Building a revenge house to block her ex's view brings an interior designer into close contact with her work rival, an intimidating (and super hot) architect.

This steamy RomCom was tons of adorable fun. The Pride and Prejudice vibe was intentional (several reverences to Bridget Jones) and well-executed, and the Spite House was an original concept with the potential to inspire vengeful glee in anyone who can relate to Dani's frustration with being constantly undermined by her ex. I highly recommend this novel to fans of the genre and the enemies-to-lovers and workplace romance tropes.

Dani moved to Seattle for her fiance, only to find him cheating on her with the realtor of the house they just bought together... the one that he did not include her on the paperwork for, despite their agreement. She quickly learns that Sam is not who she thought he was and is happy to cut her losses on him. When she finds that realtor getting comfortable in the house as she gathers her things, she wonders how she can make his life as miserable as he's made hers. The small vacant lot next to the house is the answer: she decides to build a vacation home with her cousin, Mia, and new landlord, Iris to spite him. Noisy construction, blocking his view of the water, and a potential revolving door of guests at the Airbnb... all to piss off Sam. She partners with the mysterious, grumpy architect, Wyatt, at her firm to get the project off the ground. The two start falling for each other as Dani struggles to keep the nature of the project secret from him.

This book was extremely addicting, especially toward the beginning. I was eager to keep reading and see how Wyatt would slowly open up to Dani. I thought they had some good chemistry, although not necessarily right off the bat - certainly no "love at first sight" here. Wyatt is grumpy and standoffish at work so it was nice to learn a bit more about why he was like that, and see him grow out of it when they were one on one. They did have a lot of communication issues, which would get occasionally frustrating, but the fact that they both were wounded from past relationships made a lot of sense here.

While I really enjoyed the main couple, the real starts of the book were Mia and Iris. They were so fun to read about and I loved the dynamics that quickly developed between all of them. The dogs were a big bonus too! If Mia wasn't already starting to date someone in this book, I would very quickly request a Mia/Matt book as a companion to this one!

The ending got slightly crazy for a bit, honestly, but I do think the very end result was super logical. I appreciated it a lot. Overall, I would definitely recommend this one if you like the grumpy hero trope and fun side characters!

Dani Porter has called off her wedding after catching her fiance cheating on her with their realtor. Distraught, she comes up with a plan of revenge: purchase the empty lot next to the big, beautiful home they were to move into together and build a rental home which will obstruct his view and disrupt his peace of mind, thus begins operation spite house. Her plan is set into motion but things become complicated when her grumpy architect co-worker Wyatt Montego decides to sign on the project to assist. The last person on earth that Dani would expect to have feelings for is Wyatt and yet as they continue working on the spite house, that is exactly what begins to happen causing Dani to rethink her first impression of Wyatt.

•

Happy Pub day!! This was a cute enemies to lovers romance with a twist of vengeance! The beginning started off with a hilarious bang and I loved the relationship Dani has with her cousin Mia, we honestly all need a Mia in our lives and she was hands down my favorite character. I loved the beginning of the story but as the story progressed I wish we got a little more focus on Dani and Wyatt's relationship. It was hard for me to see the connection between the two, their relationship was very hot and cold and a lot could have been solved with communication. Despite this being a romance, I was much more interested in Dani's relationship with Mia and and also her landlord Iris than that of hers and Wyatt's, they were like a hilarious three musketeers and I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a solid first read of the year for me! I enjoyed the story for the most part, but got annoyed at the characters at times for a bit of miscommunication they had when we knew they liked each other. I’m also disappointed that the Spite House didn’t wind up working out. I really liked Mia and Iris and the dogs, they were fun and caring and were realistic in their support of the main character.

Wyatt is a solid book boyfriend, but he could definitely improve his communication. But all in all, not much to say besides this was just a cute quick read.

Danielle (Dani) Porter was shocked by her fiancé shortly before their wedding when she learned he had an affair. Now, she has had to move out of their house and find a place to live. She is temporarily staying with her cousin, Mia, and finds lodgings with a woman named Iris who has two Great Dane dogs.

Moving her belongings out of the house she shared with her ex she sees the lot next door is for sale. Partnering with Mia and Iris, they decide to build an Airbnb on the lot. She wants the house to bring in different people often and also wants the house to be tall enough to block her ex’s view. Revenge is her agenda.

Wyatt Montego is a handsome architect at the firm where Dani is an interior decorator. He agrees to be the architect for building the house.

