I’ve long-since established that I don’t like enemies to lovers. But rivals to lovers? Yeah, that’s the stuff. Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti is the perfect example of why rivals to lovers is so much more enjoyable for me.
My biggest problem with enemies to lovers is I just can’t understand wanting to have sex with someone who hurt you in a non-consensual way, someone who has pulled mean pranks on you or threatened you/your loved ones or even in extreme cases, killed someone you love.
The stakes with rivals to lovers are so much lower, and in a way, they’re less personal. In Ladies in Hating, our rivals don’t necessarily hate each other, despite the title, but they very much would like the other to just stop doing what they’re doing.
In this case, our rivals are two Gothic novelists, and as soon as I found that out, I smashed the “Place Hold” button in Libby so fast. I’m so glad I took a close enough look to discover that this was not yet another enemies-to-lovers book, because it ended up being 100% my jam. Not perfect, but so very enjoyable.
Georgiana wouldn’t have a problem with Lady Darling’s literary success, except that Darling’s books seem to be copying her own. From unlikely character names to locations and other themes, every time Georgiana publishes a book, Darling is sure to have a very similar one within months. Clearly, some manner of plagiarism is at play, but who is leaking Georgiana’s plot points and character names? The first step to solving this mystery is figuring out who Lady Darling is, and telling her the jig is up!
It turns out that it’s all a big misunderstanding due to Darling being Cat Lacey, a former member of Georgiana’s family’s household staff, thus they have some similar touchstones. You’d think that would be the end of it, but no — they end up in the same alleged haunted manor, arguing over who gets to use what elements of the house for their next book. Will they be able to avoid each other in the huge, crumbling house, or will a bit of forced proximity reignite the sparks of childhood crushes?
This is a romance novel, so you know the answer to that.
The reason why this book is so enjoyable is that neither woman wants to ruin the other. Georgiana wants Cat to stop copying her. Cat wants to stop being accused of plagiarism. Each would be happy for the other to continue to have a career, as long as they never have to see each other again. Except, you know… her freckles. Her lush figure. Etc etc.
And so we get the good parts of enemies to lovers — banter, pining, etc — without the bad parts — death threats, weaponization of phobias.
And did I mention there’s also a cute dog named BACON?
As I mentioned earlier, this book isn’t perfect. I found that the tone, language, and attitudes of the characters skewed a little modern. I think it was also a bit over-long, and while the love scenes were fun and spicy, they did somewhat slow down the mystery of what was happening at the crumbling house.
Ladies in Hating has an almost cozy-spicy feeling. There is some peril and even death, but also Georgiana and Cat are both surrounded by people who love them and don’t really bat an eye at their sapphic relationship. Once their rivalry is cleared up, they are so kind and supportive of each other. Honestly it was a nice break from how many queer historicals are focused on “I am being forced into a heterosexual marriage.”
I enjoyed this book enough that I wish the rest of Vasti’s books didn’t appear to be M/F pairings. I’d definitely read more queer romance from her.
TWs and CWs: Animals and (teenage) children in peril. Mentions of past child and domestic abuse. Gun violence. Death. Mild supernatural elements.
Source and Format: I borrowed the ebook from NCW Libraries.
Reading Challenge Prompts
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): Free Space. Yes, I did in fact put this book in the free space so I could have an excuse to talk about why rivals to lovers is superior to enemies to lovers.
Reading Challenge Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 18 of 25, 3 bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 20 of 25, 2 bingos.
Book Riot: 16 of 24.
Physical TBR: 8 of 12.
World of Whimm: 21 of 24, 6 bingos.