Seven years...

West, at 24, wanted to marry Sophie. However, his father and circumstances meant that he never got his chance and Sophe wed another. Now, seven years later, she is a wdow.

I really liked both Sophie and West. I know I'm coming into this series late (this is the last book in the series) and have read several out of order. But hands down, West and Sophie were my favorite couple. They were good people, witty but dealing with his complex, difficult duke of a father who does NOT want his son and heir to marry Sophie. Like, ever,
I thought how West handled his father was mature and and not under his thumb. It was a fresh take on the normally route and boring father/son relations in Regency romances. I just really liked West.
Recommend.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars

This was just a delightful read. I’ve enjoyed the whole series, but I think the last two are my favorites.

I really enjoyed West and Sophie’s story. I’m so glad that we got their book after they were on the periphery in previous ones.

West and Sophie have been running into each other on and off for years after their missed engagement. They had such affection for each other bad and it was so sad to see how West’s father interfered. I was grateful for the alternate timelines so we got to see their interactions over the years. I loved seeing all of the couples from the previous books and see how their relationships have progressed.

I highlighted so many lines, especially when West is speaking to Sophie about his feelings. “ “If I thought there was the slightest chance that you would have me, I would be on my knees before you in an instant,” he said quietly.” West had so many swoon worthy moments. I really loved how their story was wrapped up. I also loved how they bested West’s father. I can’t wait to see what Waters writes next!

I love regency era romance and I love everything by Martha Waters, and this was no exception! Second chance romance is one of my very favorite tropes and this was done beautifully. The banter was excellent. The romance was swoony. I loved!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for the review!
Pub date: 2/6/24

Let me first say that I absolutely loved this series by Martha Waters. I've enjoyed each book so much, and I've been waiting for Sophie and West's story for so long. That said, I was thrilled when I heard that they were going to be focus of the last book. While I enjoyed the book, I was hoping for more from the couple's story. I think this is partly because the wind up to West and Sophie's happy ending has been built up so much throughout the series that I was expecting more. I hate to say it, but I was just left a little underwhelmed with how the plot progressed. Maybe its just because the other books were so well done, my standards were just a little too high haha. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

I've enjoyed the entire Recency Vows series by Martha Waters but have been waiting for Sophie and West's story from the get-go - what can I say 2nd chance romance might be a favorite of all the basic tropes. I'm a sucker for the mutual long-time pining etc. I love the intrigue that broke them apart when they were younger and the meddling intrigue by Sophie and their friends that brings them back together for this book. It was a glorious ending to a wonderful series! (Bonus for the cane rep).

4/5 Stars
2/5 Steam

A heartfelt, second chance/fake engagement Regency romance between a recently widowed lady of the ton and a disabled Duke under pressure to produce an heir. This fifth book of the Regency Vows series picks up where the last book in the series left off and features cameos from Sophie's other four sisters. I would definitely recommend reading this book after you've read the others for full enjoyment. It was excellent on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Julia Quinn or Virgina Heath. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and Simon.Audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Steam level: some open door scenes

"To Woo and to Wed: A Winning Conclusion to Regency Vows Series"

In "To Woo and to Wed" by Martha Waters, readers are treated to a delightful historical romance that tells the tale of West, a Marquess, and Sophie, a widow, who are given a second chance at love. The two were nearly engaged seven years prior, but a devastating accident and the interference of West's father, the Duke, caused their relationship to crumble. Sophie ultimately married someone else to secure her sister's marriage prospects, while West resigned himself to a life of solitude. Yet, despite their attempts to avoid each other at social events, the two couldn't help but yearn for one another.

This book is treasure trove of wit and humor, and I truly enjoyed the lively banter between the lead characters, as well as Sophie's sisters and her inner circle. Sophie and West's attraction simmers slowly, and their chemistry is plain to see for all their friends. The author's skillful execution of historical dialogue, especially in the steamy scenes, is laudable. The book's enthralling mix of "fake engagement" and "second chance" tropes is a winning formula that makes it an engaging read.

This fifth book, "To Woo and To Wed", is the highlight of the Regency Vows' series. This book is a delightful read, with Sophie finally putting herself first and West bravely confessing his love. If you're a fan of well-crafted historical romances, I highly recommend giving this novel a try.

Thank you Martha Waters and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Opinions in this review are my own.

Like always adore her books. Love the setting the story, the characters and the romance. Definitely enjoyed tremendously. Thanks for allowing me to read it

Lemme start by saying, there’s nothing sexier than a guy asking someone about a woman he’s interested in!!!

