I loved this book so much. Olivia Dade is already a one click author for me, when I see her name on a cover I'm automatically snagging the book. Speaking of cover, the cover of this book is so absolutely adorable. I'm not usually an animated cover kind of gal, but this one is really cute. This book has it all, really. Some laugh out loud comedy, snarky one liners, relatable characters, hot sex scenes, and a story driven plot. It also tackles issues of mental illness in a very comfortable, authentic feeling way. I also really love the plus size representation and how it wasn't even an issue in this book. I LOVED that.

The premise of this book really caught my attention, but the writing fell flat and the FMC is so overly annoying - I just couldn't make it past a few chapters!

This is laugh out loud, fun, steamy book. It also deals with mental heath. Even when dealing with difficult topic, it’s witty. We cannot help but like the characters…each and everyone one of them. I am not much into forbidden romance but I enjoyed this fun romp of the book.

I really enjoyed Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert series. Her body positive messaging with the main female characters is so wonderful. Matthew and Athena both display resilience in their lives, as well as vulnerability that they ultimately show each other. It was a lovely story. Matthew is the perfect grumpy male lead with a heart of gold and Athena is so relatable.

Read this book if you like:
💜Enemies to Lovers
💜Brother’s ex/ Ex-fiancé’s brother
💜Forced proximity
💜Mental health rep
💜Small Town
💜Slow burn
💜Grumpy x Sunshine

Also, this quote... as an educator, this gave me goosebumps and made me feel seen.
“Teaching, to me, felt like climbing a mountain.... One of the giants. Everest or K2. It was this endless march upward, scrambling over groaning crevasses and beneath seracs that could topple at any moment. The summers were only brief stops at base camps. And the longer and higher I climbed, the thinner the air became. I was always running behind schedule, always gasping for breath. Only there was no summit anywhere in sight.”

At First Spite is a ton of fun! It's romantic and soft but with pranks and hilarious shenanigans that will have you laughing out loud while reading. It starts off with our MCs as enemies after Athena's fiancé leaves her right before their wedding because of his brother's misgivings. His brother who happens to be Matthew, the other MC in this love story. It's an enemies to lovers romance with miscommunication and mental health representation. It's funny, sweet, sad, heartwarming, and a bit of chaos at times -- but in the best way. Olivia Dade gives a real look into depression and what the longterm effects of childhood trauma and grief can look like. I love that she doesn't shy away from these tough topics but then she also has a monster romance book club and lots of steamy, spicy, sexy times. This book really just has it all and is a fun read to escape into. Both MCs are relatable in such different ways. Athena is kind of lost when it comes to finding the right job/place for her and Matthew has spent so much time feeling lonely that he didn't even realize how bad it was until he met Athena. Readers will find themselves rooting for this couple -- I know I did. It's an emotional read but you won't regret it!

Some highlights from reading:
*Professor Google
*Monster Romance Audiobooks
*Pranks
*Facing fears to check on someone you care about ( the window scene was so so sweet -- well the first window scene, there's another that is less sweet more spicy (; -- you'll know it when you get to it )
*Paying attention to what the people you care for care about
*WWGMD
*Found family
*Small town vibes
*Forced proximity
*Chicken man

I really enjoyed this book & recommend it to any romance readers!!

Thank you Avon for the eARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book came out February 13, 2024!

Thank you so much to Avon for the advance copy of this book!

I am so so mad at myself for waiting this long to read this book! I was not a fan of Dade's last book so I was hesitant to start this but after several of trusted reader friends raved about it, it was time to dive in.

"You've never bored me. Not for a fraction of an instant."

I honestly thought this was going to have paranormal element (I could've sworn I read that somewhere) but it very clearly did not. A spite house was a new term for me though once I learned more about it while reading it, I realize that it definitely was not a new concept. I love that we got see Athena and Matthew meet at the engagement party before it all went downhill so we could see their spark. When Athena ended up moving in, in between the brothers (which was a choice by the author) they were forced to play nice. I am not sure if I would've done all the spiteful things that Athena did to Matthew just to agitate him. He took it with stride.

