The author of the “brilliant” (Library Journal) An Academic Affair returns with a steamy romance about a recently separated single mom who’s absolutely not looking for another relationship...only to fall for the younger owner of her favorite wine bar.
Fiona Fisher thought she had it a loving husband, three kids, and a life far away from the suffocating expectations of her family. But when her husband reveals that he’s leaving her for his secret second family, Fiona is left devastated and humiliated.
Satoshi Tsukamoto wants it all. He’s the owner of a popular wine bar, and he’s studying for the hardest test in the the Master Sommelier exam. There aren’t enough hours in the day for anything else—except maybe for Fiona, his favorite customer, and the woman he’s absolutely, head-over-heels in love with.
On paper, Fiona and Satoshi make no sense. He’s eight years younger than her and has no time for romance. She’s a single mother and doesn’t know if she’ll 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—even if they’ve agreed to keep things casual?
The perfect read for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Abby Jimenez, A Study in Sparkling proves that Jodi McAlister truly is “a writer to watch” (Booklist).
Fiona Fisher thought she had it a loving husband, three kids, and a life far away from the suffocating expectations of her family. But when her husband reveals that he’s leaving her for his secret second family, Fiona is left devastated and humiliated.
Satoshi Tsukamoto wants it all. He’s the owner of a popular wine bar, and he’s studying for the hardest test in the the Master Sommelier exam. There aren’t enough hours in the day for anything else—except maybe for Fiona, his favorite customer, and the woman he’s absolutely, head-over-heels in love with.
On paper, Fiona and Satoshi make no sense. He’s eight years younger than her and has no time for romance. She’s a single mother and doesn’t know if she’ll 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—even if they’ve agreed to keep things casual?
The perfect read for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Abby Jimenez, A Study in Sparkling proves that Jodi McAlister truly is “a writer to watch” (Booklist).
Title: A Study in Sparkling (Love Notes #2)
Author: Jodi McAlister
Publisher: Atria Books
Expected Publication Date: September 15, 2026
Review:
Than you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I have to say after reading the first book by this author, I jumped at the chance to read the second. I remember it took me a bit to get into An Academic Affair, but eventually I ended up really enjoying it. This one, not so much. I truly felt like this was a different author. I was honestly bored and just pushed through with the hopes things would change. But they didn't.
I'll start by saying as much as the author tried, she just could not make me fall in love with either Fiona or Satoshi. Every chapter one or the other character jumped back to their differences and why things would not work between them (her, he's too young; him, she wants to keep it a secret). I found them both insufferable most of the time. The communication between them sucked. Yes, they talked, but honestly not about the important things. Satoshi was a door mat letting her lead the entire time. Rather than finding his love for her admirable he just came across as pathetic. He let her walk all over him because he wanted her any way he could get her. For me, that's zero self esteem. And Fiona would not let herself have him because of her traumatic past. Which, granted, I get. And she tells us over and over again that she's in therapy. What is she even talking about in therapy? It seemed like nothing to be honest. She was such a drag of a character. And both characters lacked growth and development throughout the book. I didn't see them change in any way that would lead them to understanding one another or finally winding up in a stable and happy relationship.
When the book got to about 85% the drama ramped up, and not in a good. way. Every chapter was filled with so much conflict. And then suddenly it's just resolved at the end, like the curtains opened and shined a light and they suddenly understood totally what the other needed and how to make it work? No, just no.
The spice scenes were ick for me, as well. I just did not feel they matched the characters at all.
Throw in these long chapters with tons of text messages and emails as the only prose, and that pulled me right out of the story. Every time.
As a bare bones story, this had potential for sure. Unrequited love, age gap, single mom. But the drama took over the story and the miscommunication trop was poorly used. Not to mention all the wine stuff. Yes, it's interesting but it's SO much. I really struggled to keep up with it all and understand what it meant. It left me wanting to just skim parts because I didn't care enough to try and figure out why it was all so important to the love part of the story.
I enjoyed some of the side characters. Especially those I know from book 1. My favorite parts ended up being when the characters from book one were in the scenes/chapters. I didn't like Satoshi's brother at all. Which, I think was maybe the point? I can see the author has set this up to have stories about other characters. And I will absolutely give those installments a try. I absolutely adored Fiona's child, Lex. They were the most intelligent part of this book. Shout out for the LBGTQ+ inclusion. I did feel on the part of Satoshi it could have been explored a bit better, but the author did a great job with Lex.
Overall the plot and pacing became stale after about the first 25% of the book. The topics were repeated ad nauseum: he's too young for me; his ex was so beautiful; he doesn't want a old lady like me (for goodness sakes, she's 36!); I love her and will do whatever I need to do to keep her even if it's a little bit; yes it's ok for you to walk all over me because you are the light of my life; wine, wine, wine, and more wine.
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