Bridie has given up on men after going on twenty disastrous dates in twenty days. Meanwhile Ben is the ultimate playboy returned to town after a year abroad. Bridie and Ben have been enemies ever since he stood her up at their leaver’s ball party, ten years ago. In Love at First Fight we see Ben and Bridie discover buried feelings of love and passion for each other after their meddling friends set them up together and they are forced to help plan their friend’s wedding.

The first half of the book was fast paced and entertaining as we read about all the shenanigans their friends get to. I loved the fun filled banter that Ben and Bridie exchange. There were quite a few places in the book where I laughed out loud at the things they said to each other.
I loved the author’s narration style.
But I felt that the rest of the book dragged on a bit. The events that Mary Jayne Baker introduced later into the story felt forced. There was also a lot of emphasis on the side character’s story. Not a lot of focus was on the main couple. Some of the characters and tangents that were introduced felt unnecessary.
Although I did enjoy reading this book, I was disappointed that it was not completely what the blurb promised. I felt that this plotline had a lot more potential. But there wasn’t anything in particular to abhor about it either. I might have liked it better if I had gone into it with lesser expectations.

So I would say that Love at First Fight is a fun, lighthearted and cute book that you can pick up to pass the time during a lazy afternoon. You will enjoy it if you keep an open mind and don’t go in with your own expectations.

Review on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/p/CQgNDQ7HE1W/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Review on Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4034324412?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1#comment_form

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: August 5, 2021

A fun frenemies to lovers trope that is a great summer read! There’s plenty of witty banter and plotting among friends to keep you interested but the big ah-ha! moment in this happens at about halfway through and then it works through a few struggles—some reasonable and some not. The secondary storyline dealing with an ex-girlfriend was boorish and off-putting and left a sour taste in my mouth toward the end of the book but this still finishes strong with a HEA!

Love at First Fight
2/5 stars

I’m going to keep this review short since I didn’t like this very much.

I read the synopsis and it said this would be an enemies-to-lovers and second chance type of romance so I was quite excited to read this, however, it did not meet my expectations. The male love interest was not likable at all, he was extremely misogynistic (ex: saying that pampering and that kind of stuff is only for women and saying something along the lines of “did you just grow a pair of ovaries” when he suggested doing a spa day). I didn’t like the situation that was the foundation for them becoming enemies. I also did not understand much of the dialogue because half of it was literally just British slang. Bridie and Ben’s relationship also felt really forced since it was formed based on a plan that their friends concocted to get them together.

The story also includes Cal and Hattie’s relationship problems which I did not expect since it was not mentioned in the synopsis. But to be honest, I couldn’t care less about their drama.

I just didn't like it at all.
I don't know, probably it's just me because there are a lot of positive reviews about this book...

The Synopsys is definitely misleading, Bridie goes on 20 dates in 20 days but we only get to read about the last two, and anyway, the whole dating stuff ends right at the beginning of the book.
Moreover, the main characters don't hate each other, this is not at all an "enemies to lovers", Bridie and Ben are secretly in love and have been since they were teenagers.
Everyone-like the whole village-knows that. It's not like anyone believes they hate each other.

Because of this, after very little bickering and death stares from Bridie and Ben, Hattie (Bridie's Roommate and College) and Cal (Hattie's fiance) decide to work out a plan to make them realize they are in love.
The plan is the stupidest plan I've ever seen, is basically based on gossip. as if two people understand they are in love with each other because you tell them they are.
Well, apparently is a brilliant plan because it works, from half of the book there's a lot of "I Love You" and "My love", then there's the obvious drama that every romance has and the finale is MEH.

I also didn't like the fact that at one point the book focuses on Hattie and Cal, who cares....the book should be about Ben and Bridie, no? No. There's a lot of drama between Hattie and Cal and I couldn't care less.

I couldn't connect with the characters who weren't particularly well written and they lacked personality.
Moreover, there were too many secondary characters, Ursula, Pete, Jojo, Megan, and another dozen of them...obviously without a precise reason to exist and no personality at all.

