Reviews

At First Spite by Olivia Dade

kellyjcm's review

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This defied my expectations, and I was initially quite reluctant to read it due to early marketing? discussion? I'm not sure. Whatever I heard made me think it featured a love triangle, then an unredeemable hero, etc. I even heard on a recent Fated Mates episode it featured a virgin hero, which further muddied my thoughts. And I LOVED all of Olivia Dade's books in the Spoiler Alert trilogy. So not exactly sure where my hangups originated, but I wasn't planning to read it until a book club pick made the decision for me.

I LOVED it. It's funny, it's spicy, it's sweet, it's emotionally mature. It has two MCs over the age of 35. No love triangle.  The FMC's body size - not a plot point.

The virgin hero thing - not a big deal. It comes up once during their first time.

And it has PINING for days. I cannot wait for more in this Harlot's Bay series (absolutely phenomenal name). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Death and Grief

schausjk's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wanted to like this one. There's good things about it, like a fat love interest, interesting portrayals of depression, and the way it talks about job hopping. However, the main characters felt a little two dimensional compared to the previous Olivia Dade book I'd read, although I did enjoy the nuance that was there. The male love interest being the ex-fiancé's brother (who'd pressured him to end the wedding to begin with, and is also more like a father figure apparently) was way too much of an ick for me. I didn't get the chemistry there at all, and without that a lot of their choices made little sense to me. I found the way the characters talked annoying. The constant references to "Professor Google" was... really something, and the meme references will definitely leave this book feeling a bit dated. The groveling felt underwhelming, the monsterfucking references were over the top, and the spiteful actions didn't feel spiteful enough (or make good enough use of the fact that this was a spite house- like that sets up a lot of potential for close contact but in the end it was only used for communicating through windows).

On the spicy side, there were some good scenes especially right before they get together, but when they did get together it got kind of boring for me. Just not the thing for me, I guess.

pie_rogue's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Child death, and Mental illness

amlibera's review

4.25

A fairly in depth exploration of two people's experiences of depression and anxiety wrapped inside a small town romance. 

jmb367's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

cozyjulia's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

jenny_bean_reads's review

emotional funny reflective 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? Yes

4.0

sarahwilkes's review

emotional inspiring sad 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

4.5

nicjmartins's review

emotional funny slow-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

3.75

annamarisab's review

emotional funny hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I loved this book, which isn’t surprising considering Olivia Dade is one of the best. It may sound weird but I loved the way she wrote Athena’s depression. I felt seen. Overall, the writing is 10/10 and would definitely recommend.