Caffeinated Reviewer

Fans of the grump trope will enjoy Love at First Spite by Anna E. Collins. When her fiancée cheats on her with the realtor who sold them their dream house, Dani Porter builds a rental property on the vacant lot next to them. She’ll call it the Spite House. Plans look good until she begins working with a grumpy & sexy architect at her firm. Grab a cup of peppermint mocha and settle in with this delightful romcom.

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…

The opening hooked me when we meet Dani and her cousin Mia playing paintball and I loved after at the bar when she had an awkward encounter with hot architect and office grump, Wyatt Montego.

Dani caught her fiancée cheating on her with their realtor and I understood her emotions, and while I believe karma looks after us, I even understood her need to make him suffer a little. She, along with her cousin and her dog loving landlord, invest in the small property next to the ex’s house. While she wants someone outside of her firm to handle the design, when Wyatt offers to do the work in exchange for her design work for his grandmother. Dani accepts, so long as Wyatt understands she is the boss.

I loved the secondary characters and the slow burning romance that develops between Dani and Wyatt. Turns out the office grump is quite the sweetheart and his behavior comes from some difficult baggage. I easily connected with Dani and sympathized with her in the beginning.

The romance was a mix of sweet, witty banter, and sizzling chemistry as Dani really got to know Wyatt and his story. The author touches on a subject I know all too well as my mother-in-law suffers from it. She did her research, and I appreciated how she shared Wyatt’s struggles.

Admittedly, I grew a little frustrated with Dani in the middle. Our girl had some growing pains, and she held on to the revenge idea a little too hard. She needed a rude awakening to see what was right in front of her. It wasn’t enough to deter me as I wanted a happily ever after. (for Wyatt).

Fans of the character growth, humor and grumpy heroes will enjoy this romcom.

Amazon | Audible

About Anna E. Collins

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.

Website | Twitter | Instagram

About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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