I enjoyed this book, the characters were well written and likeable, there was the usual “chick lit” twists and turns but they were done well, there was some repetition in the quotes but not as bad as some books, a good holiday read

Mary Jayne Baker's Love at First Fight is the first book I've read from her. Love at First Fight is a rom-com about two childhood friends, Bridie and Ben, who are enemies to lovers. They're all grown up and about to meet again after around ten years.

Bridie and Ben have a long history together. When Ben invited Bridie to the sixth-form leavers' ball, they were both young teenagers who were always kissing and making out and ready to take it to the next step. But he didn't show up that night. Now, ten years later, they're at each other's throats and have been assigned to work together as maid of honor and best man, much to their dismay.

Bridie has given up on men after going on twenty separate horrendous dates in twenty dates as a result of, what occurred ten years ago. They're back to their continuous fighting now that Ben has returned from Peru. When they're not together and just talking to their buddies, however, it's always about one another.

Bridie's best friend, Hattie, and Ben's brother, Cal, come up with a plan with the support of all their pals to help these two recognize that they've always liked each other. I thought it was cute at first. For Hattie's birthday, there was a mask party where you weren't meant to know who anyone was until the reveal. I loved how Bridie had no idea she was talking to Ben the whole time while she started talking about the night he didn't show up. But that cute feeling didn't really go up or down after that.

It basically just stayed in a straight line. And it felt like the book was primarily about Bridie and Ben, with Hattie and Cal thrown in for good measure. Since they created the entire plan to get them together, it felt (at times) more focused on them, and then everything became about the wedding and Cal's ex and blah blah. It was understandable at first, but when the entire ex situation came up, which resulted in drama, it was no longer acceptable. That's probably why, especially at the end, I felt it was more centered on Hattie and Cal. It was more about their drama than anything that happened to Bridie and Ben.

Although I will say that the ring Ben gave Bridie was incredibly cute, and the scene at the end of the book where he exchanged it for a real diamond ring was super cute and so them.

*Thank you to NetGallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Love cynic Bridie Morgan is staging a last hurrah to the 'dating' stage of her life: she's going on twenty dates in twenty days. If this 'love' thing really is a numbers game, then surely she'll find The One. And if not? Well, at least the memory of her date with the Spice Girls' biggest fan will be enough to put her off for life. She'll never again wonder what she was missing.
But being love's biggest sceptic is a challenge in the face of best friend Hattie's upcoming nuptials. And as maid of honour, she really has to give it a chance.
Then Bridie's lifelong nemesis Ben Kemp returns home to join the wedding party. Ben, who left her waiting outside their leavers' prom in a brand-new dress, alone. Ben, who triggered the sorry state of affairs that has been Bridie's love life ever since. Ben, the best man to her maid of honour.
As old enemies reunite, sparks fly – in ways Bridie could never have seen coming...
A cute read which is both heart warming and hilarious in equal measure. Very enjoyable!

This was sadly quite frustrating to read. I, painfully, pulled through up to the 40% mark and I decided life was too short so I had to DNF it.

It was supposedly an enemies-to-lovers rom-com but it was more like lovers-who-are-in-denial. Everybody and their neighbour knows the love interests are in love except the love interests themselves. The entire premise was very weirdly set-up yet still quite cliche.

I absolutely hated the information dumps. I never thought a contemporary rom-com could have information dumps but lo and behold, I am again, caught by surprise. There were pages and pages of just the characters' inner monologue on their feelings and reflections on things that happened in the past, that was just too much telling and not enough showing. The monologue did not give me insight into the characters at all and really dragged out the book. The characters were also unrealistic and one-dimensional, I seriously couldn't immerse myself in their story.

The main characters Bridie and Ben had such toe-curling dialogue, it was truly unbearable. The attempt at humour felt too forced and they were just trying too hard to be quirky and witty that I was cringing throughout their back-and-forth 'banter'.

There was also a lot of unnecessary make-up, for lack of a better word, shaming. I don't know what Bridie and her friends have against make-up artists but the way they insulted Jojo for being a Youtuber-slash-makeup-guru, despite not knowing her was very infuriating and just gave me the impression that these women were painfully insecure and superficial. Also, Ben asks Cal if he grew a vagina just because Cal wanted to get a massage. I don't know how to put into words how much that threw me off. Many of the comebacks in this book felt lacking in taste and tact.

