Kate Clayborn just came on my radar in 2020 with Love Lettering. Love At First is her latest romance involving Nora and Will, two young adults who each inherited apartments from family members. Nora loves her living arrangement, especially her neighbors. Will is not interested and plans to turn his apartment into a short-term rental, to the dismay of Nora and the other residents. The residents band together to convince Will to abandon his plans. And of course, he and Nora fall in love.

While the romance genre is inherently predictable (you know they’re gonna end up together!), Clayborn’s characters avoid cliches. Even the supporting characters are unexpectedly fleshed out. Those details make her stories enjoyable and memorable.

I went back and binged her three book series about luck, involving a three friends who win the lottery after buying a ticket together. Her characters are likable and fun. I can’t wait to see what Clayborn writes next.

Love at First by Kate Clayborn was such a fun, sweet romcom! I previously enjoyed Love Lettering and was excited to see that Clayborn had a new book out. This time set in Chicago, with a small apartment building as a backdrop. This book explores similar themes of belonging and building on that with choosing family. Our leads are Nora who works from home and lives in her Nonna's old apartment and Dr. Will who inherited his unit as he calls it from his estranged uncle. Will wants to air bnb his place and the building is Nora's family so she's having done of it. It was fun to see these two banter and learn how to be an adorable couple. I especially like how Clayborn tied this one up.

Kate Clayborn’s writing is of a rare quality; it’s eloquent, poetic, powerful, and so highlight-worthy.

Thought my review is longer than usual, I hope you can appreciate it later after you read “Love At First”; perhaps you can save it for now.

I don’t get the notion of “insta-love”. Perhaps because I’ve never experienced it, except vicariously through Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle. But hey - don’t let the title of this book dissuade you in any way; the title “Love at First” has such deeper meaning that you won’t get ’til near the end. It’s kind of like the movie title, “Love, Actually” - you tie in the meaning later when the swoony voice of Hugh Grant musically says, “Love actually is all around.”

Dr. Will Sterling has inherited an apartment in a 6-unit building where he once visited as a teen 16 years ago, the same day he saw teen Nora on her balcony, unbeknownst to her. Now, Will wants to get this property off his hands, for he wants nothing to do with it. Meanwhile, Nora and the rest of the building’s tenants are outraged that this stranger would do such a thing, and as the ringleader of project “Foil Will’s Plans”, Nora schemes ways to persuade Will to do otherwise.

Thus, the enemies to lovers trope. But alas…also a second chances…

But the story is NOT only defined as these tropes - nor an insta love. I actually found it more as friends to lovers. I loved watching how Will and Nora grew to become friends, and then the way they slowly fall in love as friends is super heart-felt and made me want to read about friends falling in love all the time! Whether it was during a poetry reading, repairing a bathroom fixture, drooling on one’s lap, taking care of one when sick, or when just standing under a door frame…looking…and smirking, the chemistry and love felt between Will and Nora got me all tingly inside.

I loved how the story went even deeper than just the romantic aspect. It’s also about family and how you don’t have to be blood-related to be defined as family. “Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs: the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what.” - Maya Angelou. This, my friends, encapsulates the tiny 6-apartment building complex - well the people, that is. They all have a gigantic history together and practically watched Nora grow up. It’s sad that Will had a poor exemplification of love in his life, and it is through Nora, her “family”, and even his quirky boss, where he learns that not only can you choose your family, but that love IS actually all around. (There’s another important lesson that is well-connected to the title).

On a personal note, it was hard not seeing myself in Nora: living two lives, holding onto fragmented artifacts of the past, holding on to such artifacts because she felt comfort and connected to the person she lost, feeling guilt, not living for herself, and using all the aforementioned to dictate how she runs her life.

Having Will in her life was a transformation in Nora, but it rang true the other way around, for this building is the very place that Nora calls a home full of unconditional love and laughter, but it’s the very place that had exuded no love whatsoever for Will. Throughout the story we learn why and we also see how Will and Nora grow to become best versions of themselves with each other.

I have to say this: I absolutely loved this book more than “Love Lettering”. I can’t believe I said that, but it’s true. 5 stars from me for sure!

