I am just enjoying this series so much at the moment - I read To Love and to Loathe only a couple of weeks ago, and I couldn't wait to read another installment in The Regency Vows and see what this group of friends got up to next. Emily and Julian's budding relationship was hinted at in the previous book, so I was very excited to see exactly how their romance would pan out. Compared to the other female protagonists in this series that I have read thus far, Emily is quite meek and mild, but I found this to be a bit of a refreshing change of pace, and it was nice to see how Julian brought her out of her shell and constantly reassured her that she wasn't an inconvenience and that her voice did matter to him. I didn't find the overall plotline in this to be as strong as some of the other books in this series, but it was still very enjoyable indeed.

A beautifully done book that I fell in love with immediately. The characters were gorgeous and the premise was extremely fun.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Marrying Lord Julian Belfry was not what Lady Emily Turner expected to happen when she attended a house party with her friends. Since meeting Julian a few months ago, Emily has been drawn to him, but her mother has a different plan for her, and Emily is barely allowed any freedom. But Julian wants to marry a respectable lady, and gain a wife and hostess who can help him turn his theatre from one where men take their mistresses, to one where all of society are entertained. A marriage of convenience it may have started, but soon some rather inconvenient feelings start making themselves known.

When we met Julian and Emily in the first book, it was clear that they would have a story at some point. I loved the strength that Emily had in this book, or at least developed after her marriage. As the only daughter of a marquess, she was to be paraded around by her mother as the perfect debutante - particularly when her brother is killed in a duel and causes a scandal. And when her father becomes indebted to a heinous hell owner, and Emily needs to placate him for the past three seasons, she's ready for freedom. And Julian more than offers it. They both go into the marriage with open eyes, and the swiftness of the nuptials is crucial for Emily to gain her freedom. Her family are less than happy with who she's married to, and who has allowed her to use her backbone and her voice. Julian, on the other hand, has been estranged from his parents after opening his theatre - and sometimes acting too - and he wants the theatre to become respectable mainly to please his father. There were times I wanted to give him a shake, but Emily showed him he was loved no matter what, and may have meddled a little to get her father-in-law to come on side. I loved the final chapters, and I'm really hoping that Emily and Julian will be large parts of book 4!

To Marry and to Meddle is the third book in this Martha Waters series and has been heavily foreshadowed in the previous two books so I was looking forward to Emily and Julian’s story. Emily’s Papa has run himself aground with debt and his only recourse is to promise his beautiful daughter to his less than salubrious debtor. The shame of it. However along comes scandalous Lord Julian the black sheep of his family who has had the temerity to make himself a successful businessman. The shame of it. These two shameful creatures are brought together by mutual friends and come up with a marriage of convenience to save them both. It’s probably the least silly of the series so far which is absolutely a good thing and I enjoyed it well enough. Julian remains a favourite even though he’s not as roguish as he could have been. It’s a cozy feel good fluff piece.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️✨

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me, which is a shame because I do like Martha Waters and historical romances. I think I was looking for more drama and angst in the relationship, and to me, this one fell a little flat.

Saying that, I did enjoy the banter between Lady Emily and Lord Julian. It was a cute story and Waters has a great way of adding humour to their novels which I really have enjoyed throughout the Regency Vows series.

I loved this book, Emily is stuck her family are using her to keep onside her fathers debtors, however this meant that season after season she never gets the chance to find true love.

Lord Julian Belfry is estranged from his family, his parents want him to give up his theatre he has poured heart and soul into , after all the theatre is not a seemly endeauvour for a man of his stature.

Julian decides that he needs to clean up his theatres image, to do that he needs a perfect wife and Emily fits the bill but can they pull this off.

This is a great book I loved the characters especially Cecil and clips on at quite a pace.

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read more by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review

This is the third book in this sort-of series by Martha Waters (same characters, individual different stories) and I am wholeheartedly enjoying them. This book was witty, light and fun, with a credible historical setting and an entertaining cast of characters. Fans of Bridgerton should check this out at once as it has a very similar feel.

This was a fun romp and I enjoyed reading it. I'm not much into historical romance and have only started to acquaint myself to the genre recently, so I didn't have very many expectations from this, mostly because I wasn't sure how I would love it, but I did like it a whole lot. The characters are amazing and their chemistry is great! I loved how their relationship grew so very organically. Watching them fall in love was so nice to see. I especially love the backdrop of the theatre and that added so much to the story!

