At First Spite
Olivia Dade
Feb.13,2024
Avon
#1 Harlot’s Bay
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
* Contemporary Romance
Delightfully sexy rom-com about a woman who buys the towns famous Spite House , only to realize the infuriating man she can’t stand lives next door.
Great book! The characters are charming,
4 stars

Olivia Dade has done it again! I always enjoy reading her books and this one was no exception. I think she always does a great job of representing curvy and plus size women, and I quite enjoyed how she explored the topic of depression and gave readers a look into someone who is battling depression while showing that it's there's no immediate fix. I thought Matthew was the most adorable sweet baby angel and I loved him so much. Johnny sucks, and he's redeemed a little at the end which is nice. Mainly it's nice because I want Matthew to be happy. I really ended up caring about these characters and their relationships, and I loved hearing about the goings on in Harlot's Bay. I look forward to reading the other books that will take place there, a lot of the characters piqued my interest and I'd love to know more about them. Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC!

This arc took me longer than usual to finish, and I think it’s because the content is heavy. I was warned with trigger warnings at the beginning, but I didn’t realize how heavy it truly was. This is less of a romance and more of a journey that two people go on to heal and discover themselves before getting together.

I loved the side characters, I loved the depression storyline and seeing the dark side people struggle with. I love someone with depression and while I haven’t experienced it personally, I show up like Matthew shows up so seeing Athena’s struggles was something I could heavily relate to and made me love her all the more.

My two issues that lowered this from a 5 star read to 4 was the Matthew Virgin reveal, because it felt out of place. And how long the book was. Parts of the story dragged because of the length and heavy storyline.

All in all, good read. Dade is an automatic read for me and will continue to be. Not my favorite of hers but still good!

Absolutely loved this book, if you have enjoyed any of Olivia's past books I wholeheartedly recommend At First Spite. It is so much more than a beautiful love story. It also covers some sensitive topics in a way that felt so authentic and real. This is definitely one of the best books I have read this year and I can't wait to read whoever's love story comes next.

Ms. Dade does it again! Deep characters, true-to-life struggles - all woven together in tight, vivid prose. A wonderful read! Looking forward to the next tome in the the Harlot's Bay series.

This is definitely going on my list of favorite books this year.
The depression rep in this was heartbreakingly accurate, as someone who is manic depressive- thank you.

Athena and Matthew's love story is sweet, funny, charming and just not long enough.

Athena, in her late 30s, has never quite settled on her path in life. With multiple graduate degrees and a string of short employment stints, she falls for and plans to marry handsome and charming pediatrician Johnny Vine. That is, till Johnny's older brother, Matthew, persuades him otherwise. While Johnny jets off on Athena's dream honeymoon, on Matthew's dime, Athena moves to Harlot's Bay and into the spite house that shares a wall with Johnny's house and, unexpectedly, an alley with Matthew's. Understandably furious, Athena immediately goes on the offensive with Matthew, but he's not quite the man she thought he was, and vice versa.

Sparkling with Olivia Dade's signature wit, this is a surprisingly funny novel for one with such heavy themes (snipped to avoid spoilers) and relationship angst. Those felt a little bit incongruous with the rom-com set-up, and I felt like the (heavy issues, snipped to avoid spoilers) were dealt with a bit too neatly, but I felt like the ending was earned.

Extra points for a hilarious cast of local weirdos, lots of librarians, and the fact that monster-f*cking erotica was a major plot point. Oh, and healthy diversity, and a generously proportioned heroine whose body is not an issue for her or for anyone else (and a hero who loves her curves without fetishizing them).

I adore this book! I love so much about it, but particularly the deep emotional pain both characters have to overcome to get to their ending and find a healthy place together.
I'm a sucker for people with emotional problems slash mental health issues getting help and finding love, and that's exactly what this book is about. Athena hits rock bottom after her fiance Johnny leaves her right before the wedding, and that wound opens up all of her other issues with failure and burnout. She is the daughter of two high achieving doctors, and she feels that her degrees and various jobs aren't good enough, especially given the resources her parents have given her.
Matthew feels a lot of guilt over disrupting Athena's life when he stopped her from marrying his brother- so he tries to help her where he can. It was never about what kind of wife Athena would be, but Johnny's lack of forethought and responsibility would doom the marriage, leaving everything for his big brother to handle.
I love the forced proximity, it's one of my favorite tropes, plus I love silly stuff in old towns, and Halot's Bay certainly qualifies! I love Athena's emotional growth from feelings of total worthlessness to knowing her own value and standing up for herself. Matthew has just as much growth, he needs to move past the toxic family dynamic he grew into, and repair his relationship with his brother and himself. He carries a lot of trauma, and moving on is very challenging for him, but he needs to do it. Matthew has never had anything of his own, really, which is spelled out in his sexual inexperience.
I loved this book, though it is not light reading! I do think it's Olivia's best yet, and I hope for more books set in the Bay!

