Note for Readers: The author and I follow each other on social media and have been friendly for some years. Regardless, this review is my honest opinion.

Content notes: Grief, depression, death of a child (off page but recalled in the book).

Dear Olivia Dade,

I look forward to your books every year – it’s not unusual for them to turn up in my best of lists – and you are a reliably good author for me. I know I’ll always like a book from you, possibly even love it.

At First Spite is a book I liked a lot but did not love. From what I’ve read online already I may be an outlier here.

When the book begins, Athena Greydon, 37, is engaged to Dr Johnny Vine, 31 and they are celebrating their engagement in Johnny’s home town of Harlot’s Bay, Maryland. Athena’s friends and family aren’t at the party so, apart from Johnny, Athena doesn’t know anyone. Johnny’s off talking to friends and at the buffet, Athena meets a handsome man around of about her same age or perhaps a little older and they hit it off, bonding over mutual insatiable curiosity and love of potato-based food. Then it turns out that this stranger is Dr Matthew Vine, Johnny’s older brother whom she had not met previously, the same brother who has been trash-talking Athena since the engagement began and who has made it clear he does not support the marriage. She then overhears an argument between Johnny and Matthew where Matthew says more negative things about her, so it’s fair to say Athena is not in the Dr Matthew Vine the Third’s fan club. (By the by: what kind of self-respecting fiance leaves his betrothed alone for so much of the engagement party, especially when he knows she doesn’t know any of the other guests?)

Eight months later, Athena moves to Harlot’s Bay a single woman, Johnny having finally caved to Matthew’s urgings and broken off the engagement only weeks before the wedding. Athena had purchased the spite house immediately next door to Johnny’s house in the bay as a wedding gift for him. (Well, she used all her savings for the deposit but she still has a mortgage. Is it really a gift if you bring the mortgage too? I admit I was a little confused by this.) Now that they’re not together, Athena, having quit her job in preparation for moving to the area in order to live with Johnny once they were married, has no money and nowhere else to go. So, she moves in to the spite house.

Up until that point, Athena had been largely supported by her parents, who are well-off as a result of lucrative careers as paediatric cardiologists. Athena has multiple degrees and has been something of a career dilettante – staying in a job for a few years, and then moving on due to boredom or burnout. Matthew raised Johnny after their parents checked out following the death of their middle brother, Adrian, as a baby (only slightly older than Johnny was at the time). Matthew was eight. Johnny has been indulged and supported by Matthew for his whole life, perhaps to try and make up for the lack of other family. Matthew still pays half of Johnny’s student loans even though they are both paediatricians who (a) have jobs (Johnny works with Matthew in the practice he co-owns with his best friend Yvonna) and (b) own their own houses free and clear (Matthew’s house was gifted to him by his parents, Johnny’s house was willed to him by his grandmother). Why can’t Johnny pay his own loans?

Much of Matthew’s initial resistance to the relationship between Athena and Johnny was because he feared he would end up supporting both of them instead of just Johnny. (Johnny had told Athena he would support her until she found her next career and she should take all the time she needed to decide Which makes me question that spite house mortgage again.) Plus, they’d only known each other a couple of months before getting engaged. From where Matthew is standing, it all looks very reckless and unwise.

After Matthew met Athena in person, his reasons changed, even though he feels ashamed about it. In any event, Matthew knows that Johnny would never make Athena happy in the long term. And, he couldn’t bear seeing her married to his brother and long for her for the rest of his life. Matthew feels a lot of guilt about his part in breaking them up but he still believes their marriage would not have been successful.

Athena is aware of the first reasons for Matthew’s objections, if not his later ones. She’s hurt and angry and stung. She’s determined she will not take more from her parents and hasn’t told them she has basically no money and no job and she’s in a house only ten feet wide by necessity rather than choice.

As it happens, while the spite house is directly attached to Johnny’s house, Matthew’s house is on the other side of a narrow alleyway on the other side. Athena’s and Matthew’s windows into the alley are effectively windows into each other’s houses.

Athena is initially very angry with Matthew but after a while they develop a friendship because Matthew apologises genuinely and because he feels so much guilt he accepts all of Athena’s pranks (signing him up for newsletters, multi-level marketing calls, etc) as his due. And, because, let’s face it, they belong together. After a while, Athena realises that Matthew is actually a really nice guy and they do have a lot in common. Johnny is away on the honeymoon-that-wasn’t and Athena and Matthew start to spend a lot of time together.

However, Athena’s mental health is at rock bottom and she falls into a deep depression. Matthew, already desperately in love with her, helps her see what’s happening, cares for her and helps her to get treatment. Those are some of the most beautiful and moving parts of the story.

