Love at First is thoroughly charming in all of it's messy, awkward, well-intentioned loveliness. Clayborn creates characters that are flawed by what they know and she makes no qualms about it. But yet also does the perfect job of using those flaws to create real characters in the lead protagonists of Nora and Will, and making working through their challenges the main focus of the book - instead of something totally unrelated and dramatic. Will's parents were so wrapped up in each other that he was an afterthought for them, one unsuccessfully pawned off on his mother's brother Donny when he was a teenager. Which naturally makes Will feel both unvalued as well as concerned of the consequences of loving someone that deeply himself. Nora, also often an afterthought to her parents as well, did have someone who loved her very much - her grandmother Nonna, who lived in the same apartment building as Will's uncle. And Nora's love for her is so strong that she's afraid to let any whisper of her grandmother go. This naturally sets up a showdown in an apartment complex Will doesn't think he wants to be a part of and that Nora never wants to change. And as fun and as real as the main characters are, the supporting characters are wonderful too - from the other tenants in the apartments to Nora's remote coworker Deepa, and last but definitely not least in my heart, Will's awkward, somewhat socially inept but utterly prescient boss Dr. Gerald Graham and the ex-wife Sally that he wants to win back over with Will's help. This book was sweet, funny and relatable in a world where no one's perfect but they are the perfect person to have in your life.