Thank you Atria for the gifted copy of this book.

A fun and light Regency Romance that I breezed through in two days. I enjoyed the banter and chemistry between Jeremy and Diana, and the enemies to lovers trope is a favorite of mine. The regency time period is one I don't often read, but it was an enjoyable story.

"She had decided long ago that she wouldn't let anything so foolish as her heart have any part in deciding whom she married."

To Love and To Loathe is a delightful historical romcom that I devoured in a single day. It's the second in The Regency Vows series but works as a stand alone. I hadn't read the first book, To Have and To Hoax, and it didn't affect my enjoyment of this one at all.

Martha Waters writes wonderful banter and I found myself laughing at loud more than once at the barbs that fly between the widowed Diana, Lady Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham, frenemies who find themselves entangled during a fortnight-long house party at Jeremy’s country estate. Both Diana and Jeremy are layered characters whose motivations ring true, and the secondary characters around them are also colorful and well-developed. There's not a lot of steam but the plot is fast-paced and has more depth than I was expecting.

I just bought To Have and To Hoax and can't wait to read more from Waters. If you're a fan of Bridgerton, you should add To Love and To Loathe to your TBR!

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an advanced copy to review!

Lady Diana Templeton and Jeremy, the Marquess of Willingham, were childhood friends, known for quarreling and jabbing at one another. Now, Diana is a wealthy young widow with no intentions of marrying again and Jeremy is a philanderer who has gotten himself some bad reviews in the bedroom.

A group of family and friends converge at Elderwild, Jeremy’s estate, for a two-week-long house party. Per usual Diana and Jeremy are stabbing at each other, resulting in a wager on whether Jeremy will marry in the next year or not. But Jeremy makes a further illicit proposal. Jeremey and Diana should become lovers, but only to benefit each other’s cause. Diana can offer Jeremy womanly tips in the bedroom and Diana will look like she’s open for business to other gentleman suitors. Diana agrees, but she continues to push suitors Jeremy’s way to win her bet. Everyone seems to have their own motives here, but can emotions be controlled in this tangled ruse?

I don’t read many regency romances, but this turned out to be an engaging read. There is great banter along with some saucy discussions about sex. And I loved Jeremy’s grandmother, the Dowager. I couldn’t help but picture the Dowager from Downton Abbey; quite the boss.

Thank you to @atriabooks and @netgalley for this #gifted arc.

This book is available on April 6, 2021.

This historical rom com is the perfect cross between sassy and romantic. Diana and Jeremy cannot stand each other but decide to enter into a mutually beneficial friends with benefits relationship. Although the friends part may be questionable especially as those feelings start to grow into something more…and everyone can see it but themselves. This book is perfect for fans of Bridgerton. Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was the very first book that I have read from this author and I'm so glad that I took a chance on her and the series because this really was just so much fun.

The banter between these two was definitely tension filled in all the very best ways and the enemies to lovers trope has always been a favorite of mine. Through in some hijinks, things not always going as planned and some deep seeded passion and you had one heck of a read all set in a time of place that was magical.

Such a fun read that lets you get away for a few hours and be transported somewhere else, into a much simpler time and into a steamy romance that anyone is sure to love.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars
Publication Date: 4/6/21

To Love and to Loathe is another regency romcom from the author of To Have and to Hoax and I ADORED it. It is even better than To Have and to Hoax in my opinion and that is because of Diana, Lady Templeton. She was my favorite character in To Have and to Hoax and I am so glad she got her own story.

I read this in between binge-watching Bridgerton and Sanditon and it was the perfect pairing for the shows. Martha Waters writes the best banter and makes the most of the enemies-to-lovers trope. Diana and Jeremy have amazing chemistry and every scene with them is equally hilarious and swoonworthy. Both of their characters get fleshed out in this book and Jeremy turns out to be the sweetest rake there ever was. It was so cute and cozy to watch them slowly realize that they (*gasp*) love each other.

