If you are a fan of the Bridgerton series, you'll definitely fall head over heels for this new Regency-set romance. Here, Diana and Jeremy are enemies of sorts in their upper echelon of English society. The banter and poke each other quite a bit. So much so, that they agree to a wager the eligible playboy bachelor must marry within the year or she'll forfeit one hundred pounds. However, he has a counterproposal for her. Embark on a no-strings-attached, secret, affair during his fortnight-long party so she can prove he's not bad in the bedroom as a former paramour yelled at him. Hahaha, oh I love this book already. The widow Diana and Jeremy have so much banter that's so delicious as a reader. This whole book is so freaking juicy, like by the prologue alone, I was so into this story! Told through back and forth perspectives, this very enjoyable book is full of witty, captivating language and all the tropey romance goodness. These two characters have a certain level of tension between them, told through all their banter, that's so delicious to watch play out on the page. It's a compelling read, and one I just couldn't put down. Sure, it ends quite predictably yet it's still fun and cute.

To Love and to Loathe is a fun and refreshing read and I'm so glad I took the chance to read it! I love and enemies-to-lovers romance but wasn't sure how it would work with a historical romance. But work it DID! This is a must read book for 2021 and I recommend it to all romance readers!

Regency-era romance? High society schemes? Flirtatious frenemies? Yes please!

“To Love and to Loathe” by Martha Waters was a delightful, fun, and steamy read that will charm any rom-com or period romance reader. The book hits many classic rom-com plot points—a friendly wager, characters thrown together for an extended house party, heartfelt confessions, and old friends becoming something more. I was pleasantly surprised by the female protagonist, Lady Diana Templeton, who Waters wrote with such care and attention so that the reader deeply understood her internal battling desires for her independence and for the male protagonist, Jeremy the Marquess of Willingham. The scenes with Diana and Jeremy, whether flirting on the dance floor or getting intimate after hours, did not disappoint. I did not think the supporting cast of characters were fleshed out enough, though a few did stand out and provided some much-needed story progression. “To Love and to Loathe” quite funny and much more provocative than I expected. Quips like, “Of course Diana would read some sort of pornographic poetry about fellatio and, rather than being horrified, would think to herself, I can be good at that, too.”

Though a little formulaic, overall, I thought “To Love and to Loathe” was an entertaining read with a few surprising character elements and witty writing. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoyed “A Rogue of One's Own” by Evie Dunmore, “A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem” by Manda Collins, or “Red, White & Royal Blue,” by Casey McQuiston.

A thoroughly delightful romance. Lots of fun one liners and commentary on the roles of men and women. I really enjoyed that the heroine was a widow and not a blushing virgin.

Oh, wow. Another fabulous book by Martha Waters. Its' got everything I love - witty banter, Regency romance (Elizabethan? IDK. Still - England! Royalty! Fabulousness.), lots of heat, so much wit, and a delicious twist or two along the way. It was nice to see the characters I fell so hard for in To Have and to Hoax, and I can't wait for Emily's story. (IT's COMING, RIGHT????)

As with the first book, "To Have and To Hoax", this book was utterly charming. If I am honest, I think I may have enjoyed this one a tad bit more! I loved the relationship development between Jeremy and Diana. There was the perfect balance between humor and seriousness, and both characters felt so real they came off the page.

I cannot wait to see what couple is next in this wonderfully fun series!

This Regency rom-com is an enemies-to-lovers-to-friends w/benefits story that had so many of my favorite things going for it- snappy banter, saucy steam, and antics. Plus- a bit of forced proximity for good measure since it takes place over a fortnight-long party at the Marquesses country estate.

I enjoyed it, but I wanted more angst. More conflict. I loved the dialogue, but I craved more tension. In the end I am hung up on what I consider to be a character flaw of our heroine. Without divulging a spoiler, Diana discovers a deeply personal, heavily guarded secret of a fellow guest. What she does with this information left a bad taste in my mouth. I wish the author had treated that storyline with more care.

I have not read the first book in the series, To Have and to Hoax, but I plan to.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC.

I seriously loved the first book in this series, so I was really anticipating this one! Also, the hero and heroine are set up as sort of frenemies-to-lovers, which sounded like fun. Unfortunately, I had a hard time wanting to go back to this each time I had to set it down. To me, the plot just didn't hold up--the tension and reasons supposedly keeping them apart just didn't play out all that realistically and their reason for getting together at all in the first place was also kind of implausible. I wanted there to be so much will they/won't they tension, but it actually just ended up feeling artificially drawn out. I also wanted to see the development of the characters' new feelings/realization of feelings build, and that fell flat to me, too. I may try the next book, as it seems pretty clear who those characters will be, but I'm even a little hesitant about their story too, based on what we already seem to know of the set-up.

This was a descent historical romance. I enjoyed the humor and some delving into the inner workings of the hero and heroine's minds, but I would have appreciated more depth.

