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bustabluth's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment and Child death
kaitrates's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Y'all it BREAKS my heart to rate this as such. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and Olivia is one of my favourite authors. Alas, this one didn't work for me. ðŸ˜
I seem to be in the minority of this opinion, at least amongst my circles. Which makes me happy because, again, I really wanted to love this one!
Don't get me wrong: there's a lot of good here! There's fantastic depression rep, fun hijinks involving monster erotica and murder dolls, among other things, delicious sex scenes (including an absolutely obscene-in-the-best-way number of times he goes down on here), and great family, both found and otherwise. I'm high key jealous of Athena's family.
What really hindered my experience is the fact that I didn't buy that these two would become so close so quickly. There were so many scenes I loved...but couldn't believe (e.g. the bathtub scene was so beautiful but the ease with which she let him in surprised me). To go from one extreme (hate) to another (love) so quickly...it didn't work for me. As another example, I was shocked when they exchanged ILUs...and not in a good way. It didn't feel earned.
I also felt Athena and Matthew's characterisations were inconsistent. For example, the speed with which she came out of her depressive spiral. It felt more like her personality completely changed (valid and so real) in a blink (where I struggled)
Lastly, I think I wanted this to either be messier (e.g. Athena use Matthew to get back at Johnny but they fall in love...i'm talking PEAK mess) OR ditch the messiness of Matthew and Johnny being siblings.
I will absoluely keep reading Dade's works. I think about so many of her books (Ship Wrecked, 40-Love) on a regular basis. But this one won't stay in the rotation, sadly.
I seem to be in the minority of this opinion, at least amongst my circles. Which makes me happy because, again, I really wanted to love this one!
Don't get me wrong: there's a lot of good here! There's fantastic depression rep, fun hijinks involving monster erotica and murder dolls, among other things, delicious sex scenes (including an absolutely obscene-in-the-best-way number of times he goes down on here), and great family, both found and otherwise. I'm high key jealous of Athena's family.
What really hindered my experience is the fact that I didn't buy that these two would become so close so quickly. There were so many scenes I loved...but couldn't believe (e.g. the bathtub scene was so beautiful but the ease with which she let him in surprised me). To go from one extreme (hate) to another (love) so quickly...it didn't work for me. As another example, I was shocked when they exchanged ILUs...and not in a good way. It didn't feel earned.
I also felt Athena and Matthew's characterisations were inconsistent. For example, the speed with which she came out of her depressive spiral. It felt more like her personality completely changed (valid and so real) in a blink (where I struggled)
Lastly, I think I wanted this to either be messier (e.g. Athena use Matthew to get back at Johnny but they fall in love...i'm talking PEAK mess) OR ditch the messiness of Matthew and Johnny being siblings.
I will absoluely keep reading Dade's works. I think about so many of her books (Ship Wrecked, 40-Love) on a regular basis. But this one won't stay in the rotation, sadly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Child death, Abandonment, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
sydapel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I always hold Olivia Dade to a high standard, and my hype for this book was pretty huge (even though I don't hear ANYONE talking about it, which is a true travesty). Her books always strike this really excellent balance of deeply emotional and slightly ridiculous, which I really love. There's just enough silly-bordering-on-absurd plot points in this book to break up the difficult things Athena goes through in this book. I did also love Matthew as a character really exploring his boundaries to where he gives care and support. I think I loved him a little too much to really root for him and Athena to be together, which is my slightly self serving critique. Dying to know who the next book will be about!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Child death
mandaraffe's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Child death, and Grief
Minor: Bullying and Emotional abuse
auteaandtales's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is, somehow, my first book by Olivia Dade and I don’t know how I managed that, but I absolutely loved this. It had chemistry, it had humour, it had both lovable main characters AND side characters, the whole package really!
