I have decided not to review this book as unfortunately the book has been pulled to make some writing adjustments. I only think it’s fair that I don’t read and review this version of the book.

Hopefully once the rewrites are done I can read and review then.

Unfortunately due to a couple comments made in the book that caused the controversy that lead to the publisher pulling the book, I no longer feel comfortable reading and reviewing this.

I got approved for this book and got a little bit into it before the controversy happened and since I heard the book is being pulled and not published, I don't see the need to finish and give a full review. I just hope the next book is well thought out and written better.

I received this ARC before all the controversy surrounding two quotes from this book. I will begin by saying that I hope the author learns from this moment and becomes a better, more inclusive author. I know it's easy to "cancel" someone, but I do hope we realize we are human and make mistakes and the best way to be better is to understand and do better going forward.

That aside, if we remove the two quotes and focus on the rest of the story/book - I thought it was decent overall. It gave me a little bit of Romeo/Juliet vibes with two fueding families. We have a marriage of convenience and a he-falls-first MMC. There were a lot of family dynamics which kept me intrigued. Sometimes though I wondered where the book was heading (3rd act) and once I got there I wasn't super excited about it and the subsequent ending. There's also still a lot of unanswered questions - which I get there will be stories for some of the other siblings but it maybe felt too unanswered.

3⭐

A super cute romance with wine? Yes, please. Sparrow and Vine was a sweet and easy read. The book follows Sophie & Monroe, who were born as enemies and grow to become lovers. The vineyard Sparrow & Vine is failing and the only chance they may have to save it is by teaming up & getting married. The book follows them and their journey to love & a bit of self-appreciation. I really enjoyed the Winery storyline and the interactions with the family. Some of the inner monologues were a bit lengthy and unnecessary but it didn't take away from the book. There is no 3rd act breakup and there are some open-door scenes, albeit mild (but wordy) descriptions & a HEA. Looks like Sophie is setting up the series to have the brothers fall in love with the sisters. I will definitely continue with the series because I need to know what is going on between a certain sister & brother.... not to mention the evil mother!

This book had SO much potential, the characters backstory and banter had me HOOKED. That was until certain comments made throughout the book and the MMC- I just really disliked him- I normally love Sophie Lark’s books and I really enjoyed about 20% of this.


I saw the opportunity to become an ARC for Sparrow and Vine, I couldn’t resist! Especially when I saw the synopsis and the beautiful cover.

Monroe and Sadie’s chemistry is out the roof and the way the book starts instantly hooks you in and leaves you wanting to know more! The friendly banter even though they’re ‘enemies’ just made it more interesting.

Sadie is a very unique character who I immediately fell in love with, her crazy personality and determined ways just made her more realistic. Monroe is confident and he’s just as determined as Sadie to get what he wants.

Monroe is not my favourite MMC at all, but it’s tolerable as the FMC is a really likeable character.

Sadie and Monroe’s grandfathers were bestfriends and business partners who made a profit in selling wine from the vineyard decades ago.

And when the vineyard is up for sale, that’s supposed to be inherited by the grandparents children but due to The Wedding That Never Was, the inheritance is messed up. And now, there’s only one thing they can do to save it…Marriage. Forcing two rival families together in order to save the business.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this book and with the publisher pulling this title, I have decided not to proceed.

This was such a good story. Basically enemies to lovers. It was really heartwarming to watch them fall I. Love and save the winery. Can’t wait to read the next book.

I’m not comfortable reading this book as is knowing it’s been pulled and the only way to get it off my shelf is to “review” it

This book has been pulled by the publisher. Will not read, leaving review to clear shelf. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/books/sophie-lark-sparrow-vine-bloom-books-cancelled.html

My understanding is that this book is no longer being published. Just filling in the box to take it off my shelf.

🍷 BOOK REVIEW 🍷
Sparrow and Vine by Sophie Lark
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💍 Enemies-to-lovers? ✔️
🍇 Forced proximity? ✔️
💣 Family rivalry? ✔️
🔥 Cinnamon-scented husband sharing your bed? Ohhhh yes. ✔️✔️✔️

Sadie Sparrow is ready to fake marry her enemy to save her family’s legacy—and Monroe Beaumont is just the pirate of a man bold enough to propose it. Their families are sworn enemies, their winery is at stake, and the marriage is the only way to unlock a massive inheritance. But sharing a bed with a man who smells like cinnamon and chaos? That’s not part of the plan... right? 😏

This book is: 🍷 Spicy and simmering with tension
🏡 Full of cozy vineyard vibes and small-town charm
💔 Dripping with betrayal, loyalty, and a love that grows from the ashes of war

Sophie Lark does it again with a romance that’s intense, addictive, and beautifully written. Sadie and Monroe are enemies you’ll root for—and the slow burn? WORTH IT.

