e-Audio, 12:42:09
Narrated by: Joy Nash
Release Date: February 13, 2024
Published by: HarperAudio
Read from: February 27-29, 2024
Harlot’s Bay, #2
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Mental Illness spirals, Grief, Child Death, Suicidal Thoughts, Abandonment
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary, Romance, Adult, Enemies to Lovers, Fat/Plus Size Rep, Depression RepBestselling author Olivia Dade welcomes you to Harlot’s Bay in this delightfully sexy rom-com about a woman who buys the town’s famous Spite House, only to realize the infuriating man she can’t stand lives right next door–and their unwilling proximity might spark something neither can ignore.
When Athena Greydon’s fiancé ends their engagement, she has no choice but to move into the Spite House she recklessly bought him as a wedding gift. This is a problem, for several reasons: The house, originally built as a brick middle finger to the neighbors, is only ten feet wide. Her ex’s home is attached to hers. And Dr. Matthew Vine the Freaking Third (aka the uptight, judgmental jerk who convinced his younger brother to leave her) is living on the other side, only a four-foot alley away.
If she has to see Matthew every time she looks out her windows, she might as well have some fun with the situation–by, say, playing erotic audiobooks at top volume with the windows open. A woman living in a Spite House is basically obligated to get petty payback however she can, right?
Unfortunately, loathing Matthew proves more difficult than anticipated. He helps her move. He listens. And he’s kind of…hot? Dammit.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This was another of my most anticipated books of the year and I hated that it was enemies to lovers lol I HATEEEE that trope. But because it was Olivia Dade and I trust her with anything, I just gave it a try. And no, I’m still not a fan, but I did like this one. (Not the enemies bit, but still lol)
Ok so the characters in this were amazing. I don’t think I could love an MC more than Athena. Not only was she cute and bubbly and hilarious, but she didn’t take no ish from anyone lol The things she did to take him down were things I don’t think I could come up with even on my meanest days. The mail thing? I’ve heard about that, but I didn’t realize how much that would annoy me until I read about it happening to Matthew lol Speaking of Matthew, I have to say I was not a fan at first. I knew exactly where this was going and I was not a fan. I messaged my group chat members who had already read it and was like am I going to continue to hate him? They know I’m not a fan of enemies to lovers because they always seem too mean to me lol And I’m sorry but breaking off an engagement is definitely not nice. So no, I was not a fan. But of course there is some under-lying things happening and depression makes an appearance, so I think he was redeemed. (Mostly)
The two of them together was weird. As a HUGE pop culture person, I was so entranced by Matthew’s mind lol How in the world was it that he knew NONE of the things happening around him lmao I I know this is a me thing, but Lordt I felt like he was living under a rock! And Athena being someone who flitted around and did all these different jobs, she knew a lot of different things, and it was hilarious the way they contrasted. But they still found a way to make it work. Idk, I loved the two of them together. Also, the smexy times were weirdly hot. The way he was doing the hot nerdy dirty talk was weird but it worked because I didn’t expect anything else from him.
The mental health struggles I thought were portrayed well. I am not depressed, but I do live with someone who was diagnosed and I did recognize some of the things that were happening with Athena that was happening to them. And I know that doesn’t mean the portrayal was accurate for others, but it seemed accurate to me. But again, I do not have depression so I won’t go into more detail about the portrayal. I’ll leave that up to those that have that identity.
The narrator is one of my favorites too. She also did The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D Jackson. And although I read that one with my eyeballs, I also went and read it with my ears in some parts too. And let me tell you, Joy Nash knows how to get hook you into a book and let me just tell you, I was hooked into this one. She made everything in this novel fun, including the audiobook excerpts lol (Also, please tell me she’s going to narrate the second book too because I don’t think anyone can do Karl’s voice like she can lmao)
This book was so good but definitely a lot heavier than I thought it would be. When I think of Olivia Dade, I think of fluffy romances, so this was interesting to read. I hope to see more of this in this next book, even if the synopsis makes it seem like this is going to be a rom com.
Overall, I give this