I also hate it when people interfere in a relationship that isn’t their concern. It’s half a problem when it’s a friend. It’s a bug problem when it’s a parent and BEHIND YOUR BACK

Even though this book could stand out as a standalone, I wish I had the previous books first. The characters are all familiar with each other and the situations too

The ending was a swoony one and if I knew the characters a bit more, I’m sure I would’ve fallen in love with even more. I loved the banter. The comebacks kept coming and it was hilarious

There was definitely a lot of growth with West. How he got over his grief and his pain and his guilt was very interesting to read

Sophia is a ball-breaker and I loved how hard her shell is yet very soft. Contradicting but very lovable

The fake engagement was just the right spice and spark and angst this couple needed and it was perfect

I loved this book so much but I gave it 4 stars because I felt like something was missing but I didn’t know what it was. Not sure if it’s because I didn’t read the whole series. Overall though, the book was a very worthy read

I love this series and this book is no exception.

Second chance romance at its best! Sophie thinks her sister won’t settle down until she settles down again, so she asks her old friend/love if he would fake an engagement with her. Her sister can settle down and they’ll call their engagement off…that’s the plan anyway. But old feelings and current ones make it hard for these two old friends to stay just friends.

Loved the chemistry, the story and this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

We have a lot of Thoughts about this book. First of all, this book was basically unputdownable. We both picked it up and didn't stop reading until it was over. That said, we also have issues with some of Sophie's actions. (We both gasped out loud when we found out about something she did "four years ago" in the text.)⁠
⁠
So what's the dirt? This is a second chance romance mixed with a fake engagement. West and Sophie were on the verge of getting engaged seven years ago when ~something~ happened* and they broke up. Present day, Sophie needs West to pretend that they've reconciled for wacky Romance Reasons. As they spend more time together, they start to remember how good they were, and to forget why they've stayed away for so long...
⁠
The book is written, as many second chance romances are, with dual timelines. Each chapter alternates between present day and their past. We find out exactly why Sophie ended the engagement, and even though we didn't love it, we were okay enough with it to believe they could reconnect. It's what happened FOUR years ago that really had us in a pother. Was it unforgivable? For us, yes. But, as we said in the footnote, West is an absolute saint and apparently he's still into Sophie, so we had to go along with it.

As we always note, Martha Waters has a real gift for dialogue. She never has to tell us that her characters have great banter because we can read it right there on the page!⁠ This added to our conflicted feelings: we had so much fun reading this while also kind of hating Sophie's actions. (I guess we had a lot to reconcile, just like West.)

In closing, we obviously felt very passionately about the book. And if you rate a book on how much it makes you feel, this rates VERY HIGH.

*These are not spoilers: West had a curricle accident and nearly died. He woke up from his deathbed to find that his BFF passed away and his girlfriend married another man. WEST IS A SAINT FOR EVEN TALKING TO SOPHIE AGAIN, Y'ALL.⁠

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

{3.5 stars}

This is the fifth and final installment of the Regency Vows series, we have been working through the various couples of this little group as they wrangle their way into the marriages they want. Our final couple are West and Sophie, who were a couple years ago but various circumstances kept them apart. We start in the present day and get flashes back to their initial courtship seven years ago and all the way up to today. In the current day, they agree on a fake betrothal each for their own motivations and of course along the way, realize they might still have feelings and barriers to their potential marriage.

I like the fake dating trope and the second chance romance trope. I did feel uncertain initially that the flashback model was a bit frustrating and wished we just followed them through the years in sequential order. But, it didn't keep me from reading it in only a couple sittings. Even though you know where they will end up, their twisty machinations were fun to follow. 

If you're a fan of Bridgerton, definitely check this series out. It's not as banter-y and a little less steamy but it still checks that swoony romance with strong willed, independent women box.

Thanks to Atria Books for gifted access. All opinions above are my own.

What a lovely book. It’s not all sweet and rosy but that’s what makes this story so special. There’s a lot of pain, grief, impossible love… there’s also a good amount of funny, witty banter, swoony flirting, and a pinning charming marquee.
I haven’t read the previous books in the series but if they’re all this lovely I’m in. I smiled, oohed and ahhed the whole time.
Highly recommend if you’re looking for a heart balm type of love story where fighting for the love you believe in is worth it all.

Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Intimate Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: Yes – Waters has some delightful humor and dialogue!
Perspective: third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: They are together in the prologue, and then once the current story begins, at the end of chapter 1
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, one year later

Should I read in order?
I don’t think it’s 100% necessary for rebel readers – I’ve only read one other in the series – but the family is close knit the characters do overlap in the stories. I think it will up the enjoyment to read the series in order :)

Basic plot:
Sophie realizes her sister won’t move on in love until she stops worrying about her, so she stages a fake engagement with West.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1818)
- London setting
- second chance – with a 7 year separation
- disability rep (hero has a leg injury)
- fake relationship
- widow heroine
- child free HEA
- you like the slow progression of a past relationship over flashbacks
- celibate hero
- lower to mid steam – 2 full scenes

Ages:
- I believe the hero is 31 and the heroine is 26

My thoughts:
I really enjoy Waters writing. I love her character focus and witty, funny dialogue. I love how she brings her characters to life so well. Her relationships feel so real and have such depth.

I struggled a bit with this one purely because it’s a trope I struggle with. Second chance is one of my least favorite tropes. I find it just misses a lot of what I really love in romance. I did like that this one gave us the beginning of their story. That is something I’m a bit sad if we don’t get when watching a second chance reconnection. Buuuuuut I also tend to dislike flashbacks. And their story is given throughout flashbacks throughout almost the whole story. Also, mini complaint, maybe it’s repetitive but I really like when we’re jumping time if the chapters are all labeled. For these, the past events were but then we would start the next chapter and I’d wonder for a minute if we were still in the past or present day – so I like when those are all labeled.

I loved both of these characters but did start to get a bit irritated with Sophie towards ¾ ish mark. I thought she just refusing to budge when it came to West and it was really heartbreaking to see. West was such a wonderful hero and the way he was just hurt by her over and over was frustrating – until he realizes what Sophie’s fear is. And I ended up being really placated and in love with the end of their story. Sophie’s fears made sense and made me understand why she was acting the way she was.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an arc of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I really enjoyed the Regency Vows series and have been looking forward to Sophie and Wests book since the very begging. Spice wise this one is a bit mild but because it’s a “second chance” trope I appreciated that Waters focused more on their relationship and repairing the issues that kept them apart than their attraction to one another.

Waters also does a great job making this book stand on its own. Yes, they allude to situations from previous books but it’s in conversation and just enough to understand the context of why it matters in this book.

Overall a great finale to a sweet book series. 4 stars!

- 3 stars
- 1 spice

Quick Thoughts :
- jumping back and forth in timelines out of order took me out of story
- given the nature of the “conflict/problem” the resolution was a bit underwhelming in that she suddenly and quickly re-framed her perspective
- felt like a lot of build up and the payout fizzled
- if you like Bridgerton (and are waiting for the new season to release like me), you’ll like this

What I liked :
- overall story and character development
- fake engagement but they are both in love
- witty banter and flirting


Thank you to #NetGalley for this eARC

I've enjoyed all the books in the series and this was no exception. I loved the fake engagement trope and West and Sophie. Loved that there was no true third act breakup, just fights that normal people would have and need to work through. The ending was great and was a nice conclusion to all these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

The final book in the Regency Vows series did not disappoint. At last, we have Sophie and West’s book, it was about time after reading about glance after glance throughout the series between these two. The story alternates between their perspectives, shedding light on what happened between them in the past and what is happening in the present. Seven years of love, hurt, separation, and wanting haunted both Sophie and West. This book made me fully fall in love with West and made me want to shake the living daylights out of Sophie and be like giiiirl stop already. It was the perfect ending to this series of books that we've all fallen in love with.

This was a a solid finale to Martha Waters’s Regency Vows series. I’ve been waiting for West and Sophie’s story since I read the first book. There was obviously a history between them, and one that I wanted to find out more about.

I did get to learn about Sophie and West’s past history, but it was done in flashbacks, which I really felt affected the pacing of the story. At times it really felt like it dragged. I enjoyed their shared history, though, and some of it surprised me. The angst level was higher than in the prior books in the series, and I usually go for a bit more of a lighthearted mood. I found myself downright melancholy through a lot of the story and that’s not exactly what I was looking for.

This installment was ever so slightly steamier than the previous ones, and I really felt like it worked for this particular story.

Waters does a great job crafting her characters, and it was lovely to revisit the whole cast from the previous books. The banter was, as always, top notch. I was very pleased with how Sophie and West ended up. Overall a satisfying end to a fun series.

To Woo and to Wed is the last of the Regency Vows series, and while it can be read as a stand-alone past characters show up throughout adding to the fun. Sophie and West's story is a second chance romance, in which two young people separated by interfering parents and grief find their way back together. As with all of the stories in the Regency Vows series their way to happily ever after is filled with humor and tenderness. The characters are well-developed, and the dialogue fun. I'm sorry to see the series end, but glad rereads will allow for more time in this Regency world author Martha Waters has created.