Reading Olivia Dade's novels always feels like such a treat and At First Spite was no different. A jilted fiancee living in a spite house between her ex and his brother who ruined the wedding? Say less!

I knew this book would be hilarious, but what I wasn't expecting was how much I would end up feeling for the main characters. This book is more complex than most of the romances I've read lately, so keep in mind this isn't your usual happy go lucky romcom. Matthew and Athena are both complicated and flawed human beings, and I thought the author handled their mental health struggles in a sensitive way. At one point in the story Athena has a very serious bout of depression and Matthew helps her find a way through it. She isn't just magically better because of his help, and I appreciated how we actually saw her working through it on the page.

The relationship that developed between Matthew and Athena seemed to happen organically and just felt really authentic. I loved how he took care of her when she needed it most, and how she was able to care for him in a completely different way. By the end of the novel we see growth from them both as they come to value their self worths.

Check this out if you love:
-Body positivity/fat main character
-Top notch banter
-Steam!
-Silly small town vibes and characters
-Pranks (murder dolls lol)
-Mental Health Rep

Thank you to Avon & NetGalley for an advanced copy. I hope this isn't a standalone as I would love to return to Harlot's Bay someday.

This book was absolutely everything I never knew I wanted and needed from a rom com!

This was my first Olivia Dade, and I am a total convert. Everything about this story is whip smart, hilarious and charming while also being deeply heartfelt and warm. I adored Athena so much from page one, and it was difficult at first to imagine a situation where Matthew could be forgiven. Somehow, though, he weasels his way into Athena’s heart with as most aloof and lovable kind of LI. This book deals with clinical depression beautifully, painting a very full picture of it without bringing the story to a different genre, and rather helping the reader resonate with the fact that all people deserve love stories.

Athena’s life is feeling like it is unraveling when we begin to meet her, and we explore a lot of the ways she thinks about and speaks to herself. This book found me when I was having a very difficult (albeit in a different way) time in my life, and it helped me reframe the way I looked at things that had been going missed in my own head. Matthew’s life story also unfolds for us at this time, and the two end up being the most perfect match. He lifts her when she doesn’t have it in her to do it for herself, but most importantly always gives her the tools to take her own steps when she is ready. Athena’s antics toward him were absolutely hilarious, but also felt like they frequently came from a place that was innately understandable to the reader.

The tension and chemistry between these two is so special. Their personalities fly off the page, even in moments where it is so painfully clear how different they are. They also have this sense of cozy support and understanding that is supplied from the beginning and never leaves.

I could go on and on about this book, but at the end of the day; this one will go down as very special to me. I would recommend it to all Tom com readers, but especially ones who have wanted to find themselves in MCs who are not always tidy, who jump to conclusions, who think the worst of themselves in bad moments and who imagine everyone else must too. Thank you so very much to Avon & Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this gem of a story!

This is my introduction to Olivia Dade's work, and I must say, it didn't disappoint. The story unfolds at an engagement party, where Olivia, navigating the social scene, feels a bit out of place. From Olivia's viewpoint, we haven't yet encountered her fiancée's brother, Matthew, who doesn't seem to hold much affection for her. Amidst the celebration, Olivia strikes up a connection with a seemingly random guest, only to realize it's Matthew. Following a private conversation, overheard by Olivia, Matthew advises against the impending marriage. Fast forward, the wedding is off, and Olivia finds herself living next door to Matthew. He grapples with guilt and increasingly complex feelings for her. Despite initial reservations about the unconventional relationship dynamics, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and wholeheartedly recommend it. Special thanks to Olivia Dade and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I approached this one with some trepidation, since the premise runs the risk of turning into a mean-spirited farce. But in Olivia Dade's careful hands, the story never descends into tiresome pettiness, and the romance soars with sweetness and spice.

After a broken engagement and career collapse, Athena moves to the small town of Harlot's Bay and finds herself living in a house of impractical and improbable dimensions, squeezed between two impossible neighbors: her ex-fiance and his brother Matthew, the stuffy pediatrician who engineered their breakup. Athena tries to irritate Matthew with low-spirited pranks, but as she flails in a new city, she can't help but notice that Matthew seems to be a nice guy who's doing everything he can to help her. And as she sinks into a deep depression, she needs a lot of help, which Matthew provides with his typical caution, care, and generosity. The characters build a friendship on a strong foundation of mutual interest, and their attraction springs organically from that. This book gave me tears and tingles and a wonderful happy ending. I finished it a few days ago and I'm already contemplating a re-read.