So good. So, so, so, so good. I loved this book; I zipped through this book in a day because I adored the storyline, the characters, and most of all the witty banter. And this was such a quick read, I kept saying just one more chapter and the next thing I knew I was done with the book. I hadn’t read To Have and to Hoax, but immediately checked it out from the library while still reading this one. And, I cannot wait to read about everyone else; I especially hope Lady Helen gets a story, I’d love to know how that ends!

This was a fun, romantic romp with sincere moments along the way. How refreshing to see a male love interest not prickle at the first sign of constructive lovemaking criticism! Anyone would love the escape that reading about Diana and Jeremy provides. Wonderful side characters, as well! Lady Helen, especially.

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is a fun historical rom-com with two sarcastic and pragmatical characters tangled up in feelings they refused to acknowledge.

Jeremy was Diana's brother's school friend, and they knew each other forever but never really got along. She despised his carefree and womanizing ways, and he loathed her cold calm and determination in marrying a rich husband.

But beneath all the loathing lay a sizzling attraction that they both fought through endless banter and outright insult.

The story is well written, and the couple's repartee was fun and entertaining. Diana and Jeremy were flawed and clueless about what was going on between them, and it was kind of adorable.

The romance was spicy (definitively adult reading). I was not entirely convinced it was true love between them. They seem too practical and jaded for that, but I was happily proved wrong in the end.

To Love and to Loathe is a delightful historical comedy, great for a light and fun read in these crazy times we live in.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*This review will be posted on https://lureviewsbooks.com on 04/06/2021*

Diana bets Jeremy, a known womanizer and a man she has been fighting an attraction to, that he will marry within the year. Jeremy accepts the bet but after having his ego crushed by his last lover, proposes they become lovers. Diana sees the arrangement as a way to help her win her bet.

The book is predictable, but it's a fun comfort read that doesn't take itself too seriously. Readers who enjoyed To Love and to Hoax will enjoy this one too. This also felt like a modern take on Regency romance that gave Diana the freedom to take on a lover.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cute book, for lovers of Pride and Prejudice (and modern updates). It's sweet, but smart enough to keep you entertained, like mental bubblegum.

If you enjoyed Martha Water's debut, 'To Have and To Hoax', you will be similarly satisfied with her second in the series, 'To Love and to Loathe'.

This victorian-romance-but-make-it-fun novel centers around the widow Lady Templeton (AKA Diana AKA Violet's friend from book one) and Lord Willingham (AKA Jeremy AKA Audley's friend from book one). The bulk of the story takes place at Willingham's country estate during a 2 week long house party with a bunch of their friends & assorted gentry. The whole cast of characters from book one is back at it here. This is a classic enemies to lovers trope goldmine.

To Love and To Loathe makes me wish I was lounging around a country estate, drinking brandy, hanging out with my friends, and having lots of questionably thought out sex on random furniture with a rich and handsome member of English nobility. So, yeah... would recommend.

As with her first book, Martha Waters wrote such compelling characters that I found I had to finish the book in one day. I appreciate a book that is based on predictable tropes that is still “unputdownable” and this book certainly qualifies. I will be eagerly awaiting Waters’ next book!

This was a follow up to To Have and To Hoax. The premise was not really my favorite storyline personally but the characters were interesting and had some depth that was fun to see play out. There was very little language but quite a bit of steam and innuendo. I preferred the first novel but I'm curious for the third installment hinted at.

I received an advance copy of this book courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

To Love and to Loathe is the second book in a frothy Regency-era romance series by Martha Waters. Though I enjoyed the first book in this series (“To Have and to Hoax”), I felt much more invested in the story and characters of this second book. Diana and Jeremy were introduced on a surface-level in the first novel, but Waters really fleshed them out in this installment and I found myself rooting for them despite some typical frustrating character quirks. There were wonderful discussions of consent, women’s autonomy and independence, and grief, which all managed to not seem anachronistic despite being more “modern” ideas. The chemistry and dialogue between Diana and Jeremy was delightful and made this a fun, speedy read for me.

Although you don’t need to read "To Have and to Hoax" prior to this book, I’d recommend it in order to lay the foundation for Diana and Jeremy and get some background info on the other characters in the series.

Good modern take on a regency romance. The romantic leads were interesting and their chemistry was believable. The sattelite characters were great as well. I enjoyed this one.

Okay so I’m first going to state that everyone who loves historical romance will like this book. Those who do please read the book and ignore my review.
I used to love historical romance but I can safely state that I’m not a big fan of it anymore. The problem was that the story was tedious at times. It took me a long time to finish. I was so happy to be done. I feel bad stating that but it’s true. Sorry to the author! The main character of Diana grated on my nerves. I thought she was a horrible character and therefore I couldn’t enjoy the story. What really bothered me was when she gossiped about someone else to her friends when she had no right to do and could potentially cause serious damage if exposed to the society. In the end Diana didn’t really change for me to start liking her. Overall, if you like historical romance you will love this book. Sadly, I didn’t.

I received the ARC from the publisher and Netgalley for my honest review and opinion.