by Mary Jayne Baker
Publication Date August 5, 2021
Published by Head of Zeus Ltd
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Genres: Camping, Contemporary, Fiction, Friendship, General, Humorous, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Sports & Recreation
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Love cynic Bridie Morgan is staging a last hurrah to the 'dating' stage of her life: she's going on twenty dates in twenty days. If this 'love' thing really is a numbers game, then surely she'll find The One. And if not? Well, at least the memory of her date with the Spice Girls' biggest fan will be enough to put her off for life. She'll never again wonder what she was missing.
But being love's biggest sceptic is a challenge in the face of best friend Hattie's upcoming nuptials. And as maid of honour, she really has to give it a chance.
Then Bridie's lifelong nemesis Ben Kemp returns home to join the wedding party. Ben, who left her waiting outside their leavers' prom in a brand-new dress, alone. Ben, who triggered the sorry state of affairs that has been Bridie's love life ever since. Ben, the best man to her maid of honour.
As old enemies reunite, sparks fly – in ways Bridie could never have seen coming...
Inspired by Much Ado About Nothing, this is a hilarious and uplifting romantic comedy perfect for fans of 10 Things I Hate About You and The Hating Game.
'It is no secret that I love enemies to lovers books and this is one that I read in under 24 hours ... The perfect binge-read romcom for summer. I recommend it if you want something lighthearted and addictive!' Reader review
'A fantastic five-star read. This is funny, and sweet and will make you fall in love with Bridie and Ben as they slowly realise there is such a fine line between love and hate. I adore this author and can't wait to see what they will come up with next' Reader review
'This is such a fun read!! The concept was brilliant and I laughed a lot!!!' Reader review
'A great summer read!' Reader review
'This was so cute. It gave me warm fuzzy feelings!' Reader review
'This book is a frenemies to lovers with lots of sarcasm ... So light, fun and enjoyable! I love this lighthearted rom-com, all the characters were so cute' Reader review
'This was so much fun! I definitely had LOL moments and I couldn't stop reading it; I had to rush to the end to see what happened' Reader review
'Great lighthearted summer read! Cute and fun! I loved the characters and the romance was beautiful to see develop' Reader review
'What a fun book! I'm a sucker for a reformed bad boy, and this is exactly what you'll get when the town playboy ... If you are looking for a light, fun read that's hard to put down, this is for you' Reader review
My Review:
Love at First Fight by Mary Jayne Baker is a cute, lighthearted romance that was fun to read.
Bridie has sworn off men, but to prove to herself that she’s really done, she decides to date twenty men in twenty days. After the twenty dates, all duds, she has decided to live life as a single woman. But, when her old boyfriend-turned-enemy, Ben, comes back to town for good, Bridie is determined to forget him, as she has never forgiven him for standing her up at their school leavers’ party. However, Bridie is the maid of honor for her best friend’s upcoming wedding, and Ben is the best man, they have to work together to plan the combined hen and stag party.
The book started off fun and light with Bridie’s interesting dates but dragged a bit in the middle and towards the end. The story between the secondary characters of Hattie and Cal almost overwhelmed the main story between Bridie and Ben. There was some excellent banter between Bridie and Ben, and their friends working to get them together was cute.
All in all, the story was cute, and I did enjoy it, but I wish it focused more on the main characters and their lead-up to romance. Also, a small criticism is the main character’s name, Bridie. I kept reading it as Birdie.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the story overall. It’s distracting when a name keeps stumbling you up, right? I’ve had the same thing happen to me.
Haha… I read her name as Birdie, too, and didn’t even realize it until the end of your review!
20 dates in 20 days???? i’d be exhausted!
Yes, I don’t know how she did it. But, it is fiction!
Great thoughts. And until you pointed it out I was reading it as Birdie, too.😆
Thanks Debbie. It drove me crazy throughout the entire book!
Bummer that it started to drag for you. I think this set up is a fun one, too.
Thank you Sophia, the set up was great.