An enemies to friends-with-benefits to lovers romance
Book CWs: For a list of content/trigger warnings, tropes, and representation found in this book, check out its page on BookTriggerWarnings.com!
Premise (from Goodreads)
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.
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Review (No Spoilers)
Before I get into the review, I should warn you that I didn’t read the first book in this series. The book read perfectly fine as a standalone, but there may have been some cameos or hidden jokes that I couldn’t appreciate to their full extent.
To Love and to Loathe is a historical romance novel that felt very modern with its premise. The book follows two characters who enter in a type of friends-with-benefits situation as a means to learn about sex while also hoping to get rid of their mutual attraction to each other. I, personally, love books/movies that are based on the naive notion that you can do a one-and-done when it comes to sexual attraction. I don’t know what it is exactly but that type of dynamic of trying to deny your feelings for someone and not being able to really speaks to me.
I had a lot of fun with these characters. They had great banter with each other and surprisingly healthy relationships with their friends. There is the use of the miscommunication trope towards the end to drive that third-act conflict, but I appreciated how it was handled with some tough love.
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Jenjenreviews 
Sounds really fun!
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