To Have and to Hate by RS Grey | BOOK REVIEW

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Marry a man I barely know to save my family from ruin.
It might’ve been simple, if my betrothed were anybody else.

On our wedding day, my husband-to-be arrived at the courthouse like a black cloud rolling over Manhattan. Walt didn’t crack smiles or pepper in pleasantries as we exchanged hollow vows in front of the judge. 

His disdain for me was so palpable I assumed we’d walk out of that ceremony and resume our regularly scheduled programming. But then fate was like, Hold my beer. I got this.

In desperate need of help and with nowhere else to turn, I had no choice but to ignore a crucial rule in our contract: I shall only contact Mr. Jennings II in case of emergency. But hey, what’s a little fine print between husband and wife?

Turns out, Walt’s a stickler for legalese—I think it might be his love language. Oh, and his attitude at the courthouse wasn’t a put-on. My so-called husband is a jerk. He takes what he wants without giving any consideration to other people—specifically ME, his blushing, contractually-obligated bride!

I knew life with Walt would be no honeymoon, but a marriage of any sort should still come with a few standard guarantees:

To have and to hold.
For richer or poorer.
In sickness and in health.

But after experiencing Walt’s version of wedded bliss, I say let’s forget about all that lovey-dovey crap and just take me straight to death do us part.

GOODREADS

To Have and to Hate by RS Grey | BOOK REVIEW

TO HAVE AND TO HATE BY RS GREY
BOOK REVIEW

I must say, in recent years finishing a RS Grey book is actually a WIN for me.

To Have and To Hate was an enjoyable read, did I have some issues with it? Sure! But overall it was a solid romance novel.

And if you love a slow burn, marriage of convenience and an age gap (ten years) you’ll enjoy it too. Also, it included a rather new trope, a sunshine/grump pairing. The first time I read about this pairing was in Act Your Age, Eve Brown and I’m loving it.

Starting out there wasn’t much chemistry between Elizabeth and Walt, at least not at first. It was a marriage of convenience, and besides them knowing each other from family functions, they had no other connection. And if I’m honest, they didn’t have anything in common either, except for their love for art. So their slow burn romance made sense, and worked for the book. Would I have liked a bit more oomph? Absolutely! But not every romance has to be sizzling and hot. I enjoyed the slower pace.

Also, I’m a big fan of playing house, and that’s pretty much what Elizabeth and Walt did. And as always forced proximity, in their case living in the same apartment, leads to certain situations which I adored. Also, the more these two were around each other, the more their personalities came out to shine. Walt, especially surprised me with being generous and kind when it came to Elizabeth’s well being.

I also felt that Elizabeth had a good grasp on Walt’s personality, he wasn’t into PDA, he was private, guarded, restrained even and a bit cold. Also she had this habit of making him smile against his wishes. And I loved that he started to come out of his shell around Elizabeth. Her sunshine personality was the perfect complement to his cooler personality.

In the end, I feel that the book would have profited from Walt’s POV, he was very quiet and hard to read, and his thoughts would have made him more approachable. Especially since these two didn’t really talk that much with each other. And dialogues are key in certain situations, especially in preventing misunderstandings.

Overall, I had NO trouble finishing this book in one day. It got me hooked. And although it was far from perfect, it wasn’t bad either. It was solid.

|| ALMOST FOUR STARS ||

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FAVORITE BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:
SCORING WILDER | THE BEAU & THE BELLE | DOCTOR DEAREST

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To Have and to Hate by RS Grey | BOOK REVIEW