1/5 stars! This is a neighborly enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance novel by author Olivia Dade, and the first entry in the Harlot's Bay series. I wanted to like this book but Olivia's writing feels more satirical than authentic. Both of the main characters were ridiculous and unlikable. It also has barely any spice, so it didn't fit with most of the other romances I read.

A romance featuring an ex's sibling seems like a massive risk, but Olivia Dade pulled off the perfect balancing act.

This has the usual banter and humor we've come to expect, but the author also doesn't shy away from heavier topics such as mental health and depression. Those topics are presented quite graphically, but handled with extreme care and compassion.

Athena's fiancé breaks up with her two weeks before their wedding. While he is off on their honeymoon, she has no choice but to move into the house she bought for them. Only to discover her neighbor is her ex's brother, aka the guy who convinced her fiancé to break things off. So what's a girl to do but mess with the guy who ruined her life?

Extra points for the creative revenge strategies (aka blasting monster erotica audiobooks through the window to mess with the neighbor)!

really enjoyed this one! the main characters had great chemistry and i liked reading about them. matthew especially was to die for. really enjoyed the fat rep too but i will say the millennial references got too much at times and some of the smutty bits were a bit cringe.

thank you netgalley and piatkus for the arc.

Sadly this one wasn’t for me and I ended up DNFing it, which was a shame as I’ve adored Olivia’s work in the past! I did enjoy the idea of it but for me it just wasn’t quite clicking.

I loved this book! I thought it was very well written, and the characters were great. I really enjoyed the way that Dade portrayed the slow sink into depression in such a realistic way, and I was so happy that Athena had such a good partner who helped her; he didn't try to change her, or make her believe she was fine. I think that is what felt the most real to me. It was such a good book and I really am looking forward to picking up more of Dade's work in the future.

I adored this book and its characters. Olivia Dade has crafted a delightful and engaging romance that is both heartwarming and thought-provoking. The characters are well-developed and incredibly relatable, each bringing their unique quirks and depth to the story. Dade handles heavy subjects with grace, weaving them seamlessly into the narrative without detracting from the overall charm of the romance.

One of the standout aspects of "At First Spite" is the representation of plus-size characters. It's refreshing to see characters who reflect a diversity of body types, and Dade portrays them with respect and authenticity. This inclusivity adds an extra layer of realism and relatability to the story, making it all the more engaging.

The romance itself is cute and swoon-worthy, with plenty of moments that will make your heart flutter. The chemistry between the protagonists is palpable, and their journey from initial conflict to a deep, meaningful connection is beautifully executed. The slow-burn development of their relationship feels genuine and satisfying.

"At First Spite" is a delightful read that I highly recommend to fans of contemporary romance looking for a story that is both entertaining and emotionally resonant.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm so sad but I didn't love this. I really wanted to after reading Spoiler Alert by the same author and loving it but it just didn't land with me.

I enjoyed the kind of revenge part of the story that brings the two love interests together, and I think the mental health rep was very well done, and I appreciated that. Unfortunately, I just don't think the chemistry was there between Athena and Matthew, and I didn't love the spicy scenes.

I will definitely give Olivia Dade's next book a chance and I'm looking forward to seeing what she puts out next.

At First Spite is Olivia Dades newest novel, and the first book in the Harlots Bay series.

This was my first Olivia Dade book, and I will admit that I was a little underwhelmed with how the story played out.

I really didn’t like the Matthew or Athena’s personalities, and it definitely affected how much I enjoyed the book. It seemed more like they were in their early twenties rather than their late thirties, and I struggled to relate to them or their issues.

The third act break up was completely expected, but I didn’t expect Athena to make Matthew feel so awful when I feel like he had completely valid reasons for ending their relationship.

The mental health representation was absolutely fantastic, and I loved that the FMC was plus sized, but it was the supporting characters that made the book for me!

If book two is centred around Athena again, then I probably won’t read it, but I’ll definitely give it a go if it’s based around any of her friends, especially Karl!

