Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eArc!

A sapphic regency romance revolving around two gothic novelists AND a haunted manor is included too? Sign me immediately up!

Our story starts with Georgiana Cleeve, a very popular author, who finds several similarities between her stories and the stories of another author named "Lady Darling." When Georgiana acts as an amateur sleuth, she finds out Lady Darling turns out to be Catriona Lacey, the daughter of a butler who used to work for Georgiana's family before Georgiana's father kicked them out, and she also happens to be Georgie's teen crush. The two of them soon and unknowingly end up in a manor together to find inspirations for a new book, before becoming stuck inside.

For context, I haven't had the pleasure of reading the first two novels in the Belvoir's Library Trilogy. With the writing style, I did find it difficult many times to differentiate between Cat's thoughts and dialogue versus Georgie's, but generally the story flowed alright to be a standalone. I really enjoyed the banter between our two main characters, the side characters and their roles in the story, and especially Sir Francis Bacon. I also really appreciate how Alexandra Vasti includes real tidbits of history and explains them at the end of the book. There were a few times I felt slightly unengaged from the story but overall it was a nice read and I'd definitely recommend it to my friends who like historical romances.

ARC Review: Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti
Pub Date: September 23, 2025

Here's what you need to know about this book: It's a rival authors to lovers sapphic regency romance where they accidentally get trapped in a maybe haunted manor and it is perfect to me.

Alexandra Vasti is absolutely an auto read author for me - I feel so lucky when I get to read one of her books early so when I got this in winter and it didn't publish until September, I knew there was no way I could wait to read it. And OH MY GOD was it everything I wanted plus so much more. I highlighted so many quotes and goodness gracious, I already cannot wait to reread. The mixture of humor, pining, and just downright swoon? Absolute perfection!! Have I convinced you to read it yet? Here let me give you a few of the quotes I highlighted:

"You cannot possibly imagine how long and how desperately I have wanted you"
"For half my life, when I have looked upon the stars in the sky, all I have seen is the shape of your smile"
"I don't want the world, I only want you"

SEE?!?!

Also I have to take a moment to acknowledge Alexandra's author notes which are always on point. This one in particular talks about how queer people absolutely existed in Regency England and how a poem from the time argues that queer desire is natural and queer people should be treated with respect and dignity. To which Alexandra notes: "Two hundred years later, we are still arguing for the same". Just...yeah. I've thought a lot about this in the past months/years and I often reflect on how incredibly grateful I am for romance books (queer ones in particular) for helping me figure out more about myself and how we have to continue to fight for the good in this sea of literal shit.

This review is certainly less coherent and that's truly because I love this book so much that I don't know how to put it into words.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved how cute this story was! I haven’t read much romance lately, and this book came as a delightful surprise. It was light, refreshing, and filled with comedic moments that had me laughing out loud. The enemies-to-lovers trope added an exciting layer to the narrative, making the characters’ journey even more enjoyable.

Plus, the setting was fantastic! With its amazing gothic mansions and eerie hauntings, the atmosphere contributed a unique charm to the story. It created an intriguing backdrop that kept me captivated from start to finish.

What I particularly appreciated was the focus on LGBTQ+ romance, making it both inclusive and relatable. This story truly checked all the boxes for me: a charming romance, vibrant characters, and a touch of humor—all wrapped up in a wonderfully spooky package! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and heartwarming read.

Five Stars! The premise of rival sapphic novelists falling in love drew me in, and the book delivered on the promise of the premise.

This book was my favorite of the Belvoir’s Library trilogy — Vasti really blew me away with this one. Not only do we get to see a deeper, more emotional side to a character that has been on the sidelines in the previous two books, but we also get to experience such a sweet, satisfying love story. (With a gothic mansion, ghosts, a murder, bats, and the best dog ever)
This story is really a story of love winning out over fear, and the happily ever after is so satisfying!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. My review is honest and left voluntarily

A sapphic historical romance novel with rival Gothic novelists.. need I say more! This was an utter delight with great characters and an interesting plot! Flew through this!

Had a very fun, lovable story and hit many emotional beats. Did lack some transitional scenes and could have been a little longer to really draw out the emotions of the characters to allow us to connect with them. Overall, it was a lovely experience!

Sapphic romance between two gothic novelists set in the Regency era? With a spooky gothic mansion filled with its own sapphic history and perhaps a ghost or two? Yes please!
Ladies in Hating was a a phenomenal read from the beginning. We first meet Georgiana, the daughter of an earl, who had separated herself from her family (besides her mother) to write her very successful gothic novels. However, there is another novelist, Lady Darling, who seems to be stealing her ideas and so she embarks on a mission to uncover the identity of this other woman and get her to stop this madness.
However, the unmasking doesn’t go as planned as Lady Darling is none other than Cat Lacey, the object of Georgiana’s infatuation as a teen. As the two continue to cross paths, it leads to a growing tension that is not only related to their rivalry.

