Is anyone surprised I rated this 5 stars? Probably not.

Dade is masterful in her art—a plus-size romance by her never lets me down. She has a skill with writing fat women that are vulnerable and confident. I never enter her books with a fear that I’m going to be triggered (which is of course highly individualized) and she truly writes fat FMCs with an expertise that few authors have achieved. She is truly a paragon of plus-size romance.

This book is no exception. It takes enemies-to-lovers to a new spicy level and I am HERE FOR IT.

If you like:
-small town romance
-forced proximity
-enemies-to-lovers
-ex’s older brother

Then you NEED to pick this book up!

This is a new to me author. I was immediately drawn in by the enemies to lovers and plus size FMC!

Picture this: at your engagement party you overhear (and by that I mean flat out eavesdrop on) your fiancés older brother talking him out of marrying you! One month before the wedding, your fiancé’s brother gets his way… your fiancé leaves you. He takes the honeymoon, and you get his intended wedding present Spite House.

With no job, no fiancé, no belongings… with only your pride, you move right in to Spite House solo. On move in day- you run into non other than your nemesis, your ex-fiancés older brother.
You learn that Spite House lies right between both brothers property lines.

Let the revenge begin!

Athena was so relatable. The Depression representation was so accurate. To the point of I want to give the author a hug… she clearly knows what depression feels like herself.

I absolutely adored the banter between Athena and Matthew. Pranks, Monster Smut nod, Murder Dolls!

Ex’s brother
Enemies to lovers
Plus Size FMC
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
V MMC

** A disclaimer for the Romance Only fans, this is not 1st person POV.

I enjoyed this book. We met Athena and Johnny at their engagement party. Matthew, Johnny's brother, does not approve of the marriage. The first time Matthew and Athena meet, sparks ignite. I could commiserate with Athena in so many ways. Matthew was at first unlikable but he is just messed up like the rest of us. Kudos to the author for writing flawed people well.

I couldn’t finish this one. Seemed to drag on and on. I didn’t find it believable that the main character had endeared herself to the town so quickly. I appreciated the sensitive & realistic depiction of depression , but again, found the hero to be unbelievable in his overly supportive response - you lost me at the bathtub scene. Sorry, I really wanted to love it

What do you do when your fiancé dumps you after you quit your job and bought him the Spite House of his dreams? Athena Greyson moves to into the spite house in Harlot Bay, finds a job and starts rebuilding her life. The problem is, the spite house is very very close to her ex’s brother’s house. The brother, Dr Matthew Vine the f*cking Third, who frequently objected to the engagement and encouraged Johnny to break-up with Athena. The houses are not only very close, the windows face each other, and Athena doesn’t have the budget for curtains. Athena vows to torment him, and he faceplants into love with her.

I enjoyed At First Spite so much. While there are shenanigans and humor, Athena has a significant depressive episode on page, and Matthew has to address the childhood trauma that has driven him to enable Johnny’s self-centered world view. There’s an emotional weight. Athena and Matthew have to learn to love themselves as they are before they can have any kind of healthy relationship. Athena isn’t successful in the way that our society tells us we need to be – professionally. She punishes herself and feels unworthy of love and respect despite being smart, emotionally intelligent, curious and generally competent at whatever job she has at the moment. Her ex-fiancé, by contrast, is professionally successful, a pediatrician, but emotionally immature and thoughtless. Matthew’s growth arc is probably the trickiest. We aren’t truly concerned with Johnny’s emotional growth except as it relates to Matthew’s coddling of Johnny harms people, and that’s where Matthew needs to learn, grow, and repair. It’s a tricky redemption arc.

Matthew helped explode Athena’s life by convincing Johnny to break up with her. Athena explodes Matthew’s life by forcing his to face the consequences of his actions, and then by existing near him. The best parts of Matthew are the ways that he is brave for Athena and extends himself for her. In the culture we live in, most people would say that Matthew is the successful grown-up. Olivia Dade makes it clear that Matthew has a lot of growing up to do before he deserves the bounty that is Athena Greyson.

The fictional Harlot’s Bay, Maryland is lovely and I can’t wait to spend more time there. From the grumpy baker who listens to monster erotica, the bookseller with the emotional support chicken (Roberta Downy Jr.), and Matthew’s long suffering business partner, the community of characters is rich and interesting.

By the way, if you pre-order this book, you get a lovely, not safe for the average bookstore shelf, alternative bookjacket illustrated by Leni Kaufman.

CW: on page depression, on page anxiety, on page self-loathing, neglectful parents in past, death of an infant remembered.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Avon and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

This book had so much good stuff going for it--the careful way Matthew takes care of Athena during her depressive episode, the hilarity of the prank war--but it felt like so much that other parts (Matthew's development, whatever was going on with Johnny, the underuse of the Spite House conceit) got neglected. In the hands of a writer less talented than Dade, it would have made the book unsuccessful; with Dade's skill, it just left me wishing that things had been more fully developed.

