Rounded down from 4.5 stars.

I loved this book! Both Jane and Penvale were delightfully stubborn and thick headed… until of course they weren’t. I loved their bickering, and Jane’s strong-willed personality. I definitely will be checking out the rest of the authors books! Watch out, everyone. I’m entering into my historical romance era.

Penvale and Jane are thrown together in a marriage of convenience because they both want the same thing: Trethwick Abbey, the ancestral home of Penvale's ancestors lost to the payment of his father's death duties. But while Penvale expects to settle down to making the Abbey a productive estate and living up to the memory of his father, Jane just wants to be left alone in the house she has come to love. But when she decides to use the same trick that drove off Penvale's uncle, the former owner and her former guardian, Jane slowly starts to realize that her husband isn't the man she thought he was... and that maybe she doesn't want him to leave after all.

I love everything Martha Waters writes and will happily read everything she decides to grace us with. Her humor and wit are exceptional and the relationships she builds, both romantic and platonic are realistic, warm, and satisfying. Penvale is known from her previous novels in the same world and it is gratifying to see him get his own happily ever after. Jane, new to the scene, is a relatable fish out of water going from an impoverished daughter of a gentleman to a viscountess without really being prepared or willing to take on the role. The way in which these two very different people get to know one another provides a lot of laughs alongside softer moments that help the reader get to know them, too. As always, Waters' humor is on point and the slow burn she creates between Penvale and Jane is just right. We also get a peek at characters from her previous novels and I can only say that I sincerely hope West and Sophie get their story next!

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read To Swoon and to Spar early in exchange for an honest review.

The 4th book in the Regency Vows series, and just like the 3 prior stories, To Swoon and to Spare is charming, funny, snarky and smart. Viscount Penvale has spent his entire adult life focus on one goal, to repossess his childhood home. Ten-year-old Penvale and his little sister were forced to leave when their parents died and the estate went to their unpleasant uncle Bourne. They grew up with indifferent relatives without love but from each other. Now he can finally afford to buy back the estate in Cornwall and has made several unsuccessful offers to his uncle. Unexpectedly, Penvale’s uncle show up in London with a counter offer. He’ll sell the house as long as the deal includes Penvale marrying Bourne’s ward, Miss Jane Spenser. Penvale agrees to this loveless, arranged marriage because, as a viscount, he needs to marry at some point anyway and he’d do practically anything to get the estate. Jane is 21, shy, sarcastic and prickly with stunning violet eyes. She’s faked the haunting of the estate to get rid of Mr. Bourne and now she can do the same to get rid of a husband. Let the games begin….

This book is the perfect nod to gothic and Austen-era books. It was wonderful to fall back into this world and the characters that we’ve grown to love. This time we get Penvale’s story which is set on a windy cliff in Cornwall complete with a ghost or two. It was the perfect escape to my mid-March slump.

I was given an advanced readers copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

𝗧𝗼 𝗦𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗼 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗮 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀⁣
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I adored this historical romcom! I always forget how much I love historical romance when I’m not reading them. This was a great reminder for me to pick up more of them. ⁣
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Viscount Penvale has been working his whole adult life to be able to buy back his family home that was lost to him as a child. His uncle is finally willing to sell…on one condition. Penvale must marry his uncle’s ward, Miss Jane Spencer. ⁣
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Jane Spencer is sick of being passed around from man to man like property. Threthwick Abbey is the first place that has truly felt like home to Jane and she’s not above a little bit of trickery to get the estate all to herself. She got rid of one male…she can get rid of another. ⁣
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This follows Jane and Penvale as they adjust to married life with the little added mix of a ghost..⁣
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This was funny and I loved how Jane was not at all the proper London lady but was finally accepted by her new husband and his friends. ⁣
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This is the first book I’ve picked up by @marthabwaters but you can bet I will be picking up her whole backlist! ⁣
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Thank you @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! It was most enjoyable ❤️

I am still giggling because this book was too cute! I always eat up a marriage of convenience in historical romances, but this one was an entirely different story. I haven’t read many books from this genre that have this kind of romcom vibe with a lot of humor so it was a very nice surprise.

