Kate Clayborn - Love at First

Sixteen years ago, a teenaged Will Sterling saw—or rather, heard—the girl of his dreams. Standing beneath an apartment building balcony, he shared a perfect moment with a lovely, warm-voiced stranger. It’s a memory that’s never faded, though he’s put so much of his past behind him. Now an unexpected inheritance has brought Will back to that same address, where he plans to offload his new property and get back to his regular life as an overworked doctor. Instead, he encounters a woman, two balconies above, who’s uncannily familiar . . .
No matter how surprised Nora Clarke is by her reaction to handsome, curious Will, or the whispered pre-dawn conversations they share, she won’t let his plans ruin her quirky, close-knit building. Bound by her loyalty to her adored grandmother, she sets out to foil his efforts with a little light sabotage. But beneath the surface of their feud is an undeniable connection. A balcony, a star-crossed couple, a fateful meeting—maybe it’s the kind of story that can't work out in the end. Or maybe, it’s the perfect second chance . . .

Comment: This is the fourth story I read by the author, the first which is a standalone. I liked the other three I've read before, which were a trilogy, but I had high hopes for this independent one, especially after seeing positive reviews by several people whose taste is similar to mine.

Will Sterling is a doctor whose uncle recently died and left him an apartment. Will only wants to solve this so he doesn't have one more worry on top of his already busy professional demands, even if it means to sell a place where he lived one of his best teenager memories. However, he is certainly surprised to learn the girl he heard years ago and who is still on his mind, still lives in the building and is the main voice against him turning the unit into a temporary rental. As they get to know each other while battling it out for who has more rights about the way of life in this building, they also cement their attraction and feelings. Is there any hope for them after all?

This story had everything to be a sweet contemporary romance and the elements were certainly there. I also had some expectation because I had enjoyed the other books, but I will be quite honest, this story was very boring to me, and the plot seemed a bit ridiculous, even if it's meant to be seen through comedy lens.

The story felt more dramatic than what the cute covers of the different editions imply, and I was not sold on the funny scenes nor on the apparent comedy of some situations. Why would Will need to deal with the other neighbors' wants, he really should be able to do what he felt was best for him, even despite having a physical attraction to Nora. The way the set up between them and the secondary characters was presented made me think everyone was playing a part, and I cannot imagine any real life similarity being this childish. I get it, I know what the point was, but I just could not be convinced to go with the flow.

Perhaps if Will were to live there himself, but as someone who wants to rent out, the plot made no sense to me. I just cannot see how such flimsy connections would develop the way they did and having Will remembering Nora's laugh from sixteen years ago was a little far fetched, even for a romance. This means, I could never really get into the story and the quirky people and what they do in order to convince Will to not sell or rent the apartment, as if they should have any say!

I mean, I also understand the idea of small, cozy, close communities and, ideally, all those people would make for a great sense of belonging, but I don't think the execution was the most upheld in the situation the author created. I also think it was a little boring to go through all the uncertainties the characters faced regarding the apartment and in their lives. I mean, perhaps my interpretation of this would have been better if I hadn't already been let down by the beginning of the story, which wasn't inspiring to me, but in the end, I've found this book to only be average.

I could not connect with the main characters, therefore not with their romance either. I did like that they slowly developed their relationship, that they had reasons to be wary, to do things carefully, and I liked some of the "romantic" situations they shared. I wasn't a big fan of the drama, but I did like how this made them both rather cautious and aware of what they were doing. It was also captivating to see their conversations on the things that affected them the most as children. However, the romance pretty much was take or leave and their romantic scenes were simply okay to me.

All in all, an interesting effort, some good elements and ideas, but the execution didn't convince me, and the characters didn't impress me. I might still try another book, just to compare and see if the trilogy was the highlight of this author's efforts to me.

Grade: 5/10