Book Review: At First Spite by Olivia Dade

At First Spite by Olivia Dade

Published: February 13th by Piatkus
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5 stars)
Genres: Adult // Contemporary, Romance, Spicy Reads
Quick Thoughts: At First Spite was delectably fun, enchantingly witty and had so much heart. I was totally consumed by the dreamy landscape of strawberry dresses and pastries, monster audiobooks and a chilli-hot romance.

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This was not gifted to me via the Publisher. There was no obligation to post/give this book a certain rating. I remain entirely impartial.

About This Book:

Bestselling author Olivia Dade welcomes you to Harlot’s Bay in this delightfully sexy rom-com about a woman who buys the town’s famous Spite House, only to realize the infuriating man she can’t stand lives right next door–and their unwilling proximity might spark something neither can ignore.
When Athena Greydon’s fiancé ends their engagement, she has no choice but to move into the Spite House she recklessly bought him as a wedding gift. This is a problem, for several reasons: The house, originally built as a brick middle finger to the neighbors, is only ten feet wide. Her ex’s home is attached to hers. And Dr. Matthew Vine the Freaking Third (aka the uptight, judgmental jerk who convinced his younger brother to leave her) is living on the other side, only a four-foot alley away.
If she has to see Matthew every time she looks out her windows, she might as well have some fun with the situation–by, say, playing erotic audiobooks at top volume with the windows open. A woman living in a Spite House is basically obligated to get petty payback however she can, right?
Unfortunately, loathing Matthew proves more difficult than anticipated. He helps her move. He listens. And he’s kind of…hot? Dammit.

First Thoughts

I’m not sure how I can call myself a romance novel fan when I hadn’t picked up a book by Olivia Dade until 2024!! Seriously, I had seen flutters of her book titles around Goodreads and had been meaning to add them to my TBR when I realised this was January’s Afterlight Romance featured book in the box. I’ve been in awe of the beautiful hardback with sprayed pastel edges with the cutest strawberries. I posted a look at this on my Instagram. It only added to the atmospheric feel as I slipped into the pages for what I was sure would be a great read.

My Review

Athena Greydon thought she was about to live her happy-ever-after. Engaged to doctor Johnny Vine and upending her life to move to his hometown in Harlot’s Bay, she was just about ready for something constant and steady (not that Johnny was all that reassuringly together.) But months into their whirlwind relationship she’s unloading boxes into the house she bought as an engagement gift for him—one of those tiny houses they build between larger houses that you might have seen on the news as “spite houses” where it’s barely big enough to move around in, let alone live—that adjoins onto his own house. Alone. He had always wanted the house to knock down the walls and build something larger but now, well, that’s not an option. They are very over. Especially when his interfering, irritatingly handsome older brother Matthew is around, anyway. The brother that made Johnny leave her in the first place, who never, ever liked her. And as it turns out, Athena can’t get away from Dr. Matthew Vine either: he lives right across the way.

Spurred on by pure pettiness and heartbreak, Athena begins making life just a little inconvenient for Dr. Matthew. Moves his house numbers. Rick-rolls him. Moves his welcome mat. But what she doesn’t count on is the way he’s . . . not all that mean? He had been the one to split her and Johnny up, though, hadn’t he? And that counted for something. Athena isn’t sure why he’s trying to help her find a job and checking on her, offering to help unload boxes and get her to make friends and connections in town. All she knows is that the sadness of feeling like a failure becomes a darkness too hard to overpower. And when it’s Matthew that helps her out of that chasm, becoming her friend, being so gentle with her that it makes her feel like he could be something much more than her enemy, it begs the question: what if Matthew was actually the one she was supposed to be with all along?

Overall, At First Spite was delectably fun, enchantingly witty and had so much heart. I found the mental health aspect a refreshing touch for a romance read, and Olivia wrote Athena’s battle with it in such an accurate way that it brought me close to tears at times. I adored Harlot’s Bay and the peeks of characters I’d experienced (and hope to see more of in the future!) but especially Matthew and Athena. To be honest I was about 20% into the book and really couldn’t connect to the story until I suddenly just became sucked into it, totally consumed by the dreamy landscape of strawberry dresses and pastries, monster audiobooks and a chilli-hot romance. This was a true delight, and I cannot wait to read more from Olivia. I also want to thank her for writing a main character that has my body type because we definitely need more representation in literature. An absolute must read, especially perfect for spring.