Overall, To Love and to Loathe is another regency romance hit from Martha Waters that is perfect for fans of Bridgerton. I now demand a sequel with Emily and Belfry.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well hello To Love and to Loathe! Last year in the midst of the hellscape that was our sinking pothole of a year, I discovered To Have and to Hoax and have since returned to its pages enough times to get super duper excited for Waters to continually embroider her well-defined and immersively researched historical world.

And here we have Diana and Jeremy who love each other obviously but mostly hate each other in public and verbally spar their way across country house parties until Jeremy needs a favour from Diana: one that will spend all of the pent up energy of their famed bickering and where the intimate scenes often cultivate the climax of the plot: Here they serve as a way to drain the air of the hero and heroine's physical tension so that Waters can focus on her commentary of the foibles and triumphs of Regency rules and strip back the complicated layers of her well-defined hero and heroine.


Diana has agency in a period where we see women as bartering tools and Waters flips the usual social conventions, parlays and plans so that the woman has her own ways to play the marriage market. In a trope that often sees wagers and bets tilt a nod at misogyny ( I hate the competitive She's all That Trope), Waters ensures that both have equal footing: yes they are both coming together with a few limitations of marriage and money-- but never once does Jeremy lord over.



As in the first, Waters embraces genre tropes while finding a fun and deliciously wry way to irreverently own them. She does this by placing intelligent people in typical historical settings and letting the dialogue and sexual tension blaze between them.

There is a continual spark and flint that under a lesser skilled pen could merely be a shouting match but Waters' skill for panning the depths of human vulnerability and hope help turn it into something far more layered: it's a portal for unspoken passion, a stand in for the words we know they are on some level aching to tell each other and a competent intricate dance that keeps them both equals throughout the course of their schemes and intentional dalliances.

The sacrifices they are willing to make for each other through our modern lens might seem trivial yet given their social positioning and era are quite wonderfully swoony. And I never use the word swoony. So I was tickled pink.

One of the delights of discovering Waters' first book was discovering the author herself who is a learned and voracious romance reader whose books far beyond her own are ones I seek due to her impeccable taste and recommendations. That's one wonderful thing about access to a writer: with their reading list they give you a special portal to their influences, favourites and preferred tropes. Here, Waters draws on so many tenets of the genre she loves while wielding her established and strong voice to make them her very own. Nothing is a copy, yet an homage but if you want to imagine Anthony's turmoil in The Viscount Who Loved Me with the emotional weight and consideration for the role it plays in Mary Balogh's Slightly Dangerous. If you want to feel the dialogue spark like a well-rehearsed scene trod on the boards in Lucy Parker's Act Like It all while melting into our seat as we do when a small gesture reverberates a la Kate Clayborn --- then do!

With Waters we get the high points of every great romantic feel and it is to my utmost delight that Waters meets every last of my personal quota for rapturous sighs and constant highlighting. Every quip is a delightfully snortle-worthy surprise and every tender moment, realization of grief and insecurity and slow step to shedding armours of self preservation on both parties a great verbal caress.


I freaking love Diana and Jeremy to the skies. A sexy, smart and knowing wink at the genre deftly moulded into an author's embrace of a genre she loves. And man! It loves her back!




quotes!

"His words fell heavily into the silence between them like rocks dropped into a still pond. He didn't even wish them unspoken. It was an enormous relief to have them out in the open rather than at the tip of his tongue, threatening to spill out each time he spoke to her.


"I have feelings for you. No, I think I love you--or at least I hope I do, because if anything less than love is causing me this degree of emotional turmoil, then I assure you I have no interest in the real thing."

"A few kisses and suddenly he was contemplating ears? And hands, as he learned over the course of a rather lugubrious cell performance, an ensemble piece that he thought was supposed to be Mozart, and some remarkably energetic fluting. And shoulders. And most pathetic of all --elbows."


"She'd seen the real Jeremy the man behind the flirtation and good cheer and reckless charm and she loved him anyway."


