This was a great start to a new series that has me so excited for book two. I thought that the way Athena thought about her body and was portrayed as a fat FMC was wonderfully done. I thought Athena’s depression was handled with care and Matthew’s growth and development logical and heartbreaking at times. I hope Johnny gets his own book eventually after he grows up more

I love enemies to lovers and the premise sounded good, but man, that FMC did everything she could to be unlikeable. She came off as contradictory, whiney, and entitled. So this one did not work for me. I encourage you to start with Spoiler Alert instead, that was a ton of fun!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing this advance reader's copy for an honest review.

Wow, this was a really cute story that I'm not entirely sure how to rate since it was so zany that I was bewildered at times. I think it's a solid 3.75-4 range. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!
Without giving too many spoilers away, I really like the main characters and their progression throughout the story, Olivia Dade has a way of writing women without making their whole existence subject to their physical appearance. Matthew truly annoyed me, especially in the beginning, but I appreciated the deeper delve into him and his path to healthier boundaries and to happiness. The last minute issue in the final arc made me upset (why does every romance story gotta do this??) but the resolution was hilarious and fit the story and the characters so well.
I'm really looking forward to the next story in the cute town that Olivia Dade created!

Olivia Dade is a hit or miss author for me, and unfortunately, this book was a miss. Teach Me was my first novel by her, which was a miss, but then I read All The Feels and loved it. Dade's writing style is consistently strong, and I really love her voice and narration. However, it's her characters that don't always resonate with me.

In this book, I didn't find the MCs to be relatable or particularly appealing. The FMC was born into wealth and is still trying to find herself, having been metaphorically drowning in every job she's had, and she feels staying in her latest job would have literally killed her. She hasn't had to be financially responsible for anything, relying on her parents for her education, her living expenses while she was studying for her degrees (PLURAL), her engagement party, and her wedding, She was very obviously more excited about the wedding than the marriage, as made obvious by her flirtation at her engagement party with her fiance's brother (she didn't know it was him at the time). Then fast forward in time, said brother convinced her fiance to break the engagement a month before the wedding and feels guilty about it. He seems like a much less appealing Darcy, although he seemed to have way more valid reasons to not think she was a good match for his brother than Darcy did. Quirky and a good match for her, but the start of their relationship just feels icky. And she is so mad at him but seems to take zero responsibility for her role in the entire fiasco. She actually states when we're in her POV that she had a promise of "financial cushion she needed to figure out her next step" with her marriage until it ended, and if that isn't the saddest reason to marry someone. Especially when she's clearly not hurting for money, there's no reason to marry someone for theirs but then act all offended that the brother had her pegged. In addition, she states she has wasted her parents' money *again*. AGAIN? How old is this woman?

I couldn't get behind her as a sympathetic FMC, the brother was not appealing as the backup candidate for her love life, and I just didn't like how their relationship started with him breaking up their marriage.

Three stars for the writing style. I think this would be appealing for others. Just not for me.

I don’t even know where to start other than: MOST BEAUTIFUL ROMANCE I’VE READ. Allow me to unpack this a bit more. At First Spite started off running, with Athena having had her engagement broken up a month before her wedding and because of fate (and her decision to surprise her ex-fiancé) living next to him in Spite House over at Harlot’s Bay.

The romance in this novel was so intimate that at certain points it made me cry because of how wholesome it was. Dade navigated heavy topics such as depression and self-loading with lots of compassion. You could feel that not only this novel had lots of depth but also lots of heart. The love in this book went far beyond physical attraction and I really enjoyed that. Feeling both Matthew’s and Athena’s insecurities and growth made me incredibly happy of having read their journey together. Plus, the sense of community in this book is was felt, and I loved how the story progressed in time.

This is a book that will stay with me for a whiiiiile. As much as it made me giggle, it also made me cry, and smile, and cringe, and get all the feels. Matthew and Athena were simply superb. I can’t wait to recommend this book to everyone!!

