Title: To Love and to LoatheAuthor: Martha Waters
Series: The Regency Vows #2
Published by: Atria Books on Apr. 6, 2021
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback, ARC
Source: Simon & Schuster Canada
Book Rating: 8.5/10
The widowed Diana, Lady Templeton and Jeremy, Marquess of Willingham are infamous among English high society as much for their sharp-tongued bickering as their flirtation. One evening, an argument at a ball turns into a serious wager: Jeremy will marry within the year or Diana will forfeit one hundred pounds. So shortly after, just before a fortnight-long house party at Elderwild, Jeremy’s country estate, Diana is shocked when Jeremy appears at her home with a very different kind of proposition.
After his latest mistress unfavorably criticized his skills in the bedroom, Jeremy is looking for reassurance, so he has gone to the only woman he trusts to be totally truthful. He suggests that they embark on a brief affair while at the house party—Jeremy can receive an honest critique of his bedroom skills and widowed Diana can use the gossip to signal to other gentlemen that she is interested in taking a lover.
Diana thinks taking him up on his counter-proposal can only help her win her wager. With her in the bedroom and Jeremy’s marriage-minded grandmother, the formidable Dowager Marchioness of Willingham, helping to find suitable matches among the eligible ladies at Elderwild, Diana is confident her victory is assured. But while they’re focused on winning wagers, they stand to lose their own hearts.
Review:
Captivating, light, and entertaining!
To Love and to Loathe is an enemies-to-lovers romance set in England during 1817 that features the flirty Marquess of Willingham, Jeremy Overington and the feisty, widowed Lady Diana Templeton as they navigate a stay in the countryside, a meddling grandmother, an attraction that’s hard to deny, and wagers involving both marriage and the bedroom they’re both confident they’ll win.
The prose is authentic and cheeky. The characters are charismatic, passionate, and endearing. And the plot is an engaging mix of familial responsibility, tender moments, humourous mishaps, witty banter, goals, expectations, friendship, chemistry, and love.
Overall, To Love and to Loathe is an easy, fast-paced, highly amusing read by Waters that is the second novel in The Regency Vows series, that in my opinion, shouldn’t be missed.
This novel is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Martha Waters
Martha Waters was born and raised in sunny South Florida, where she spent her childhood reading lots of British children’s books and scribbling away in notebooks. Wishing for the novelty of seasons, she headed north (relatively speaking) and studied history and international studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also obtained her master’s degree in library science. She is the author of the historical rom-coms To Have and to Hoax, To Love and to Loathe, and To Marry and to Meddle (scheduled for publication in 2022). By day, she works as a children’s librarian, and loves sundresses, gin cocktails, and traveling.
Photo courtesy of Author's Website.
