TO SWOON AND TO SPAR by Martha Waters, Regency Vows #4
Coming April 11, 2023 from Atria Books.

How do you keep the estate, but get rid of the unwanted husband? Haunt it! Both Jane Spencer and Viscount Penvale marry each other for Trethwick Abbey. For Penvale, it's the home of his childhood that he lost. For Jane, it's the first place that has felt like home; even if she didn't like her guardian. Jane soon learns that scaring away her guardian was much easier than her new husband. And what is even more horrifying? She might even like her husband!

I love Martha Water's playful prose and snappy writing style. The book is a hilarious take on Regency Gothic romances and would even have Jane Austen chortling. You don't need to read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one; but you really should because they are more fun than minuet.

Heat level: A married couple makes excellent use of a wall.

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an engaging, charming regency-era romance with a fun premise. Viscount Penvale has the chance to buy back his family's cherished ancestral home from an uncle, but there's a catch. He has to marry the uncle's 21 year old ward, Miss Jane Spencer. They wed, but Jane has other ideas. She just wants some peace and quiet in her life and would prefer that her new husband spend as much time away from the country estate as possible. So she hatches a plan, with helpful servants, to "haunt" the mansion. Her plan seems to be working well, but as she gets to know her new husband better, she starts to think that she might not want to drive him away after all.

Love love love. I love this series and this was one of my favorites so far. The characters are so snarky and fun, and it has some of my favorite tropes in it! Can't wait for more!!!

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. I enjoyed this Regency era novel with Penvale and Jane and their banter. I did not like the sex in this book. Please leave that put next time.

I love The Regency Vows series and how Martha Waters created a group of friends who become family. Also love how this group always has such wonderful house parties.
In To Swoon and to Spar the marriage of convenience trope along with some great gothic elements creates a situation where indifference and dislike lead to respect and love.

I have been waiting for West and Sophie’s story since To Have and To Hoax so I am greatly looking forward to the next book in this series.

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

I've mentioned this before, but something I continue to adore about this series is the fact that Martha Waters becomes a better and better storyteller with every book. To Swoon and to Spar is her best novel yet, and I enjoyed the hell out of this historical romance. Plus, I found the whole fake haunting aspect kooky in a fun way (I was afraid it'd be a bit too ridiculous for me), and the chemistry between these two was there.

For those who are wondering if you need to read the books in order, I'd say yes; characters from the previous novels pop up a lot as time goes on, and you might be confused (or just not get as much out of it as you could) if you don't understand the dynamics.

To Swoon and to Spar is the fourth book in the Regency Vows series, and I have read them all. But to be honest, this latest book fell flat for me. The previous books in this series are so fun and although To Swoon and to Spar makes that attempt, it just doesn't feel like it reaches the level of the previous books. It was fun to see previous characters, and continued hints at future books, but TBH I didn't care for our heroine, Jane. I understand being shy, but she did nothing throughout this book to deserve Penvale, our hero. He, time and time again, showed how thoughtful and caring he is, not just with her, but in general, and she continued to whine and push him away. The ghost element was fun, but also felt like it could have been even more fun. Overall, I will continue to read Martha Waters and The Regency Vows series, but this book was my least favorite of the four that are out so far.

Martha Waters is an auto-read author for me, and I particularly enjoyed TO SWOON AND TO SPAR. Jane is a delightful heroine--socially awkward, painfully shy and aware of it, and determined to just have her house to herself--and Penvale is, as the book discussed, outside the typical tropes of a regency hero. The gothic (faux) haunting is an extremely entertaining plot, and there are several genuine laugh-out-loud moments. An excellent addition to an excellent series--that I hope will continue for some time.

This series has only gotten better since the first book- To Have and to Hoax. I have read this series from the beginning so I had more of an understanding of what I was getting into as I started this book.

For me personally, when I read historical romances it always takes me a bit longer to get into the first few pages of the books because of how they are written. This book was no different but I should emphasize that this is really. truly not because of content but because I do not read historical romance that often and thus have to retrain my brain every time I pick up a new one.

One thing I really liked about this book was the pacing. Miscommunication plays a heavy role in most of Martha Waters books but I really like how this was executed. It was miscommunication but not really drawn out, especially near the end.

I also like that the plot line felt different. The "ghost" was funny but I also appreciated the simple moments in the village creating more depth to their relationship.

My one and only true qualm was that while I felt like I learned quite a bit about Penvale- his childhood and his motivations, I would have loved to learn a bit more about Jane's. It felt as though that aspect was a but washed over.

Starting this book, I was not sure how much I would relate to the characters but I really was engaged in their lives, personality, and relationship.

Altogether, I really did like this book and its execution of a contemporary "enemies" to lovers in a more mild scale.

I recieved this as an ARC from NetGalley but these are 100% my very own opinions I formed by reading.