***TRIGGER WARNINGS: the main character deals with greif and depression***

At First Spite follows Athena whose fiancé Johnny decides to end their engagement. She was to move on from it. There is just one problem for his engagement present she buys him the town house next door. They were hoping to make both houses into one big house. Athena spent all her money on the house and has no choice but to move in next door. Not only does she live next door to her ex but his brother Matthew lives across the street. Matthew is the one that convinced Johnny to break up with Athena. Soon Matthew realizes that Athena is a great woman and wants her for himself. Will Athena want anything to do with him?

I have read multiple books by Olivia Dade. I usually love her books and think they are such cute romance books. This book in my opinion is her worst book. It lacked a lot of romance for a romance book. Like it took more than 60% of the book for anything romantic to happen. Instead this book was more on the serious side which is totally fine. But I thought like her others this was going to be a more lighthearted book. So I didn’t enjoy it has much. I do love that this book dealt with depression in a very honest way. I also love the plus size representation in this one. But if I am reading a romance book I want all the romance vibes. And since that did not have that I didn’t like this book. But I will keep reading books by Olivia Dade. Also how pretty is this cover.

I DNF’d this book after just a couple of chapters. Which I hated to do because I love Olivia Dade’s other books. I didn’t like the MCs and the story was a little too far fetched.

Olivia Dade has never failed me and I’m adding her latest, At First Spite, to my list of 5 star books she’s written.

At First Spite is a snort-out-loud, enemies to lovers romcom. It had me grinning from the first chapter! I started this one on a recent trip and picked it up every time I had a few minutes to read.

Dade writes the most beautifully inclusive novels and this one is no different. I loved the mental health rep and the way the main character’s obstacles were so compassionately written.

In spite of (ha!) the emotional and hard scenes that appear throughout Dade’s books, I’ve never thought of them as sad. They’re funny and quirky and I always finish the book with a smile on my face.

If you’ve read Dade’s books before, this is sure to be a win. If you haven’t, this one is a great one to start with!

Perhaps I'm biased because I got to read a very early version of this book at the author's request back in 2022 but this book is exceptional. Athena is beautifully captured in all her complexities, the scenes where she is struggling with her depression are heartbreakingly accurate, her pain is visceral and at times, you just want to jump into the page and give her the softest and gentlest of hugs and make her a sandwich.

Matthew, er, Dr. Matthew Vine the third, is the best of all men, just not great at explaining himself. He holds back, has a very painful backstory dealing with grief and loss, that has colored all of the choices he has made in his life, and is irrevocably in love with Athena. The scene where he....well, for the sake of spoilers, I'll zip it but just say, the scene in which he shows up for Athena in a big way, will live rent free in my head always.

But in the midst of the depression and grief, there is so much love and warmth and humor in this book. Matthew being a true luddite and not understanding memes or Reddit or being Rickrolled will forever make me laugh.

It is a true masterpiece, deftly balancing great humor with moments of severe depression and memories of grief and loss with love and tenderness and nurturing. I adore a nurturing hero and it is easy to label Matthew as one - he is truly one of the most nurturing heroes I've ever read in a romance. But let's not forget Athena, who is a caretaker in her own way and loves and protects Matthew like no one else has ever done. These two are perfect for each other and I'm so glad this book exists so that I could meet them.

Content notes: depression, grief, loss of young brother off page in the past

ARC courtesy of publisher, opinions are all mine

Olivia Dade's "At First Spite" is a funny, romantic comedy style novel set in fictional Harlot's Bay, Maryland. The book is hilarious, romantic, and so well written. The characters contain multitudes and even secondary characters read like three-dimensional people.

Contains diverse representation include, body types, race, and LGBTQIA+ representaiton.

If you're fan of tropes like he falls first and enemies to lovers, you'll love this book.

At First Spite follows enemies turned lovers Athena and Matthew. Athena and Matthew originally meet at Athena's engagement party to Johnny, Matthew's brother. Johnny has always dreamed of purchasing the "spite house" next door, and Athena decides to buy it as an early wedding present for him. However, things turn awry when Johnny breaks off his engagement to Athena based on his brother Matthew's advice. Athena now has a house she must move into to support herself financially, and it is right across the street from both her former ex-fiancee and her nemesis, his brother.