Nothing screams fun more than a staged house haunting to get rid of your husband, especially when said husband happens to be quite the practical person and doesn’t truly believe ghosts are real. I gotta give it to Jane though, she was very determined and gave her full self to this plan she made it almost her full time job, but I don’t think she thought it would backfired like that! Oh well! Love!

The romance between Penvale and Jane is a bit on the slowburn side. They were absolutely adorable and cute though when they were spending time together. I enjoyed their witty banter, she was really snarky when she wanted to be and they both liked to vex each other. I found myself giggling more than once.

I am very interested now to read the other books of the series because I haven’t yet and just by reading about the other characters through Jane and Penvale’s eyes made me very curious about them.

Regency romances are one of my favorite genres to read, so I'm surprised I haven't come across Martha Waters before, as this novel was my introduction to her work. But I'm so glad I found it, as I enjoyed the book quite a bit, and am now reading her previous novels. Like most regency romances our couple's relationship develops slowly over time while the events of some silly subplot unfolds around them. In this particular novel that silly subplot is a haunting. The haunting was a bit of a stretch for me —she really thinks she's going to get him to believe there are ghosts roaming around?— but it's handled in such a humorous way that I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. 

Though very enjoyable, this novel is just shy of four stars, more like 3.8 in my opinion. One of my reasons for the slightly lower rating is that at times I found the speech, character behavior, and some descriptions to be too modern given the time period, which I found distracting. But overall, a good read, and I would recommend it to other regency romance fans.

ARC was provided by Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Martha Waters - I would read your shopping list if you published it and I am sure it would be filled with witty banter that would make it difficult to not smile. To Swoon and to Spar is the fourth book in the Regency Vows series by Marth Waters but can be read as a standalone book as well. However, I am not sure why you would want to, the other books are fantastic! This book centers around the story of Lord Penvale, who must marry his Uncle's ward, Jane, in order to gain his ancestorial estate. So this story includes a couple of my favorite romance troupes including marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, and single bed. The other really cool thing about this particular installment is that is borrows from gothic novels. They imagery of the windy cliffs and rolling moors of the countryside reminded me of Wuthering Heights.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I would highly recommend. The only issue I had is that Diane's story (I think book 2 of the series) was my favorite and she is one of my favorite characters, but her portrayal in this book wasn't always in the most flattering light which didn't seem to match with my previous thoughts. However, that could just be that she was interacting with Jane, who is also not the easiest person to converse with.

Anyway, you should read this book. And the others in the series.

This was such a fun regency romance and a twist on grumpy/sunshine where she is the grump. Well, Jane isn't really grumpy, she is just shy and it comes across that she likes no one. Penvale is the life of the party and everyone's friend. When he gets the chance to buy his childhood property that he has been coveting for years, it comes with one stipulation; he must marry the charge his uncle has taken and she will remain at the estate.
Jane wants nothing more than to stay at the abbey, but now she has to deal with the nephew of the man she deeply detests. She has always been on her own, and intends to keep it that way. She has scared off the uncle, now she just needs to do the same for the nephew. What she doesn't understand though, is that Penvale has deep roots in the house and won't go away without a fight.
As they become closer, opening themselves to the possiblity of more, Jane starts to question why she wanted to be alone for so long and if it is ok to trust a man. Penvale wouldn't have chosen Jane as his wife under other circumstances, but as he is learning, he wouldn't want it any other way. He loves sparring with Jane and passing the days by the sea.
I really enjoyed these two learning to live with each other and coming together and their relationship growing slowly from strangers. I loved how Penvale didn't think his world would really change when he was married, but he started to realize it was never going to be the same.
Thank you to Atria, Netgalley and Martha Waters for an early copy.

Penvale desperately wants his uncle to sell him back his family estate. He even agrees to marry his uncle’s ward to get it. Jane, ward to the loathsome uncle, is happy to “haunt” the estate to get the uncle to go back to London, now she must do it again to get her new husband to leave her in peace in the countryside. After spending time with Penvale, she realizes she might want him to stay after all. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Atria Books for my honest review.

This started out really fun, and it was nice reading about all the characters from To Have and to Hoax which is the only other book I’ve read from this series but to be entirely honest I don’t love regency novels. I also think Martha Waters books get really repetitive and boring. The characters were super immature and I was only entertained by the ghosty things in this book for about 100 pages before it got really annoying. Overall, I think Martha Waters is a clever writer, but her books seriously lack plot. If you are looking for a book where nothing happens you should pick this up

It’s a marriage of convenience between Penvale and Jane. However, sparks fly and their mutual dislike starts to dissolve as they try and discover the mystery of the apparent haunting of their Cornish Estate.

