3.5 stars

This story has a bit of everything, its funny and witty and it has its times for drama and angst and romance and everything really; I just wish the main characters weren't so... normal? For starters I didn't like Nora in the beginning and that's a major conflict for me. I did ended up liking her but it took a while and I think that's why I didn't fully enjoy the book.
Overall is a good enjoyable book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

It took a bit for me to warm up to the main characters but once I did I was cheering them on. I loved the quirky neighbors and friends (hello, Gerald!) and the condo building setting that created its own family. With themes of loss, trust and finding the courage to take a risk with a future never imagined this was a gem of a story. My second to read by the author and I look forward to my next chance!

After reading and really enjoying Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn earlier this year (I think this year? who even knows), I leapt at the chance to read her newest release. Love at First is a mild-mannered enemies-to-lovers about what happens when Will Sterling moves into Nora Clarke's apartment building and jeopardizes her found family.

This one was sweet - Nora and Will are a little star-crossed and have a great backdrop of secondary characters. For me it was good but not great, and a big part of that was the lack of conflict. They each have baggage that's holding them back, but it didn't seem like enough to really build any tension.

Still, a solid pick if you need something comfortable and gentle to curl up with. I'll definitely keep reading more of Clayborn's romances - I really like her style and writing, even if this one wasn't a perfect fit for me.

I was captivated by the characters in this book from start to finish. They are so well written that I can almost imagine that I've met them. One can feel teenage Will's wonder when he sees Nora for the first time and actually rubs his chest to ease his hiccuping heart. Years later, when they meet again, the magic is still there even though they have to overcome some obstacles. I read this book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended.

What a lovely, romantic story! I enjoyed watching the events unfold to a satisfying conclusion. The author does a wonderful job describing the various characters and situations and makes both leads appealing both in appearance, depth and character. Just enough tension to keep things believable and keeps the story moving along nicely.

4.5 STARS

Will Sterling had two encounters sixteen years before that in some very important ways shaped his life: one of them with his uncle which was devastating; the other one brought light into the darkness with it in a Shakespearean balcony scene with a young girl who unknowingly spoke directly to Will’s heart. Now as an adult, Will has unexpectedly inherited a condo in the quirky and somewhat decrepit building his uncle lived in and so actually meets his dream girl. All is not smooth though because they form an adversarial relationship based on conflict rather than love. Will wants to sell the “unit” as he calls it while Nora Clarke, the girl now a woman in question, spearheads a campaign directly against Will’s plans. A workaholic doctor, Will’s early years and loss have made him a stanch guardian against getting emotionally involved with anyone. His life of quiet desperation is about to come to an end.

Nora’s late beloved grandmother owned an apartment in the old building and now it is hers. Since her parents where often absent or distracted with their careers, the summers spent with Nonna gave Nora a sense of love, comfort, and belonging that she found nowhere else. All the tenants have made a family over the years, so with Will’s heartless plans to disrupt their lives, Nora decides that will not happen on her watch. While Will is outwardly charming and to some extent, disarming, it is a facade that allows him to function in the world without getting too involved with people on any thing more than a surface level. The eclectic older tenant/owners have a very different agenda subjecting Will to their own special brand of quirkiness drawing him in one zany plot at a time.

Will and Nora do a complex dance based on an intense attraction while ostensibly having very opposite goals. They both have abandonment issues stemming from their youth which complicates a full out relationship after they come to a detente. While they have one type of connection that eventually leads to intimacy, this story takes quite a long while to develop when it comes to their whole hearts getting on board fully committed, overcoming the obstacles that can derail Nora and Will.

Ms. Clayborn’s stories have quite a bit of exposition of the naval gazing kind where characters sometimes seemingly have no unexamined thought. The main characters’ interior life plays a large part making the action seem of lesser importance. For some readers, this might make the story drag and in truth, this one is extra slow burn and the opposite of books with instalove romances. Some parts do seem rather protracted but overall, this is another example of Ms. Clayborn’s fine skills at a parsing out the glories love but not without quite a bit of hard work by the couples first.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eERC in exchange for an honest review.

I only discovered Kate Clayborn in the summer of 2020, and I'm only sad I didn't find her earlier. This was such a sweet but funny book. I love anything with hijinks, and I adored Nora rallying all of the building residents to stop Will's potential AirBnB situation. (More hijinks in books, I say!) I found that Will and Nora were wonderful characters, as they weren't taken over by their career as so often happens. (Will is a doctor, but it isn't the only thing we know about him.) This was a perfect read to finish off a stressful year!

