Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of Ladies in Hating.

I enjoyed the first section of this book much more than I did the last. There were so many “surprises” revealed in the last few chapters that it was hard to keep up, and I wondered why all of them were necessary.

Honestly, I would have preferred the book and the two MCs be the central focus throughout rather than adding all of this extraneous information and character upon character that served to wrap up the story yet left me feeling somewhat confused and frustrated with the end result.

What worked for me here was the push and pull between the two MCs, Cat and Georgiana. I enjoyed reading about their past together and how that was informing their present. And I thought having them share time in a “haunted” inn that was also falling apart was a good way to bring them together.

I would have enjoyed the book more had the two MCs remained rivals a bit longer than what occurs in this story. Their banter was intriguing, and I would have liked more development of their romantic interest in one another before they finally give in to it. I wouldn’t necessarily categorize this as an insta-love story because of the MCs history with one another, but their relationship in the current time did need more development.

The rivalry between Cat and Georgiana would have also made more sense if they were simply competing to sell more books rather than having this odd potential plagiarism sub-plot, which was never fully rectified to be honest. Some of the similarities within each author’s books were explained and some weren’t. This is kind of the whole premise of the book – some things are explained away and some things are not (or the explanation just left me wanting more information).

Overall, I would say that Vasti’s writing style is engaging enough to get me intrigued in the book and the two MCs from the beginning, but it wanes as the book goes on. And I wished the ending was written differently.

I expected to enjoy this book but I didn’t expect to genuinely adore it! Rivals to lovers will always be one of my favorite tropes! I enjoyed how layered and intricate the plot and characters were. I appreciate the subjects/topics is touched on as well. Will definitely be revisiting this one soon for a comfort reread!

A sapphic romance centered on two rival gothic novelists with a decade of yearning and a one bed scene. Need I say more?

I love the world Alexandra Vasti created in this series. Each of the novels had so much depth and was more than just a romance. I also enjoy reading the author’s note in every book and learning about the true events the stories were based on. I don’t know if there will be another book in this series but if there is I hope it’s about Iris!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Alexandra Vasti for an e-arc of this book!

Another engrossing novel from Alexandra Vasti. She has a wonderful way of being able to craft a story where the characters are flawed, complex, and simply human, which even at their most frustrating you root for them to grow and fall in love. Cat and Georgie are equally stubborn and flawed but when they finally come together (pun intended? I’ll never tell) realise that they enhance each other and they grow.

The candour of the challenges but also the joy of being queer in the Regency period gives the book the right amount of realism. And I absolutely loved the Gothic themes throughout and the supporting characters that aren’t props but enhance the story and the main characters.

Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the review in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Yall already know that I'm Alexandra Vasti's number one fan. Yall already know this is going to be a glowing review. But oh my goodness, the way I LOVED THIS with my entire heart surprised even me.

This book is a masterclass in "it's always been you." Georgiana's heart has belonged to Cat since the day they met and to see the depths in which this unfurls throughout the book with simple truths is breathtaking.

I didn't think Arthur could be beat in his yearning and terms of endearments but goodness gracious Cat Lacey, the woman that you are! The gentle care she showed Georgie, the patience, the love.

I think my favorite thing about Vasti's writing is that no matter how insurmountable the obstacles seem, everything is believable in the resolution. I never once doubt that they will absolutely find a way to be together without sacrificing anything important and I believe, with my entire heart, that they're going to be happy for the rest of their lives.

It's so wonderful to see these two smart, brave, QUEER women live their life against everything thrown at them. Vasti's acknowledgments shine a light on the fact that queer people have always been around and deserve a safe space to be happy. I want to thank her, from the bottom of my heart, for writing this story. For giving a voice to these two ladies and making sure they got their happy ending.

I am so sad to see this series come to an end. What a special honor it has been to meet all these characters and fall in love with their stories. I can't wait to re-read this closer to publication date.

Ladies in Hating has a charming premise and plenty of witty banter, making it an enjoyable read for fans of historical romance. Alexandra Vasti’s writing is engaging, and the chemistry between the leads is well-developed. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic is filled with tension and humor, which kept me entertained.

However, the pacing felt uneven at times—some parts dragged while others felt rushed. Additionally, while the romance was compelling, certain character motivations and conflicts could have been explored more deeply. It was a fun book overall, but it didn’t quite reach the level of a must-read for me.