I liked both characters, especially Jane’s awkwardness and outspoken manner. I also liked the gothic twist to this novel. This book was a very slow burn, but cute nonetheless.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing me with a eARC of this book to read and review!

A regency era romance. How did I not know this was a series! I enjoyed reading for the most part. I think I found myself a little bored a little over halfway through.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

4.5 stars — oh these books just keep getting better. By far my favorite in the series!

Penvale finally gets his own book — and his own reluctant bride, crumbling manor, and haunted hallways. After twenty long years he finally has reached the goal he has been singularly pursuing — the return to his ancestral home.

But said return comes with a sharp-tongued new wife and continued unexplained occurrences that appear to be of the supernatural variety. As he begins to learn more about his new wife Jane, he starts to see the barriers she puts up around herself to save herself from her shyness & insecurities amongst others. Said barriers often include running around the house in a white nightgown in the effort to convince him it’s haunted. Can’t blame a girl for trying.

I loved watching these two tenderly acknowledge their lives of loneliness and begin to forge a relationship that is real. Of course, it couldn’t be done without many hilarious misunderstandings that require intervention from all our old friends from previous books. I loved this couple and I loved the additional glimpses we got into these other marriages as well. I better be getting West & Sophie soon!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC

While the previous books in this series have been on my TBR for quite some time, I had yet to jump into the world of Martha Waters and I really enjoyed getting the chance to! To Swoon and Spar is the 4th book in 'The Regency Vows.' Viscount Penvale, brother and friend to our hero and heroines from Books 1-3, wants nothing more than to get back his family's home Trethwick Abbey. Jane Spencer, ward of the uncle who is keeping Penvale from his ancestral home, wants nothing more than to be left alone and away from the men in the world who wish to control her. When Penvales uncle appears out of the woodwork with an offer to buy back the house on the condition he marries Jane, Penvale jumps at it with little thought or consideration to his uncle's post-sale caution about the haunting of Trethwick Abbey. Jane, cold and uncomfortable around others and harboring a very low opinion of Penvale, is forced to accept these conditions but is pleased to be able to stay in the home she loves as well. As hauntings increase, so do the sparks between Jane and Penvale.

My largest critique would be around Jane and her relationship with Diana. I am not usually a fan of the women can't get along storyline unless there is a really understandable reason for it and I just didn't feel it with this, and it felt way too much, even with Janes's shyness. I am also someone who is introverted and nervous around new people, and though I acknowledge that I deal with it differently, Jane's cold aggression sometimes was a little too far for me that it started to tread on unrealistic.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading books 1-3 and any future ones!

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t super excited to hear that we were getting a book about Penvale and a yet to have met female heroine. However, I was proved very wrong and I think this might be my new favorite of the series! I absolutely adored Penvale! He was so sweet and caring and observant and I loved how he took lessons he learned from his friends’s relationships to make his even better.
This is a great book for those who love Bridgerton and those wonderful gothic novels like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. A bit of “ghosts” and a lot of romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for a eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book releases in April and is a regency era book. In order for the Viscount to get his family home back, he must marry Jane, a ward of his uncle. When he and Jane move back to the Abbey-strange things start to happen around the house. The Viscount doesn’t believe in ghost, but his does believe something or someone doesn’t want him hanging around.

The book was very cliche and started off pretty good-I felt about 75% in, things started to slow down and became quite boring.

To Swoon and to Spar was such a fun read. I haven't read the others in the series, but I'm looking forward to reading them now. I don't feel like I missed anything by not having read the others in The Regency Vows Series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

Viscount Penvale's uncle finally agrees to sell him the ancestral family home. But there's a catch: Penvale must wed Jane, the uncle's ward. When Penvale meets Jane, they fall deeply in hate—yet a marriage of convenience is the only way for each of them to reach their goals. They come to an agreement and move into the home that the servants claim is haunted. Will their ghost-hunting adventures lead to love?

The books in this series get better and better. This one is an all-out romp that kept me laughing from start to finish. It's witty and clever and a pure joy to read.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.