Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

DNF at 16%
(I don't rate DNFs, but it's required on this site so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and give it a two-star rating)

I wish I could happily continue on reading this, but I physically can't bring myself to. I was staring at it unable to read and then skimmed until the end of the chapter. I just can't read it. Jess is whiny, Sam is annoying, and I just can't bear reading it. I hope someone ends up loving this book, but I just can't make myself read it.

Jess meets Sam at her aunt and uncle’s barbecue. When they first see one another there is an instant mutual attraction but Sam is very upfront and tells Jess they cannot act on their attraction as he has a girlfriend of four years, Victoria. They part company and Jess tried to forget him.

Some time later Sam contacts her and tells her he has broken up with Victoria and wants to take her out. Their relationship quickly progresses but Sam’s ex, Victoria, is a woman scorned and tries everything in her power to ruin their relationship.

The love story of Jess and Sam, the easy relationship that Jess has with her aunt, uncle and cousin and the contrasting more difficult, almost painful, relationship between Jess and her mother - all contribute to make this a fantastic read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

4☆ Heartwarming, Very Entertaining and A Sweet Contemporary Romance

Jess meets Sam at her Aunt and Uncles family bbq.
They originally bond over the fact they are the youngest people at the bbq.
But as they get lost in conversation their instant Spark only intensifies!

Sam is everything she wants in a Man. He's Fun, Kind, Warm, has the same interests, Charismatic, Funny and Incredibly Handsome....but there's just one thing wrong.... He's taken!

Sam has fallen for Jess and he knows it's wrong but he just can't help being drawn to her.
Is it so wrong to want to be friends?..... he has never strayed or even looked at another Woman before Jess... so what makes her so special?


Maybe they are soul mates?... maybe they are just meant to be?

One thing's for certain no one can deny they have a massive SPARK!

I loved both Jess and Sam. They are both pretty special people!
Jess is such an inspiration she works hard to protect and help vulnerable women and their children. Sam works as a Special Educational Teacher. I was desperately willing them both together, despite all the obstacles!
Oh and Sam's Ex Victoria.... wow she's a woman out for revenge!.... as they say never mess with a woman scorned 🙈

The Spark is a Heartwarming, very entertaining and sweet romance.
All of the characters were brilliantly written and sparked a variety of emotions towards them.
This is a story about finding love, overcoming obstacles, self discovery, friendship, family dramas, moving on and taking risks.
If you enjoy Contemporary Romances then you will love The Spark by Jules Wake


Thank you to Rachel Random Resources for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Boy meets girl, boy and girl both feel the spark but boy already has a girlfriend. With so much up against them is love enough for Sam and Jess to weather the storm. Can Jess face her own history and learn from it at the same time or will it all prove to be too much.
This is not your usual romance, it started off all sweetness and light but actually had a lot of substance to it. There was one quite explicit sexual scene which was strange, usually when a book will throw these in there will be plenty of them throughout but it was all very tasteful bar the one time. There was a real vulnerability to Jess and there was clearly a lot of research that went into sculpting her job and how that would look and shape her. There was a lot of depth to the story. The characters were all really well written. I would definitely pick up more by this author.

I received an e-copy of this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always hesitant with contemporary books because I feel like they can be very same-y and it’s not a genre I tend to focus on. However with the world as it is & between reading my normal magical/fantasy books, I thought this would be a nice break.

This book follows Jess who meets Sam at her aunts party and instantly falls in love (bleurgh in my personal opinion but nothing against the book). When they meet Sam is in a happy relationship with Victoria but Sam can’t get Jess out of his head and ends his relationship with controlling Victoria. What should then be a happy start of a new relationship is challenged by Victoria who is determined to get ‘her man’ back no matter what that takes. Will Sam and Jess’ relationship last or will Victoria get her wishes?

The book not only shows the controlling/true colours of Victoria and how unhealthy that is, but also shows Jess learning that her parents split wasn’t quite how it seemed: her father never abandoned her, her mom told them both lies, and her moms mental health has become damaging (that sounds bad but I don’t know how else to word it) on everyone.