Thank you to Negalley and Kensington Publishing for this lovely ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yes, this is a typical contemporary romance but it goes much deeper than most. Because it’s all about the power of a compassionate community where everyone helps each other out. These 10 or so, residents has been living together in the same apartments in the same building for years. They may not have a lot but they have each other. When one of them passes on, the nephew who inherits his apartment causes some consternation with his “new fangled” ideas. If you came for the romance, I can tell you that it is cute and fun. You will enjoy it.

Loved this slow burn romance from Kate Clayborn. Set in Chicago, this novel follows Nora, a graphic designer grieving her grandmother, and Will, an ER doc who stays busy to avoid thinking about more uncomfortable truths from his upbringing. Nora and Will enter each other’s orbit when they both inherit apartments in the Logan Park neighborhood of Chicago. This is a tender novel that explores grief, hope and memory. For readers who enjoyed Love Lettering, this romance is a bit steamier.

Love at First is a lovely book with a grumpy hero doctor in glasses and a sunshine heroine in tech. Each has grief they have to deal with when it comes to family and with a bit of antagonism from Nora and Will. The supporting cast of the other tenants in the building was lovely.

I enjoyed it as my first foray into Kate Clayborn's books and will more than likely pick up another one soon

I opened this book to read and just enjoyed the ride. Two people coping with life: change, friendship, love, challenge, regret. Can they adapt? Are they willing to try? Will and Nora are aided and abetted by a cast of secondary characters who add such zing to the story. All in all, a very satisfying read.

When Will Sterling was a teenager, he first encounters Nora Clarke. He is immediately intrigued by her but never gets to meet her....until 16 years later when he inherits his uncle's apartment in the same building that Nora lives. Will has plans for the apartment that Nora and the current residents don't like. Nora sets out to try to change his mind about how to handle the apartment, and their relationship develops from there.

The storyline is a bit boring, and the issues surrounding the apartment don't really set up the intended tension needed between the two main characters. It isn't clear if this was intended to be an insta love, an enemies-to-lovers, or a friends-to-lovers type romance. The two main characters lack chemistry and I couldn't get invested in their developing relationship. There are however a few cute moments in the book, and the writing is good.

2.5 stars - rounding up. I wanted to like this book, but I just could not connect to the story or characters. It wasn't poorly written, but the story just never felt real to me. I also didn't feel any chemistry between the main characters, Will & Nora, which is a must-have for a romance. I ended up skimming the last half, and probably would not have finished this if it wasn't an ARC I was reviewing.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love at First was an adorable tale of two unique individuals who struggle with love and their idea of what love must look like or mean. Will and Nora's pasts make it difficult for them to acknowledge their feelings and move past prior emotional struggles to embrace the true love they have for each other. Insert a few lovable and quirky neighbors and a gruff but honest doctor friend and you have a memorable story about love: finding it, realizing it, and keeping it. Love at First is a cute tale I would highly recommend.

A wonderful, tender, and emotional read. Nora and Will’s journey from their past to their future. Nora is been loving her Nonna’s live since her death. She inherited her apartment, her belongings and her lovely neighbors, and they are her family and her responsibility. Will want nothing to do with his uncle’s unit in the same building because the hurting memories from his past and is set to renew and rent it. But this will disrupt Nora and her neighbour’s life. Will they fight for their believes or will their fight bring them together? A really great love story

I liked the premise of this book but wish the battle between the two had been a bit more fun and drawn out. It may have led to more moments of tension. They didnt even kiss until 60% of the way through. I liked the heroine more as she seemed to actually grow and change. The hero was more of a sad sack a d I felt like his back story never resolved. Overall this was just a pleasant read but not very memorable.

This is very recognizably a Kate Clayborn book and yet also something new and different. Will and Nora have echoes of past Clayborn characters. Will is solid and steadfast, Nora is emotive and a little desperate. They both seem simultaneously put on the page to repel and collide. Will is determined to move forward, Nora is desperate to maintain the status quo. Will wants to forget his past and the family that didn't want him, Nora wants nothing more than to maintain the traditions and home her nonna left to her.

And yet, they come together in the most beautiful, tender, and touchingly funny story. The level of humor is new - Clayborn has always shown flashes of it, but this story verges on slapstick at times with Nora's increasingly frantic attempts to repel Will. Also, there are kittens.

Let's face it: I adore Clayborn's work and have done since I read [book:Beginner's Luck|35717661]. But this one broke new ground.