I truly tried my best to be a compassionate reader but I'm afraid there was nothing about the book that truly engaged me.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy for my honest review! I love rom coms! I devoured this novel in one sitting, can wait for this to come out so my friends can get their hands on it

This was a very cute enemies to lovers romance with an interesting and unique twist at the end. You really enjoy the #squad goals in this story as well as the sneaky match making and rom com quirky moments. Also, you get the bonus of getting to follow two couple’s stories instead of just one.

This was definitely an interesting read, I did no go in expecting some of the story lines with the side characters but it was definitely interesting!

Bridie is pushing through the last of her twenty (terrible) dates in twenty days in order to prove to herself that being single is pretty great when her best friend gets engaged and her nemesis Ben, the best man, comes back into the picture. Neither of them thinks anything good can come out of them spending so much time together but you would be surprised.

One of my biggest issues here was the use of the phrase “not like other girls” and the term “metrosexual,” both of which were only used once so arguably not that bad. I do think that in 2021 we can move away from these but that’s just me.

Overall, I think the writing here was good and the characters were both interesting and well written which is so fun to see! The plot was interesting (again there were some twists with the side characters I did not see coming). There was some TOP NOTCH manipulation going on here (with the MCs best interest in mind) which led to some interesting stories. This plot was one of those that I definitely found interesting, and did enjoy, but would absolutely DESPISE if it happened to me or someone I know lol.

All that being said, I would recommend this book as a light and quick rom-com read! The description mentioned it was a romantic comedy perfect for fans of 10 Things I Hate About You (which I admit I have not seen lol) and The Hating Game. I do agree that it is a little similar to The Hating Game but without any of the borderline mental/emotional abusiveness— just your typical friends to enemies to lovers kind of thing! So if you liked THG or really wanted to lol then I think this is definitely the book for you— a super sweet and funny romcom with some nemesis action going on and oh so much banter!!


Review will be posted on my instagram sometime betwen Friday July 30 and Tuesday August 3rd!

This was a book that I just couldn’t connect with easily. It definitely had its moments, and I was invested enough with some characters that I did want to continue and finish the book. This was so promising: enemies/hate to love, tension, and lots of banter. However, it wasn’t nearly as much as I was expecting.

Something that was a serious adjustment was the European lingo and slang that took way too much of my energy to figure out what was going on. Also having more POV’s than the two main characters threw me off at first, but I did actually grow to like that due to me being invested in the other story lines.

There definitely were things I did like! The friendship between Hattie and Bridie was sweet to read about! I also loved Ben’s character and the banter that was there between Bridie and Ben was great to read!

While this book wasn’t a favorite, it was still enjoyable and I’m sure would appeal to a lot of people reaching for it.

*Thank you to Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a decent read with the enemies to lovers romance trope. While, the storyline and characters were okay I was expecting just little bit more, so I was slightly disappointed. I did like that this was an easy and fast read however, the story and overall plot development was just slow.

The relationship between Ben and Bridie wasn’t the best in my opinion, I just didn’t really feel their connection. Even though they had history, their development from enemies to lovers felt somewhat forced. I will say however, their banter and teasing was very funny and entertaining.

I did also enjoy the side characters, Hattie and Cal. Thought their storyline was more compelling and interesting. Unfortunately, the ending did wrap up pretty quickly and just felt rushed. However, it was still a nice conclusion and epilogue.

Overall, an okay read with a happy ending.

This is multi romance novel. At time it feels a little long but that because the author is building multiple scenes at the same time. There's some cute romances. I rate this a 2.75. This book could have been broken into two separate full length novels. Hattie and Cal are on a mission to set up Birdie and Ben and a lot of "set ups" occur..

***************I received an ARC from Net Galley for my honest opinion.****************

What does one do when they decide they are giving up on men? Go on twenty dates in twenty days! Of course! But what our main heroine doesn't realize is when someone from your past shows up it can change your whole course and though process.

Love at First Fight is an enemies to lovers trope with a funny, sarcastic banter between Bridie and Ben. I absolutely loved this book as the fun rom-com is something every girl needs!

reading the book description I was really excited for the enemies to lovers story. the beginning starts with bridie in the middle of a challenge to herself to go on 20 dates, back to back, in 20 days, with no objections. she was putting in her last efforts to see if there is hope out there for her to find love. which was a rather good beginning, I was with it.

then her bff gets engaged and now ben is back in her life. this is the point things really fell apart. the enemies part just didn't give me enough bite. I feel all these two needed was a good talk with one another to get over the past situations. cause ben didn't even hate bridie he just liked teasing her. their interactions weren't as interesting as I hoped. I liked it but I was expecting something different.

the real turn in this book was the sudden focus on hattie and cal, who were to be married. they really took over the story at one point with their drama before the wedding. there was so much focus on them in the second half I was confused why this wasn't mentioned in the description. so I felt confused when I finished and was reminded the story was, in fact, about bridie and ben.

overall, this story had a great idea but I think the execution could've used more time to plan. or maybe giving hattie and cal their own separate story?


as always, thank you to the author, netgalley and aria for my eARC copy ✨

This book was ok. I think I set my expectations too high having just finished reading some other friends to lovers type books as well as enjoying another book by this author. I didn’t really feel invested to the main characters and it felt kinda draggy in some parts. I’m sure it will be a fast favorite for some but it just wasn’t the book for me.