I also don't like when novels are set in a real place, I prefer when the author imagines a city and that's it (it's hardly the author's fault this one, still it didn't make me like the book more).
In this case, the novel was set in Yorkshire, therefore places like Leeds, Blackpool, etc. were mentioned a lot (can't relate).
There's also a lot of British slang, a lot of "Luv", "mate" and other words I cannot relate to.

There are also a lot of typos with Bridies's name: Is it Bridie or Bride? I'd suggest correcting them.

I'll follow up with a more reader-friendly review on Goodreads and Amazon (when the book will be published).

The lovers to fighters trope always gets me, so I was intrigued by Love at First Fight, combined with being marketed for those that enjoyed 10 things I hate about you? Count me in.

However, after reading, I don't know if I would make either of these comparisons. There was some hostility, but it seemed more to hinge around a misunderstanding than a bet or wager. The two main characters are manipulated by their friends to start seeing each other in a different light, but I felt like that was too contrived. It was too on stage silly, where I could picture this in a play and being very tongue in cheek, but in a book it felt too staged. I didn't quite buy it or their chemistry after that point.

Also, I didn't love the Hattie/Cal drama, it detracted from Bridie and Ben. Overall, it was fine and a fast read, but I don't know if it delivered the big promises it made with the 10 things I hate about you concept.

Bridie is a cynic when it comes to love because she's been burned in the past, specifically by Ben. She blames Ben for her bad luck with her dating life. When Bridies best friend gets engaged and she becomes maid of honor and her nemesis Ben is the best man, they are thrust together with wedding planning. Bridie and Ben need to decide how to handle being reunited once again.

This was so cute. It gave me warm fuzzy feelings. I love when men get vulnerable in books, it makes the characters so much more rea for me. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Aria for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: Aug 5

Yes, this book is so promising with its frenemies to lovers premise, lots of relatable, interesting supporting characters, MCs’ high chemistry and delicious, sarcastic, ultra smart banters made me fall of my couch several times! I laughed so hard! At least five times I wiped my tears!

When you see those comments you may think I have two different personality! If I liked this book so much why the heck I gave only three stars! Why I suddenly changed of heart…

Firstly: I loved childhood friends, teens in love but some incident tear the lovers apart theme: Ben and Bridie has been knowing each other at young age. They have some unresolved issues and now Ben’s brother marries Bridie’s best friend so they have to tolerate each other during the ceremony instead of being each other’s throats and working together because they’re best man and maid of honor!

This blurb gives me so much hope! And their group friends were so much lovable!
But… I was confused because Ben and Bridie’s issues finally resolve in second third and we finally find ourselves reading about blah blah blah much ado about nothing kind of bride and groom drama. I felt like the author wrote two different books and instead of releasing them one by one she decided to release them by combining in one story!

I loved Hattie and Cal but I preferred to read them as secondary characters! I didn’t want to read additional pages filled with their angsty personal dramas! It made me lose my interest and I simply started rolling my eyes, feeling an irresistible desire to skim their parts to reach the ending!

I think if there is a chance the parts belonged to bride and groom to be emitted, I could change my grading and giving this book four entertaining, smart, great romcom stars!

But I think I decided to give this one solid three, still entertaining but no necessary additional characters needed stars!

I loved the writing style of the author and
still intrigued to read different works of hers. But the last third of the book didn’t work for me!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Aria&Aries for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This is such a fun read!! The concept was brilliant and I laughed a lot!!! I really loved the relationship between the characters and I found it really endearing

Teacher Bridie has struggled in the love department since her high school date and first love Ben decided not to show. She's much older but the slight still stings. She's even been on twenty somewhat disastrous dates to try and find someone .... without any luck. With her friend's upcoming wedding to Ben's brother, Ben returns home. He's still charming, egotistical and a womaniser. And he still pushes all Bridie's buttons. How can she avoid him and why does he get a reaction all this time later?

Love at First Fight is a quick, light rom com. It is fun and the banter between Bridie and Ben is appealing and promises much. For a womaniser Ben gets cold feet at one stage - it's meant to be appealing, however there's something about the couple that seems a little forced, or just falls short. This is a gentler romance in terms of the steam factor, and after the time period these two have experienced such angst, you would think there might have been a little more to this. The relationship between Bridie and her friend Hattie is a nice one, and between Ben and his brother as well. If felt there was alot of work getting to the couple getting together and then it just didn't amount to what I expected.