Chapter 11 to 13 were the most beautiful chapters and had me in all my feels. Matthew was just so tender and the moments between him and Athena just felt so real. And even typing this was making me emotional. We all deserve to have those individuals who will do whatever it is to make sure you are okay. "I know you're lost right now, Athena. I know you're damaged. But you're seeking new worlds sweetheart, and sometimes that's what happens." My heart just broke for Athena because she had so much change in such a short time and she never fully dealt with those changes. It just felt so relatable and turning 37 this year I felt the failures that Athena felt. It just hit me hard and made me reflect on moments in my life where I needed a Matthew.

Dade is a masterclass of writing sex scenes for plus size characters. She has a way with her words that just make you feel all those ooey gooey feelings. She knows the mechanics of the female body and the partner has the gentleness that you want to read in a romance. There was something about Matthew that was new for me in a romance and thought that was a refreshing take and unexpected. I was so happy she took advantage of their apartment proximity.

I am still rating this book high because of the emotions and reflecting it had me mentaling doing while reading. But the whole brothers triangle was just not something that I enjoyed and I knew there was going to be pain and anger regarding it as always does. Even though I thought Dade did as best as she could with the storyline and I am glad that this was a dual 3rd POV because we got to see the brothers interact. I had so many love hate moments with Johnny and though I didn't fully understand why Matthew was so against Athena in the beginning. It only makes me wonder what Johnny was telling Matthew and making her seem like she was one thing but as Matthew learned he was very incorrect about. Also the moment towards the end at the cemetery just squeezed at my heart. I actually would've loved more about their parents. Perhaps this trope would've worked for me more if there was more time between them reconnecting and not so soon after the engagement ending.

I also felt like she could have cut some parts out to make the book a tad shorter. Did we really need to get the detailed of all the audiobooks (granted I think this sets up for next book)? Or every time someone needed to google something new?

I am looking forward to the next book because honestly I have no idea what Karl is going to look like or anything about him! But his personality was great!

If you are a fan of Olivia definitely check this one out but proceed with caution because even with the antics and small town feels there is also a lot of real topics dealt with.

Athena Greyson hasn't made the best go of things in her life. She's got multiple degrees, multiple failed careers, and now she's also got a broken engagement, a house she bought as a gift for the ex-fiancé, and nothing better to do than move into said house, which happens to be directly between the homes of her ex-fiancé and his judgmental older brother. Dr. Matthew Vine III has done everything for his younger brother, solving all his problems and making his life as easy as possible. But he didn't expect Athena to suffer as a result, so now he feels guilty. Meanwhile, Athena only wants revenge, except maybe Matthew isn't as awful as she thought? And maybe Athena isn't quite the disaster he thought? In this first book in her new Harlot's Bay series, Olivia Dade gives readers a hard-fought happily ever after for two people who never really thought they deserved one. Along the way they drive each other crazy, make each other laugh, comfort each other in sadness, and listen to a lot of really dirty audiobooks.

I have been wanting to read an Olivia Dade for awhile so when I saw this one on Netgalley I jumped at the chance to read and review it. A romance with a fat female lead? Yes, please! And reading romances in February just feels right.

However, I definitely read the synopsis a little too quick and missed the part where the lead's love interest is her ex-fiance's older brother. Romances where one sibling betrays another and I'm supposed to root for them is one trope I can't get behind. It always bugs me SO much and distracts me from the actual story. I just think of the 8 billion people on Earth, there should someone better suited for you than your sibling's ex.

Otherwise, I did enjoy the story. Athena, the female love interest is a book lover which I always love. There's a lot of plot about sexy monster stories and visiting the bookstore. It's also an enemies to lovers trope which is one of my favorite things. I think if the love interests had met each other a different way, this would have been a top tier romance for me. So, I'll have to try other books by this author!

