I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book.
I don't often give 5 stars for books, but I think this one had everything in it, so I couldn't fault it. Maybe I was reading it at the perfect time, when I needed a sweet and thought provoking romance filled with a wonderful cast.
I really enjoyed Love Lettering, but somehow this story eclipses it. Maybe the connections the main characters had with others helped to enhance the themes of family, love and life.
Will and Nora themselves are special on their own, and Kate's writing is so effortless to read, this novel just gives you the 'warm fuzzies' after you've finished.

This book was so sweet!

The first half was definitely a lot stronger in my opinion. You kind of have to suspend disbelief in order to truly enjoy this story, though. I mean, how probable is it to fall in love with someone you first met (and not even properly, you just heard their voice) when you were 17? I get that it was a hard time in Will's life so maybe it could be explained that way, but either way I enjoyed this book

As for the second half, it was okay. Not as strong, but still enjoyable. The characters, though? Amazing. Especially the side characters and their relationships.

Another favorite from Kate Clayborn. Love at First is a sweet read about Will Sterling, who after inheriting his estranged Uncle’s apartment, moves in, to find the girl on the balcony he fell in love with at first sight - and never spoke to- when he was a teenager. The last time he visited his uncle.

Will, an ER doctor, of the gentle hero type (quite Clayborn’s specialty of late), sets on a quest to fix-up the apartment and turn it into a short term rental unit, but Nora, our heroine, the girl on the balcony, and a cast of hilarious, lovable neighbors try to stop him. It’s a pleasure to watch his love story with Nora unfold,

I had high expectations after Love Lettering. Clayborn has this almost quiet, soft writing style that just kind of sneaks up on you with tenderness, but is also so funny in spots. I felt that a lot in Love Lettering, and a lot again here. There is such loneliness in her characters and then when they find each other and they also find a sense of belonging in each other and in their community that is just so very satisfying.

DNG @ 15%. Not for me, so much unnecessary writing and flourishing all over. I was skimming from the beginning, I realized I could read two sentences on the page and still get what was happening.

This was my first Kate Clayborn book, and it definitely will not be my last. Bickering neighbors, surprise reunions, and nostalgia abound in this adorable romance. Nora and Will's wonderful chemistry and the cast of hilarious, quirky side characters had me hooked right from the start. A sweet, slow-burn frenemies to lovers, this one featured some of my favorite tropes. I think Gerry was probably my favorite character. He was hysterical and I just loved his character's development from beginning to end. I can't wait to read more of Kate's stuff.

Thank you so much for providing me with an e-arc, Kensington Books.

There are certain things you can count on in a Kate Clayborn book: her lovers will start off at cross purposes, the rapport and banter will be engaging, the pining and self reflection will plug right into your feelings, and the characters will (mostly) act like adults. Love at First has all of this. It’s a comfortable, enjoyable read. There is no shame in enjoying this book.

It lacks the emotional urgency and tension of the Chance of a Lifetime series. I still think about those books. I think Luck of the Draw is one of the best contemporary romances of this century, maybe ever. While Love Lettering didn’t wow me as much as Luck of the Draw, I still had a visceral experience while reading it that I just didn’t have here. It’s fine, it’s not a “modern romance masterpiece” but it doesn’t dissuade me from picking up more Kate Clayborn books. For one thing, Kate Clayborn writes beautifully. I had forgotten that I bookmarked this passage:

He carried on, something about his friend Sally’s advice, and also a sale at the hardware store, and the returns policy if Nora didn’t need anything new when it came to the shower curtain situation, and as he talked Nora realized, with a delighted sense of relief, that he had been waiting. Maybe as much as she had been.
Suddenly that shower curtain rod looked like the best thing she’d ever seen.”

My time with Will and Nora was pleasant, but I had already forgotten a lot of the details a day after I finished. Indeed, the characters I think about first are Gerald and Sally. There was a lot I appreciated about the way Nora and Will went about their conflict. Nora’s version of diabolical was pretty great. I appreciated some of the lessons that Clayborn has Nora and Will learn – that we can grow beyond the way we were taught to love. Spoiler complaint: I have mixed feelings about the way Will falls in love with Nora in the prologue and then she becomes the only woman he will ever love. End spoiler. Of course, reading is subjective and you might love a book that doesn’t grab me.

I was given an advance reader copy by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I. Loved. This. Book. I loved the progression of Will and Nora's relationship, I loved Nora's neighbors/found family, I loved Will becoming reluctant best friends with his awkward boss. I might even love this more than Love Lettering, which is hard to do! Kate Clayborn has written a lovely, heartwarming romance that's also so much more and it was just the balm I needed to start the new year.