✨ Tropes you’ll devour:
💍 Marriage of Convenience
🔥 Enemies to Lovers
🍇 Family Feud
🛏️ Forced Proximity
💣 Mutual Obsession
🖤 Cinnamon Roll Alpha with bite

Pour yourself a glass of red and settle in—Sparrow and Vine is rich, full-bodied, and dangerously smooth. 🍷

#SparrowAndVine #SophieLark #MarriageOfConvenience #EnemiesToLovers #ForcedProximity #BookstagramRecs #SpicyRomance #WineryVibes #HeFallsFirst #RomanceReader #VineyardLoveStory

I know there’s been a lot of controversy about this book so I’m not going to rehash all of that, but I just want to say for the record that I hundred percent agree with the other arc readers. This book was poorly written, poorly developed, and not well thought out. I was unable to care for any of the characters and the romance felt fake.

There is controversy right now with this book, I do know that.
I have read the author's apology as well. I think she is handling the situation well.
That being said I still read the book, and still liked it!
The controversy portions are going to be fixed as per her apology so I have no qualms with them.

The story is about a Vineyard created by two family's who eventually became enemies.
Just when the vineyard is about to be taken the youngest children from both families decide they will do ANYTHING to save their vinyard.
That just so happens to mean they'll spontaneously get married.

The story was cute and while the author mentions writing the MMC as flawed, I actually saw the FMC as the flawed. The MMC knew himself through and through, and didn't ever stray from his ways. While the FMC learned a lot about herself and how to come out of her shell.
I do think that this book once finished will be one of my favorites from Sophie Lark! This whole series is going to be so good!

Okay let me start off with this: I do NOT agree with the insensitive statement by Monroe about illegals picking the grapes - it is super off-putting and I think will end up causing this author a lot of push back. However, overall the enemies-lovers/contract marriage is interesting. Although I don't know that they were truly enemies or if their families just had issues and these two (who each had a secret crush on the other for years) were caught in the middle of it. I do appreciate how the two upended all the family hate and treachery and did things on their own.
I enjoyed the book over all. Despite a few things scattered throughout it that were a bit off-putting. My low rating is due to these things.

2/5 stars; Some of the comments/sections in this book feature some controversy and hurtful remarks. The forced proximity, enemy to lovers, and fake marriage all tried too hard and felt too good to be true. I enjoyed some of the writing style by Lark; some sassy and funny remarks made the book have some cute moments, but sadly that’s all they were, moments. I can confidently say I will not be reading any other books in this series. Thank you to Netgalley, Soucebooks, and the author for the ARC.

This story had a lot of controversy surrounding it based on some insensitive remarks. I do enjoy Sophie's writing, but I wish she would have edited out a few sections that were hurtful to certain communities.

This book features enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, forced proximity, fake marriage, and contemporary romance. This wasn't a very dark romance. I have read far darker romances by Sophie Lark. I really thought the cover was beautiful and matched the book.

Sadie Sparrow and Monroe Beaufort are from rival families. Their grandfather's ran a vineyard and winery together. Hard feelings broke that partnership apart. Both families have suffered ever since. Now, Monroe has come up with a plan to save Sparrow & Vine. This book should be called "The Wedding That Never Was," because that phrase is used often. It's the only fact both families can agree upon.

Monroe and Sadie get together rather quickly. Can they use a fake relationship to turn Sparrow & Vine around? If not the land and houses of Sadie's family will be sold and Monroe's family will lose out also. The pair is pretty friendly and comfortable around one another. The chemistry and sexual attraction slowly builds. The fact that Monroe and Sadie thought of each other as home, so sweet! 🥰 I can say I hated Monroe's mother, Sabine! I thought Sabine was a mixture of Jessica Rabbit in her silhoutte and Cruella De Ville, in personality.

This book sets the scenes for future books. Sadie has 2 older sisters and Monroe has 2 older brothers. Monroe and his brothers all have different fathers. In this book there's a lot of unknown tension surrounding the siblings. It's clear the siblings have had a connection at some point that hasn't come to light yet. Sophie Lark didn't give too much away about the siblings, other than their pairings. Also the fact that the siblings pretty much despises each other currently. Looking forward to the next book, Love and Madness.

I enjoy reading Sophie Lark, so when I had the opportunity to read an ARC of this book - I hopped right on it and squeed when my request got approved. This book is on par with my expectations of Sophie's writing. I really loved the romance between our characters Sadie and Monroe. The plot was interesting, and I love the hints as to what the future books in this series are going to entail. I'm very excited for June's book AND to finally find out what the heck some of these family secrets are, someone better spill the tea!!!! Circling back to this book though, it was a sweet romance and I loved that there was no third act break up or miscommunication - that Sadie and Monroe work together to try to save the vineyard through the entire book.

This plot line has so much potential but unfortunately, this book fell very flat for me. It had so many great tropes like enemies to lovers and forced proximity, it just did not vibe. The chemistry felt forced and it didn't feel believeable. I don't even think it was rushed, just awkward. Everything went so slow. I really enjoy this author, so I was very surprised at how much of a struggle it was to finish this book.

The chemistry between the brothers and the sisters also started to feel weird. I know it had a point but I could have done without the sexual tension between them and just focused on the main characters.

I am not putting my rating on Goodreads because I do not put anything below three stars there to help the authors.