If you love slow-burn romance with a touch of humor, this one is worth checking out, but it might not be for everyone!

Thank you netgalley and publishers for this arc.

This was only my second sapphic novel, and first historical one. I found the romance to be tasteful and an enjoyable read. The mystery and little bit of suspense in the story helped keep things moving. It was a fun read. I didn't realize this was the 3rd in the series until I read the notes at the end, so certainly reads as a standalone.

Would give this 2.5 🌶

This was such a good book. I thought it was cute, romantic, and adventurous all wrapped into one. The cover really caught my attention so I was happy that the book was equally as wonderful.

This third book in the Lending Library series is an exciting gothic rivals to lovers historical romance. Thus was an entertaining forced proximity story with witty banter, delicious passion, and interesting characters. It was very emotional and engaging. I highly recommend reading.

I liked this novel a lot. There was a lot going on, with several layers of plot and character, and overall, it was a very satisfying read. I would happily read more from this author. I would say my main takeaway from this novel was that it was a lot of fun, with some more serious elements woven through it in a way that added considerable depth without bringing down the overall vibes. It was well paced and full; characters, settings, plotlines, etc.

I didn’t realize this was book 3 in a series, and I have not read the prior two books. I can say that to the best of my knowledge that wasn’t a problem; I was never confused or lost in a way you sometimes are when joining a series part way through. There were some references to past events that might have been from prior novels, however it was done in a way that gave me all the information I needed (while wanting to read more….).

My rating: “A-“
Converted Rating: 5-Stars

Highlights:
-The plot in this novel just kept moving. Nothing dragged, but also the plot “covered a lot more ground” than I expected. I’m not sure how else to phrase that… I know what I mean! The plot wasn’t what I expected going in (that blurb could be better honestly!) and in the end a lot more happened than I expected. This is a good thing though as I liked where the story went.
-This was some excellent writing, particularly with regards to mapping out the storyline. I am a stickler for plot holes or inconsistencies, and this novel left me feeling very satisfied. Great foreshadowing, no dropped details or plotlines, and everything comes full circle in a way that shows this story was intentionally planned as opposed to just winging it like *soooooome* people……
-There is a cute dog named BACON! Who is involved through the entire novel.
-The early parts of this novel were simply fun. There were some scenes that particularly delighted me, which I can’t discuss because apparently people care about spoilers. Ill just say there is hijinks and some “coincidences” that were fun to see play out.
-There was some excellent queer representation in this novel. I don’t just mean that “queer people were on the page”, but there was a section in the novel where it was discussed how important it can be for queer people (especially young ones) to see examples of people like them in media, art, and the real world; how impactful and important that can be on a person.
-The characters were a lot of fun. Both protagonists were well written and developed.

Nitpicks:
-Spoiler: The conflict in this novel was a clear example of “negative motivation” which is always less satisfying for me. There was a lot of other elements to this novel, but the romance conflict was basically just one character refusing to let themselves be happy….until they change their mind. Rather unsatisfying as motivations/plotlines go. Thankfully that wasn’t nearly the entire dynamic going on, so the rest of the novel made up for this.
-Serious lack of communication between protagonists! Not in a reasonable and realistic way, as much as a plot-contrived and annoying way.
-Ok so that blurb for the novel?? In some ways its accurate, but in others….. this could use a rework in my opinion

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.

Alexandra Vasti is an auto-read author for me and she once again delivers a fun, adventurous love story. Cat and Georgiana have fantastic chemistry; their romance was well developed and gave me all the feels. There were multiple mysteries and a haunted house to give the Gothic vibes the ladies were famous for writing. Highly recommend!!

This was a fun regency era sapphic romance with a fun ghost story/mystery plot. I wish the author would have leaned more into the gothic manor setting and built more atmosphere and tension. Instead, we focused more on the romance, which was cute, but was very much an insta-love situation. Overall, a quick and entertaining read. I think if you're a fan of cozy style romances, you'll enjoy this one!

I absolutely adored Cat and Georgie! The story was great and I certainly did not predict the ending! It was a beautiful combination on thrill, angst, yearning, and romance. I loved the communication between Georgie and Cat. The anxiety they both shared. 10/10 I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy once this is officially out! Thank you for the opportunity to view it early.