Overall, this was a good read (very cheesy, yes but I do love this pun!) and I enjoyed it!

After enjoying the first two books in the series, I had high hopes for the third but unfortunately I could not continue with it.

I managed to read 17% and was just bored the entire time. Emily as a character was just boring and flat and I couldn't connect with her at all. I was interested to see how she would connect with Julian but couldn't for the life of keep reading.

To Love and To Loath was one of my favourite romance reads of last year, so obviously I was super excited about this one. I expected this to be funny and entertaining, and for the most part, it was.
The only problem was that, I don't think it was a good romance. Basically, the comedy part is good, but the romance part isn't.
Here's the thing, what makes any story interesting is the conflict. No one wants to read a story where everyone is happy and there is no conflict. Because no conflict -> no story.
And in the romance genre, the conflict specifically has to be about the romance. There should always be something that keeps the main couple from being together.

But in this book, there is no sense of conflict. The main characters have a marriage of convenience. But from early on, it is clear that they have affection for each other. There is no internal barrier, like there was in To Love and To Loath. Nothing that keeps them apart.

At one point, there was potential for a big fight. They're having an argument and the hero just leaves. But it seems like the author just forgets that this happened.
In a well-written emotional plotline, these things matter. Because these elements have the potential to affect the emotional journey of the characters. But it seems like the author just didn't want to have an emotional journey.

I don't know honestly. I've had some fun with this book. Which is why I can't give this less than three stars. But the more I think about it, the more I come to the realization that this book isn't really a good romance. It's just a good comedy. Make of that what you will. *shrugs*

I have loved this entire series, but I really loved Emily and Julian’s story. There is something so delicious and indulgent about a good marriage of convenience story, where the arrangement comes first and the feelings slowly slip in afterwards.

I thought this was so well written and the way Emily and Julian’s feelings changed slowly and subtly felt really genuine, Emily was such a good heroine, so selfless, with so much strength beneath her polite, upstanding demeanour, and I loved Julian - imperfect and insecure despite his cheeky, roguish nature, but with so much respect for Emily from the outset- wanting her to be her true self, which was incredibly hot.

I loved the theatre storyline too, and the thread of Julian and his father was quietly, beautifully emotional. A really lovely book, that was slightly less comedic than the others but, in my opinion, all the better for it.

Emily has had a number of seasons but she only has one suitor due to her father's debts. Julian is the second son of a marquess and owns a theatre that his father does not approve of. His theatre is the sort of place where men take their mistresses and Julian really wants to improve the theatre's reputation. They decide to enter into a marriage of convenience, Emily will use her connections to improve the reputation of the theatre and Julian will take her away from her father's debts.

As this is a marriage of convenience the characters get married very early on in this book and we see their relationship develop throughout the book. The start of this book did move quite slowly and it took me a while to get into this story. I liked the characters but I didn't fall in love with them and their romance was not my favourite. I liked the kitten Cecil who provided some very funny moments.

Overall this was an ok read for me. I enjoyed it but I didn't find the characters or romance to be particularly memorable.

Lord Julian Belfry is the second son of a marquess. Unfortunately, choosing to own a rather vulgar theatre has lead to scandal. When his father orders him to sell it, he chooses to cut himself off from his family, rather than submit.
In the following years he has worked hard to make the theatre successful and now he wants it to be respectable.

When he meets Lady Emily Turner, he is impressed by her ability to retain a reputation for respectability, despite scandals in her own family.

Julian suggests a marriage of convenience and explains that her respectability is an asset that he values. Essentially, her job will great a gloss of respectability over him and his business.

Emily has spent her life bending to her mother’s opinion and duty to the family. Her reward is a dowry gambled away by her father and a suitor who is blackmailing her father.
Julian’s offer has to be an improvement.

Marriage to Julian gives her freedom from her family, but the cause of “respectability” means regular exposure to Society. Many of Society dislike Julian, so Emily faces spite, scorn and an uphill battle.

Emily wants to be involved with the theatre, but struggles to convince Julian.
Emily gradually starts to overcome her conditioned reticence and expresses her opinions as never before.

Each work hard to make the marriage work, as the business arrangement becomes something much more personal.

A pleasing story, with a satisfying conclusion.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All views expressed are my own.