Birdie has decided to go on twenty dates in twenty days and then give up on men forever. What she doesn't expect is Ben Kemp to reenter her life after a year away. Birdie holds a grudge against Ben for breaking her heart, but there is a thin line between love and hate.

Overall Love at First Fight is a fun and quick contemporary romance novel that is a great read if you are looking for something fun and light! The first half of the book focuses on Ben and Birdie's story but the second half revolves around two side characters. At times it felt like two rushed books put together rather than one cohesive story but it is still an enjoyable read.

Bridie has decided to give up on men after a disastrous bout of 20 dates in 20 days thinking if she hasn’t found the one by then she should just give up. In the meantime Ben Kemp our town’s resident flirt has returned after a year in South America. Bridie and Ben were once best mates but after he stood her up at their leaver’s ball a decade ago, Bridie has never forgiven him for what she described as the most humiliating moment of her life.

Love at First Fight gives us a look into Bridie and Ben’s love life blooming as her best friend and his younger brother (Hattie and Cal) meddle to show them what they have been hiding deep within themselves for years.

The first 60% or so of this book was fun, fast faced, and entertaining every time the members of #TeamCupid did something to bring B&B together. Ben and Bridie have quite hysterical banter back and forth loving to taunt and tease each other, which only adds to the whole sexual tension between them.

However, the second half of the book dragged for my hence the 3 star rating. There were areas which felt forced especially those focusing on a subplot filled with drama surrounding Hattie and Cal that I felt were unnecessary to the storyline and took away a bit from Bridie and Ben.

I thought this was a very good novel and enjoyed the writing style, plus the setting was in Britain so the British slang was fun and different from what I am used to. I would certainly read another MJB novel, in fact I just downloaded another on KU today.

Love at First Fight was a fun read that is easy enough to spread across a few days on the beach or devour in a day.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria & Aries for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Easy and fun read! If you are looking for an enemies to lovers trope,second chance romance with witty banter then this book is for you.
I loved the humour and I also liked authors writing style. The book had me seriously laughing out loud at some of the situations.Clever writing!
I expected a bit more of back and forth between the characters,hence it being an enemies to lovers read, but it was a solid 4 star read for me .

I requested this book as soon as I saw it; the synopsis and cover grabbed my attention.

I am also a big fan of enemies to lovers type stories. This book was compared to the hating game, which was such a good read. Unfortunately, I don’t feel this book lived up to that comparison.

The book is based on Bridie and Ben. Side note, I frequently read the main characters name as Birdie - no idea why, I don’t have any difficulties with reading, but this was super annoying. Then we have Hattie and Cal and their relationship.

The story did not focus on Bridie and Ben proportionately and felt quite disjointed. For a book titled, Love at first fight, I expected more dialogue and banter between the two characters, but felt this was minimal.

I couldn’t, despite my best efforts, stay engaged with the story, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to it.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

This book was fantastic! It was funny and cute and easy to read. It filled the enemies-to-lovers void in my heart and added the fantastic element of *childhood friends*.

I've never read a rom-com focused on two couples before and I found the dynamic so interesting. All four of the main characters were so great (I especially loved Ben and Bridie). Overall, definitely give it a read if you're wanting something easy and fun!

I loved The Runaway Bride by Mary Jayne Baker so I was super excited to be approved for another of her novels.

This book was your classic enemies to lovers, second chance romance. Sometimes it's hard for those to be new and original. But this one did a pretty good job.

The two main characters were a little annoying trying to deny their feelings. Thank god for their friends.

I think that Ben finally came around toward the end. Although I hate the whole "I can't be with the one I want so I'll sleep with everyone else." It's one of my pet peeves in books.

It was sort of weird that the big conflict wasn't much to do with Bridie and Ben, but their friends. I did like how Hattie and Cal helped get them together, so they returned the favor and helped them figure out their relationship.

3/5 stars.