I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. When I started reading I didn't know that there wouldn't only be a dual point of view, but actually four. To me that's a lot and I think it would have been better to simple write two separate books. I would have liked to read Cal/Hattie's lovestory separately, because the reason I couldn't finish was Ben. He just wasn't likeable at all to me and had such a horrible view of women. Just the few scenes at the beginning in the pub were enough for me. I struggled for a while longer but I couldn't warm up to him at all. The writing itself was quite good and I actually liked Bridie (as most everyone I struggled a bit with the name) and Cal and Hattie were very cute.

I struggled on where to rate this, because honestly the first and second half of the book were on completely different levels. When I started reading 'Love at First Sight', I actually was really enjoying the book. Bridie ( 'Birdie' in my head because that's all my brain could see 😂) was a fairly charming character, the interactions between all the characters was funny and entertaining. Once Ben returns to town his charm and easy banter with Bridie works great, and their chemistry at this stage works.

However, at about 40/50% in, it felt like the author had either given up on the characters, or lost interest. Once Bridie and Ben had moved past their 'enemies' stage, their interactions were lukewarm, and just didn't feel like they had much chemistry anymore. The focus of the plot outlined in the synopsis also wraps up in the first half, and we spend the entire second half of the book focused on the side characters' plotline ( Cal and Hattie ). While I understand this is because the author ripped plot points from 'Much Ado About Nothing' it just detracted from what the reader actually wanted to read about - Ben and Bridie.

This book had such potential and I truly did enjoy it in the first half. It was a light easy read, but I wish the second half matched up to the first and felt more cohesive.

Love At First Fight follows the stories of Bridie and Ben as well as Hattie and Cal. Bridie has finally sworn off men after a series of disastrous dates and she’s finally admitted she’s still wounded from being stood up by Ben. Ben is a ladies man but could there be more to him than he’s willing to admit out loud? Hattie, Bridie’s best friend, is Cal’s girlfriend and can’t believe her best friend has sworn off men and has made it her mission to change that. Cal is also Ben’s younger brother and becomes an important key into Hattie’s plan to make Bridie and Ben realize they are meant to be together.

While I liked this book I also didn’t like some parts of it. I felt like I was reading two different stories at times. Bridie and Ben’s story and Hattie and Cal’s story. I understand Hattie and Cal’s storyline was just suppose to be a secondary plot but at times it felt like it was becoming the main plot. There were definitely times the story dragged on and the plot got a little murky. Despite those few things it was an enjoyable read and I would definitely say it wasn’t a true enemies to lovers story because their friendship was clearly evident throughout the story even if it was a bit prickly.

Rating 3.5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

So I’d give this somewhere in the 2.5-3 star range. There were a lot of things I really enjoyed but enough issues that I’d probably not recommend it over other romances unless you’re specifically looking for a multi-couple British rom-com.

First off, what I enjoyed. The characters Ben, Bridie (which my American brain will never not read as Birdie and I have to accept that), Hattie and Cal were are fun characters and I enjoyed all four POVs. The banter and humor between both the couples AND all the side characters had me laughing out loud. I do think some of the British slang went over my head so potentially even funnier!

While I enjoyed all the characters, I felt like Ben/Birdie and Hattie/Cal almost could have been two separate books and trying to fit both storylines together added too much noise. Especially as Hattie/Cal weren’t in the synopsis (despite being the plot to bring our MC together) that it was jarring to now get a dramatic POV storyline with them. Additionally, I don’t think I ever got warm fuzzies for Ben/Birdie despite as they really went from 0 to 100 and then HEA with their main speed bump being resolved in a page or two.