Along the way, Athena falls in love with Matthew too. But… she used to be engaged to his brother and how can Matthew betray his beloved sibling that way? How could they possibly be together?

I felt it was a reasonable thing for Matthew to be worried about, particularly given the dynamic between the siblings.

Athena’s thinking was a little different.

Yeah, it was weird that she’d been engaged to his brother. She got his hesitance. She didn’t share it—Johnny was a grown-ass man who’d dumped her of his own free will, and he’d get over any damage to his ego sooner or later—but she got it.

I thought that Athena was being incredibly naive and unrealistic.

It’s obvious all along that Matthew and Athena belong together. But I did have a disconnect. Why was she ever with Johnny? They didn’t appear to have much in common. There wasn’t a lot of Johnny in the book really. I was told he was charming and funny but I didn’t see much of that for myself. Mostly he was a sponge who expected others to do things for him and who didn’t have much of a backbone. What attracted Athena to him in the first place? Why were they engaged? There is a suggestion that perhaps Athena was looking for an exit from some unhappiness in her job and in her life’s direction and got together with Johnny to give her that off ramp but it was not really explored. And it doesn’t explain why Johnny was engaged to Athena. (I liked Athena very much. But why did Johnny like her?) Of course, me believing in Johnny/Athena runs the risk of me being conflicted by Matthew/Athena so this may be one of those dilemmas where there is no perfect answer.

Also, on page at least, it never bothered Matthew that Johnny had been intimate with Athena. Maybe I’m just weird but that would bother me. I’d at least think about it. I think I could move on from it but it would not be a non-issue.

Matthew is a such a caretaker I was very very glad when I read this:

Matthew had spent his entire life protecting others and taking on their burdens. His parents. His brothers. His grandmother. His patients. Her. But who protected him? Who shouldered his burdens when he labored under their weight?

I’d have liked to see more of Matthew being taken care of actually but that wasn’t really the story. Still, there were glimpses enough that I could tell that Athena would be there for him in a way he had not experienced before.

Athena meets a number of people in Harlot’s Bay and makes good and strong friendships. One of the links between these friendships is a mutual love of erotic romance, particularly monster-fucking books. While I have read and enjoyed a few monster romances I can’t say they’re my go-to reads. The “excerpts” featuring an arachnid monster (shudder), a yeti and a guppy-man, were, I think designed to lovingly parody the subgenre. They were pretty bad – deliberately so but still, bad. At lot of the humour in the book comes from these stories. I suspect others will enjoy this humour better than I did. Me, I felt a little disconnected from it.

There were some beautiful things in the book. They way Matthew took care of Athena when she was deeply struggling and at her lowest with depression, for one.

“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. It doesn’t mean you’ll never set sail again. And no matter what happened before, no matter what happens next, you couldn’t be anything less than glorious if you tried.”

I enjoyed the friendships Athena built so easily. Her curiosity about life and just about everything. Harlot’s Bay itself was fascinating; the backstory and it’s quirky street and business names. I’m very curious about the mysterious “Sadie Brazen” and her narrator. I’m glad that by the end, Johnny and Matthew had a much healthier dynamic. Up until then, even though based in love, their relationship seemed very unhealthy to me.

Perhaps because some of the humour didn’t quite land for me, I found the story more melancholy than intended. It does explicitly with some heavy topics. Those heavy topics are treated with care and sensitivity but there were times I found them hard going.

At First Spite has much to recommend it and I certainly liked it but other of your books have worked better for me.

Grade: B

Regards,
Kaetrin

I think I have a crush on Matthew, the male protagonist of this book! The story was so entertaining and cute, even if the premise sounded kind of crazy ot me. As all of Olivia Dade's books it was just a great read and i'd recommend it to all romance lovers!

This book was one of the first romances that I’ve read in a long time where I was legit STOKED to see where it would go. It was romantic, heartfelt, healing, sexy, and just…so fucking great.

🏠 REVIEW: At First Spite 🏠

If you're looking for contemporary romance fan fiction of Mark Darcy, specifically as played by Matthew McFadden in the 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, then this is your book.

SUMMARY: Athena is feeling lost at her own engagement party until she connects with a tall, dark, and handsome party guest – who just so happens to be her fiance Johnny’s older brother – the same brother who’s been naysaying the couple’s engagement from the start. Fast forward 10 months, and Athena is single, jobless, and broke – and forced to move into the only property to her name: the alley-width “spite house” that shares a wall with her ex-fiance’s home.

