Pub Date	February 13, 2024
Publisher	Avon
Page Count	355 pages
Genre	Romance, Contemporary, Adult
Goodreads Star Rating	3.79
My star rating	3.5

At First Spite Book Summary 

At First Spite by Olivia Dade follows Athena, who was recently dumped by her fiance at his brother’s urging. Problem number one is that she actually liked the brother, Matthew, before she knew who he was (and he seemed to like her). Problem number two is that she bought her fiance a house (on a teacher’s salary), that’s right between her ex’s and his brother’s house. Left without money, job or any prospects, she moves in — and Matthew can’t seem to stay away. 

At First Spite Book Review

I haven’t read an Olivia Dade book ever since I finished Spoiler Alert a few years back. It wasn’t a bad book, but it had a fan falling for her favorite actor, which is never a dynamic I like. And it’s not like I stayed away from her books on purpose — they were mostly about actors and fans from what I could see, so I just wasn’t interested enough. 

That is, until I saw At First Spite. Something about it was so intriguing — I’ve never read an “ex’s brother” romance and I liked that it was about more mature characters. So I jumped right in. 

Immediately, I loved the writing. It was clever, good on a craft level, and even funny at times. The dialogue was snappy too. And I even liked the heroine. But I especially loved the hero, Matthew. 

Matthew is what you get when you mix Colin Firth in any British rom-com and Matthew McFadden from Pride and Prejudice (2005). He’s so soft, so considerate, so unassumingly charming. He’s what the romance readers deserve after so many arrogant, rude, vaguely handsome heroes. 

And his chapters were especially well-written, probably due to the lack of memes and millennial humor that becomes so prevalent throughout the book. 

The beginning is really strong, and the relationship that develops between Matthew and Athena is very tender and sweet. She’s pricklish, which is somewhat understandable since Matthew was the main reason her fiance left her. 

However, I also didn’t understand Athena’s problem with all of it. She was never in love with Johnny in the first place and openly admits to not missing him. What she liked about him was that he offered her a way to not work for a while and still have money to survive. She even flirts with another man at her engagement party. 

So all she was after was the comfort, a way for her to remain flighty without appearing so. 

Clearly, Matthew was right all along, and it should be clear to her since she’s almost forty and, you know, should be reasonable. But she remains petty and rude to Matthew for a long time, believing he hates her when again, he clearly doesn’t. He helps her move in, leaves tips, finds her jobs and openly tries to comfort her. 

I hoped that she would get more understanding as she got to know Matthew. He was parentified as a young child, raised Johnny and spent years conforming to his every whim. It’s decades of trauma and behavior that needs unpacking, and it can’t be done so easily. 

Unfortunately, Athena doesn’t seem to think so. Even after Matthew helps Athena through her depression — cleaning for her, finding her a therapist, bathing her — she pushes his boundaries when he’s not ready. She practically forces him into a relationship she knows he’s not ready for because he knows it would hurt his brother’s feelings. 

It’s become a trend in romance novels — or perhaps, it’s always been one — that heroines take but never give back. The heroes have to be understanding, have to grovel at the slightest mistake, but get none of that in return. And I understand that romance novels are mostly wish fulfillment, but I prefer to read about reciprocity in relationships, equal partnerships where all involved are equally giving. 

The third act conflict is Athena getting pissed off and almost leaving because Matthew agreed to leave Athena so Johnny can have a chance. But she overhears that conversation, and she knows that Johnny was very manipulative — plus, she knows that Johnny is Matthew’s only family and he couldn’t stand to lose him. 

Instead of trying to talk to both of them and clarify things, she has her little girl boss moment of “you don’t love me enough, this is not what I deserve”. 

I really did love the first half of the book. Harlot’s Bay is beautiful as a setting, cozy and reminiscent of 90’s rom-coms in vibes. All of the side characters are charming as well. I loved watching the romance between Matthew and Athena develop and grow. 

Unfortunately, the sex scenes kind of ruined it. There aren’t too many, but the way Athena talks during is truly cringe-inducing. As in, I kept making faces at her dialogue. I was embarrassed for her. 

But even with all of my complaints, I did enjoy my time reading At First Spite. It was such a breath of fresh air after The Wingman and Hate Mail. I would highly recommend it if you’re looking for tons of yearning and longing, forbidden romance, and cinnamon roll heroes. Especially so if you like your characters more mature. 

There’s another book in this series (for now) and it’s coming out soon, so I’m really looking forward to that as well. It’s about Karl, the grumpy baker that loves monster romance and is actually really nice. 

If you decide to pick up At First Spite, I hope you enjoy it (even more than I did). Happy reading!

Highlights & Notes

• At First Spite is written in third point of view, from both Athena and Matthew’s perspective.
• This book is moderately spicy, with only a few sex scenes that are detailed but not especially out of the ordinary.
• At First Spite will have a sequel of sorts, about a romance of another character. Both books can be read as standalones.
• Check content warnings before reading. Some of them are: depression (described in detail, on-page), death of a child (remembered, mentioned in some detail), parentification, parental abuse and neglect, and more.