Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read To Love and To Loathe

To Have And To Hoax is definitely one of my favourite books of 2020. It came at a time, right at the beginning of the pandemic, when I needed something light and fun, and I laughed so much reading it .

To Love and To Loathe is the sequel and it will be coming out in April 2021 . It is a delightful romance and I really enjoyed this and read it in one afternoon ! I loved Jeremy and Diana. They were so fun to read about.

Diana and Jeremy have been friends almost all their lives. This is is the story of how they go from friends to lovers. Jeremy is a rake who enjoys the favors of the women of the Ton. He is handsome and has a devil may care attitude. Diana is beautiful and has a sharp biting wit. A bet and a plan sends them into each other’s arms and there is no turning back. The conversations are quite witty and fun.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the eARC of To Love and to Loathe.
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I was really excited to read this one because I absolutely adored the first book in this series, #tohaveandtohoax 💜
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This book follows widow Diana, Lady Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham. These two have instant chemistry and their flirtation and banter is one the best parts of the book.
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One evening an argument between Diana and Jeremy turns into a wager. Jeremy will marry within a year or Diana will forfeit 100 pounds. What follows next is a proposition that Diana simply cannot refuse.🔥
But, will she lose her heart?
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This books has:
💛 enemies to lovers
💛lots of witty banter
💛fun cast of characters
💛slow burn
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In all honesty the slow burn part was my least favorite. I felt like it took a little time to get to the good parts. I’m not a fan of slow burn books, so that’s why I lowered my rating, it was 75% to 80% before anything really happened in this book.
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Overall, it was cute and I will definitely read on in this series!
You don’t need to read the first book to enjoy this one but I do recommend reading it as well!

Let me introduce you to my dear book friends Jeremy and Diana. They bicker constantly, they attend a country house party, and they make a bet that leads to lots of match-making shenanigans!

To Love and To Loathe is Martha Waters’s second book, and I just love her writing so much. She brings a fresh feel to Regency romance while staying true to the parts of the genre we know and love. To Love and To Loathe was a pure delight to read.

Also, this can be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend her first book To Have and To Hoax as well. It’s basically a FRIENDS episode set in regency England AKA my dream book!

4.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this! I love a good historical romance and this did not disappoint with its great premise, fantastic banter, great steamy times, and a solid mix of modern sensibilities mixed with historically accurate details. I've not read/consumed any historical romance media since Bridgerton and this definitely helped to remind me of how much I love them.

My one critique (and the only reason I didn't give this book a full five stars) is that there are just a few too many subplots, which makes the book a bit too long. I also will mention that I had not read the first one in this series, To Have and to Hoax, and while I don't think that's a requirement for reading this one, I assume Martha Waters must have introduced these characters and some of their backstory in the first novel, as she jumped right into their story without a lot of setup (but since this is a second in a series, I can't really blame the book for that). All in all, I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend it if you are looking for a fun Regency-era romance!

THIS WAS SUCH AN AMAZING BOOK!!

First of all, thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me the review copy!

When I received this copy I first went about to read the first one in the series and was instantly in love with Martha's writing! I loved that book so much that I had devoured it in a day and the second one the very next!

To Love and to Loathe follows Lady Diana Templeton and Jermy, Marquess of Willingham with their banter from the first book and through which I had come to ship them so hard. I loved seeing their interactions and how they were completely true to themselves in the presence of the other.

I did feel that this book was filled with more innuendoes than the first one, and those made it outrageously hilarious! But I guess it all was expected when we are reading from Jeremy- aka the rakehole and Diana- the flirt's PoV!

I would also like to point out this book gave me a lot to think about. It portrayed so many issues in a positive light which I think need to be incorporated in some of our societies as well. I loved how she showed how a person might cope with grief and their subsequent healing, I also loved the part of teaching the carnal mechanisms to any utterly ignorant friend as well as instructing one's partner on what would bring them pleasure!

Suffice to say that I do not think that there was anything in this book that displeased me, there was sufficient humour, romance and angst which made me instantly fall in love with this book!

I recommend this to all who are lovers of historical fiction or even romance in general!

This was a bit of a letdown, unfortunately. Before going any further, let me say that I LOVED the first book. Like, it was my favorite romance book of last year loved it. And while some of the magic that I loved in the first book was in here, a lot of it was not.

The basic premise is that the young widow Diana and the charming rake Jeremy have been verbal sparring partners since their younger years - Jeremy is good friends with Diana's older brother, so they've known each other a long time. In their adult years, they started to feel an undeniable chemistry between them, but anything that could have been was put on hold because Diana married an older man (out of necessity).