This was a fun contemporary romance with strong P&P themes: A happy-go-lucky pushover convinced he shouldn’t go through with a marriage; an uptight and responsibility-driven older brother who falls for a forthright heroine determined to speak her own mind; overheard conversations and more.

I liked it and thought it had one of the least depressing on-page representations of depression I’ve ever read. It was empathetic and kind to a character who needed to be cared for, and that felt so unusual to me!

If you’ve made it this far and this sounds like something you would like, then check it out! It came out Feb. 13 and is now available everywhere.

Thank you to @netgalley @avonbooks and the author for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sweet and sexy rom com; enemies to lovers. Written in Olivia Dade's signature style- great characters, banter, tension, and chemistry.

I wasn’t sure this story would work for me given that the main trope is sibling’s ex, but Olivia Dade wove such a thoughtful and quietly tender novel. The content warnings from the author (included below) were very helpful to me and I strongly urge readers to check them prior to reading this one.

Things to look forward to:
- a wonderfully laugh out loud and eclectic found family
- opposites attract
- small town romance
- an entire forest of pining
- some of the best caretaking scenes I’ve ever encountered
- super starchy stern brunch daddy who’s actually an absolute softie inside
- a hero who listens and learns so he can be crowned the Champion of Head ;)
- he falls first (and HARD!)
- forced proximity/neighbors
- fat rep
- enemies-ish to friends to lovers
- a hilarious nod to monster romance/erotica

There was a lot going on for the characters in this book and sometimes that felt overwhelming. It also made the book feel overly long, but I understand that the author was setting the world up for future books. I know some readers mentioned feeling uncomfortable with Matthew and Athena's first meeting and their flirting/connection, but I felt like it was rooted more in camaraderie and finding a kindred soul. It also drove home what a poor match her and Johnny were and that he didn't truly see or know her. Speaking of Johnny, I didn't love his return and the drama at the end, but I could understand why all the characters might respond this way given their histories. I'm glad that it didn't last long though and it also set up some very hilarious (and sweet) grovel. Overall, this was a very tender (and funny) love story and I'm very intrigued that surly (but secret sweetheart) Karl's book is next!

CW (from the author's website): Heat level is steamy (the story contains graphic sex scenes and other sexual references). Athena is experiencing clinical depression, although she doesn’t recognize it immediately. Her symptoms do not include suicidal ideation; that said, she sometimes has a vague longing to disappear. Once she acknowledges her depression, she seeks treatment. Matthew still grieves the death of his infant brother in an accidental drug overdose three decades before. Salty language is used frequently and lovingly.

*I voluntarily read a review copy of this book and listened to the audio via my library/Libby*

Great! I really loved Athena and Matthew and especially the depression rep in this, and I'm very excited to learn who the next book is about.

Olivia Dade's At First Spite was one of my favorite reads for the first few months of 2024!

Athena Greydon is moving into the spite house at Harlot's Bay, single with two glaring problems. A: The house is in the middle of her ex and his rude brother. B: It's next door to the obnoxious Matthew. Matthew, the man she will never see as someone other than the man who tore apart her relationship. What's the issue of having some fun now that they're next door neighbors? A little fun never killed nobody!

The depression rep in At First Spite is chef's kiss! I related oh so much to Athena's feelings towards leaving teaching and Matthew telling her she just can't always take care of everyone. I adored the dual pov, vulnerable characters and the love/care Dade brought to the sexual scenes. I CANNOT WAIT to read the next in this series!

4.5 stars rounded up

I wasn't sure how I would feel about a romance with an ex's sibling, but Olivia Dade did not disappoint! At First Spite balances humor and banter with a heavier exploration of depression and mental health challenges.

When Athena's fiancee breaks up with her two weeks before the wedding (partly at his brothers suggestion), she has no option but to move into the spite house she bought next door as a wedding present to him. Only to discover that his uptight brother, Dr. Matthew Vine, lives on the other side of the house. So while her ex is off on the honeymoon SHE planned, she decides to mess with the brother who ruined her life. But maybe he isn't as bad as she thinks, and maybe he has his own childhood trauma he's coping with.

There is a point in the book where Athena goes through a major depressive episode (and while this isn't said on page, I suspect she might also be neurodivergent in some way) and while it's graphic, it's handled with such care and compassion. And Matthew's care for her during it is also really great. It's a case of both of them re-evaluating their first impressions of each other and what it is they really want and need in life. Parts of it are a little heavier than what she typically reads, but it's also hilarious. Like when she blasts steamy monster romance audiobooks out her window while trying to mess with the hero. Definitely one to pick up! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

I genuinely fell so in love with this story between Matthew and Athena. They were such at odds when they first met and with everything that went down but slowly they started almost thawing for each other.

