To Love and to Loathe
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- Create Date：2021-04-12 14:50:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Martha Waters
- ISBN：1472283872
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Summary
The author of the “hilarious。。。joyful， elegant” （Publishers Weekly， starred review） To Have and to Hoax returns with an effervescent， charming， and swoon-worthy novel about a man and woman who never agree on anything—until they agree to a no-strings-attached affair in this Regency-era romp。
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。
With Martha Waters’s signature “cheeky charm and wonderfully wry wit” （Booklist， starred review）， To Love and to Loathe is another clever and delightful historical rom-com that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Evie Dunmore。
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。
With Martha Waters’s signature “cheeky charm and wonderfully wry wit” （Booklist， starred review）， To Love and to Loathe is another clever and delightful historical rom-com that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Evie Dunmore。
Reviews
Jessica
，
Don't let the sweet cover or the Victorian era setting fool you - this is a modern "adult" romance， with all that that entails。 I found myself skipping large swaths of sex scenes。 And all the characters in the book were fixated on sex， lewdness and debauchery。 Cannot recommend。 Don't let the sweet cover or the Victorian era setting fool you - this is a modern "adult" romance， with all that that entails。 I found myself skipping large swaths of sex scenes。 And all the characters in the book were fixated on sex， lewdness and debauchery。 Cannot recommend。 。。。more
Claire
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Dash it all。 If I could give this book 50 stars， I would。 Jeremy and Diana are now one of my favorite romance couples。 Their banter made me laugh out loud while reading at least seven times—to me， audible chuckling is always a sign of an enjoyable novel。Their past friendship/sparring makes for an incredibly intimate relationship， even as neither of them realizes it at first。 The supporting characters are all hilarious and well-written， too。 Dare I say I liked it even better than Martha’s first b Dash it all。 If I could give this book 50 stars， I would。 Jeremy and Diana are now one of my favorite romance couples。 Their banter made me laugh out loud while reading at least seven times—to me， audible chuckling is always a sign of an enjoyable novel。Their past friendship/sparring makes for an incredibly intimate relationship， even as neither of them realizes it at first。 The supporting characters are all hilarious and well-written， too。 Dare I say I liked it even better than Martha’s first book？！Also， I got my copy personalized and signed， at the local bookstore I share with the author。 （Sadly， it was not an in-person signing， because of the pandemic， but still extremely cool）。 。。。more
Trigger Warning Database
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Trigger & Content Warnings:Cheating mentionedGambling addiction mentionedDeath of a sibling recountedDeath of a husband recounted
Shel
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Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Booms for the ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback。This was my first Martha Waters and the first “The Regency Vows” book I’ve read。 I really enjoyed Waters writing style。 The chapters are fairly short and I liked that she didn’t spend a more than the prologue building up to the plot。 With this book you’ll know by Chapter 2 whether your into it or not。 I also liked that Waters combines more modern ideals with the regency style。 None of the main female Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Booms for the ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback。This was my first Martha Waters and the first “The Regency Vows” book I’ve read。 I really enjoyed Waters writing style。 The chapters are fairly short and I liked that she didn’t spend a more than the prologue building up to the plot。 With this book you’ll know by Chapter 2 whether your into it or not。 I also liked that Waters combines more modern ideals with the regency style。 None of the main female characters are simpering idiots but headstrong and bold。 I love Regency romance novels but the damsel in distress trope gets old after awhile This is a great beach/summer read and I’m definitely going back to read Book 1 now。 Hoping that Emily and Belfry will get their own love story in Book 3 （Hint， hint！） 。。。more
Stephanie
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3。5 StarsFull RTC
sara
，
not what i was looking for but cutee！！ and the narrator guy sounded like matthew mcfayden and it was weird because his character is the opposite of mr darcy。
Cece
，