I felt at times that this was a very ‘typical’ contemporary where boy meets girl, they fall instantly in love, jealous ex but the couple still get their happy ending. However the family problems underlining this for Jess was very interesting.

Overall I enjoyed this and would recommend to those who enjoy love at first sight stories with a challenging side character.

There is a little give and take on this book. This book was a little difficult to get through in the beginning, you read the typical romance of them starting to fall in love and getting to know one another. Instant love at first sight between Jess and Sam. What set this romance apart is dealing with Sam's heartbroken and jealous ex. I know this book is described as a romantic comedy but this wasn't a lighthearted book in my opinion. What made it remotely lighthearted was her cousin Shelly who was fun and the eccentric aunt wedding that they attended.
These main characters go through major set back in their relationship and their family which made this not what I would think a romantic comedy is described. You see their faults that caused more of the issues in their lives and their relationship. And having a bitter Ex to make life more difficult not in a "funny" way. What I don't love about this book is a lot of unresolved issues in the book. The ending happened way too quick. Right when you are really invested in the characters, they are back together for a split second after their problems that threatened them apart and then the story is over. Makes you wonder how Jess and Sam are deciding to move forward with all the unresolved issues and what happened to other characters that was developed in the book. This book left me wanting more. But overall, this a was a great read and certainly not your cheesy romantic story.

A flirty and fun romance with plenty of heart. I love the author's chatty, gossipy voice, and the lingering descriptions of the budding relationship. Cute as. x

I loved this book! Really didn’t want to put it down.

Jess & Sam are such wonderful characters who learn so much about one another and themselves in such a short time.

I’ll definitely add Jules Wake to my must read authors list.

I have very mixed feelings on this one. It all just moved a little too fast for me? I think the overall story was good, and I liked the focus on how getting both sides of a story is important and sometimes it takes putting yourself in another person's shoes to fully appreciate what they've been through. Jess' work with the women's refuge was also well written and a job I don't think I've ever seen mentioned in a book before. However the romance was just a little too far fetched for me. I know love at first sight is a thing, but they'd known each other for barely 5 weeks and were moving in together & wanting to get married. I'm all for doing what you want, but they didn't even really seem to know each other that well? I don't know it just didn't feel real and I couldn't fully invest myself in the story. I think it's a book with a lot of potential but just not for me I don't think!

A solid romance with genuine conflict throughout and many obstacles to overcome. Well written and kept your attention throughout

When Sam and Jess met at a garden party the attraction was instant..... but Sam has been going out with Victoria for four years! After Sam had ended his relationship with Victoria he started seeing Jess but Victoria started bad mouthing Jess to everyone and branding her the other woman...... will the spark be strong enough to overcome all of the pressure on them?

Another lovely book by this author I really liked the characters of Jess and Sam and although Victoria wasn't likeable you could have some sympathy as she was obviously hurting. A good light read to brighten up these dismal times

Thank you Netgalley for this copy of THE SPARK. I loved this story! What a fun romcom. I really enjoyed the authors spin on perspective from the mother to the ex. Great writing. Would definitely recommend.

It is very hard to continue reading this book. You may argue that Sam did not cheat on Vic but emotional cheating is also cheating. Sam was thinking about kissing Jess when he was still in a relationship with Vic. Jess is in a very conflicted situation. She witnessed how devastated her mum was when her dad left. One minute she hates being the other woman and the next minute she still continues seeing Sam. What?! I know its real life and this does happen but sorry, this is not my cup of tea. I am not related to the character and can't bother for them to have their happy ending.

"Girl meets boy. Boy meets girl." Sounds simple enough, right? However, love is nothing if not complicated. If you were a fan of One Day in December, you'll be a fan of this book, because the concept is incredibly similar. That, honestly, was where I struggled a bit. It felt a little too familiar in parts. However, this book really touches on the ethical internal struggle of dating someone who was with someone else when you met them. Of course, Sam breaks up with his ex before he begins dating Jess. However, Jess still struggles with the idea of being the other woman, and there is a lot of exploration of how truly complicated love can be. I also think the trope of psycho jealous ex-girlfriend is aging out, and something we're moving past.

