This was such a cute novel! Dade knows how to write fun scenes with zany characters that you feel like you would meet in the real world. I really liked Athena and felt connected to her struggles with not using her education in a way that she saw as meaningful. I thought the look at what depression looks like to different people was astute and helpful. I also liked that Dade focused less on Athena being plus sized in this novel. It made sense in the last trilogy she did to talk about how others viewed the main character's weight, especially when you know they are in the media, etc. But Athena never had that issue (other than hating her shower in a tiny home). It felt real to a lot of fat characters. Dade also made sure that it was often Matthew who hadn't lived his full life due to his own work. He was interesting and fun and had a lot going for him. Overall, it was a fun little romance that was breezy to read.

I will say that the only thing that kept me from really loving it was the whole brothers of it all. I felt like it didn't explain some of the weirdness that would come from dating two brothers. I know that we are going to see Johnny in the future (he has third book written all over him), but I wanted to see more of his relationship with Matthew. We were told a lot more than we were shown, and it made some of the plot beats fall flat. Mix that with sometimes a little too saccharine of dialogue, and it was not a full "love for me." Definitely worth a read though!

I had issues with the couple dynamics on this one. I think the author was trying something different, but I was just not enjoying it. First off, the MMC was scared of his own shadow and the FMC came across a little immature. I did enjoy the mental health discussions. Its good to see those topics touched upon.

I am a huge fan of Dade and this one was a real disappointment for me. I enjoyed the brotherly relationship - that felt like genuine, earned conflict, and I liked the town, which is why I'm giving it three stars instead of fewer. The main couple, though? This man can be 40 and a virgin - he cannot be 40 and a virgin and have never actually seen a movie, ever, and be afraid of chickens and thunderstorms and Halloween decorations, plus the completely ridiculous shirt business. No. He didn't seem like he was competent to be outside without supervision. Meanwhile, the book kept telling us how smart she is, but she doesn't seem smart at all. No. This felt like fanfic in a bad way. I was really surprised to see so many people loving it - this is a real miss from Dade for me.

This book completely confused me. Having read other books by Dade in the past, this felt very different.
First, our immediate introduction to Athena is learning that she agreed to marry her fiance after only knowing him for a few weeks essentially because he claims he will take care of her financially. And this is because she has made some not so great choices in her life that, as a 40 year old adult, she still can't figure out how to deal with. So that was a major turn off for me. Dade tried to make Athena this quirky, curious character and justify her situation by trying to show that Athena is just so overly intelligent and curious that she needs to flit from place to place to maintain her attention span and curiosity, but it just doesn't work. She comes across as spoiled, lazy, entitled, and incredibly immature.
Secondly, Matthew and Athena's relationship made literally no sense. It didn't seem to be based on anything other than him feeling guilty at first. And, yet again, Athena decides to let him take care of her because she, yet again, made a poor choice in purchasing a house she can't afford. Their banter was so awkward, filled with waaaayyy too many pop culture references, very immature on Athena's end.
Thirdly, Matthew is such an unbelievable and cringe character. Are we really supposed to believe that a relatively fit, attractive doctor who's in his later 30s/early 40s has NEVER had a relationship before or ... done things? Yeah right. This just added to the awkwardness and confusion of the entire plot.
Overall, there was no character growth from either person and while I can appreciate trying to represent more mental health issues, like depression, it took such a dark turn so quickly. Instead of it make me more understanding and empathetic to Athena, it just made me more annoyed with her. So I think Dade could have handled and incorporated that in a much better way.
Finally, some last complaints. If I hear/read "Professor Google" one more time...
Why would a 40 year old man not understand some REALLY basic pop culture references? Is he ok? Is he really the one that needed to be checked on this entire book?
Could have done without the super weird book club and making it look librarians are all into super weird genres. Not helping.


this book was at best boring, and at worst an awkward hard to get through story.

I’ve always loved Olivia Dade’s books—especially when it comes to the representation of real people with real problems.

This book didn’t land as well for me, but it’s not because of the representation. Olivia still nailed that. What didn’t completely work for me was the pacing—something felt off from about halfway through all the way til the end.