At First Spite had so much heart and warmth, even during the petty moments - you couldn’t help but enjoy them! Athena is such a strong-headed character and I loved being able to see her vulnerable side and seeing her let her defenses down around Matthew. And don’t get me started on Matthew - the softest human ever! I just wanted to shelter him from all the bad and ugly in the world!

If acts of service is something you live for - you’re gonna eat this one up!

This book was fabulous! This book is the funniest so far and the banter and spiteful little games are laugh out loud funny. Again she gives us a strong, smart plus size heroine in Athena.

We really appreciated how she wrote Athena and her depressions. Mental health representation was flawlessly done including an epilogue talking about how meds and therapy don’t cure you, that you may still have bad days/seasons. Athena is amazing and real and I connected so hard with her. To see someone care for her responsibly and delicately was beautiful and something every depressed person deserves. Matthew was the best partner she could have asked for. We get to see their love bloom from enemies to frenemies to friends to lovers. He allows her space to be a responsible adult while also carefully taking care of her in small and big ways that are always the most thoughtful. We also loved how we get to see Matthew’s weak moments not just hers.

Spoilers follow
Matthew convinces his brother to drop his fiance, Athena right before her wedding never thinking of the consequences and she is spiraling after the betrayal and stuck in a house between both brothers. In the small town she makes friends and slowly learns about herself and Matthew is determined to make up for ruining her life.

We learn Matthew feels responsible for his brother and knew his brother wasn’t ready to be married so insisted on breaking them up. His other brother dies young and it’s also why he’s such a control freak afraid of so many things like murder dolls (hilarious) lightening and heights.

Athena feels like a failure because no job sticks and she gets bored easily she feels irresponsible and useless. She learns she needs therapy and has depression after she spirals and Matthew climbs up her house to check on her. He cleans. He cooks. He bathes her.

Funniest moments of the book (possible spoiler but maybe not): monster f*cking audiobooks broadcast via speaker to the neighborhood for an hour every night that the male bakery owner, Karl, introduced her to and that every neighbor loves for in the evening LOL. Also murder dolls and emotional support silkie chicken. Epic!

This is a VERY slow burn so they don’t hook up for like 85 percent of the book which did suck but in the context makes sense so we didn’t mind it. Confrontation with Johnny the brother really showcases how immature and selfish he is. But they make up and the epilogue is awesome because she manages the local bookstore which feels perfect for her.

Overall another winning book by Olivia Dade and we cannot wait for Karl’s book next!

Tropes:
Forbidden
Ex’s older brother
Slow burn
Enemies to friends to ❤️
Allllll the banter

3🌶️

At First Spite by Olivia Dade is the first novel in the Harlot's Bay series. I was instantly smitten with the history behind Harlot's bay and had high hopes for this story. As you are introduced to the characters, I was looking forward to hearing about Olivia and her living in the spite house (another fascinating detail) but about a little more than half way through the story, I began to skip. And readers, you know that is never a good sign.
Now I know I am reading a steamy romance and I'm fine with that, but I'm not the biggest fan of cryptid sex scenes and this book has much too many of them in graphic detail for it to be a little inside joke as it was at the bakery. And they just kept happening. And not in a little mention but in graphic detail over and over. It just wasn't for me.
It is obvious that Olivia Dade is a fun and talented writer and if this sounds like your jam, then enjoy. But this just wasn't for me. I did finish all the way through because I did care about Olivia and Matthew. But man, I skipped A LOT.

I had a hard time with this one. Usually Olivia Dade is an auto buy author for me, but this was a big miss.

I wasn't sure about the premise (Falling for fiance's brother) and was hoping it would turn around as I read, but it was just not working for me.

Olivia Dade is the front runner in funny heartwarming sexy romances for funny heartwarming and sexy people. With warmth and grace, Olivia Dade explores so many sensitive and real complications of adulting that so many of us face and she shines a bright light on the strength of her characters.

This was another of my most anticipated books of the year and I hated that it was enemies to lovers lol I HATEEEE that trope. But because it was Olivia Dade and I trust her with anything, I just gave it a try. And no, I’m still not a fan, but I did like this one. (Not the enemies bit, but still lol)

Ok so the characters in this were amazing. I don’t think I could love an MC more than Athena. Not only was she cute and bubbly and hilarious, but she didn’t take no ish from anyone lol The things she did to take him down were things I don’t think I could come up with even on my meanest days. The mail thing? I’ve heard about that, but I didn’t realize how much that would annoy me until I read about it happening to Matthew lol Speaking of Matthew, I have to say I was not a fan at first. I knew exactly where this was going and I was not a fan. I messaged my group chat members who had already read it and was like am I going to continue to hate him? They know I’m not a fan of enemies to lovers because they always seem too mean to me lol And I’m sorry but breaking off an engagement is definitely not nice. So no, I was not a fan. But of course there is some under-lying things happening and depression makes an appearance, so I think he was redeemed. (Mostly)

