Love at First was everything I ever needed. After reading Kate’s previous book, Love Lettering, I was totally prepared to immerse myself back into her amazing storytelling. Told in third person, the author writes from both Will and Nora’s point of views. We see glimpses of their lives separate, but the best pets are when they come together for a scene. Will and Nora both have difficult pasts but have handled it in very different ways. Each character goes through an intense time of growth, and it was heartwarming to see how Will and Nora challenged each other to be their best selves.

The friendships in Love at First are perfect! Nora lives in a strong community of elderly people, and it’s clear they act as a family. Each side character is fully developed and it’s easy to fall in love with them. Nora also has a friend in her coworker, and despite the difference between them, their bond was clear and relatable. Will differs from Nora in that he doesn’t really have any friends. The only interactions we see with others outside of Nora’s community is with Gerald (his boss) and Sally (his rental helper). While he has trouble connecting to people on a deeper level, I loved reading about how he started as coworkers (of sorts) and ends up with friends.

The conflict of this book was strong and there were many turning points where the characters had to make decisions of how to move forward. This book starts with Will and Nora as potential friends and/or lovers. But then the news drops that Will wants nothing to do with the apartment he inherited, and plans on renting it out for some extra cash to pay off his student loans (I’m sure many can relate). The potential of a relationship turns into enemies as Nora wages a campaign against his project. The two fight their attraction and desire for connection because of this barrier. Like all good romance books, this one ends with a happily ever after.

(Side note: I love friends to enemies to lovers tropes!)

The pacing of the book was spot-on. At first, it seemed to be moving quickly, but about halfway through I realized that the single event of the apartment being rented was not necessarily the main focus. As we got closer to the end, I found myself wishing there was more. The end, however, was exactly what I needed and I thought it was wrapped up very well.

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me an e-ARC in return for an honest review.

I read Love Lettering by the author, and loved it, but this one! All the feels! So, so good!

Nora and Will; Will and Nora. There's so much between these two, so many emotions, and I was right there with them the whole way.

Nora and Will have a somewhat of a similar past growing up. She with parents who were too busy, spending her summer with her Nonna; he with parents who couldn't be bothered with him. The difference was, Nora and Nonna and the tenants where Nonna lived, like a family of their own. Will didn't have anyone else. His parents have both died; Nora's parents are alive and abroad, but her Nonna has died.

When Will's uncle dies and leaves his apartment to Will, Will finds himself in the same apartment building when Nora lives. He recognizes her as the same girl he once heard when he was sixteen, the girl he's neve forgotten.
When Nora finds out Will is only there to clean the apartment and put it up for short-term rentals, she becomes defensive and embarks on a little plan to make him change his mind.

Will is an emergency room doctor and while he knows how to charm people, he doesn't know how to connect, how to let them in. Nora has her misfit family of neighbors and is very protective of her circle.

Watching these two become friends and lovers, and fall in love along with way, was a supreme treat, an amazing reading experience.

The writing is phenomenal, the cast of secondary characters is quirky and indispensable, and I really loved this story.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

So with "Love at First" Kate Clayborn brings a new novel about two unlikely characters who find love.
The book begins 16 years before the main story, where Will is kinda visiting with his mother his uncle, who he never have met or even heard of. While the adults are talking he is exploring the backyard of the apartment complex where the uncle lives. There he "meets" Nora, who is currently visiting her grandmother.
But somehow from the very first page Will seemed to me a little stocky, refuses to wear glasses to not become unpopular even if he can't really play baseball due to his bad eyesight. And than everything changes, abrubtly his mother and he are leaving and someone only the voice of a girl from upstairs stays with him.
Fast forward 16 years later, he inherits the apartement from his uncle, who he still never had any contact, and now decides he wants to rent the apartement, because for him it is too far away from his work.
But all the residents of the complex do not like it, that there will be a new tenant, especially one, who is not staying himself, but rather renting it out.
So in order to convince him that they do not want to become an AirB'n'B, they show him, how they are like a big family and care for each other.
Some of these interferences were quite funny or amusing, but in the end it was not really to my liking.
I got the impression, that somehow lots of times acts or thoughts were just told but never really shown. The discussions between Nora and Will were sometimes hard to follow, because even if e.g. Nora wanted to say one thing, until she said it, it took ages. Also her thought process was non-existent. Suddenly she decides she wants to change little things in her apartement, but how did she come to this decision? It was really often just telling me, the reader, of a decision, but not how she came to it.
Even if there are lots of paragraphs describing a scene, somehow it didn't really say much.
Also the lovestory itself between the characters? I myself didn't really get, why Will likes her so much, or what Nora sees in Will. Maybe Nora is in Wills eyes a little carefree? I don't know. Like I said I was unfortunately not really convinced of the love story.
There were some tender moment, like on the beach between them, but still no big feeling for me.

