Will Sterling couldn’t be more displeased by the news that he has inherited his estranged Uncle Donny’s apartment unit. To complicate the situation, his uncle’s attorney informs him that the deceased’s last will and testament stipulates that the old apartment, replete with all of Uncle Donny’s useless stuff, cannot be sold for a period of 12 months---something a busy ER doctor like himself has no time for. The only redeeming quality he can associate with the outdated building is a girl he spotted on a balcony during his only visit there, some fifteen years ago---now, surely long since moved away ––- when he was just a teenager.
Nora is still reeling from the death of her Nona. Recently relocated from California to Nona’s Chicago apartment, where she spent her childhood summers, Nora finds comfort in carrying on the life that Nona left behind. Nora manages the building Nona once ran, she is surrounded by Nona’s possessions, and spends all of her free-time with Nona’s friend group---the elderly, tight-knit neighbors that are more family to her than tenants. The downside to inheriting an aging building and friend group though, is the complications that are left behind when one of them dies. Which is the exact predicament Donny’s passing has left her in, and what has kept her unable to sleep past 4 a.m. in over two weeks.
It is during one of those 4 a.m. interludes, out on their respective balconies, that Nora and Will’s paths cross, sparking mutual intrigue. Sparks quickly turn to spite, however, when Will announces that he plans to renovate his late uncle’s apartment and lease out the space; a situation that does not sit well with Nora, who sees this move as disrespectful to Donny’s memory and to the neighbors to which he was so beloved.
Nora and her quirky, senior neighbors quickly implement a plan to change the heart and mind of the stubborn Will Sterling, with a welcome train of homecooked food and good cheer, which only serves to irritate the good doctor. Next, the madcap bunch ambushes him with an impromptu, courtyard gathering of neighborly camaraderie. Still, Will Sterling’s mind is set. He plans to lease out Donny’s apartment to---GASP––-a stranger!
The feud between Nora and Will escalates as one of them tries to cling to the past, while the other charges mindlessly into the future, both seeming to miss the clues along the way that they have more in common than they care to admit. Like, might Nora be the girl from that long ago balcony moment?
In this well-executed, modern romance, main characters, Will and Nora’s, witty, self-deprecating, inner monologues serve as contrast to their outer self-assuredness; allowing the reader to laugh and cringe, right alongside them. The unique look inside Will and Nora’s thoughts helps the story to avoid the overly sentimental, and prompts the reader to cheer for them as a couple. A supporting cast of loveable, grandparent-like figures, and points of view that alternate between the two main characters, as they second guess themselves and plot out their next moves, keep the pages turning. Clayborn has mastered the push and pull tension that sizzles on the page and steams up the glasses of the reader. “Love at First,” is the light-hearted read you’ve been craving all pandemic long!
Nora is still reeling from the death of her Nona. Recently relocated from California to Nona’s Chicago apartment, where she spent her childhood summers, Nora finds comfort in carrying on the life that Nona left behind. Nora manages the building Nona once ran, she is surrounded by Nona’s possessions, and spends all of her free-time with Nona’s friend group---the elderly, tight-knit neighbors that are more family to her than tenants. The downside to inheriting an aging building and friend group though, is the complications that are left behind when one of them dies. Which is the exact predicament Donny’s passing has left her in, and what has kept her unable to sleep past 4 a.m. in over two weeks.
It is during one of those 4 a.m. interludes, out on their respective balconies, that Nora and Will’s paths cross, sparking mutual intrigue. Sparks quickly turn to spite, however, when Will announces that he plans to renovate his late uncle’s apartment and lease out the space; a situation that does not sit well with Nora, who sees this move as disrespectful to Donny’s memory and to the neighbors to which he was so beloved.
Nora and her quirky, senior neighbors quickly implement a plan to change the heart and mind of the stubborn Will Sterling, with a welcome train of homecooked food and good cheer, which only serves to irritate the good doctor. Next, the madcap bunch ambushes him with an impromptu, courtyard gathering of neighborly camaraderie. Still, Will Sterling’s mind is set. He plans to lease out Donny’s apartment to---GASP––-a stranger!
The feud between Nora and Will escalates as one of them tries to cling to the past, while the other charges mindlessly into the future, both seeming to miss the clues along the way that they have more in common than they care to admit. Like, might Nora be the girl from that long ago balcony moment?
In this well-executed, modern romance, main characters, Will and Nora’s, witty, self-deprecating, inner monologues serve as contrast to their outer self-assuredness; allowing the reader to laugh and cringe, right alongside them. The unique look inside Will and Nora’s thoughts helps the story to avoid the overly sentimental, and prompts the reader to cheer for them as a couple. A supporting cast of loveable, grandparent-like figures, and points of view that alternate between the two main characters, as they second guess themselves and plot out their next moves, keep the pages turning. Clayborn has mastered the push and pull tension that sizzles on the page and steams up the glasses of the reader. “Love at First,” is the light-hearted read you’ve been craving all pandemic long!