I'm somewhat lost on my rating for this one. Between a 3-3.5
There's some BEAUTIFUL things in this book but there's also some things I REALLY didn't like.


First did like.... Plus size FMC done beautifully.
⚠️SEVERE depression ⚠️ done really well.

Didn't like.
Not a spoiler... FMC gets dumped by ex fiance ends up living in town next door to his brother and oh ya ex fiance lives nearby too.
One of my biggest issues with the brothers, best friend or best friends brother, or in this case ex fiance's brother is the utter BASHING of said sibling that happens. And it is a big part of the plot in this one. This just doesn't sit well with me.
Then she gets together with the brother and he is confronted by his brother and CRUMBLES. Gives her up for this brother that he has continued to bash the entire book.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In my opinion, it takes a LOT to make a book where the FMC starts with one brother and ends up with the other work, but Olivia Dade manages to make it happen. The book starts with Johnny and Athena’s engagement party and a meet cute- between Athena and Johnny’s brother. Then we learn that Johnny broke off the engagement right before the wedding and Athena has moved into the wedding present she planned to give him- the Spite House, a narrow house between Johnny’s house and, unbeknownst to her, his brother Matthew’s house. Throughout the books the reader is introduced to Harlot’s Bay and its residents, who I’m hoping are the subjects of future books in this series. I had a few minor issues with this book, mostly how Matthew’s traumatic past is never truly addressed, but overall I really enjoyed it.

This was such a cute novel! Dade knows how to write fun scenes with zany characters that you feel like you would meet in the real world. I really liked Athena and felt connected to her struggles with not using her education in a way that she saw as meaningful. I thought the look at what depression looks like to different people was astute and helpful. I also liked that Dade focused less on Athena being plus sized in this novel. It made sense in the last trilogy she did to talk about how others viewed the main character's weight, especially when you know they are in the media, etc. But Athena never had that issue (other than hating her shower in a tiny home). It felt real to a lot of fat characters. Dade also made sure that it was often Matthew who hadn't lived his full life due to his own work. He was interesting and fun and had a lot going for him. Overall, it was a fun little romance that was breezy to read.

I will say that the only thing that kept me from really loving it was the whole brothers of it all. I felt like it didn't explain some of the weirdness that would come from dating two brothers. I know that we are going to see Johnny in the future (he has third book written all over him), but I wanted to see more of his relationship with Matthew. We were told a lot more than we were shown, and it made some of the plot beats fall flat. Mix that with sometimes a little too saccharine of dialogue, and it was not a full "love for me." Definitely worth a read though!

I had issues with the couple dynamics on this one. I think the author was trying something different, but I was just not enjoying it. First off, the MMC was scared of his own shadow and the FMC came across a little immature. I did enjoy the mental health discussions. Its good to see those topics touched upon.

I am a huge fan of Dade and this one was a real disappointment for me. I enjoyed the brotherly relationship - that felt like genuine, earned conflict, and I liked the town, which is why I'm giving it three stars instead of fewer. The main couple, though? This man can be 40 and a virgin - he cannot be 40 and a virgin and have never actually seen a movie, ever, and be afraid of chickens and thunderstorms and Halloween decorations, plus the completely ridiculous shirt business. No. He didn't seem like he was competent to be outside without supervision. Meanwhile, the book kept telling us how smart she is, but she doesn't seem smart at all. No. This felt like fanfic in a bad way. I was really surprised to see so many people loving it - this is a real miss from Dade for me.

