REVIEW: Love at First by Kate Clayborn
A Reviews / Recommended ReadsChicago / Contemporary / found family / rivals to lovers13 Comments
Dear Kate Clayborn,
Oh what a delight this book was. I think I was expecting a book a little more serious, a little more like Love Lettering which I enjoyed in a different way. But as it happened, Love at First has a different tone, a more… light-hearted charm. There’s plenty of snappy banter from not just the main characters but the wider cast too. It somehow softened the underlying themes of hurt and rejection that the various characters had experienced from others in their lives in one way or another so that when those bits were revealed they packed more of a punch. I would be feeling upbeat and smiling and then bam! the vulnerable underbelly would come along and there would be swooping feeling in my stomach as I experienced a sudden change in emotion. I’m not going to say I was lulled into a false sense of security because I don’t feel there was anything false or deceptive about the book or its themes. No, it wasn’t that. It was much better than that.
The story starts when 15-year-old Will Sterling is waiting outside a small apartment building in Chicago for his mother to conduct some kind of mysterious business with one of the tenants there (as it turns out, it is an uncle he had not met before). While he’s waiting he hears a girl laughing and something changes in his heart parts. However, just as he’s about to gather his courage to speak to her, he overhears something his mother says instead and this changes everything. It’s a while until we find out what Will overheard. That was very sneaky of you. Of course, I had to keep reading because I wanted to know.
The girl, was Eleanora (Nora) Clarke, aged 13 at the time, who was staying for the summer with her Nonna, as she did most summers of her life.
16 years later, Will has inherited an apartment in that very same building. And Nora now lives there, in her Nonna’s apartment which she herself has inherited. Will and Nora however have very different feelings about the building. For Nora it represents stability and family and history and love. She is reluctant for anything to change in the building and is fiercely protective of the other tenants, mostly older people who have lived there for years and years. Will’s feelings are very different. But under the terms of Uncle Donny’s will, he has to hold onto it for at least a year.
Once Nora understands that Will is not inclined to move in and and become a part of the unchanging landscape; that he plans to make big changes indeed, she becomes inclined to dislike him. It’s difficult to do but she gives it the college try.
She decided that he was, in fact, smirking, a smirk to match his stance, and also a smirk that went obnoxiously nicely with his still very attractive face: wind-machine hair, thick and deep brown to complement dark eyebrows and lashes that would probably cost her at least a hundred and fifty bucks at Sephora, because there was no justice for women in this world.
Will is a doctor and keeps very much to himself generally. He does not have many friends and is a bit stuck one what to do with the apartment. However a suggestion from a colleague (a more senior doctor at the hospital – more on him later) starts him on the path of looking into using the apartment as a short-term rental a la Airbnb. Naturally, the other tenants are horrified and more than a little anxious about the prospect of not only a stranger in their building but a series of strangers. Nora makes it her mission in life to dissuade Will from this course and over the time he is fixing up the apartment ready for his first tenant, Nora coordinates a series of events, hijinks and nefarious plans designed to persuade him to her side. Will is wise to her shenanigans and things do not go as planned, largely because Will is actually pretty charming and very good with people. He’s hard to dislike.
For his part, Will still remembers that first nearly-meeting 16 years earlier and everything he’s learned about Nora since returning to the building has only made his heart parts sit up and take notice even more. He’s not going to do anything about it though. No sirree.
She took a step inside, and he and his heart had a firm, silent communication about its recent behavior.
Needless to say, both Nora and Will are very bad at their respective missions.
It’s the best kind of rivals to lovers because neither of them is really wrong and there is no meanness. This meant I didn’t have to take sides or grapple with any angry feelings, which has happened before when I felt that one character in an “enemies to lovers” or “rivals to lovers” trope had gone too far. Even though Nora calls it their “feud” she and Will are never really enemies.
The other tenants in the building, Mr and Mrs Salas, Marian and Emily Goodnight, Benny and the extremely (delightfully!) grumpy Jonas are all major players in the story; Will slowly builds his own relationships and connections with them, Nora having had them already for most of her life. They’re more than bit players, each having an important role in Will’s and Nora’s lives, both separately and together.
Eventually, Will’s actions in fixing up Uncle Donny’s apartment (he added a towel rail!) inspire Nora to make some small changes to Nonna’s apartment too. Not too many, mind. But maybe just a few things in the bathroom? And Will’s so good at fixing things up, it’s only natural she’d ask for his help, right? Clever Nora.
Well, when you put two people who have amazing chemistry in a room with each other for very long, it’s inevitable that romance will bloom and sexytimes will happen. And it very does.
Seconds later Will came to the doorway, tucking his hands into his pockets and leaning against the frame. Will excelled in doorways, frankly. Excellent standing, leaning, kissing, touching. A+ in all those subjects, and now he was adding a fourth: looking.
I don’t want to spoil the mystery of the first chapter so I can’t say too much about just why Will is scared of who he’d become if he allowed himself to have a relationship with Nora but that is one of the key conflicts in the story. It’s not a conflict I’ve read before. With what we learn about Will as the book unfolds, it makes entire sense he’d feel that way.
The book is filled with wonderful lines which capture feelings and moments so perfectly. There’s a fairy-tale quality to it in some ways, a heightened sense of some kind of magic awaiting. (Perhaps I’m influenced here by the cover which reminds me of the TV series Bewitched for some reason.)
The story is largely confined to the apartment building and the apartment owners but there is one particular character I cannot fail to mention. As much as I loved Nora and Will (especially Will – but I am a hero-centric reader after all) there was another who snuck in under my guard and now I have a low-key crush.
