#martha waters

[the-book-queen]

Review 4⭐️

TO WOO AND TO WED by Martha Waters

“This romance was absolutely gorgeous. West was such a fun MMC, and Sophie was an absolutely awesome FMC!”

Read JXR’s full review ➜ https://shorturl.at/pqsEN

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: To Woo and To Wed (The Regency Vows #5)

To Woo and To Wed is the fifth and final book of The Regency Vows set. With nods to Jane Austen's Persuasion, and with many years of meddling, separation, and pining in the mix, I thought this was a delightful conclusion to the beloved series.

Seven years ago, Lady Sophie Fitzwilliam and The Marquess of Weston met and fell in love. They were almost engaged when West was in a curricle riding accident which resulted in the death of his friend, sustained him a life-altering leg injury, and caused the woman he loved to rush off and marry someone else without an explanation. They have interacted little since.

However, all that changes when her sister, Alexandra, also a widow, wishes to marry again but won't until Sophie has found matrimonial bliss of her own. Sophie is unnerved by this, afraid that she is holding her sister back. So in order to get her down the aisle, she hatches a scheme with West: they will fake a betrothal and call things off once Alexandra is happily settled.

Of course, nothing is that simple, and before long, old feelings as well as past revelations come rushing to the surface, showing Sophie and West that maybe love can blossom between them for a second time.

I've been looking forward to Sophie and West's story since the beginning and this was everything I could have wanted for them. Whether it was forced proximity, second chance romance, interfering parents, or fake engagements, there were a bevy of tropes to entice and enthrall me. Granted, the miscommunication between Sophie and West could be frustrating at times, but the reasons for it always made sense and added to the charm of the novel. It provided depth to the love they both carried for one another and, ultimately, could not conquer. While I'm saddened to see this series come to a close, I'm looking forward to seeing what Martha Waters creates in the future!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3.5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

[sarah-maclean-completist]

Goodreads: Top rated romance books of the last three years.

[pattingsomebooks]

Latest read: To Woo and To Wed by Martha Waters

I had recently finished this book and it was a fun read. Its about a widow learning about how her widowed sister found a new love that she wants to marry but is hesitant on pushing through with it thus she concocts a plan to have a fake dating situation with her lost love (lost in the sense they couldn't truly be together) and things just get out of hand.

The books I've been seeking out lately are low stakes books in the sense that the protagonists aren't trying to take down government systems or go into war. I'm a fan of slice of life books, romcom books, and books with funny shenanigans. So, this book fell into what I've been craving.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and it gave me some good laughs. I ended up really liking a lot of the characters and the cast that appeared in the books. I felt like the author did a good job in humanizing the characters in the sense that they have humor, worries, and are not really on a one-track mindset. It's just a very chill read, highly recommend!

[lifeofafemalebibliophile]

Book Review: "To Woo and to Wed" (The Regency Vows #5) by Martha Waters

“To Woo and to Wed” (The Regency Vows #5) by Martha Waters (2024) Genre: 334 pages (electronic review edition) Page Length: Historical, Romance, Fiction Synopsis: West, the Marquess of Weston, and Sophie, Lady Fitzwilliam Bridewell, have lately been spending a considerable amount of time together. But West and Sophie are not new acquaintances. In fact, years ago, they had once been nearly…

[readtilyoudie]

Diana Bourne was only eighteen, but she knew one thing already: men were fools. Adorable fools sometimes, enticing fools occasionally, but fools one and all.

To Love and to Loathe (The Regency Vows, #2) by Martha Waters

[sognareleggiesogna]

REVIEW PARTY: "In amore e in guerra" di Martha Waters

Cari Sognatori, Lily ha letto il secondo volume della serie regency The Regency Vows scritta da Martha Waters e pubblicata dalla Heartbeat Edizioni !!! Serie: The Regency Vows vol. 2 Genere: Regency Romance Data di pubblicazione: 14 Febbraio 2024 Ebook/ affiliati Amazon Trama La vedova Diana – Lady Templeton – e Jeremy – Marchese di Willingham – sono noti nell’alta società inglese per la loro…

[tudorblogger]

Monthly Reading Summary – October 2023

[theregencyreticule]

What I've been reading this week:

I read between 2-3 books a week. My favourite genres are historical romance (I really like ones with a mystery or espionage element), contemporary romance & rom-coms, and fantasy/science fiction. I use my local library a lot for physical and digital copies as well as a Kindle Unlimited subscription that I gifted myself with a few years ago.

I thought it would be fun for me to keep some sort of record of what I'm reading weekly. Mostly just for my own enjoyment but, I do love to talk about books and some of my fave authors and I figured, what else is my blog for?

So, on tap this week was: Truth or Dare by Emma V. Leech (book 18 in her Daring Daughters series), To Swoon and to Spar by Martha Waters (book 4 in her Regency Vows series), and Well Traveled by Jen Deluca (book 4 in her Well Met series)

I wasn't expecting to read either To Swoon and to Spar or Well Traveled this week but I got two digital skip the line passes from my library and was able to read them early. (Hurrah!). All three books I thoroughly enjoyed, although I found Martha Waters 4th book a little bit of a slow starter.

As always, I started in on Emma V. Leech's book and pretty much read almost continually until I finished it. (hello 1 am bedtime!) I can't wait for the next book in this series as it will be the culmination of a series long plot arc.

Well Traveled was SO good and I loved finally getting to read Lulu's story and diving deep back into the world of the Ren Faire.