Unfortunately, At First Spite was a huge disappointment for me. I was a huge fan of Spoiler Alert and really enjoyed the second book in the series, All the Feels. However, the last two books that I have read by Dade (Ship Wrecked & All the Feels) have been huge disappointments, and I'm not sure if I will be picking up more of her work in the future.

At First Spite has quite a few downfalls: it is far too long, attempts to tackle too many topics, and is all over the place tonally. The first fourth of the book had me hooked, and I was prepared to love this book. I really enjoyed Matthew's character and his caring nature, and I also appreciated the depiction of depression in Athena's character. However, the book just felt like it dragged on far too long. There were so many shifts in tone that was extremely jarring to the reader. I also felt uncomfortable with the idea with Athena shifting to date her ex-fiancee's brother. This is advertised in the book so I tried to withhold any opinions until seeing the execution of it, however I felt that the situation was resolved far too easily and unrealistically.

Spoilers:

At First Spite, the first book in Olivia Dade’s new Harlot’s Bay series, is set in a small, coastal Maryland town named for a lesbian couple who fled their oppressive homes and settled there in the 1690s. Over the centuries, it has become a haven for misfits. So, it’s no surprise that Dade features a lesbian couple who are friends and colleagues of the protagonists, a gruff baker with a soft center, an overwhelmed and out of his depth bookshop owner, and two people who, despite their respective traumas, find in each other a kindred spirit.

As the story opens, we find Athena Greydon at her engagement party to Johnny Vine who asked her to marry him just two months after their first meeting before they even got to know each other well. He’s promised her that, when she moves to Harlot’s Bay, she won’t have to find a new job because he’ll take care of her (promises that he’ll depend on his older brother Matthew’s generosity to keep). Feeling burned out after four years as a high school social studies teacher, her acceptance of his proposal may be due more to the promise of the comfort and shelter she seeks than any true love she may have for him. This is very evident to his older brother who makes it his mission to end the engagement, viewing Athena as too irresponsible and immature to be someone’s wife. After meeting her face-to-face for the first time at the party and forming an instant attraction before he even knows her name, it’s likely that his resistance to the engagement is no longer purely altruistic.

When Johnny heeds Matthew’s advice and calls off the engagement, Athena has already quit her job and sold her condo. So, she has no choice but to move into The Spite House, a 10’ wide townhouse built between the two brothers’ larger homes which she bought as a wedding present for Johnny, using up most of her savings. Little does she know that Matthew will be her next-door neighbor. Despite a series of harmless, petty pranks she plays against him, they slowly get to know each other (while Johnny is away on an extended solo honeymoon) and learn that they both suffered from misconceptions about each other’s lives and intentions. That’s why it was relatively easy for both Matthew and Athena to forgive each other, share their innermost thoughts, and offer emotional (and, in his case, financial) support while navigating their separate traumas. Given what caring and decent people they both are and the fact that she didn’t really know Johnny well, the cringe factor of a guy going after his younger brother’s ex-fiancée is muted.

Athena has two Masters’ degrees and dropped out of a PhD program before finishing, yet she finds herself at age 37 with no job, a spotty employment history, and a bad case of burnout and depression, unable to see herself and her career path as anything other than dismal failures. It takes Matthew, the uptight, grumpy pediatrician, to help her see that her depression is painting a false picture. He not only supports her in her darkest moments, but also shows her the way friends and loved ones view her. He offers a different perspective which carries more weight because she thought he hated her. Everyone deserves a Matthew in their life, someone who acknowledges your flaws, but loves you in spite of them. He’s definitely an A+ book boyfriend.

Athena’s story will resonate with readers who have suffered from depression and struggled to find a vocation that they are passionate about and can excel in. My one criticism is that she seems neurodivergent-coded (as does Matthew), so although his well-meaning justifications for her spotty job history may be accurate, they’re incomplete without acknowledging how her neurodivergency impacts her relationships and employment.

