Martha Waters adds a fourth book to her Regency Vows series. In a twist she adds a little gothic haunting into the mix. Viscount Penvale thinks his dream has come true when his uncle offers to sale him the ancestral home of his childhood. The catch is he must also marry his uncles ward. Jane Spencer meets briefly with Penvale, long enough to know that she is willing and not being forced and a match is made. Jane is the daughter of a Navy man and has been left on her own much of her life. She has no interest in London of society but loves the home in Cornwall. She is smart but can be blunt not use to the polite niceties of society. Within a few weeks time they are wedded and settling into the country.

(3.5 Stars) This is a basic arranged marriage, forced proximity romance but the author adds humor. (Although I found his less funny than the previous book.) There are mis-steps and hurt feelings as Penvale and Jane say things without thinking. But there is more to Penvale than Jane expects. She likes his concern for the village and for those on his estate. The haunted happenings at the house also aren’t driving him away like she hopes. But maybe she’s changed her mind.

These two are really both a little brusk and blunt. This isn’t a swooning romance where they are each the most handsome/pretty or the most charming. This is shy people who are a little unsure. And both could use a lot of education about communication. This is mild spicy with but enough to see a connection. It is low angst as well. The characters from previous books make appearances too for a house party. It is enjoyable but didn’t wow me. I do love the covers that have made the series unique and easy to spot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC and I’m leaving a voluntary review.

To Swoon and to Spar by Martha Waters
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon&Shuster for the ARC

I absolutely loved this funny and charming historical romance.

I love a good marriage of convenience, with some enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. Viscount Penvale’s uncle has ownership of the family estate, and agrees to sell it to Penvale if he also agrees to marry Jane - the uncle’s ward.

Penvale has been trying to regain ownership of this estate his whole life, and all Jane wants is to live in peace in the estate and be left alone. To that end, she and the servants had been staging a haunting of the estate to scare away the uncle, and now they are applying the same strategy on Penvale.

The premise is mildly bonkers and very well executed. The dialogue between Penvale and Jane crackles and made me laugh out loud on several occasions. Neither is exactly as they seem to each other initially, and I liked the way the slowly built trust.

I especially loved Jane. She has a hard time in social situations, frequently says things that fall outside social norms, and has a lot of internal struggles that gave me the sense that she may be neurodiverse. Whether or not that was the intent, I appreciated the ways she grew somewhat more comfortable, while maintaining those key character traits. I loved that Penvale loved her and accepted her as she is.

A great addition to this series of books, looking forward to the next one!

This series continues to be so much fun! This Regency-era romance features an arranged marriage, a fake haunting, and a shy girl who just wants to be left alone with her library -- what's not to love?

To Swoon and to Spar by Martha Waters was a fun read! I’ve read a couple of the other books in this series and they’re all really cute. I loved Jane and Penvale! Watching both of them come out of their shells for each other in a way they found difficult with others was so lovely. This is a romance of convenience with forced proximity set in a bit of a gothic setting. Seeing the setting and the female protagonist gave me Jane Eyre vibes but the ghost premise is significantly funnier in this one. I will say if you’re not a fan of miscommunication in your romance this one might be difficult for you, but the whole point of the main characters is that they have difficulty communicating with people. It’s a major part of their character development so I didn’t mind it in this case. Excited to read the next book in the series!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the provided ARC for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn’t influence my review. This was a great read, I didn’t like the dual POV though. I love historical regency romances, especially ones that have enemies/rivals to lovers.

I have loved every title in this series. They are witty and funny, but also the "scandalous" historical fiction in which you love to escape. I have to assume West's and Sophie's story is next, and I can't wait!

