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A review by bookmadjo
The Spark by Jules Wake
5.0
I count Jules Wake as one of my favourite authors, and with every new book release that she makes I find that the new book immediately becomes my favourite of her books. This was absolutely no exception. This book had a very different feel to her previous books, I’m not completely sure I would pigeon-hole this book as a rom-com, although there were undoubtedly some funny moments; I absolutely adored the wedding of Great Aunt Gladys, and Gladys herself was a scream!
The story centres around Jess and Sam who upon first meeting, feel a spark between them.
I adored both Jess and Sam from the start, and I found it refreshing that Sam immediately told Jess he couldn’t take things beyond their initial conversation because he had a girlfriend, and Jess immediately took a step back because she would never intentionally break a couple up for her own gain. When Sam does end his relationship with his girlfriend Victoria, he waits a month before contacting Jess. Inadvertently Jess finds herself painted as the ‘other woman’, and finds that people instantly judge her for it, without finding out the whole story from both sides.
This was very much a story of families and friendships, and how people are often quick to judge a situation based entirely on one side of the story. The parallels between Jess and Sam’s beginnings, with Jess’s parents ending are strong, and the parallels consider events from opposite sides of a similar situation. I initially found myself feeling empathetic towards Victoria, Sam’s ex-girlfriend, but my empathy did wane a little when Victoria took matters too far, although I loved that Jess showed so much compassion for the situation Victoria found herself in.
The ending was everything I hoped it would be, and I was left feeling happy, a little tearful (but in a good way!), and desperately not wanting it to end. This book gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling, and having read the acknowledgements at the back of the book, it was clear how much Jules Wake loved her main characters, that love shone from every page and made me love them too.
The story centres around Jess and Sam who upon first meeting, feel a spark between them.
I adored both Jess and Sam from the start, and I found it refreshing that Sam immediately told Jess he couldn’t take things beyond their initial conversation because he had a girlfriend, and Jess immediately took a step back because she would never intentionally break a couple up for her own gain. When Sam does end his relationship with his girlfriend Victoria, he waits a month before contacting Jess. Inadvertently Jess finds herself painted as the ‘other woman’, and finds that people instantly judge her for it, without finding out the whole story from both sides.
This was very much a story of families and friendships, and how people are often quick to judge a situation based entirely on one side of the story. The parallels between Jess and Sam’s beginnings, with Jess’s parents ending are strong, and the parallels consider events from opposite sides of a similar situation. I initially found myself feeling empathetic towards Victoria, Sam’s ex-girlfriend, but my empathy did wane a little when Victoria took matters too far, although I loved that Jess showed so much compassion for the situation Victoria found herself in.
The ending was everything I hoped it would be, and I was left feeling happy, a little tearful (but in a good way!), and desperately not wanting it to end. This book gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling, and having read the acknowledgements at the back of the book, it was clear how much Jules Wake loved her main characters, that love shone from every page and made me love them too.