie.

Tropes included:
- fake dating (engagement)
- regency
- second chance

This book can be read as a standalone, but you’ll end up wanting to read all of them. This is a must read if you are a regency lover.

And on that note, I will be re-reading all of the books in the Regency Vows series. I’m going to miss this world so much🫶

Pub day is on February 6th 2024!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed all of the books in this series and I liked this one as much as the others! The banter was wonderful!

GENERAL INFO

To Woo and to Wed- Book #5 The Regency Vows

Year Pub/Re Pub: 2/6/24, Read 2/4/24

Format: eBook, 334 pages.

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Setting: London 1818

Genre: HR, AF

Tropes: dual POVs, fake engagement, 2nd chance romance, family drama

HEA/HFN ending: HEA

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Synopsis/Plot Summary: Sophie and West fell in love but were separated by his father's disapproval, West's accident, and her marriage to someone else. Now 7 years later, Sophie is widowed along with her sister Alexandra. She asks West to enter into a fake engagement to help her sister move on and marry.

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F

Amount of Sex In The Book: enough

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Sophie, Lady Fitzwilliam Bridewell: oldest sister

West, Marquess of Weston/John Audley: 31, walks w/ cane after accident

Duke of Dovington: West's father, dislikes Sophie

Harriet, Betsy, Maria, and Alexandra: Sophie's sisters, all married and Alexandra widowed. She's met the Earl of Blackfort (Robert) but won't marry until Sophie does.

H /h RELATIONSHIP INFO

OW/OM/Exes: Lord Willingham-had a brief affair w/ Sophie. West has sworn off love, and even told his father he was infertile just to stay unmarried

AUTHOR OVERVIEW

Martha Waters-read 3 books in the series, all 4*

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Overall Rating: 5

Do You Recommend This Book: yes

Will You Re-read This Book: yes

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes

I really enjoyed this! I haven't read the whole series yet but started it right after I finished this! My review won't be the best since I didn't get the whole story from the previous four books. Sophie and West were brilliant with a fake engagement. While I could understand some aspects with the heartbreak and tragedy, once I read about all of the characters I feel like I could love this series. A great read for historical romance lovers!

Thank you NetGalley, Martha Waters and Atria Books for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. Thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The duke falls for the viscount's daughter, and it's a fairy tale...
Until it isn't.

Sophie was in love once, with a duke's son with a charming smile and biting wit. But when an accident, a manipulative father, and a healthy dose of terror get thrown into the mix, Sophie runs. Seven years later, she is now the widowed Lady Fitzwilliam Brideswell. After her sister refuses to get married, however, because of Sophie's husbandless state, Sophie has to marry, or her sister will never experience love. And there is only one man she can turn to. Lord Weston. The man she loved and left seven years ago without so much as a by-your-leave. West has his own problems, and feigning an engagement with the woman he once wished to marry is the perfect solution- until old feelings get involved. Now, West has to fight to get the woman he's always loved to see that maybe this engagement shouldn't be so fake after all...

I adored most of the characters in this book! From West to Harriet, these characters were startingly and wonderfully real! West's determination to convince Sophie and the adorable way he just is made me fall in love with his first shot. And his valet and butler?
"Well," Hawthorne said, "I can't say I blame her. Are you certain you're worth all this?"
He is sarcastic as heck and I love him to pieces. And Harriet was so confident in herself and her position and life, completely happy to relegate her husband to the child-raising role. A feminist to the core! However, a few parts of the book were overly feministic, in retrospect, considering the time period they were supposedly living in. And while most of the characters charmed the heart right out of my chest, Sophie made me want to tear out hers and feed it to the hounds. She dragged out the whole book because she was a coward and was completely happy to be a perfect little brat. By the heavens, I wanted to punch her. Not only did she marry one of West's friends after dumping him without a word after he sustained an injury that would haunt him to the end of his days, but she married one of his friends! Then, after his friend died, she still refused to marry him and had an affair with one of his friends. Does she have some sort of fixation on sleeping her way through all of West's friends? It was disturbing and disgusting, especially when we read that West remained celibate for 4 YEARS because he felt wrong having sex with anyone other than her, whereas she had an affair with one of his friends, Jeremy, just the previous summer! It was painful, and she refused to acknowledge that she and West could have a future because she was a whining coward. I had to abandon all thoughts of more than two stars for this book, just because of her. And Diana and Maria were also equally annoying. For Diana, it was because she was unrealistic. What woman makes friends with her husband's very, very recent past lover, then teases them about their sexual past and claims she doesn't care? Maria was a hypocrite, lecturing everyone on propriety and rules when she was the reason Sophie had to leave West seven years ago because she wanted to try and compromise a duke, but instead almost ruined herself. While I enjoyed the book, these three characters so thoroughly ruined it for me, that I couldn't truly dive into the world. It's a good quick read and fun for fans of Virginia Heath and Manda Collins!

