Since this book was pulled from the publisher as well as archived on here I will not be reading and reviewing it. After learning about the themes described in the books, I would not feel comfortable reading the book.

I enjoyed the premise of this book as well as many of the characters!

I'll come back and edit this once I read the re-edited version of the book since I know some changes are being made.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read it!

I heavily debated if I wanted to read this or not after the authors remarks about immigrants and Musk. I've read many, many books from Sophie Lark and loved them so I was so excited for this one. I'm severely disappointed in the author and the publisher for even allowing this harmful and insensitive type of writing into a book in the year 2025. I am a person who can separate the author from their work, but not when their ignorance is splashed on the page for all to see. Sophie Lark actively made a choice to keep those remarks after the publisher suggested she remove them which disappoints me greatly. I'm also disappointed in the publisher for not requiring her to remove those lines in the first place because I can't imagine how anyone thought they would be accepted with grace. I do appreciate that everyone is taking steps to rectify this gross error in judgement, but it's a shame we had to get here in the first place.

Whereas the plot and characters showed promise for a good story, there are lots of ideas and words in here that just arent acceptable anymore (tbh they never were); racism, and support of nazis among them, as you might have read in other reviews. I should admit that i still enjoyed reading, if you shove all that aside, but i just cant support this book fully. With some big changes in these aspects it could have been a good read.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

ARC Review: First and foremost I want to thank Bloom and Sophie Lark for giving me a chance to review this book before publishing.

There was controversial dialogue put in this book that has been addressed and that is being fixed by both the publisher and the author. I will be basing my review STRICTLY on the plot lines and characters of this book.


I’m a sucker for a marriage of convenience and this book had all the right making of a great book! I liked Sadie as a FMC and I liked that Monroe gave her confidence and built her up. However, the switch up from Monroe from the beginning of the book when he describes Sadie to the end of book kind of gave me whiplash. He goes from seeing her as the “ugly duckling” of the Sparrow family to seeing her as the most beautiful and we as readers never got to truly see that shift for him. I will say I wish there was more development of their relationship from beginning of their marriage to the end of the book. I felt like their “love” was rushed and came out of left field a little bit. I liked the sprinkling of the sibling relationships throughout. Overall, I think was a good romance book and it was a departure from the authors usual dark writing style.

I rarely give one-star reviews, but unfortunately, "Sparrow and Vine" just did not work for me. From the start, the story felt disjointed and lacked the depth I was hoping for. The characters were underdeveloped, making it hard to connect with their journeys or invest in their struggles.

I kept waiting for the narrative to pick up, but it never quite managed to capture my attention.

I had high expectations based on the premise and some positive buzz, but I was left feeling disappointed. I appreciate the effort that went into this book, but unfortunately, it just didn’t resonate with me.

Cannot support this author, book was pulled from publication. Thank you to the publisher for listening to feedback.

I cannot read a book that the publisher pulled. I'm sad there's inappropriate content that I wasn't informed of before requesting this book. I am saddened the author made inappropriate comments in the book even though the publisher asked her not to.

I'm sorry, but this was way more controversial than I thought, and I was expecting a proper apology, which never came. I really don't like to be unnecessarily cruel and negative towards books or authors, so the less I say the better. It wasn't for me.

Overall rating: 1 star
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Pub Date: Apr 22 2025

Thank you to the author, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I think this book has potential to be really fantastic however due to the sensitive subject matter in the book I think further revisions should be addressed. I love the marriage of connivence trope in this book.

I have seen her books over the years but this is the first time I have read a book by Sophie Lark. Compared to her other books I was expecting a dark and gritty story, but this was more of a contemporary romance with some spice. The two main characters were very likeable and it was a quick and easy read. I was not interested in the sweat kink though lol but other than that good.

This was my first time reading a Sophie Lark novel and now I want to read everything she has ever written. There was not a single chapter in this book where I did not feel some sort of emotion. I laughed out loud more times than I can even count, I swooned over the romance and I seethed at the unhinged mother. If it wasn’t for work I would have devoured this book in one sitting. When I wasn’t reading this book, I was thinking about this book. I am so completely intrigued by this series and the subplot with the family history that I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one.