Three stars for this one - and thank you to netgalley for the free ebook copy of this one to read.

I liked the concept of this book a lot. The plot follows the various wedding events between Bridie's best friend Hattie and her now-fiance, the younger brother of the sort-of ex who wronged Bridie while they were in school together, leading to a banter-filled love-hate relationship. While the wedding planning goes along, Hattie, her fiance, and their friends conspire to make Bridie and Ben realize that the hate they claim to have for each other is really a deeply misunderstood attraction.

I liked Bridie as the protagonist, and I loved the concept of 20 dates in 20 days, which kicked off the plot. I wish that had been made a more central part of the storyline.

I didn't find myself particularly attached to the male lead--I was more interested in the relationship between Bridie and Hattie, in the end. The author does a phenomenal job of exploring female friendships, and of what it feels like to stay in your small hometown as you get closer to 30.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romances! It's fun, and sweet, and has a good HEA. But I don't know that it's one I found compelling enough to read again, which is usually how I differentiate between a 3 star vs a 4 or 5 star book.

This book is a frenemies to lovers with lots of sarcasm. Love at First Fight is just so light, fun and enjoyable! I adored the duality of perspectives as we could see Ben and Birdie's perspectives on their relationship and it allowed for a more dynamic read. The book following Cal and Hattie was a little confusing, it distract from the main story. Although I understand that they were used as a plot device to allow the main characters to come together. I love this lighthearted rom-com, all the characters were so cute.

This was my first Baker novel and I'm a little torn on how to review it. I loved the UK verbiage and patterns of speech so much and felt she nailed the world-building and character development. The banter was fun, flirty, more friends with ruffled feathers than enemies-to-lovers, and created a strong bond between all the characters. Where my issue comes in is the plot-line/drama. I wanted more Bridie and Ben (who I called Birdie the entire time because as a US English speaker Bridie isn't a word/name and my mind kept trying to make it something more "normal" for me, I guess) and less Cal and Hattie drama. The relationship and push and pull of Bridie and Ben was so much more dynamic and smoother/more natural than the made for tv drama of Cal and Hattie, which felt forced in there to add angst. It changed it from a really good NA rom-com novel to a daytime drama series. (think soap operas here in the US) I will give Baker another go because it may just be that this particular book wasn't my thing and I do truly enjoy her characters and sense of humor.

To start off, Love at First Fight is an ‘enemies to lovers’ book about two childhood-friends/more-than-friends. It’s a trope that I’m obsessed with, so to say that I was excited to read about enemies having to work together on their mutual friends’ wedding would be quite the understatement.

Bridie Morgan and Ben Kemp used to be childhood friends turned into something more-than in their late teens, at least until the incident their last school year. Ever since that incident, they’ve been at each other’s throats like cats and dogs, or at least Bridie has been. But after a year away from home, Ben returns to find that his little brother is in quite the serious relationship with Bridie’s best friend. To Ben’s delight and Bridie’s horror, they’ve been assigned the roles of best-man and maid-of-honor.

The relationships between Bridie and her friends are hilarious. They – Bridie, Hattie and Cal – were fun to read about. Especially the relationship between Bridie and Cal. I loved how they all seemed so close, almost like family. But this is not just the three/four of them, but with the other friends, and Pete of course, to complete the group. They were all fun to read about together, especially as each other’s co-conspirators. The banter between Bridie and Ben was probably my favorite thing about this book.