From a jilted fiancée who gets left a month before the wedding because the husband-to-be’s brother told him to, to the move that results in her living directly next to the sadistic brother himself (hint: he’s not actually sadistic), and the major depressive episode she falls into for nearly half of the book…a lot of this felt incredibly realistic to life gone wrong and the pain and suffering that can follow.

I actually really liked the brother in this story, too—despite how he’s introduced in the beginning. The only part that felt off to me was the pacing throughout the book and the ending. It felt as though we were on a time crunch and had to end it sooner rather than later. It was abrupt and didn’t fall in line with the slow-burn pacing of the rest of the story.

Even still, I will always be an Olivia Dade fan and plan to pick her books up again in the future—especially since mental health and plus size rep are at the heart of each of her stories!

Tropes:
- Plus size FMC
- Mental health rep: depression
- Jilted fiancée
- Ex-fiancé’s brother
- He falls first
- Forced proximity

I always love Olivia Dade for how she writes plus size characters. Between the writing and the covers, you KNOW her heroines are plus size, but it's never something that's dwelled on. So many authors make being plus size the character's entire identity, and it's refreshing to read a "normal" developed character who happens to be in a bigger than average body.

The story and romance were wonderful as well. I've read multiple Olivia Dade books, but this one might be my favorite.

This is romance! Longing! A little bit of obsession!

I loved it, by far my favorite Olivia Dade novel (and I've enjoyed all I've read). The many ways a person can care for you, can love you, through grief (new and old) depression, anxiety, mistakes! The one you love picks you up when you are down and you do the same for them! Fantastic read, I'm so in love with this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is not only entertaining, but keeps you absorbed from start to finish. After Athina‘s engagement ends, she ends up, living in the spite house, which she bought, which happens to be next-door to her ex fiancé‘s brother Matthew. I love seeing the development between Athina and Matthew, because of how they viewed each other was changed drastically as they got to know each other in a deeper level than before. This spoke really has a terrific romance but also, I love how it looks into Athina’s so.ul. I highly recommend this book.

If the taking care of… trope was a book it would be this.

Olivia Dade comes back with a charming, heartfelt and witty romance that will leave you in all your feels. It has become one of my favourite books of the year and my absolute favourite by Olivia. I can't express how much I loved this.

Olivia Dade does it again! A strong first entry in the Harlot's Bay series. Athena and Matthew were such strong characters and mental health challenges were handled so effectively by this author! The only thing that didn't 100% work for me was actually the monster erotica element.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I always enjoy Olivia Dade, but this is my favorite from her yet! When Athena is dumped by her fiance, she is left with a 10 foot wide house in Harlot’s Bay that she bought for a wedding present. She moves in to only be confronted constantly with her ex-fiances brother Matthew - who was the one who convinced him to dump Athena.As she comes up with revenge strategies, she realizes that Matthew is actually much nicer than he seems and attraction follows! This book was hard to read at parts with very serious content warnings - but overall, this book was really sweet, particularly the care that Matthew gives Athena when she’s struggling with depression. Some of those caregiving scenes were so tender and sweet, they’ll stick with me for a long time. Matthew is my new standard for book boyfriends. I had some issues with this book that I won’t bring up here because of spoilers, but overall this book is a solid 5 stars because I laughed, cried, and loved the characters' growth and happy ending. I recommend this book for fans of Olivia Dade, mental health representation, contemporary romance, and great banter.

Olivia Dade strikes again! This book was sweet, funny, and full of heart. Her protagonist reads like a fully fleshed out person and her love interest is adorable and perfect for her. Their conflicts are believable and the plot was a lot of fun, even during the harder parts of the book. Highly recommend!!