I thought the insta-love between Sadie and Monroe would be a low point for me in the story but honestly they were so cute with each other I didn’t even care. I ate that sappy, Hallmark insta-love right up. There was enough conflict going on outside of the main romance that I never once felt bored with the book.

The story takes place on a gorgeous, ocean side vineyard in Rhode Island. The way Sophie Lark paints a picture for her readers makes you feel like you are right there in the vineyard; the old cliff house, hill house on the other side of the property next to June’s little cottage. If I could crawl into a book and spend time in its location, this would be it.

I also appreciated the thought that went into writing this story. There were so many interesting characters with layers you just wanted to peel back and see what is hiding beneath the surface. Not one single character was lacking. They were all so interesting in their own way and you just know that every last one of them has secrets to uncover. It has been a long time since a contemporary romance has left me anxiously awaiting for the rest of the series the way this book has.

In the earlier chapters Sophie Lark’s humor does seem to be a tad more on the more vulgar side. Some examples being senile grandpa helicoptering naked through the vineyard, snooty receptionists lips pursed like an anxious anus. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cough out a shocked laugh during both scenes though. 😂

Sabine was definitely giving Lucille from Arrested Development vibes. I think the “working visa” comment would have been more expected from her character rather than Monroe. That would have been more fitting and not a negative reflection on the workers but on Sabine’s character. Sabine was definitely the pretentious mother who equally hates everyone in the story so hating staff would have fit right into her narrative. I think by having Monroe say it was the author’s way of showing that even though he’s charming he’s still a flawed character and a product of his mother. I think it was a failed attempt by the author as a way to make the reader question Monroe’s true character and motives. Try to make the reader second guess how the storyline will go. Unfortunately it just wasn’t that well executed and kind of came out of left field.

All in all, I LOVED this book and I think I officially have a new favorite author.

Many thanks to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and Sophie Lark for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will start out by saying, yes the author should have removed certain lines from the book especially in the world we live in today, but I did like story despite those things. First of all it’s set in RI and being from RI, I loved that. I love a marriage of convenience trope but I will say this one had a little too much insta love for me. I’m used to Sophie’s dark mafia romances so I think I expected more dark. The lovey dovey was cute but unexpected.

Since this book was archived due to reasons beyond me, I haven't read the book yet. The author will be rewriting parts of the book, since there were some harmful scenes in there. Hopefully, the rewritten version will help her in her further writing career.

Sparrow and Vine brings romance along with family and financial responsibilities for the two families closely related through a partnership made long ago that has repercussions on members today. A hasty marriage create suspicions for both sides involved as saving a wine business becomes the highlight of the battle. This book created much interest and held it throughout.

This was a cute and enjoyable story about Monroe and Sadie and their familial drama surrounding a vineyard that was meant for The Wedding That Never Was. Sadie and Monroe’s parents were engaged to be married, though in the end, they didn’t, leaving the vineyard in an irrevocable trust that only a marriage could save. Enter Monroe with his genius idea to marry Sadie as a workaround to the trust requirements. But of course, Monroe’s mom has her sneaky ways, Sadie’s sisters who have been trying to keep the vineyard afloat for 20 years are floundering, and no one in the family believes this marriage is real.

This is a 3 for me. Enjoyable, bingeable, and the romance was adorable! There were some things left unanswered that bugged me, and some comments that were not appropriate for the climate.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this book.

In the beginning this book was easy to read and to follow, however the further through this book I read, the more I started to dislike it.

The characters were not likeable and the language used when writing was improper and harmful.
The following quote in particular I would like to point out should never have made it into arc copies as it is harmful to cultural groups -
“But shouldn’t there be a crew of people with questionable work visas picking these grapes for us?”

Overall I am appalled and disappointed in both this book and its author.

I’ve never read anything by Sophie lark before and I wasn’t disappointed. I really enjoyed the story and the main character was likeable. Overall a good read

I really wasn’t a fan of this book. I liked a few books I have read by this author but I just couldn’t finish it.

I can not not recommend .

I have read a few of Sophie Larks books and truly enjoyed them. Unfortunately I can’t say the same about Sparrow and Vine. I was immediately put off by the way the mmc speaks about the fmc. I understand an enemies to lovers trope but starting off by saying how Sadie is nothing compared to her sisters? I had high expectations for this story and wish I would have loved it!