Many thanks to Avon and NetGalley for the eARC.

Format - E ARC (Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶 🌶

Series- Harlot Bay #1

Troupes- Ex- Fiancé’s Brother, enemies to lovers, he falls first, mutual pinning, grumpy/sunshine, inexperienced MMC, small town

Representation- Depression, Possible ASD or OCD

CW- undiagnosed depression

Oh my Goddess my friends! If you have read anything else by Olivia then you must read this book! If you’ve never read anything by Olivia then you also Must read this book but also all of her others as well.

Y’all I had so many feels, Athena and Mathew are just *Sigh*. This is a small town romance so we get all the warm fuzzies with everyone knowing everyones business, and everyone loves Mathew. Who admittedly is about as Swoony as a book boyfriend can be. Sweet and caring aware of his down falls and ready to admit when he was wrong and try to make it right! I mean only a woman can come up with a man like that and it is a real damn shame he is fictional.

Athena is our jilted almost bride and she’s moved to Harlots Bay to live in the house she bought her Ex Fiancé. Now as Fate would have it she living between to only 2 people she knows and Hates in town, with no savings and in desperate needs of a job.

SO here’s that things all of that on its own is RomCom worthy and promises a good time, right? But what Olivia has down is gone and thrown the most accurate and relatable description of what its like to fall into a depressive episode that I have ever read. I was sobbing right along with Athena, feeling pretty depressed myself and completely unable to put this book down.

And I know it’s Supposed to be a romcom and be fun and an escape from reality! But y’all sometimes you just need to see your lived experience in a book. It’s pretty therapeutic. So while my Depression is not exactly like Athena’s or anyone else’s it’s important to have that represented.

Ok off my soap box. Olivia has always had great spicy times and this book is no different, Athena loves her body and us not afraid to use it to get what she wants, and Mathew is nothing if not diligent and while completely inexperienced does not disappoint in any of the spicy activities!

I loved this book y’all when a book can make you laugh, cry and want to throttle the characters is sure to be a hit!

Thank you Olivia Dade, Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for this advanced e copy obviously all of the above is my own opinion.

I always appreciate reading books where the main character is fat and It’s the least interesting thing about them, and Olivia Dade never disappoints! Also, I loved that the main character has depression. It is such a perfect description of the reality of depression for some people.

I am conflicted about this. I love Olivia Dade and I really did like Athena and Matthew for the most part, but I have a really hard time when the romance is between somone and their ex's sibling.

I appreciate how Athena's depression is handled and that she isn't magically cured once Matthew starts helping her. Ofc we love a fat mc in my house and Olivia always writes them wonderfully. And Harlot's Bay as a whole was fun and I loved the people there.

When I forgot about Johnny I loved it, but then I would remember and just cringe. So yeah. (And obviously I knew that going in, but I love Olivia Dade so there was no way I wasn't going to read it.)

For some reason, I felt like I was missing a lot of context in the beginning of this book. I’ve read 40-Love and the Spoiler Alert series — are any of those books related to this one or in the same bookish universe? The way these characters were introduced on page sounded a lot like a reminder of who they were in a different book, but that could just be me! Anyway, this was a sweet enough romance (ex-fiance’s brother is the love interest and I was very much for the mess!). It wasn’t my favorite from OD but I still had fun — you can expect the usual sex and body positivity in this, but just lots more mess!!!

After her fiancé breaks off their wedding weeks before because of his brother's advice, Athena finds herself moving into the house between both brothers.

I really liked this book. Athena was a character that I connected with. The depression representation was good and I appreciated the conversations about switching jobs. Matthew as a love interest was sweet. I'm glad he wasn't an alpha male. The only negative for me is that book felt a little long at times and was too slow-burn for my personal taste.