I absolutely adored the previous novel I read by Kate Clayborn, Love Lettering, so I was eagerly anticipating reading Love at First. I tried to make myself wait and finish other books on my 2020 TBR pile, but then Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy mentioned how much she adored Love at First and I couldn't wait another day to dive in.
This novel is everything I knew it would be: a poignant and richly layered story about the power of love. Once again, the characters are brilliantly crafted and the author's voice is so soft and gentle, yet she manages to nail you right between the eyes with her poetic truth. These characters, the dialog, their hopes and fears, their mistakes...all of it adds up to a beautiful reading experience. Yes, it's an enemies-to-lovers story, but it's also about community and family and what it means to conquer our fear and embrace the unexpected gifts in our lives.
As other reviewers have already stated, this book will wreck you in the best possible way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC. All opinions shared here are my own.

**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
I discovered this author earlier this year when I read Love Lettering. It was such a quietly beautiful story that I could not wait to read her next book.
This book did not disappoint. This author has a deft hand with these stories that are lovely but contain subtler characters.
There are moments in our lives that specifically shape us. I this story, we have a young woman whose parents loved her but were much more devoted to their careers. Luckily, her Nonna was a safe have. Spending summers with her were her world. However, this created an issue for Nora. She needs things to stay the same. Change is scary.
Will grew up with parents who only had enough love for one another. They were not mean just uninterested. When his father got sick, his mother tried to give him to an uncle that he did not know.
Will grew up afraid to love someone because he did not want to Be his parents. His life is structured and he really doesn’t care about what others want.
I loved how these two fall into one another. They are both scared and there are rules but you know that those are never going to hold.
I adored this story and love how the author can show the importance of how life happens. Sometimes there is just a fight with squirrels over tomatoes and a teenage boy tumbles right into his forever.
There is a beautiful found family and the importance of learning to adjust.
I cannot wait for her next book.

A slow-burn romance that begins in a chance encounter in childhood and navigates through the enemies-to-lovers troupe creates an interesting and heart-warming story. We open the story in the prologue featuring a young Will hearing the girl of his dreams only to have him meet her again 16 years later. It was a great hook to get the reader into the story as you become intrigued by Will’s life as there is family arguing taking place and you have his young love romantic mystery woman all in the prologue and you can’t wait to get into the story to see how everything will play out.

When Donny suddenly passes away, the fellow residents of his building are all concerned about what will become of his now vacant apartment. One of those residents is Nora, a work from home worker for a San Diego firm, who recently moved in full time after her grandmother passed away. Since childhood, she and the other residents of the building have been a makeshift family and she fears that the new resident will disrupt the harmony they have in their older, slightly run down, building. Enter the new resident, Will, a doctor, who is Donny’s nephew. Once Will enters the picture, he feels a pull to Nora as she could be the one from the balcony all those years ago.

Will does not have good memories associated with his new apartment from past incidents and wants to lease it out as he is obligated to keep it for a year per Donny’s will. As Nora and the other residents are protective of their building, a rivalry starts between Nora and Will. However, feelings start to develop between them, but due to Will’s fear of becoming like his parents, he avoids giving in to those feelings. Their story is told from third person compared to most stories of this genre that are told from the point of view of one or both of the main characters so we see closer looks at their inner thoughts. From this writing style, we still get told about each character and why they are making certain decisions, while not being direct inner thoughts.

The other residents and their bonds are the true stars of the story as this Chicago building has become a true family even though they are not related by blood. Together they watch out for each other and always want the best, even if it means being a little nosy into each other’s lives. This story is definitely worth a read to those who want a story for people coming together for both the good and bad times was extremely heart-warming and well worth reading the story just for this portion.

The moments of sabotage were entertaining, but the relationship between both of the main characters was hard to get in to. The chemistry between them was hot and cold throughout as there were times when I felt the tension between them and others where it just didn’t feel natural. Will and Nora both had pieces that I liked about them as characters, but neither fully grew on me to where I loved them by the end. I appreciate where the author was trying to go with them, but something just didn’t quite click for me with them as a potential couple. However, the bonds each of them form (or had formed) with the other residents of the building was amazing. I love how Will came in as an outsider and even though he wasn’t planning on staying, he always tried to make sure the other residents didn’t see him fully as the enemy and he tried to bond with them.

Overall, this novel was hits and misses, but I still enjoyed it overall. It flows nicely from beginning to end and I felt like the author did a good job painting a picture of this building and its residents. The growth the characters experience was very heart-warming and I love the concept of a family that’s not related by blood and instead by the bonds they’ve formed. Kate Clayborn has definitely intrigued me and I can’t wait to get my hands on her other books to try!

