Love at First Spite by Anna E. Collins

Falling in love is the ultimate payback in this delightful romcom about an interior designer who teams up with a mysterious architect at her firm to get revenge on her 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…

Kindle, 320 pages

Expected publication January 4, 2022

 by Graydon House

3/5 stars

I love a good rom/com! Take the com away leaving a romance novel just isn't my thing.  I love a funny story with some quirky characters, a plot that branches off making the story authentic and an ending that is believable.

Love at First Spite started off great, paint balling in a wedding dress was a great setting and had me anticipating some laughs.  Can you feel the 'but' coming? Yup here it is.

But, I was glad for a quick read.  I loved Mia and Iris along with a couple large dogs but I couldn't connect with Dani.  For someone so smart her level of spite just didn't match, it came off as immature and rather expensive.  After a while the story just flattened out and kinda lacked the com in rom/com.

That being said, I did like the ending (somewhat) in the sense it wasn't what I expected. This would appeal to those that like a good quick beach read.

My thanks to Graydon House (via Netgalley) for this digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.