Still I want to thank the publisher Kensington Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reading Copy.

This was a sweet read about two people who seemed to meet by fate sixteen years after their first encounter. I love a good romance and while Nora and Will definitely had their cute moments, I felt the entire story was a bit bland and forgettable. I didn’t dislike this book but I have high expectations with romance stories and this did not make it up into my favorites list.

When Nora and Will are teenagers, Will and his mother visit his uncle on the day where Will’s entire life changes. He sees teenage Nora on her grandmother’s balcony and is immediately attracted to her laugh and her voice. He never works up the courage to talk to her that day. When circumstances bring him back to this building sixteen years later, him and Nora reconnect. However Will is a different person now. He has carefully planned his life and is successful as an overworked ER doctor. Nora is grieving the loss of her grandmother and her and her adorable neighbors and working to save the little community they have in their apartment building.

I liked the premise of fate bringing Nora and Will together. It felt whimsical and so very romantic when I started reading it. Will has some baggage that is alluded to early on in the story and when the baggage was revealed, I didn’t really understand it. Sure, some unfortunate things happened to Will in his life but this baggage was supposed to be the main barrier between Nora and Will’s romance and I didn’t buy it. The stakes weren’t high enough and the feelings weren’t real enough for me.

The one aspect of the story I really enjoyed was all of Nora’s neighbors. They were all so cute! I love the idea of living in a building with people that become your family and I absolutely adored reading about all of them together.

Overall, a sweet story about fate bringing two people together. It tackles issues like trust and grief while still delivering an adorable romance between Nora and Will.

I enjoyed this book. It felt a little bit slow at first, if only because I couldn't really understand Nora's perspective and thought she was being pretty selfish. Will had lost his uncle, who he said he wasn't close with, and Nora took it really personally that he wanted to rent out the apartment. I just couldn't understand any reason why this would be a big deal, or why it took her so long to try to understand why he had no interest in moving in permanently. Once she actually listened and tried to understand him, the story picked up steam and ended up being really sweet. I may have liked some resolution/insight about the relationship with Donny--did he really just have no interest in getting to know his nephew, even after Will's parents died? But those things don't always resolve neatly in real life either, so I'm willing to accept that he was just an imperfect person who had a chosen family in his neighbors.

This is my first Kate Clayborn novel and I completely understand why people love her books so much. This was a very sweet story with deep characters and great plot progression. Additionally, Clayborn's writing style was very easy to read and enjoy, which I appreciate.

I was initially worried that the story was going to be unrealistic and dramatic because of the premise and the summary of the book. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how realistic the book and its characters were. Clayborn did a great job creating realistic main characters and a realistic supporting cast. I had a great time reading Will and Nora's story. I loved the way they went from infatuation then met again years later to not get off on the right foot and end up together in the end. This book addressed great topics such as family, belonging, second-chances, career, etc. This book was a fanatical yet modern and realistic romance which I enjoyed very much. By that I mean that sometimes there are those contemporary romance stories that are so fantastical and farfetched they don't seem like they could happen in real life, this book was fantastical yet seemed like a feasible story. I felt like I was reading a story that happened in real life, which I love in my contemporary romances.

Overall wonderful story. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick and sweet yet meaningful read.

- 4 .5 stars -
(Rounded up to 5)

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Kate Clayborn for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was thrilled to receive this book. I absolutely adored Love Lettering and have become an even bigger fan of Kate Clayborn due to the Fated Mates podcast. I’m usually a very fast reader but found myself slowing down to read this so I could savor the characters, descriptions, and dialogue, which is a sign of a really good book. This is the first book in a long time where I literally have no complaints. None.

I loved both Nora and Will. Both were complex, full people who were written in a way that that provided the perfect amount information at the correct time to pack the perfect punch. At times what was revealed was absolutely devastating. In addition to Will and Nora, their neighbors and friends were all delightful in their own ways. Everyone just felt very very real.