(also shared on instagram, twitter and fb)

Widow Lady Templeton wants to flirt and be subject to no one’s whims. She has a title and is fairly wealthy. She lacks experience despite what her flirtatious reputation implies. Enter Jeremy the Marquess of Willingham who needs practice after a bad critique of his performance in the bedroom. Basically he wants to erase the bad memories, build up his confidence, and continue with his philandering ways and she wants to quietly spread that she is open for similar liaisons with a lover. So they strike a deal to have a brief affair.

This was a quick and fun read with relatively little angst. It was actually sweet.

There has always been a spark between them but because of misunderstandings they have been more frenemies than friends. It is fun to read their bickering and arguments and one-upmanship with each other. Their relationship is honest and fun. With this arrangement they have agreed upon the business of it all starts to make way for chances to open up to each other and be more than someone to banter with. It is refreshing and both characters grow and are not afraid to apologize and admit their mistakes.

I recommend reading this for their banter and chemistry.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

DNF

I got about halfway through the novel before I finally just had to stop and put it down. I liked it at the beginning, the whole bet and then the pact were intriguing but I just grew bored quickly and wasn’t enjoying the story. I like the characters but they weren’t enough to keep my attention and keep me wanting to pick this book up.

So, unfortunately, this one is a DNF. I still see its appeal though! And will definitely still recommend it to those I think are better suited for it!

Diana, Lady Templeton is a widow known for her filrtation and banter with Jeremy the Marques of Wilingha. When they're at a ball one evening they're ribbing hits new levels when they make a wager, Jeremy will marry within the year or Diana owes him 100 pounds.

A few days after Jeremy secretly approaches Diana for another proposition, one a bit more exciting. After having his bedroom performance critiqued by his latest lover Jeremy is looking for reassurance that he actually knows how to pleasure a woman. He offers to enter into an affair with Diana so he can get critiqued on his lovemaking skills while she will become known among the ton gentleman that she's looking to take a new lover.

This was a fast paced read in parts but slow in others, overall it was very fun, lighthearted and I've heard it described as cheeky and I'd say that's very accurate.

But the writing style really rubbed me the wrong way. It felt like it was trying too hard to be a "modern" historical romance and a lot of the banter and dialog just felt over the top to me. It leaned heavily into the rom com side but it didn't quite pull it off in my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars

While I loved the set up of this book, it failed to deliver as expected.

I’m a huge fan of “relationship coach” romance books as I call them where one character is a bit inept in the ways of the bedroom and finds he/she needs some tips from another. I loved how the rake with quite the reputation is the one who’s skills are called into question in this book!

Unfortunately, while this was the reason for Jeremy and Diana’s tryst, it took a back seat for most of the book. I wanted more attempts at lessons but we got TWO!

If there was more to this “relationship coach” aspect to the story, I think it would give more opportunities to grow their connection and feelings for each other which instead took a 180 degree turn in mere days after two lackluster evenings together. More would have made this about face believable in both characters, especially when other storylines detracted from this plotline.

Plus, I really liked their banter and more of these coaching scenes would have been perfect fodder for this great banter!

While Waters is a skilled writer, I also felt that the book got a bit wordy at times to the point I found myself skipping sentences to get to the point.

Diana’s friends’ issues were intriguing (I did not read the first book in this series which was Violet’s story and I see a third book coming to give Emily’s story), but the whole business with Diana trying to set Jeremy up with Lady Helen got annoying and repetitive.

As for the main characters themselves, I liked the backstories for Diana and Jeremy and their reasons for shunning matrimony but they were only briefly discussed and eclipsed by the other needless storylines when they could have been more prominent.

I am a lover of strong heroines in historical romance and Diana fits this distinction however I found it difficult to like her. Yes, she could hold her own with Jeremy and I love a good bet between friends, yet she was a bit snobbish and is definitely not one to keep a secret.