I truly liked this book. It was extremely well written and the plot was great! I didnt enjoy their first encounter or their wedding. I am docking stars because I do not enjoy the pace of the book and there were moments where I felt like I was just re-reading what I had already read.
In the end I enjoyed reading To Swoon and to Spar and would highly reccomend it!


*Thank you again NetGalley and author Martha Waters for allowing me the opportunity of reading this ARC*

A fun story, but in my opinion not as good at Waters' others in this series. To Swoon and to Spar is a slow burn, and then when it does burn the reader is privy to one heated virginity-taking love scene and then no more. In the past books the intimacy was great, but this one fell short to me. I did enjoyed the haunting and gothic references sprinkled throughout.

I guess I am used to a faster paced book. I had a very hard time getting into this book and even then found myself skimming over many parts. So sorry, I wanted to like it, but it definitely could be more condensed.

(2.5 stars) The humor of this book was charming, but the chemistry between the two leads was lacking and there were no real stakes or conflict.

To Swoon and To Spar is yet another fantastic romp by Martha Waters! Penvale meets his match in his new bride who only wishes to be alone in the house. Add in ghosts, crying noises, and late-night searches and you have quite an interesting premise. I have devoured all of Waters's other books in this series. Each one is better than the last. Her ability to pull in regency-era ideas and romance into one is pure genius. Any lover of Regency romance will find this an instant read.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC! ❤️

I read the first two books in this series and somehow missed the third - much to my dismay (but also joy, because I can go catch up!)

So, I like Jane Austen… but I LOVE Gothic tropes. So this was just a lot of fun. I wasn’t absolutely crazy about the final scene, nor did I find the final act (in general) very convincing. But the rest of the romance plot was so well done, it’s an overall 5 star read for me. I really liked the dynamic between the two leads - it’s kind of an enemies-to-lovers, but moreso a forced proximinity type deal. Got to love it.

Also. The spicy scene. This wasn’t getting less than 5 stars, I’ll leave it at that.

The “if you like Bridgerton, then you’ll like this” marking I read on my copy was accurate! I also think Waters is a great author for first time regency readers - maybe even moreso than Julia Quinn’s books (which are also great!).

This was also much better than the first two, for me personally! I liked those, but didn’t love them. That may be a trope preference, but I am now very excited to get my hands on the book I accidentally skipped, because this was so great!

Now going to anxiously await an ARC for West and Sophie…..

I have read all of Martha Waters' books, and this is my favorite. Such an entertaining premise with a delightful and unexpected heroine! I normally am not a big fan of "slow burn" romances, but I didn't even mind it here--in fact I liked it--given the setup and the context of the rest of the story. Really such a pleasure.

A good addition to this series. While it didn't quite have the laugh out loud moments the others in the series did, this one was still a good read. It was nice to see a different side of Penvale and get to know his character better.

In the latest in the series, Penvale finally has what he wants in his sights, his family's manor that was previously taken by a scheming uncle. The only thing in his way is the slight inconvenience of marrying his uncle's ward who he hasn't met before. It doesn't stop him and since Jane wants to keep living in the only home she's ever known, she agrees. She just needs to continue her quest that got the previous owner out. The consequences and confusion make the story. It's a must read!

Technically, I'd give this a 3.5 stars but bumping it up to 4 stars because of all the Jane Austen references, which I loved!

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with a digital review copy of Martha Waters' latest book in her Regency Vows series. I first discovered Waters' books through NetGalley (with To Love and to Loathe), and it's been a pleasure reading and following these characters through this series. "To Swoon and to Spar" features Penvale, Diana's brother who's been set on gaining back the ancestral home (Trethwick Abbey) from his uncle, and finally has the opportunity to do so. With one catch - he must marry his uncle's ward, Jane Spencer. Jane is a fascinating heroine in that she's shy, in a way that comes off as incredibly prickly. I haven't read a character whose shyness isn't seen as a personality flaw or something that has to be "overcome", which is so refreshing to me, someone who is also shy.

The premise of the book, with Jane wanting to just have Trethwick Abbey all to herself without a pesky husband getting in the way, and resorting to staging pretend ghost hauntings (i.e. spooky thumping, items reappearing in weird places, loud shrieks at night, etc.) to get Penvale to leave, is a little contrived and silly, but not surprising for this series. We've already seen someone faking consumption to get back at her husband for a years-long mutual silent treatment, so pretend hauntings aren't all that weird. I found the story a little lackluster without the delightful shenanigans of Violet, Diana, and Emily (although we do see glimpses of them toward the end of the book), but I did enjoy the developing relationship of Penvale and Jane as they grew to understand each other. Overall, this was a cozy addition to the series and I'm looking forward to what's next from Martha Waters!

Such a unique book, I loved the plot and oh my god the characters we're so amazing!! I definitely will be recommending it!!