This is only the 2nd book by Dade that I've read. While I like that she's attempting to add add some positive body image to her work, and features plus-size ladies, I am really not into some of the verbiage she uses to romantacize fat women. Before anyone gasps and clutches pearls, I *am* a fat woman. I was a size 14 by the time I was ten years old, an 18-20 through most of high school, all the way up to a 24 in college (although if you know anything about the sizing of women's clothing and how they change...that doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot).
ANYWAY.
The two phrases that really squicked me out were: "a bonbon of a woman, gorgeously round and delicious", near the beginning of the book. "charmingly dimpled thighs", near 32% of the book was the other. Bleh.

Athena also goes through dealing with a bout of depression, during which Matthew immediately (who at this point is still more frenemy) starts using pet names (sweetheart and love, specifically IIRC). Also a major ick for me. It felt a bit too familiar given that he was trying to help a woman who had stopped helping herself. The bathtub scene was...a lot and felt off putting to me as well. Then, suddenly, a week after being on meds, she's masturbating for him in a window and ready to go???

So, over all the book wasn't awful. It was even funny at times. Dade is a decent writer, which earns her a couple of stars. Athena and Matthew were rather likable, and I did resonate a bit with Athena. However, she loses stars for not seeming to know the difference between how a University Library and Public Library work, and also the HHB should have been the HSHB (Historical Society of Harlot's Bay). Being Historic Harlot's Bay really irked me for some reason. I also started getting annoyed with the pop culture stuff and Matthew evidently having been living under a rock since he was 8 to play "Dad" to Johnny. Nothing about that whole situation really added up either.

Athena's life is falling apart: the man she was supposed to marry called off the engagement, but Athena had already bought a house (as a wedding gift) and quit her job as a teacher. Unfortunately, this means she has to move into the teeny-tiny Spite House. Even more unfortunately, the house is right next door to her ex-fiancée. But the real disaster is that she finds out the man who convinced Johnny to end the engagement, his brother Matthew Vine the THIRD, lives next-door too.

Athena vows to make his life hell, but that becomes a challenge when she figures out she actually kinda-sorta likes him. Especially since he seems to be working behind the scenes to help her find work.

At Frist Spite was touching, laugh-out-loud funny, and charming. There were a few things that were odd about the plot, but overall, I really enjoyed this one and I'm excited to see more from Harlot's Bay.

DNF at 2/3 despite my love for Olivia Dades Spoiler Alert triology. This felt like a first manuscript, like a bunch of plot points or ideas with nothing to string them together. Let’s talk about my main issues:
- the characters - our two mcs were so flat and boring. The FMC is basically a new age manic pixie dream girl but with meme references being the thing that sets her apart from other girls. The MMC is just… mean? But not. Matthew specifically bothered me because I couldn’t forgive him. I kept waiting for another shoe to drop that made up for his actions, perhaps Johnny cheated on Athena so Matthew made things up to end the engagement? No. Maybe Matthew was in love with her the whole time and said all of that about her to get in the middle? Also no. Those things he said about Athena he truly believed, he stepped on their relationship because he was an unhappy person and we just forgave him?

- the icks - Mainly Matthew promising not to take advantage of her in the bath and then almost immediately doing so by kissing her.

- their relationship - which skipped right over enemies/friends and straight into strangers with crushes on each other. Except the audience doesn’t know why because they’ve really only interacted twice.

I'm a long time fan of Olivia Dade and I enjoyed At First Spite. When Athena ends up living in Harlet's Bay's infamous Spite House nestled between her ex-fiancé and his brother responsible for breaking off their engagement, Athena ends up on a mission to exact her revenge against Matthew for judging her unfairly and upending her life. Matthew's spent almost his entire life caring for his little brother, so he sees it as his responsibility to encourage his brother to call of his unwise engagement to Athena. However, it doesn't take Matthew long to see that there's much more to Athena, and he makes it his mission to help her find her footing and a community in Harlet's Bay. Written with Dade's usual humor, charm, and nods to geekdom, this book solidifies her place as one of my instabuy authors. However, there are also themes of depression and loss, though respectfully written, that some readers may need to approach with caution.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It is very rare that I give a five star review, but At First Spite truly deserves all of those stars. I have read (and enjoyed) all of Olivia Dade's books but this one was different, more relatable, more magical. The reader truly bonds with Athena and roots for her from the very start. It may be listed as a rom-com but there is a depth to this book that you don't find in most that live in that category. On the surface it was a wonderful romance between Athena and Matthew, but at it's core it's a book about loving yourself and healing.

At First Spite was a deeply emotional and superbly lovely romance. I hadn't known what a spite house was before reading this book, and I loved the way this skinny little eff-you house took on a supporting role in Athena and Matthew's story. Olivia Dade is a master of combining laughs, feels, and steam, and I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Definitely use care if depictions of depression are difficult for you, but Dade handled this with the utmost care. Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Tropes: Fiancé’s brother, miscommunication. Forced proximity. Grumpy sunshine.

Athena is the woman with many dreams but who can’t seem to ever get anything right.

Matthew is the successful man who has spent his life never putting himself first.

So of course since this is a Dade book we are going to watch them fall in love.

