Is she out of reach?Fire Chief and former Army sergeant Kayleigh Baker is determined to save Mulberry’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display. She doesn’t want to disappoint the kids and the fireworks are a bittersweet memory of her mom’s last summer. As the town prepares for the summer parade and picnic, Kelly works to convince her former high school crush — now the straight-laced police chief … straight-laced police chief — to help her cause.
Does he stack up?
Police Chief Liam MacAvoy doesn’t like the chaos the fireworks cause for his department and can’t hide his relief when they’re cancelled. But now he’s got the woman he’s been in love with for as long as he can remember asking for his help. How can he say no? What he’d really like is to show her that fireworks and town traditions are not the only things worth fighting for.
Can the boy next door and the town hero find the courage to finally seize their chance at love?
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Kayleigh is the fire chief in her town and she wants to have fireworks for the Fourth of July but it seems that won’t be happening because of things out of her control. And now Liam, the police chief is doing whatever he can to make sure that Kayleigh can go behind his back and make sure that she can set up fireworks in her mom’s memory anyway. Liam and Kayleigh have known each other it seems like forever and they always seem to miss out but this pair needs to connect to more than just their community to feel alive. I really enjoyed this book. It fits right in with this series and can be read as a stand-alone or within the series as well.
A well written perfectly paced story pulling you in from the start. A small town where secrets were never kept. This one about Liam and Kayleigh and just how they were best friends and how they drifted apart while Kayleigh served her country. Love the fact everyone is there for each other no matter if family or not.
Take two equally stubborn, hard-headed people. Mix in a bit of history of crushes and an unsuccessful kiss back in high school. Fold in some conflict over Independence Day fireworks. Sprinkle with lots of sexual tensions and small-town ‘romantic help’. And you’ll discover ‘A Spark of Romance‘.
Liam and Kayleigh are obviously interested in each other… for a very long time. Yet, each now has responsible careers that will put them on opposite sides of a holiday tradition in their small hometown. As the Police Chief, Liam isn’t the least bit sorry that troubles with the supplier of the fireworks display will prevent that nightmare of calls, emergencies, and possible body parts being blown off from taking place. On the other side, Kayleigh as Fire Chief wants that display with all of her heart for many differing reasons. And she’ll do anything she needs to do to make those fireworks ignite the sky this year.
I enjoyed ‘A Spark of Romance‘ and certainly hope it is an introduction to a soon to be series, it has that feel to it. A romance that feels old-fashioned in mindset and delivery was a delightful discovery. Yet. It seemed to me that for most of Liam’s and Kayleigh’s story all they did was argue, or fight, or walk away with issues unresolved. I felt the attraction, knew that they had feelings for each other (or was told that they did), and there were so many laugh-out-loud moments (think mischievous Husky on a roof needing rescuing), and a down-home small-town feel that the arguments didn’t take away from my enjoying their story and wanting to know more about characters I met. So, I’m going to leave it at that. I had fun, I definitely want more stories about this family, this town, and these secondary characters because I can see what might be – and I want to experience that.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, Tule Publishing. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
I had a great time getting to know the characters in this storyline the Fire Chief and former Army sergeant Kayleigh Baker and Police Chief Liam MacAvoy they are total opposites yet their connection and chemistry is felt throughout the pages.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book is just okay for me. I have read others by this author that I liked. This one didn’t live up to my expectations. It’s not a bad read but it was slow and it felt like some scenes were added to make the book longer. Both Kayleigh and Liam were immature, jealous and stubborn. While it was okay at first, it became tiresome to have them constantly fighting. There also wasn’t much of what I would consider a story, just the two of them arguing about the fireworks and getting jealous for no reason. I would recommend you pass on this one.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Booksprout and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review. All opinions are my own.
Liam and Kayleigh became friends as children and never learned how not to be competitive. As teens, their friendship hit a road bump and became awkward for a while. Fast forward ten years and Kayleigh has returned to her hometown and discovers she wants more than friendship with Liam. An interesting story of how two people finally come face to face with their emotions.