I went into this read wanting to love it but unfortunately the things that grated are what stand out to me as I write this review.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed To Have and to Hoax very much but was disappointed in To Love and to Loathe. To Love and to Loathe has a lot of witty, sarcastic banter between the two heroes, but it doesn't have a lot of depth beyond that. I usually love good banter in romance books but I wanted more from To Love and to Loathe. I just didn't love Diana and Jeremy. This book read more like a satire than an actual romance. I am still interested in picking up the next book because I want to read Emily and Belfry's story.

When I read Martha Waters debut novel, The Have and to Hoax, I laughed out loud multiple times and absolutely fell in love with the characters and writing! Waters is funny and cheeky, I adored the banter and chemistry between the characters. Which is why this one went on my auto buy list! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one!

I picked this one up while I was waiting for my son’s soccer camp to finish and I was looking for something that was easy reading that would put me in a good mood and that I could put a bookmark in as needed and then pickup again later without feeling totally lost. That’s exactly what this book was for me. Some easy fluffy romance reading!

I enjoyed this one very much but I have to admit that I don’t know that it held the same magic as the first one in the series. That’s not to say that it was bad or anything, it was just different than the first one but it was still a fun read all the same! I would also recommend this one to Bridgerton fans. The first book in the series was on my top books to read after Bridgerton list and this one would easily make that list too.

Summary
The widowed Diana, Lady Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham are infamous among English high society as much for their sharp-tongued bickering as their flirtation. One evening, an argument at a ball turns into a serious wager: Jeremy will marry within the year or Diana will forfeit one hundred pounds. So shortly after, just before a fortnight-long house party at Elderwild, Jeremy’s country estate, Diana is shocked when Jeremy appears at her home with a very different kind of proposition.

After his latest mistress unfavorably criticized his skills in the bedroom, Jeremy is looking for reassurance, so he has gone to the only woman he trusts to be totally truthful. He suggests that they embark on a brief affair while at the house party—Jeremy can receive an honest critique of his bedroom skills and widowed Diana can use the gossip to signal to other gentlemen that she is interested in taking a lover.

Diana thinks taking him up on his counter-proposal can only help her win her wager. With her in the bedroom and Jeremy’s marriage-minded grandmother, the formidable Dowager Marchioness of Willingham, helping to find suitable matches among the eligible ladies at Elderwild, Diana is confident her victory is assured. But while they’re focused on winning wagers, they stand to lose their own hearts. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
I love the enemies to lovers troupe so much and this one had some of that element to it but it was clear that they didn’t truly hate one another and they were very aware that they were attracted to one another. So strictly speaking it wasn’t fully enemies to lovers but I loved the banter and ‘rage love’ that was going on in this one. Waters cheeky dialogue was evident in this one and Diana has some great zingers and set downs. I laughed at many points in the story. Diana’s character was strong willed and feisty so that was a big plus for me. I also liked Jeremy, he was just as feisty as Diana and their chemistry was undeniable.

But what I didn’t care for was Jeremy’s reasons for getting involved with Diana. The ‘I need reassurance of my prowess’ guise didn’t jive for me. It didn’t seem necessary or believable in many ways. While that might have been the point, a flimsy excuse for him to hook up with her, I think the execution could have been better. It felt basic and underwhelming for two characters that were so feisty and had so much chemistry. I would have liked to have seen something with a little more tension and build up between them and another reason for entering into a liaison.

The other thing that felt a little blah to me was all the secondary characters and their plot points. It was fun seeing Violet and James from the first book but then there was this whole other side story with Emily, Lady Sophia and West, and Lady Helen as well as Diana’s brother….. it just felt like a lot of was going on in the lives of the secondary characters. I could ave done with just the Lady Helen storyline. It just felt busy for me, not necessarily bad—just busy and it took away from Diana and Jeremy’s romance for me.

