Skip to main content
Displaying 1 of 1
To love and to loathe : a novel
2021
Please select and request a specific volume by clicking one of the icons in the 'Availability' section below.
Availability
Annotations

When his skills in the bedroom are called into question by his latest mistress, the Marquess of Willingham asks Diana, Lady Templeton, to have a brief affair so that he can receive an honest critique — a passionate wager that puts both their hearts on the line. Original. 60,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

"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 thebedroom 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"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Named a best romance of the year by Entertainment Weekly
Named a most anticipated romance by Oprah Daily, Marie Claire, BuzzFeed, PopSugar, and more!

“There was no romance novel more fun this year than this extremely witty enemies-with-benefits confection.” —Entertainment Weekly

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. - (Simon and Schuster)

Named a most anticipated romance by Oprah Daily, Marie Claire, BuzzFeed, PopSugar, and more!

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. - (Simon and Schuster)

Author Biography

Martha Waters is the author of Christmas Is All Around, and the Regency Vows series, which includes To Have and to HoaxTo Love and to LoatheTo Marry and to MeddleTo Swoon and to Spar, and To Woo and to Wed. She was born and raised in sunny south Florida and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She lives in coastal Maine, where she works as a children’s librarian by day, and loves sundresses, gin cocktails, and traveling. - (Simon and Schuster)

Large Cover Image
Trade Reviews

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Five years ago, Diana Bourne turned down a proposal from Jeremy Overington, so why on earth would she accept one now? It turns out that Jeremy's current offer is not a proposal but rather a proposition. Jeremy's latest paramour implied that his romantic technique leaves much to be desired. If Diana agrees to a brief affair with Jeremy, she could offer her unbiased opinion of his amorous skill set. As if a romantic fling isn't enough, Diana and Jeremy also agree to a side wager regarding his matrimonial future; a wager that Diana, with some help from Jeremy's grandmother, the Dowager Marchioness of Willingham, intends to win. But while both Diana and Jeremy think they have gamed everything out, neither one factored in the possibility of falling in love. In her second superbly entertaining Regency-set historical, following To Have and to Hoax (2020), Waters once again rewards readers with a comically clever love story that blithely blends engaging writing spiked with deliciously dry wit and a beguiling cast of characters. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

The second in a series of Julia Quinnâ€"like sensuous rom-coms. Diana Bourne decided at age 18 that in order to make her way in the world, a viscountess with no significant dowry had better marry money. And since Diana never really expected much more from the "addlepated" male gender, it really didn't matter who. Of course, her cheeks blush in the presence of Jeremy Overington, the Marquess of Willingham. But though he's blond and beautiful, he's also broke, a notorious rake, and a very poor candidate. Besides, when they're together, they spend all their time trading witty insults. Five years pass, and Diana, who succeeded in marrying well, is now Lady Templeton, a widow andâ€"with her ample bosom and "elegant slouch"â€"the toast of the ton. But Diana's older husband, the viscount, was never much in the feathers, and she wonders how she can gain some new passionate experience. Diana doesn't want to marry again. Why would she? She's young, free, and wealthy. As romantic novels would have it, Jeremy also needs some help. The married mistress he just spurned has intimated that he might not be the lover he thought he was. Jeremy asks Diana to spend time at his country pile, Elderwild, with a bunch of fashionable 20-something couples and his grandmother, the outspoken Marchioness of Willingham. And would she mind giving him her opinion of his bedroom technique? Interestingly for romance, though Lady Di loves his kisses, she's critical of his finger work. And she guides him on how best to make sure his future lovers are not faking it. Through traded barbs and some overly frenetic plotting, the lovers come to understand that the uncaring faces they present to society are not the people they really are. Waters introduces an interesting rival for Diana, the desperate-for-marriage sister of an earl, who turns out to have different gender goals. A try for a sexier Beatrice and Benedick that occasionally becomes overdone. Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Waters's irresistibly irreverent second Regency Vows romance (after To Have and to Hoax) pairs young widow Diana Bourne with Jeremy Overington, the Marquess of Willingham, an infamous rake with whom she's always sparred at society functions. Their rivalry escalates when Diana wagers that Jeremy will be married within a year, planning to use Jeremy's upcoming house party as an opportunity to hurl eligible ladies at him. But when Jeremy, seeking reassurance about his prowess as a lover after a bad review, requests that Diana join him in a brief, educational affair, the two must confront what their increasing intimacy means for their bet—and their relationship. Hero and heroine alike are delightfully unsentimental, and Waters takes obvious glee in prodding at genre conventions. (Notes Diana, "It was of course incumbent on every aristocratic man to have at least a somewhat tortured relationship with his own father.") This winking awareness is used to great effect during the lovers' first romp, when Diana does not immediately convulse with pleasure and instead must school Jeremy on his technique. This dynamic is such fun that it's almost a shame when Diana and Jeremy's feelings deepen and the plot becomes more conventional, but the journey to their happy ending is worth every step. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary. (Apr.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly.

Librarian's View
Displaying 1 of 1