This is the fourth book of this series and by this author and I have thoroughly enjoyed every one, although this was a bit easier than the first three. It is a Regency era historical romance where the main characters each agree to marry in order to have possession of an estate in Cornwall. “Penvale” wants it because it is was his family’s home prior to the death of his parents, and Jane because it is the first place she has fallen in love with the house while living there as the ward of its’ owner. These two strangers marry after a meeting of less than an hour and then return to Cornwall together. Jane is determined to scare her new husband into returning to town so that she has the house to herself. Penvale is just as determined to remain in his childhood home and live up to the responsibilities of its’ owner. What follows is a funny story of two people who begin to know and like each other during he craziness of Jane’s plan. Add in the whacky cast of friends from the previous books in this series, and I did laugh out loud, just less than in this author’s previous work. She has a witty sense of humor and I look forward to her next work of fiction as well. I definitely recommend giving this book a whirl. I am voluntarily submitting this review after reading an advanced complementary copy of this book.

Sharp tongued, witty exchanges and banter between siblings and friends but mostly between the protagonists. Her creativity and his tenacity make for a clash of titans. Enjoyed this book thoroughly and finished within a night of reading.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Martha Waters' To Swoon and to Spar!

Martha Waters is one of my favorite regency authors! Of all The Regency Vows couples, Penvale and Jane were my least favorite. I felt the chemistry and banter was lacking between the two. I loved the inclusion of the other couples, but this one missed the mark for me. I enjoyed it okay, but I didn't love it as much as the others.

I love all of Martha Waters' books, and I was so happy to receive To Swoon and to Spar as an ARC to review!!!
Everything about this book is absolutely fantastic-- the cover (I love these covers so much that I've ordered the hard copies or bid in fundraising auctions to get ARCs of previous copies), the title-- and that's just the superficial of the book!
It has been built up through the series that through the previous Viscounts Penvale, young Penvale has lost his ancestral home, Trethwick Abbey. An uncle bought it from his estate when Penvale was too young to have a say, and Penvale feels like he is a shell of a title without it. He has wanted it back since he was able to fully come into his title, and finally has the funds built up to buy it back. But his uncle has a condition to the sale-- marry his uncle's ward!
Here we meet our heroine Jane, and guess what, she has been living at Trethwick Abbey and loves it as well. She's scared Penvale's uncle away from the estate, and is living there as she likes. She who is reluctant to marry, but it's the only that she figures she can stay at the Penvale estate. But she has a plan of how to maintain her independence and keep Trethwick Abbey-- and hijinks ensue!
I love To Swoon and to Spar-- the dialogue is fantastic, the story is so fun and I laughed and enjoyed every minute of this WONDERFUL book! The characters were great, their chemistry a slow, delightful burn. It did start a little slow, but I think that was building up to the plot and to catch up anyone reading as a standalone. I loved cameos of characters from the previous series (Diana and Jeremy are my favorite). The writing is so great, it is so witty, fresh and snappy, I just loved this book!!!
I would recommend this book to everyone-- anyone who likes historical fiction, just any fiction, historical romance... or just romance-- and especially Austen-esque fiction. This is a fantastic read and I can't wait for Martha Waters' next! I feel like I'm gushing but I really love this book, and this series.

What a fun premise and delightful read! Already a Martha Waters fan, I was excited to dive into this book because the concept felt so fresh: a Viscount is offered the opportunity to buy back his ancestral home if he marries his uncle’s ward but what he doesn’t know is the house is haunted…or is it?

Jane, the ward to be married to Penvale, is icy, cold, and doesn’t give the best first impressions due to her shyness. Jane and the staff take to haunting the manor in hopes of expelling her uncle (check) and ultimately her new husband (to be determined) but as the days wear on and they grow closer she learns he may not be as awful as she initially thought. He may actually care as much about the manor, staff, and town as much as she does.

Watching these two fall in love and discover they had it all wrong about the other was supremely satisfying. Fans of slow burn, marriage of convenience, gothic novel vibes, and shenanigans will adore this read!

A quiet romance with a haunted twist.

The two main characters are married for reasons of necessity and then go off to the Viscount's country estate. They are sequestered in the country with only the estate's staff so the story is very focused on their relationship until the Viscount's friends come to visit about 2/3 of the way in.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy of this! No review was required and all thoughts are my own.

I am so in my historical romance era! This is such a fun series and I was so so excited to get approved of an arc. Martha Waters is the queen of the marriage of convenience trope.

Penvale has to marry Jane to get his childhood home back. It's a marriage of convenience right? They won't fall in love? lol.