The depression representation was unexpected but welcome. I thought it was super accurate, especially things like punishing herself as ‘penance’ and having unkind thoughts that are really hard to tell are unkind at the time and feel like honesty that people around you aren’t giving you. The love interest handled this so well, he was so lovely and soft and sweet. I’m not into men, but if I was, I’d want a Matthew (who does remind me a lot of my own partner, though).
There were also big things mentioned that were treated like they were no big deal, and I really appreciated that. For example, Athena saying that she doesn’t want children and Matthew not losing his virginity until his thirties. When these things are brought up, there’s normally a lot of discussion on it/it’s made into a theme of the book and, although I don’t have an issue with that and appreciate that as well, I loved that it was just there. There was also zero fatphobia towards Athena, that I could see, which I really loved too.
I can’t wait to read more from this author
Thank you, Netgalley and publishes, for the eArc!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Minor: Police brutality
kbriney's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book gave me all of the feels (even more than Dade's book that's actually called "All the Feels"). I laughed out loud, I cried, I got hot under the collar, and generally experienced a whole range of emotions but in the best way possible.
The book follows Athena as she gets dumped by her fiancé Johnny one month before their wedding under his older brother Matthew's encouragement. That's awkward enough but the bigger problem is that Athena bought the "spite house" (a 10-foot wide, 4-story embodiment of "f--- you, I'm going to block all of your sunlight even though it makes for a ridiculously small house") that shares a wall with Johnny's house as a wedding gift for her (now) ex-fiancé and has nowhere else to live. And if that's not bad enough, most of the spite house's windows face the row house across the 4-foot alley that belongs to... Johnny's older brother Matthew. She's in a Vine brother sandwich and decides to be the embodiment of her house's moniker.
One of my favorite parts of the book is when Athena aims her spite at Matthew, particularly by blasting smutty monster romance audiobooks out of her windows and into Matthew's. The author pokes fun at monster romance while at the same time supporting the genre by having multiple characters enjoy it. The snippets of fake books are hilarious and the character's reactions to them even more so.
The other part of the book I enjoy is how the author deftly moves us through Athena's grief, determination, and pride into eventually falling in love with Matthew. There are, of course, bumps along the way but it's a naturally down-out tension between two people who were immediately attracted to each other but also bring complex histories and even trauma to the relationship. The pacing and emotional barriers the characters put up felt just right -- untangling the emotions was neither too fast to be believable nor too slow to keep the plot moving. And there was a fair bit of groveling at the end to round everything out.
Overall, I loved this book due to the depth of emotions the characters are dealing with and how they end up supporting each other. Do check out the content warnings (historic death of a child and mental health struggles) because some heavy topics are addressed. But if hurt-comfort is a favorite trope (and even if it's not), I encourage you to check this book out.
The book follows Athena as she gets dumped by her fiancé Johnny one month before their wedding under his older brother Matthew's encouragement. That's awkward enough but the bigger problem is that Athena bought the "spite house" (a 10-foot wide, 4-story embodiment of "f--- you, I'm going to block all of your sunlight even though it makes for a ridiculously small house") that shares a wall with Johnny's house as a wedding gift for her (now) ex-fiancé and has nowhere else to live. And if that's not bad enough, most of the spite house's windows face the row house across the 4-foot alley that belongs to... Johnny's older brother Matthew. She's in a Vine brother sandwich and decides to be the embodiment of her house's moniker.
One of my favorite parts of the book is when Athena aims her spite at Matthew, particularly by blasting smutty monster romance audiobooks out of her windows and into Matthew's. The author pokes fun at monster romance while at the same time supporting the genre by having multiple characters enjoy it. The snippets of fake books are hilarious and the character's reactions to them even more so.
The other part of the book I enjoy is how the author deftly moves us through Athena's grief, determination, and pride into eventually falling in love with Matthew. There are, of course, bumps along the way but it's a naturally down-out tension between two people who were immediately attracted to each other but also bring complex histories and even trauma to the relationship. The pacing and emotional barriers the characters put up felt just right -- untangling the emotions was neither too fast to be believable nor too slow to keep the plot moving. And there was a fair bit of groveling at the end to round everything out.
