I picked this book without realizing it was the third book in a trilogy and I liked it so much that I absolutely will be reading the first 2 books in this universe.

This book went from oh so sweet kicking my feet because I love it so much to steamy spice I'm a little embarrassed to be reading this in public please don't read over my shoulder. The yearning was felt but not drawn out. The relationship felt realistic and satisfying.

I especially loved that there was also a little mystery at the heart of the story, I kept saying "just one more chapter" a lot.

Thank you St Martin's Press and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Alexandra Vasti has done it again. This novel has humor, love, frustration, acceptance, and incredibly detailed world building. It was everything I didn't know I needed in a queer gothic historical romance and it's easily my favorite of the Belvoir’s Library trilogy.

I love when a romance is written by an author who knows what they’re doing. This was delightful. The right balance of romance, adventure/plot, character work and historical writing. The tone is both energetic, romantic and pining while maintaining the atmosphere and the story. I am considering reading the other books in this series.

Georgiana and Cat are rivals Gothic novelists (although the rivalry doesn’t last for long), who end up at the same haunted castle as they try to make sense of their situations. Georgiana had a teenage crush on Cat (I wish we had been given a little more details about it) and a lot of guilt regarding everything that has happened since.

Their dynamic is great, the have the right amount of tension/rivalry mixed with attraction and their past crush makes it more believable.

I love how the author’s note detailed the references to queer history I caught when reading and it subverted my fear that this story would have felt disconnected from queer history.

Ladies in Hating is a sapphic historical romance that is beautifully told. The characters have great tension and real depth to the concerns/issues that they are facing. I appreciated the historical facts that were sprinkled in the novel. The settings in which the novel takes place were well described. The plot was well structured with good pacing. I found Alexandra Vasti’s writing to be easy to read, funny and at times thought provoking. This was a fun and quick read.

I enjoyed the author’s note at the end that illuminated on the history that inspired parts of the novel as well. I love the fact that stories like these are so readily available now, that instead of just viewing LGTBQ+ as a modern development we are able to say this is in our history.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!

In truth, I had a harder time getting into Georgiana's story than I expected. Her character is so mysterious through the first two books in the Belvoir's Library series. I loved the versatility of her personality between the baffling, air-headed debutante to the resourceful detective in Scotland and I loved the outright defiance of her independence. So I was confused on why I struggled to latch quicker onto her narrative. In truth, I think there might be a little too hyper fixation on her the similarities between her and Lady Darling's works. My anxiety was triggered trying to puzzle through that mystery and it detracted from the romance plot line.

The romantic intrigue between the two authoress' is the core heart of the story. Do not confuse my review. I love this story. I love the representation and I love the parallels to documented history. However, there was so MUCH that could have been amplified "Ladies in Hating". I wanted WAY more ghost encounters, I wanted to have more context to Luna's & Sophia's life. The mysterious murder! Cannot believe that was callously ignored for chapters and then put to bed with a few short sentences of dialogue. Ambrose, Percy, Edith! They all needed a bit more than they got. I'm INVESTED.

Not to deviate too far from my point, but also the author's note mentions that this is the finale in the Belvoir's series. That is unacceptable. Iris has been patiently waiting through THREE books. What about her and Will??? Utterly unacceptable.

My point it, I'm invested in this world. I love the women. I love the context and color Vasti's author's note brings to her universe. I am here for more of it whenever she's ready.

This was such a good book. I love a little mystery with my romance, and this definitely did both super well. The gothic Bridgerton vibes had me sucked in from chapter one and the romance kept me blushing. I came for the cute cover and fun. Title, ate it up in a day, and will definitely check out this authors other books!❤️

After my request for this sapphic regency romp was fulfilled, I was quick to read the first two books of Belvoir’s Library in preparation for this read. While regency era romance is not my usual go-to, I was drawn to this series and all three books have been absolute delights! The third installment is the first queer romance and, as a bisexual reader, I loved how seamlessly it fits with the first two. As cliche as it sounds, love is love!!! Regency romance is synonymous with yearning and this book has no exceptions. Georgiana and Cat’s relationship builds from their past to their present in a beautiful way. If you love books about books, sapphic love, regency vibes, and both cheeky and steamy writing, read this. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for access to this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very cute, low stakes, historical romance. It was a bit too slow paced for me personally, but it is very cozy and sweet. The mysterious/supernatural elements added to the story for me because the romance felt a bit slow to start. Overall, I enjoyed the cute, flirty banter and I always appreciate happy queer historical romances. This will definitely be a hit with a lot of my fellow romance girlies!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an E-Arc!!

WOW! This story was so good, I loved every second of it. There wasn’t a dull moment in my eyes when it comes to the plot. The queer representation is immaculate and I never have loved a book as much as I love this one.

Ladies in Hating by @alexandravasti follows the story of Georgiana and Cat, two fiercely competitive Gothic novelists who find themselves trapped in an eerie mansion that is to be the backdrop for their latest works. As they navigate the tension of their rivalry in close quarters, they are forced to confront their animosity as well as the simmering passions, desires, and perhaps even love that lie beneath the surface.