While I enjoyed Martha Waters’ 2020 debut， I also hoped that this follow-up would go in a new direction。 It doesn’t。 To Love and To Loathe is boring， underdeveloped， and too similar to the author’s previous book， even though the premise suggests something quite different。 In To Have and to Hoax， 28-year-old Jeremy and 23-year-old Diana agreed to a matrimony wager: she bet he will be married within the year while he put money on his continued bachelorhood。 As a member of the peerage， she knows he While I enjoyed Martha Waters’ 2020 debut， I also hoped that this follow-up would go in a new direction。 It doesn’t。 To Love and To Loathe is boring， underdeveloped， and too similar to the author’s previous book， even though the premise suggests something quite different。 In To Have and to Hoax， 28-year-old Jeremy and 23-year-old Diana agreed to a matrimony wager: she bet he will be married within the year while he put money on his continued bachelorhood。 As a member of the peerage， she knows he’s under pressure to guarantee his family line and produce an heir， but he’s stubbornly insistent on continuing with casual encounters。 In this book， after receiving an uncomplimentary critique from a former paramour， Jeremy also approaches Diana for a convenient sexual arrangement: he wants her honest feedback on his performance while their affair will help signal that she’s looking for lovers。 Additionally， their friends-with-benefits scheme will finally diminish their distracting， antagonistic attraction once and for all。 Lots went amiss for me here， although one of the biggest things was how misaligned the story was from its premise。 When the premise of a romance revolves around sex， as this one does， it works best when executed with a high level of heat （persuasive eroticism or sensuality） and the structure of a “fast burn”。 After all， what’s the point of keeping two characters apart physically when the entire set up has thrown them together in precisely that way？ Slow burns are popular right now， but there are some tropes that just don’t fit that pace， and I’d say let’s-have-sex-to-get-it-out-of-our-system and sex of convenience are two examples。 However， this book shoves its high heat/fast burn tropes into a low heat/slow burn structure， and the result is frustrating and awkward。 Aside from a brief， perfunctory intercourse scene and some light foreplay， there’s little chemistry between Diana and Jeremy。 They spend more time talking about their affair to others than actually having it！ The story also kept inventing artificial reasons why they’d delay their sexual exploration， which made it seem as if the author was squeamishly timid about her own concept。 Since the premise is largely abandoned， the space of the story is filled with rehashing many of the beats from To Have and to Hoax。 Instead of discovering their romantic spark through sex， Jeremy and Diana spend a lot of time bickering， dragging others into their childish antics， and defending their idiotic behavior to the horrified audience of friends and family。 Essentially， the author chooses to return to her previous approach: using her characters’ extreme lack of emotional awareness and self-knowledge to drive narrative conflict。 That was fine for me in her debut because I thought the characters sold the concept well， however the characterization here is noticeably less developed。 And doing something once is a cool novelty， doing it twice begins to turn it into an unwelcome shtick。 Relying on complete emotional ignorance to drive conflict also presents a huge problem for a genre romance because love is all about getting to know one’s self and one’s lover on a deeper level。 If fictional characters remain totally unaware of their emotions for the sake of the plot and comic tone， it will inevitably stall their relationship。 Diana and Jeremy’s romantic connection would’ve been more vibrant or compelling， if the story had allowed them to struggle with the awareness of their true feelings before the last minute。 But by insisting on keeping her characters clueless， the author weakens the relationship building overall and then must cram it into the final act。 And again， I think that is fine for a trope that is built on a previously established relationship， like the second chance romance in To Have and to Hoax， but it doesn’t work as well for the brother’s best friend romance in this book。 And， in keeping with her characterization as an emotionally unaware heroine， Diana spends most of this book trying to marry Jeremy off to an enterprising young woman named Lady Helen。 But unlike Sophie and Lord Belfry in To Have and to Hoax， Lady Helen never consents to be a supporting actor in this immature game of one-upmanship between the main characters。 At first， the book justifies its manipulative treatment of her by underscoring her unsympathetic characterization。 Lady Helen is oblivious， obnoxious， and aggressive towards men， which is written as a joke， so we’re meant to look past how callously Diana treats her。 At the halfway point， the book changes its tactics towards Lady Helen and tries to persuade us that she’s enthusiastically complicit in her own shenanigans。 But it isn’t a compelling explanation and the book’s use of Helen recycles offensive clichés: （view spoiler）[Lady Helen is gay。 She’s intentionally repelling eligible male suitors because she plans to retire to spinsterhood with her maid， with whom she’s had a longstanding relationship。 In conversation， Diana manipulates Helen into coming out。 Although there’s absolutely NO REASON why she’d need to do this， Diana immediately informs her two female friends that Helen is queer and they proceed to discuss lesbian sex in bizarre detail。 Later， Diana uses Helen’s love story as motivation to confess her feelings to Jeremy while he concocts a plan to purpose to Helen – he assumes Helen will appreciate a wealthy beard and won’t mind if they have sex to produce an heir for his marquisate。 To Love and To Loathe uses its only queer character as an unsympathetic counterpoint and plaything for the heroine。 When that’s no longer useful， the heroine outs her and talks about lesbianism in fetishistic tones with her heterosexual clique。 Then， Helen disappears off-page entirely and her existence is flattened into a convenient narrative prop for the straight couple。 This reductive， stereotypical， and unnecessarily sexualized depiction of a marginalized character dropped my rating of this book from 3 to 2 stars。 （hide spoiler）]This isn’t a bad book。 But it is a disappointing one because it blithely skates the surface of its story and acts as if looking any deeper is a huge imposition。 Its intriguing， mature premise is put aside and replaced with a dull， less realized version of the silliness from the previous book。 But， perhaps more importantly， I wish that the characters in this series would realize that emotional confrontation isn’t always adversarial and heartfelt vulnerability isn’t an enemy to be avoided at all costs。 These elements are what the romance genre is built on and without them， love stories don’t pack the same punch。 。。。more