Fast forward five years. Diana is now a widow and Jeremy has slept with scores of women, curating himself quite the reputation. On par with their normal gibes at one another, Diana bets £100 that she can get Jeremy married off in a year. Confusingly, shortly after making this bet, the two of them also enter into a mutually beneficial friends-with-benefits arrangement for the duration of a two-week-long hunting party at Jeremy's country estate.

So during this visit, Diana is simultaneously trying to fix Jeremy up with a woman who seems to be throwing herself at his feet, while lusting after him herself, and developing feelings for him as she starts to get to know him better. And those feelings are hardly one-sided.

It's a cute setup, but there's a lot going on. Too much, honestly. It's not even just that these two main characters are getting physically involved with one another while also being at odds because of this bet. That's confusing enough already, but there's also a lot going on on the sidelines: Diana's artistic ambitions are revealed, the previous book's couple (Violet and James) makes many appearances, James's brother West is rekindling an old flame, Diana and Violet's friend Emily is sort of/kind of being courted at this party but has a whole complicated thing going on because of her father's gambling debts, the woman throwing herself at Jeremy might not be as enthusiastic about him as she's letting on, Jeremy's spitfire grandmother is getting involved in Jeremy and Diana's mess...it's enough to make your head spin.

What I loved most about the first book was that the emotional aspect of the estrangement of Violet and James was played out over the whole book. There's not just one emotional dumping session in which you find out why a character has been feeling the way they've been feeling by means of one huge monologue. No, things are much more gradually revealed in a way that felt a lot more authentic. In this second book, there were so many other elements at play that I don't think we got enough time with the couple for the deep emotions to slowly creep out. Instead, we got an infodump-y climax and an ending that didn't even acknowledge the vast majority of the side plots that were introduced.

I was honestly hoping that this book would span a year's time since the timeframe for the bet was a year. I envisioned Diana hunting down suitors for Jeremy only for those suitors to get rejected over and over (a ploy by Jeremy so he could get time alone with Diana). The climax could have been when he finally likes one of the candidates, but then Diana starts to panic because she's gotten to know him so well over the previous months and now has feelings for him, right as he starts to show an interest in someone else. I personally would have found something like that a lot more effective than a close proximity setup and the side plot distraction galore.

All of that being said, the banter is almost as good as the first book and so many parts of this book are laugh-out-loud funny. The author is a great writer, but as her acknowledgement section seems to hint, she didn't have the time to focus on this book that she had with the first one. Sadly, it shows in the finished product. Not a bad book by any means, but an unsatisfying follow-up to a truly stellar first installment.

I loved this! Absolutely adored it, in fact. To Love and to Loathe is the second installment in The Regency Vow. I very much enjoyed To Have and to Hoax but I loved this one even more. Think Bridgerton with less sex but more emotion. I love a good regency romance and I love the strong willed women that are featured in this series. Diana is no doubt the most fearless of them all. Jeremy is the most rakish of the men in this series but with a hidden depth. There was a slight miscommunication that I almost knocked a star down for but all in all, I devoured this book, I smiled the entire time, and it is just one of those books that is good for the soul. I can’t wait to read more from this series and this author!

To Love and To Loathe is the second in a fun, historical romance by Martha Waters. While its not necessary to read book one, To Have & to Hoax, before you read this one. I do think you will enjoy it more if you do.
I love the Frenemies to lovers trope. The characters were well written and the banter between the two was fabulous! I highly recommend this series!

To start - you really should read the first book in this series (To Have & to Hoax) before you read this one- I think you will enjoy it more. Just saying.

To Love and to Loathe is a fluffy adorable historical romance. Now don't get me wrong there is a bit of seriousness to it too but just a bit.

Frenemies to lovers as a trope is tough to pull off in my opinion. Waters does a BRILLIANT job here with that regarding Diana & Jeremy. I found the growth of both their relationship and themselves as individuals to be smartly done. Plus I loved their banter - it's witty and well written.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters and hope a book 3 isn't to far behind.

To Love and To Loathe is author Martha Waters’s follow up to last year’s To Have and To Hoax, and I’m happy to report that the fun is back!

To Love and To Loathe is a fun, clever historical romance, and while some of the complications seemed a little more drawn-out than strictly needed, it’s quite an entertaining read. I really enjoyed the characters’ banter, as well as the witty/snarky/innuendo-laden moments.

If you’re looking for a light, romantic escape with charming characters, definitely check out To Have and To Hoax AND To Love and To Loathe. (TL&TL works just fine on its own, but might as well read them both!)

Diana, Lady Templeton has achieved the dream: she married a wealthy peer in her first season and now just a few years later, she is a widow with all the freedoms that affords. Now all she needs it a lover to complete her perfect life…

In walks her old nemesis, Jeremy, the Marquess of Willingham. These two have been at odds since her first season when she needed to marry and he wanted nothing of the sort. Now he has a proposal for Diana. They have always had a spark between them, so he proposes that they become lovers for the span of his house party. This will let the men know Diana is open to taking a lover now and Jeremy will have Diana help dispel some rumours about his prowess.

