This book is delightful and just the most comforting read. The enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my favorites and "To Love and to Loathe" is genuinely so enjoyable.

Diana, the widowed Lady Templeton, and Jeremy, the womanizing Marquess of Willingham, are known in their social circle for their constant bickering and flirtation. But after one particularly heated evening, Diana suggests a bet: the always uncommitted Jeremy will be married within the year. They both think they'll win, easy. Meanwhile, Jeremy receives some embarrassing feedback from one of his many hookups and starts to doubt his talents in the bedroom. He soon convinces Diana to participate in a no-strings-attached hookup during an extended party at his family's estate, finding her to be his most trustworthy confidante. With Diana and Jeremy both focused on different things -- Diana scheming to win the bet and Jeremy trying to rebuild his confidence -- they never expect to actually fall in love.

Diana is the perfect main character - a definite standout. She's headstrong and feisty, and Jeremy's equal at every step (even if society didn't view her that way). Their constant banter and antics are so good.

When I read Martha Waters's first book "To Have and to Hoax," I thought it was perfectly fine - no major complaints, but it didn't blow me away despite the really solid description. But with "To Love and to Loathe," Waters takes all the best parts of her first novel and completely nails it here. It's so charming and I found myself grinning throughout. Any doubts I had were immediately eliminated within the first few pages and I was completely sold.

It's such a minor thing, but I loved that 99 percent of the book takes place at Jeremy's estate with all the characters thrown together for an extended period of time. With sassy comments from their friends and the additional meddling from Jeremy's grandmother, it was just fun. It's very self-contained and the characters were free to misbehave a bit since they were away from the rest of society.

"To Love and to Loathe" is a wonderful escape, immediately pulling me into the ton world of Diana and Jeremy. I read it all in one sitting, but even when I left to make a quick coffee, I couldn't stop thinking about this book. A highly recommended romance - it delivers on everything you're looking for.

To Love and to Loathe is an enemies to lovers regency romance filled with witty banter. Martha Waters' characters are complex and clever never leaving a dull moment in the read.

The story centers around Diana, Lady Templeton, and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham. To say that they don't get along would be an understatement. They have always pushed each other's buttons and enjoy seeing the other squirm. So, no one expected them to ever be cordial let alone enter into a 'friends with benefits' type of relationship.

Diana is a widow who now wants to live a life of independence. She is an intelligent woman and is quick on her feet. She has never seen eye to eye with Jeremy. So, when he asks her to be in a friends with benefits relationship she is both taken aback and intrigued.

Jeremy is confident, cocky, and a playboy. He is known for having many mistresses so when he hears a complaint about his skills in the bedroom he looks for Diana. She is probably the only woman who is immune to his charm and will be honest with him.

Jeremy and Diana agree to have a mutual relationship that is beneficial to them both. Jeremy can sharpen his skills in the bedroom and Diana can finally be in a relationship where she isn't always judged because of her widow status.

Jeremy and Diana have so much sexual tension. It's so fun to see their relationship change and grow as they spend more time together. Their witty banter is one of my favorite parts of the book.

I give To Love and to Loathe 4 stars. It's hilarious, clever, and steamy. I thought this was a good romance will some great banter. If you love the enemies to lovers trope I would highly recommend this story.

DNF @55% I could possibly see myself coming back to this one, but I just did not care about anything going on. This book reminds me of why I thought I did not like historical romance. I did like some of the themes that were going on that subvert the classic HR tropes, but I could not get into the story.

We got a hint of Diana and Jeremy in the previous book by Martha Waters and this is their story.

It gets a mixed review from me - the writing and the at times witty banter are well played and funny. But the plot is quite uneven - the house party that starts all this? Nothing happened there to move the plot along. I overall didn’t mind Diana and Jeremy but neither one really seemed fleshed out beyond their connection to each other.

The biggest reason I have for taking away stars is Diana outing Helen with no consequences. Yes, I get this is set during the Regency era, but that makes it worse considering the punishment during those times.