I will say that while this book does check all the boxes of a typical romance it does go a few levels deeper which could easily put it in the category of women’s fiction. I’ve seen some people refer to it as a easy romcom, and to someone who a lot of literary fiction or suspense it probably is, but this book is not haha funny. Yes it’s warm and has a happy ending, but the topics of loss, community, change, and friendship explored in the book are not taken lightly. To me this was the story of two people finding healing through each other and found family.

I’m trying really really hard not to spoil the book so I think I’ll stop writing. This is one that I will likely come back to again and again. I can’t wait for whatever Kate Clayborn has next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love at First, written by Kate Clayborn and to be published February 23, 2021, is a delightful read – a hug in a book! Sometimes what we need most is just to press pause on our busy lives, get rid of all the noise, and listen to our heart. This book did just that for me this week.

Will Sterling first meets Nora Clarke when he’s a teenager, a lost soul with poor eyesight. He didn’t actually meet her, he heard Nora from her apartment balcony while he was outside waiting for his mom. He never forgot her. It wasn’t until he inherited his uncle’s apartment 16 years later that he realized the girl next door was ‘her.’ Unfortunately, clearing out his uncle’s apartment is the least of his worries. The owners are up in arms once they learn of his plans to do upgrades to their building prior to listing his suite for short term rentals. He didn’t make a good impression with Nora and now she’s spearheading a campaign to prevent him from listing with the rental agency. Will he patch things up with Nora before the renters arrive? Is it worth it? Perhaps being an overworked doctor is all he can handle at the moment. He certainly doesn’t need an apartment full of bickering neighbours. Oh, but her laugh….maybe he should make the time.

This is my first Kate Clayborn novel and I really loved her writing style. This isn’t just a romance novel, it’s about community, grief, family, belonging, second chances, and the mysterious power of love. I loved that she created a strong cast of secondary characters. The other suite owners, a delightful, eclectic, yet loveable, cast, are as important to the storyline as Nora and Will. The sense of community is tight, and readers soon begin to see that they are Nora’s chosen family and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect them. This is a sweet, quick read that will leave your heart full and put a smile on your face.

Thank you, Kate Clayborn, Kensington Books and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. The romance between Will and Nora is so sweet to watch unfold. I really enjoyed the journey the main characters took to find love. The host of characters that Kate Clayborn has written to help them along were so fun. I highly recommend this book. It's a run, easy read with a rewarding end.

Will and Nora, a pair you meet early on in this novel and can't wait to see where the story is going to take you. I was instantly taken with Will and the heartache of his childhood circumstances. I just hoped Nora wasn't going to be taken along as his crutch, thankfully she is delightful all by herself.
I loved the wide array of characters in this novel and the gradual growth that both Nora and Will showed with each other, From the pranks to the hesitant help to the need to have each other around, the story was beautifully held together by a sense of community and meant to be that this year needs in a feel-good book.
I will admit that I still struggle with the author's style of writing, that it sometimes still feels a little bit too prose-like, however I felt this was much improved on Love Lettering, where I barely felt I got the story at all. I sometimes felt I was having to jump to the end of a paragraph and then back because there was so much,
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the a stay very late to finish kind of book. Take that for a warning and a high praise. 

Nora has lived in the same building for a long time, it was her grandmother's home, the people there became her family. Her world is disturbed when a new tenant arrives. 

Will had just inherited an apartment in the same building, his uncle,  who he had only seen once, left it to him. He doesn't want to move in there but he could use the extra income by renting it for short periods. 

Nora doesn't want the building's dynamic to be affected, she doesn't want anything to change. Her plan is to make Will see this by any means necessary.

Their relationship begins with them sparing and trying to win the other. The romance is gratuitously developing and it is the peak of the book. It is a bit of a slow burn giving them both time to know each other and develop feelings long before they act on them. 

The writing is very clever, full of witty remarks which made me laugh more than once. The side characters are very loveable and you want to see them being happy and get another look in to their lives. It is a book about love, friendship and the family you choose. 

I just want to say that I completely loved this book! 

* I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley.

Love Lettering was on of my very first Netgalley approves when I first started this reviewer journey. I knew I absolutely have to devour this one by Kate Clayborn.

