Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - At First Spite

I just…didn’t think this was very good. Way too many pop culture mentions and a hero that was just a complete caricature of the ‘perfect’ man. It was weird because I liked the plot and the actual concept of the romance but it was all just way too cringe.

Also

the hero turned out to be a virgin despite being a hot paediatrician who presumably had been away to college? And was 37? Baffling. And the grovel in this book was never ending which may be your thing but I’d prefer it if characters stopped doing dumb shit they needed to apologise for.

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I was iffy on this one until an emotional support chicken made an appearance in a used bookstore. Then I was somehow all in.

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lowkeymarie's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny 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

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bustabluth's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

3.5

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mabellene's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted 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

4.0

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kaitrates's review against another edition

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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. 😭

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.

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mandaraffe's review against another edition

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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

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