Dr. Gerald Abraham is the senior doctor I mentioned earlier. His ex-wife, Sally, has various short-term rental apartments and Gerald puts Will in touch with her for advice about how to rent out his unit. Somehow, Will reluctantly finds himself giving dating advice to Gerald who, it is clear, would like to win back Sally’s affections. Gerald is stuffy and proper and not very emotive and OMG I came to love him. He tries so hard!! My feelings for Gerald were completely unexpected and that made it all the better.
“Yes, but this brings us to the second problem, which is that Sally has always felt I am too devoted to routines.”Will cocked his head, nodding. He guessed that explained the white coat. The constant talk of protocol. The thing was, Gerald Abraham was a good doctor. What he lacked in bedside manner he absolutely made up for in precision, in the kind of careful, repetitive follow-through that meant he hardly ever missed a thing.“Sally, as I am sure you have observed, prefers more spontaneity.” He looked sideways at Will. “And so in asking her to dinner again, what have I done?”
Gerald has some of the best lines in the book and in the latter third or so he caused me to laugh out loud in absolute delight many times. I would like to start a petition to get you to write a short story from Gerald’s point of view. (DA Readers, please read this book and join me! #MoreGerald)
There are some sad sections and bittersweet sections, laugh out loud moments, plenty of sexy and sizzle and so much charm in Love at First. There’s poetry and robots and baking. And then there’s Gerald. *swoon*
Grade: A
Regards,
Kaetrin
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I have read so many rave reviews for this book that I am tempted to buy it instead of waiting for my local library to get a copy (it’s on order). I need something magical like this in my life, sooner rather than later. And I agree with you about the Bewitched cover vibes!
I liked this book so much!! It took me a bit to get into it but once I did, I enjoyed the slow burn as both fell for one another. I am glad we see eye-to-eye on Dr. Gerald! He was also unexpectedly my favorite. I love the idea of a petition for a short story for him. He deserves it. ♥️♥️♥️
I have to try one of her books.
I need to try her again. Her first book (I reviewed it here) was wildly uneven and everyone else seems to love it. Did you read it, Kaetrin, and if so, what did you think? Clayborn is another author (my comment on Jayne’s most review mentions this phenomenon) whose books’ reviews confound me because I only know one reviewer who felt similar to me about that book and she has not reviewed Clayborn’s others.
ETA: I forgot to add–I am glad you found another book that broke though your reading slump.
@SusanS: I hope you enjoy it too Susan!
@itskoo: I definitely need more Gerald in my life.
@Jayne: I think this one is her best so far.
@Janine: I’ve read or listened to all of her books so far but I’ve only reviewed Luck of the Draw in the first series. (I reviewed the audio here: https://www.audiogals.net/2019/01/luck-of-the-draw-by-kate-clayborn/ ) To be honest I don’t now remember much about the reading experience in the other two books I didn’t review. I can see I rated the first one 4 stars (around a B) and the third one 4.5 star rounded up. For what it’s worth, Love at First has a different tone to any of her previous books IMO and I liked it the best. I struggled to get into Love Lettering (even though I did end up enjoying it quite a bit.) One of the things I didn’t find space to mention in my review was that Love at First has both POVs and I like that better than just one. Love Lettering needed to be the way it was because of the plot but I did like having both Will’s and Nora’s perspective in this book. And I got into it straight away, unlike last year’s release.
I wouldn’t say this book was exactly a slump buster for me. I’ve had a lot going on personally in the last few weeks and it’s been difficult to read. But, when I did read this book certainly took me away from my troubles. And, it has to be said that since I finished it I’ve read a novella and I’m halfway through another book so… maybe it is a slump buster after all! LOL
If your library has a long wait time for this book (it was 6 months at mine), it is available through Hoopla.
@Kaetrin: Thanks, that’s helpful. Especially that for you Luck of the Draw was a B and not a squee as it was for so many others. I see your review of Luck of the Draw mentions that you read Beginner’s Luck on your ereader. Do you recall how you liked it?
I didn’t mean that this book was a slump buster, just that it was able to break through your slump so that you could enjoy it despite being in a slump. :)
@Janine: I gave Beginner’s Luck a B but I don’t remember much else I’m afraid. Sorry!
@Kaetrin: No worries. It‘s great to know that her books are getting better and better for you.
Happy to read this review since I just ordered a copy at my local independent bookstore and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I liked but did not love Beginner’s Luck, but I adored Love Lettering, in large part because I loved Reid, the hero. He is a quant, a numbers person, to Meg’s artistry and letters. He is so intense and focused, so protective and honest. When he reveals how alone he is other than his family (with whom he is close), your heart breaks for the little boy pushed ahead in school but without friends because he is so much younger than his classmates yet so far ahead of them intellectually. The whole package added up to one incredibly sexy hero to me, although, of course, YMMV.
I also liked that the book was a love letter to NYC. So many books are about the superiority of small town life or life in the wilderness, which is fine except that all too often they demonize urban life. As Meg and Reid wander through the city looking for inspiration for Meg, Reid’s eyes are opened to the man-made wonders that surround them and he comes to take comfort and find joy in the city just as she does.
@Susan/DC:
Yes! So true. Although that’s not so much the case now as it was ~15 years ago.
I appreciate hearing your opinions, too, Susan. I’ll put Love Lettering on hold at the library.
@ Janine: You are correct that small town = good, big city = bad is much less prevalent than it was years ago, but even though more romances now take place in cities, it’s rare to find a book where the city itself plays a role in both the plot and the character arc. Please let us know what you think after you read Love Lettering. I do hope you like it.
@Janine: @ Janine: You are correct that small town = good, big city = bad is much less prevalent than it was years ago, but even though more romances have urban settings, it’s rare to find a book where the city itself plays a role in both the plot and the character arc. Please let us know what you think after you read Love Lettering. I do hope you like it.