Clayborn has such a unique writing style. I appreciate how we are able to truly get into the character's heads that she creates.

This plot started with a view of a fifteen year old boy's point of view. We see a small snippet into this adolescent before we dive fully into the present. Sixteen years later we find Will is an adult, but we are still vague on the details.

He meets Nora, again. His past becomes his present as he tries to understand what he needs to move forward. I realize this is vague, but I do not want to give any spoilers.

Obviously, we are going to see Will and Nora navigate a path towards love. The path is a bit tricky however. There will be shenanigans, family drama, and some home improvement tensions.

I personally struggle with the long awaited pace in build ups in romance novels but I feel this one was appropriately paves. I did take a bit, and I was anxious for this.

Clayborn invested us well in their past and present lives and allowed us to fall in love with their falling in love.

Thank you Kensington Books and Netgalley for an advanced reviewers copy of this book for my honest opinion. if you are a fan of slow burn romances I fully believe you will love this one!

Once again Kate has written this super sweet book that just makes me swoonsh and go "awww" in many parts. Will and Nora were great! From the prologue where we see a young Will who doesn't even see Nora but falls for her laugh, I think I was hooked.

Then they meet again, sixteen years later, and he realizes it's balcony girl! Things soon take a turn because Will is branded the enemy since he's gotten their apartment building from his uncle, who left it to him in his will, and the tenants are not on board with Will's idea to fix up is uncle's place and us it for short-term rental space. It just isn't done!

This leads Nora to exact some light sabotage which was so perfectly funny. Will isn't please but it makes for some great moments between them and the other tenants.

There's a strong theme of family in this one and we see that for both Nora and Will family holds different meanings. For Nora's it's everything while Will's relationship with his was fraught.

I loved seeing how everyone went from "who the heck is this man?? why is he here??" to really falling for Will just like Nora did. The tenants grew on Will too! He didn't stand a chance quite frankly.

There were so many cute scenes in this, le sigh. And I will say that the sex scene were perfectly balanced between being sweet and packed with emotions and hot! He gripped her plait, and I was here for that ;)

A few qualms I had: I feel like Nora's best friend, Deepa, could have had a deeper characterization. Now I'm assuming from the name that Deepa is Indian and yet I don't think we get a single indication of what she looks like or much about her. Only that they work at the same place but Nora is now working remotely in Chicago so we get scenes with them taking online then she visits her later on in the book but we get whole descriptions of Nora and Will who yes are the MCs but I needed more for Deepa. And not just have it feel like we know the barest of things about her.

Also, Will randomly calling Nora baby didn't feel natural for him? It didn't seem to ring true for his character and came across as clunky to me and not cute. I don't know man try another pet name or something lol

But overall I enjoyed this book!

If Kate Clayborn can write something I don’t like—well, I don’t ever want her to do it. Clayborn’s writing style just does it for me, and Love At First is no exception. I gobbled this book up like my favorite dessert despite election 2020 anxiety and general dread about the state of the world. It made me laugh, swoon, and brought tears to my eyes (which for me is the highest praise, cuz this bitch doesn’t cry over books).

I was a bit hesitant while reading the prologue. I wasn’t sure where we were heading or what kind of story was being set up. Just a couple chapters later, though, I was IN IT. The instant snack-crackle-pop of mild-mannered enemies with instalust when Nora and Will meet as adults...oof, it’s my favorite. Clayborn does a great job of navigating the enemies to lovers balance. The reader understands each character’s baggage and we know that neither one is the bad guy, making the struggle between them that much more heart-achy. Nora deals with her grief by holding on to the past too tightly; Will would rather ignore it entirely. It was moving to watch them learn from each other so they could move forward together.

A standout scene for me (apart from all the doorframe leaning Will does, holy hotness) is the conservatory. I ached along with Will as he realized the depth of his feelings and longed to reach out and touch Nora. It just got me in my feels, dug in the angst claws and tore my solar plexus to shreds (again, this is high praise from me).

I love this book a whole lot. A great romance and a great cast of secondary characters (found family alert)—I highly, highly recommend this one!

Such a sweet novel. Clayborn knows how to craft an endearing love story with likeable characters, a steamy scene or two, and even a lovely lesson: "You don't have to love people the way you learned to love at first." Many thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC! #loveatfirst

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This is the second book by Kate Clayborn I’ve read. I really like her books because while they are sweet and romantic they also have a little heat to them. It’s quite nice to read a contemporary romance novel that feels plausible and has the right amount of drama to keep you interested but not flustered.

