Wake's "The Spark" is the ideal novel to read when you are stressed and want an instant pick-me-up; heart-warming, hilarious and relatable.

I seriously think this author is becoming one of my favourite authors! I love her writing and get hooked into her stories every single time! I knew when I first saw this book that I would love it, and I was right! The story introduces us to Jess and Sam who meet at a garden party. They both know that there was a spark between them, but Sam had a long-term girlfriend and Jess isn’t one to look at another woman’s man!! But when Sam gets in touch several weeks later asking Jess out, she has to make sure that he is free and single. Sam says he is…but his ex, Victoria has other ideas.

I was captivated by this book from the very first page! Jess’s character was great and I loved her high morals and her caring nature. I have to say I don’t think I could ever be as patient and sympathetic as Jess was though with regards to Sam’s ex…and dare I say it, with regards to Sam also. For every time that Victoria gave her a smug smile and Sam leaves her standing there to sort out his ex, I would have given them both a slap!! But then again, I’m not as forgiving as Jess obviously is! Whilst you could look at it from Victoria’s perspective and think she is wronged party, there was no excuse for how she behaved!!

It is obvious though that Jess and Sam are meant to be together. Is there such a thing as that instant spark, the perfect chemistry or love at first sight? This book goes to prove that all those things exist!! I love the Lego reference which Jess and Sam use and thought this was really simple, yet absolutely perfect to describe them! The course of true love doesn’t go smoothly for them though and there are so many obstacles for them to overcome. I loved Sam’s character just as much as Jess. I did feel for Sam at times, having to choose between Jess and his family and friends, but couldn’t help but think that perhaps he could have sorted out some of those choices a lot sooner!

The story flowed along perfectly and once started, I didn’t want to put it down until I’d finished. It wasn’t all about true love though, there were lots of other issues covered in the book which all played a part in Jess’s storyline. Without giving away any spoilers, I found Jess’s storyline later in the book visiting her family very emotional and loved how it made everything else a lot easier to deal with afterwards. It was a lot more of a serious book than I first thought, but it did have it’s laughs! Jess’s cousin, Shelley was very likeable and her aunt and uncle were like a breath of fresh air! The characters, good and bad, all complemented the storyline and I connected with them all more and more as the book moved on.

I was genuinely sad to finish this book and could have started it all over again! It is full of family, friends, love and loss, with some of the characters learning so much about themselves. It showed us how complicated relationships can be, even though they don’t necessarily have to be. It also kept us wondering whether Jess would ever get a happy ending! Light-hearted, warming and emotional, this book ticked all the boxes for me! Fab, fab, fab!!

The Spark is an absolutely beautiful story which I thoroughly enjoyed because the two main characters had so much charm and depth, and a cast of secondary characters that added their own brilliance.
Jess meets Sam at her aunts garden party, there is that instant spark of attraction and they are absolutely meant for each other but Sam has been in a relationship with Victoria for the past four years but as they are both throughly decent people neither would take this attraction any further.
Fast forward a month and Sam has ended his relationship and contacts Jess asking he could take her out for dinner. As their relationship develops and deepens quickly it is obvious that their feelings are very real, unfortunately Victoria has taken the breakup very badly and is vicious in her revenge.
With Jess having a bad family history of which we slowly learn, Sam feels guilty and frustrated by Victoria’s behaviour, will the relationship survive?
Keeping reading, not without some heartbreaking moments but this uplifting book had me up all night turning those pages, and boy was it worth the bags under my eyes this morning.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing me this ARC to review.

This is my first Jules Wake read and certainly will not be my last, what a breath of fresh air this was!

I was totally engrossed is Jess and Sam they both fit together like Lego.
Sam ends his relationship with Victoria to be with Jess, of course Victoria is just not going to accept they are over so will do anything to get Sam back.

This is not your kind of boy meets girl love story and I really felt the connection between them and enjoyed reading this one.

I have already added Morning Park Run to my reading list and looking foward to more from Jules in the future.

This is a love story with a difference. , it's a bit more serious than Jules Wake has written previously. I have to be honest, I didn't find it as humorous as some of her earlier books but It was well written , with characters and situations I could identify with . Sam and Jess are both likeable character's and easy to relate to. They meet and feel that spark of initial attraction but Sam is in a long-term relationship so nothing happens initially.
When Sam ends his relationship with Victoria and starts a new one with Jess a month later things are not plain sailing for them. Sam's friends and family don't take the new relationship well and they both have to put up with the increasing vindictiveness of Victoria , who is not taking the break up well.
Once I started reading I really didn't want to put it down , the storyline was immersive and you just wanted the injustice they had to put up with to stop. It's definitely a book you get emotionally involved with and I read it in one sitting.