At First Spite is the latest romance novel from bestselling author Olivia Dade and the first instalment of her new Harlot’s Bay series. This was my first time reading anything from this author and I was enticed by the ex’s brother and forced proximity plotline but unfortunately the story missed the mark for me.

To start with the aspects of the story I enjoyed, I loved that Athena was a curvy FMC. It’s always refreshing to see plus size representation within romance novels, especially in cases like this where the character’s size was not central to the plot. The only real references to her size where when Matthew was talking about how sexy she was which was refreshing. There were also some interesting supporting characters which were a nice inclusion.

I do want to also praise the powerful portrayal of depression we have within At First Spite, which was the highlight of the book for me. I really enjoyed how Matthew looked after Athena through her depression (particularly the bath scene – until it was ruined when he started to take advantage but more on that later) and it was interesting to see both POVs through this period.

I also generally liked the choice to make Matthew, our MMC, a virgin. I have a real love/hate relationship with the use of any kind of virgin trope within romance novels but this was one of the first times I’ve come across it used with the MMC instead of the FMC so this was nice to see. Generally, it was well portrayed although this was all lost when Athena talked about being excited to “plant her flag”. We wouldn’t accept this if it was a MMC talking about a FMC so it shouldn’t be acceptable here.

The primary aspect of the story I struggled with was that our protagonist Athena felt very immature and read more like a teenager than a woman in their late thirties. This could also be said for her ex-fiancé Johnny. The whole premise of Athena getting engaged to a man after just two months and then her fiancé breaking up with her just because his brother told him to felt very immature and not something you’d expect to see from two characters with more life experience. But it was particularly Athena’s revenge schemes against Matthew that felt very juvenile and made it hard to warm to her character. She also makes a lot of pop culture references which got very tedious very quickly.

As mentioned previously, I also had concerns about the ending to the bath scene. (Spoiler alert – in order to discuss my concerns with this scene fully spoilers will be necessary.) The scene starts with Matthew looking after Athena during a depressive episode. Athena is very vulnerable in this moment as not only is she in emotional distress, she’s also naked and being washed as she’s unable to manage this independently. But although her POV discusses her feeling safe with Matthew and emphasises that he’s not taking advantage of her, he kisses her. This really feels like he is fact taking advantage of her and her vulnerability in that moment yet it’s romanticised by the author and this really did not sit right with me.

On the topic of consent issues, I also want to flag the issues with the choice to play very spicy monster audiobooks out loud for the whole town to hear. Forcing people to hear content of a very explicit nature without consenting to it is not acceptable and not the grand gesture Olivia Dade clearly thought it was.

I also didn’t get on with how privileged Athena was. The premise of having our protagonist down on her luck and struggling to make ends meet could have been really interesting but instead we had a protagonist who could fall back on her rich parents who could wave away any financial problems at the drop of a hat.

Overall, At First Spite was really disappointing despite featuring some promising tropes.

Rating:⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/ 5

I have posted my review on my blog www.yourschloe.co.uk
*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Dade, Little, Brown Book Group and Piatkus.

I thought this book was very good. It touched on some very delicate subjects which I thought were written about extremely well. The story flowed very well the setting sounded amazing. The characters were on point and I felt they complimented each other well. Some parts of the books I just wanted to jump in others i would happily have been a neighbour

Very good read

Such a great read! Olivia’s books are always so well written, with in-depth characters and well developed romance that’s both sweet and steamy! Dade’s books are my go-to for romance recommendations! Also believe At First Spite had such strong representation of mental illness - such an impactful read that I’ll no doubt return to.

Absolutely loved every minute of this, I love the idea of the Spite House and it was full of great humour, characters and I loved that as well as the humour it touched on mental health and does it with care and sensitivity. I love this and it’s a definite reread for me and looking forward to more bu Olivia Dade

I will be honest I wasn't sure about the premise when I discovered our female lead's love interest is her ex's brother, it wasn't sitting right with me for a bit, however I did enjoy the book and really loved the characters Olivia had created. Athena and Matthew have a lot of great chemistry and I really liked the small town vibes.