This is my first Olivia Dade book, and I think it's landing somewhere around the 4.25 star mark for me, and that means... I liked it, but there were some things I didn't like, and it's not that those things were bad, but distracting? The second half of the book was more of a 5-star read with the feelies than a 4-star read, but it took too long to get there for me... anyways, I'm using too many words to describe this, so here we go:

There were a ton of things I enjoyed:
- It was surprisingly spicy in the best way!
- Plus-sized references were spot on, coming from a plus-sized gal
- Unhinged moments that are apparently kind of notorious for Dade (chickens and monster romance audiobooks with wiggly bits and guppy fins and something else??)
- Adult friendships and small communities are a central theme
- MENTAL HEALTH - Dade does this with tender love and care that we all deserve when we aren't feeling our best
- The FMC standing up for herself is magnificent!
- POTATOES. So many references to potatoes (which are my favorite food so... yay!)
- Matthew's grief for his family and the choices he's made to protect himself from further hurt. I just really empathized for him, and that made me believe the choices he had made in the past were driven by love and a lot by fear of what he'd lost as a child.
- The town of Harlot's Bay served as its own character in the book, and the community was also a huge part of this story, which I loved!

Things that just didn't do it for me:
- The first three chapters were FIFTEEN (!!!!) percent of the book and I was not into it at all (this is the before part, where the necessity for spite comes from)
- Once the main characters become (spoiler alert) neighbors, things really picked up, and I found myself enjoying things a lot more!
- The idea of spite was basically just, told to us over and over again? When you name your book "At First Spite," you should be expected to give readers SPITE. I wanted some true payback. Not some mild payback that the other character tolerated or barely even mentioned on page?
- Just a tad too long at 400 pages. I was ready for the drama and the getting together and the breakup and the reunion. Everything just seemed to take a little too long, so I wasn't as into it as I would've been if the pacing would've been a little quicker!
- This felt like a British rom-com set in the U.S. Some of the language or terms throughout the book felt very British and whenever it happened, that took me out of the story a bit.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager US for providing me an eARC of this book via NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.

There is a reason that Olivia Dade is one of my top three auto-buy/read authors and this new book is exactly why. Like honestly, at this point I will read her grocery list if she ever publishes it. I am NEVER unimpressed with her writing style and the complete control her books have over me.

At First Spite is an incredibly raw and real book with spicy romance, fun banter, and just overall great vibes. Our main characters have depth, experience development and growth, and the themes that they work through over the book are written with such care.

I finished this book in two days, but that's not new for me with Dade's books. I am so excited that this is going to be a series! I cant wait to read more about Harlot's Bay residents.

This was my first read by Olivia Dade. When I would see her books, I was always intrigued but always picked up another read. Big mistake on my part. I really enjoyed Olivia's writing style. The book dealt with some complex issues, one being depression, but was written with care. The idea of living next to your ex fiance's brother was a little over the top, yet fun. I enjoyed Athena and she was very relatable. I might be one of the only fans, but I did like Matthew too. Yes, he told his brother Athena was not marriage material and not responsible, but he's also been helping take care of his somewhat irresponsible, yet charming brother most of his life. I think Matthew saw Athena and Johnny were not a right fit from the start and just communicated it not so kindly. Athena and Matthew get to know eachother for their true selves, which turned out to be they were a better match. I do not want to go any further in their relationship to give any spoilers. In all, it's not the best contemporary romance I've read, but it was a good read. Now I have to go to continue to read more books by Olivia Dade. Thank you to the publisher and Negalley for the opporltunity to read this book.

An emotional story that tackles the weighty issue of depression, in a manner that is respectful while having the light outweigh the dark.

It was very clear early on what Matthew Vine thinks of Athena Greydon, his brother's fiancée. The problem is, he has a shitty way of communicating it.
I get it. He's in a difficult spot given his brother's direct connection.
But he finds a way to be so demeaning, it is hard to recover.
This book is pretty much Matthew working nonstop to recover and make up for his mistake.

So, it goes without saying that Matthew cares for Athena quite a bit. What was surprising to me was how long it took for her to catch on. However, Matthew is forced to become more obvious about his feelings when Athena succumbs to depression. The author did a good job highlighting how minor day to day things like eating and bathing become overwhelming, and how Athena got to this dark place. If you don't fall for Matthew after he steps up to help her during this time, I can't help you, lol. Because he absolutely will steal your heart.

It does seem a bit scandalous for Athena to go from one brother to the next, but I didn't feel it came off that way. I didn't really see her connection to Johnny like I did Matthew, so the switch didn't bother me. More scandalous is the monster porn the characters enjoy with fellow town members. And Matthew's personal version was too funny.

This was my first book from the author (a fave of my co-blogger, Ivy) and it certainly won't be my last. Great characters, great storyline, with a small-town setting that I adored.

