At First Spite- Review
At First Spite
By Olivia Dade
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Harlot’s Bay #1
Publisher: Avon Romance
Publication Date: February 13,2024
Source: Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review
Rating: 5 Stars
Description:
A Library Journal Romance Pick of the Month
Bestselling author Olivia Dade welcomes you to Harlot’s Bay in this delightfully sexy rom-com about a woman who buys the town’s famous Spite House, only to realize the infuriating man she can’t stand lives right next door—and their unwilling proximity might spark something neither can ignore.
When Athena Greydon’s fiancé ends their engagement, she has no choice but to move into the Spite House she recklessly bought him as a wedding gift. Which is a problem, for several reasons: The house, originally built as a brick middle finger to the neighbors, is only ten feet wide. Her ex’s home is literally attached to hers. And Dr. Matthew Vine the Freaking Third—AKA the uptight, judgy jerk who convinced his younger brother to leave her—is living on her other side, only a four-foot alley away.
If she has to see Matthew every time she looks out her windows, she might as well have some fun with the situation. By, say, playing erotic audiobooks at top volume with those windows open. A woman living in a Spite House is basically obligated to get petty payback however she can, right?
Unfortunately, loathing Matthew proves more difficult than anticipated. He helps her move. He listens. And he’s kind of…hot? Dammit.
Matthew may not regret ending his brother’s engagement, but he does regret what the breakup has done to Athena. He’ll help her however he can. If that means finding her work, fine. If that means enduring nightly steamy story hours, so be it. And if that means watching Athena through their windows a bit too often and caring about her a bit too much…well, nothing can come of it. She’ll never forgive him. Even if she did, how could he ever tell his beloved younger brother the truth—that Matthew wants the very same woman he encouraged Johnny to leave?
Review:
At this point, I trust Olivia Dade with pretty much any plot, but I’ll admit, this one was extra delightful. Athena ends up moving into the spite house she bought for her fiancé, before he called off the wedding on the advice of his older brother. This tiny, narrow house just so happens to be right next to the ex’s house, as well as said older brother, Matthew. Who, as Athena gets to know him and settles into Harlot’s Bay, she comes to realize isn’t actually the worst. Athena is a complex character, who I relate to so much. It’s rare to see someone in their 30’s starting over and figuring out their life again and that is so heartwarming to read. There are tons of interesting and funny events in this story, like Athena trying to get revenge on Matthew by loudly playing romance novel audiobooks. But even more than that, this book has heart. Athena deals with depression throughout this story and has some really tough days. She learns to build herself back up and at lot of the help there comes from Matthew. And Matthew, he’s a sweet, shy, gentle, wants to care for everyone, doctor. I just want to wrap him in a giant hug. He knows that his brother and Athena weren’t right for each other but he never wanted to hurt her and when Athena lands in his town, he goes out of his way to help and support her. There’s definitely a slow burn to this story as Matthew especially struggles with his feeling for his brother’s ex. And Athena has to overcome her dislike of Matthew and what happened. But that time just allows for the relationship to grow stronger and for so many sweet moments to occur. This book was a delight and I highly recommend it!
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Somewhere Lost In Books 
You had me at extra delightful and I got even more excited about this book as I kept reading. I need to check my library for it.
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