At First Spite by Olivia Dade

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. Which 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 literally attached to hers. And Dr. Matthew Vine the Freaking Third – AKA the uptight, judgy jerk who convinced his younger brother to leave her – is living on her other side, only a four-foot alley away.

Unfortunately, loathing Matthew proves more difficult than anticipated. He helps her move. He listens. And he’s kind of…hot? Dammit.

Matthew may not regret ending his brother’s engagement, but he does regret what the breakup has done to Athena. He’ll help her however he can. If that means finding her work, fine. If that means enduring nightly steamy story hours, so be it. And if that means watching Athena through their windows a bit too often and caring about her a bit too much…well, nothing can come of it. She’ll never forgive him. Even if she did, how could he ever tell his beloved younger brother the truth – that Matthew wants the very same woman he encouraged Johnny to leave?

by Lília

When Athena’s fiancé Johnny ends their engagement, she has no choice but to move into the town’s famous Spite House she recklessly bought him as a wedding gift. But the house is sandwiched between his house and his brother Matthew’s, an uptight, judgmental jerk who convinced his younger brother to dump her.

Throughout the book, Athena learns who Matthew really is, and Matthew starts understanding why Johnny fell in love with Athena as he starts falling in love with her himself. He realizes he’s the better option for her, but what will he do when his brother comes back from his honeymoon-for-one?

I confess I judged this book by its cover, and I judged it right.

I love Olivia Dade’s books about curvy women—and men!—and the way she addresses mental health issues very naturally and without judgment.

This is a very intense book, where your only option is to dive into the characters’ lives and worries. It made me laugh out loud, cry sad tears and root for Athena and Matthew to get together.

All in all, At First Spite is a beautifully written love story about real people with real problems and, most importantly, mature people. There are too few romance novels with more mature characters, and Olivia Dade always does them justice.