First I would like to thank Author Jules Wake and NetGalley for giving me a free ebook arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Have you ever been to a gathering or a party and are introduced to someone and things just seem to click? Like you feel like you have known them forever? What would you do if that person was already in a relationship? How would you react when they pick you over their long time partner? This book answer all of these questions and more with a realistic story of two people who find that "spark" in one another and decide to see where it will all lead. I really enjoyed this book! The author did a great job creating characters that I believe many readers can relate to especially when it comes to being the new partner in established relationship which are shared with an ex. I loved how honest Sam was with his feelings and chose to do the right things even when it caused riffs in many of the meaningful relationships with his friends and family. I respected Jess for not running Sam's ex down in front of others when there were times she might have be justified to do so. Jess' relationship with her mother was very raw at times, and I appreciated how much Jess was willing to help her mother comes to terms with the past. Victoria was another kettle of fish all together. I could not help but feel a wide range of emotions for her throughout this book. I hope she finds her HEA! Overall, I really liked this book and believe this is a very mature and healthy look at relationships and how the evolve over time as well as how they impact those around us both for the good and bad. I can't wait to read more by this author.

This was the first book I've read by Jules Wake it won't be my last. I just loved this book from start to finish. When Jess meets Sam at a party sparks fly until she finds out Sam has a girlfriend. After she finds this out she realizes she has to pump the breaks on her feelings for Sam but when she realizes Sam is newly single and asks her out she jumps at the chance. But, their relationship is put to the test when Sam's ex causes problems for them. I really enjoyed the writing style and the main characters were very likely.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed it, the lead characters were great and I found the story to be very believable. I would definitely recommend this book.

I really enjoy Jules Wake books and this new standalone really caught my eye. It looks like quite an easygoing read from the cover but it’s actually very thought provoking. There’s some great characters, the two main characters, Sam and Jess, are both really genuine nice people with demanding but worthy jobs who find themselves caught up in an uncomfortable situation. There’s a great mixed bunch of surrounding characters which add a great depth to the story, in fact I’d love to read more about Jess’ cousin Shelley. This is a really considered story and I really like the parallels between Sam and Jess’ situation and Jess’ parents split when she was young. There’s some really good points in this but it doesn’t lack humour to break it up on occasion either. If I’m being honest this wasn’t quite what I expected but i still enjoyed it a lot, it’s a very intelligent read.

I received an advance copy of, The Spark, by Jules Wake. This book is ok, a little boring actually. It was so paces, and I did not like the characters.

Wow, what an involving book. It completely gripped me and I couldn't put it down until I knew Jess and Sam were truly going to be together.

I hated Victoria. As the story unfurled she quashed any sympathy I might have had. I have a big problem with people who refused to be dumped and would have happily put her in character jail.

Every character was beautifully realised and this is a love story with a difference - a very 'real-life' one where just falling in love isn't necessarily enough.

I really wanted to love this book, but it just didn't do it for me. The writing wasn't bad, the overall story wasn't bad by any means, but I just didn't feel it.

The Spark begins on a glorious Sunday afternoon in Tring with Jess Harper’s invitation to a barbecue at her aunt and uncle’s house. This is reason enough to lift her spirits, the promise of being well fed outweighing her disappointment that cousin Shelley will be a no show. Little does she expect that this will be an occasion where love at first sight will strike upon meeting neighbours son Sam Weaverham, house sitting for his parents. Cupid has struck, both feeling an instant connection that unfortunately cannot be acted upon given Sam is in a long term relationship with girlfriend Victoria. However, unable to ignore that initial spark, Victoria quickly becomes Sam’s ex and what follows is a concerted effort on Victoria’s behalf to ruin this blossoming romance.

