To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is the cutest historical rom com with an enemies to lovers trope! It’s funny, light, and perfect for someone looking for an escape read that will make them laugh out loud. I’m giving this one 3.5 stars! Thank you so much Netgalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

While this was a quick read, it became very repetitive towards the end and I did not relate to any of the characters. The plot had potential, but the payoff was meh.

I have loved reading regency era novels since being introduced to Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. I love that authors are still writing about that era today! To Love and To Loathe did not disappoint. Martha Waters wrote a beautiful story of two people very unlikely to fall in love. Diana, or Lady Templeton, is a widowed woman who has no interest in taking another husband. She has all the money she needs and is more interested in the possibility of taking a lover. Marquess Jeremy Willingham is also uninterested in getting married, but he is being pressured by his grandmother to take a wife and produce heirs. Willingham is a notorious womanizer, but has recently learned that one of his mistresses was not pleased with his performance. Willingham goes to Diana, knowing that she would not see anything more to this, to ask her to critique him. They start to have a purely educational liaison, but of course, complications arise.
I thought that this story was well written, beautifully executed, and quite salacious. If you love reading classic novels but are looking for something a little more risqué, this book is for you!!

This was such a cute read. I just started Bridgerton and this gave me vibes like that. I enjoyed the authors humor/wittiness. Several times I literally laughed out loud. I was rooting for Dianna and Jeremy from the beginning.

Oh wow! This was so adorable. I absolutely loved the two main characters. Their banter made the whole book for me. Loved this!

I've always read strictly contemporary romance, but authors like Martha Waters, especially Martha Waters, are quickly changing my mind. I adored this book even more so than To Have and To Hoax, which I also enjoyed immensely. Diana and Jeremy might be one of my favorite romance couples of the last few years. Diana was such a hoot, and watching Jeremy fall in love with her was so delicious. The author created just enough of a miscommunication between the couple to make my breath hitch and my fingers flip through my Kindle at a frantic pace without going on for too long to get annoying. In a word, this book was perfection. I hope we see a book from Emily and Belfry's POV next if only to enjoy more of the friendship between Diana, Violet, and Emily - they are adorable.

I am not a fan of Regency Romance/Historical Romance, so overall this was not the book for me. Don't discount it though - especially if you like this genre - Waters' writing is clever and fun and I know people really enjoy this series!

If you're in the Bridgerton mood right now, this is the book.

I loved To Love and to Loathe so much more than I thought I would. The chemistry between Diana and Jeremy was undeniable from the start. As I flipped the pages, I could actually imagine the two of them falling in love. There was great banter, scheming, the perfect amount of steam, and dynamic characters who definitely grew as the story moved along.

I haven't read To Have and to Hoax, but I will now. This was exactly the book I needed to break me out of a winter reading slump and the perfect follow up to Bridgerton.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I didn't read To Have and to Hoax and still really enjoy To Love and to Loathe! Diana and Jeremy have great chemistry, based heavily on witty banter and giving each other a hard time. Some of their internal monologue felt heavy-handed at times, felt those sections could've been tightened up. But generally really great / fun / sweet read.

An adorable read that had me enjoying the characters and the friendship between Jeremy and Diana. I loved the character development and backstory that the author used in the telling of this story.

5 swoonworthy + incredibly witty + charming + steamy stars to this fun Regency England romp! Book 2 in her Regency Vows series, this novel tells the love story of the widowed Lady Diana Templeton and Jeremy, the Marquess of Willingham. Fans of To Have and to Hoax will remember these two sassy + fiercely independent friends of Lady Violet and Lord James Audley. The two have known each other almost their whole lives as Jeremy is a friend of Diana’s older brother. They harbor thinly veiled passion for each other that typically presents as annoyance and sharp tongued insults. However, Jeremy has a unusual proposition for Diana...and she isn’t one to ever back down from a challenge. Their passion culminates and secrets galore are exposed during a two week house party at Jeremy’s country estate amongst their friends and family.

This book was delightfully + cleverly written. So much of the dialogue and descriptions had me laughing out loud. The author spun a fresh take on standard romance tropes which resulted in a smart, fun love story. Told from dual perspectives, it engaged me right away and when I finished I had a huge smile on my face. I love this series and all the character so much and already can’t wait for the next book! Adding to my list of favorite historical romance novels!

Thank you to Netgalley + Atria Books for this advanced reader copy!! This was one of my most anticipated book releases of 2021 and I’m pinching myself I got to read an early copy.

This is a historical rom-com fiction. It is just so fun! You know just what’s going to happen when two long time friends who spend most of their time bickering make a bet about when one of them will get married. This book contains all the best rom-com and historical fiction tropes. There are the fabulous best friends. An intrusive grandmother. Some personal demons. And the romantic tension. This was my first introduction to Martha Waters. I’m going to have to go back and read the first book, To Have and to Hoax.