However, I was honestly a bit disappointed after I finished this book. Maybe I went into this with high expectations. But when started reading this book, I was ready to really fall in love with it.
As an enemies-to-lovers fan, the bantering and teasing is my absolute favorite thing to read. But with Bridie, I couldn’t help but feel bad for Ben. Ben really seemed to consider her his friend, and his teasing was always good-humored. But Bridie didn’t consider Ben as her friend. So her ‘teasing’, at times, came off really harsh and mean-spirited. At times, she sounded downright mean to him.
What really bothered me about this book, is the fact that there’s basically a second book woven into the story of Bridie and Ben. And that’s the story of Hattie and Cal. However much I liked reading about them, it started to frustrate me the more they appeared. With that, I mean having their own chapters throughout this book. I felt like I saw too much of them in this story to consider this a Bridie and Ben story. Hattie and Cal’s relationship woes/drama seemed to become the center of this book, and it was not what I was expecting. What I expected was more of Bridie and Ben’s relationship and their own drama, and less of Hattie and Cal. It felt like I got a 2-in-1 deal that I was completely unaware of. Hattie and Cal could’ve and/or should’ve gotten their own story, instead of forcing Bridie and Ben to share the spotlight with them. Their drama dominated the last 20% of this book, which I unfortunately skimmed because the frustration had gotten so bad, and made it a slow read for me.

It would’ve been nice/considerate to share the importance of Hattie and Cal’s drama in the blurb. Because what I expected was not what I read about.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

After really enjoying The Runaway Bride earlier this year I simply couldn't resist returning to Mary Jayne Baker's writing; especially since her newest story promises to deliver the 'enemy to lover' trope I tend to enjoy when done right. I've been looking forward to Love At First Fight ever since, and I'm still surprised myself I ended up struggling with this story instead of having a great time with it... But there were various reasons why this story and me simply weren't ment to be.

First of all I do have to say that I did like the general idea behind Love At First Fight (or at least Bridie and Ben's story), and the story started out well enough. I always love the banter that comes with the 'enemy to lover' trope, and there was definitely plenty of that in the beginning. The 20 dates Bridie forces herself to go on were fun to read about, and most of the characters were easy to like initially. BUT. I can't say this story is actually properly an 'enemy to lover' story as the two characters are not really enemies in the first place. Friends with a grudge maybe (and only in Bridie's case), but fullblown enemies? Most definitely not. And the whole friends and family teaming up to show them they love each other all along was getting old fast too.

I also still don't understand why the story lost focus on Bridie and Ben and introduced a major pet peeve with Hattie and Cal's story instead. I hate stories with a cheating element and the way it was introduced and milked out in Love At First Fight was just cringeworthy. I also thought there was just way too much drama and insecurity going on especially in the second half, and the ending felt rushed after all that sudden cliche drama going on. Not credible, not entertaining to read, and it basically ruined the story for me. A sole focus on Bridie and Ben and more banter would probably have improved things considerably, but as it is the story turned out to be a dud for me. Such a shame, as it started out so well!

I wasn’t too sure how much I’d enjoy this one, even though the premise sounded fun, but I am so glad I decided to give it a try; this was so much fun! I definitely had LOL moments and I couldn’t stop reading it; I had to rush to the end to see what happened. The love hate trope was done very well and the meddlers were hilarious. There was just enough roadblocks to keep it interesting, but fixed speedily enough to not get annoyed. And then, plot twist problem! Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and Aria and Aries for the eARC for review!

_____

"I love it when a plan comes together, don't you?"

Ben broke Bridie's heart 10 years ago, and her love life has been cursed ever since. She gives herself 20 dates in 20 days to find her perfect man before she resigns herself to lifelong single-dom. But with her best friend getting engaged to Ben's brother, Cal, and her and Ben picking up the mantles of Maid of Honour and Best Man, she's seeing a lot more of Ben than she'd like. Of course, everyone else can see the two have long-hidden feelings for each other, so the wedding party - minus Ben and Bridie themselves - devise a plan to get the two back together once and for all.

Love at First Fight was.... cute. It had a lot of potential. I love brit-lit, and the cast of characters, when we saw them, was fun. Bridie and Ben had great banter, and there were definitely some laugh out loud moments.

But the book quickly lost its course. What could have been a really great enemies-to-lovers dual POV romance spiralled into an overdramatic and unnecessary side-plot focus by the end.

SPOILERS.