The story set itself up to be humorous but I felt the revenge Dani is looking for is so immature. Why waste your money and time on someone not worth the dirt on the bottom of your shoes? I had hoped that Dani and Wyatt would be a great couple together but once again, I was disappointed in their chemistry. Dani should have run from him like the wind. So many silly and juvenile stunts that didn’t seem to pair up with the professional woman that Dani presents. I liked Mia and especially liked Iris with her maturity and wise ways.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What do you do when your fiancé cheats on you with your realtor just weeks away from your wedding date? You get even because spreading the misery and buying the empty lot next to your ex to build a spite house and block his view seems more satisfying.
The plan becomes complicated when Dani must team up with Wyatt to draw up blueprints for the house she wants to build. Wyatt is a stern, grumpy and uptight and not one that Dani particular enjoys. But as they spend more time together, Dani is catching feelings for Wyatt.

What a funny and fast paced enemies to friends to lovers office romance story. I love the chemistry between Dani and Wyatt. Wyatt is like an onion you have peel layer by layer to really see the depths of his heart. He is amazing. Dani is petty and ridiculous but honestly that’s what made the story interesting.

Love at First Spite is great for anyone who loves the grumpy sunshine tropes. I would recommend this read

Publish day is today!

This was the perfect feel good novel to start the new year with. The revenge aspect of the story provided some good comedy and tension and the chemistry between Dani and Wyatt was perfect. I loved the Seattle backdrop and the architecture/interior design aspects of the story as well. Thank you to Netgalley and Graydon House for the ARC.

The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the hilarious set-up. I've heard of people building "spite houses," in real life, and what an absolutely great concept for a romcom! You really have to respect someone who will build an entire house to get revenge, and who better to spite than a lying, cheating ex-fiance who bailed just weeks before the wedding date? Right from the start, Dani was perfectly spiteful while also being really likable and relatable. Her chemistry with sexy/grumpy Wyatt, the architect who agrees to help her in her house-building plot, absolutely kept me turning pages. I love a quirky cast of characters, and Dani's friends who team up to help finance the spite house made this book pure perfection. This is a fun, lighthearted story that I predict you'll sit down to read and won't get up until it's over.

I loved this! It had a good balance between the cute fluff and the emotional weight. Wyatt was a sweetheart. The secondary characters were great. The romance was well paced. And I really liked the choice of professions for the MCs: interior designer and architect; it made for a nice workplace setting and an interesting dynamic. I think I need to buy this one for my shelf.

I really liked both Dani and Wyatt from the beginning and liked how their relationship evolved as they got to know one another. (Can we talk about the fantastic paintball scene the book opens with?) I thought the obstacles in their relationship were really believable and realistic and didn’t feel like their conflicts were contrivances. Unfortunately I did feel the resolution with the house and the ex was a little far fetched.

The disability rep in this book was fascinating. I’d heard of Ménière’s disease before but didn’t know anything about it. Wyatt lives with Ménière’s and it plays a significant role in the story and their relationship. I appreciated getting to learn about it.

3.5 stars out of 5

This book blew my mind, and it had me drooling over Wyatt.

The first thing I want to say is this — thank you for creating a male character that is flawed like everyone else. I felt so comfortable reading it because I could relate to each character, especially Dani and Wyatt.

I loved how they liked each other, despite instantly falling for each other — they both grew.

Love At First Spite is a book you'll wish not to end. Even after the last paragraph, I wanted their story to go on.

It was a good read that made me smile.

I'll be honest when I say that Love at First Spite drew me in with the title, but I stayed to see where the plot went.

This was a wild ride, with a crazy premise that had me invested to see what would happen. I enjoyed the characters and the concept of the Spite House, as well as the building of it. I did feel like the ending was rushed and I got frustrated at the misinterpretations and miscommunication. I do appreciate how real Wyatt and Dani's relationship hangups were and recommend checking this one out!

thank you net galley and harlequin trade publishing, graydon house for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. love at first spite was the spicy rom-com i never knew that i needed. the house aspect of the plot was very interesting to read about. dani and wyatt were so cute together! the sex scenes were phenomenal. the plot twist was predictable, but still shocking. some parts were way over the top. this book is very solid overall. i will definitely be picking up more books from this author.

