B+
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Theme: Enemies to Lovers, Off Limits Sibling or Friend
Archetype: Neighbor/Roommate
CW: death of a infant (off-page, in the past), depressive episode
This is my first Olivia Dade novel and it certainly won’t be my last. It was emotional, grown-up and absolutely compulsive reading.
Athena has no direction in life. When the book opens, she’s working as a teacher an hour and a half away from Harlot’s Bay, the setting of the novel. She’s burnt out and really not sure what to do next careerwise. Her distress is particularly acute because at the age of 37, she really feels like she should have her shit together by now. At the start, she is engaged to Johnny, a pediatrician who is younger than her. He’s based in Harlot’s Bay and they have big plans involving her moving to Harlot’s Bay and leaving teaching as she hunts for what will fulfill her more. There is a problem though: Johnny’s brother, Matthew, is very opposed to the match and really wants Johnny to break off the engagement. Matthew is a pediatrician as well and works with Johnny and Matthew’s best friend, Yvonna, in a practice in Harlot’s Bay.
On a surface level, this story might seem a bit messed up. When Johnny calls off the wedding, Matthew swoops into Athena’s life. But to present the story as simply that does it a great disservice because heavens the EMOTIONS in this novel are intense and plentiful. It’s also a disservice to call it an enemies-to-lovers novel because while at one stage Athena and Matthew are enemies, and yes, they do become lovers, this is only one sliver of their experiences with one another. Yes, there is some banter and some hot sex, but for the most part this novel is packed to the brim with messy emotions. These messy emotions mean that the banter I might have expected from an enemies-to-lovers story would be inappropriate and while there are humorous moments, they accentuate the emotional journey rather than undermine it. In fact, there is a LOT of crying in this book. It didn’t make me cry, but it certainly gave me a heavy heart.
What Matthew does is pretty messed up, but when I look at things with a more nuanced lens, it is clear that Johnny and Athena were indeed poorly matched. Matthew is opposed to the marriage for a variety of really good reasons. Yes, Matthew does his best to break them up, but it’s clear even at the start that this is a good decision for all parties. There is a tremendous amount of hurt feelings, understandably so, when the engagement is called off, but the writing makes it so easy to see all sides of the story. For example, right from the jump you want to root for Matthew and Athena because it is clear that they are really well suited. Before the reader even meets Johnny on the page, Matthew and Athena interact before either knew who the other was and their chemistry was off the charts! (Incidentally, there is a very good explanation for how it is that Athena and Matthew haven’t met even though Athena is engaged to Johnny at that stage. I appreciate that kind of careful detail as it helps me stay in the story.)
There is also a rather beautiful extended metaphor of life being a sea voyage, specifically Athena’s search for meaningful, fulfilling work. At one stage, Athena is a shipwreck but Matthew quotes Gotthold Ephraim Lessing: “They make glorious shipwrecks who are lost in seeking worlds”. Matthew sees Athena’s search as a brave endeavour.
There is one instance that pulled me out of the story. I’m going to hide it behind a spoiler tag because it happens about midway through the book.
In the depths of her depression, Athena stops leaving the house. Matthew, concerned that she is ill or injured, ends up climbing through her window. This is something that Athena reacts to with a kind of defeated gratitude. She needs help and has reached the point where she can admit that. As part of his efforts to help her navigate her depressive episode which include helping her tidy up and helping her to find a doctor and therapist, he offers to bathe her. At this stage, they aren’t quite friends yet and she sits in a bathtub and he washes her like a child. For Athena this is a comfortable, caring kind of thing. So maybe I’m wrong to be freaked out by it, but not even in my deepest depression could I have stomached an acquaintance washing my body in a bathtub.
Readers who pick this up should note that I initially felt certain that this book was ‘women’s fiction’ rather than ‘romance’ because of the depth of the relationship between the two brothers. There’s a whole lot to unpack there. While the full story is only revealed much later in the novel, suffice to say that Matthew has a bit of a martyr thing going as he cares for his brother like he always has. They have more of a father-son relationship and so it always falls to Matthew to take care of Johnny. Matthew is worn down to nubs protecting his brother and trying to do the right thing. However, despite the father-son relationship that Matthew and Johnny have, when the romance between Athena and Matthew heats up, Johnny is pushed to the side and we don’t interact with him until the inevitable confrontation in the third act of the book.
If you’re looking for a book of sparkle and light, then this is not the book for you. It’s heavy going emotionally, but so well-written that I could not put it down. My normal routine went out the window because I NEEDED to know how things would unfold. The cast of supporting characters are sincerely charming and I do look forward to the next book in the series.
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On my TBR!
Oof, the part behind the spoiler is kind of a lot. I’ve been dealing with severe, disability-level depression for the last year, and there have definitely been times when I was struggling with hygiene, but even in the worst moments, there is just no way that I would have responded positively or even neutrally to that. The thought of anyone attempting what the hero does is honestly a major red flag for me.
Obviously everyone is going to feel completely differently about this, and maybe Dade herself is someone for whom this would work really well, but idk, whenever anyone has decided to sort of forcibly take care of me, it’s been extremely counterproductive.
For comparison, I started inflicting myself on a kind neighbor/social acquaintance (now friend) a few months ago, when things were getting particularly horrible, and the main reason this worked was that he essentially treated me according to the same principles you’d use if a feral cat suddenly decided to colonize your living room: no sudden movements, tremendous respect for physical space, taking all cues from cat, etc.
In my worst depressive episodes, I wouldn’t have cared. There have been points where I’ve just not felt anything at all.
I read the ARC and loved it. I wished that it had been longer
I almost DNF’d when Athena met Matthew because I thought there would be cheating. Then I thought I should at least give it 2 chapters. I’m glad I did, there’s no cheating (that’s something I avoid in fiction), and there were so many FEELINGS in this book. I did DNF another Dade book just recently (some kind of reality tv island travel show?), but I loved the series that ended with Ship Wrecked so I was willing to give her another shot.
This review is great. The one thing I would add is that I thought the audio books about monster boinking provided a needed lightness and laughter throughout the book. The emotions are big and heavy and I needed that contrast. I’ve been a big Olivia Dade fan for a while and this book reminded me why.
@Lara: Thanks for your review!
Goodness. If not out and out spoilers, certainly a lot of spoilery comments today. Four, by my count.
I just finished listening to this book. All The Feels !! I don’t usually get emotional reading. I CRIED !! I laughed Wonderful book !!
I’m a big fan of Olivia Dade. I tore through the series that started with Spoiler Alert and ended with Shipwrecked. I actually liked this one even more. I think she does a good job balancing the heavy stuff with humor and her female characters are always wonderful. I read this book in about 3 days and I struggled to put it down because I was that invested in the story.
I finally read this and loved it. Oddly, the issue inside the spoiler box didn’t bump me. I laughed so hard at Matthew’s audio, assisted by Karl, to make up with Athena that I almost fell off my chair. Long live monster boinking!