While I liked this one, I didn’t love it in the way I loved the first one. But I loved Jeremy and Diana together so I went with a 3 star rating for this one. It was a nice way to pass soccer camp and I am looking forward to the next book in the series which I am hoping is about Emily!

Book Info and Rating
Format384 pages, Paperback

PublishedApril 6, 2021 by Atria Books

ISBN9781982160876 (ISBN10: 198216087X)

Free review copy provided by publisher, Atria Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 3 stars

Genre: romance, historical romance, historical fiction

Having not read the previous book in this series, I didn't know what to expect of Waters' writing style or anything. But I have heard from fellow librarians and reviewers that this is a fun read, so I gotta pick it up.

To Love and To Loathe is a historical romance that's full of tension and undeniable connection between the characters. Did I root for them instantly? No. But I did need a happy ever after for them and I'm happy that I got the banters and struggles and twists before reaching that. Jeremy was a charming gentleman while Diana was honest and self-aware. I also loved the sex positivity in this novel and how intimate communication in romance was established so beautifully. It was a combination of tropes that I adore and they were well-done. What can I say, it was the perfect read for quarantine. Quick and enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the earc!

I loved To Have and to Hoax so much, and while the supporting characters eluded to the ability for this to be a series, I was so excited when I found out that Martha Waters was making a second book in this historical romance world. Diana and Jeremy were so much freaking fun to read. Their chemistry was off the charts and their banter was so much fun.

When a widow and a Marquess enter into a specific kind of bargain, especially when they have a certain level of unrequited feelings for one another, you know that juiciness will certainly ensue. And, believe me... this book was full of juicy-as-ever fun! We root for these two as we watch the story unfold.

I cannot wait to see what we get next, as this book FULLY sets up for the next book in series for Emily. Fingers crossed!!!

"'This is all rather new to me, you know. Emotions,' she clarified, seeing their confused looks. 'Communication.'"

-----------------------------------

I've slowly been coming around on historical fiction that is focused on romance, I generally need to have some historical tidbits that I am learning along the way but I've found that good banter can keep me interested as well. To Love and to Loathe has all the witty banter you could want between two characters. There were several laugh out loud moments as Diana and Jeremy tried to one up one another and several sweet moments as they begin to truly meet the one another behind their public veneers. It was a light, fun palate cleanser of a story.

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Martha Waters.

I am not usually a "one more chapter" kind of reader but this book, I just could not put down. This is the second book in Martha Waters' Regency Vow series. As much as I liked the first book in the series, I absolutely adored To Love and To Loathe. Diana and Jeremy's story picks up just after the events of To Have and To Hoax.

Widow Diana makes a wager with the rakishly chaming Jeremy that he will marry within a year. Just after this wager is made, Jeremy comes to Diana with a proposition. His former lover has given him an unsatisfactory review of his... performance... and, shaken by this, asks Diana to engage in an affair to discover whether this review was accurate. Of course, Diana will benefit from this transaction as well. By agreeing to the affair, she can indicate to interested men that she is open to liaisons. Diana can also use this time with Jeremy to try to get his mind on marraige and win the wager. The mischief that ensues has me, at some points, literally laughing out loud. The characters are quick witted and easy to fall in love with.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC. I really needed a light, playful, easy read and this fit the bill!

Diana and Jeremy cannot have a conversation without arguing. They both equally enjoy and are frustrated by the constant banter between them and the need to one-up each other. One such conversation causes Diana to make a wager that Jeremy, a determined bachelor and rake, will marry within the year. He accepts thinking it will be the easiest money he's ever made. Shortly afterward, Jeremy comes to Diana with his own proposal for an intimate agreement. After ended his latest affair, Jeremy received some unenthusiastic feedback about his love-making and needs someone he can trust and who will be honest with him to give him an unbiased opinion. They are both determined that this be nothing more than a short affair but they quickly find it difficult to resist the feelings tugging at both of them.