In agreement about having a fling, Diana decides to up the anti and try to marry Jeremy off… this becomes troublesome when the fling starts feeling like a lot more…

I enjoyed this enemies to lovers plot a lot more that the plot the first book (marriage in trouble). This book felt more light hearted and the pranks being pulled on each other were more fun feeling. I liked the spark between Jeremy and Diana and the their shared fear of love and intimacy. These two were a cute pair to watch grow and accept their feelings.

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is scheduled to release April 6th, 2021.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#ToLoveAndToLoathe #MarthaWaters #NetGalley #pinkcowlandreads

💋 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 / 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝗪 💋⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Title: #ToLoveAndToLoathe
Author: @marthabwaters
Publisher: @atriabooks
Pub Date: 4/6/21⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Type: #PhysicalCopy⁣⁣⁣ #eBook
Genre: #HistoricalRomance #RomanticComedy
Must Read Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⁣⁣⭐⁣⁣

My thoughts:

-Missing Bridgerton and need a fix? I have just the book for you! I am falling more and more in love with historical romance books and this one blended 2 genres together so seamlessly that I found my heart swelling one minute and belly laughing the next. Romantic comedies are a huge favorite for me and always provide the perfect palette cleanser between #historicalfiction and #mystery / #thriller books.

-I absolutely adored all of the characters in this book. I also liked that this wasn't a traditional "trope" novel. I am always concerned that characters may be too surface or unbelievable in this genre, but the story lines and background of these characters felt honest and relatable. And let's talk about the sexual tension between Diana and Jeremy!! I was totally invested in their story from start to finish.

-This book is witty, original and just plain fun to read!

Lady Diana Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham have been arguing for as long as they can remember. Now that Diana is a widow and Jeremy is getting older they find themselves arguing at this season’s society balls. When Diana bets Jeremy he will be married within a year, she is determined to make it happen. But then he proposes a different arrangement, one that we today would call friends with benefits, and that starts to complicate things.

This one took me a while to get into, but once I hit the second half I really enjoyed it. Diana and Jeremy had great banter and great chemistry. There was a good amount of tension and scandal without being too much drama. And I love a good enemies to friends-with-benefits to lovers story line. I also loved Lady Helen’s storyline - what a great secondary character to include and I want to know more of her as well!

Full disclaimer, I’ve never picked up a historical romance book before (I know, shocking considering how many romance novels I read). But after watching Bridgerton, I felt I needed to give the genre a try. It definitely took getting used to the language, so I feel that impacted how I felt about this book, especially in the beginning. However, I think if you are a fan of historical romance, you will definitely love this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is the second novel in the Regency Vows series. While you might not have to read the first book to enjoy the second, I would highly recommend it!

I really enjoyed the back and forth between the characters Diana and Jeremy. I have become a big fan of historical fiction and now entering the world of historical romance. This book is witty and fun to read. If you are looking for a light hearted book with all mentioned above this book is for you. 3.5 solid stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for providing an advanced reader copy, all opinions that follow are my own...

I liked Martha Waters’ debut To Have and To Hoax, but I truly loved To Love and To Loathe.

The scene is set with a wager cast between long-time acquaintances and frenemies Lady Diana Templeton and Jeremy Overington, Marquess of Willingham, that he will be married within a year. Soon after, upon receiving a less than stellar performance review from one of his ex-paramours, Jeremy seeks Diana out in order to persuade her to engage in a liaison at his upcoming house party. In doing so, he hopes to receive honest feedback regarding his skills in the bedroom from a woman he trusts not to hold anything back. Diana takes him up on the offer and they enter a mutual agreement— she will give him the truth and he, in turn, will signal to the rest of society her intention to take future lovers and also allow her the chance to further her side of their wager. What follows is a witty, thoughtful, subversive and sex-positive, enemies with benefits/enemies to lovers, story that does not shy away from deeper topics like heteronormativity, misogyny, the constraints of marriage and patriarchy, female pleasure, male privilege etc. that are most often completely invisible within traditional historical romances.

While the characters were intriguing, and the chemistry between Diana and Jeremy was perfectly evident in their bantering, I was most excited to see the sex-positivity infused within their intimate interactions. As most know, the norm when reading a historical romance, or really any romance in general, is that from even the very first time the foreplay and sex are always stellar—the heroine always comes multiple times and during the act of penetration comes first or at the same time as the hero. And while that is part of the romance fantasy, it’s really refreshing to see an author give space for characters to actually have discussions about their sexual intimacy that reflect the reality of the often awkward and extremely vulnerable moments of learning how to communicate with your partner about what each of you needs. Most romances treat men as being naturally and inherently good at sex (hello toxic masculinity!), so having Jeremy be not the best all the time (I laughed very hard and also cringed in solidarity at the fingering scene, bc those of us with that piece of anatomy….Diana we feel you girl) and also open to listening to what Diana is telling him is really important and I loved reading it!!! Give me more sex-positive historical romance please for the love of god.