I can honestly say I have not read many regency era historical novels but after this one, I think I’m about to go on a deep dive. The stunning scenery that Vasti described along with the beautiful characters and personalities that she captured, were truly astonishing and had me hooked on every little moment. The sapphic romance between Georgiana and Cat was everything I hoped for. Stolen touches, forced proximity, breathless declarations, and just an overall embracing of that love that Georgiana thought she could never have.
Was there a bit of miscommunication that had me wanting to scream at these two to just speak their minds? Of course. But truly loved how the story came together in the end. All the little pieces connecting and omigosh the love letters between Luna and Sarah?? Ugh my heart.
Also the epilogue was such a beautiful ending to this story, exactly what I had hoped for all our characters. I highly recommend this book for anyone intrigued by the regency era, especially surrounding the queer relationships of the time (Vasti’s afterward describing the real life inspirations for her characters and settings was a lovely surprise and made the book that much more special).

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I don't typically read a ton of historical romance, but when I saw this was a sapphic rivals to lovers, I knew I had to give it a shot and was not disappointed. The banter helped keep me invested in this couple and added some needed humor throughout. This was an easy palate cleanser between heavy reads and I'm looking forward to reading more from Alexandra in the future. The gothic mansion aspect was fun to and added a tiny layer of spooky to the story.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti.

Readers of the Belvoir’s Library are reunited with Lady Georgiana, who at the beginning of the book is dealing with her rival Lady Darling, another author whose books share similarities with her own. Georgiana sets out to learn who her writing rival is when she learns that Lady Darling is actually Cat, her teenage crush. The two end up planning to set their next books in a manor where they end up getting trapped together.

I love a good rivals-to-lovers trope! What makes it even better is that these two have had a long time attraction toward the other which makes it all the sweeter (and steamier 🙂). The romance between these two was so lovely and I adored the ending. The story once again includes interesting and lovable side characters (Bacon <3). I loved the adventure in Earl Crush and we get another adventure and mystery in the conclusion to this series. It’s so hard to believe this is the last of the series but I’m excited to see what Alexandra Vasti writes next!

If you love a rivals to lovers and historical romance, I would definitely check out this book!

I was excited for this book because I liked the rest of the series but this one wasn’t for me. To be fair I feel like sapphic books just aren’t my cup of tea. I will still read future books by this author.

Sapphic childhood acquaintances to lovers set in Regency era England.

I did enjoy the read but never find “people get hurt when they get close to me so I have to be alone and miserable” as a main contention all that compelling. I also wish we saw more from their childhood and why they’ve stuck in each other’s minds all these years beyond just base attraction.

Cute premise but try as I might I could not get into this story. The characters were relatable but I couldn't connect with the story.

Exactly what I look for in historical romance. The dialogue is immersive and witty with romance that will leave you smiling ear to ear. I'm so glad I finally got a chance to read this one, and I can not wait to read more from Alexandra Vasti!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Regency era, rivals-to-lovers romance (open door) partially set at a gothic estate. This was a fun read overall, with a sweet queer love story and likable side characters. I particularly enjoyed the first half focused on the MCs’ gothic novel writing and the mysterious estate. There were some interesting side plots with past and present mysteries, although I didn’t feel they totally paid off.

I also appreciated learning about the historical elements incorporated into this book (make sure to read the Author’s Note at the end!) “…throughout history, even in difficult circumstances, queer people have lived rich and loving lives.”

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Perfect book for college level/adult book club. Everything Alexandra Vasti writes is fantastic. The characters are well developed and likeable. The story is romantic, funny, witty, and has the perfect amount of spice. Like all of her other books, I couldn’t put it down!

4/5 Stars | Mysterious, Medium-Stakes, Spooky Haunted House Romance!

What I liked: I like a romcom with medium stakes plot but when you put it in a Historical Romance and it actually makes SENSE? TURNS THAT LIKE INTO LOVE! And I think that's what Vasti does incredibly well in this full trilogy. She takes a reasonable plot and adds a little bit extra stakes, along with a HEAP of character development, and then you have this beautiful work of art. While we're at it, let's hear it again for the character development! SPECTACULAR! Also, I love that there is a dog named Bacon and I would like to introduce him to my dog named Pancakes tysm.

What I didn't like: I think this lacked the relationship development I was expecting based off the first two novels. Both MCs already brought in feelings for each other prior to the book, and that dynamic (while understandable for the historical context) felt jarring. I wish we knew WHY they loved each other before they said it instead of several long verbal explanations of what they loved about each other.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book!

This is a sapphic, historical romance fiction book with the rivals to lovers and forced proximity tropes. Oh and a dog named Bacon.
Overall, this was a quick, easy read.
This was (apparently) the third book of a series, so I may have to go back and read the first two and see if my opinion/rating of this one changes.


*Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eArc*

The set up is great - rival gothic novelists stuck in a creepy mansion - and the relationship development is solid. I was emotionally invested in Cat and Georgiana as individual characters and as a couple. They definitely have chemistry!
In terms of plot, I do think there could have been a bit more set up before the confrontation, but overall this was an enjoyable read, and I'm crossing my fingers that Iris' and William's story is next.

It is becoming a trait of mine to finish any Alexandra Vasti book in one sitting. Spent the afternoon immersed in this world that Vasti has created for readers, and I am always incredibly sad to leave it. Vasti’s writing is witty, intellectual, clever, and romantic.

Ladies in Hating, the third in the series, had me giggling, blushing, crying, and swooning. Cat and Georgiana’s relationship was vulnerable and emotional. Great regency romance read!

✨rivals to lovers
✨childhood love reunited
✨sapphic romance
✨banter that banters
✨forced proximity

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for the eArc!

I immediately recommended this book to my friend! I told her that it’s a must read as soon as it comes out in September