Vasta’s writing is sharp and hilarious, with moments that had me literally laughing out loud. The book has an interesting mystery element — the two women work to uncover secrets about the mansion’s history and the ghost that might still haunt it.

In addition to this intrigue, the tension between Georgiana and Cat is palpable, and watching their simmering feelings finally come to a head was a beautiful experience. I love that the two have a strong sexual chemistry, but the story is much more than lust. They help each other grow emotionally as they heal from their complicated pasts.

Ladies in Hating is a delightful, funny, and passionate read. I highly recommend for anyone who loves a good enemies to lovers, an adorable dog named Bacon, and a puzzle to solve along the way.

I had no idea this was the third book in the series. I had no trouble following along. I love a good enemies to lovers story!

It was a little slow in the beginning but then it picked up and I couldn’t put it down. I normally don’t pick up historical romances but I still enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed the ending. Alexandra’s writing is really good. I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.

Thank you NetGalley, Alexandra and St. Martins Press for the eARC!

Rating:✨✨✨
Publication Date: September 23 2025

I stayed up too late reading this. It was beautifully written, and I adored Georgiana and Cat. I loved the different ways family happened in this book, and the gorgeous ghost story behind it all.

This book has rich, historically-informed details, poetic moments, and a compelling sapphic love story that kept me curious even though enemies to lovers isn’t my favorite trope. How the main dog of the story gets portrayed has stayed with me! I appreciated the care taken with portrayals of trauma too.

4.5 ⭐️ Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this ARC! Ladies in Hating follows rival gothic authors, Lady Georgiana and Catriona. Georgiana has noticed that her novels and the novels of the anonymous Lady Darling have too many similarities to be a coincidence and sets out to find her, only to discover that Lady Darling is Catriona, her childhood crush. As they race each other to various research sites for their next novels, their continued run-ins turn from antagonistic to affectionate, culminating in an accidental cohabitation at a crumbling haunted estate. It’s swoony, spooky, and utterly charming!

The good:
-The character development! Watching Georgiana learn to trust and Catriona learn to be patient was lovely, their dual character growth was the highlight of the book for me
-The spooky gothic setting, I love a romance with some light haunting and I loved that the MCs could bond over their shared passion
-I loved that the main conflicts didn’t come from homophobia and that the MCs had supportive family and friends
-The mystery about the sapphic former owner of the estate was a beautiful and tragic parallel to Georgiana and Catriona’s story that I really enjoyed
-I loved how well-researched it was into Regency and Victorian LGBTQ+ history

The bad:
-It was too short, I felt like the mystery especially could have been more fleshed out, it was wrapped up really quickly and was a bit hard to follow
-I also would have enjoyed if Yorke’s role and motivation were more expanded on, he felt like a big part of the story that also was wrapped up too quickly at the end
-Their internal voices as the narrator weren’t quite as distinct as I would have liked, sometimes it was hard to tell who was narrating at first

The swoony:
-The tension was so great and I was kicking my feet when they finally got together!
-Rivals to lovers where one or both of them is secretly pining is one of my favorite tropes and I thought this was perfect
-I loved how sweet and supportive they were to each other
-The happy ending in the epilogue!

This was so cozy and romantic and I loved it!

This was aa really fun book with an interesting plot, and I really enjoyed the story arcs. The ending came a bit out of left field and I didn't feel super satisfied with it, but it didn't ruin the story for me, regardless. One thing about this book was that while it was fun, it just felt incredibly average. Like I enjoyed reading it but I know I'll forget everything about it in a couple weeks, y'know?

That being said I really appreciated the authors clear research on the time and the context of the story, it was really fun to see.

This was a cute rivals to lovers gothic story with themes of acceptance and family. The book started out strong for me as I loved their bickering and rivalry, however the book started losing me after they returned home and began discovering things about a certain inheritance. It felt a little chaotic and unbalanced with a romance to dive into, family mysteries, and a haunted house, not to mention their personal issues. Despite that I still think it was a solid book and I'd recommend it to anything that's into gothic sapphic novels.

Cute, but left me a bit incredulous, more so than even the most coincidence-dependent romances.
Vasti's writing continues to be full of warmth and love, and it's impossible not to give a little piece of your heart to her characters (protect Jem at all costs)!
What kept me from REALLY losing myself in this third installment of the Belvoir's Library series was the set up. It strained even my fairytale-loving mind that both Catriona and Georgina would embark on the same career paths, at the same time, and include such similar details of their lives, especially when writing fiction. No romance novel expects you to swallow everything hook-line-and-sinker, but this one, more than others in the series, took me out of the world when it didn't need to.
The s*x was fire though.

What a delight! I loved this continuation of the series!

I was not expecting to enjoy the miscommunications and wrong assumptions nearly as much as I did! I usually find it really frustrating when characters leap to (wrong) conclusions and don't communicate with each other, but in Ladies in Hating, it not only establishes the dynamic between the two main characters, as they get to know each other again more, they clear up more and more and more of the misunderstandings as the story goes along.

