Reviews

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters

caitlinjmcnaught13's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

emilyo24's review against another edition

3.0

3!

Super cute historical romance! The ending(last page) was so adorable omfg.

Definitely not a new all time favorite, and I just didn't connect with the characters alot but still cute! Took me a bit to get through it though.

librariesandlabradors's review against another edition

4.0

I was a little trepidatious going into this knowing it was a “let’s be casual lovers” trope but it was actually handled with a lot of care and with not a ton of unbelievability! I am binging this series right now and it is hitting the spot. Book popcorn.

mooching's review against another edition

3.5

I liked how the sex was awkward which is pretty rare! There is a lot of superficial discussion around sex but ultimately the story was not very steamy which was kind of confusing? 

3.5/4

librarydancer's review against another edition

DNF.

I was certainly enjoying the light humor and banter between the lead characters, but the tone was beginning to get a little meaner. After reading a few reviews, I decided to stop before I started disliking things.

jules2628's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A nice, easy rom-com

jcstokes95's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-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

2.75

 

I don’t know why, but I kind of assumed this would be a steamier pick than it ended up being. Which is a damn shame, because unfortunately, the chemistry outside the bedroom was deeply lacking. I felt like this pushed the enemies of “enemies to lovers” to hard and with very little substance behind it. Without any tenderness early on, it was difficult to understand why an, allegedly powerful, woman would stoop to be with a rake like Willingham. 

My biggest pet peeve though, had nothing to do with the main character or the main plot. It was how damn ANNOYING the author would shove in details about other supporting cast’s lives. I recognize I’m reading a book in a series without going in order. But it should stand on its own. That’s the job of a fluffy romance. Instead, I had a massive cast of characters to keep straight…who turned out to be utterly irrelevant to the plot. 

The one big upside to this book, I have found my new romance troupe. I did not understand how feral I would be for the idea of woman teaches man who is bad at sex how to do sex. But that really does seems to work for me, so please ….drop those recs if you’ve got them. Is it just hot to humiliate men? Maybe they deserve it, who can say? *shrug emoji* 

the_wanlorn's review against another edition

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

3.0

Well it's certainly better than the first one. 

bookedintheburbs's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book and these characters even more than the first book. Diana is a sassy widow who strikes up a deal with a friend who has been secretly pining for her while being a rake with the rest of London society. Jeremy needs a little reassurance after his last affair ends unfavorably and ends up getting tutored in his favorite pastime. It was witty, and I loved having the backstory between Diana and Jeremy. I enjoyed the fact that Martha Waters doesn't only write her historical romances as debutants looking for the love of their life. There is a bit more freedom for a widow/married woman in this setting, and it leads to more interesting characters, in my opinion. The FMC in the next book in the series is looking for her first husband, but being a part of this group and the medical textbooks they keep looking at is sure to keep the story interesting.

Martha Waters also fixed my previous issues with all of the men having J names by using their titles more than all of the names, and it helped me stay more firmly put in the story.

kiberen's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0