Love at First Fight

This book follows the story of Bridie and Ben who have been friends since school and have spent the last 10 years bickering and claiming to hate each other. However Bridie's best friend Hattie is dating Ben's brother Cal and they believe there is more to the relationship. We then see how the matchmaking goes and what happens to both Bridie and Ben and Hattie and Cal. A real feel good romance which I thoroughly enjoyed. Will definitely read more by this author. Tha ks to netgally for this early copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very cute modern update on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. We have the witty dialogue between the modern analog to Benedick and Beatrice. In this book they are Bridie and Ben and their snarky conversations are worthy successors to Shakespeare’s verbal battles. There is the secondary romance between Bridie’s best friend, Hattie and Ben’s younger brother, Cal.

Once I realized that I was reading a remake of Shakespeare’s play, I basically knew what was going to happen and was intrigued to find how Baker would craft her take on the story. She did a great job and I really liked how she introduced Ben’s growth as he was forced to realize what Bridie and others thought of him.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

OMG SUCH A SWEET READ. I LOVED IT!!

This book is super sweet and I totally loved the main characters!! I kind of made me remember of old school rom com movies.
The only thing I have a little of trouble to get into it was the writing style but overall is an amazing story!

I wasn’t too sure how much I’d enjoy this one, even though the premise sounded fun, but I am so glad I decided to give it a try; this was so much fun! I definitely had LOL moments and I couldn’t stop reading it; I had to rush to the end to see what happened. The love hate trope was done very well and the meddlers were hilarious. There was just enough roadblocks to keep it interesting, but fixed speedily enough to not get annoyed. And then, plot twist problem! Highly recommended!

It is no secret that I love enemies to lovers books and this is one that I read in under 24 hours. It would have been one sitting, if I hadn’t slept in the middle of it! It isn’t full enemies to lovers, as Ben was not aware they were enemies, but I still enjoyed it regardless. This is a lighthearted romcom book that was very enjoyable.

Bridie was a funny character who has never really had a successful date, so she has a last ditch effort and does twenty dates in twenty dates to either find the one, or prove to herself that love doesn’t really exist. Hattie, her best friend, and roommate, is dating one of her old friends Cal, brother to her nemesis, Ben Kemp. Bridie blames Ben for causing her love life to be almost non-existent after he stood her up after their leaver’s prom. Once Hattie and Cal get engaged, Bridie and Ben have to spend more time alone together planning their joint hen and stag do, as they are both the maid of honour and best man. This of course causes a lot of tension and banter between the two characters, which I adored.

‘There’s no one in the world for me but you. You have to believe that.’

This book was interesting because it was told mainly from the perspective of Bridie and Ben, but Hattie and Cal had their own perspectives, and their own story. I was more invested in Bridie and Ben’s story as Hattie and Cal’s gave me a lot of stress towards the end. There was a lot of scheming from the characters in this book, to encourage Bridie and Ben to realise they actually loved each other, and didn’t hate each other, and I thought the way they went about it was clever and also quite fun. I loved the dynamic between the characters and the way Bridie and Ben’s relationship developed.

Love at First Fight was the perfect binge-read romcom for Summer. I recommend it if you want something lighthearted and addictive!

Great lighthearted summer read! Cute and fun! I loved the characters and the romance was beautiful to see develop.

What a fun book!

I’m a sucker for a reformed bad boy, and this is exactly what you’ll get when the town playboy, Ben, realizes his feelings for the girl he let go over a decade ago.

There was laughter, friendship, and several tender moments. Suspense even came into play when the secondary characters ended up in a quandary of their own. I’m not used to friends of the main characters having their own chunk of a story like this, but it really worked here and was quite enjoyable!

If you are looking for a light, fun read that’s hard to put down, this is for you.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love at First Fight by Mary Jayne Barker a fantastic five-star read. This is funny, and sweet and will make you fall in love with Bridie and Ben as the slowly realise there is such a fine line between love and hate. Bridie, Bridie, Bridie, me think the lady doth protest too much, but in her heart of hearts I can see why she would. It’s a difficult and challenging age for anyone, I would probably be much ruder to Ben!! This is a great story and the way the author weaves the story by the main players giving us their side just plays so well. It did have a couple of minor wobbles, but I was able to see past them into the overall story, and what a story it was. I adore this author and can’t wait to see what they will come up with next.

