{"id":32290,"date":"2026-09-16T12:55:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=32290"},"modified":"2026-09-16T12:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:56:18","slug":"review-a-study-in-sparking-by-jodi-mcalister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/16\/review-a-study-in-sparking-by-jodi-mcalister\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f A Study in Sparking by Jodi McAlister"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-32290\" data-postid=\"32290\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-32290 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_bokl446 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_kgpw446 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_wjwi446 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"994\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister.jpg?resize=640%2C994&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-32291\" title=\"a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister\" alt=\"a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister.jpg?w=966&amp;ssl=1 966w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister.jpg?resize=193%2C300&amp;ssl=1 193w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister.jpg?resize=659%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 659w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister.jpg?resize=768%2C1193&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister.jpg?resize=400%2C621&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_ymtt446 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Fiona Fisher thought she had it all: a loving husband, three kids, and a life far away from the suffocating expectations of her family. But when her husband reveals that he\u2019s leaving her for his secret second family, Fiona is left devastated and humiliated.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Satoshi Tsukamoto wants it all. He\u2019s the owner of a popular wine bar, and he\u2019s studying for the hardest test in the world: the Master Sommelier exam. There aren\u2019t enough hours in the day for anything else\u2014except maybe for Fiona, his favorite customer, and the woman he\u2019s absolutely, catastrophically in love with.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">On paper, Fiona and Satoshi make no sense. He\u2019s eight years younger than her and has no time for romance. She\u2019s a single mother and doesn\u2019t know if she\u2019ll ever be able to trust anyone again. But how can Fiona resist when Satoshi suggests they give into their mutual attraction and let off some steam? And how can Satoshi resist when the woman he adores is finally within his grasp\u2014even if they\u2019ve agreed to keep things casual?<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_gtpp446 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_rncs446  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25879 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-top-pick-banner-1-2.png?resize=296%2C72&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\"><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Sep 15, 2026<br><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Love Notes<br><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>2<br><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Hot<br><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Simon &amp; Schuster<br><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Atria<br><strong>Price:<\/strong> $11.99<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><i>My first McAlister, and it won\u2019t be my last.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>It started out slow. As in glacier. As in, I put it down and was scared to pick it back up. Let\u2019s preface this with I didn\u2019t read the first book in this series. I\u2019d never read this author before, and I didn\u2019t know she was a sadist who loves to deliver readers a good dose of edging. Glad to know that after I moved past a couple of chapters, I was rewarded, the same way someone with a praise kink likes to hear the words \u2018good girl\u2019. Because hoo boy, this book went from turtle-paced to drama ratcheted up to nine thousand. But what\u2019s it even about?<\/p>\n<p>Unrequited love. Falling for a married woman. A soon-to-be divorced woman finding herself attracted to the one man she doesn\u2019t think she should be. Her best friend, who&#8217;s been around her for years, and he\u2019s so gone for her he might die if he doesn\u2019t shoot his shot.<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\"> Satoshi <\/span>and <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Fiona<\/span> are such an adorable mess. They are so human, and McAlister does this amazing job of capturing how messy we are in the everyday world as we fight for survival at the worst moments of our lives or when we try to capture the happiness we deserve for a split moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<span style=\"background-color: initial;\">Satoshi is a wine expert, seeking to become one of the foremost wine experts by taking the Master Sommelier exam. He owns a wine bar, and Fiona is his most loyal customer. One he\u2019s steadily fallen for. But for Fiona, Satoshi is the best friend who she doesn\u2019t want to lose, even as she realizes what she feels for him is far more than friendship. There is the messy divorce Fiona is going through, the insecurities she has about her body, about people she cares about being honest with her, and about being treated like she\u2019s important. Yet, Satoshi has his own struggles, about wanting to be taken seriously. To be seen as someone who\u2019s worth being seen with, and not being treated like a kid when he\u2019s nearly thirty years old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>What unfolds is this story that\u2019s broken up into a before, a during, and a bit of an after. The elements at first seemed like a drag, but they were a solid setup for what came next. Watching these two fall for each other, get together, and ultimately overcome their baggage while navigating complexities that would make anyone doubt themselves brought tears to my eyes, multiple times. Fiona and Satoshi were so personable, easy to relate to, and root for.<\/p>\n<p>If you enjoy books by\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Kate Clayborn<\/span> or <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Maisey Yates,<\/span> I believe you love this one. What keeps this from a five&#8230; it was the slow start. Otherwise, it\u2019s perfect. I recommend the emotional rollercoaster and the payoff.