I'm not sure what I'm feeling. It seemed good at first, but something wasn't quite right. I know, it's strange. I guess it's because of the title that I'm feeling this way. I had hoped for and expected more animosity, but there was almost none. It's essentially a grumpy/happy office romance, although I don't believe there was any bitterness in this scenario. Maybe if the title was different, I wouldn't be so negative, because the book itself isn't horrible, but the title just doesn't fit. With a title like Love at First Sight, you'd expect some animosity when they first met. But it was as though it wasn't. They do work together, and he is grumpy, but he isn't spiteful. I'm just not sure.

Thank you so much @GraydonHouseBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 04 January 2022)

SYNOPSIS | Dani has gone through a pretty rough breakup & decides to get revenge on her cheating ex-fiancé by buying the vacant lot next door to his house with the intention of building a spite house & being the worst neighbour ever.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the opening paintball in a wedding dress scene is iconic

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the romance between Dani & Wyatt felt like a rebound
- single POV
- the entire spite house concept was so integral to the story yet fell flat. I wanted petty pranks & snippy comments & bonding over the creation of something so ludicrous but instead it just felt really juvenile.
- the miscommunication trope is heavy in this one

It's a decent story but I struggled to stay intrigued. In my opinion it's missing that emotional catch where something just lures you into the story further and further.

I really liked the plot of the book and Wyatt was my favorite character. This was a four star rating. It did take some time to get into it a couple of times. The formatting style was hard to get into because it's not a preferred style.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing chance to read and review.

I very much enjoyed this book! Love me a hero named Wyatt, it’s like my second favorite name. Dani was funny, everything with the spite house was so over the top but I was living for it. I kinda want a garden gnome now. I would say the trope in this is instant attraction. They both are clearly super in to each other from the beginning. Their individual baggage from previous relationships just got in the way. I thought they had great chemistry together.
There is a spice in the book. Maybe 3 scenes if I remember correctly? I should really start writing this stuff down.
There are some more serious parts in the book. Definitely still a romcom but there’s discussion of toxic relationships, cheating, chronic illness, etc. All well done from my perspective. Enough that it’s all taken seriously but it doesn’t kill the vibe or anything.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. I got approved for this two days after publication date so this is already out if this sounds like your thing.

This will be posted on my Instagram account as well.

Holy steamy fun! Dani’s scheme to get revenge on her cheating ex fiancé takes a turn when she involves her cousin Mia, her landlady Iris and the excessively attractive Architect and coworker, Wyatt. The story between the women and their spite house is hilarious, and the Dani and Wyatt’s blossoming romance is steamy but not excessive for more delicate readers. A great Enemies to lovers romance novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for the opportunity to read this!

Dani has been cheated on by her fiancé. She is royally hurt and has decided to get revenge. She and her friends purchase the lot next to her fiancé’s new house. They plan to build a vacation rental to ruin his view. It is the perfect revenge…Spite House.

Now, I am not a fan of what Dani has planned, but I have to say…it is a hilarious revenge. Dani is not dumb and she uses her intelligence to get the best revenge possible. I love her talent and ingenuity.

I absolutely fell in love with Wyatt from the very first. He is a bit mysterious and big time gentleman. Plus, there is such magnetism between Wyatt and Dani. This made the whole book…in my opinion. The author nailed their interactions and relationship.

Need a romantic comedy which will have your wheels turning…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I think this is a pretty great office romance - Wyatt and Dani are coworkers but at the same level, so there's no weird power dynamics going on here, just all the fun of the sneaking around. But the conflict felt very... juvenile? Underbaked? They were determined to see the worst in each other's actions and it became grating.

Wyatt, though is grumpy perfection: he's adjusting to life with Menier's disease, including bouts of vertigo and hearing loss. He's hiding this at the office (which is his right, but the reasoning isn't well explained) which is why he comes across as standoffish. It's clear that he's been gone on Dani for a while, which is my favorite combo with a grump, "I am a grump but secretly very devoted to you please don't ask me questions." I love him so much. The book would have been strengthened with a few chapters from his POV, but I think that really any single POV book could be so take that how you will.

There's a lot that this book is trying to do, and I don't know that it really wraps everything up neatly, which is why it's not a five star read for me. The spite house spirals, there's a few dangling plot threads, but honestly, I'm pretty obsessed with Wyatt. I really liked this, and I'm looking forward to more from this author.

This was an enjoyable read. This book is about a female architect who is dumped by her fiancee and decides to make a spite house next door to him with a grumpy, handsome architect named Wyatt. When I first read the summary of this book, I knew that this was going to be an amazing rom-com story just as I love books with a work background story that has a revenge going on. The story was amazingly written with the pacing and story structure being spot on. The author did an amazing job with throwing many conflicts into the story to keep readers like me hooked and on our toes. Though I have to say that I was a little confused with how long the spite house was going on for as I thought Dani would stop her revenge eventually as it was going too far and Wyatt had an obvious crush on her.