Cole
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3。5
Amelia Oswald
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Eh， it was okay I guess。 the blurb was so promising but the content was just okay。
Kristina Birch
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Enemies to lovers with a bit of a role reversal！ Diana and Jermey have a spark that everyone can see but that they dismiss as agitation， annoyance， and the desire to best one another。。。until they decide to actually give into the spark （except okay they still want to best one another）！ This was a delightful enemies to lovers romp with Diana being the don’t catch feelings， only in it to win mindset and Jeremy knowing he’s risking his heart since he’s kind of had a thing for her for awhile。 But the Enemies to lovers with a bit of a role reversal！ Diana and Jermey have a spark that everyone can see but that they dismiss as agitation， annoyance， and the desire to best one another。。。until they decide to actually give into the spark （except okay they still want to best one another）！ This was a delightful enemies to lovers romp with Diana being the don’t catch feelings， only in it to win mindset and Jeremy knowing he’s risking his heart since he’s kind of had a thing for her for awhile。 But there’s also some bigger issues explored in a really honest and open way that elevated the story。Now comes the wait for Emily’s story， hopefully with the completely besotted Julian！ 。。。more
Joanna Bishop
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I loved this book！I swear， I'm going to be telling everyone I know to read it。 The writing is absolutely beautiful， the characters relatable （despite it being a historical romance！） and wonderful， and I could not get enough of the witty banter！ This book put me in such a good mood while reading it， it's everything I love in a romance！ I cannot wait to read more by Martha Waters！ I loved this book！I swear， I'm going to be telling everyone I know to read it。 The writing is absolutely beautiful， the characters relatable （despite it being a historical romance！） and wonderful， and I could not get enough of the witty banter！ This book put me in such a good mood while reading it， it's everything I love in a romance！ I cannot wait to read more by Martha Waters！ 。。。more
Lais
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i loved the main couple & the writing and this had all the potential to be a new favorite but the way the lesbian side character was written was a BIG yikes
Maddie McDermott
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I have mixed feelings about （view spoiler）[the surprise gay character plotline （hide spoiler）] but overall I think it worked and it was adorable。 Jeremy's internal conflict really needed beefed out -- I wish we'd been in his head more。 I think Martha does really interesting things with conflict。 I have mixed feelings about （view spoiler）[the surprise gay character plotline （hide spoiler）] but overall I think it worked and it was adorable。 Jeremy's internal conflict really needed beefed out -- I wish we'd been in his head more。 I think Martha does really interesting things with conflict。 。。。more
Kim Fox
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To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is supposed to be a romance/historical fiction book， and I guess it can be considered that。 But for me it was more of a book about the most objectional qualities about women， or at least the things I do not like about women。 You have Jeremy and Diana， they have known each other for years。 They have teased each， and feigned dislike for each other。 Diana bets Jeremy that she can find him a wife within a year and this is what the book is about。。。Diana's determ To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters is supposed to be a romance/historical fiction book， and I guess it can be considered that。 But for me it was more of a book about the most objectional qualities about women， or at least the things I do not like about women。 You have Jeremy and Diana， they have known each other for years。 They have teased each， and feigned dislike for each other。 Diana bets Jeremy that she can find him a wife within a year and this is what the book is about。。。Diana's determination to win this bet。 But then Jeremy comes to Diana and offers another proposal。 He has been told by one of his many lovers that he is not a good lover。 So he proposes that he and Diana have their own fling so she can critique him。 （Insert eyeroll here）。 You can guess how the story goes。 It's not that hard to figure out。 But what upset me the most about this book was the way one character in this book was treated。 Helen is a lesbian and confided that to Diana， but only after Diana hinted that she already knew her secret。 After promising to keep that secret （here comes a quality I despise about women） she promptly tells her two best friends and asks them not to tell。 Ugh！！ This book is ok， and I am sure there will be others who enjoy it， but it just wasn't for me。 2。5⭐ （rounded up to 3）Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion 。。。more
