Reviews

To Swoon and to Spar by Martha Waters

yeparoo's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Slow burn. I appreciated the haunting plot but it moved pretty slow for my taste. Overall good but not great.

thunderingnight_reads's review against another edition

3.0

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.

balyeska's review against another edition

3.0

this was a marriage of convenience between penvale and jane, she was his uncle's ward and they got married when penvale bought his childhood home back from his uncle. Jane didn't want another man to control her life so she continued acting as though the house was haunted. it worked with the uncle but panvale didn't believe it and i feel sad for him because he was so happy that finally he was able to come back his home and she tried to chase him away.

she wasn't very lovely to me and selfish a lot. penvale tried really hard and they could easily have a good marriage with mutual respect and later with affection. i enjoyed the book more after he realized she was the ghost and talked about it. but the book ended abruptly, i was expecting them to spend more time after they realized both were in love and there wasn't an epilogue so idk the story didn't felt completed.

but i enjoyed their banter and easy conversations. they were funny without even trying.

“I don’t speak baby,” she told him.
“What am I supposed to do with it?” he asked.
“Try… cuddling it?” she suggested.
The look he gave her implied that she may as well have suggested climbing into bed with a lion, but he gingerly pressed the baby to his chest. He looked at Jane. “Now what?”
“I’ve seen people pat them before,” she said helpfully. “On the back, I believe?”

kitchenbeat10's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I quite enjoyed the narration and Penvale as a character, but I didn't like Jane as much. She was just rude most times to cover for the shyness....

taylorwitte's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bookednbookish's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

amberoxide's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

mooching's review against another edition

2.0

From the other books in the Regency Vows series it seems like Martha Waters tends to like her heroines sort of rude but in a fun snarky way. Jane is just rude and "because she is shy" barely makes sense. Also where was the relationship development??

salalamander's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

marylou26's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0