Such a fun and fresh historical romantic comedy - the only escape read I needed.

I laughed out loud, gasped at the constant bickering and flirting of the main characters, and rooted for them like mad. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, so I'm compelled to give it 5 shining stars!

This book is a second installment in a series, but it worked well as a standalone as I haven't read the first book. It's a regency era comance (this was a typo but so accurate for romance + comedy) between Diana and Jeremy. They can't stand each other, but Jeremy can't think of a better person to ask for an unusual favor; he gets constant complaints about his skills in bed, so he needs someone who could help him get better under the sheets.

Historical frenemies romance? This was totally unique, cute, funny and memorable. I also appreciated the serious parts in which our main characters learned the importance of open communication and honesty, especially when it comes to intimate problems. This book. put a smile on my face and took me out of a reading slump. Big five star yes from me!

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was charming. Diana and Jeremy are now my favorite couple. Their relationship is full of sarcasm and them being a smart ass to each other. I found myself rooting for them from the beginning.

Martha's first book To Have and To Hoax was one of my favorite reads of 2020, so of course I was super excited to pick up her next one, especially because I loved these two characters already from their appearances in THATH.

Jeremy and Diana are constantly making digs at each other. Their circle of friends is forever intertwined, but that doesn't mean the two of them ever have to like spending time with one another, and they make their feelings known. Diana pressures Jeremy into a wager--that he'll be married within a year's time--and he accepts because he can't ever back down from a fight with Diana. But Jeremy doesn't want to get married, content to live his bachelor life, sleeping with as many women as possible, leaving a trail of satisfied lovers in his wake. Until one of said lovers isn't quite so satisfied. Jeremy begins to doubt his sexual prowess, and goes to the one person who he knows will give him the truth: Diana. Since Diana is a widow, she is free to take discreet lovers if she wants, she just isn't so sure how to go about it. So when Jeremy comes to her and proposes they help each other out, she agrees. The two of them strike up their affair while spending two weeks at a country party with all of their friends, and lots of entanglements ensue. Diana is enjoying her hook ups with Jeremy, while also trying to win her bet and see him married. Jeremy is falling for Diana, while also trying to figure out his true feelings about love, marriage, and duty. Of course, we know it all works out in the end.

One of the things I loved the most about THATH was Martha's incredible sense of humor and wit, and I was really looking forward to that same humor in this new book, and I was not disappointed. Diana and Jeremy have fantastic banter from the moment we first see them together. I really loved how this felt like a true enemies to lovers, they really went after one another, and I for one, thought it was delightful. This book was also super hot and steamy. I am a big fan of the teach me how to be good at sex, whoops now we're in love trope and it worked perfectly between these two. There was steam, hijinks, banter, and love, and honestly those are all of my favorite things.

The second book in the series is as good as the first. Diana and Jeremy are known for bickering over everything. They make a wager that Jeremy will marry within a year’s time. If he does Diana loses one hundred pounds. Diana is in it to win so when Jeremy shows up at her house with a different proposal, she knows will help her win she is all for it. He proposes that they start an affair while at a house party at his estate so that he can get reassurance that his skills are up to par, and she can let the gossips know that she is interested in an affair. What seems like a winning idea for both parties ends up as so much more that they did not bargain for. Great dialogue and characters.

I loved loved loved this book so much! Martha is such a wonderful writer and she's made historical romance feel so accessible and modern! I adored her widow heroine who wants nothing more than the same freedom her male counterparts have.

Additionally, loved that her hero, unlike most romances, needed to learn how to make her feel good. He needed to learn how to listen.

It was adorable and so fun! And I'm so excited to read whatever Martha writes next!

Thanks to Net Galley and Atria for the advanced copy for an honest review.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable and quick read. I rated this 3 stars, as I found the characters lacking much depth. Additionally, I found that the storyline delves into the plot too quickly, preventing the reader from learning much about any of the characters. I'd recommend this to anyone looking to fill the void after finishing Bridgerton on Netflix, as the Regency period setting were very immersive.

I have always loved historical romances set and the regency time period and this one does a good job. Overall, I quite enjoyed the plot, at times it was a bit overkill. The characters were fun and the liked their back in forth. I would recommend this novel for fans of Bridgerton, it was a fun read.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for this e-ARC in return for an honest review. Anyone searching for a book to scratch that Regency romance itch after watching Bridgerton can look forward to reading To Love and to Loathe. This book is witty and filled with lots of banter between not only our romantic leads, but between many of the other characters as well. While the flaws of each of our romantic characters are on full display, they are still each loveable and I appreciated having both of their perspectives throughout the novel. The only reason I do not give this book full marks is due to the constant outing of the queer character. While at first I was excited to see a queer character featured in a regency romance, she was outed multiple times even after asking for discretion and secrecy. The way her identity featured as a way to further the plot and connection of our two main romantic leads seemed a bit off-putting to me.