A Spark of Romance is a sweet friends-to-lovers romance between the fire chief and the police chief of a small town who are clashing over whether or not the town’s fireworks display is going to happen on Independence Day. (Her: yes, it’s my dead mother’s legacy. Him: but the noise complaints! the dogs! the kids using the example to set off their own and almost blowing off their body parts! Oddly enough, given that the heroine is an Army vet, veterans’ PTSD being set off doesn’t come into play…maybe no one else in town has been in combat?)
Kayleigh and Liam were clearly into each other–the whole town could see it, as is evidenced by her dad’s social media feed–and it took them *forever* to finally get together, but there was a whole lot of rom-com-y-ish reasons why throughout which made it more fun than frustrating most of the time. An honest conversation or two could have cleared things up as well, though it was obvious that they both had baggage (especially from the carnage left behind by their first kiss as teens) that made it *mostly* believable that they didn’t just sit down and have a chat to clear the air.
And then they do get together, and it’s all adorableness–worth it!
The small town setting is delightful and the secondary characters a lot of fun (KAYLEIGH HAS TWO SISTERS, Y’ALL!) so my fingers are crossed that we’ll see more books set in Mulberry in the not-so-distant future 🙂
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Charming Friends-to-Lovers Romance
In this friends-to-lovers romance, the reader is privy to the fact that both the hero and heroine have more romantic feelings towards each other than they will own up to. They were best friends when they were growing up, even though there was a class difference between them—the hero being the rich boy from the swanky neighborhood and our heroine being the daughter of one of the town’s mechanics. Right after high school, she enlisted in the military and so was deployed in dangerous zones for quite a while. She’s only been back in her hometown for two years (at the fire department), where the hero is now the police chief. I loved the awkwardness at times between them, and I particularly liked the first scene of them on the raft in the middle of the lake. Honestly, the hero should have been smarter and given in more easily about what the heroine wanted to do for the town for the town’s 4th of July celebration. After he had expressed, to us, his feelings for her, it didn’t seem like a bright move to oppose her! This story is more complex than just the romance, as the heroine is having a hard time even still fitting in at her hometown, and she harbors guilt about not being there when her mother passed. All of that made her both relatable and believable. All in all, I thought this was a well done and enjoyable romance.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
Kayleigh’s Mom before she passed a way a decade ago went all out with the town’s 4th of July Fireworks. When her Mom passed Kayleigh was in the military and missed her Mom’s funeral. Now she has finally decided to come home to Mulberry. She wants to put on a great fireworks display like her Mom would do if she was here. But she runs into all kinds of obstacles.
A really great book that once I started it I just couldn’t put it down.
I just loved this book. It was so well-written that it captured my mind and I was dragged along for the ride. Once I started reading I could not put it down until I read the last page.
Sweet Romance: two competitive people too afraid to reveal their feelings for the other
Kayleigh Baker and Liam MacAvoy have known each other forever and for almost that long have had feelings for the other, but are afraid of being turned down so hide their passion. Kayleigh’s mother’s death has truly affected her and to hide her guilt, she makes a huge deal about fireworks like her mom would have loved. Liam on the other hand being Police Chief in this small town doesn’t want the extra work a fireworks show would entail. They are at loggerheads…AGAIN. Kayleigh is the Fire Chief and as such knows how to make the show safe. So many complications, so many arguments, so many events later and we get the sweetest HEA.
I truly enjoyed this low steam but very sweet romance. I volunteered to review an ARC of this book through Booksprout and it comes highly recommended for readers who like less heat in their love stories.
Sparks fly over a battle to save the traditional 4th of July fireworks in this novel by Jamie Schmidt.
Fire chief Kayleigh Baker wants to make sure that somethings don’t change in Mulberry, like the fireworks on July 4th. Her mother used to be in charge of them and Kayleigh wants to keep this tradition going. Even though their supplier has been robbed and the fire works the town had purchased were among the ones stolen.