The two of them together was weird. As a HUGE pop culture person, I was so entranced by Matthew’s mind lol How in the world was it that he knew NONE of the things happening around him lmao I I know this is a me thing, but Lordt I felt like he was living under a rock! And Athena being someone who flitted around and did all these different jobs, she knew a lot of different things, and it was hilarious the way they contrasted. But they still found a way to make it work. Idk, I loved the two of them together. Also, the smexy times were weirdly hot. The way he was doing the hot nerdy dirty talk was weird but it worked because I didn’t expect anything else from him.

The mental health struggles I thought were portrayed well. I am not depressed, but I do live with someone who was diagnosed and I did recognize some of the things that were happening with Athena that was happening to them. And I know that doesn’t mean the portrayal was accurate for others, but it seemed accurate to me. But again, I do not have depression so I won’t go into more detail about the portrayal. I’ll leave that up to those that have that identity.

The narrator is one of my favorites too. She also did The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D Jackson. And although I read that one with my eyeballs, I also went and read it with my ears in some parts too. And let me tell you, Joy Nash knows how to get hook you into a book and let me just tell you, I was hooked into this one. She made everything in this novel fun, including the audiobook excerpts lol (Also, please tell me she’s going to narrate the second book too because I don’t think anyone can do Karl’s voice like she can lmao)

This book was so good but definitely a lot heavier than I thought it would be. When I think of Olivia Dade, I think of fluffy romances, so this was interesting to read. I hope to see more of this in this next book, even if the synopsis makes it seem like this is going to be a rom com.

This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. As someone with ADHD, I love reading, but have never truly connect with characters or 'place myself in their shoes.' The story of Matthew and Athena was beautiful, and I will tell everyone I know to read this book. Maybe because Athena was a character with a very similar life story to mine, I have never connected with a character like I did with Athena, and never cried more because of a book. A plus size woman, burnout at a job every few years, a desire to never stop learning, two graduate degrees, and a fun case of depression. I'm lucky to have found my own Matthew and Harlot's Bay community, but reading this book and having that in a book was such an experience, was absolutely life-changing. I loved this book, and it will be my number 1 read of 2024.

I've always loved Olivia Dade for her plus sized representation in romance novels, but this book has given me a new reason to love her; her amazing mental health representation of a person who struggles with depression. This book made me laugh and cry, and it resonated with me as someone who has also recently struggled with depression.

Not to mention that this book as another incredible romance with such an interesting plot about a woman who gave away a little too much of herself in her relationship only to realize it after her fiance breaks up with her. I couldn't recommend this, and Olivia Dade's other books more. She has such a great wit along with the ability to really tug at your heartstrings.

Thank you so much to Avon for providing me with an ARC of this book!

If Olivia Dade writes it - I read it.

Athena is marrying the wrong brother. And both brothers, deep down, know it. So instead of figuring this out early she gets dumped during their engagement and buys the narrowest house on the planet that is directly next door to her former fiancé, Johnny. Because she’s *pissed*.

Too bad Matthew lives on the other side of it and has to deal with her wrath everyday while Johnny goes on THEIR honeymoon. The nerve. Except, Matthew is taking this like a champ, and she loves getting under his skin. I mean, those forearms tho.

Read the trigger warnings on this one because I CRIED during a few scenes and full disclosure I never cry during books. This book touched me in ways I had no idea it would.

This was a good book by Olivia Dade. Not my favorite of hers to date, but still one I enjoyed.

This book was interesting because I felt like the pacing was a bit untraditional. It was a bit up and down the whole book, so if not for the percentage at the bottom of my screen, I might not have known exactly when it was going to end. I don't necessarily think that was a bad thing either.

I like that Matthew wasn't the traditional MMC. He was serious, fairly reserved, and didn't date. He was so focused on his brother and his practice that he never thought about dating. Athena was more free, a bit loud, and spirited in general. The complete opposite of Matthew Vine the Third (and I loved it).

The body positivity and diversity are a given when it comes to Dade's books. She always features plus-size women, and I love it. Sometimes, they have thoughts on their bodies, but usually they don't. Not every women needs to feel uncomfortable in her skin, especially plus-size women, and I'm so happy Dade shows that.

Overall, I enjoyed this book from Dade. I'm not dying to read the next book in the series, but I'll probably pick it up when I have time.