I am in the minority with my rating of this book, however it just wasn't for me. Many thanks to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an average read for me. I really liked that there was no cheating. Sam broke up with his ex, Victoria before he started anything with Jess. Sam turned out to be the guy Jess thought he was. But that didn’t feel true to her character that she would just move in with a guy very soon after that started dating each other

I also like the description of the “spark” they had and the love at first sight trope was done well. However, I didn’t really see the two main characters, Sam and Jess together after that. I feel there was not very much chemistry between the two characters after the started dating., which is really early in the book.


I just reviewed The Spark by Jules Wake. #NetGalley

Jules has done it again! (Like I was in any doubt.)
A lot of romances feature a couple meeting, falling in love and having a happy ending all loved up – and I love that. In The Spark Jules has take a bit of a different, and more realistic perspective on navigating a new relationship.
I loved Sam and Jess from the very first chapters. Jess is a down to earth, funny and such a lovely lady. Sam is honest and gentle and from the very first meet The Spark is definitely there. After a rocky start and a whirlwind romance, a gorgeous love story begins but it’s not all plain sailing. Navigating parents, exes, and past baggage are just some of the hurdles the smitten couple have to face.
The romance and characters just suck you in. I felt like part of the extended ‘cast’ of characters and wanted to clear the bumpy path for this wonderful couple. The back stories and other characters give extra depth to the story, really bringing everything to life. Woven throughout are snippets of humour and amusing situations too which balance out some of the more emotional drama and plot threads.
Wonderful characters and a realistic perspective of a new romance makes this the perfect novel to curl up with this weekend.

This was absolutely wonderful. I loved the characters, the plot and especially how it made me feel. Would highly recommend it for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book!

I thought this was a fun, cute little story about two people that meet and immediately feel a spark between them. It was sweet without being too sweet and silly. The characters are well done and the plot is focused and moves quickly. If you are looking for a quick, fun read, this is a great book for you!

A very entertaining and well written book, not my usual genre but I thoroughly enjoyed it and all the characters.

I can definitely recommend this book and thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins (OMC) for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

You can’t deny the attraction that exists between Jess and Sam. However, in this story, they are plagued by Sam’s ex, who turns out to be a mega Queen B and wants to do everything possible to make their relationship fail. No fun, huh?

There’s nothing too dramatic about this story; it is one hundred per cent romance. Of course, for Sam and Jess, it’s never easy. Throughout the story, both Sam and Jess appear to justify Victoria’s revengeful, hurtful behaviour. Personally, this riled me that the characters themselves were not more riled up and determined to put Victoria in her place! It was saddening to see how Sam’s friends turn away from him, judging his relationship with Jess based on Victoria’s influence. In my opinion, if they were genuine friends, they should have accepted that Sam had moved on.

The relationship is sweet and lovely. I really appreciated the parallels that existed with Jess and her own father. As the story develops, Wake makes these similarities clearer, especially as Jess eventually finds out what really happened in the breakdown of her parents’ marriage. Although it is not easy to like Jess’s mother – she is quite a cold fish – you cannot help but feel sorry for her. I wanted there to be reconciliation between Jess and her mother and I thought this element of the story was quite sad. Wake provides a satisfactory conclusion to this sub-plot and this added to the positivity generally running throughout the novel.

I felt invested in Sam and Jess’s relationship. I wanted them to succeed where others had clearly rejected them. Jess’s employment is all about protecting women, working in a women’s refuge, and I saw how Jess tries to protect her own relationship with Sam – even when things with Victoria were reaching new highs. Like the sub-plot, I think Jess’s work added another dimension to the story so that it was not completely focused on her love for Sam.

This book is set in a scorching summer heat, so it is perfect during these winter months! On the other hand, I think this would be a great beach read because the story unfolds so easily. There isn’t too much depth and sadness in the story, but enough to keep readers interested beyond the romance. Indeed, this is a book that I could easily see on the big screen; if not, I really hope that Wake follows up the story of Sam and Jess – what happens next?

I enjoyed this romantic escapism provided by Wake. It’s a pleasant story that emphasises the importance of staying true to yourself; not letting others dominate your decisions. That, in itself, is as significant as anything.

With thanks to One More Chapter, NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.