To Love and to Loathe

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC and the opportunity to read and review early.

Okay, I have read a lot of Regency-era books and romances in the past but it's been a while. Maybe a year or so. This one sounded really fun – enemies to lovers, and based on the cover I expected it to be more of a rom-com than a romance.

Light spoilers ahead.

The premise was solid, but I found the execution a little bland. Widowed Diana seeks out a lover to indicate to other men that she's open for courting, while Jeremy pursues Diana because he had been given feedback about his bedroom skills and needs to work. A perfectly zany premise, but one that went too sappy and serious too fast. I think part of it is that they knew each other because of Jeremy's friendship with Diana's brother, but it just didn't have the pacing or emotional resonance I was looking for in a Regency read.