I wanted to follow Bridie and Ben on their journey from frenemy "exes" to sickeningly in love. But the love part came way way too fast, with "I Love You's" flying around before the two even get back together, and their drama resolved 75% into the book. After that, the book shots focus to Cal and Hattie, the bride and groom, and some random drama that added nothing to our main story.

We didn't need the Hattie / Cal and company POV additions. I firmly believe the story would have been tighter had we focused more on Ben and Bridie. Obviously b and c-plots are okay - and welcomed! - but once our a-plot was resolved, the rest just felt like noise.

Also, I feel like Baker could have toned down the casual sexism. There's even a scene where Ben asks if Cal has a vagina because Cal wanted to get a rock massage for his bachelor party. It didn't sit right with me, especially considering Baker was so good at shutting it down later when Bridie and Ben talk about their distaste for marriage, how outdated the traditions are.

Overall, this is a quick read, has nice writing, and good characters, but the plot fell a little flat.

Note: I was generously provided an ARC by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Man, did this book remind me of how much I love Much Ado About Nothing. I mean I kinda almost forgot that I went through a <I> major </I> phase where I was obsessed (partially due to the YouTube web series "Nothing Much To Do" and having studied the play in school). And this does a great job of maintaining so much of the heart of the story - frankly, Benedick (or in this case Ben) and Beatrice's (Bridie) relationship and banter. Add in a wedding, a 'Sten' party, quintessential British humour (I mean you've got quotes like "I bloody knew it. You've been at it like a soon-to-be-disgraced MP, haven't you?") and the Love Gods are back in business.

Although I have to say, it was an interesting twist to see what they did with Hattie and Cal - kind of flipping the story on its head, but certainly in a way that still made sense. And hell, made Cal/Claudio a lot more likeable.

I really had fun reading this retelling. Mary Jayne Baker brings these characters to life in the 21st century and it's phenomenal reading as the characters get themselves caught up in a bunch of trouble. This is a great read, regardless of if you've read or watched Much Ado About Nothing before.

It is no secret that I love enemies to lovers books and this is one that I read in under 24 hours. It would have been one sitting, if I hadn’t slept in the middle of it! It isn’t full enemies to lovers, as Ben was not aware they were enemies, but I still enjoyed it regardless. This is a lighthearted romcom book that was very enjoyable.

Bridie was a funny character who has never really had a successful date, so she has a last ditch effort and does twenty dates in twenty dates to either find the one, or prove to herself that love doesn’t really exist. Hattie, her best friend, and roommate, is dating one of her old friends Cal, brother to her nemesis, Ben Kemp. Bridie blames Ben for causing her love life to be almost non-existent after he stood her up after their leaver’s prom. Once Hattie and Cal get engaged, Bridie and Ben have to spend more time alone together planning their joint hen and stag do, as they are both the maid of honour and best man. This of course causes a lot of tension and banter between the two characters, which I adored.

‘There’s no one in the world for me but you. You have to believe that.’

This book was interesting because it was told mainly from the perspective of Bridie and Ben, but Hattie and Cal had their own perspectives, and their own story. I was more invested in Bridie and Ben’s story as Hattie and Cal’s gave me a lot of stress towards the end. There was a lot of scheming from the characters in this book, to encourage Bridie and Ben to realise they actually loved each other, and didn’t hate each other, and I thought the way they went about it was clever and also quite fun. I loved the dynamic between the characters and the way Bridie and Ben’s relationship developed.

Love at First Fight was the perfect binge-read romcom for Summer. I recommend it if you want something lighthearted and addictive!

I throughly enjoyed this one! It was such a cute and lighthearted rom-com read.

Ive been on a bit of a fantasy binge the last few months so this book was such a refreshing change and turns out it was just what I needed ... I think i was in a bit of a fantasy burnout!

Love at first fight is a frenemies to lovers kinda read with banter to have you laughing out loud, cute romance (actually two) & meddling friends ... it reminded me of one of those Cheesy hallmark movies (In a good way!)

Overall, just what I needed at the time .. light, fun and enjoyable! One of those pick-me-up kinda books!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this one in exchange for an honest review.

Great lighthearted summer read! Cute and fun! I loved the characters and the romance was beautiful to see develop.