This was a really fun read to start off the new year! I loved the premise of it, and right off the top you can just imagine all the hiccups and conflict that can come up with this situation. I do tend to love that trope of grumpy guy-turned-love interest (me and my “bad boys with a heart of gold” 😛 ) and Love at First Spite was just that type of story. I would say that it isn’t quite a slow burn, for those that like that. Hints of interest happen pretty quickly into the story but I enjoyed the flirtations and how it all plays out, especially around other people.

I also really liked Dani as a character – someone who felt like she had something to prove and not needing someone else to tell her what she can or can’t do. I appreciated the relationship she has with her parents and how that guided her own views of what she wanted for herself. She is assertive, yet makes mistakes and grows from it. The support system she has around her, while small, is mighty.

Contemporary romance novels can be predictable to a certain extent, but there were definitely elements of this book that took me by surprise. Obviously I won’t go into what those moments were in this review. I will just say that this is a great weekend read for those that love stories with office flirtations, strong female friendships, and jerks (both real and not-actually). Oh, and two Great Danes who are characters in their own right.

Happy Monday y'all! I have three books to review this week since they all come out on 1/4, so let's see if I can get them all done (I've also only read two of the three, so we'll see how this turns out). The first of the three is, you guessed it, Love at First Spite by Anna E Collins! Thank you so much to Graydon House and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of this book!
Love at First Spite 4/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads:
Falling in love is the ultimate payback in this delightful, breezy romcom about an interior designer who teams up with an enigmatic architect at her firm to get revenge on her ex the only way she knows how: by building a spite house next door

“Filled with sizzling chemistry and delicious revenge, Love at First Spite had me smiling from start to finish. This is one debut you don’t want to miss!” —Kate Bromley, author of Talk Bookish to Me
They say living well is the best revenge. But sometimes, spreading the misery seems a whole lot more satisfying. That’s interior designer Dani Porter’s justification for buying the vacant lot next to her ex-fiancé’s house…the house they were supposed to live in together, before he cheated on her with their Realtor. Dani plans to build a vacation rental that will a) mess with his view and his peace of mind and b) prove that Dani is not someone to be stepped on. Welcome to project Spite House.
That plan quickly becomes complicated when Dani is forced to team up with Wyatt Montego, the handsome, haughty architect at her firm, and the only person available to draw up blueprints. Wyatt is terse and stern, the kind of man who eats his sandwich with a knife and fork. But as they spend time together on- and off-site, Dani glimpses something deeper beneath that hard veneer, something surprising, vulnerable, and real. And the closer she gets to her goal, the more she wonders if winning revenge could mean losing something infinitely sweeter…
Love at First Spite was such a cute book! I really enjoyed reading about both Dani and Wyatt- I wasn't sure I would like them at the beginning- Wyatt kinda just seemed like an asshole and Dani seemed too hellbent on getting revenge to be someone I wanted to read about, but the more we read about them, the more we learned and the better/more well rounded they became as characters. Wyatt was still kinda asshole-y, but that's because that's how he protects himself. Dani was super hellbent on getting revenge, but you can't really blame her, plus it evolved into a way for her to spend time with Wyatt rather than a way to get back at Sam. And Sam, ah what a terrible character. I know there are guys like him in the world, but man, he's the worst. Who cheats on their fiancée with their real estate agent and then keeps saying it wasn't a big teal, please take me back! Plus Sam's mom calling Dani and asking her to take Sam back even though it had been months and Dani's parents' inability to accept the fact that her relationship with Sam was over was annoying. Thankfully she had great family in Mia and I loved how Mia had her own love story within this book too. And Iris! I loved how strong Iris was and how much of a guiding light she became for Dani- almost like an aunt or something. Overall, Love at First Spite was a fun book that while not incredible, had some great parts in it and some great characters, which is why I think y'all should definitely put it on your lists to check out!

This book has one of the best opening scene that I have read in a romance. I just wished that the rest of the book kept up. It was an enjoyable read, but I felt that the book dragged on at parts.

"They say living well is the best revenge..."

Love at First Spite follows Dani Porter, an interior designer who is recovering from a failed engagement after her fiancé cheated on her with their realtor. Desperate to get back at him, she buys the plot of land next to the house they bought together to obscure his beautiful view. Teaming up with Wyatt Montego, a grumpy architect from work, Dani quickly learns that there may be more to life than living in the past.

I am the biggest fan of the enemies to lovers trope. It is my favorite trope of all time and I will die on that hill. That is one reason why I was so excited for this book. Add that to the hilarious premise of getting back at a cheating ex by sabotaging the plot of land next to them, it should have been a match made in heaven. But somewhere along the way, it just didn't work out that way. Now, I liked this book, but I didn't LOVE it as much as I thought I would.

