To Love and to Loathe

Definitely more of a 3.5.

Now that I think a bit after finishing this book, I realize that I haven't actually read a romance novel in almost four months. And it has mostly been because I seem to have totally lost interest in reading anything contemporary. But today, I was just in the mood for some love and decided it was better to choose a historical romance instead and it was definitely a better decision.

I haven't read the previous book by the author and I have no idea if the two are companion pieces, but I had no trouble understanding the world this was set in and all the important players. The author is good at writing banter full of tension and humor, and I was really looking forward to the conversations, not just between Diana and Jeremy, but between the side characters as well. I liked how both of them were not afraid to go toe to toe with each other, whether verbally or in bed and it made for an interesting dynamic. The author also has written good female friendships, and I particularly was pleased to see her avoid pitting two women against each other. Jeremy's grandma was another colorful character and I was truly hoping she had more of a role to play coz she was loads of fun.

This was an overall fun and entertaining romance and probably just the right thing I needed to take my mind off other things in my life. It's always nice to see intelligent and independent thinking women characters in historical romances and I think this couple are well matched in that sense. While the sexual tension was there, I just wish there was more to convince that they were actually in love. As a very rare reader of this genre, I would probably keep a lookout for the author's next work, because it just might be the perfect one based on my mood.