This is a delightful regency romance with two lovable characters and a rather predictable ending. Yet, I couldn't put this down and read the entire book in two sittings, wearing a huge smile. I especially enjoyed the funny and quirky dialogues.

And the best supporting actor award goes to: Cecil, the kitten!

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this Advance Reading Copy.

Oh I love these books of Martha Waters and this one did not disappoint. I was swept up in Emily and Julian’s story straight off, willing them on to recognise their feelings for each other and resolve their own issues, all against the backdrop of revisiting their friends from the earlier books. More please!

Emily and Julian are the main characters in this third instalment of “The regency vows” series.

A crossed path at the party makes them both take a lifetime decision that will change their dreams and career forever.

Emily was funny, calm, sweet and while she wasn't considered the best match among the other debutantes, I really liked her wit and willingness to be more and to do more with her life. Their marriage of convenience becomes much more along the way and their banter and interactions are so well done for a great story. It really shows the connection and chemistry they hold for each other. I loved how Emily tried to make him see that what society thinks it's proper for a lady to do, it's not always what one’s wishes in reality. The acting stage and theatre were a fresh addition to the usual regency historical romance story. It’s usually a place where the heroes are showing their raker face. A few meddling moments from a naughty pet added more humour to the scene and made me laugh out loud because that was unexpected.

While I didn't enjoy the first book that much, I loved this one and it can easily be read as a stand-alone.

If you love historical romance, this one is for you.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

4.5 stars

In the past year, thanks to Bridgerton, I have been reading and enjoying many historical romance novels and Martha Waters’ novels are some of my favourite.

Her novels follow a group of friends in Regency England in their romantic and often ridiculous and hilarious adventures. Each book follows a couple and even though they can easily be read as stand-alone I highly recommend you read all of them because they are engrossing and entertaining and all the characters are likable and engaging.

To Marry and to Meddle is the third book in the series and it follows the story of Emily Turner, a young woman who, because of her father’s huge gambling debts, is forced to enjoy the courtship of a vile man, and Julian Belfry, the second son of a Marquess who was disinherited when he opened his own scandalous theatre. They agree to make a marriage of convenience to get rid of unwanted suitors for Emily and gain respectability for the theatre for Julian.

This was such a fun and addictive read. I loved the characters, the story, and the setting. I really enjoyed the first two novels, but if I had to choose, I’d say that To Marry and to Meddle is my favourite so far. I really loved the characters of Emily and Julian, I loved their witty exchanges and their easy relationship, and their story is so beautiful and romantic. And let’s not forget the best characters of all, Cecil Lucifer Beelzebub, spoiler of wedding nights and adorable, kind of devilish, and way too smart kitten.

I finished reading To Marry and to Meddle a few days ago and I already want to reread it. It is hilarious, witty, and sexy and I can’t recommend it enough!

I have heard a lot about Martha Waters’ books over the past year and was intrigued to read this one. Though this is the third book in the series, I haven’t yet read the others, but found this one to work well as a standalone - I will most definitely be going back to read the others now that I’ve finished this one! It’s such a fun book, with lots of really clever, witty dialogue and a ridiculously funny kitten – I think I loved the relationship between Lord Julian and the kitten - Cecil Lucifer Beelzebub - more than the two main characters! I jest, all the characters were likeable and loveable.

Lord Julian Belfry proposes a marriage of convenience with Lady Emily Turner at the beginning of the novel in an amusing, if unromantic, proposal. From then on, it’s very fast paced, featuring a whole host of other characters from the other books in the series – more reason for me to go back and read the others! – The plot revolves around the two main characters who develop inconvenient feelings for each other; their friends meddling, in a way that only friends do, and their families causing issues along the way.

I would class this book as a low angst, romantic comedy, a very light-hearted read written in a contemporary fashion. There is a bit of steam, but not a lot. However, the connection between the characters through the fast-paced dialogue was enough to carry the story and develop the plot that unnecessary steam wasn’t needed. If you’ve never read a historical romance before but want to dip your toe in, I would definitely recommend To Marry and to Meddle!

*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a amazing book I loved a fun heart warming book. I loved every page a great compelling read I enjoyed. The characters were amazing I enjoyed the writing style plenty of characters to learn from I enjoyed Emily characters the romance was brilliant I loved getting to know the characters. The story is a epic read you love.