Queer gothic historical romcom about rival novelists… that was all I needed to know.

I have not read the previous two books in the series, but this works easily as a standalone. There were aspects of the setting and minor characters that I could tell I did not have the full history of, but there were never times of confusion that would hinder my complete understanding of the plot and main characters.

This was a lot of fun and everything I want out of a historical romance—low stakes, swoony romance, and a fast pace; but what surprised me was how much I loved the prose. It was somewhat simplistic but at the same time very visual. The setting of the mansion was beautiful and I loved every moment in the library & garden.

I admit, though, that I did not like the time spent with the side characters or the side plot. I could not bring myself to care about Cat’s brother or the mystery involved with him and the mystery involved in the mansion. I thought the story was about to end near the 75% mark but it just seemed to keep going on in an effort to set up the next novel. I just cared about the girls and how their books were going to turn out. The mystery with the mansion seemed like it should have been a bigger deal, but no one seemed as concerned about it as you would think. A little confusing to me.

I really hope this author plans to write more sapphic historical romance in the future because I’d be interested to read something by this author again. (I can’t do straight romances anymore guys… you know my attitude toward male book characters is the same as my attitude toward male Sims).

Vasti does it again with a delightful romance involving subterfuge, Gothic mansions crumbling, and heroines with a convuluted past. As always, Vasti's characters contain secret identities. I loved that we didn't have to wait for any reveals--the fun is in how they deal with these identities, not in figuring them out! The addition of loving and kind side characters makes the world feel flushed out. I hope Vasti continues the series--although it says it is the last one, we need Iris' story!

As always, this book is a great one for fans of historical romance with modern attitudes and delightful heroines. Fans of Evie Dunmore, Mimi Matthews, and Tessa Dare will adore this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I got into it expecting a rivals to lovers romance, which this did provide, but it underperformed in that aspect by resolving the rivalry too early. It was confusing as to what genre this was trying to be, because while the romance was obvious it seemed to flirt with the idea of being a mystery without actually providing on that.

The plot itself was a bit weak in my opinion, and while it did manage to tie up loose ends in the end, it could have been handled a lot better. The story felt somewhat scattered brained.

I enjoyed the characters and felt they were true to themselves throughout, but I wish they were a bit more fleshed out. The romance aspect was explored well enough, and the sex scenes were good. Especially the bath tub scene.

One thing that I find annoying was the author’s overuse of pronouns. Looking at her work, this does appear to be her first same sex pairing, so I can grant some leeway there, but do expect frequent usage of names instead of pronouns.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, but I don’t feel like it properly delivered on the premise, and it left me somewhat underwhelmed.

I really enjoyed that we got a sapphic romance as the third installment in this series. Cat and Georgiana are both authors who keep unwittingly writing books with very similar details and storylines and in the process get caught up in a gothic mystery and falling in love. I personally like it when the romantic leads have a bit of an existing backstory to build off of, rather than trying to develop a relationship from the ground up on page one, and the history between Cat and Georgie added an interesting context and tension to the relationship as they got to know each other once more. The other thing I like about Vasti's writing and this series that continues in this book is that each story has a compelling subplot to keep the action and relationship moving forward without having to revolve the central conflict around the love interests having a late stage fight through some miscommunication. Altogether a really fun read with believable heroines and a compelling love story.

i love Alexandra's writing style. her craftsmanship has always been amazing and ladies in hating did not disappoint. the plot, characters and storytelling was done perfectly. we need more sapphic romances.

This book was a really easy read & I enjoyed myself reading it. That being said it wasn’t super compelling, I don’t know exactly what it was but I didn’t find myself interested in the way I wanted to be. It felt slow I guess?I loved the attraction that built between Cat and Georgie because it felt so sincere and I especially loved the crush that Georgie harbored for Cat for all those years.

This book was special because it’s not something you see celebrated in mainstream historical romance novels & everyone deserves to see themselves in every genre of literature, even if it isn’t historically “accurate”. It’s what so much of this book is about, how queer stories most definitely existed but were lost to time because of the nature of this society.

Overall it was an enjoyable enough read!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Alex Vasti writes the perfect kind of romance- sweet and swoony, with just enough conflict to keep us angst lovers interested. Cat and Georgiana are absolutely precious together, and I could’ve spent 1,000 pages reading about their gothic manor and Bacon the dog.