I was given an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ok I love this book, I want to move into this building. It brought pure joy and every minute I didn’t want it to end. The relationship between them was amazing, the building of their characters, I loved reading from both POV as well. The side characters I found charming and actually cared reading about their interactions - can’t wait to spread joy about this book. Well done

2020 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): Feels Like Home

So LOVE AT FIRST is fine, but I also don’t feel the “OMG, this is a life-transforming romance novel and I want to yell at everyone to read it” buzz I usually get from KC’s work. Maybe it’s unfair that my ridiculously high expectations made this an overall okay/forgettable read after a couple days.

One thing I noticed: there are no racial/skin color descriptors for secondary and main characters. LOVE AT FIRST is set in Chicago. It’s not a big deal for the main characters because I’m sure they’re white. There’s definitely one secondary South Asian character based on the name (no physical or cultural description, though. Just the name).

I don’t know. I don’t think it’s BAD. I just think it’s real weird that ambiguous/lack of descriptions allow readers to plausibly assume that almost everyone on-page is white, especially when the book is set in Chicago of all places (like, the text doesn’t confirm they’re white. But it doesn’t say otherwise either. The unhelpful name cues lead the reader to assume whatever default in their mind). I don’t care if a family/friend group is all-white, but I’m talking about an entire NEIGHBORHOOD of secondary/minor characters. And maybe that area of Chicago IS majority white, but the ambiguity frustrated me. I think something similar occurs in NYC-set LOVE LETTERING but I didn’t notice it. Perhaps it wasn’t an issue because that book doesn’t have many secondary characters.

Anyway, I don’t have a lot more to say because I’m not certain why LOVE AT FIRST didn’t wow me. Who knows why my brain reacts the way it does? Will update review if I figure it out. It’s entirely possible that a year of pandemic reading has warped my reading preferences. 😭


Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Clayborn is my favorite romance author for books with real emotional stakes. This one really centered on the idea of loyalty, the ways it's good and the ways it holds us back. It's so good! She is so good at creating characters who push against each other in realistic, emotional ways. That said, I didn't like it quite as much as her other books, all of which have a touch more fantasy/whimsy/magic in the setup. This is trying to do a Romeo and Juliet balcony moment as the meet cute, and it is cute, but it didn't quite capture me the same way. If you are looking for a romance that feels very realistic, this is the one. An absolutely a delightful read,

Kate Clayborn gets me. I can’t explain it, but her writing style is just perfect to me; there’s wit, sweet and awkward characters, fun friends and side characters, a realistic an believable romance, no unnecessary drama, and nothing long and drawn out. This story was so sweet and I zipped through it in a day; I basically ignored work and sleep as much as possible to finish the story.

What a delightful and heartfelt story. Given everything that 2020 brought us, reading about a community with such deep connections resonated with me in a profound way. I appreciated how Will and Nora developed along with their relationship, giving both of them a satisfying arc. The romance also hit a nice balance in my opinion, progressing without feeling rushed. The richness of the story really comes from the rest of the cast of characters, who make the building come alive. I have to say, I was not emotionally prepared for the ending of this book, which hit me right in my feelings.

Kate Clayborn is one of my favorite romance authors, and this book was just as adorable as Love Lettering. Something I like about her work is, even though it's sweet and ends happily, there are plenty of real and serious issues discussed. It's hard to strike that balance, but she does it well.

5/5 stars for Love At First! From the author of last year’s hit, Love Lettering, comes a story about fate, empathy, accepting change, chosen families, and learning “love can’t always be a sure thing from the start.”

Will first heard Nora’s voice when he was 15 years old & he was instantly drawn to her, but after hardship and loss it would be another 16 years before they would cross paths when Will inherits his uncle’s apartment. As a reluctant landlord, Will decides to make the unit a short term rental. This draws the ire of the other apartment owners, especially building association president Nora, the girl he heard all those years ago.

I adored this book and Ms. Clayborn’s writing of both our leads and a great supporting cast. The fated-mates type draw that Will and Nora have for each other is given enough of a slow burn to build a foundation for their relationship. I love the descriptive personalities each character embraces—no one is perfect, each have flaws, but they are still related/likeable. I felt like I really knew each of the characters by the end of this story and I was invested in each of their lives. Wonderfully done!

Love at First is out February 23. I received a complimentary ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.