Reviews

At First Spite by Olivia Dade

sarahjeanreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

skittyrreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Deeply, deeply unserious novel. But it was a lot of fun. Great mental health rep (imo), decently funny and not too cringe- I really liked Athena's arc! Having someone older who isn't sure of what they want to do is refreshing. Matthew is textbook definition offline boyfriend which yes is extremely funny. Also love the hearts to monster-romance novels, hell yeah they deserve their time (Olivia I support you if you go into that territory). Twas a fun romp, if a little tropey.

kikalaufeyson's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

sirrossington's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

beagle_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

readtheroomjess's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

books_w_bex's review

Go to review page

4.0

[This review is long cause I had a shocking amount of opinions about this book!]

Athena gets dumped a month before her wedding to Johnny, largely due to convincing by his older brother Matthew (who also stood in loco parentis for Johnny). Athena has already purchased and is committed to living in a house literally right in between the two brothers. In so doing, she ends up interacting with Matthew way more that expected and, while she has him cast as a massive asshat, he continues to do kind things for her. She finds she truly doesn’t hate him (quite the opposite) and vice versa. They inevitably fall in love with each other but oh that’s awkward cause he’s her ex-fiancé’s brother and also the instigator of hers and Johnny’s break up. Yikes.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️? I am finding this book very hard to rate
Spice:

stephwatt617's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bookishbowen's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

🌶🌶
Vibes
- Good Time, Sweet/Adorable, LOL, Sad

Just my type
This is easily my favourite Olivia Dade book I've read. I love all the characters, even Johnny (the ex). He wasn't a villain, they just weren't right for each other. Athena and Matthew were so sweet together. Matthew was so awkward in the the best way, he has no idea about any pop culture, memes, movies and it was so funny. It's such millennial humour that is just a bit of me. The depression representation was done so well and was so real (my experience at least). The whole book was charming, cosy and emotional and I loved every bit of it.

Tropes
  • Family/Friends's Ex
  • Neighbours
  • Plus Size
  • Small Town

elmewhy's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5