Overall, it was fine. I was entertained but not blown away. Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for this e-Arc.

i didn’t like the writing at all. It was a bit without sync.
The characters were there but I couldn't really connect to them, as I felt no depth in the writing. I wish there were more emotions but this felt like it just scraped the surface, not your heart.
For me sworn enemy falling in love is the best trope and that was the reason I choose the book. I was really hopeful for it. But it didn't click with me

This book is a cute romance that follows a group of friends that live in London. The main Focus is from Birdie and Ben’s perspective, who have known each other since they were kids and actually really liked each other but now all they do is fight about everything. After a year apart can they come back together as friends or maybe more with the help of some of their meddling friends. It’s about friends coming back together and having more open conversations to fix past and current mistakes.
This was an ok story for me. I liked it, but there were a number of elements that were missing. Based on the description, I thought we would be following Birdie as she went on twenty dates. However, the story started out following her on the last two and mentioning a couple of the others and really played no part in the rest of the story line. Birdie was definitely a hard character to like at first, her quick wit and outgoing attitude were great but she did a lot of complaining in the first half and it got repetitive. This story is more cute as in, they are so in love and they can’t be away from each other and we want everyone else to be as happy as we are. I don’t mind it but it is definitely not realistic. There is no sex scenes so for anyone looking for love and romance but without graphic detail, I would recommend this book. There were a lot of sweet moments. It had great potential for a number of funny bits but were not there, which I do prefer in my romance stories. I do recommend this book. It was a nice sweet kind of time.
Trigger warnings: alcohol, blackmail
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

This book had a lot to live up to for me, being that it's based on probably my favorite Shakespeare play. Luckily, it did not disappoint - 4.5 stars! I was hooked on this story and these characters pretty instantly. I loved how developed all of the characters were, not just Ben and Bridie. I also enjoyed that the "will they won't they?" question was not just wrapped up all at once at the end like it so often happens in romance books. I enjoyed seeing how they actually dealt with the follow-through, etc. I could not put this book down and will definitely be looking for more books from Mary Jayne Baker.

One of the classic romance tropes is sworn enemies Fall for each other. Sometimes with assistance. Brodie and Ben were never really an item, but Birdie was hurt by his callous behavior. Now he’s back and in the same wedding with Birdie. Can she ignore him and keep to her 20 dates in 20 days? I love the story of the two who conspire to get them together, only to find they themselves need a little help. It’s a good story, full of ribald comments, lots of dating, and a bunch of emotion. Fighting brings out emotion, but love is the opposite of hate.

This was a very cute modern update on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. We have the witty dialogue between the modern analog to Benedick and Beatrice. In this book they are Bridie and Ben and their snarky conversations are worthy successors to Shakespeare’s verbal battles. There is the secondary romance between Bridie’s best friend, Hattie and Ben’s younger brother, Cal.

Once I realized that I was reading a remake of Shakespeare’s play, I basically knew what was going to happen and was intrigued to find how Baker would craft her take on the story. She did a great job and I really liked how she introduced Ben’s growth as he was forced to realize what Bridie and others thought of him.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

OMG SUCH A SWEET READ. I LOVED IT!!

This book is super sweet and I totally loved the main characters!! I kind of made me remember of old school rom com movies.
The only thing I have a little of trouble to get into it was the writing style but overall is an amazing story!

Love at First Fight follows the enemies to lovers trope pretty well at the beginning, but when I realized I was close to what I perceived to be the conclusion and I was only halfway through the book, I knew I was in for something different. Some conflict with the main characters’ friends takes over the last part of the book. It was not what I expected, and it was a different take than anticipated when I began reading. I wish there was a little more about the main couple and less of the secondary couple, but it was overall a fun beach read.

Love at first fight was a light hearted, fast paced romcom and I absolutely breezed through reading this one in a few hours.

My interest for this book first peaked when I saw the comparison being made to the hating game, however it just didn’t match up to my enemies to lovers expectations. It felt as though the tension between Bridie and Ben was over far too quickly, and i lost interest soon after that. I didn’t mind the Cal and Hattie drama, but i would have rather the latter half of the book continued to be more Ben and Bridie focused, because they were definitely the more interesting couple.