I loved the witty banter in this book. Diana is sharp, cutting, and funny while Jeremy perfectly plays the role of carefree rake. Diana is calculated in everything she does and says. She avoids emotion and entanglements and I appreciated seeing those traits in a female character, especially in a romance novel. It isn't something I've encountered often and there were definitely aspects of Diana I could relate to.

However, the best part of this book to me was when Diana and Jeremy actually discussed what he was doing sexually. There were honest conversations about sex, about how to know what a woman likes, and how little men like Jeremy have ever had to think about their partners. This is the first time I've read a romance with frank talk about sex and pleasure. There are definitely no magical orgasms in this book.

Despite the premise there was less sex than I thought there would be. I do wish there had been at least on more intimate scene but the lack and build up definitely made the major scene in the book more exciting.

This was a fun, cheeky read that I enjoyed because that was exactly what I wanted in the moment. This would be a great beach or summer read - light and easy.

Be still my heart. I'm very thankful to Bridgerton for bringing in a new love to regency-era novels. I loved To Have and to Hoax so I was very excited when I learned about To Love and to Loathe. It met my expectations and I'm hopeful for more!

It was goodish? Not great? Not bad? A teensy, tinesy bit boring in parts? Not as good as the first book?

I enjoyed the first novel in The Regency Vows series - meeting the group of friends that feature in each of the books; laughing at Violet and Audley's antics and hijinks; the splendid and fun repartee; trying to guess which couple would be paired up next - all of those things were great. And since it played on one of my most favorite Friends episodes "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" featuring one of my favorite lines of dialogue ever

God, they thought they can mess with us! They're trying to mess with us?! They don't know that we know they know we know!

I was predisposed to like it even more. I gave it 4.5 stars.

This time out...the friends' smug looks and insider knowledge about each other's quirks and tells didn't feel quite as fresh, and neither did the set-up. Look, right off the bat, the name of this book annoyed me (sorry to the person the author thanks in her end-notes). Nobody loathes each other. They don't! So why is that part of the title? Moving on.

This time out we find friends and newishly widowed Diana, Lady Templeton, and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham, trying to ignore the attraction they've felt for each other almost since the moment they both entered adulthood. But because this is a full length romance novel, they ignore it and pretend they don't actually want to rip each other's clothes off. For years. So there's that.

Anywho. Diana, who grew up always feeling like a burden to her aunt and uncle (who were forced to care for her and her brother after the sudden death of their parents), used her first season to find a husband who could provide for her. She wasn't looking for love - or even really companionship, she just wanted to never have to worry about money ever again.

Jeremy - newly a marquess after the sudden death of his brother - doesn't understand or like Diana's mercenary search for a husband. But he likes her. Wink, wink. So, during a ballroom dance, he proposes. Diana treats the proposal like the joke it appears to be and soundly rejects him. Even though she secretly has the hots for him. Yep.

Unfortunately, for "reasons" (Jeremy will someday learn) Diana can't mess around with Jeremy even if she might want to. It isn't personal. Everyone knows the Willingham estate is nearly bankrupt after his father's mismanagement, and besides, Jeremy is a famous rake who vowed he would never marry. Diana needs financial security and a life free of worry. Marriage to Jeremy isn't in the cards.

Flash forward several years. Diana is widowed and rich and has had the sex and knows what she wants in a bed partner...just not how to go about getting some. Meanwhile, Jeremy is still a rake - just a bit more famous for it - and is having all the sex. He’s happily single and committed to bachelorhood forever, and has managed to restore the finances of the estate. Mamas want him to marry their daughters, but Jeremy is committedly single and always ready to mingle. Somehow Diana decides he must marry and produce an heir - because she kind of gives off mom vibes when she's with him (Yes, yes, I know reader. You didn't feel this way when you read it. We're different.) - so she bets him he'll be married within the year. Uh oh.