Next week, I am hoping to finally read the Anjelika Frankenstein book that I got out from the library last week!

[m0ose-idiot]

Fanny's having a marvellous time, thinking about the Bible and going through her already kicked the bucket list

Featuring bonus live-action footage...

(also featuring stealth art from Degopunk on Insta 👻🤍)

[the-book-queen]

JXR says “the romantic tension in TO WOO AND TO WED was just sizzling!” ➜ https://shorturl.at/pqsEN

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: To Swoon and To Spar (The Regency Vows #4) by Martha Waters

Nobody enjoys a good gothic romance more than I do. I like a story that has atmosphere, that features a setting with drafty rooms and stately architecture and echoes that reverberate throughout foyer. I like the feeling of a sprawling estate with history, especially if it's eerie history. I'm here for the creaking of stairs, for the isolated quiet, for the moans after midnight, and for the blowing snowdrifts that wisp around a newly, but conveniently, married couple as they settle into their Cornwall estate, both of them thinking that nothing much in their lives will need to change.

As a result of that, I was excited to get early access to this book. I've been a fan of The Regency Vows series since it's inception and was looking forward to this Northanger Abbey meets Bridgerton foray into an English country manor with Penvale and Jane. However, while I again appreciated Water's cheeky and subversive style, which has been a hallmark of this series so far and something I've come to love and expect from it, I didn't love this one as much as I hoped I would. It wasn't my favorite.

Similar to Emily and Julian in To Marry and To Meddle, Penvale and Jane enter into a marriage of convenience.

For years, Penvale has been looking for a way to buy back his ancestral estate from his uncle. He's finally offered the opportunity to do so, but only if he agrees to marry Jane, his uncle's ward. Jane agrees to the match because Trethwick Abbey is the only home she's ever known and she doesn't want to leave it. However, she's not all that keen about being handed from one man to another, wanting her own freedom, her own independence, so she devises a plan to try and haunt her husband out of house and home so he'll return to London and she can be left alone. In peace.

Alas, Penvale is too poised and practical to be spooked with ease. And Jane, as she comes to spend more time with him, comes to find that she doesn't mind (might even like!) her husband's company.

So the question becomes: who's really haunting who here? What if it's love - not a ghost - that's lurking in the hidden staircase?

There wasn't anything inherently wrong or bad about this story. In fact, I liked that readers were in on the fake-haunting gag from the outset because it added a level of desperate absurdity to things, which was amusing. I also enjoyed being more removed from London. The Cornwall setting was blustery yet cozy, making me want to prop up by the fire with a warm blanket, some tea, and a pair of fuzzy socks as I read.

Where I struggled, I think, was connecting to Penvale and Jane as a couple. Their personalities didn't mesh well for me, with him being so serious, pragmatic, and deadpan all the time and her being so sharp and prickly. Though Jane was characterized as shy, I found her to come across as more hostile than anything, especially toward Diana. She could be downright rude. Almost mean at times. I did warm to her eventually, but there was a lack of lightness to her and their dynamic as a whole that I found wanting.

Probably my least favorite of the series so far. Still fun, though! Lots of cameos from other characters as well.

Here's hoping West and Sophie are next! 🤞🏻

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

[classicfilmpunk]

Pecker (1998)

[bitter69uk]

Believe it or not, I got sucked into watching the new Netflix documentary about Martha Stewart. My memory about her saga was hazy, especially the legal insider trading scandal. Considering Stewart herself participated, the doc was surprisingly, frankly "warts and all.” (Having said that, the filmmakers let Martha freely disparage her ex-husband and ex-boyfriend of fifteen years, but I was thinking, I would be curious to hear THEIR side of the story, too!). Who Stewart ultimately reminded me of was Betty Draper from Mad Men (imagine frosty impeccable obsessed-with-appearances “Betts” rising to the top as a powerful CEO). Stewart was clearly a blunt, no-nonsense business genius. It raised interesting questions about why we expect her to also be "likable", “humble” and "relatable" too. (I wouldn't want to be on her staff, mind you). Her stint in prison clearly made Stewart a better person. And I completely forgot about her doing the Comedy Central roast for Justin Bieber. Who knew she was so funny – and filthy? Anyway, last night YouTube “recommended" to me an ancient clip of David Letterman reflecting on the 2003 made-for-TV biopic Martha Inc: The Story of Martha Stewart starring the perfectly cast Cybill Shepherd (pictured). Letterman showed little snippets from it (mostly of Stewart berating underlings) to roars of laughter. The highlight: Martha drives up to a woman jogging (an employee who’s having an affair with Stewart’s husband) and screams "Hey, slut! I'm writing your mother a letter telling her you're a whore!” and speeds away. It’s an outrageously campy moment worthy of John Waters and Mink Stole and Shepherd NAILS it. (If Kathleen Turner had been unavailable for Serial Mom (1994), Shepherd would have been a viable alternative for Beverly Sutphin). So, imagine my heartbreak to discover Martha Inc isn’t streaming anywhere in the UK! Not even a grainy pixelated version on YouTube. It’s a hate crime!

[lifeofafemalebibliophile]

Book Review: "Christmas Is All Around" by Martha Waters

“Christmas Is All Around” by Martha Waters (2024) Genre: Holiday, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Page Length: 304 pages (electronic review edition) Synopsis: Charlotte hates the holidays. As a former child actress, she starred in a modern classic of a holiday movie, and its fans won’t let her move on. When a piece revealing that her reluctance nixed plans for a reboot, she flees to London to…