The standout in this book is the banter - so often in enemy to lover stories the banter is lacking or weird, but it is definitely Waters' niche.
However, the story itself was lacking - the pacing was completely off, the party is so lame, the character's backstories weren't as fleshed out as was hinted they could be (Jeremy inheriting title because of his brother's death, what is Diana doing to further women's independence?), and the Lady Helen plot line which settles over the story like smelly fart. Not entirely because of the LGBTQ plot line (although I don't think it was well handled, with respect to outing Helen relentlessly), but because of how obviously Diana and Jeremy are interested in one another - and Diana keeps pushing Helen on Jeremy in increasingly convoluted and annoying ways - something Helen herself mentions as being an insane thing to participate in.
Overall a flat reading experience and a series I won't be checking for future installments.
Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an early copy for review.

I do love a fun but intelligent romance, especially ones set in the Regency. This one did not disappoint! What's a girl to do when she's the not-to-inherit sister of a Viscount who doesn't have two cents to his name? She'd better marry well!

Unfortunately, the heart wants what it wants, even if what it wants is just as poor as she is.

Still, our heroine does her best to withstand the charm of a wholly unsuitable match, a man so mired in debt himself (or so she believes) that he would be a millstone around her neck instead of a prosperous way out of her uncle's house.

Great fun, well-written, authentically voiced, and a really good read!

Sometimes all I need is a good enemies-to-lovers romance story. It's a good sign when the verbal sparring is fun but not mean-spirited, and Waters hits the right balance. Her characters make silly bets, make silly bedroom decisions, and it's fun to read about. Add in an LGBTQ+ subplot and not too much (or too explicit) sex, and you have a good read for a day you're stuck inside.

This was a DNF for me. I read to 30% and did not enjoy the plot or where it seemed to be headed. Thanks for the opportunity to give this book a chance.

Marth Waters does it again! This author made me rediscovered my love for historical romance when I read To Have and to Hoax at the beginning of the year. I have to admit I was a little worried that book 2 wouldn't live up to the hype I had built up in my head, but I shouldn't have doubted one of my new favorite authors. To Love and to Loathe was simply amazing! All of the wittiness from book 1 was alive and well in this book. So many swoon-worthy moments between Diane and Jeremy. I also loved how much Violet and Audley appeared in TLATL. I will read anything and everything from Martha! :)

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is an excellent regency era historical romance that is cute, witty, creative, and entertaining.

This book is a tie-in to the author’s previous book, To Have and to Hoax, however it can easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone. I had not read the previous book, however easily followed along and enjoyed it so much that I have already picked up its predecessor.

This book gives a fun, fresh, and sassy take on the classic enemies to friends to lovers plot. The chemistry, banter, and electricity between Jeremy and Diana. They both have their flaws and faults, but are both realistic and like able as main characters.

The author was impressive in her ability to draw me in to the story and keep me engaged. Even though I had a feeling where things would end up, I really enjoyed the journey to get there.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this awesome ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR, Bookbub, and Instagram accounts immediately and will post it to my Instagram, Amazon, and B&N accounts upon publication on 4/6/21.

This book was fine. I am pretty surprised that none of the reviews I've read mention that the heroine outs an LQBTQIA+ character to several other people. Hmmm.....

A quick light read and I think contemporary readers might enjoy it even though it's historical.

I would have given this 4 stars if not for some historical inaccuracies and the heroine (who I did not care for).

A cute if forgettable historical romance. It's a mixture of the "friends to lovers" and "enemies to lovers" trope. Long sizzling chemistry between two likeable protagonists = pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Would read again.

I'm always on the hunt for more feminist historical romances (mostly regency and similar time periods). To Love and to Loathe is a mixed bag. I like Diana and Jeremy's bantering, bickering dynamic that blossoms into something more, and the inclusion of queer side characters is always a big plus. The fact the hero isn't presented as immediately perfect during sexual activity is also great, and it's rare to see such open communication between the hero and heroine in terms of their likes and dislikes.

I think the central flaw of this book is its very closed setting, a fornight-long house party where... nothing happens. The memorable overarching events can basically be summed up as, one time they play hide and seek, sometimes they go outside and other times it's rainy. To Love and to Loathe doesn't drag as much as the first book in the series, but like its predecessor, to the extent that it has a plot, it's a convoluted one created entirely by the hero and heroine. Introspection is all well and good, but a bit much as the driving force for an entire novel.

I'll probably still keep an eye out for the next book in the series (especially if it's about Emily and Lord Belfry).

