To Have and to Hate by R.S. Grey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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.

To Have and to Hate

Relatable heroine!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💚❤️
Steam: 🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌏🌍
Character development: 🙁😉☺️😘
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

The heroine: Elizabeth – she is an artist who recently finished graduate school. She comes from a fairly wealthy family and gets a call from her mother who is disturbed that her sister ran away with her driver. Her mother was upset because her sister was supposed to marry Walter Jennings, and now that her sister can’t do the job, she wants Elizabeth to marry him instead because her father spent all their money on bad investments. It turns out her sister lied about running away with the driver, but she doesn’t find out till it’s too late.

The Hero: Walt – He is a billionaire (the .01 percent of the 1 percent) and is the CEO of Diamedica, a medical device company. His grandfather and Elizabeth’s grandfather started the company and they set up a trust so the next generation wouldn’t spend all the money and bankrupt them and the company. It is a good thing they did, because Elizabeth’s father is terrible with money and Walt’s father is an alcoholic.

The Story: The trust requires someone from each of their families to get married, at which point the money from the trust is released. Walt is the conservator of the trust and made a deal with Elizabeth’s parents that they would get a stipend from the trust after he and Elizabeth got married. Elizabeth would also get a stipend, but she doesn’t want it. She lived under her parents’ thumbs for so long that she now wants to live within her own means.

I liked this story, and the character of Elizabeth, who is down to earth despite her wealthy roots. Though she got pushed into this marriage without knowing anything about the trust or its stipulations. She had one days’ notice before she had to show up to the courthouse and Walt was so stiff and stuffy, he just saw the wedding as a nuisance and was too busy to bother explaining everything to Elizabeth. So, he ends up having his PA send her all the legal documents, which includes his contact information which she should only use in an emergency. Walt is a bit one dimensional and his character isn’t fleshed out much.

This audiobook was told in dual points of view via dual narration. It was narrated by Aubrey Vincent and Alexander Cendese. Aubrey has a nice voice though she speaks a bit fast, and her tempo is a bit stilted sometimes, also her male voice doesn’t sound male at all. Alexander Cendese is great and has a terrific voice which was perfect for Walt though, most of the book was told from Elizabeth’s POV, he only did the epilogue.

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