Of course, Matthew is also dealing with the trauma of his baby brother’s death when he was only 8 years old. After the tragedy, his parents’ relationship fell apart, and he was thrust into the paternal role of taking care of Johnny. As a result, he’s always sacrificed his own wants and needs by being caretaker for his brother and others in his life. One of the most beautiful parts of the story is when Athena reciprocates by helping Matthew navigate his own grief and path forward.

The only other criticism I have is the bizarre, erotic bestiality books featured throughout that make little sense and prove more of a distraction than a humorous element which, combined with a messy (albeit revelatory) first sex scene between Matthew and Athena, stifle any sense of passion. I just found them both cringey. Book 2 is set to feature Karl, the afore-mentioned angry baker, and the author of these books. Not sure I’m going to want to revisit the trope at any length.

Overall, though, this is one of Dade’s best books, so I highly recommend it.

While I did enjoy this one more than my first read from Olivia Dade, I didn’t love this one. I’m not against reading other titles from her in the future and giving her another chance but I just don’t think her writing so far is for me. I struggle getting into the plot and characters and it’s just alright for me.

This was my first book by Olivia Dade and it is the first book in the Harlots Bay series.

Synopsis:
After a whirlwind romance between Johnny Vine and Athena Greydon, Johnny leaves Athena high and dry days before their wedding. His brother and bestfriend, Matthew Vine, convinced him that Athena was not the girl for him, just in time for Johnny to take the one month vacation to Hawaii alone.

Unfortunately for Athena, she had already bought the townhouse connected to Johnny in hopes to tear down the walls and make it a bigger one. Even more disappointing, when Athena is moving in she discovers that Matthew, the devil himself, is also her new neighbor. Athen quit her teaching job to make the move to Harlots bay, and now has to do odd end jobs in order to stay afloat. Not only are her circumstances dire, but her mental health has plummeted even more.

Matthew can’t help but feel partly responsible, so he tries to help whenever Athena will let him. His close proximity to Athena starts to make him change his tune about her and his feelings become way more than he was expecting.

Review
There were so many fun references throughout this book from Mean Girls to The Lord of the Rings. One of my favorite parts about this book was the mental health rep. Olivia gave a very real and honest portrayal of what depression is like. Another thing I loved was how the MFC was plus size, but the focus was never on that. The ending was also adorable.

The brothers' situation felt slightly weird. I do not think that Matthew should have pursued Athena given the circumstances, OR that there should have been other reasons that Matthew tried to get Johnny to break up with her.

Will post review at the end of January to GR and Instagram.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Spice: 2/5
Plot: 4/5
Romance: 4/5

If you are looking for a contemporary romance that handles the heavy stuff with care, grace and a little humor, you definitely want to check this one out!

Things I loved:
*Mental health rep. It was done wonderfully. I related and laughed and cried and grieved over so much of Athena’s journey. It was fantastically done.
*The town was so amazing - I wish it actually existed so I could visit. Everything about it, from the bookstore to the bakery to the residents made me fall in love.
*The love interest is so unique - we get a timid, caring man who really stood out and also was amazing to read. He was so rich as a person that he felt real.

Things I liked:
*The secondary characters - I am so so so glad we get more in the Harlots Bay series. I can’t wait to see who the next book is about.
*The diversity in the town and how each person was so unique and well thought out. I want to go to a Nasty Wenches book club meeting!
*The way everyone in this town loves monster romance is hilarious.

Things:
*Whew, some parts of this book were heavy. Like, heavy heavy. But hey - life is heavy and messy and not perfect. It represented that beautifully.

Definitely pick this one up if you love a well balanced, spicy, heart-felt contemporary romance!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing the ARC for this book

This dual POV romance had me feeling the full range of all of my emotions. As always this author brings you a feel good romance with moments of joy and laughter. What I loved most however was they way she brought so many hard moments real moments that tied me to the characters and made them real to me. They were not just going through fun funny moments to find each other. They found clarity in the problems that they had within themselves individually and found that they could see themselves clearly when they let the other person see them for who they are. There is something so profound in being recognized at your lowest and finding your way to yourself and letting others find you. All difficult topics are handled with care and dignity and the book still has all the elements of laughter and spice that balance out the heavy. I HIGHLY recommend this joyous journey and will be excited to reread it again, if only for spicy audiobooks she plays for the neighborhood.