<\/p>\n<p><i>~ Landra<\/i><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_41st446 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/link.amazon\/B0dou3rhp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/4xouWN3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister\/1149473001?ean=9781668236345\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/a-study-in-sparkling-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Jodi_McAlister_A_Study_in_Sparkling?id=GYbCEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t\t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_6yrk679 tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col-full tb_96cu679 first\">\n                                                <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fiona Fisher thought she had it all: a loving husband, three kids, and a life far away from the suffocating expectations of her family. But [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[566,112,48,55],"tags":[153,216,217,404,405,483],"class_list":["post-32290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atria","category-landra","category-reviews","category-simon-schuster","tag-4-5-stars","tag-contemporary","tag-contemporary-romance","tag-recommend","tag-recommended-reads","tag-top-pick"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f A Study in Sparking by Jodi McAlister - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/16\/review-a-study-in-sparking-by-jodi-mcalister\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f A Study in Sparking by Jodi McAlister - Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fiona Fisher thought she had it all: a loving husband, three kids, and a life far away from the suffocating expectations of her family. 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But when her husband reveals that he\u2019s leaving her for his secret second family, Fiona is left devastated and humiliated.<br><br>Satoshi Tsukamoto wants it all. He\u2019s the owner of a popular wine bar, and he\u2019s studying for the hardest test in the world: the Master Sommelier exam. There aren\u2019t enough hours in the day for anything else\u2014except maybe for Fiona, his favorite customer, and the woman he\u2019s absolutely, catastrophically in love with.<br><br>On paper, Fiona and Satoshi make no sense. He\u2019s eight years younger than her and has no time for romance. She\u2019s a single mother and doesn\u2019t know if she\u2019ll ever be able to trust anyone again. But how can Fiona resist when Satoshi suggests they give into their mutual attraction and let off some steam? And how can Satoshi resist when the woman he adores is finally within his grasp\u2014even if they\u2019ve agreed to keep things casual?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-top-pick-banner-1-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\"><\/p> <hr> <p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Sep 15, 2026<br><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Love Notes<br><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>2<br><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Hot<br><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Simon &amp; Schuster<br><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Atria<br><strong>Price:<\/strong> $11.99<\/p> <hr> <p><i>My first McAlister, and it won\u2019t be my last.<\/i><\/p> <p>It started out slow. As in glacier. As in, I put it down and was scared to pick it back up. Let\u2019s preface this with I didn\u2019t read the first book in this series. I\u2019d never read this author before, and I didn\u2019t know she was a sadist who loves to deliver readers a good dose of edging. Glad to know that after I moved past a couple of chapters, I was rewarded, the same way someone with a praise kink likes to hear the words \u2018good girl\u2019. Because hoo boy, this book went from turtle-paced to drama ratcheted up to nine thousand. But what\u2019s it even about?<\/p> <p>Unrequited love. Falling for a married woman. A soon-to-be divorced woman finding herself attracted to the one man she doesn\u2019t think she should be. Her best friend, who's been around her for years, and he\u2019s so gone for her he might die if he doesn\u2019t shoot his shot. Satoshi and Fiona are such an adorable mess. They are so human, and McAlister does this amazing job of capturing how messy we are in the everyday world as we fight for survival at the worst moments of our lives or when we try to capture the happiness we deserve for a split moment.<\/p> <p>\u00a0Satoshi is a wine expert, seeking to become one of the foremost wine experts by taking the Master Sommelier exam. He owns a wine bar, and Fiona is his most loyal customer. One he\u2019s steadily fallen for. But for Fiona, Satoshi is the best friend who she doesn\u2019t want to lose, even as she realizes what she feels for him is far more than friendship. There is the messy divorce Fiona is going through, the insecurities she has about her body, about people she cares about being honest with her, and about being treated like she\u2019s important. Yet, Satoshi has his own struggles, about wanting to be taken seriously. To be seen as someone who\u2019s worth being seen with, and not being treated like a kid when he\u2019s nearly thirty years old.<\/p> <p>What unfolds is this story that\u2019s broken up into a before, a during, and a bit of an after. The elements at first seemed like a drag, but they were a solid setup for what came next. Watching these two fall for each other, get together, and ultimately overcome their baggage while navigating complexities that would make anyone doubt themselves brought tears to my eyes, multiple times. Fiona and Satoshi were so personable, easy to relate to, and root for.<\/p> <p>If you enjoy books by\u00a0Kate Clayborn or Maisey Yates, I believe you love this one. What keeps this from a five... it was the slow start. Otherwise, it\u2019s perfect. I recommend the emotional rollercoaster and the payoff.<\/p> <p><i>~ Landra<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/link.amazon\/B0dou3rhp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/4xouWN3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister\/1149473001?ean=9781668236345\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/a-study-in-sparkling-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Jodi_McAlister_A_Study_in_Sparkling?id=GYbCEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a-study-in-sparkling-jodi-mcalister.jpg?fit=966%2C1500&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32290"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32301,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32290\/revisions\/32301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}