Love at First Fight by Carrie Aarons, advertised as an enemies-to-lovers romance is how I was enticed into picking this up as my next read. The fact that Ms. Aarons is a new to me author did not stop me from taking the plunge. While I found the main elements of the story to be exciting, I believe that my lack of clear enjoyment in the novel stemmed from the fact that what I expected from an enemies-to-lovers romance failed to materialize in a huge way.

Molly Archer and Smith Redfield are enemies, or at least to Molly, Smith who is best friend to her ex-boyfriend hates her guts. That permanent sneer etched on his face and the barbed references that he directs her way tells a story of its own. So when she turns up at the Hamptons, determined to forget and move on from how her ex had dumped her via a text before his plane took off to Singapore in pursuit of his new job and greener pastures, the last thing she needs is for Smith to be present.

To Molly’s mortification and other feelings she would rather not name, Smith’s presence is a problem she is not ready to deal with in the aftermath of a breakup that had left her vulnerable. But buckle up she does to face Smith, a force to be reckoned with in every sense, and finds more than she bargained for once the veneer of hostility fades and behind it is a man she could fall hopelessly in love with.

For Smith, the path he had chosen when it comes to Molly had been one born out of sheer desperation. It had been either that or do something that would make him the worst human ever, and as a result, being an asshole to Molly had been how he rolled. Forced into enduring each other’s company, feelings of the kind he had wanted to avoid all along rears its head and there is no turning back from that point on.

By the time I was less than half way through the story, I realized that this was no enemies-to-lovers romance, but nevertheless it was sweet in its own way. I did not expect nor want sweet when I dived in, I wanted animosity, seething resentment, and at the heart of it, unbeatable desire and want that would lead the characters to places they had both never been before.

I believe that this novel could have delivered more heat and generated a more intense connection between Smith and Molly had the author chosen to. Another thing that irked me was how the chapters just seemed to end so abruptly; for instance when Molly and Smith visit her folks and she stands up for him when her parents were being rude to him – there was a point in which I thought a groundbreaking moment in the story was just about to happen in the next chapter.

I turned the page and it was as if I had gone into the twilight zone or a parallel universe where things had already moved on from that pivotal point or what was supposed to be one. I seriously did not understand why that was the case and even checked to see whether I had accidentally swiped a couple of pages on the Kindle and ended up one or two chapters ahead of what I should have been reading, but that was not the case.

I wanted the spark and heat, I wanted better flow in the story and not the erratic trajectory upon which the novel unfolded. Alas, while the story had much potential, the delivery sadly, was lacking.

Recommended for fans of sweet romances.

Final Verdict: Love at First Fight is no enemies-to-lovers romance, but rather the story of a love that unfolds for a man who was put in an untenable position prior to having his dream come true!

Favorite Quotes

Molly comes wordlessly, her body shivering with pleasure, her head tipped back into the pillow. She looks like a work of art, something that should be housed in the most famous of museums. Every time I think of delight, of bliss, this is the moment I’ll recall from this point on.
“I always knew … I always knew …” I seem to gasp on the words as my balls contract, cum bursting from my tip.
My climax steals through every cell, every nerve ending, a surprise as I’m still watching Molly unravel. I go still, spilling myself into her. The fact that I’m bare makes it last a lifetime, her pussy pulsing with each twitch of my cock.

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