📣 she used to be engaged to his brother & now they’re neighbors

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Wowie, I have a lot of thoughts about this one.

What I love about At First Spite by Olivia Dade:

🤍 Body positivity. I love the way Dade describes bodies. I feel like I could maybe say it more eloquently but it comes down to that fact. They’re beautiful & sexy & appreciated etc. & all of that means a lot to me as a reader & a person with a body.

🤍 Sex positivity. Those scenes seem to be lingered on in a very effective way once we get to them. The window! 🔥

🤍 Leads who cry & eventually get in touch with all of their emotions.

🤍 A pining hero.

🤍 A heroine who, by the end, knows her worth. Athena’s thoughts & insecurities feel very relatable & the realizations she comes to are striking. That journey she goes on helped remind me of something too!

🤍 A developing friendship group & sense of community in a new place! We’ve all been there.

With that being said, the conflict in this book gives me some of the dreaded ick. In the prologue, Athena is engaged to Matthew’s brother, Johnny. When the book opens, Athena & Johnny are no longer together & he is on their honeymoon, solo. There isn’t a lot of time between Athena & Johnny & Athena & Matthew & things get unnecessarily messy & in a way that I think weakens the book.

I wish some elements of the plot had been written differently. But At First Spite is a good book with some shining aspects that I think will resonate with many readers.

3 ⭐️. Out 02/13.

CWs: Depression. What I would say is passive suicide ideation. Past death of sibling. Estranged parents.

[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of a gold, purple, burgundy, pink, & green-painted mural.]

I think Olivia Dade is a phenomenal writer with absolutely wonderful representations of plus sized, sex-positive, and neurodivergent characters. I think she handled depression incredibly well in this book, too.

What did not land for me was the proximity living situation, falling for your ex-fiance's brother (who actively broke them up!) and I was completely incredulous that a 39 year old man was as inexperienced in life (all of it, not just the spicy parts!) as Matthew was written to be.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

just loved this book! Olivia Dade is one of those authors I can always count on when it comes to excellent representation, interesting and cute plots, fantastic writing, and just overall really solid stories.
One of my favorite things about this book is that the character is plus size/curvy BUT that is not the main plot of the book. She is simply *existing* in her body just like any other FMC in a romance novel! It is possible to have books with this type of representation without it being the entire plot - and Olivia proves that time and time again.

A little enemies to lovers and forced proximity are some of my personal favorite tropes. You can’t go wrong with small town charm and neighbors who are forced to be around each other, because well they’re neighbors (and he’s the brother to her ex-fiancé?! Sounds like a perfect recipe to me).

This book gets deep when dealing with depression and familial issues and it added an extra layer that as a reader I really appreciated, and quite honestly it made this book the five star read it was for me. Seeing characters find love and friendship over and through hard issues like this just made the book feel even more relatable and honest. It wasn’t all sweet nothings and sparkles - although there was plenty of that too - it just felt incredibly balanced and true.

This was a cute and sweet small town, enemies to lovers romance. It had an accurate depiction of depression and was handled beautifully. It was like an immersion into the declining mental health of the character; gradually, with some signs and foreshadowing, and then fully immerses you around 50% in. The balance between the sweet moments, the clinical depression and the cheeky banter was executed beautifully.

A few critiques I had were with the maturity of the characters and the incredulity of the living situation. I also had an issue with some of the spicy scenes. They were… awkward.

Overall, a good enemies to lovers story that I think you’ll enjoy!

I am a big fan of Olivia Dade's work...so it pains me to have to rate "At First Spite" with only 2 stars. As usual with her novels, Dade's writing style is spot on. She has such a unique voice and her prose flows so well, I often find that when I am reading her books its like I am listening to a friend tell a story. It all feels so natural and reading through her novels feels like a breeze (in the good way that reading feels breezy).

Unfortunately, a lot about Spite fell flat for me. The biggest being the plot itself. After Athena Greydon's fiancé calls of their wedding and goes on their honeymoon by himself, she has no choice but to move into the Spite House, the impractically small house literally attached to her fiancé's, that she bought him as a wedding gift. While trying to get her life on track to prove to her ex-fiancé that she isn't completely lost, she ends up starting a relationship with her next door neighbor Matthew. Matthew just so happens to be her ex-fiancé's older brother... and the person who convinced her fiancé to call off the wedding.

