Reviews

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters

Only show reviews with written explanations

kyeruhh's review

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

2.5

This was fine - I didn’t love the characters but didn’t hate them either, the plot was cute but nothing overly fun, and the writing was fine if not a bit too modern for the setting. However,

Diana outing Helen not once but TWICE to four different people really rubbed me the wrong way. Diana even notes before she tells her friends that she shouldn’t say anything but it was important to explain how she figured out she loved Jeremy, except it wasn’t?? She could’ve made something up as to why Helen didn’t want to marry or just omitted her involvement in Diana’s realization altogether. She had no way of knowing anyone wouldn’t negatively react so in telling her friends, and Jeremy, who already knew but she had no way of knowing that, she endangered the woman.

I understand that this is a book and it’s not that deep, but Diana’s response in that situation really wasn’t handled with care by the author. The book likely would have been a 3 stars otherwise.

Content Warnings

stephensstem's review

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5.0

This series is the best! I laughed all the way through!

webbsusa's review

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2.0

Okayish…then not at all

This book could have been so much better than it was. It started off very slow, picked up around the 40-50% mark, then the main character betrays the confidence of another character and outs them, multiple times. This is all treated like it’s not only no big deal, but perfectly understandable and valid, because of course you would tell your friends. I was completely appalled. There was NO awareness of the fact that, at the time, sharing of such a secret could have resulted in the gay character being imprisoned or institutionalized. The stakes were incredibly high, but this was treated as just another “fun” plot point.

This points to another issue with the book: it felt like a contemporary romance playacting at historical romance. Putting your characters in period dress and throwing in a few viscounts doesn’t make a book HR. I am not a huge HR stickler; I love authors like Sarah Maclean, Erica Ridley, and Eva Leigh, who are often accused of being “inauthentic.” I love Bridgerton. Unlike those authors and TV shows, this book was almost completely divorced from its historical context. Change the clothes and remove the tiles, and these characters could have been 21st century Americans.

I had been really excited to read this book, as I’d heard some good things, but it was a major disappointment.

zaza_bdp's review against another edition

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4.0

Si vous aimez les comédies romantiques version Régence avec des personnages qui manient à la perfection l'art de la joute verbale, le marivaudage entre ennemis de longue date, les grands-mères à la langue bien pendue (et aux idées bien arrêtées !) ainsi que les parties de campagne qui donnent lieu à des activités ... autrement plus intimes, alors vous allez passer un excellent moment avec ce roman de Martha Waters !

Le titre ne laisse aucune place au doute, les "chamailleries" sont bien au coeur de ce roman, et font office de (longs) préliminaires entre Jeremy et Diana. Ces deux-là ont passé de longues années à se regarder en chiens de faïence et à se lancer des piques bien acérées, chacun étant bien décidé à avoir le dernier mot et le dessus sur l'autre. C'est à la faveur d'une fâcheuse mésaventure que Jeremy va faire une proposition pour le moins ... inattendue à Diana, tandis qu'elle lui impose un marché qu'elle compte bien remporter !

À partir de là, tous les coups sont permis, et ils vont s'en donner à coeur joie l'un et l'autre, avant, bien sûr, de se laisser prendre à leur propre jeu. Ce rapprochement va leur permettre de mieux se connaître et de dépasser leurs préjugés. Évidemment, on s'y attend, mais j'ai été touchée par la vulnérabilité dont ils font preuve lorsqu'ils s'autorisent à baisser leur garde, en particulier Jeremy qui a des choses à régler pour faire la paix avec son passé.

Je me suis vraiment régalée avec ce roman : c'est drôle et pétillant, les répliques fusent dans tous les sens, on est vraiment dans la pure comédie, c'est très rafraîchissant à lire ! Les personnages secondaires occupent une place de choix, et la grand-mère de Jeremy n'a pas été sans me rappeler une certaine lady Danbury ! Ajoutons à cela une romance qui certes prend son temps, mais qui n'en est pas moins passionnée, bref, tous les ingrédients sont réunis pour passer un excellent moment de lecture !