To Love and to Loathe was so delightful! The light, feel good book I need! I honestly couldn't put it down.
Diana, a widow, makes a bet for 1000 pounds with Jeremy,Marquess of Willingham and the man she is constantly at odds with, that he will be married within a year. Along the line, Jeremy has an uncomfortable issue after he was accused of poor performance in the bedroom and they strike up an arrangement.
Its steamy, its fun, its so dang cute! They start to learn about each other and get to know one another and maybe they don't find each other so bad after all?
I totally recommend this book! It's simply delightful!

Cute! Not precisely my regency cup o' tea, but this book did a great job of really convincing me the characters liked each other. Sometimes I read books about the couple that has this crazy, dramatic romance and they're professing deep eternal love for each other and I'm just like...but are you even friends? Jeremy and Diana were the opposite—they had great chemistry, both before and after they were romantically involved. And they're bickering! So much fun.

I loved this book! I fell in love with To Have and To Hoax at the beginning of quarantine, and was thrilled to hear it was the beginning of the series. To Love and To Loathe follows Diana in her quest to find companionship. A botched last night with his mistress leaves Jeremy feeling out of sorts, and so he turns to Diana for a better review. The two embark on a two week country party with a mutually beneficial agreement between them. What they both don't expect is to fall in love along the way.

I absolutely love Diana. She's a strong female protagonist but not your usual one at that. She finds it difficult to deal with emotions and had a harder childhood. The evolution of her relationship with Jeremy was fun to read, and really showed great development of them both as characters. I laughed, I blushed, I loved. What a great book!

There’s so much to love and nothing to loathe in this book!

Diana wagers 100 pounds that Jeremy will be wed within a year (they’re both friends from TO HAVE AND HOAX). He accepts the bet and offers her another deal: a no-strings attached love affair. A recent lover complained about his prowess in the bedroom and he’s eager for an honest opinion. Neither Diana (already widowed) or Jeremy are interested in marriage, but the more they reveal of their true selves to each other, the more they realize that they might not loathe each other as much as they thought.

Sharp sparring with steamy interludes, fun friends, and one very determined spinster make this read a frothy delight. Both characters show beautiful vulnerability that leads to the perfect ending. A must read for historical romance fans.

I had not realized this was the second book in a series. It wasn't exactly necessary to have read that one first, though, although I did wonder why I should care about certain characters who were brought in with little introduction.

Overall, I feel quite neutral about this book. At times, the story felt a bit too contemporary for being set in the Regency era and with such a salacious proposition for a premise, the attempts at suspense were dragged out for all they were worth. I'm also not sure the queer story line really worked for me because it, too, felt run into the ground.

I might read something else by this author, if she were not setting her story in the Regency period.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for

-m/f frenemies to lovers
-brother's friend
-sex pact/friend's with benefits and a bit of sex education thrown in
-regency romance
-a house party
-a marriage bet
-a hilarious cast of secondary characters
-some amazing and witty banter
-slow burn

I loved this one so much. It turned so many tropes on its head, and had such a feminist plot. While Jeremy was a rake, he still had a lot to learn in the ways of women, and Diana was there to teach him despite her lack of practical experience. Their relationship, banter, flirting, and sweetness with each other was amazing. It was wonderful to see that the sex was not immediately perfect, and Jeremy was willing to listen and learn.

It was also surprising to have a book centering on a sex pact still be a slow burn and it worked so well. I was laughing so much with this book and couldn't put it down. While I have not read the first book in the series and I don't feel you have to, I know am desperate to read it to learn more about these characters and can't wait for the next in the series.

Rating: 5
Steam: 3

I very much enjoyed To Love and to Loathe, an enemies-to-lovers. The undeniable chemistry and clever banter between Diana and Jeremy made this book impossible to put down. It's also a great depiction of sexual communication and learning, as Diana teaches Jeremy how to be a better partner to the women he pursues. But while Diana and Jeremy were wonderful characters to root for, I was frustrated by a the lack of external conflict to keep them apart. I was also frustrated by a plot line surrounding a closeted queer character. Diana promises to keep this character's sexual identity a secret, and then immediately outs this character to several of her friends. This choice is never condemned and Diana suffers no consequences for such a selfish act. It made me uncomfortable as a queer writer and felt like an unnecessary decision on the part of the author. The lack of external conflict and the decision to out the only queer character in the book against their will made this book a three out of five stars for me.