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30something_reads 's review for:

Love at First Spite by Anna E. Collins
3.0
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

This romcom follows Dani, a spunky interior designer, who is coming out of a 3 year relationship after discovering her ex-fiancé, Sam, cheated on her a month before their wedding. Obviously resentful, Dani hatches a plan to build a "spite house" on the lot next door to the home her and Sam were going to live. She enlists the help of her new landlady, her cousin, and the talented but grumpy architect from her firm, Wyatt Montego, to make this vengeance a reality.

The premise of this story immediately grabbed my attention - because, hello, I LOVE an opportunity for pettiness and this just sounded like an excellent and grandiose scheme to get back at someone. Add in a Grumpy/Sunshine workplace romance plot and I'm sold.

I really liked Dani and Wyatt as characters. I just wish they actually interreacted MORE. The moments that they do are pure gold. Wyatt is so clearly into her from the start and it's so cute how he is trying to insert himself into her life.

Overall, this was a cute story. I do like how it all comes together at the end, I just wish we got to spend a little more time focusing on these two characters vs the heavy details of the spite house. I think this is also a story that would have benefited from a dual POV format- the inner workings of Wyatt's mind would have been very interesting. I would have loved to see his internal struggle of maintaining a professional boundary and his desire to get close to Dani.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Graydon House for sending me an eARC vis NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.