Review below will appear at Shelf Awareness around publication date.

Sparks fly in Kate Clayborn's romantic Love at First, when an ER doctor inherits his estranged uncle's apartment and upsets the life of his new neighbor. When they hear that he's planning to rent the apartment to short-term tenants, Nora leads the close-knit group of building residents in a campaign to make him love the old Chicago building as much as they do. But as they work at cross-purposes, Nora and Will discover they have much more in common than an apartment building.
Both of them were raised by distant parents, but ended up with different approaches to life. Will gives generously of himself at work, but doesn't allow anyone beneath his charming doctor veneer, while Nora is fiercely protective of the neighbors she loves and the small community they've cultivated over decades. She fears change and clings to the relationship she had with her grandmother. Will, however, is resistant to depending on other people and attachment of any kind, making them a seemingly unsuitable match.
Clayborn employs her signature combination of past emotional wounds and tender blossoms of hope to gradually twine her two protagonists together, allowing them to--temporarily--live in denial even as they fall deeply in love. Her beautiful prose is full of a softness and depth that lingers--passages beg to be reread and savored--while moments of humor and gently smoldering passion lift what might otherwise be a slow and overly sentimental read. Love at First feels like a long, warm hug upon returning home.

Discover: Kate Clayborn's Love at First pairs neighbors with opposite approaches to attachment--and apartments--in a deeply emotional contemporary romance perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Emily Henry.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.

I smiled, I laughed, I cried! I loved Love Lettering last year, but I thought Love at First offers more realistic characters and a story line. The idea of seeing someone from a distance at 16 and falling in love sounds far-fetched, but Clayborn successfully made it romantic and believable. Nora and Will are both likable, flawed, human beings who learn important lessons about love while falling in love with each other. If I loved Love Lettering, then I adored Love at First.

I love everything Kate Clayborn writes, and Love at First is no exception! The story follows Will and Nora, two people with a lot from their past and an instant connection. The book also includes a whole cast of characters in the form of Nora's neighbors. I enjoyed the way they care for each other like family - that feels unique and unusual today. And of course, the romance was delightful! A must read!

This was my first book by Kate Clayborn and which I ended up did liking. I was hesitant in the beginning, but this book turned out to be unexpected and different from what I had imagined. It was definitely cute and a light read, but also at the same time, it felt plain. The plot and the type of the characters did not feel fresh or anything new, it did feel like I have read something like this before. At times, I found the romance to be lacking something such as chemistry, don't get me wrong yes, there were cute moments between the characters, however, the entire relationship was not at all-consuming my thoughts as I usually prefer. Though I would say that as a first-time reader, overall it was not a bad book, just not all that either.

I adore the way this author writes her stories. I read Love Lettering last year and loved it, thought it was a beautiful story, but I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this one as much. I wondered if the magic and beauty of the first story were all about the lettering and that plotline and how amazing that was. I haven't read anything else by this author so I was curious to see if I would enjoy this story as much as I had that. And I did. Oh, the way she writes just makes me happy. Makes me feel all the feels and want to never stop reading. I picked up this book to read, but I only had a few minutes so I thought I will just start the first chapter and then come back to it later. Well, that didn't work out. I started it and right from the first sentences I was hooked. I rearranged my entire day so I could read this as I never wanted to stop. Oh, I loved this story.

Will and Nora were so great together. Yes, they have different ideas about what should happen in their now shared building, Nora holds onto the past with all her might while Will wants to get rid of it asap, but they were so cute. I loved their back and forth, their feud, the way they were with each other. If you enjoyed Love Lettering you will probably enjoy this story as well. The writing just wraps me up in the warm fuzzies and even when it was really heavy, when you learn all the things that are going on, it was still comforting. It made me feel so much for these characters and I never wanted to leave them.

Kate Clayborn has a new take on love at first sight in her newest charming romantic comedy, Love at First. Will is a no-nonsense doctor. Orphaned since he was eighteen, and on his own long before that, he is highly independent. When his estranged uncle leaves him his apartment in his Will, under specific stipulations, Will is intrigued. Nora has just lost two people she loved and adored with her very big heart. Not a fan of abrupt change, she is worried about who will take over Donny’s apartment. A man she has never met before comes in and is trying to shake things up--practically her worst nightmare. What Will and Nora don’t realize however, is that they each have lessons to learn from each other, and a shared piece of their history that will make their story even more beautiful.
This story is perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary’s The Switch! Honestly, the best way to describe this book is beautiful and breathtaking. Nora and Will are such a good pair. Not in an insane chemistry way but in a kindred spirits way. Even though they are opposites in so many ways they are still able to find their way together. I am normally not a huge fan of love at first sight or the fated lovers trope, but it is really well executed here. This is the first novel of Kate Clayborn that I have read, but I will definitely be checking out more of her titles soon!