Overall, I loved this book due to the depth of emotions the characters are dealing with and how they end up supporting each other. Do check out the content warnings (historic death of a child and mental health struggles) because some heavy topics are addressed. But if hurt-comfort is a favorite trope (and even if it's not), I encourage you to check this book out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness
Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
nicolaj1994's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mental illness, and Child death
snickies's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Minor: Child death
coraotf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A beautiful (and funny) story about people with flaws and emotional baggage finding love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child death
lololovesthings's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5 STARS!
I loved "At First Spite" by Olivia Dade so, so much. This book is an utter delight. It is sweet, smart, sexy, deep, intricate, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny. Dade balances serious mental health struggles with over-the-top sunshine-y-ness and zaniness as she introduces us to her new series that takes place in the fictional town of Harlot's Bay.
I adored the main characters, Athena and Matthew. Athena is pure plus-sized sunshine on the outside, but has a lot of doubt and self-questioning/self-loathing on the inside. She has struggled to find her place in the world and frequently gets bored with work and school, so she is really good at a lot of different things and possesses many varied skills. Dr. Matthew Vine the Third is an innocent, virgin, caregiver pediatrician who is ignorant when it comes to pop culture, internet slang, and memes. He is headstrong because he has always had to be. He doesn't show emotion, is as grumpy as can be, is severely judgmental, and just so happens to have fallen head-first for Athena in just a couple of minutes, only to realize that she is his brother Johnny's fiance, the one he has been trying to get him to dump since getting engaged. When Athena moves to Harlot's Bay to live in the "Spite House," the wonkily built home situated next door to her fiance's house and was purchased for him as a wedding present, she seems to run into Doctor Matthew Vine the Third quite a bit. Running into the guy who broke up your pending nuptials is a tough, tough thing to deal with. They both live in the same town but remain as lonely as ever. Dade treats depression, mental health, and loneliness with tenderness, care, and heartbreaking accuracy, never once chastising Athena or Matthew despite the wrongs they may have done in their lives. I clung to each and every word of this well-written, thoughtful, wonderful novel. Please read this unputdownable, lovely book!
Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Dade, and Avon and Harper Voyager for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
I loved "At First Spite" by Olivia Dade so, so much. This book is an utter delight. It is sweet, smart, sexy, deep, intricate, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny. Dade balances serious mental health struggles with over-the-top sunshine-y-ness and zaniness as she introduces us to her new series that takes place in the fictional town of Harlot's Bay.
I adored the main characters, Athena and Matthew. Athena is pure plus-sized sunshine on the outside, but has a lot of doubt and self-questioning/self-loathing on the inside. She has struggled to find her place in the world and frequently gets bored with work and school, so she is really good at a lot of different things and possesses many varied skills. Dr. Matthew Vine the Third is an innocent, virgin, caregiver pediatrician who is ignorant when it comes to pop culture, internet slang, and memes. He is headstrong because he has always had to be. He doesn't show emotion, is as grumpy as can be, is severely judgmental, and just so happens to have fallen head-first for Athena in just a couple of minutes, only to realize that she is his brother Johnny's fiance, the one he has been trying to get him to dump since getting engaged. When Athena moves to Harlot's Bay to live in the "Spite House," the wonkily built home situated next door to her fiance's house and was purchased for him as a wedding present, she seems to run into Doctor Matthew Vine the Third quite a bit. Running into the guy who broke up your pending nuptials is a tough, tough thing to deal with. They both live in the same town but remain as lonely as ever. Dade treats depression, mental health, and loneliness with tenderness, care, and heartbreaking accuracy, never once chastising Athena or Matthew despite the wrongs they may have done in their lives. I clung to each and every word of this well-written, thoughtful, wonderful novel. Please read this unputdownable, lovely book!
Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Dade, and Avon and Harper Voyager for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death