To Have and to Hoax

A Novel

By: Martha Waters

Narrated by: Anais Inara Chase, Joel Froomkin

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Named a Best Romance of April by Goodreads, PopSugar, Bustle, and more!

“A laugh out loud Regency romp - if you loved the Bridgertons, you’ll adore To Have and to Hoax!” (Lauren Willig, New York Times best-selling author)

In this fresh and hilarious historical rom-com, an estranged husband and wife in Regency England feign accidents and illness in an attempt to gain attention - and maybe just win each other back in the process.

Five years ago, Lady Violet Grey and Lord James Audley met, fell in love, and got married. Four years ago, they had a fight to end all fights, and have barely spoken since.

Their once-passionate love match has been reduced to one of cold, detached politeness. But when Violet receives a letter that James has been thrown from his horse and rendered unconscious at their country estate, she races to be by his side - only to discover him alive and well at a tavern, and completely unaware of her concern. She’s outraged. He’s confused. And the distance between them has never been more apparent.

Wanting to teach her estranged husband a lesson, Violet decides to feign an illness of her own. James quickly sees through it, but he decides to play along in an ever-escalating game of manipulation, featuring actors masquerading as doctors, threats of Swiss sanitariums, faux mistresses - and a lot of flirtation between a husband and wife who might not hate each other as much as they thought. Will the two be able to overcome four years of hurt, or will they continue to deny the spark between them?

With charm, wit, and heart in spades, To Have and to Hoax is a fresh and eminently entertaining romantic comedy - perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Julia Quinn.

©2020 Martha Waters (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio

Anaïs Inara Chase was great. Joel Froomkin, less so.

I’m afraid the theatrical narration for James Audley took a lot away from my enjoyment of the story. He used sweeping, dramatic voices for every interaction and it was quite distracting. I felt like I was listening to a Dudley Do-Right cartoon.
The plot itself went on too long, but was generally well written, so I’ll give the next book a shot.

Narration was Laughable

While the story was ok and the banter was good I chortled when the male narration first started. It felt overly affected.

Lovely change from other Regency Romances

I thought in terms of writing, this novel was middling; however, I the story was fresh and interesting. The characters where nuanced and drove the plot to satisfying conclusions. I thought the male narrator was insufferably posh - which fit with the setting and character - but was grating to my modern ear. Overall a worthwhile read.

Not a hoax of a story

I really enjoyed this story. It is well written. You know the H & h love each other and the fun parts of the story are how their shenanigans bring them back to realizing it. The story addresses many common themes that can stress a marriage. Yes the characters act immature and foolish but they are young and had poor roll models when it comes to how to treat someone you love. Don't we often act our worse around those we are closest to? Also, after living with someone, you know their weaknesses and just where to strike. This is a universal theme set in Regency England. The author knows the history, hierarchy and language of this time period. I am hoping she will make this a series revealing some of the other characters stories. I have found a new author, to me, and hope to read more of her work.

Well - it’s important for the later books!

I grabbed this one a while ago on an Audible sale, and luckily had it when I got an ARC for book 5, so I could get the background on the series characters before starting the last book in the series (they’re not standalone and I’m glad I saw that info in a friend’s review before trying to skip the rest).

Sadly, I didn’t know that this one was a “marriage in crisis” which is a trope I can’t stand unless it’s handled carefully… there were a few parts that were humorous but for the most part (and the narrators also couldn’t bring up my opinion… sorry!), the characters felt completely toxic together and apart.

It was good background for the rest of the series, though, which was definitely better!

Couldn’t finish

Disappointing. Unfortunately, there’s really no plot to this book. Endless narration, almost no dialogue. Returning.

Makes him the bad guy

Felt like it was very manipulating, and that they were incredibly immature. Found myself fast forwarding through much of it.

Writing was good, story was not at all romantic

I was so disappointed by this book. I love romances, but there was nothing romantic about this book. It was a frustrating mix of deceit and lack of conversation. There were so many near misses... it could have been sooo good with more actual drama instead of just misunderstandings caused by emotionally immature characters. The only redeeming qualities about this book were the authors ability to write and her sense of humor.