This book was everything I needed. The romance, the community, the humor–it's the whole package. Dade has become a must-read author for me and At First Spite might be my favorite book so far.

This is the first in a new series from Dade, and I am honestly so excited for book two! (Not going to lie, one of the best things about the book was the the FMC was not a spankin' new adult who hasn't lived at all.) Athena and Matthew are genuinely sweet, funny, and warm and their relationship felt authentic. I laughed a lot more than I expected, too. Highly recommend!

A wonderful story with characters that tug at your heartstrings the whole time. Watching Matthew and Athena grow was a pleasure. I stayed up way too late reading as I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

There was a lot about this book that was super weird. I’m not going to sugarcoat that. There’s a plot point with monster erotica (?) that persists throughout the book and I have no idea why that made the cut. I also don’t love when people date relatives of their exes, though I guess that’s more of a personal hang up. The monster thing though- super out of nowhere, and definitely not for me. Regardless, there are some redeeming qualities to the book- I did get drawn in by Matthew as a character, and I appreciated his difficulties with his brother. I also liked the representation of depression/mental health issues and how that plays out in relationships. But what I will remember most is…. probably the monster stuff, and not in a good way. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

I wanted to read this as soon as I saw the beautiful plus sized women on the cover! And the book itself was very enjoyable. This was so cute and fun and Olivia Dade knows how to write very lovable characters.

First up, serious content warnings: there is a lengthy on-page depiction of clinical depression, and it is deeply painful to read if you have experienced anything like it yourself. Give yourself permission to put the book down and do something else until you're ready to continue. The book also deals with grief and an off-page (in the past) accidental child death.

That said, I felt like the depressive episode was written as Dade's love letter to anyone who has ever endured such episodes, either from the inside or from helping someone through them. Her words really hit home as a reminder of why we need to reach out, to ask for help, even when depression tells us that no one cares.

As for the romance, I always have a bit of difficulty with the premise that one main character is in love with/engaged to their partner, that partner's sibling breaks up the couple, then that sibling turns out to be in love with the first main character, and all turns out happily ever after. It's just so messy and really can screw up multiple relationships. But here, though Matthew handled that situation really badly, he proved to be a better, softer person than I had expected, and the eventual resolution worked out on multiple levels.

Character wise, Athena was funny and quirky in a way that delighted me, and her self-doubt felt very realistic as well. Matthew definitely appears frustratingly judgmental, but the more we see him on page and learn about his background, his serious, buttoned-up image looks a lot more like someone given responsibility at way too young an age and unable to feel at ease with many people as a result. Did he need a wake-up call about his excessive caretaking nature? Yes. Did he use that caretaking ability to shower Athena with the tenderness she deserved? Also yes.

These two deeply imperfect characters had a deeply imperfect romance, but I loved it anyway. (And I would super thrilled if a future Harlot's Bay novel pairs Karl with Sadie Brazen, author of the monster erotic romances he plays at full volume at the bakery.) 4 stars.

Thank you, Avon/HarperVoyager and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: severe depressive episode (on page), anxiety, death of a child/sibling (past, recounted on page), parental abandonment (past)

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-forced proximity/neighbors
-my ex's brother
-spite house
-he falls first and hard
-forbidden relationship elements
-depression rep
-fat rep
-small town romance
-a love of monster erotica
-opposites attract

Some books just hit home when you read them and you can just tell that they are the book of someone's heart, that they ripped open a vein and just poured it out on the page. I don't even know how to review this book. This is a love letter to everyone who feels like they should have it together, who is the caretaker in their family to their detriment, to anyone who just struggles to rely on someone else. Books rarely make me cry, but this one the tears were flowing.

This had all of Olivia Dade's heart and wit, but this deals with some truly serious topics so please read with care. Athena is sparkly , chaotic, and stuck moving into a house she bought for her ex, smack in between him and his brother. But as she tries to find her place in her new hometown she falls into a deep depressive episode. Matthew has always taken care of his brother, his friends, his town, to the detriment of his own life. I adored how in helping and falling in love with Athena he also learned how to take care of himself and ask for what he needs. He was a soft, tender man, who almost read neurodiverse to me. But he adored Athena and how much eh cared for her just touched me so much.

This is a complicated and beautiful book.