Kate Clayborn has quickly become one of my go-to authors for romance and humor. Her writing can be both whimsical and deeply felt and never fails to leave me with a smile on my face and a happy heart. This book was no exception.

Will "met" (or more aptly "heard") Nora from a balcony as a 15 year-old boy going through a sad and turbulent period in his life and was instantly smitten by her infectious laugh. Sixteen years later Will is now a doctor who has inherited his estranged uncle's apartment in the complex where he first "met" Nora. He is captivated all over again by her adult self even though they are feuding over his subletting his apartment to strangers who she feels will infringe on her "family" of neighbors. As they learn more of each other's lives/childhoods, they begin to trust each other and understand each other from a different perspective.

Will is an endearing character who literally took responsibility for his family at age 15. He has skewed views of relationships because of his parents and is afraid of feeling too much and becoming obsessive and selfish. Nora, who was basically raised by her Nonna, has trouble with change and letting go. As they both open up (both to each other and to themselves), they begin to heal and look forward to moving ahead in their lives.

I loved this story...for its heartbreak, for its poignance, for its humor and for its honesty. I also fell in love with the secondary characters, who are endearing and supportive in all ways.

Another wonderful story from Clayborn, and I look forward to many more from her.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for providing me the early ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

Even though I wasn't sold on the blurb, I was still looking forward to reading this book because of the author. I think it would have worked better for me if Will and Nora had actually met before their 16-year separation, but overall it was a cute, if not super memorable, romance. While perhaps not fair to compare, I was listening to Kate Clayborn's Chance of a Lifetime series on audio, and Love at First just didn't have that same magic for me.

3 stars
Love at First by Kate Clayborn

Sweet and cute love story The characters are good, the story is predictable but very readable. Overall, this is a very enjoyable story.

this was a really cute read. i was very excited to read this upon seeing the synopsis and i was not disappointed. the romance was adorable, but i would’ve loved to see flashbacks of will and nora meeting as teenagers. i think it would’ve helped cement their relationship better. nonetheless they were still cute.

Love at First by Kate Clayborn asks the question can love really bloom when only one of the couple has experienced love at first sight.

Just before his entire world is upended, Will Sterling hears the voice of a girl that he can't stop thinking about. But life has a way of surprising him and 16 years later, Will actually meets the girl, Nora, after he inherits an apartment from his estranged uncle. Will finds the building dated but is slowly charmed by the eccentric residents and stories of the uncle he never knew.

Nora, struggling after the death of her beloved grandmother, views Will as an interloper, who is threatening to modernize her loved art deco apartment building. While strangely drawn to Will after a chance early morning balcony conversation, she slowly starts to open up and the two try to navigate their attraction to one another.

Having previously read Claybourn's Love Lettering, I expected a bit more whimsy and a touch of magical realism. But I still enjoyed this exploration of what is worth holding on to and what's better to let go of and how that relates to love and grief. Nora and Will are fully-fleshed characters and the apartment residents are fun and add a sense of humor to both them and the story as a whole.

I look forward to more by Claybourn in the future.

Note: I received an copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Beautiful! That's how I'd describe will and Nora love story. Just beautiful these two are enemies when they meet as adults, but things quickly change and develop. I love that they don't stay enemies for long and it's a slow burn type of romance. I truly enjoyed the sweetness of the characters and the romance.

I had high expectations for LOVE AT FIRST after reading LOVE LETTERING, and it met every expectation I had.
We're introduced to Will at the age of 15 in the beginning of the book and then again a decade and a half later when he returns to the building where his life changed all those years ago. He's a different person, and meeting him before makes it easier to appreciate the person he has becomes as we begin the book in earnest.

Nora was initially a complicated character for me. She's fanatical about the building she lives in. She fanatical about change. She is, quite frankly, a lot that first time we get her POV. But it doesn't take long to see the balance given to her character. She's grieving, and desperately trying to hold onto the stability as the ground underneath her is shifting. Even when the two characters are attempting to one up one another to get what they need/want from the building, they seem drawn to each other. There's an understanding underneath the bickering that easily translates into more later in the story. When that shift happens, magic.