The main characters in this book are Dani and Wyatt though this book is mostly written in Dani's pov. Honestly I wished we had more of Wyatt's pov because he is such an amazing person but just misunderstood. I enjoyed both characters in this book. I'm low key, kind of similar to Dani in a sense of if I had money, I would also buy land next door to the person who dumped me and do something to annoy him. I enjoyed both characters' character development as Dani learns to move on and Wyatt learns to open up to others. Wyatt has a condition (I forgot what it's called) that he tries to cover because his ex broke up with him for it. There were also some great side characters in this book like Dani's roommate and cousin who are really supportive of her. The romance was also great in this book which was a grumpy/sunshine trope which is one of those tropes that you rarely find but is amazing. There were some steamy scenes but the romance gave me that warm feeling inside. I do have to say that there was some miscommunication between the characters that would separate them for a while which did kind of get annoying at times.

The ending was well done and I honestly enjoyed reading this book. It was such a cute, fun read with one of my favorite tropes. There were some parts I didn't enjoy like how far the spite house went into the story but the story was overall well done. I almost enjoyed every bit and piece of it. I totally recommend this book to fans of The Hating Game and It Happened One Summer.

I really liked the characters in this romance comedy novel. Anna E. Collins does a great job creating a story of a woman scorned and the scheme she and her friends dream up to avenge her fiancé cheating right before they're wedding.

The main character, Dani, reluctantly enlists to help from a stern and hard to read co-worker to build a spite house. But, like any good romance they quickly develop feelings for each other and decide to have a fling while they are working on their project.

The book becomes pretty easy to guess what's going to happen next at this point, but I like how everything comes full circle with one unexpected twist. Overall, this is a good book and would make a great beach read.

After breaking up with her cheating fiancé, Sam, Dani wants revenge. Since her fiancé didn’t buy the extra lot next door to their home like she asked him to, she decides to buy it along with her cousin and her new landlady. Dani decides the best way to get back at Sam is to build a rental home that will block the view he loves. To build the house, Dani asks her coworker, Wyatt, a serious and unfriendly architect, to help her draw up the blueprints. As they spend time together, Dani realizes Wyatt isn’t as unlikeable as he seemed. Dani doesn’t want the project to end, because then she wouldn’t have a reason to spend time with Wyatt. She has to prolong the project, and maintain her new relationship with Wyatt, before they both end in disaster.

This was a great enemies-to-lovers revenge story. There was also some forbidden romance, since Dani and Wyatt worked together and had to keep their romance a secret in the office. These were really well developed romance tropes.

The ending was suspenseful and thrilling. It was a little predictable, but still exciting. I won’t give away what happened, but I think Dani’s goal of getting revenge had a satisfying ending.

Love at First Spite is a great revenge story!

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book.

I loved this book! So fun, yet it held some emotional weight as well. This book is a fun, easy read that kept me wanting more. Definitely recommend!

Well, this was a fun read to start the new year!

This book goes from enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, and I enjoyed every little twist and turn to get there.

I was hooked from the opening scene, where Dani is in a wedding dress she never got to wear and getting pelted with paintballs. I thought it was such a unique way to start the book…and a great way to get a little frustration out when you’ve been cheated on by your fiancé like Dani has.

But then Dani decides to build a Spite House to get back at her ex, and that’s where dreamy architect Wyatt comes in. Watching a grump soften is one of my favorite tropes, and Wyatt is just, well, he’s such a sweet guy behind his tough exterior.

This was an easy read with plenty of laughs and swoony moments. It releases tomorrow!

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

Keep bouncing between 3 and 4 stars. I really did like this novel as a mindless and warm read but had some gripes.

In summary: super quick and sweet romance, lacking ???

The opening scene with Dani playing paint ball in her wedding dress was definitely a girl boss moment!! We love to see it.

Wyatt and her relationship had a good amount of spice which I enjoyed, however they didn’t really feel that compatible to me. Other than some sexual tension and a few sweet moments I didn’t really see it especially with their conversations. Plus every other sentence between Wyatt and Dani was something about his smile.

I’m a sucker for a slow burn and this was a medium to quick one.

I really liked how the novel handled Dani’s revenge scheme. Especially towards the end I think that showed some real growth in her character. Maybe it dragged on a little too long but I never felt too frustrated to read.

What did frustrate me was the loft situation. Don’t want to spoil it too much especially due to the advanced copy but I really was done with Dani after that. Especially during all her internal battles. It was one of those screaming at my kindle screen “why are you being so stupid” moments.

It seemed like an issue created just to have a problem to overcome and tie the story up in a little bow.

On the bright side, I would die for Iris, Cesar and Cairo.

That is all.


Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and especially the author for this ARC. All opinions are honest and my own.

This wasn't bad by any means, but I didn't really get much from it either. I was expecting a fun revenge romp with a hot romance on the side, but the revenge was kinda lackluster and underdeveloped, and the romance felt a little rushed to me. Because while I do think Dani and Wyatt have some chemistry, there wasn't much development for the actual relationship - They become involved early on and I missed feeling the tension and build in the relationship.

