I love an enemy to lovers romance book and this was no exception. Diana and Jeremy are not your typical Victorian romance characters. Diana is very happily divorced and Jeremy is very happily single when they decide to embark on a mutually beneficial partnership to improve their skills in the bedroom.
This book is a delightful and quick read with unexpectedly diverse elements and interesting viewpoints. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

If you love Bridgerton or Bringing Down the Duke you will love Martha Waters books. After reading To Have and To Hoax I was worried this second book would be a disappointment. Guess what? It wasn't! Martha Waters is quickly becoming a must read author for me.

this is exactly what i needed after binge watching bridgerton. the enemies to lovers trope will always hold a special place in my heart and this arc also marks the first historical romance ive read and it sets my expectations for the genre very high. this was a very good book for me to branch out with and to get a feel for the genre. the characters were very witty and i loved the back and forth banter between jeremy and diana as well as their interactions. and the slowburn between diana and jeremy made me so happy when they finally confessed.

The blurb is wonderful which is why I was so happy when I was approved. The story started promising telling the story of Diana, Lady Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham and their slow burn of years to get to the point where they were ready for each other.

There is a lot of witty banter and this done well, it is too easy to cross the line in to meanness which the author didn't do and that takes a deft hand.

The premise too is fresh. Jeremy is having bedroom problems and wants honest feedback, who better than his sparring partner who is a widow who is looking to begin a few discrete affairs but needs to figure out how to begin the process. They can help each other out. So far so good!

However this is where it falls apart. There is too much time talking about Jeremy's past. It is jarring and takes the reader out of the romance, did we need to know how many housemaids? When he lost his virginity? And everything in between?

Diana meanwhile is spirited but somehow lacks warmth. I think more time should have been spent in fleshing her out in to a person instead of a composition of traits.

Jeremy fairs better if you overlook the constant talk of his past.

I loved Jeremy's grandmother.

I felt this had the seeds of a really good story but it needed another revision to fix some of these issues.

A delightful mix of a Regency romance with a modern rom com feel. The sexy sweetness gives way to steamy swooniness with plenty of laugh out loud dialogue. With plenty of unexpected twists for good measure. I am smitten!

The excellent follow up to ‘To Have and to Hoax’, we follow the widowed Diana, Lady Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham who are infamous among English high society as much for their sharp-tongued bickering as their flirtation.

After an argument ensues that turns into a serious wager—Jeremy will marry within the year or Diana will forfeit one hundred pounds. 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 bedsport (it’s great seeing a woman destroy a man’s ego!), Jeremy is looking for reassurance, so he suggests that they embark on a brief affair because he knows Diana can provide him an honest critique of his bedroom skills and the widowed 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. Now cue in the swoon worthy moments, funny banter, unexpected twists and turns, and most importantly (in any romance) panty melting chemistry that had me going woo-wee!

I am more than pleasantly surprised by how much I actually liked this considering my dislike for the friends to lovers trope (only a few have succeeded) and after finding ‘To Have and to Hoax’ to be just an okay read. It didn’t exactly leave a lasting impression on me so when I received this ARC, I was a bit apprehensive. But thank the book Gods above for this was better than my wildest dreams. Marta, you've nailed it girl!

I will mention that the only drawback to this novel was the lack of sex scenes. Considering that the main characters entered an 'arrangement', we've received hot moments but what I was really anticipating were some steamy erotica or borderline erotica. Based on the premise, I had assumed we would have gotten more.

Nevertheless, the underlying attraction and sexual tension between Diana and Jeremy was everything. The characters were strong, fearless, shameless, bold, don’t give a fuck attuide had me wanting more. This couple honestly made this one of the best historical romcoms I have read all year and it’s well worth the wait, especially if you didn’t care much about the prequel.

Side note, with a premise such as this—this would make a great historical (romance) erotica piece in case there are some authors out there looking for inspiration. *hint hint*

To love and to Loathe: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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When you put two of my favorite genre , historical fiction and romance together and it will always be a Yes for me ! I didn’t read the first book, but the characters were mentioned in this one and now I need to get my hands on To have and to Hoax.
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This is an enemies-ish to lovers romance story , with a bit of steam. This writing was great, it was so easy to read and everything flowed. Now, let’s get to the plot. It was ok, but i wanted more from Diana’s and Jeremy story , more character development . Diana was not my favorite.
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My favorite part of this book was the friendship , the witty banter and interactions between the three ladies were goals.

If you, like me, watched Netflix’s Bridgerton over the holidays and now need a replacement Regency love story—without the Vitamin String Quartet covers of Taylor Swift songs—look no further than Martha Waters’ To Love and to Loathe. Echoing the show, Waters writes a regency romance about two wealthy, smart, beautiful people who enter into a friends-with-benefits, sex bet scenario. I’m picky about romance, and this author lives up to the task: tight, delightful writing; strong characters full of backstory and wit; enough mentions of the word “ton” for “town”; and zero gross anatomical metaphors. I read it in a day and longed for a sequel.

I included this in my preview of winter and spring titles for Book & Film Globe: https://bookandfilmglobe.com/fiction/seven-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2021/

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC.