Undoubtedly The Spark is full of romance with lovebirds Jess and Sam experiencing that love (rather than lust!) at first sight moment that eludes so many of us. I loved the Lego analogy which is a cute, touching and romantic way to describe how two people fit together. This is a storyline that you expect to be heartwarming and on many levels it is as the reader witnesses the initial spark between Jess and Sam develop into something meaningful over the course of a glorious summer. However for me there is a distinct lack of humour in the storyline; instead there are plenty of awkward, humiliating and stressful encounters with Victoria, Jess assuming the mantle of ‘the other woman’. Plus the strained relationship Jess has with her mother in contrast to the one she has with her Aunt Lynn only adds to the obstacles Jess must overcome in finding true happiness. Whilst there’s no deviation from the usual formula of girl meets boy, they fall in love, experience some turbulence along the way which threatens a happy ever after, I did like how the author uses Jess’s romance with Sam to force her to reflect on her own relationship with her mother and a father who left the family home when Jess was only eight years old. She gains much needed clarity of a time in her life that is shrouded in mystery and I couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for Joan and Victoria who both struggle with being replaced by other women. It’s interesting that while this is a lighthearted romantic read the author has chosen to give a good deal of attention to the women left behind when a relationship ends, the heartache and distress they feel and the ways in which they deal with the rejection. For the purposes of this storyline Joan and Victoria deal with their break ups in very different ways and to me they are both tragic figures, unwilling to let go of their pasts. I know there is some inexcusable behaviour to witness in these pages but their pain felt all too real and it detracted from the happier elements of the novel. Perhaps more poignantly the kind of women living in the refuge where Jess works, in dire need of a safe haven away from violent, abusive relationships puts Joan and Victoria’s own circumstances into perspective. Really The Spark is as much about the breakdown of relationships, which occur for a myriad of reasons, and the inability to move on as it is a celebration of love at first sight and the heart stopping, butterflies in the stomach feelings this new unexplored love induces. That the author has given time and space to both sides of the story in terms of Sam and Victoria’s relationship is admirable but it did cast a gloomy shadow over the more heart melting moments.

Of course the scenarios depicted in The Spark are evidence of the messiness of life, indicative of the bumps and knocks that accompany everyone as they negotiate their way through relationships, friendships, family life, heartache and happiness. I liked the strong family bonds that exist between Jess and her aunt and uncle and cousin Shelley, their family home always a comforting bolt hole for Jess as she embarks on this summer of love with Sam. Unfortunately I failed to fall in love with these two characters as there was a vital ingredient missing, notably humour, to make this fictional pair stand out. Jess is too saintly for my liking and Sam allows and endures the presence of a third party in his relationship with Jess for far too long in my humble opinion. I did appreciate the cricketing strand to the storyline, having spent many childhood days attending matches with my father. I could understand why Jess drools over images of Sam in his cricket whites!

The Spark begins with a light breezy tone, but whilst the spark ignited into full blown fireworks for Jess and Sam, the storyline didn’t quite satisfy my vision of what an uplifting romcom should be. Maybe I was too tuned into the sadder aspects of these characters lives to fully appreciate that the promise of a blissful and wonderful future together was just around the corner, if only this pair could survive repeated attempts to derail their love. Although this is the first book I’ve read by Jules Wake it won’t be my last as I already have at least a couple more languishing on my TBR pile which hopefully will prove to be more to my liking. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastically emotive book. I was engrossed from the moment I started in reading. I loved the connection between the lead characters, the instant spark between them was almost jumping from the page, it was evident to see how much these characters were drawn to each other yet were still both trying to do the "right" thing whilst also following their own happiness.
I liked Jess; a gutsy girl who had experienced a lot but used that to her advantage in many ways. She did absolutely nothing wrong yet was seen as a baddie by some. She was careful, delicate and sensitive yet determined and passionate. I really liked her relationship with her Aunt and Uncle, although the struggle with her Mum was very clear and almost awkward to read.
Sam sounds like a dream guy who tried to do the best for everyone. I think he sounds brilliant and I loved the relationship between him and Jess, it was clear they should be the perfect couple.
On the face of it a simple, romantic tale of meeting your soul mate and doing what is needed to be together but again Jules Wake delivers something with layers of complexity and showing the fragility of perception in relationships. Families and memories can be something different from what we think we know.
I adore all books from Jules, her ability to take us into her characters world is outstanding. I was consumed by The Spark and I read it in a few glorious hours one Saturday afternoon. Brilliant.

I love that this book shows almost the reality of something that is "too good to be true". I feel like everyone will be able to relate to this book on some level. Jules Wake created a fun, light read that just hits the spot with the romance and humor in delicate situations.