Not to say I wasn’t flustered in this book. There were a few times I wanted to yell at Nora and Will to tell them to stop being so stubborn but isn’t the mark of a good book one where you’re emotionally invested?

Anyways, Clayborn’s books are really fun to read. I did enjoy “Love at First” a little bit more than “Love Lettering”. I thought the main characters in this book were a little bit more likable than the ones from Lettering. I would like to see her do a book that’s not the “enemies to friends to lovers” troupe but if she put out another book I’d be first in line to read it.

Love at First by Kate Clayborn
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Will Sterling has inherited an apartment that he does not want. He decides to fix it up as a temporary rental unit.
Nora Clarke cannot allow Will to turn the apartment into a temporary rental. It will ruin their community. Her neighbors are her family and having strange people moving in and out with disrupt everything.
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This book was so much fun to read! The pranks that Nora pulls are hilarious. The enemies to lovers trope is my favorite. And this book delivered on that for me! I laughed out loud, I cried, I grinned and I pouted. I loved the main characters but also the supporting characters were so fantastic and hoe they helped the MC to grow was so beautiful.
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I gave this book 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thank you very much to netgalley and kensington books for this didgital arc to read! This book is available 2/23/21.

Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley!

I enjoyed this one even more than Love Lettering (which I also quite liked). It’s one of the few contemporary romances I’ve read with two point of views lately, that worked really well.

Both Nora and Will have faults, but they are realistic based on their pasts, and it’s just great to read a book in this genre that’s got a different setup than normal.

I don’t want to go into any spoilers, but I would definitely recommend this one.

3.5 Stars

A sweet and gentle frenemies to lovers story about love, community, grief and fate.

Told from a third person dual perspective, 'Love at First' was a cosy, romantic tale which felt a bit like getting a warm hug! It was comforting, heartfelt and made my heart feel tender at times!

This was essentially a girl meets boy story, but somehow Kate Clayborn made it feel like much more. It was full of genuine and loveable people, who had delightful relationships and connections, and yet the main characters had flaws, baggage, and were complex. The secondary characters definitely elevated this story, from Nora's quirky neighbours, who were adorable, to Nora's fun best friend Dee. Most of all though, I loved Gerald! Will's boss Gerald Abraham was just the cutest man! I loved how supportive he was of Will, and how their friendship blossomed, despite their apparent differences! And I loved his little side plot with his ex wife Sarah! The assortment of people in both Nora and Will's life were like a kind of found family, and after both not having ideal childhoods, this was so wholesome and good.

'Love at First' was about self discovery, learning to be yourself, whilst dealing with losing someone, and all the grief, heartbreak and sometimes resentment that comes with that. It was a quiet look at healing, and moving on after losing someone close. Even though Will and Nora didn't get off on the right foot, and had some differences of opinion, they both learnt to start taking risks, showing some vulnerability.

"You don't have to love people the way you learned to love first."
This line kind of broke my heart a little bit! It was perfect for this couple, who after the initial mild pranks, developed respect for each other, were good for each other, and fit well. There was even the odd steamy moment! And that first kiss....

However, even though I enjoyed this, I cannot give it top marks, as I felt there was something holding me back from the main characters. After falling in love with 'The Switch' and 'Dear Emmie Blue' recently, this one didn't feel as emotional? I didn't connect with the main characters as much, and sometimes they felt a bit flat.

Nevertheless, I liked this easy and comfortable read, and would like to try 'Love Lettering' by this author 🍅🍅🍅 1/2

I've read all of Kate Clayborn's books within the past 30 days. In every one, in addition to being entertained, I've learned a little something. In this one, I didn't figure out what it was till close to the end, when Will makes a confession that broke my heart. I learned something from that. I guess you'll have to read the book to find out.

Will and Nora are opposites - he's avoiding his past, she can't break from hers. Somehow, they find each other and figure out how the pieces fit together, until they don't.

There's a sort of sadness to this book through most of it. There's also a few laugh out loud moments. One of my favorite characters ended up being Wil'l's boss, Gerald. Did not see that one coming.

Cute and sweet and overall happy. Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this preview in return for an honest review. If Kate Clayborn keeps writing them, I'll keep reading them!