I was really looking forward to reading this book but I was a little disappointed. I didn’t love the premise, two brothers and she falls for the wrong one. It felt disjointed to me and i had to make myself finish the book, 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

What a wonderful start to a new series by Olivia Dade! Dade continues to shine and embrace body diversity through her heroines. Dade's writing is sensual, engaging and romantic. Her characters are charming, and dimensional with relatable problems. I also found that Dade took a lot of care while developing this story and her heroine's depression. At First Spite is delicious and emotional. This novel really explores what it means to have a soul mate or someone who truly connects with you and makes you a stronger person. I loved this small town feel. I loved our hero, he is sexy and caring. I loved our heroine who is bold and smart. I loved watching these two grow together as they learn that they might be the perfect partner for the other. Dade imbues this novel with humor and heart even while exploring how depression can effect someone's every day life. I love that this novel was not all about the easy and sexy part of falling in love, I love that we see the hero care for the heroine when she is unable to take care of herself and her space. If you are looking for a romance that shows both the hero and heroine at the highs and lows, and learning how to understand and support each other, than this novel is for you.

I would highly recommend this novel and Olivia Dade. I am excited to watch this series grow and blossom!

What a delightfully sexy, swoony, emotional read. Olivia Dade is such a master of contemporary romance and that continues to be the case here with what might be my new favorite book from her, ever. Too many laugh-out-loud lines to count, and genuinely was waiting for the moment when these two kids finally got together because HOO BOY, it was worth the wait. I’m in love with the new start to this series and I can’t wait for more.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVE LOVE LOVED Olivia Dade’s Spoiler alert series so I was excited to get her latest on @Netgalley.

So I’m not a big fan of the whole ex-fiancé’s brother storyline. ESPECIALLY when he was the one trying to break them up 🤮 but Dade makes it tolerable.

The spice was spicing but otherwise, not my favorite of hers.

I did love the plus size FMC and the mental health representation but that was about it for me.

I wouldn't say this was bad, per se, but there was just something... unsatisfying about the second half of this story. For me, I just didn't like the trajectory of the story after the setup. Nothing was done poorly, and I think the more sensitive topics that were broached here (past loss of a family member, current battles with depression) were handled gracefully-- but it just didn't quite work for me.

Preface: This really hurts! Olivia Dade is one of my auto buy authors. I absolutely love that she includes characters that are plus sized and/or have mental health issues. However, due to recent events in my life, I am struggling with depression and this book triggered me. I don’t normally get triggered from books, so I wasn’t expecting to hit me like it did.

At First Spite follows Athena, Johnny, and Matthew. In the beginning, Athena and Johnny are engaged when he calls off the wedding shortly before the big day…all because his big brother, Matthew, tells him to. Athena then moves to Harlot Bay into the house she bought as a wedding gift for Johnny, but who ends up being her neighbor? Matthew Vine the Third.

I wanted to love this one, but in the end, I was frustrated with the choices that were being made by all of the characters. I don’t think either brother deserved to be with Athena. I almost DNFed this one, but I ended up finishing it out only to be disappointed in Matthew’s choice.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Olivia Dade, Avon, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

First, how cute is the cover?! Second, I really liked this book. I enjoyed and connected with both Athena and Matthew. Athena was a nurturing, caring character. The way she took care of Matthew made me swoon.

The banter was amazing. The spicy was spicing. I laughed more than once while reading. But it is also a rollercoaster of emotions, so strap in and enjoy the ride.

This book really got me in the feels. We have Athena who is engaged to be married to Johnny. She was excited to start their new life together in the small town of Harlot's Bay. The only damper on their plans is Johnny's brother, Matthew, who has vehemently opposed the union. Matthew has basically raised Johnny and is always looking out for him. He doesn't believe the match is a good one and doubles down on this after meeting Athena at their engagement party. After he's successful, with Johnny breaking off the engagement, Athena finds herself living next door to her ex in a 10-foot wide "spite" house. And Matthew on the other side of that.

Athena felt like a fully formed character. She is sassy and resilient but also has real problems and challenges. I enjoyed the contrast between Matthew's gruff exterior and his secretly super-sweet inner character. He can't help but watch over Athena and make sure she is okay. And when Athena is decidedly not okay he steps in as any classic cinnamon roll hero would do. The banter between these two is great. The chemistry is real. The character growth is wonderful.

For content warnings, there is reference to depression and the loss of a sibling. Having been there myself, I found the scenes surrounding depression worked really well and were handled with such care.

Olivia Dade always delivers a great story however this one feels extra special. I loved the small-town feel of the book and the townspeople that come into Athena's life. I'm super excited to have more to read in Harlot's Bay in future novels.