I really enjoyed this last installment of the Regency vows series. I’ve read all the books in the series and have been waiting for this couple to get their HEA for a long time!

As with all the books in the series, the banter and funny scenes make the book! Also West, as a character, is very relatable, you can’t help but feel for him.

I also liked that characters from the other books in the series were sprinkled throughout this book, so we get to revisit a few of the other couples further on in their lives.

If you are looking for a fun and entertaining Regency romance story, give this series a try!

Finally Sophie and West's book! I thoroughly enjoyed this second chance hisrom even though it got angsty in places. LOL. It was a highly satisfying conclusion to a lovely series. Hope I get to see the whole gang again soon!

Huge thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC

I have been looking forward to West and Sophie's story since book one! I think fans of the rest of the series will adore its conclusion.

In real life, I think it's pretty uncommon for people to not end up together and stay in love for years but boy am I a sucker for it in a romance book. I really enjoyed seeing things fro their perspectives and it felt like a good way to end the series, with James having the first book and West the last. I also liked that some of the hijinx that make this series fun were included in this one.

I have always loved the comedic aspects of this series as well as the witty banter and friendships. However, I have never quite gotten the swoony romantic feeling from any of these books I like in a romance. In this case, I felt like West and Sophie could have been together years earlier and they were just being stubborn. The conflict felt a bit contrived. However, if you have loved all the other books in the series I think you will love this one!

🌶️🌶️ - There are one or two steamy scenes in this book, but all but one fade to black or not super detailed.

Such a lovely end to the series. This is both a fake relationship and second chances romance, with all your favourite parts of both tropes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great conclusion to the Regency Vows series! It was cool to finally see West and Sophie's story after seeing them as side characters throughout the previous four books. Seeing Sophie as an eldest sister trying to make sure her younger sisters were okay was very satisfying as an eldest sister. I identified with her character a lot. The plot was pretty tight overall, and I liked the pacing of the story.

The Regency Vows series has been one of our favourite historical romance series we’ve read. They are all full of banter, friendly teasing, jokes, secrets and deception but most of all they are full of friends and family we loved coming back to.

We met West and Sophie early on and saw them from time to time while the other main characters fell in love. It was wonderful to finally get their back story and find out what went wrong. How did they go from being in love to avoiding each other always? Flashbacks help us fill in the blanks and we really enjoyed how they were woven into the story.

The scheme that brings Sophie and West together in present day (fake engagement) was fun especially when it started to get out of hand. Since Sophie was a widow, there were different elements in the whole story that you don’t usually find in Regency romances and it was a great twist to the usual Regency rules.

There was no third act breakup (they broke up years ago!) or miscommunication but we did learn that Sophie needed to work on her communication skills just a little bit! West was everything we wanted in a partner for Sophie (sweet, caring and charming) and we just know that they lived happily ever after!

This was the best love story to end the series with since we’ve been pining for them to get back together for a couple of books now!

Read if you like:
▪️Second chance romance
▪️Fake engagement
▪️Regency romance
▪️Delightful banter
▪️Interconnected series

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this!

I've enjoyed the rest of the series, so I was excited for this one! I *love* a second chances vibe AND a fake dating vibe and these were combined so perfectly. Every moment that played out I was like "love each other, you idiots!" and it was so fun to read.

I loved that this was second chance romance with a bit of a dual timeline showing us the beginning of their relationship. West has been my favorite character since book one so I was very excited when we got the announcement and absolutely thrilled when I recieved this arc. This book was excellent and was the perfect way to close the Regenvy Vows series.

The best of the series!

I read books 1, 2 and 5 back-to-back - I had the first two on audio and received the arc of the final book and knew I needed to finally read them to catch up. Having the background of at least those two was extremely helpful because there was a ton of foundation for this book laid. It could technically be read as a standalone, but I wouldn’t suggest not reading at least book 1.

It was fun reading about West and Sophie get their second chance after his father (the duke) threatened her many years ago when they were about to announce their betrothal, the night before West had an accident that left him with a limp and having to use a cane, and miserable (and leaving the duke to believe he couldn’t sire an heir and off to focus on his younger son, in book 2).

I enjoyed book 5 the best of these three - these characters were the most interesting and had the best backstories. Quite a good read that was very different than most romance novels out there. Definitely recommend it!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Atria Books, and this is my honest feedback.