This was a solid read, but the main character was so unlikeable, I couldn’t root for her. Iris, Mia, Wyatt, and Matt were the characters I kept reading for.

Some of the plot was a bit far fetched too. I liked the initial idea of the spite house, but it went a little off the rails for me. I had to suspend disbelief a little bit for it to work, which doesn’t usually happen with a romantic comedy.

Overall a solid three star read. I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: January 4th, 2022

Review:
Unfortunately for me, this book started off strong and then fell off flat. This book has a little bit of drama, but is still a light read and overall was a good book even if I didn’t like all aspects of it. I just could not like the main character, but if you are looking for a fun book that is an easy and quick read with an author whose writing style flows naturally and was very engaging throughout the book then I would definitely check this one out.

Interior designer Dani has called off her wedding after discovering that he cheated with their realtor. The book opens with a hilarious scene of Dani and her cousin Mia in a paintball game, with Mia wearing her wedding dress. She is angry and upset and has vowed that she is done with men. While at the house to pick up her things, she finds out that the realtor has already moved in. She sits outside the house and gets a brainstorm. She is going to purchase the small lot next to his house and build a tall vacation home to rent out as an Air B N B. It will be her spite house and her cousin and landlady will be partners. But she needs an architect and is forced to accept help from architect Wyatt Montego, her arrogant coworker. Can they work together on this house? Will he allow her to be in charge of the project?

This story starts off as an enemies to lovers story, but it is more than that. It is a story about vengeance and how far someone will go when they are wronged. It is also a story of whether you feel better when you get what you want. I really liked the characters in the story, from Dani, Mia, Wyatt, Matt and Iris. They all added so much to the story from humor, friendship to advice. The designing and planning of the Spite House was interesting. I loved all the ideas they came up with to mess with Sam. There is some angst in this story and some times I was frustrated by the actions of either Dani or Wyatt, but they both had baggage to work through. This was a fun story that I enjoyed very much. Of course, if I was actually involved in a Spite House build, I might think differently. I recommend this one to those who enjoy a good rom-com.

Love At First Spite by Anne Collins had a promising plot, and plenty of tropes I adore, but nearly every aspect of this book fell flat for me. I’d say it was closer to 2.5 stars than just 2, but definitely not 3 stars.

First, the writing style was too juvenile for an adult romance. The book read more like a young adult contemporary rather than something written for adults, despite the few mild sex scenes. It also didn’t flow very well, with one scene jumping to the next with singular transition sentences informing the reader that the character had fallen asleep, or that time flew by, or what have you. It was very simplistic writing, with no complex emotion or development from any of the characters.

Furthermore, the main romance between Dani and Wyatt was nothing to call home about. Constant miscommunication mixed with the lack of descriptive writing left much to be desired. The beginning build up showed some promise, but everything after the initial romantic tension was a bore.

If you’re looking for a quick read that can be considered cute at best, Love At First Spite is for you. If you’re looking for intense emotion, descriptive writing, and complex characters, I would recommend looking elsewhere.

In the mood for a bit of revenge and romance? After being in an accident myself yesterday as I fell over face-first on the concrete, I needed a bit of a light-hearted romance to take my mind off things as I was in pain. I may look like a right mess, but at least I had a good read to help lift my spirits. Love at First Spite started with a bit of fun as our main character we learn Danielle was due to get married but her fiancé Sam cheated on her. So, to give her ex-fiancé and the wedding the middle finger, she decides to put her dress to use and destroy it with paintball splatters along with her cousin Mia. Their adventures finish off at a bar with Mia meets Matt - the bartender and Dani run into Wyatt - an architect from work in the bathroom. One thing leads to another for Mia and Matt and through connections - Dani gets a new place to live with Matt's older Aunty Iris. I liked the character of Iris as she was down-to-earth and blunt and a bit of a hard case "nana" character. During a night of drinking and talking, the three come up with a plan to annoy Sam and get revenge. They pool their savings and buy the empty land next to Sam's house and plan to build an Air BNB and it will represent everything that Sam hates. It is a Spite House. Just one slight problem, Dani needs an architect and as she is known in the business - wants it off books. Enter Wyatt - he is willing to help her in return for a favor to help his own Nana. The pair have this rocky relationship, that you don't know if it is love or hate or are they friends or frenemies? You can tell Dani wants Wyatt but after being betrayed has sworn off guys and then Wyatt has been hurt badly in the past and he wants more but doesn't know if he can trust again. To be honest, the two main characters annoyed me with their back and forth's but the side characters of Mia, Matt, and Iris made up for it. I did also feel a little let-down by the ending when everything went up in flames and it felt like everything the book had worked towards was for nothing - this fell a bit flat for me. Overall, however, if you are looking for a light-hearted chick-lit read - then check out Anna E. Collins's new 2022 release - Love at First Spite which will also leave you thinking of what would you do to spite your worst enemy or someone who betrayed you?