The good:
-I love a good revenge story. Especially when the target is as annoying and not self aware as Sam. I do understand that the point of the book was for Dani to understand that she couldn't live her life in dedication to revenge, but I still really enjoyed that part.
-There were also a lot of funny moments in this book that made me laugh out loud. I appreciate it when a book is both romantic and funny.
-Iris is a DELIGHT. The elderly widow was the star of any scene she was in.
- Meniere's representation! My mom is completely Deaf as a result of Meniere's and I have never seen it in a book. I wish it talked more about it but I loved that it was represented at all.


The not so good:
- I didn't feel the chemistry between Dani and Wyatt that much. I thought they were cute but I wasn't dying for them to get together.
- It felt a little insta-lovey to me. Wyatt seems to have liked Dani before they even really talked and Dani fell for him after what seemed like only a few conversations. For most of the novel I was scratching my head wondering what it was about the other person that they liked so much.
- Dani made so many annoying choices throughout the book. It was sometimes a struggle not to roll my eyes reading about her hiding the true reason for the Spite House away from Wyatt.

Overall, it wasn't my favorite read but definitely a solid enemies to lover if, like me, that's your cup of tea.

This was a super cute story of Dani and her revenge plot after she discovers her fiancee cheating on her. In order to make sure he doesn't get away with it, Dani and her friends develop an elaborate plot to build a spite house next to her ex. Her co worker and architect, Wyatt, teams up on their project without knowing that it's in spite. As they work together, both of their focus and feelings change. Pranks are played. Secrets are kept. Hijinks ensue.

This could have easily been a five star read, but the miscommunication and Dani's immaturity in handling both her relationship with Wyatt AND her revenge on her ex were a little hard to read at times. It was fun and cute and definitely a good late night binge.

I loved this book. What a wonderful Rom Com to end 2021/start 2022 for me! The concept is brilliant: scored by her ex fiancé, Dani buys the lot next to his and builds a Spite House. This book has a great cast of characters, a funny plot, and great dialogue. I can't tell you the last time I read a book that I could not put down, had to get to the end. This one made me do that. I loved Dani. I loved Wyatt. I loved Mia and Iris.

This book is heavy on the miscommunication trope, so if that isn't your thing, you won't like this. It's not slow burn, but it's also not really an enemies-to-lovers trope that it's sold as. Wyatt and Dani didn't really interact a lot prior to the book's beginning. He came across as a little cold, closed off, standoff-ish in the office setting to Dani, but other than him acting like a bit of a pompous know-it-all, there was no enemies there.

The romance in this book was cute and sweet--but not in a "sweet romance" way. It's very much steamy. Dani and Wyatt are adorable together, and I really, really enjoyed how much Wyatt apologized. I don't really remember Dani apologizing too much for her misdeeds, so I guess she could've done that more.

I really don't have complaints about this book. Which is also rare, and also a great way to jump start my 2022 reading. Bottom line: read this one. It's great. You won't want to put it down. Anna Collins is an author I will for sure be checking out again in the future.

Thank you soooo much to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for a review!!

What do you do when you catch your fiancé, cheating on you with the realtor? Buy the property next door and build an ugly house and blocking his beautiful view. 😂

Love at First Spite started off frustrating but ended cute. I found it annoying how Dani was super self sabotaging. Enter Wyatt the grumpy and handsome architect. I really liked Wyatt!

Warning, this is an insta-Iove story. The idea of the storyline was great but I think the execution could have been better!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book had me laughing from the very beginning. It was definitely a fun and cute romcom read ! While engaged, & planning her wedding, Dani finds her fiancé cheating on her. After breaking things off, she decides to build a house (out of spite) right next to her ex-fiancés house. Dani then has to work alongside the grumpy hot architect, Wyatt Montego, who she doesn’t like very much. As they start spending more and more time together things start to get a little steamy, and maybe even feelings are developed. Will Dani follow through with her revenge plan, or will she discover an unexpected romance? I loved the chemistry between the MC and I absolutely loved the sunshine/grump trope. If you’re looking for a book to make you laugh and give you all the warm fuzzy feelings, this is the one for you !

You can expect :
* Sunshine/Grump Trope
* Enemies to Lovers
* Workplace Romance
* Unexpected Love
* A House Built Out of Spite
* Laugh Out Loud Romcom