Love at First: An Uplifting and Unforgettable Story of Love and Second Chances (Calder Brand, The)

Spoken from a third-person viewpoint, Love at First is a cozy, romantic novel that is a romantic story. The basic girl-boy meeting scenario was made creative by the author. I liked that part.The main characters were nicely portrayed. And the secondary characters definitely uplifted this story.However, the book lacked the tendency to keep me hooked throughout the story. There is also a lack of spark between the chief characters, but individually I liked Will’s character and his back story more than Nora’s.If you like stories about family-fated lovers, then this book is for you. Try it and see for yourself. You might enjoy this more a lot than I did.

Love at First is a slow-paced book with low-key rivals-to-lovers romance and found family trope.The romance was slow-burn and took it's time to develop, which was nice. But it did drag on towards the end, with an unnecessary conflict, and bored me.The supporting characters were the highlight. I loved the found family trope in this book with the elderly supporting characters, each with unique quirks. Reading about them was heart-warming.Overall, a good romance. I think the author's writing style is slow paced books (it was the same in Love Lettering as well) and if you don't like that, this is not for you. But if you like slow and comfortable romances which warm your heart, this is for you.

Omg! The last chapter, it took all the stars I could give. This is why I love romance because with all the swoon worthy moments it will give you something that is true, raw, something that you might see around or might have experienced, that will touch your heart, bring happy tears, you will not know whether to cry or laugh. This book did these with all the hardships, pain, being real and faulty you, being someone who is afraid of change, this book gave us the love that emerges from all this."You don’t have to love people the way you learned to love at first."The characters, the storyline, the writing everything is adorable about this book. It is sweet book filling your heart with warmth and letting you know that you can choose your own family. You can be what you want to be and your past or other people have no hold on that, we have a choice to be different."Love can’t always be a sure thing from the start."Will saw a girl sixteen years ago or rather heard, a girl who has been in his mind all these years making a special place. Now after an incident he has come to same place, same address and has his first encounter with a woman living two flats above, Nora. Starting off on wrong foot, both of them are sort of enemies because Will doesn't want to live at the place he inherited and she doesn't want it to be a rental. Where they go ahead from here is such a lovely story for you to read.I absolutely enjoyed this one. Even the secondary characters were amazing.

Love Lettering–the first book that I read of Kate Clayborn’s–took my heart and never gave it back. It was the kind of quirky, deep and magical read that’s just my brand of poison. So, as soon as I saw Kate’s tweet revealing the blurb and cover for her next book, I was immediately hooked at the mere idea of it.Every book has it’s own melody and I was looking for something like Love Lettering again. Perhaps that’s why it took me a little bit longer to find the Love at First‘s rhythm. If Love Lettering was a violin, it’s notes sharp and clear through the quiet night air, Love at First is the soft notes of a flute from a distance on a windy day that you need to follow with curiosity.Love at First is an even paced read. Even a trope that’s a little similar to enemies to lovers, Kate Clayborn does with a lot of gentleness. The characters are all well developed, each with their own personality, role and life. That being said, I did sometimes feel that though every secondary character clearly had a role and personality, we don’t get to see enough of some of them for it to establish itself in our minds. However the author being clear about these personalities does help us not feeling lost even if we don’t wholly feel in touch with them. We see a dual POV that really shines light on both the protagonists’ journey, stops and the people that influence their decisions and thoughts. The dual POVs was definitely written well, though there were still times I hadn’t realised who’s thoughts I was reading until I was half a page or one page into the chapter. This was perhaps because it was in third perspective and didn’t have a mention of the POV shift. It wasn’t too troubling as it can be in some books, but I did have to reread from the beginning of the chapter whenever I came to realize I’d presumed the wrong perspective.A very special mention to two secondary characters that have a very interesting effect on the main plot unravelling and I enjoyed watching the parallels that Kate drew.The plot is rather simple. Which is what makes it complex, which is always an enjoyable trait in books. There wasn’t a lot of visible growth in terms of what the protagonists were struggling until a very poignant moment from a very unexpected character occurs. This moment certainly elevated my rating for sure.Four stars! A soft, enjoyable read that I would recommend for a rainy day. Happy reading! Be safe! ❤️

Just loved this book, it was so well written and heartfelt tugged at the heart strings. Just wanted it to go on longer.

I adored this book. It was a perfect romance book with amazing characters and beautiful storytelling. Kate Clayborn is a auto buy author for me now. The way she tells stories is so beautiful.

A wonderful story, with characters you just want to root for, and some of the most beautiful writing I've read in a long time.

A thoroughly enjoyable romance that was a perfect balance between sweet and hot.

‘Love at First’ has me a little conflicted as there are both strengths and weaknesses. The plot centres around six apartments where the characterful residents have built long-standing relationships with one another, becoming like family. The book is the gently told romance of Will and Nora that relies heavily on introspection and musings which I enjoy.Kate Clayborn writing is insightful and tender, with a touch of humour. She sets up a serendipitous scenario, then gradually unpacks the details so readers learn Will and Nora’s full stories. There’s a dual POV, so you get both sides. The underlying themes are about change, resolution and hope.Best quote, in my opinion, had to do with resolution :“... you versus you. You versus your fear. You versus your sadness. You versus your anger.”Why only 3 stars? The book starts very well and the premise is strong. But then it all drifts away, despite the deep reflections of the author. Specifically, the plot is emotionally intimate, but then it jumps to cute, then back to emotionally intimate again – clumsy and segmented without blending. Next, both Nora and Will become a tad dreary and their conversations are repetitive by around 50+%, gradually losing my sympathies. Then, major plot points aren’t fully developed, in particular the opening scene when Will first saw Nora as a teen ... there isn’t much to it. Finally, the enemy/sabotage thing comes and goes as does the romantic chemistry. In then end, I didn’t feel commitment about the story or characters.I’ve enjoyed Kate Clayborn’s other publications, but LaF is only an ok read, imo.