Overall this felt like a really strong start to the book and I did enjoy it, even with the pacing change and shift in character focus. I just can’t rate it as an enemies to lovers story because they didn’t feel like proper enemies, they never truly hated each other and it was more in the banter and teasing category. That being said, if there was ever to be a sequel for Ben and Bridie, I would definitely check it out.

Bridie has given up on men after going on twenty disastrous dates in twenty days. Meanwhile Ben is the ultimate playboy returned to town after a year abroad. Bridie and Ben have been enemies ever since he stood her up at their leaver’s ball party, ten years ago. In Love at First Fight we see Ben and Bridie discover buried feelings of love and passion for each other after their meddling friends set them up together and they are forced to help plan their friend’s wedding.

The first half of the book was fast paced and entertaining as we read about all the shenanigans their friends get to. I loved the fun filled banter that Ben and Bridie exchange. There were quite a few places in the book where I laughed out loud at the things they said to each other.
I loved the author’s narration style.
But I felt that the rest of the book dragged on a bit. The events that Mary Jayne Baker introduced later into the story felt forced. There was also a lot of emphasis on the side character’s story. Not a lot of focus was on the main couple. Some of the characters and tangents that were introduced felt unnecessary.
Although I did enjoy reading this book, I was disappointed that it was not completely what the blurb promised. I felt that this plotline had a lot more potential. But there wasn’t anything in particular to abhor about it either. I might have liked it better if I had gone into it with lesser expectations.

So I would say that Love at First Fight is a fun, lighthearted and cute book that you can pick up to pass the time during a lazy afternoon. You will enjoy it if you keep an open mind and don’t go in with your own expectations.

Review on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/p/CQgNDQ7HE1W/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Review on Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4034324412?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1#comment_form

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: August 5, 2021

A fun frenemies to lovers trope that is a great summer read! There’s plenty of witty banter and plotting among friends to keep you interested but the big ah-ha! moment in this happens at about halfway through and then it works through a few struggles—some reasonable and some not. The secondary storyline dealing with an ex-girlfriend was boorish and off-putting and left a sour taste in my mouth toward the end of the book but this still finishes strong with a HEA!

I just didn't like it at all.
I don't know, probably it's just me because there are a lot of positive reviews about this book...

The Synopsys is definitely misleading, Bridie goes on 20 dates in 20 days but we only get to read about the last two, and anyway, the whole dating stuff ends right at the beginning of the book.
Moreover, the main characters don't hate each other, this is not at all an "enemies to lovers", Bridie and Ben are secretly in love and have been since they were teenagers.
Everyone-like the whole village-knows that. It's not like anyone believes they hate each other.

Because of this, after very little bickering and death stares from Bridie and Ben, Hattie (Bridie's Roommate and College) and Cal (Hattie's fiance) decide to work out a plan to make them realize they are in love.
The plan is the stupidest plan I've ever seen, is basically based on gossip. as if two people understand they are in love with each other because you tell them they are.
Well, apparently is a brilliant plan because it works, from half of the book there's a lot of "I Love You" and "My love", then there's the obvious drama that every romance has and the finale is MEH.

I also didn't like the fact that at one point the book focuses on Hattie and Cal, who cares....the book should be about Ben and Bridie, no? No. There's a lot of drama between Hattie and Cal and I couldn't care less.

I couldn't connect with the characters who weren't particularly well written and they lacked personality.
Moreover, there were too many secondary characters, Ursula, Pete, Jojo, Megan, and another dozen of them...obviously without a precise reason to exist and no personality at all.

I also don't like when novels are set in a real place, I prefer when the author imagines a city and that's it (it's hardly the author's fault this one, still it didn't make me like the book more).
In this case, the novel was set in Yorkshire, therefore places like Leeds, Blackpool, etc. were mentioned a lot (can't relate).
There's also a lot of British slang, a lot of "Luv", "mate" and other words I cannot relate to.

There are also a lot of typos with Bridies's name: Is it Bridie or Bride? I'd suggest correcting them.

I'll follow up with a more reader-friendly review on Goodreads and Amazon (when the book will be published).