Jane and some of the staff are "haunting" the house in hope to get Penvale to leave (just like his uncle did.) But I was kind of rubbed the wrong way, because she never gave him a chance. She was "shy" but also just rude. And they tried to explain that she didn't know how to act so came across as mean, but I also feel like she was just mean.

I didn't feel a ton of chemistry for the majority of the book, but once they started opening up to each other and getting to understand the other you could start to feel it.

I would round this up to 3.5 stars, but I definitely think To Marry and to Meddle is my favorite from the series!

What a unique storyline of a fake haunting, arranged marriage love story! I found it very interesting and definitely kept my attention. I love the Regency Vows series by this author and learning about all their friend’s love stories. Waters writing is beautiful!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

To Swoon and to Spar is the fourth book in Waters' Regency Vows series, and I think it's her best one yet. This story follows Penvale, Diana's (To Love and to Loathe) brother, and a new character named Jane. Both characters are incredibly well-developed, and the story has all of the warmth of the previous ones. Jane tries to convince Penvale that his ancestral home is haunted so she could be left there alone. Cue the ghosts at night and wails in the halls, straight from everyone's favorite gothic novels. As Jane realizes Penvale is more similar to the heroes of her favorite novels than she realized, maybe having him around isn't such a bad thing. This was my favorite novel from Waters because I could see myself in Jane. Many times, romantic heroines have everything together, and are able to respond perfectly in all situations. That's not the case for Jane who would rather be reading than hosting parties, and is so incredibly shy she feels like she does more damage control than conversation. If you are a fan of regency romances, I think you will enjoy this one.

Much like Jane Spencer, I’d love to spend the rest of my life reading in a fancy house in Cornwall. Unfortunately for both of us, there are some obstacles in the way of this plan. For Jane, a husband who is just as hopelessly devoted to her beloved Trethwick Abbey as she is would be the biggest hurdle, so naturally, she concocts a plan to fake a haunting to scare him away. This plan does not prove quite as effective as she would hope, as her new husband, Viscount Penvale, is a perfectly reasonable (and handsome) man, and she may not mind his presence as much as she anticipated.

I have such a deep fondness for the Regency Vows series, and it feels like every addition just gets better and better. Martha Waters has blessed us with beautiful romances and the most wonderful found family. The loyalty! The love! The banter! I did appreciate that this installment pulled us into the countryside and allowed Jane and Penvale’s relationship to develop (mostly) without well-meaning interference, because my sweet baby introvert Jane deserved that much, and it made the moments with the rest of the Regency Vows crew all the sweeter.

What a delightfully entertaining book! I've loved this series for so long, and I'm happy to say that it just keeps getting better. Dare I say that Penvale and Jane take the cake as my favorite couple in this mischievous group of friends? Yes, I dare, because, omg these two kept me wanting more, and I was stealing any chance I could get to read just a bit more. They are deliciously antagonistic, sarcastic, moody, and ultimately perfect for each other. I'm so glad I got the chance to read this one early!

I only wish we got a bit more at the end, if not a full epilogue, then at least one more scene of them together.

Did Not Finish.

I’ve enjoyed the rest of The Regency Vows series, so I was excited to read To Swoon and To Spar.

Alas, it was not to be.

To Swoon and To Spar features Viscount Penvale buying back his ancestral home, but there’s a catch: he has to marry his uncle’s ward. My issue with To Swoon and To Spar is with this ward, Jane. She’s mean and rude, for no reason and with no provocation.

And I don’t want to read a story about a mean heroine, so I quit.

Thank you to Atria Books for the review copy.

Penvale and Jane are coerced into a marriage of convenience in this sassy regency romance, but it's ok - Jane has a plan to get rid of her unwanted husband. Another triumph from this stand out series!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy.

This is book 4 of the Regency Vows series and we are following Jane and Penvale's love story. It’s a marriage of convenience, opposites attract story with a dash of spice and great witty banter! If you are looking for a great easy ready and are a fan of Jane Austin and Bridgerton then this book is for you! It was the perfect palette cleanser for and I really enjoyed it!

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books, and Martha Waters for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.