Then, not too long afterwards, Jeremy pays Diana a surprise visit and confesses that his last lover said he wasn't all that in the sack and perhaps Diana could help him out and make him a better lover and in return he’ll make her irresistible to all the men looking for all the widow sexy times. (side note: marrying a much older man for money doesn’t shout sexpert to me but you do you Jeremy) And because this is a light and fluffy and silly and oh, so fun romance novel, they agree to this plan.

So that’s the set-up. Then they go to a house party with all the friends, a couple of randoms whose names we hear every so often, and grandmama. Diana is going to win her bet, and meanwhile, these two are going to have all the sex, and everyone is going to be a winner in the end. Possible problems: all the friends who are everywhere all the time exchanging smug looks and smirks and talking about sex; those pesky feelings they’ve both secretly had for each other for years; Jeremy’s marriage minded grandmama who has plans of her own; an oddly cast, brilliant and determined lesbian with plans of her own; and some other stuff.

The absolute best parts of this story are the scenes featuring Jeremy and Diana. Their banter is funny and smart; I loved the way they mercilessly teased and manipulated and flirted with each other, and even when they seem to drive each other crazy, it’s clear they’re crazy FOR each other. And their physical chemistry in the bedroom is equally good.

While I wish there was a LOT MORE SEX in this “let’s have sex to figure out if I’m good at it” story, the t0o few love scenes are nicely steamy and sexy. Kissing is a big deal for these two and they LOVE TO KISS AND ALL THE FEELS THEY GET WHEN THEY’RE KISSING. Jeremy is an excellent kisser - no sexpertise needed to master this skill. But he’s not as great at pleasuring a woman beyond penetrative sex, and while he initially resists the feedback (he’s a man), Diana quickly puts him on the path to success. He’s a quick learner so that helps, too.

Physical intimacy paves the way to emotional honesty and Jeremy and Diana slowly but surely begin to know the hidden sides they never revealed to each other - or anyone else. It makes them like each other even more. Diana’s reasons for seeking out a wealthy husband finally become clear to Jeremy, and predictably, he hates the aunt and uncle for being dicks; Diana eventually recognizes that Jeremy’s carefree persona masks the repressed anger and sadness he still feels about the death of his brother (in a reckless carriage race). So while they’re secretly eager for more sexy times (SO ARE WE MS. WATERS), they’re also pining for more of the emotional intimacy they enjoy when they're alone together. THEY LIKE EACH OTHER. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER. Jeremy is handsome, kind, and sweet; Diana is whip-smart, sharp, and beautiful. I liked the juxtaposition of these two and the not-so-subtle role reversal at play in this story; it works on every level.

Okay but there are some problems.

1. The bet. It’s obvious to everyone in this story (legit: EVERYONE) except Diana and Jeremy that they love each other. But because of the bet Diana has to become a sorta-desperate, machiavellian match-maker and I didn’t like this look on her.

2. The counterproposal. Because Diana is your frenemy/soulmate, you think it’s a good idea to have her assess your sexual prowess? She’s had ONE old man partner (Jeremy’s keeping track so we know he knows this), and maybe you should just pay a sex-worker for tips? I just wasn’t feeling this.

3. The “villain” of this story oh-so-conveniently turns out to be a badass, super smart and tricky lesbian. I have no problem with the sapphic love story or the badass quality, it just seemed super out of place in this mostly conventional Regency love story.

4. When Diana accidentally uncovers a BIG SECRET - in a super awkward scene wherein the secret keeper “accidentally” spills the beans - and then after promising not to tell anyone, immediately blabs the secret to her friends. Nice.

5. The friends. Enough of this group exchanging smirky, smuggy looks; Violet and Auldey eye-fucking; and everyone trying to teach Emily about sex while she blushes. We get it. They have inside jokes. V and A are DEEPLY IN LOVE AND LUST. Emily is a virgin. Jeesh.

The end is a bit of a mess and drags on too long.

To sum up: I liked the principal characters; thought the set-up and conclusion were clunky; wished there was A LOT more sex, and a lot less smugness and smirkness; enjoyed the female agency rep.

Recommended with reservations.