Day: January 4, 2022

Love at First Spite is everything a person could want in a romantic comedy.

Not only is there a winning heroine and swoon-worthy hero, but there are terrific secondary characters who have just enough time in the story to make it interesting. There is also a great setup and even better follow-through in the plot.

Plus, there is an excellent “Dirty Dancing” reference.

Who could ask for anything more?

I love how the author takes “normal” romcom tropes (workplace, opposites, enemies to friends to lovers, revenge) and crafts it all into a believable and winning story.

I admit to being a little upset with Dani at first because I thought she was too negative in her assessments of people, particularly Wyatt. But then I realized that it was a reaction to how Sam treated her, as well as how she perceived her mother and father’s relationship – and then it all made sense.

It is easy to see where there are missed connections between Dani and Wyatt, and the author does a fantastic job of skirting that just enough that the reader knows what is going on even as Dani remains clueless.

But where the author truly excels is in Dani’s reactions as she realizes what is really going on with Wyatt. In my opinion, any author that can make a reader experience the same “swoop in the belly” that a character feels when they recognize an attraction building has done an excellent job of character development and writing.

In other words, it is awesome to have those feelings right along with Dani – it makes it all more realistic.

As I mentioned before, the secondary characters have just enough to do to make things interesting. Mia and Iris both add comic relief in their own ways, and a stealth scene with Mia and Dani late in the book had me literally laughing out loud.

Of course, the spite that propels the entire plot is well-placed and serves as a platform for the relationships that build. A twist at the end could seem sensationalistic, but actually fit the rest of the story. And I loved how “the girls” dealt with all of it.

As I mentioned, Love at First Spite is a quintessential Romantic Comedy and should not be missed. It sets the bar high for the genre for the rest of the year.

Author Bio: 
Anna E. Collins is a Seattle-area author who writes stories about the lives and loves of women. Once upon a time she was a teacher, and she has a master’s degree in educational psychology. LOVE AT FIRST SPITE is her first novel.