I also unexpectedly enjoyed the awkwardness of the interactions between Georgiana and Cat, especially in the beginning, and the softening of their regard for each other as walls started to come down. There were some real, difficult reasons for why they each are the way they are, and the vulnerability that came over time was delightful.

Not only that! Some of the secondary and tertiary characters made me laugh out loud as motivations are revealed toward the end! (No spoilers.)

Much thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book!!

This is a series of interconnected standalones that you can, for the most part, read on their own. However, I really think that you need to read Ne’er Duke Well before Ladies in Hating or you will be well and truly confused. You definitely don’t need to read Earl Crush to follow along, but that’s my favorite in the series so why would you skip it?? You hate me, is that it?

Let’s get into the review:

★ Queer Love and Resilience | This book genuinely felt like such a pure a celebration of queer love, as well an assertion that queer love HAS existed and will ALWAYS exist in this world. It made for such an emotional read, as in I was openly sobbing my way through one particular chapter. Even the Author’s Note made me cry — Alexandra Vasti always pulls in real historical details to bring her books to life, and reading about the queer folks before me that inspired this story was such a powerful experience.

★ The Spice | First of all, you know a book is good when multiple reviews reference “the [blank] scene,” and Vasti has definitely carved out her spot in that lineup. The intimate moments of this story felt soft and decadent. There were moments I felt like we needed to get back to the plot, but the writing of the scenes themselves was excellent as always.

★ The Plot | Something I loved about the previous books in the series is the way Alexandra Vasti creates both a compelling romance and a propulsive plotline. The relationships in her books feel so real and earned, which perfectly balances how wild/zany her plots can get. This is the first book in the series that I feel lost that balance. Honestly, it felt like a lot of the plot happened off-page to side characters that we know relatively little about, and Georgiana and Catriona mostly experience the side-effects of that plot. The conclusion itself felt unearned for me, as the plot’s resolution was mostly due to the actions of others or things simply working out.

★ The Conflict | Most of the conflict between the love interests comes from Georgiana’s own fears, and it often felt like Catriona’s arc was left to the side. There is some inital butting-of-heads, but once Catriona starts to understand Georgiana, a lot of that tension dissipates. I love the idea of someone understanding you so fully that they can look past your worst habits and find the real you — but the transition to this understanding happened much too early in the book for me.

I struggled to rate this one and am tentatively rating it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I adored the celebration of queer love and resilience, the heart-clenchingly romantic prose, and all the chapters set in the Gothic manor. Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with the romance and found myself disappointed in the plot. Had I not already been so deeply in love with Vasti’s other works, I’m not sure I would have finished this one.

I would definitely recommend you still try it, especially if you enjoyed the other books. I certainly feel like an outlier.

Between the adorable cover and the premise of a sapphic regency romance featuring two rival gothic novelists in a potentially haunted house, I was immediately sold on Ladies in Hating despite not having read Ne'er Duke Well or Earl Crush.

Although I did, generally speaking, enjoy the time I spent on this book, I'm not sure it fully lived up to my expectations. In theory, this book had so many elements that should've worked for me: regency lesbians, haunted houses, forced proximity, and rivals to lovers. In practice, the execution didn't quite showcase those elements to the extent to which I'd hoped. Although I've seen some reviewers say that the first portion of the book started off a bit slow for their tastes, the first portion was actually the part I enjoyed most. I enjoyed Georgiana's snark and frustration when discussing the suspiciously similar plot lines, character names, and titles between her own books and another author's, and I was excited to see how those feelings progressed and changed over time as she got to know Cat. However, because you quickly find out that Georgiana and Cat knew one another as teenagers and both harbored secret feelings for the other, the "rivalry" between them faded almost immediately, replaced by their rekindled romantic attraction. While isn't was technically insta-love given their history, it didn't seem like there was enough development or depth in their adult relationship for me to be fully invested in their supposed feelings for one another. They were cute, and I did want them to end up together, but I also wanted a bit more from the story to convince me they really were in love.

Because the "rivals" aspect of Georgiana and Cat's relationship was resolved so early on, much of this book focused on a variety of other things that, quite frankly, I found a little difficult to follow. I'm still not 100% positive I understand whether or not the house was haunted or why Yorke sent both Georgiana and Cat to the house in the first place. The numerous surprises and reveals toward the end sometimes felt a bit too convenient to really make sense, and it was a lot of information about a lot of different things to try to digest in a short period of time. I would have preferred for the book to have focused more on Georgiana and Cat's developing relationship and their work as authors than for it to have forked off in so many different directions, even if only for the sake of it having been a little easier to follow.

That being said, I did enjoy Vasti's writing style, which I found wry and funny and witty. Both Georgiana and Cat were enjoyable MCs despite my wishing for a bit more depth from them as a couple. I loved Bacon, Georgiana's dog, as well as the many side characters who were aware and supportive of Georgiana and Cat's relationship. Although my enjoyment of this book waned a bit as it went on, I did have a perfectly pleasant time overall. I'm always excited to see more sapphic historical romance and would read another one from this author if she were to publish additional books that fell into that category, whether they were in this series' universe or not.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.