This book completely confused me. Having read other books by Dade in the past, this felt very different.
First, our immediate introduction to Athena is learning that she agreed to marry her fiance after only knowing him for a few weeks essentially because he claims he will take care of her financially. And this is because she has made some not so great choices in her life that, as a 40 year old adult, she still can't figure out how to deal with. So that was a major turn off for me. Dade tried to make Athena this quirky, curious character and justify her situation by trying to show that Athena is just so overly intelligent and curious that she needs to flit from place to place to maintain her attention span and curiosity, but it just doesn't work. She comes across as spoiled, lazy, entitled, and incredibly immature.
Secondly, Matthew and Athena's relationship made literally no sense. It didn't seem to be based on anything other than him feeling guilty at first. And, yet again, Athena decides to let him take care of her because she, yet again, made a poor choice in purchasing a house she can't afford. Their banter was so awkward, filled with waaaayyy too many pop culture references, very immature on Athena's end.
Thirdly, Matthew is such an unbelievable and cringe character. Are we really supposed to believe that a relatively fit, attractive doctor who's in his later 30s/early 40s has NEVER had a relationship before or ... done things? Yeah right. This just added to the awkwardness and confusion of the entire plot.
Overall, there was no character growth from either person and while I can appreciate trying to represent more mental health issues, like depression, it took such a dark turn so quickly. Instead of it make me more understanding and empathetic to Athena, it just made me more annoyed with her. So I think Dade could have handled and incorporated that in a much better way.
Finally, some last complaints. If I hear/read "Professor Google" one more time...
Why would a 40 year old man not understand some REALLY basic pop culture references? Is he ok? Is he really the one that needed to be checked on this entire book?
Could have done without the super weird book club and making it look librarians are all into super weird genres. Not helping.


this book was at best boring, and at worst an awkward hard to get through story.

I’ve always loved Olivia Dade’s books—especially when it comes to the representation of real people with real problems.

This book didn’t land as well for me, but it’s not because of the representation. Olivia still nailed that. What didn’t completely work for me was the pacing—something felt off from about halfway through all the way til the end.

From a jilted fiancée who gets left a month before the wedding because the husband-to-be’s brother told him to, to the move that results in her living directly next to the sadistic brother himself (hint: he’s not actually sadistic), and the major depressive episode she falls into for nearly half of the book…a lot of this felt incredibly realistic to life gone wrong and the pain and suffering that can follow.

I actually really liked the brother in this story, too—despite how he’s introduced in the beginning. The only part that felt off to me was the pacing throughout the book and the ending. It felt as though we were on a time crunch and had to end it sooner rather than later. It was abrupt and didn’t fall in line with the slow-burn pacing of the rest of the story.

Even still, I will always be an Olivia Dade fan and plan to pick her books up again in the future—especially since mental health and plus size rep are at the heart of each of her stories!

Tropes:
- Plus size FMC
- Mental health rep: depression
- Jilted fiancée
- Ex-fiancé’s brother
- He falls first
- Forced proximity

I always love Olivia Dade for how she writes plus size characters. Between the writing and the covers, you KNOW her heroines are plus size, but it's never something that's dwelled on. So many authors make being plus size the character's entire identity, and it's refreshing to read a "normal" developed character who happens to be in a bigger than average body.

The story and romance were wonderful as well. I've read multiple Olivia Dade books, but this one might be my favorite.

This is romance! Longing! A little bit of obsession!

I loved it, by far my favorite Olivia Dade novel (and I've enjoyed all I've read). The many ways a person can care for you, can love you, through grief (new and old) depression, anxiety, mistakes! The one you love picks you up when you are down and you do the same for them! Fantastic read, I'm so in love with this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is not only entertaining, but keeps you absorbed from start to finish. After Athina‘s engagement ends, she ends up, living in the spite house, which she bought, which happens to be next-door to her ex fiancé‘s brother Matthew. I love seeing the development between Athina and Matthew, because of how they viewed each other was changed drastically as they got to know each other in a deeper level than before. This spoke really has a terrific romance but also, I love how it looks into Athina’s so.ul. I highly recommend this book.

If the taking care of… trope was a book it would be this.

Olivia Dade comes back with a charming, heartfelt and witty romance that will leave you in all your feels. It has become one of my favourite books of the year and my absolute favourite by Olivia. I can't express how much I loved this.

Olivia Dade does it again! A strong first entry in the Harlot's Bay series. Athena and Matthew were such strong characters and mental health challenges were handled so effectively by this author! The only thing that didn't 100% work for me was actually the monster erotica element.