To sum it all up, this was a really great piece of writing that shows the capacity of historical romance to not only serve as a lovely escapist fantasy, but also as a means of interrogating/critiquing deeper topics surrounding marriage, sex, intimacy, and societal/patriarchal norms. Thank you to Martha Waters for writing it, I look forward to what I can only assume will be the Emily & Julian story (or West and Sophie?) next !!

Martha Waters sophomore effort does NOT disappoint - it shines! I enjoyed the over the top gimmicks of To Have and To Hoax, but I really appreciate the more straightforward storytelling in To Love and To Loathe. The hero, Jeremy, thinks he’s gods gift to women, which is an idea found often in historical romances and no one bats an eye. But here, he’s called out and then schooled. I LOVE that he’s open to new ideas, especially ideas about himself. Which is why the heroine, Diana, is perfect for him. She gives him the smack down on every possible occasion, and she’s not afraid to go after what she wants. She’s unapologetically brave and bold, making the best out of her life within the societal rules.

I loved revisiting with Audley and Violet from the first book, and I can only hope that the next book takes Emily (or Sophie and West?) on an adventure!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 Stars for this one. Diana and Jeremy have been friends for years, but they can only stand to be in the same room with each other for a few minutes before verbal sparring begins. Sometimes, the only you loathe the most could be the one you have just fallen for.
Diana is a widow now and Jeremy has been told by his most recent mistress that he is lacking some skills in the bedroom, so he has a proposal for Diana. He will help her to get noticed by men so that she can take a lover and she will be honest with him about his bedroom techniques. Diana thinks that there is more to Jeremy than a womanizing rake, so she makes him a bet. She bets him that he will be married within a year, because, he is a marquess afterall and needs to sire an heir.
They agree to help each other while she is at his country home for a visit. With the help of their friends, they are able to realize there is more to life than what they thought and as they open up, they begin to see what they have been looking for is right in front of them.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but this one fell a little flat for me. I loved the sparring, but I wish there was more of it. I need to really feel the loathing to call this an enemies to lovers book. They were friends with sexual tension. There were a lot of moments of sweet, so that is why I rounded up to 4 stars here. I also have a bit of an issue with "rakes" and this guy was pretty bad. I had to look past a lot of his conquests that were talked about to make him likeable for me at all. I really adored Diana and love how honest she was with everyone and herself through the whole book. it was refreshing.
Thank you to Atria, Netalley and the author for an early copy of this book!

Allow me to gush about this book for a moment. To Have and to Hoax was probably my favorite debut of last year and this is SUCH a fun follow-up, I was pretty much jumping up and down when I got the ARC.

After an argument at a ball leads to a wager that infamous rake (in need of an heiress), Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham will be married within the year, Diana, Lady Templeton is shocked to find him on her doorstep with a far more sexy proposition. Jeremy's latest mistress did a number to his confidence and he wants a lover who he knows will be honest with him to critique his skills. Who better than his best friend's sister, Diana? Frenemies to lovers and brother's best friend - a perfect comfort read after year of covid!

Given the Austen-esque plot, it felt utterly modern. Things I loved: Jeremy was a complete doll to his Grandma, there was a LGBTQ+ subplot, and witty repartee. All in all this book is seriously fun, and I look forward to the next in the series.

Disclaimer: I didn't read the first book in the series and I still was able to read and enjoy this book for the most part. You really don't have to read these in order.

This book starts out great. Martha Waters introduces some incredibly charming characters and makes historical regency times interesting; which is a lot coming from me who doesn't really read books set in that time period. The connection between Jeremy and Diana is evident and so much fun to read. The enemies to lovers storyline is completely believable and not forced at all.

My biggest complaint with the book was not the characters, clearly. It was more about the plot line. Which is to say, there really wasn't one. The entirety of the book was clever and witty banter and I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen. But it didn't. They just kept talking at each other. And you can't say the book does character development well because everything gets flipped and solved at the end of the book with no hint that it's going to happen or real lead up to it. *SPOILER* In fact, they spend the first 80% of the book discussing how they both hate the idea of getting married, only to turn around after one conversation and find they both want to get married, right now. It just didn't seem believable that the main issue would get resolved so quickly.

If you are a person who doesn't really need the plot to drive the book and just enjoy character connections that this is the book for you. The character connection is so strong in this book, it's just the growth or plot line that I felt it lacked.