Initially what drew me to this novel (besides it being by Olivia Dade and having a plus size MF) was the idea of this spite house. Living in an extremely small house attached to your ex-fiancés and then falling in love with your neighbor as you get your life back on track, sounds like rom-com plot heaven!! But I think unfortunately it was executed poorly here, mainly because the connection between Athena and Matthew is just icky and truly doesn't make sense! He literally told his brother that you weren't wife material and that you were a mess. You overheard him talking bad about you to his brother at your engagement party and multiple times after that. Why would you ever go out with him, let alone fall in love with him? It doesn't make sense! Also, why would Matthew convince his brother that Athena wasn't wife material and then the moment she is free start having feelings for her? The math ain't mathing here and frankly it made me cringe.

I also had trouble with Athena and Matthew as characters. One of my favorite thing about Dade's characters is that they are complex, fully fleshed out and have strong voices. I didn't feel that way about Athena and Matthew. I feel like they both started in one place, and then throughout the book went against everything their character started out as. Especially Matthew. It didn't make sense to me how someone who was so adamant that this woman wasn't wife material or good for his brother, enough so that he would threaten to cut of his relationship with his brother if he didn't call of the wedding, would then spend the entire book falling in love with her and basically doing everything in his power to make sure that this woman lands back on her feet (including going out of his way to find her jobs, paying several months of her mortgage and finding her a doctor to help treat her depression, all without her knowing it was him doing these things). He started out very arrogant and cocky, but you got a sense that he cares very much for his brother and is looking out for his best interests. But as the book progressed I found that he became extremely insecure, obsessive and needy. Sure he could've been all those things and was just covering with fake confidence, but I felt like the change in character wasn't natural and it felt off. Personally I love how Olivia uses a lot of pop culture or current references in her books, it makes it feel like her characters and stories are actually happening in real time. But I couldn't quite understand why Matthew didn't understand extremely obvious references. I get it not everyone knows but it made him come off extremely naive. I really couldn't connect with either Athena or Matthew because I was questioningly pretty much everything they did or said.

Like I said I am a big fan of Olivia's and I will continue to read her books in the future, but "At First Spite" wasn't for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for giving me an advance copy.

This is the first book that I've read by Olivia Dade. I appreciated the mental health and depression rep in this book. I thought that Athena's depression felt very authentic, and it was handled with care. It wasn't glossed over or sugarcoated- it felt very real. I enjoyed the pranks that she pulled on Matthew- that part of the story was very fun and lighthearted. I think that Athena's character was great and interesting. I think that it can be common for someone to feel like they haven't met their potential or they are letting others down they haven't had some great achievement by a certain each. That was very relatable.

I did not care for Matthew as a character. I appreciated how he helped Athena, but I don't think that he is a nice person. He convinced his brother to breakup with Athena because she wouldn't make a good wife, but then, Matthew is interested in her for himself? It seemed to me like he manipulated his brother so that he could date Athena instead. There was so much miscommunication in this story, and that is a trope that really bothers me. Matthew said mean things about Athena to his brother, and then, he's intrigued by her and wants to be her friend and maybe something more. He just came across as two-faced, where he says mean things behind her back, but to her face, he is sweet and caring.

Another upsetting part of the book was the story about Adrian, It is included in the trigger warnings, and I think that everyone should read the warnings. As a parent, it was very hard to read that part of the book.

Because I didn't like Matthew, I couldn't get interested in the romance part of the story. It felt like a love triangle, and I generally don't like those type of stories. I think that Athena deserved better than Matthew. He continued to disappoint me the more that I read this book. He didn't get a redemption arc from me, and that was really hard to get past.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Publishing for an ARC.

At First Spite is a lovely, heartwarming, and hilarious read. This was my first Olivia Dade book and now I am going back to read her others. The FMC and MMC are relatable and people that you feel like you either are or know in real life. The FMC and MMC are hilarious in different ways and their love blossoms organically. The depictions of depression, anxiety, and grief are treated sensitively and those who have experienced one or multiples will find solace in these characters. As a plus size reader, I appreciate how the author depicts her plus size characters in the book. It is a part of who they are but it never over powers the story or is a central plot line. Instead it is just a part of who the FMC is. This book shows that no matter who you are, or what you might struggling with, you deserve love.