MARCH 2021 - AudioFile
Narrator Lauren Ezzo’s remarkable ability to create unique character voices is on full display in this poignant rivals-to-lovers romance populated with an ensemble of quirky supporting characters. Dr. Will Sterling plans to renovate and rent out the dated condominium he has begrudgingly inherited—but his progress is swiftly disrupted by Nora, the association president, who isn’t ready for change. Ezzo takes on an exaggerated congenial manner that matches the passive-aggressive back-and-forth between the pair. As opposition turns to mutual infatuation, Ezzo switches her tone to capture their humorous and emotional journey to compromise. Nora’s six retirement-aged neighbors are her support system, and Ezzo gives each one a distinct voice and cadence. Her impeccable range makes this solo narration seem like a full cast. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
01/18/2021
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. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Love at First
“This steamy romantic comedy features a flawed but likable hero and heroine in a second-chance, enemies-to-lovers story…This well-written novel moves quickly, and readers will be unable to put it down. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal STARRED REVIEW
“LOVE AT FIRST is only my second book by Kate Clayborn, but she’s now on my auto-buy list because both have been absolute stunners, written in a warm, witty, complex voice, and I cannot get enough. This one is a tear-jerker where, by Chapter 2, you are cheering for the characters to forgive themselves — because by that point you’re already certain they deserve forgiveness as well as happiness. It’s hard to make a romantic relationship feel fated, especially in a contemporary setting, but Clayborn does. I stayed up until 1 a.m. reading because I simply couldn’t stand to go to sleep until Nora and Will resolved things. At the end I was left with that warm, glowing love for humanity that is always what I’m chasing when I read this genre: the sense of togetherness, of hope, of even unsolvable problems feeling less impossible. Because a good romance lets you forgive the people on the page. A great romance lets you forgive people in general — and feel that maybe they even deserve it.”
—The New York Times
“Constantly revealing new layers of lyricism…Love at First is poetry, then — sometimes an artful sonnet, other times halting free verse. But it's never anything short of miraculous.”
—Entertainment Weekly, Grade A
“This is a gorgeously written romance with a line that perfectly sums up a truth for many a romance character (or human): We don't have to love the way we learned to love at first.”
—NPR
“Will and Nora’s chemistry and the quirky side characters keep the pages turning. Clayborn’s fans will be pleased.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Clayborn 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…A superb cast of characters rounds out this sweet, slow-burn romance.”
—Booklist
“A Mary Balogh–style love story…The comforting rewrite of Romeo and Juliet you didn’t know you needed.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Clayborn employs her signature combination of past emotional wounds and tender blossoms of hope to gradually twine her two protagonists together, allowing them to—temporarily—live in denial even as they fall deeply in love. Her beautiful prose is full of a softness and depth that lingers—passages beg to be reread and savored—while moments of humor and gently smoldering passion lift what might otherwise be a slow and overly sentimental read. Perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Emily Henry, Love at First feels like a long, warm hug upon returning home.” —Shelf Awareness
“Kate Clayborn’s Love at First is one of those books that you immediately feel has wrapped you up in a warm hug, and in which the characters and their story creep gradually and unobtrusively under your skin and wind around your heartstrings. Ms. Clayborn is one of my few go-to contemporary romance authors, and this book demonstrates yet again exactly why that is; this is a beautifully understated but gloriously romantic love story full of poignancy and tenderness featuring fully-rounded, supremely relatable characters with ordinary, everyday lives and ordinary, everyday problems.”
—All About Romance
“Clayborn remains one of my favorite authors, and I can’t wait to see what she will write next.”
—Frolic
“A beautiful book and worth the painful beginnings…”
—Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
“Kate Clayborn fed my romance reading soul with this book.”
—The Infinite Limits of Love
“A thoughtful, almost whimsical novel about loss and letting go, moving on from painful pasts, and falling head over heels in love with your supposed nemesis, Kate Clayborn thoroughly charmed me with Love at First. Highly recommended.”
—Harlequin Junkie
“Finding a home, a family, love; overcoming long-held fears; letting go of the past when change is scary – it’s all here. And it is BEAUTIFUL.”
—The Smut Report
Praise for Kate Clayborn
“A novel of lush complexity, one bursting with humor, a tender melancholy, and meditations on love, friendship, and life, any reader can find solace and inspiration in. It’s lyrical and engrossing, a novel that possesses all the colors, idiosyncrasies, and range of the alphabet. Like the pages Meg designs, Love Lettering is a novel bursting with hidden messages essential to discover—long as we open our hearts to analyze the codes.”
—Entertainment Weekly, A+ for Love Lettering
“Quirky and winning.”
—USA Today on Love Lettering
“Fresh, funny, clever, and deeply satisfying.”
—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW on Love Lettering
“Love Lettering does much more than just give us a cute love story. The novel isn’t just about love—it’s about communication both in romantic relationships and in friendships.”
—Hypable on Love Lettering
“I flew through this creative and original book. I was completely absorbed by the world Kate Clayborn creates—the characters felt so real and their joys and sorrows and struggles and triumphs felt so relatable that I forgot I was reading fiction.”
—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal on Love Lettering
“Love Lettering is delicious and beautiful and perfect.”
—New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean on Love Lettering
"What if you and your two best friends all went in together on a winning lottery ticket? The romance between Kit, a no-nonsense scientist who dreams of her first real home, and Ben, a recruiter and builder (I promise, it works) is emotional and real. Plus, I adored Kit’s strong relationship with her two best friends."
—O, The Oprah Magazine, Best Romances of the Year, on Beginners Luck
"A warm and lively romance"
—The New York Times on Luck of the Draw
"Clayborn’s characters are bright and nuanced, her dialogue quick and clever, and the world she builds is warm and welcoming."
—The Washington Post, 5 Best Romances of the Year for Luck of the Draw
“This book is hilarious and moving and sexy, with a focus on strong female friendship, guilt that’s hard to let go of, and one of the most realistic, and ultimately romantic, fake fiance´ setups I’ve ever read.”
—Buzzfeed,Best Romances of the Year, on Luck of the Draw
“Despite all the time we spend tethered to screens, the truth is that humans live with technology, not in it—at least for now. Kate Clayborn’s Love Lettering is a flawless representation of that truth…a lush, languid romance that merges the nostalgic past with the technological present.”
—The Washington Post on Love Lettering
MARCH 2021 - AudioFile
Narrator Lauren Ezzo’s remarkable ability to create unique character voices is on full display in this poignant rivals-to-lovers romance populated with an ensemble of quirky supporting characters. Dr. Will Sterling plans to renovate and rent out the dated condominium he has begrudgingly inherited—but his progress is swiftly disrupted by Nora, the association president, who isn’t ready for change. Ezzo takes on an exaggerated congenial manner that matches the passive-aggressive back-and-forth between the pair. As opposition turns to mutual infatuation, Ezzo switches her tone to capture their humorous and emotional journey to compromise. Nora’s six retirement-aged neighbors are her support system, and Ezzo gives each one a distinct voice and cadence. Her impeccable range makes this solo narration seem like a full cast. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