Steam: 3.5

This was not my favorite by Olivia Dade. I’m not sure why. This was much more a book about personal growth for each of the characters separately than a romance. All three main characters had some heavy stuff to work through, and while it was interesting, the romance seemed tacked on. This might have been a better story if the romance wasn’t there at all.

We have a plus size & spunky Athena Greydon, lover of absolutely everything who wants to experience everything she can & has never held a job for more than 4 years. Her latest being teaching which caused her to experience such burn out that she's desperate for a time out. So, when the handsome small town pediatrician of Harlot's Bay, Johnny, catches her up in a whirlwind romance & proposes, she gladly accepts. Johnny promises to give her an adventure in his small spirited town and a much needed rest after a difficult few years in education.

The only problem? Johnny's older brother & surrogate father, Matthew, doesn't like Athena's "flaky" history and makes it known, even after spending a perfect meet cute moment with her at her own engagement party before realizing who she is. So, when Matthew is ultimately successful in convincing Johnny to break off the engagement she does what any sensible woman whose plans have burned to the ground would do- moves next door to her ex.

What I Loved

Who wouldn't love that plot? Plus this is Olivia Dade we're talking about here and I absolutely LOVE her books. Like always, her plus size characters give great fat joy rep in the story, with the FMC's body being so casually described throughout the book that it's effortless and gives her readers the rep they crave without the fatphobia side plot that some books do (and there's absolutely room for books about fat struggles, but fat joy is where my heart is).

The humor and wit in the story is spot on what I expected with an Olivia Dade book. She's proven once again she writes geeks and nerds well. In this book we got to see a more academic and curious minded nerd with Athena lovingly referring to her nightly Google habits as "consulting Professor Google" as she writes down things she's curious about all day and spends her evenings winding down and learning new things.

The side characters!! If Karl the baker who listens unapologetically to monster romance audio books at LOUD volumes isn't the MC of her next book in this series then I will revolt. Everything about the town of Harlot Bay is like Gilmore Girls if we had more Kirks than Lorelais and I was HERE for it. :)


Things I Struggled With

Athena's character goes through quite a struggle with depression in the story and it's explicitly on the page for a good chunk of the story. Olivia Dade gave very comprehensive trigger warnings and I appreciated this but I did struggle quite a bit with how heavy this content was in a story I was expecting to be a little more comedic given the blurb of the book. I definitely had to be a lot more careful with myself due to the content about depression since a lot of her reasons for her depressive state were ones I struggled with myself when I was battling depression. So again, this was on me as a reader to just be a little more careful.

Final Thoughts

Is this book one I would recommend? Whole-heartedly.
Will I be reading the next book in this series? 100% ESPECIALLY IF IT'S KARL!
Do I think paying attention to the Trigger & Content warnings of this book is especially important? YES. There's also child death and it was jarring as a parent. While it was not explicitly "on the page", a character tells the story through their own memories and it was a little too detailed for my reader tastes. It hit way too close to home.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Avon books for the chance to read yet another amazing book by Olivia Dade.

I loved it!! This is my first Olivia Dade book and I'll definitely be checking out more.

I loved Athena. She was so relatable! The monster erotica convos were hilarious. The spice was just right!


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

A First Spite was everything one can expect a novel from Olivia Dade to be; full of romance, quirky pop culture, and, in this story, completely emotional.

Vivid and fun set in yet another fictional small town I wish I could visit. Even while frustrated with the close family relationship drama which felt distant to the main plot, I found myself rooting for the characters to find their own HEA, whatever that may be. There was a lot of self reflection, whether it be through their relationships or own mental health. The repersentation of depression was real and presented in a way that was relatable and heartwrenching, full of emotional grit and grace.

I'm excited to see what comes next for Harlot Bay.

"At First Spite" by Olivia Dade is a delightful contemporary romance that combines humor, redemption, and the power of second chances in a unique setting.

When Athena Greydon's engagement ends, she's left with a Spite House she bought for her ex-fiancé. The catch? It's only ten feet wide, and her ex's home is next door, while Dr. Matthew Vine the Third lives on the other side. What ensues is a hilarious battle of petty payback, including playing erotic audiobooks at top volume with open windows.

Dade's witty writing keeps the story engaging, with snappy dialogue and relatable characters. What sets this book apart is the depth of character development. Matthew's transformation from a judgy jerk to a caring friend to Athena is beautifully done. The slow-burn romance is filled with chemistry and heartwarming moments.

"At First Spite" is a testament to Dade's ability to create memorable characters and a heartwarming story. It's a book that will make you laugh, swoon, and believe in love's power, even when it's born out of spite. Olivia Dade delivers a winner with this entertaining read. Don't miss it!