A review by niffler_for_words
Love at first spill by

lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

“And perhaps, just perhaps, as the hours wore on and the lines between fantasy and reality blurred, I began to forget that we were pretending.”

I have very mixed feelings about Love at First Spill. 

Although I particularly enjoyed the author's writing style, her way to make descriptions vivid,  the inconsistent characters – sometimes too caricatural (the “good” ones just like the “bad” ones), sometimes radically different from the previous chapter– and the back and forth in the plot made it difficult for me to follow. 

If I adored the beginning of the book, the sibling dynamics, and the writing choices that carried me away and immersed me, I got confused more than once during my reading. Sometimes, it felt like some snippets coming from the same idea/universe had been sewed together, like woolen squares on a grandma blanket. Individually, these morsels aren’t bad, but together, they don’t always fit or relate to each other, or, on the contrary, can be repetitive. 

It made the experience a bit difficult for ME, as I kept going back to re-read parts, trying to understand why a character was acting like they were, or to remember the course of the events. It is a complete me problem, but it prevented me from getting attached to the characters, and then rooting for them. That’s a pity because the story had some potential, and the descriptive parts are often very nice. This one wasn’t for me, but I’ll probably read this author’s next book.

Thank you to the author for the ARC. My opinions are my own