Gata Leitora / Cat reader
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I had liked book 1 but To Love and To Loathe stole my heart。 A fun story between two enemies who have been involved with each other since they were kids and since kids have a crush that they don't want to admit， Diana because she is very practical and rational and does not see Jeremy's advances as real and Jeremy for suffering from an inferiority complex， in addition to having become one of the biggest libertines in London。Only after having his skills in bed questioned， Jeremy launches a temptin I had liked book 1 but To Love and To Loathe stole my heart。 A fun story between two enemies who have been involved with each other since they were kids and since kids have a crush that they don't want to admit， Diana because she is very practical and rational and does not see Jeremy's advances as real and Jeremy for suffering from an inferiority complex， in addition to having become one of the biggest libertines in London。Only after having his skills in bed questioned， Jeremy launches a tempting proposal to Diana who ends up not resisting and accepting the challenge。 At each meeting of them what was just a little spark grows and turns into a beautiful love even though they take a long time to notice。The sensual encounters between them are wonderful， very hot and breathtaking。 I fell in love more and more until I was totally seduced。 Not to mention the sharp and fun dialogues and the more than special participation of Diana's friends， her brother and Jeremy's hilarious grandmother。 。。。more
Jenica
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I really must mention that I rate books essentially solely based on my own personal enjoyment because， if I'm honest， there are several things that irked me about this book and yet I really enjoyed reading it。 I really enjoyed Waters' debut， To Have and To Hoax because it was highly amusing and I anticipated this book would bring a similar energy， with the twist of having a pact and a wager。 Honestly， because of the sex pact baked into the premise （Jeremy has had his bedroom skills insulted and， I really must mention that I rate books essentially solely based on my own personal enjoyment because， if I'm honest， there are several things that irked me about this book and yet I really enjoyed reading it。 I really enjoyed Waters' debut， To Have and To Hoax because it was highly amusing and I anticipated this book would bring a similar energy， with the twist of having a pact and a wager。 Honestly， because of the sex pact baked into the premise （Jeremy has had his bedroom skills insulted and， tbh， rather inexplicably， asks Diana to be his lover）， I anticipated this book being much spicier。 I enjoyed the steam level just fine， but it seems worth noting that despite the premise， this book isn't really outside the usual for a traditionally published romance novel。 Anyway， all that to say， I did think this book kept Waters' humor and the characters were still intriguing。 We'd better be getting a book about Emily， honestly。 But there were a few concrete things that irked me。 （view spoiler）[The first thing that really bothered me about this is the way that Lady Helen's sexuality was handled。 She is， presumably a lesbian （sapphist is the word used in the book）， which Jeremy and Diana discover separately。 Diana， inexplicably， takes it upon herself to share this secret， this ruinous secret， with Emily and Violet just so she can have this conversation about how marriage isn't a completely awful prospect for everyone。 It was。。。 unnecessary。 I did really like Lady Helen in general， once we know her motivations for things， she becomes an incredibly intriguing character， but the disclosure of her sexuality without her consent bothered me a lot。 Also， Lady Helen's paramour is her lady's maid and。。。 I feel like I would have been more comfortable with the whole situation if Lady Helen's paramour was someone with the same amount of power as her。 Moving on from that aspect， the fight at the end of the book， the third act break up， was honestly baffling。 Like。。。 They were communicating past each other and I KNOW that's not exactly unrealistic， but it felt so ridiculous that I honestly cannot even describe to you。 It's lucky that the resolution left me satisfied because otherwise I think the breakup would have really hurt my overall enjoyment of this book。 （hide spoiler）]So all that to say， I still really like Waters' writing style and I'm looking forward to whatever is next。 Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for the review copy。 I did， however， read a finished copy I purchased for myself because of course I did。 。。。more
Marla Thrall