Absolutely delightful! Martha Waters is an absolute must for anybody who is looking to get into the historical romance genre (I’m looking at you, folks who are enjoying Bridgerton!).
Lady Diana is the leading lady that we need, Jeremy is swoon-worthy, and the banter abounds. What more could you possibly want? A must read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a e-arc of this for a honest review. I liked this one more than I thought that I would I am trying to get into more historical romances and this one didn’t disappoint, though I did enjoy it the only thing that I had a slight problem with was it felt like the romance was a little rushed to me but other than that little thing the rest was good

First and foremost, I would like to say that I often find myself not wanting to be seen reading a romance novel because of the covers. This cover is beautiful and it makes my day to see a romance cover that can be taken seriously when on display in a store or bookshelf. 👏🏻

I loved everything about this book. It was a welcome transport from the emotional turmoil that has been the past year. I connected so much with the main characters of Diana (aka the widowed Lady Templeton) and Jeremy (aka the Marquess of WIllingham) and throughly enjoyed every moment of their bickering, flirting and overall chemistry. When they are in public together, it seems like they are constantly at each other's throats over trivial things, but it is a ruse for the electricity between them. In private their dialogue pulls readers into the characters themselves. We are shown what makes them tick and what is behind the masks they present to society.

I tend to give too much away if I carry on with the full plot , but I found myself sincerely hoping that this would be made into a movie at the end. Upon finishing this book, I immediately purchased Martha Waters' first book, To Have and to Hoax. I cannot wait to see what she writes next.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book. I loved it so much
and have already preordered my own copy. 💗

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is well timed with all of the current buzz about Bridgerton as it reminded me very much of the same era. While parts were entertaining with the back and forth love story, I felt it seemed slow to get to the ending that we knew was coming.

This book was just what I needed after watching Bridgerton. I adored the bickering and the sparks between Jeremy and Lady Templeton. The chemistry was flaming! This was a great beach read and just what I needed to escape world events.
Many thanks to Atria Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I liked it, but I feel like the initial set-up was lacking - as in, the original proposition that brought the characters together. It felt forced!

To Love and to Loathe is witty, flirty and fun. I honestly loved it. I'm not a huge fan of historical fictions, I find them hard to get into but I really enjoyed this one. The banter between Diana and Jeremy was amazing. I'm a sucker for some good sexual tension banner and this book if full of it. The characters are well written and fun. It's also steamy. I was pleasantly surprised by how stream their scenes were. The chemistry between them was palpable.

A fun follow up to anyone who enjoys Julia Quinn, historical romance, regency romance, and enemies to lovers plots!

As many of you know, I'm on a bit of a regency romance kick! And I was lucky enough to have this arc in my arsenal.

Overall, it was okay! It was cute and I loved the back and forth between Diana and Jeremy. This was the second installment in a series, but you definitely didn't need to read the first to understand the characters or story. It tended to drag in certain moments, which made me lose interest in the story progression.

I'm not sure how I felt about Diana's character, quite honestly. I found her to be a bit much, and not in the way I normally like. What really made me dislike her was when she found out a secret about another character, something that could have potentially ruined her, and decided to share with her friends, even though Diana promised the other woman complete secrecy. That made me give Diana major side eye. 👀
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Thank you Net Galley and Atria Books for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

In Martha Waters new book, To Love and to Loathe, readers are taken on a fun romp through the lives of dueling aristocrats. Both characters, who have sworn off marriage for good, find themselves at war with one another over a "friendly" wager. Now, what was once a simple game becomes more complicated and more hilarious. Readers will find themselves laughing out loud as they traverse with the characters through pithy conversations and intricate interactions. A worthwhile read, Waters has created a cast of characters that leave her readers with the desire to know what comes next at every turn.

Diana and Jeremy have always been life long frenemies, full of snarky banter, and unresolved sexual tension. A few years down the road and Diana has become a widow and Jeremy’s grandmother is trying to get him to marry. Thus begins their first bet: If Diana manages to get Jeremy married within a year he owes her 100 Pounds. Diana, now a widow, is finally free and has her money, her freedom, and is enjoying being able to flirt and just live. Jeremy, experiences a rather alarming breakup with his mistress who calls to his attention that he might not be as great in bed as he had thought. Jeremy proposes to Diana, an arrangement in which she becomes his lover and helps him on his bedroom skills and in turn he’ll help her by gossiping to other gentlemen that she’s interested in a lover. Throw in some friends, various matchmaking plots, some twists and turns, and the very sweet romance that springs between these to characters who just love to loathe and poke fun at each other. This story was one to definitely love, and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a cute rom com!

*Thanks Netgalley and Atria Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I was SO excited to get to read this book - with an eye-catching illustrated cover & an adorable play on words title, this one was a must-read for me!

While normally I’m a stickler for reading books in a series in order, I was so excited to read this one after winning a paperback copy thanks to @bibliolifestyle that I went ahead and devoured it in pretty much one sitting, with no regrets.

I adored this delectable Regency-era romance that gave me the strong female character in English high society that I didn’t know I needed before this.

“The last thing I ever intend to do is something as unutterably foolish as to fall in love.”

Nothing like famous last words to really set the pace for your romance novel & let you know it’s about to get good….

Diana and Jeremy were the ultimate frenemies you knew loved to hate one another until they’re so close to that line they agree to a proposal that will change everything. I was 100% HERE for the simmering looks, built-up tension between them, and the exposed secrets that kept coming in this book!

Be prepared to laugh, swoon, & cheer on all of these delectable characters — Do yourself a favor and pick this one up, and I daresay treat yourself with To Have and to Hoax because I am sure it is just as wonderful!

Thank you NetGalley & Atria for an eARC, I will be recommending this one to everyone 4.5 stars for me!