Book Review: Love At First Spite by Anna E. Collins
The Details
Media Type: Ebook
Title: Love At First Spite
Author(s): Anna E. Collins
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages/Length: Ebook; 320
Release Date: January 4, 2021
Source: Publisher
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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In this delightful, breezy romcom, interior designer Dani decides to get revenge on her cheating ex the only way she knows how: by building a spite house next door.
They say living well is the best revenge. But sometimes, spreading the misery seems a whole lot more satisfying. That’s interior designer Dani Porter’s justification for buying the vacant lot next to her ex-fiancé’s house…the house they were supposed to live in together, before he cheated on her with their realtor. Dani plans to build a vacation rental that will a) mess with his view and his peace of mind and b) prove that Dani is not someone to be stepped on. Welcome to project Spite House.
That plan quickly becomes complicated when Dani is forced to team up with Wyatt Montego, the handsome, haughty architect at her firm, and the only person available to draw up blueprints. Wyatt is terse and stern, the kind of man who eats his sandwich with a knife and fork. But as they spend time together on- and off-site, Dani glimpses something deeper beneath that hard veneer, something surprising, vulnerable, and real. And the closer she gets to her goal, the more she wonders if winning revenge could mean losing something infinitely sweeter…
The Review
This was exactly the book that I needed to start my year off right! Love At First Spite is an adorable story, with so much heart. It’s the type of romance that I love, because all of the characters are just so vivid and wonderful. If you, like me, are a reader who needs character growth you’ll be so pleased with this story. It’s so hard to truly explain how happy reading this made me. It was everything that I wanted!
First off, kudos to Collins to creating such stellar characters. Every person in this story feels like someone that could be your best friend, your family member, or you coworker. All of them are so well fleshed out, and the thing that really makes this book shine is how much attention it pays to real emotions. Dani isn’t a perfect MC. She’s frustrating at times, she makes poor decisions, and her inability to let others help her doesn’t do her any favors. However she’s also kind, funny, loving, and full of that kind of sunshine energy that just makes you want to scoop her up and hug her. She felt like a real friend, going through a break up.
Then there’s Wyatt. Our resident grump on the outside, and utter teddy bear on the inside. It was so refreshing to see a male character who had just as much emotional baggage as his female counterpart. Wyatt’s work and home personas were like night and day. One moment a confident and charismatic man, and the next a tired and lost man who is just looking for some acceptance. I loved how Collins wasn’t afraid to make Wyatt vulnerable. It made all of his decisions, all the sweet things he said, so much more wonderful to read about.
Truly I could gush about characters for entire paragraphs, because even the supporting characters are absolutely lovely! However I think you’d like to hear about the romance aspect of this book, am I correct? Rest assured that is adorable! Just the right amount of steamy heat, mixed with the kind of giggle worthy banter that is guaranteed to put a blush into your cheeks. I adored the slow burn of their budding relationship. Again, and I know I’m saying this a lot, it was so refreshing to see a romance that felt realistic. Two people, thrown together under unexpected circumstances, learning that they compliment one another more than they expected. It was so very sweet, and I ate it up.
A solid four star read for me! I highly recommend this book. If it’s not already on your list, get it on there!