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I finally read my first five star book of April！ I adored To Love and to Loathe！ This darling regency romance features two saucy， spicy characters who are intent on not falling in love。What I enjoyed: - Both Diana and Jeremy are fun characters with a prickly exterior。 Of course， they slowly reveal themselves to complicated characters with a lot of depth。 - I loved their nonstop bickering and chemistry。 Hilarious！- Speaking of chemistry- this book was SPICY！ Now I’m going to need to go back and r I finally read my first five star book of April！ I adored To Love and to Loathe！ This darling regency romance features two saucy， spicy characters who are intent on not falling in love。What I enjoyed: - Both Diana and Jeremy are fun characters with a prickly exterior。 Of course， they slowly reveal themselves to complicated characters with a lot of depth。 - I loved their nonstop bickering and chemistry。 Hilarious！- Speaking of chemistry- this book was SPICY！ Now I’m going to need to go back and read To Have and to Hoax- the first book in this series！ Five stars！ Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sending me this review copy of this lovely book in exchange my honest opinions。 To Love and to Loath is out now！ 。。。more
Carey
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I could barely wait for this book！ I adored the first one。 However， Diana and Jeremy was just so self-absorbed and mean-spirited， I had a hard time liking them， and I found their games rather insufferable。
Bookqueen
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This book was a very cute romance。 A perfect read for when your craving some extra Bridgeton or Jane Austen。 The only problem i had was it felt a little insta lovey。 But other than that it was a great book！
Fatima Herondale
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Nothing particularly offensive in fairness， but so entirely lacking when you compare to A Rogue Of One's Own， that had a similar premise。 It's not JUST my love for sensible and mature heroines that made me not enjoy this， but the characters did make the MOST ridiculous decisions 😒 None of their communications， or what passed for it made any kind of sense， and neither of them had the kind of baggage that made their reluctance to put everything out in the open reasonable。 Diana's meddling did not Nothing particularly offensive in fairness， but so entirely lacking when you compare to A Rogue Of One's Own， that had a similar premise。 It's not JUST my love for sensible and mature heroines that made me not enjoy this， but the characters did make the MOST ridiculous decisions 😒 None of their communications， or what passed for it made any kind of sense， and neither of them had the kind of baggage that made their reluctance to put everything out in the open reasonable。 Diana's meddling did not make me view her favourably- she came across as arrogant and smug and self-satisfied at seemingly controlling everyone's strings， and her attitude towards Lady Helen （outing her left right and centre！？） and obsession with Jeremy's marriage was bizarre。 。。。more
JoyM
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Martha Waters does it again in her sophomore book。 Diana and Jeremy are hilarious。 Can’t wait for the next book in 2022。
Stephanie
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This just didn’t work for me。 Couldn’t care or connect to characters might just not be in the mood for historical romance right now。
Alicia
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Zoveel beter dan het eerste deel， vooral omdat Diana en Jeremy veel leuker samen zijn。 Ze reageren continu heerlijk kattig op elkaar en de relatie bouwt geleidelijk op （maar wel erg weinig relatiedingen en vooral veel gepraat） Dit had best een 4，5 kunnen zijn， maar het hele outinggebeuren van een personage en hoe de homoseksualiteit als een soort circusact behandeld werd， was een vorm van slecht schrijven。
marieno
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I found To Love and To Loathe a little bit less magical than the first book。 Diana and Jeremy were fun but not as much as Violet and James。 That said， the group of friends is still my favourite part of the series so far。 I'm looking forward to more books in the series。 I found To Love and To Loathe a little bit less magical than the first book。 Diana and Jeremy were fun but not as much as Violet and James。 That said， the group of friends is still my favourite part of the series so far。 I'm looking forward to more books in the series。 。。。more
Farah
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I don't read historical fiction much but this book was really cute。 I don't read historical fiction much but this book was really cute。 。。。more
Katelyn
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While I enjoyed this book， it wasn’t my favorite。 The plot was unique and the characters were interesting， but I found it to be a bit predictable and it left me wanting a little more。 The dialogue was a bit mundane and the love scenes left me a bit bored。。。 I did enjoy the story and plot and it was overall a good read。 I will look into reading the first book in this series。
Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘
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Sigh。 It seems that I shall never fall in love with Martha Water’s novels and that’s because *throws up my hands* they’re so aggravating。 I， for one， do not enjoy shouting “but why would you do that？” but alas， somehow it always comes to that， and I’m tired， okay？ On how conflict is badly manufactured For a moment there， I thought that I’d enjoy this one more than To Have and to Hoax， because I genuinely liked Diana and Jeremy’s dynamics at first。 It’s a shame， really， because there are ma Sigh。 It seems that I shall never fall in love with Martha Water’s novels and that’s because *throws up my hands* they’re so aggravating。 I， for one， do not enjoy shouting “but why would you do that？” but alas， somehow it always comes to that， and I’m tired， okay？ On how conflict is badly manufactured For a moment there， I thought that I’d enjoy this one more than To Have and to Hoax， because I genuinely liked Diana and Jeremy’s dynamics at first。 It’s a shame， really， because there are many things this book almost does well : Diana is independent and funny， for the most part。 Jeremy is charming， he listens。 The discussion on sex and pleasure is good。 They have chemistry together。 But why， why must everyone in this be so damn set on dragging situations that don’t deserve to go on more than half a page， so much that I wanted to stop reading？I have a confession to make : I had to skim parts because I just – I couldn’t stand them。 Diana’s antics regarding Jeremy’s marriage made no sense， her deception went for far too long， and irritated the hell out of me。 Why put so much effort in complicating one own life？ WHY？ I’m begging to understand！ I’m so mad at them for ruining such a great chemistry。 So mad。There’s nothing more frustrating than characters systematically choosing the worst option available – worst than that， even: too many times it felt like Diana and Jeremy would look at the choices available， stare at the worst one， and then twist it to create a new situation so idiotic and unnecessarily cruel that you reader can’t even begin to comprehend how the thought was even allowed to form in their mind。 Honestly， reading To Love and to Loathe feels like gaslighting at times : you’re sure you’re not the one overreacting but the characters keep trying to convince you that their reactions are perfectly fine， when it’s clear they’re not。 To keep the plot going， these characters do a 180 and take decisions that just don’t make any sense at all， and as it’s something I found really infuriating in To Have and to Hoax too， I’m sorry but I’m starting to think that it comes from bad craft。 Other things I didn’t like: a non-exhaustive list ▪ Jeremy’s emphasis on Diana’s breast : we get it！！！！▪ The tone is all over the place， and it feels like the book doesn’t know what it wants to be ;▪ Too much time spent on secondary characters I could never manage to care about。 I feel ashamed because I usually love friendship between women but here I just found their conversations very grating ;▪ At some point Violet （！！！） of all people gives relationship advice and excuse me？ The audacity of that woman， I can’t even。▪ One character isn’t who they appear to be and that was obvious from the start， yet Diana and Jeremy， those fools， are so wrapped in themselves that they don’t even realize。▪ So many of Diana’s decisions – especially in regards to Jeremy’s marriage – seem to come out of spite and having read The Day of the Duchess recently， the comparison is inevitable， and not in Diana’s favor。But the most infuriating part was when Violet outed a lesbian character to her friends and to Jeremy， for no reasons at all。 The fuck？ I couldn’t believe she’d be so self-centered that she’d go there but apparently she wanted to crush any leftover sympathy I had for her。 Again， it was so unnecessarily cruel and selfish！ – Bottom line – I’ve said I’d give Martha Waters’ novels another chance。 Sadly， it’s a miss， and we’ll have to part ways。 I shall stay firmly in the minority on this。 For real， though？ I need to stop writing now or I’ll remove another star *slowly takes a step back*。 For more of my reviews， please visit : 。。。more
Sarah
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The concept was fun but flawed in its execution。 Dual perspective in romances drives me crazy， there was way too much cheeky “will they won’t they” for absolutely no reason， and a queer side character was poorly handled。 I enjoyed it but with a lot of qualms。
Faye Rix
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Great job author， I really like your writing style。 I suggest you join Novel Star’s writing competition on April。For more details check this link 😊:http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 Great job author， I really like your writing style。 I suggest you join Novel Star’s writing competition on April。For more details check this link 😊:http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 。。。more
Micheal Sharon
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I never believed in spells，not until i contacted this great man。I'M CHRISSharon 。 I've been on Drugs since 2002，I was tested HIV+。 2。Due to someFamily Issues， I had misunderstanding with my wife， and we went separateways。 But as i speak now I'm now HIV-， negative my wife is back with me andwe are very happy again。 I'm Very sure this Man can help every-one withHIS/HER problems。To me there is no problem that Dr。Ncube can't solve。 HISMAIL ADDRESS: drncube03@gmail。com or call/whatsapp +2348155227532 I never believed in spells，not until i contacted this great man。I'M CHRISSharon 。 I've been on Drugs since 2002，I was tested HIV+。 2。Due to someFamily Issues， I had misunderstanding with my wife， and we went separateways。 But as i speak now I'm now HIV-， negative my wife is back with me andwe are very happy again。 I'm Very sure this Man can help every-one withHIS/HER problems。To me there is no problem that Dr。Ncube can't solve。 HISMAIL ADDRESS: drncube03@gmail。com or call/whatsapp +2348155227532 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=To Love and to Loathe
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=To Love and to Loathe&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,To Love and to Loathe&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0