To Have and to Hoax: A Novel (The Regency Vows Book 1)

4-4 1/2 starsOMG I loved this book. I was smiling from beginning to end.The book is set in 1800’s England, when woman were supposed to act prim and proper and most marriages were arranged.Well, Lady Violet Grey was not like other woman. She liked to read, argue and was out spoken. And that was what Lord James Audley loved about her.They fell in love at first sight and married soon after. And their first year of marriage was passionate. But then they had fight to end all fights and for the past four years have hardly spoken to each other. When Violet gets a letter from James’ best friend that he was thrown from a horse and is unconscious she races to be by his side. But on the way to the country when her carriage has to stop to rest the horses, who does she see there but James alive and well. Well this threw Violet into a rage. How dear James not be dying (lol) and how dare he not send word that he was in fact fine. So violet decides to teach him a lesson. Let’s see how he likes it when he thinks his wife is seriously ill. And so the game is on with them each trying to best the other, from fake illnesses to taking pretend lovers. Oh these two, will they ever figure out that they still truly love each other?Their plots against each other and their banter back and forth had me smiling the entire book. I loved Violet and James. They are both so stubborn though and I wanted to smack their heads together and make them sit down and talk (especially after I found out what the original fight was about). But every time I put the book down I couldn’t wait to pick it up again to see what other cockamamie idea they were going to come up with next.I also loved the secondary characters. Violet’s friends, Diana and Emily. James’ friends, Jeremy and Penvale. I would love to see spin off books centering around them because there are things in this book that were left hanging with them (and then we would also get more Violet and James).

TO HAVE AND TO HOAX gave me a veritable rollercoaster ride of reactions. When I picked this book up, I was like, "Wow, this is so witty and well-written, I can't believe it has such a low rating!" And then I was like, "Okay, this pranking is a little silly and I'm really curious what they were fighting about, and it's more witty than ha ha funny, but I'm still feeling it." And then I was like, "Okay, FINALLY! A kiss!" And then I was like, "But seriously, why are you still fighting? Literally no emotional progress has been made and we're over half-way through the book." And then I was like, "Three quarters of the book and I still want to shake you people and ask why your mother never taught you how to love (dee dee dee dee dee dee)." And then I got to the end of the book and was very, very tired.This is the story of James and Violet. They were married because Violet was compromised on a balcony (ironically, with a different man-- James was only there to step in as rescuer). Since they both had an instant chemistry with witty banter, neither of them particularly minded this and it was a happy marriage-- until it wasn't. After something Violet refers to as The Argument, they both basically stopped speaking to one another unless absolutely necessary, neither of them willing to cross the deep freeze of their own home because that would be a violation of the Stiff Upper Lip Act of 1386 or something. I don't know.The pranking really isn't as prevalent or pervasive as the summary led me to believe. The bulk of this book is the couple missing each other and arguing and dancing around the Big Misunderstanding (which made sense what I learned what it was but was still disappointing because they IMMEDIATELY repeat their mistakes after they finally talk about it and start fighting again over very similar pretenses). I buddy read this with my friend Heather, and she brought up a very good point, I thought, that a lot of what the couple has is purely physical-based. They don't have much of an emotional connection, apart from an apparent fetish for bickering that easily gets out of hand and turns nasty (and no, not in a fun way). So without that trust, I guess it makes sense why jest quickly turns to emotional daggers, but at the same time, this is never really met with closure. Even James's major grovel is a grand gesture DONE BEHIND VIOLET'S BACK which she has made it clear she has an issue with, so it's like he's hearing her, but he's also not really hearing her if you know what I mean. What a disaster.The sex scenes in this book were quite hot and it was written with a breezy, bantery style that kind of reminded me of Tessa Dare's, but the constant cheeky winks to the reader and the fact that so many of these arguments quickly became tiresome and circuitous made this a wearing read. I'm interested in the sequels featuring the other couples-- especially West's book, I loved him-- but I wouldn't read this again and I can finally understand why so many people met this with a rather lukewarm response.3 out of 5 stars

Miss Violet Worthington is a tempting debutante , and when Lord James Aundry rescues her from a lecherous Marquis, their “Happily Ever After” seems guaranteed. We next see the “happy couple” 5 years later, the last 4 of which they have been estranged!Lovely secondary characters with their own romances in the offing help to advance the plot. A few well-written love scenes. Slow start, but worth it.