I also must add that the term “arachnorgasm” should become a household term. As the resident Karl of my neighborhood.

I must mention some things for the sake of sharing them with the world. Inside this book can be found:

Mentions of gargoyle schlong
Bookish clubs
Emotional support chickens
And “Sure Jan”

At first, I really was debating if I enjoyed this book. It was the first Dade story for me that looked like a flop, but when I got past the oddball meme moments the whole story as a whole was definetely worth the read.

Reading back-to-back cutie little romcoms has taken me out at the KNEES. If anyone wants to get rich quick, invest in tissues and I’ll fund your future.

I will admit, I was hesitant about this one because the idea of being involved with siblings is an absolute no to me, like gag-worthy. HOWEVER. I kept seeing cute snippets and decided to give it a go, and I’m so glad I did. Matthew is so genuine and loving and selfless (to a fault) and Athena is just what he needs, just as he is perfectly matched for her.

The absolute raw depths of a depressive episode being met with tenderness and compassion and earnestness made me weepy. Watching Athena’s slow ascent from the hole she’d fallen into was both realistic and heartwarming. Matthew’s being the voice in her head was ✨chefs kiss✨

There’s a line from Matthew about her not needing perfection or infallibility from him, and I think that’s so important. We do not need our partners to be flawless, because we are not flawless. But we do need them to be real with us, even if that realness is “you can’t live like this, please let me help”.

This was so much more heartwarming than I expected, especially given the ✨ahem✨ literature choices of all parties and the siblings thing. Johnny was notably absent for a good chunk of the book, which made it less icky.

Also, “the universe [can] get bent” is my new motto.

Short Synopsis: After getting dumped by her fiancé, Athena never expects to fall for his brother.

Thoughts: Despite this book being filled with a lot of heart, steam and humor, I struggled to get through it. I think it was a mix between the writing style and how the relationship started with her ex’s brother. I did appreciate the author’s realistic portrayal of depression and how she was able to weave in this sensitive topic while still keeping the story lighthearted. I also enjoyed reading about a plus size main character where the focus was not on her body image but just described in a way so readers can paint an image as they read. Still, this was not my favorite.

Read if you like:
-he falls first
-ex’s brother
-neighbors
-hate to love
-opposites attract
-plus size heroine
-depression rep

Athena is engaged to a younger man, Dr. Johnny Vine, a pediatrician who works with his older brother, Matthew, a fellow pediatrician after a whirlwind romance.

She buys a spite house for Johnny as a wedding present sandwiched between his house and his brother's houses only for their engagement to go pear shaped and she ends up moving into the spite house alone after the breakup since she quit her job with the intention of moving to Harlot's Bay and being with Johnny. He takes their honeymoon trip solo, so she is left with his older brother, Matthew has her neighbor.

I don't want to give away too much, but I will say that AT FIRST SPITE address grief and clinical depression in the most sensitive and caring way possible.

This romance has vaulted its way into my heart and it fixed something in my soul that I didn't know was broken. I related to Athena on so many levels. Olivia Dade is truly masterful in writing characters who feel like real people with real emotions.

Olivia Dade is the queen of plus sized romance, and the amount of authenticity and emotion she pours in is amazing. I laughed, i cried, I am so totally thrilled to have read this book. All romance readers should pick this up!

Review in one long sentence: I literally laughed out loud more than once, giggled a number of times, my jaw dropped while reading at least one time, and I absolutely fell in love with both the main characters while simaltaneously wanting to visit the location.

This is EASILY Olivia Dade's best book. It is a touching story about two people who feel obligated for different reasons in life. It touches on depression and trauma and is just a wonderful story about love and getting what you deserve. Dade is one of my favorite authors and she never disappoints. I can't wait to read more from this new series!

This is both one of the most emotional rollercoaster of a book I have read in a while, AS WELL AS one of the more emotionally balanced books (highs AND lows), which was really interesting and refreshing to see in a contemporary romance! At First Spite ALSO had some of the most butterfly inducing MMC actions EVER! I mean Olivia Dade understands the female gaze, Matthew (the MMC) CLEANS Athena's (the FMC) glasses before asking her on a BOOKSTORE date, I mean COME ON, what an MMC! 💖
Considering this book is an enemies to lovers, love triangle (brothers...just like TSITP or TVD👀🤩), MMC takes care of FMC when she's depressed, and more! It has quite a bit of depth for a contemporary romance and it was so refreshing to read a book with some more realistic characters that are struggling not only with outside factors but also some internal ones. BUT there was also a lot of humor in this book! There were times when I was actually laughing out loud!
Also, as a plus size reader, I LOVED how the author described Athena as having thick thighs, dimpled thighs, luscious curves, etc. and not some of the more stereotypical attributes which kind of healed a little part of my heart.😭 ALSO, the fact that Athena says in the book that she's never been worried about her body and when she gets depressed that's not something she harps on! It's also so refreshing to read!
I cannot wait to see what the next book in the Harlot's Bay series and more books by Olivia Dade! Thank you so much to Avon for an e-ARC and the opportunity to review this book early!