A fabulous fun filled story that was amusing and interesting as we watched the Bridie and Ben clash with each other as they are roped in as chief bridesmaid and best man for their best friend and brothers wedding.
I loved the set ups and crossed wires moments.
Great situation and well written.
Just my cup of tea ☕️

I actually really loved this book. It may be because I absolutely LOVE Much Ado About Nothing (it's my favorite Shakespeare play) and am slightly biased by that alone. Honestly, I really loved the modern twist to the play. Even with the switching up of gender rolls and modern setting, it still basically stayed true to the play. While I knew what roughly was going to happen in terms of the plot, the thing I loved the most about this was the banter and the dialogue between the characters. I wanted to be there to hear the witty barbs between Bridie and Ben. I loved how sweet Hattie was, if a bit more insecure that I would imagine Hero to be in the original play.

All in all, if you love British wordplay and Much Ado About Nothing, you will love this book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to give an honest review of this book!

Bridie Morgan is giving up on love! She has challenged herself to twenty dates in twenty days and if that doesn’t work she is out of the game forever. But fate is throwing a spanner in the works in the form of her arch nemesis Ben Kemp - the boy she was in love with during high school. The one who stood her up at their leavers prom. Now they are in the same wedding party and it seems as though their friends are trying to make this a love match.

I always love Mary Jayne Baker novels. This was so good!

Mary Jayne Baker take a bow! This is definitely going to be high on the list of favourites for this year!

This is a book that has made me laugh out, cry a whole lot and fall in love with the characters that have filled the pages. As always, this is a book that I have devoured in just one sitting and there was no way I was going to be able to sleep without finishing this one.

I absolutely love the characters in this one. Ben is my second favourite of Mary Jayne’s male characters and has definitely been competition for the gorgeous Simon. I love Bridie, she is feisty and witty which makes the relationship with Ben quite intense.

The cover of this is absolutely stunning and as with all of this authors books I knew that I was going to devour this book. There is literally nothing negative about this book. It has been the perfect read and I have loved every moment- even the moments of tears streaming down my cheeks have been perfect.

This is without a doubt a book worthy of all the stars. All Hail Mary Jayne Baker- queen of romance and one of the few authors that can almost read my mind and create the perfect man. This is definitely a book I recommend.

I recieved an ARC through netgalley.

This book was so cute. I was a bit worried because they got together fairly early in the book but it was done so well. My favorite part was at the end when he just slipped the ring on her finger.

I loved this story!!!! If you love rom coms, and modern day retelling of Shakespeare takes, you'll love this book too. This is a modern day retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, and is very well done. The characters are realistic and you can believe that what happens with them could actually happen, it's such excellent writing. I'm hoping the author will rewrite other Shakespeare stories as I'd love to read more like this

Bridie has just about sworn off men. She's on her last few dates of her "20 Dates in 20 Days" experiment, and if they don't turn out well, then she's done with men. Her best friend Hattie is about to marry her other good friend Cal. Bridie's convinced to be the Maid of Honor, which she didn't want to do only because she hates weddings, but she doesn't want to let her bestie down. However, she's being forced to plan the prewedding party with the one person whom she absolutely loathes, Cal's brother Ben.

Ben has been away for a year. He returns home and gladly takes up the mantle of Best Man. How he loves to spar with Bridie. They've been at each other for over a decade. What neither of them know is that one broke the other's heart back in sixth form. There's so much tension between the two and the only way they express it is through verbal sparring. Hattie and Cal know better...

What unfolds is scheme after scheme to bring the two sparring partners together on a different level. Many antics ensue, and unsuspectingly, another crisis emerges that will require unlikely partners to come as one to solve.

Mary Jayne Baker writes a delightful romantic tale. Loads of laughs are abound. The frustrated tension between Ben and Bridie is delivered with just the right amount of spice. The reader is rooting for them to realize just what they have is a perfect union. I really liked the twist thrown in that sees two unlikely heroes working together to bring the two perfect lovebirds together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC. The opinions in this review are my own.

I have been on a RomCom kick here lately and I'm not complaining! I love an enemies to lovers trope with some sarcastic banter, and Love At First Sight by Mary Jayne Baker filled that ticket!

Oh Bridie, Bridie, Bridie.....(here's a little secret....I did get her name jumbled with Birdie instead of Bridie multiple times throughout the book) can't get over a high school crush that stood her up at dance. Not only did Ben Kemp stand her up, but she asked him to be her "first time" and he stood her up! She was Devvvvasttttated (I drew that out in my southern drawl). So all this pent up anger is the fuel to this book!

The witty, sarcastic banter between Bridie and Ben had me rolling at times!

I LOVED this book! If you love an enemies to lovers storyline, then put Love At First Fight on your list! Available for purchase 8/4/2021!

Thank you to @netgalley and @ariafiction for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this romcom. First off, the story line was perfect. I love a good exes to lovers story. I loved the chemistry between all of the characters and that there was more than one love story in the book. I also really enjoyed the cover of this book, it was perfect for the story! Overall, this was the perfect frenemies to lovers romcom and I really enjoyed it.