I absolutely loved this book! I read it with the audiobook and I highly recommend checking it out. There's 2 narrators and Joel Froomkin's James was such the perfect sardonic British wit, having it juxtaposed to Anais Inara Chase's Violet made me end up listening to the audiobook two-times in a row. The 2 narrators added extra life to the story - not that the story was at all boring or lifeless. The audiobook was just that excellent. I've already ordered the second book and I look forward to the further adventures.
Synopsis
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?
Review
Oh the tangled web we weave, when first we suffer to deceive...
One of the things that I loved about the book was the dry sense of humor, especially on James's part. His inner monologues (and the very Regency English way of speaking) had me cracking up. Another thing I loved was the fact that the couple in question were married. So often we can get (historical romances) that end with the couple admitting their feelings and the hint at happily ever after. This story starts 5 years after Lord James Audley saved Lady Violet Grey from being compromised on a balcony, only to be discovered by Violet's mother after the rake had left. Even though marriage was called for, they were immediately smitten with each other and married 4 weeks later.
The first year of their marriage was wonderful but then came a monumental misunderstanding and subsequent row that neither can get past, since it sprung from deeper issues in their marriage. Four years later, there's only silent breakfasts and polite exchanges when in public. Both are too stubborn to take the first step in fixing things. When Violet receives a letter from Kent, one of James's best friends, Viscount Penvale, telling her that James had been thrown from a horse breaking a particularly feisty stallion. He had yet to regain his senses. Immediately, Violet sets off from London.
James, however, woke up shortly after the message was sent, but no one thought to send Violet that news. (I did wonder if this was possibly on purpose, since both Penvale and Lord Jeremy Overington, Marquess of Willingham, often try to prod James to simply *talk* to his wife about their argument. Neither knew what the conflict was about, since James refuses to discuss it, and it was obvious that the couple was still loved each other. Writing her over a dire situation then 'forgetting' to let her know that James wasn't dying, it forced them to interact with each other, and ultimately got them to reconcile.) James is quite annoyed, at being thrown and his raging headache and decides, despite his friends' urging, to return to London. He never sleeps as well as when he's home, under the same roof as Violet. He's not quite sure why.
Fate has them cross paths at a coaching inn and James's response to Violet's appearance - his apparent lack of remorse for causing her upset - is the last straw. Violet decides she's going to make him know what it's like to think that his wife is dying.
Of course, things don't go to plan and soon it becomes a contest to see who can torment the other one into breaking. There are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments that follow. It's obvious to everyone except for Violet and James that they are in love with and perfect for each other. But eventually Violet and James figure things out and we get the fun of enjoying the ride. The side characters are equally enjoyable and we will be seeing more of them in the next book.
Unlike some of the other stories I've read recently, that take a more serious/dire tone, this book addresses events with a wry, deprecating tone. Even as they grapple with the lack of trust and insecurity that led to the rift in their relationship, it never becomes maudlin or angsty. Instead we get fake doctors, fake illness, fake flirting and a really fun time. It seems that To Have and to Hoax is the author's first novel and I eagerly look forward to more.
5/5 stars.
Musings
Some discussion of the book to be added soon.
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