The lovers to fighters trope always gets me, so I was intrigued by Love at First Fight, combined with being marketed for those that enjoyed 10 things I hate about you? Count me in.

However, after reading, I don't know if I would make either of these comparisons. There was some hostility, but it seemed more to hinge around a misunderstanding than a bet or wager. The two main characters are manipulated by their friends to start seeing each other in a different light, but I felt like that was too contrived. It was too on stage silly, where I could picture this in a play and being very tongue in cheek, but in a book it felt too staged. I didn't quite buy it or their chemistry after that point.

Also, I didn't love the Hattie/Cal drama, it detracted from Bridie and Ben. Overall, it was fine and a fast read, but I don't know if it delivered the big promises it made with the 10 things I hate about you concept.

Bridie is a cynic when it comes to love because she's been burned in the past, specifically by Ben. She blames Ben for her bad luck with her dating life. When Bridies best friend gets engaged and she becomes maid of honor and her nemesis Ben is the best man, they are thrust together with wedding planning. Bridie and Ben need to decide how to handle being reunited once again.

This was so cute. It gave me warm fuzzy feelings. I love when men get vulnerable in books, it makes the characters so much more rea for me. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Aria for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: Aug 5

Yes, this book is so promising with its frenemies to lovers premise, lots of relatable, interesting supporting characters, MCs’ high chemistry and delicious, sarcastic, ultra smart banters made me fall of my couch several times! I laughed so hard! At least five times I wiped my tears!

When you see those comments you may think I have two different personality! If I liked this book so much why the heck I gave only three stars! Why I suddenly changed of heart…

Firstly: I loved childhood friends, teens in love but some incident tear the lovers apart theme: Ben and Bridie has been knowing each other at young age. They have some unresolved issues and now Ben’s brother marries Bridie’s best friend so they have to tolerate each other during the ceremony instead of being each other’s throats and working together because they’re best man and maid of honor!

This blurb gives me so much hope! And their group friends were so much lovable!
But… I was confused because Ben and Bridie’s issues finally resolve in second third and we finally find ourselves reading about blah blah blah much ado about nothing kind of bride and groom drama. I felt like the author wrote two different books and instead of releasing them one by one she decided to release them by combining in one story!

I loved Hattie and Cal but I preferred to read them as secondary characters! I didn’t want to read additional pages filled with their angsty personal dramas! It made me lose my interest and I simply started rolling my eyes, feeling an irresistible desire to skim their parts to reach the ending!

I think if there is a chance the parts belonged to bride and groom to be emitted, I could change my grading and giving this book four entertaining, smart, great romcom stars!

But I think I decided to give this one solid three, still entertaining but no necessary additional characters needed stars!

I loved the writing style of the author and
still intrigued to read different works of hers. But the last third of the book didn’t work for me!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Aria&Aries for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This is such a fun read!! The concept was brilliant and I laughed a lot!!! I really loved the relationship between the characters and I found it really endearing

Teacher Bridie has struggled in the love department since her high school date and first love Ben decided not to show. She's much older but the slight still stings. She's even been on twenty somewhat disastrous dates to try and find someone .... without any luck. With her friend's upcoming wedding to Ben's brother, Ben returns home. He's still charming, egotistical and a womaniser. And he still pushes all Bridie's buttons. How can she avoid him and why does he get a reaction all this time later?

Love at First Fight is a quick, light rom com. It is fun and the banter between Bridie and Ben is appealing and promises much. For a womaniser Ben gets cold feet at one stage - it's meant to be appealing, however there's something about the couple that seems a little forced, or just falls short. This is a gentler romance in terms of the steam factor, and after the time period these two have experienced such angst, you would think there might have been a little more to this. The relationship between Bridie and her friend Hattie is a nice one, and between Ben and his brother as well. If felt there was alot of work getting to the couple getting together and then it just didn't amount to what I expected.

Three stars for this one - and thank you to netgalley for the free ebook copy of this one to read.