Headlines:
Trope ick
MH rep
Character depth

There is lots I liked about this book and then things like context, trope and timings that I struggled with in this new series starter from Olivia Dade. My heart pretty much sank when I started reading this and realised we were going to have a kind of love triangle involving two brothers. It's more complex than that with engagements, break-ups and houses but still it was somewhat icky to me from the off.

What saved this book and kept me reading were the individual characterisations of Athena and Matthew (even though I struggled with them together). I really liked both characters and the depth with which they were crafted. The depression representation was very good but do not talk to me about the timing of the connection in relation to this depression...

The friendship between Matthew and Athena was worth the read but I didn't like much about their sexual connection. I couldn't stand the other brother and the debacle of the houses was meant to be quirky but seemed so unlikely to me.

So as you can see, such a mixed bag but I will give the next one a go.

Thank you to netgalley for this eARC.

When our MC, Athena thinks life can't get any worse, while moving into the spite house she impulsively purchased for her ex-fiancé, she finds out her new neighbour is none other than her ex's brother, who just happens to be the reason why they split! Athena decides to be a pain in his ass, signing him up for cold callers, playing steamy audiobooks at high volumes etc but all the while Athena thinks maybe he isn't the bad guy she first thought he was.

this is a small town, steamy romance which touches on mental health. The romance is beautiful and special and so soft and everything. Matthew and Athena are perfect for each other.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this copy in return for my honest review.

What a beautiful book! One of my favourites this year so far. Loved the acts of service, I binged this in a day!!

Would thoroughly recommend to pick up!

This is, somehow, my first book by Olivia Dade and I don’t know how I managed that, but I absolutely loved this. It had chemistry, it had humour, it had both lovable main characters AND side characters, the whole package really!

The depression representation was unexpected but welcome. I thought it was super accurate, especially things like punishing herself as ‘penance’ and having unkind thoughts that are really hard to tell are unkind at the time and feel like honesty that people around you aren’t giving you. The love interest handled this so well, he was so lovely and soft and sweet. I’m not into men, but if I was, I’d want a Matthew (who does remind me a lot of my own partner, though).

There were also big things mentioned that were treated like they were no big deal, and I really appreciated that. For example, Athena saying that she doesn’t want children and Matthew not losing his virginity until his thirties. When these things are brought up, there’s normally a lot of discussion on it/it’s made into a theme of the book and, although I don’t have an issue with that and appreciate that as well, I loved that it was just there. There was also zero fatphobia towards Athena, that I could see, which I really loved too.

I can’t wait to read more from this author

Thank you, Netgalley and publishes, for the eArc!

Book #22 of 2024
At First Spite by Olivia Dade

I recieced this as an arc from #netgalley

I've read 2 of 3 of her Spoiler Alart series but knew I loved her writing already.

I especially resonated with parts of Athena with her being in her late 30s. It was so nice reading about a character who was "older" than the normal 20 somethings. It was also great to see mental health tackled in such a big way as well.

This book follows Athena and the Vine brothers as engagements fall apart and lives are uprooted to new towns, meeting new friends and getting on with life.

I don’t think I’ve loved a book more. The depiction of depression was done so well.
Athena thought she was going to have the best year with being engaged and moving into a cute little house in a cute little village. Until her fiancés older brother meddles in and she finds her self single, in a town where she doesn’t know anyone and a very old house. Matthew regret what he did and wants to help Athena but along the way feelings are about to get mixed up in their mess.

This was such a good book and I just adored every second off it.

Athena ends up living next door to the brother of her ex-fiancé, who is the reason for their breakup and Athena’s world being turned upside down.

This book is heartfelt, about learning to trust people and yourself. Athena learns that growing up doesn’t mean total independence, it means recognising our need for interdependence.
Matthew, the love interest, was really interesting - awkward, with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Very much a tortured hero. The depth of emotion in this book was incredible, it is sad and difficult to read at times but the beauty of romance books is the guarantee of a happy ending.

I recommend this book, although it is definitely one for which you should read the content warnings beforehand as it deals with very tough topics in a lot of detail.