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emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Hambright and Lauren Rowe for the ARC of Spark!
Kendrick and Ruby have been the closest of friends since she joined the band he formed with his older brother and best friend when they were only 16. But Kendrick has been in love with Ruby since the day they met and has never been able to act on it. First, he was too nervous to do anything that might hurt the band. Then there was a messy situation with his brother and Ruby, and since he got back from college, she has been dating a string of losers. It's been 12 years and the band is famous, but they're so firmly in the friend zone that it's slowly killing Kendrick. But when Ruby breaks up with her latest terrible boyfriend, he sees an opportunity to finally let her know how he feels. The trouble is, he doesn't want to ruin their friendship in pursuit of a romantic relationship—no matter how much he's in love with her.
This is maybe the fourth book I've read by Lauren Rowe, and I can safely say that she is a go-to for me when I want a book that helps me zone out of whatever drama is happening in my life. Her novels tend to have low conflict in the central relationship, but because she writes about big groups of friends (including a lot of rock stars), there’s always something going on and high stakes outside the romance. You can read this book as a standalone, but if you've read any of her other books about the members of 22 Goats or C-Bomb from Red Card Riot, you'll enjoy this so much more.
The friends-to-lovers trope is often a hard sell for me because I need a compelling reason why two people haven’t gotten together after 12 years—especially when one side is unrequited. I don't love long-term pining. In this case, Lauren used the band dynamics to keep our main characters apart. First, Kendrick's older brother extracts a promise that none of them will ever make a move on Ruby to preserve the band. Then, there’s a messy situation from Ruby’s 20th birthday party that made Kendrick wary of telling her how he felt because he was convinced she had feelings for someone else. Considering how kind Kendrick is, that was enough to keep them apart, in my opinion, and made the story believable and enjoyable.
Just a side note—the spice in this book is very well done. If you want a really hot book, this one will work for you.
I can't recommend Lauren Rowe's books enough if you're looking for something sweet, spicy, and funny to dissociate from the mess we're currently living through.
4 stars.
Kendrick and Ruby have been the closest of friends since she joined the band he formed with his older brother and best friend when they were only 16. But Kendrick has been in love with Ruby since the day they met and has never been able to act on it. First, he was too nervous to do anything that might hurt the band. Then there was a messy situation with his brother and Ruby, and since he got back from college, she has been dating a string of losers. It's been 12 years and the band is famous, but they're so firmly in the friend zone that it's slowly killing Kendrick. But when Ruby breaks up with her latest terrible boyfriend, he sees an opportunity to finally let her know how he feels. The trouble is, he doesn't want to ruin their friendship in pursuit of a romantic relationship—no matter how much he's in love with her.
This is maybe the fourth book I've read by Lauren Rowe, and I can safely say that she is a go-to for me when I want a book that helps me zone out of whatever drama is happening in my life. Her novels tend to have low conflict in the central relationship, but because she writes about big groups of friends (including a lot of rock stars), there’s always something going on and high stakes outside the romance. You can read this book as a standalone, but if you've read any of her other books about the members of 22 Goats or C-Bomb from Red Card Riot, you'll enjoy this so much more.
The friends-to-lovers trope is often a hard sell for me because I need a compelling reason why two people haven’t gotten together after 12 years—especially when one side is unrequited. I don't love long-term pining. In this case, Lauren used the band dynamics to keep our main characters apart. First, Kendrick's older brother extracts a promise that none of them will ever make a move on Ruby to preserve the band. Then, there’s a messy situation from Ruby’s 20th birthday party that made Kendrick wary of telling her how he felt because he was convinced she had feelings for someone else. Considering how kind Kendrick is, that was enough to keep them apart, in my opinion, and made the story believable and enjoyable.
Just a side note—the spice in this book is very well done. If you want a really hot book, this one will work for you.
I can't recommend Lauren Rowe's books enough if you're looking for something sweet, spicy, and funny to dissociate from the mess we're currently living through.
4 stars.