AT FIRST SPITE is a new series by Olivia Dade, so I was incredibly excited to be able to read this book! This book was a fun easy read with great representation for mental health and body positivity, but I found the relationship between the FMC and the MMC to be a bit weird and the spicy scenes did feel a bit forced and awkward.

The best parts of the novel were how accessible this book is for so many different readers who enjoy a variety of romance tropes. I flew through this book because the plot of a woman who was broken up with my her fiancé and now has to live next door to him AND the brother that helped break up her relationship was fun. The revenge that the FMC, Athena, seeks is fun and petty and totally justified. It made the story fun and an easy read. And, in typical Olivia Dade fashion, there is real, honest discussions about mental health and body acceptance, which I think added depth to the story.

Some reviews said that the pacing of the book was too slow. I disagree. In order for Athena and the MMC, Matthew, to be together, they had to deal with the fact that Matthew is partly responsible for the difficulties Athena is facing in the book. For them to get on the same page, there needed to be time for angst.

My issue is that some of the banter and spicy scenes were weird and forced. Because Athena knows a bit of everything, a whole bunch of obscure references get mixed into their conversations that Matthew doesn’t know. It made some of their conversations stilted and for me, as a reader, I found it hard to follow their conversations some time. Also, the spicy scenes were somewhat awkward in places with technical names being used. It felt forced.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and think it’s worth the read! If you’ve liked other Olivia Dade books, this one should be right up your alley!

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Athena is engaged to Johnny and she quits her job to move to Harlot's Bay. Johnny's interfering brother encourages him to break off his relationship. They are surprised to learn that she is moving into the small house that is in between the brother's houses. Matthew realizes all that Athena gave up, to relocate. He feels guilty and does little things to make her life easier. She does these hilarious things to make his structured life more chaotic.
Athena goes through highs and lows throughout this book and with the help of Matthew and her new friends, she learns a lot about herself. This book was very easy to read and I loved the personality of Athena. I am anxiously waiting for the next book in the series. I will be reading more by Olivia Dade and will recommend we purchase this book for my library.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for allowing me read this as an arc!

Thank you to Avon and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to get my hands on this book, because I loved the Spoiler Alert series by Olivia Dade. Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. I thought the setup and plot was unique, but the execution just fell short in my opinion. I honestly felt like by the end of the book I wasn’t rooting for any of the characters because they were all just awful people. Johnny should have never broken up with his girlfriend because of pressure from his brother. Matthew should have never continually flirted and perused his brother’s ex after they broke up. Athena should have never entertained any sort of entanglement with her ex’s brother after the broken engagement. I somewhat understand where Matthew’s resentment of Athena and his continued lack of support for her and Johnny’s engagement was coming from, but I honestly think it made him a bad person (especially when he then wanted to act like a savior and that Johnny was this awful person for doing exactly what he told him to do). Johnny was definitely immature, but does that mean he deserves his brother to go after the girl he was ENGAGED to and only broke up with after being told over and I’ve regain how awful she was? Like I honestly can’t move past this point. Then everyone acted like Johnny was overreacting for being upset when he found out his only family was lying to him. I just really couldn’t get behind the love/romance in this book. As always, I think Olivia Dade writes some of the best communication in romance books and the best conflict scenes. Both her MCs always reflect on their actions and take ownership for their part in conflicts and I love that. The plus size rep and depression rep was portrayed and handled really well. Just overall wasn’t for me, but I know a ton of friends have read and liked this!

It’s not you, it’s me!
The book was written well, the plot and set up on point, but I think I’m just a mood reader and this one didn’t click for me. And that’s okay! I’ll absolutely be giving other books by this author a shot. I know lots of people this book WILL appeal to, and definitely encourage people to give it a try. However, I won’t be posting a review on goodreads until much later as I don’t want to affect any overall ratings early in the book’s release.