Love at First

January 18, 2021
Clayborn follows Love Lettering with this fun but forgettable take on the enemies-to-lovers trope. When Nora Clarke inherits her Nonna’s beloved Chicago apartment, she’s determined to preserve the magic of the old building and keep intact the found family the building’s residents have formed over the years. But another tenant’s death leaves a neighboring apartment in unpredictable hands. Will Sterling is shocked to inherit his estranged uncle’s apartment and immediately detests the building for its “musty-smelling hallways, must-avoid light fixtures, and mustard wall paper” and the unpleasant memory it holds of the first and only time he met his uncle. He wants nothing to do with the apartment, but the will states he must keep it for at least a year before he can sell it—so he decides to renovate and list the apartment for short-term rentals, much to the chagrin of the building’s other occupants. Nora and her eccentric neighbors scheme to delay Will’s progress—and this sabotage often forces Nora across Will’s path, making time for their mutual attraction to evolve into a genuine connection. Though the story feels familiar, Will and Nora’s chemistry and the quirky side characters keep the pages turning. Clayborn’s fans will be pleased.

January 1, 2021
Clayborn (Love Lettering, 2019) explores the experience of falling in love in a Chicago apartment building in a contemporary romance that will resonate with city dwellers and rural readers alike. Nora is sad about the passing of her building's longtime resident, Donny, but when she meets new resident Will during her "golden hour" ritual, she's not upset about her new company. That is until Will announces his plans to convert his unit into a short-term rental. Will is surprised that his estranged uncle left him the apartment and unwilling to live in a space that brings up memories of his neglectful family. Nora and Will enter into a playful feud, which involves poetry readings, interviews with local journalists, and rogue kittens all meant to scare Will away from the found family Nora has created after her grandmother's death. Instead, all of these shenanigans endear Will to Nora, and the two slowly begin to fall for one another in spite of Nora's fears of being disloyal to her neighbors. A superb cast of characters rounds out this sweet, slow-burn romance.

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March 1, 2021
A wronged childhood, a potential youthful romance derailed by the actions of adults, and a hard-won love. Will Sterling is an overworked doctor in Chicago who has carved out a functional life despite his lingering grief over the way his late parents neglected him when he was a child. When he inherits an apartment from an uncle who also abandoned him when he was in need, he's determined to get rid of it and the bad memories it carries as quickly as possible. But there is one good memory associated with the place: Years ago, the only time he ever visited his uncle, he caught a blurred and fleeting glimpse of a girl around his own age on a terrace upstairs, and his teenage heart came alive. Now Nora DeAngelo Clarke has come back into his orbit, though she has no idea they've ever crossed paths before. Web designer Nora, who's inherited her beloved grandmother's apartment, is ready to battle this stranger who threatens to change the character of the close-knit apartment building, her small haven, and the lives of its residents by renting out his new apartment on Airbnb. But underneath the righteousness is her own grief about adults who let her down and an anxiety-laced desire for the stability that the building and her found family there represents. Her initial scheme to sabotage Will's plans gradually folds as their chemistry crackles and they slowly reveal their fragile selves to each other. Clayborn dwells on the gap between her characters' bruised inner lives and their public faces, and the novel is shadowed by that melancholy, making for a Mary Balogh-style love story. The quirky characters who could obstruct--but eventually aid--Will and Nora's journey to coupledom do much to lighten the mood. The comforting rewrite of Romeo and Juliet you didn't know you needed.

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Starred review from May 7, 2021

Will is feuding with his neighbor. Actually, he's feuding with all of his neighbors. After inheriting a condo, Will decides to make some changes, changes that are making the condo's other residents panic. Led by the condo association president, Nora, they are delaying, waylaying, and outright sabotaging his efforts to fix up his unit and rent it out. Nora inherited her grandmother's condo unit and hasn't changed a single thing. Why would she? She practically grew up there, and the other residents are like family. When Will moves into the unit below hers and starts emptying it out, Nora can't just stand by and watch. But somehow, unexpectedly, Nora's tricks make Will smile, and instead of pushing them apart, her antics seem to be bringing them closer. It's too bad he's planning to clear out as soon as he clears up. This steamy romantic comedy features a flawed but likable hero and heroine in a second-chance, enemies-to-lovers story. Will and Nora's "feud" is inventive and comical, rather than mean, and their slow-burn romance is realistic. The condo residents are delightfully quirky and get involved in each of Nora's ploys. VERDICT This well-written novel moves quickly, and readers will be unable to put it down. Highly recommended for most public library collections.--Heather Miller Cover, Homewood P.L., AL

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