To Have and To Hoax is a romance (open door romance) novel that takes place in regency England. There are misunderstandings that lead the husband and wife to be estranged. The wife Violet fakes an illness to get even with her husband, James. The characters are so ridiculous and yet I kept reading to find out how it would end. Overall, To Have and To Hoax was a nice easy read with some laugh out loud moments and spicy romance between a married couple.

I was introduced to this series with Book 2 so I had some idea of what this one would be about. That said, To Love and To Loathe is definitely the better book!It was too long and the plot often dragged. It got mired down in so many misunderstandings and hurts and revenge schemes that it was hard to keep track of who knew what. And who needed to apologize for what.Violet is an interesting character but she got annoying after a while. James, too. They acted way younger than their ages and they waffled so much about how they feel about each other. I like how it ended but I was very glad it ended.The writing was repetitive, too. The same expressions and excuses and justifications were used over and over.I enjoy the series so I'd probably suggest this one to people, but with the caveat that the second one is much better.

This is a lovely, feel-good Regency romance with sparkling repartee throughout, and a hero and heroine in the “can’t-live-with-you-but-can’t-live-without-you” mold – in other words, they’re perfectly matched! I was hooked from the very first page and sat up until 3am to finish this, wanting to know how they would settle their differences. Their sparring is entertaining and witty, although at times their one-upmanship threatens to get out of hand, and you wonder why their friends don’t just bash their heads together. The prose flows effortlessly, and the author has added plenty of authentic details, making this a treat for fans of the Regency genre. There is a wonderful cast of secondary characters too, and I’m already hoping some of them will get their own story (notably the hero’s brother!). The perfect book to curl up with in these challenging times!

This was a DNF for me. It’s a shame, because it’s quite well-written and the author has a much better command of Regency language and mores than most American writers (apart from the incredibly irritating repeated use of “shall”, as in Bridgerton, to make the dialogue seem authentic) but I just didn’t find it enjoyable. It’s a bad-tempered book, if that makes sense, and therefore very far from a pleasant read. The protagonists had a stupid argument four years ago and have been estranged ever since. As a result they bicker constantly - it’s *supposed* to be both heartbreaking and show massive unresolved sexual tension but actually it’s annoying, because they are annoying, both of them. Maybe it’s me, because this type of plate-throwing relationship is unappealing to me, but I’ve seen it better done in the past - in Bath Tangle, for example. You know what it isn’t? Sparkling. It does not sparkle even a bit. It is NOT funny.

I thought 'To Have and to Hoax' was a brilliant read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This novel was fun, witty, really detailed and had an excellent and engaging plot.The two main characters - James and Violet - were delightfully written. Their relationship had broken down some years before, and after a series of tit-for-tat ruses against each other, things start to escalate in a hilarious manner. This book also had other secondary characters which were also brilliant, and in some cases intriguing, and I genuinely hope they all get their own stories as I would love to read them.This was a refreshing and bubbly regency romance which I would happily and highly recommend to lovers of this genre. The novel is a complete stand-alone story, told in dual pov.

This story is a deliciously funny historical romp. The characters are charming and witty. The events were so entertaining it was a pleasure to read on.James and Violet are clearly meant for each other but due to a misunderstanding, and a huge amount of stubbornness, a reconciliation seems insurmountable. Even when you think they’ve done it, something else happens to plunge them back into chaos.It was a lovely read though and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys a cheeky historical romantic comedy

I was surprised by this one as heard nothing about this author but decided to give it a go. It was very enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who likes historical romance. On the old DR ratings I would rate it a 4 star. I will definitely look out for more novels by her. I could definitely see how you could go 4 years without talking nursing wounds and not wanting to risk making the effort to change. Although the hero did need a kick at times!