**Thank you very much to NetGalley and Kensington Books for my ARC to read. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Over the past year, I’ve discovered the romance genre is absolutely delightful. It’s the perfect way to escape into a good book that deals with heavier topics. Love at First by Kate Clayborn does exactly that with a story you are drawn into from the very first page. This HEA story (happily ever after, if you aren’t speaking romance genre shorthand yet) deals with the intense emotional weight we carry with us from our families - it is pure escape while you are rooting for Will and Nora while also fully relating with knowing that we all have family scars.

https://www.everyoneslibrarian.com/blog/quick-lit-december-2020

Great story that had everything ,drama,angst,humor,fun,romance. and good variety of characters.
Really just a totally good book.
enjoyed reading.
Voluntarily Reviewed.

The blurb was so catching and the start of it was good but Nora and Will either as characters or love interest fell flat, that's not to say it was a bad book the side characters and camaraderie of the building tenants was fun.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Will Sterling fell in love with a girl when he was 15. He only heard her voice, but he never forgot it. Having to come back to a place that changed him forever because of an inheritance. All he wants is to get rid of the apartment, and get on with his life. But then he hears her again. On the same balcony from his childhood. But she doesn’t approve of his plans for the apartment, and does everything to prevent him from going forward. Nora treasures the building and the people in it, and doesn’t want Wills plans to disrupt them. But as they each go about doing what they need, they can’t fight their attraction.

I really enjoyed this story. It was beautifully written, and held my interest. I felt that I could relate, in some ways to Nora, and how she’s dealt with the loss of her grandmother. With changing things. I loved seeing Will and Nora relationship slowly change, and grow, and how they could overcome their pasts, and be together. I definitely recommend this book. It’s a sweet, heartwarming love story.

Love at First is Kate Clayborn's second novel and it might be even better than the first, Love Lettering.

Sixteen years ago, a Will Sterling heard the girl of his dreams. Standing beneath an apartment building balcony, while his mother talked to an uncle he didn't know about. He leaves and he doesn't know if he'll ever see her again. Now an unexpected inheritance has brought Will back. While he plans to sell his new unit and get back to his regular life as an overworked doctor. Instead, he encounters a woman, two balconies above, who’s sounds familiar.

Nora Clake is still trying to recover from her Nonna's passing. Soon she meets the new tenant, but he wants to upset the balance of their building's family, so she has no choice but to put herself in his way and maybe open the door for a second chance.

Nora and Will are adorable and even while they are going through the beginnings of their relationship we see them communicate better than most other romance couples. Nora and Will are both grieving and Clayborn does a great job of not making that struggle their entire personalities. I liked that they laughed and stressed and cried. It made them feel real and well rounded.

Highly recommend this one to all the romance fans around.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.
Oh this was so sweet! I love the characters and their stories. The plot moved along at a good clip. I will definitely be following this author for more. So so good. I love the setting: I’ve never been to Chicago but always wanted to go. This book doesn’t hit you over the head with any one element which I’m grateful for. This was so well done.

Fabulous Book. This is the first I have read by this author. I chose the book based off of recommendations from others and I enjoyed the story. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Will inherits an apartment from an uncle he only met once. He is a young doctor seeing this as an opportunity to pay off some student loans. Nora lives on the third floor of the apartment complex in an apartment that to her means home, neighbors and community. Nora needs Will to see more than a unit that can make money so he doesn't disrupt the buildings flow.

This is such a kind and sweet, slow burn book of two people healing and moving forward from their pasts. Both have known loss and come through it differently. It is a romance boarding on women's fiction because it delves deeper into community, loss, commitment and finding ones self. Beautifully written and easy to read.

This is one of the most truly remarkable books I've read in a long time. I was completely blown away by this story. I always find that I have to read Kate Clayborn books slowly and really savor it, and this was no different. I absolutely loved it.

What does the title mean?
The most popular guess would be "Love at First Sight". This would be wrong; it is more like love at first sound, when Will was a teenager and hears Nora as his life is about to be upheaved. Then it might be "Love at first light", when Nora and Will first meet again after more than a decade after he inherits the apartment in the same building at hers and talks to her at 4am from their respective balconies. "Love at first fight"? They are enemies at first because he wants nothing to do with the apartment and plans to rent it whereas Nora loves everything about the building, her neighbors, and wants to keep everything the way it was.

The story is not obvious either. Ms. Clayborn builds many layers into these ordinary characters. I didn't love the book at first, but it grew on me gently, changing my perspective along with Will and Nora's. And the characters, like the title, mean a lot more at the end of the book.