Police Chief Liam MacAvoy dislikes the chaos that accompanies the annual July 4th festivities. He grew up with Kayleigh Baker and according to Kayleigh, he used to be fun. Now she thinks he is a stick in the mud.
This story takes place in a small New England town and involves childhood friends who become lovers. The action occurs over a very short period of time. It is engaging and I hope we do see more of the characters in this town in future books. It is a very fast read and perfect for the upcoming holiday weekend.
I did like this book but it doesn’t fall into one of my favorites categories for some reason. It is well written and as a former volunteer firefighter, the fire scenes and worries are accurate. They often are night in novels. The characters are engaging as well.
I did receive a copy of this novel from the publisher in advance in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
A Spark of Romance by Jamie K. Schmidt
Is she out of reach?
Fire Chief and former Army sergeant Kayleigh Baker is determined to save Mulberry’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display. She doesn’t want to disappoint the kids and the fireworks are a bittersweet memory of her mom’s last summer. As the town prepares for the summer parade and picnic, Kayleigh works to convince her former high school crush — now the straight-laced police chief — to help her cause.
Does he stack up?
Police Chief Liam MacAvoy doesn’t like the chaos the fireworks cause for his department and can’t hide his relief when they’re cancelled. But now he’s got the woman he’s been in love with for as long as he can remember asking for his help. How can he say no? What he’d really like is to show her that fireworks and town traditions are not the only things worth fighting for.
Can the boy next door and the town hero find the courage to finally seize their chance at love?
This is Kayleigh Baker and Liam MacAvoy’s story.
The long drone of the fire horn shattered the peace of the dawn, the noise rippling over the still waters of Long Island Sound. Kayleigh Baker and her youngest sister, Leah, exchanged looks and began to rapidly reel in their lines.
“Sorry about this,” Kayleigh said. She was the fire chief in their small town of Mulberry, Connecticut, and even if she wasn’t on duty, Leah knew she couldn’t sit still on the boat and wonder what was going on.
“That’s fine. The fish weren’t biting anyway. I was snoozing with my line in.”
She wasn’t surprised to find Police Chief Liam MacAvoy there with his team, keeping a perimeter, so the gawkers and media trucks couldn’t get in the way of the firefighters. Liam had light brown hair, trimmed neat and efficiently, but he could do nothing about his chronic five-o’clock shadow. He was lean and muscular and kept in shape by teaching kids martial arts on the weekend. Even though he was a black belt in tae kwon do, she never saw him showing off by breaking boards or anything like that. She liked that he was humble and not flashy. He was tall and handsome in a boy-next-door kind of way, and when she stared at him for too long, she lost all sense. Their eyes met as she stepped over the crime-scene tape, and she raised her eyebrow at it. He gave her a tight nod, his gaze cold and flinty, as she shook her head at what it meant.
They didn’t need to speak to understand each other. They had grown up together in this town. He was from the Lake Hills area and she was from the Harbor, but the class difference hadn’t bothered them. Not when they’d been in school anyway. In fact, back then, they had been best friends. Along with Evan Johnson, who was now the town’s first selectman, they had been inseparable like The Three Musketeers.
Or as her mother had put it, “the three monkeys,” because they’d always been swinging around trees and getting into trouble for being rowdy.
A Spark of Romance by Jamie K. Schmidt a is 4 star book.
“I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.”
Jamie K. ‘s Books with Tule:
The Cowboy’s Daughter
Three Sisters Ranch
The Cowboy’s Hunt
Three Sisters Ranch
The Cowboy’s Heart
Three Sisters Ranch
A Spark of Romance
Kayleigh is determined to save the annual Fourth of July fireworks for the town of Mulberry. This is something everyone looks forward to for different reasons. For her, it is a memory of an event she has with her mom before she past. Kayleigh needs to talk with the police chief, Liam to work this out. The added layer to this is that Liam is her high school.crush. can Kayleigh convince Liam to bring the fireworks back? Can Liam convince Kayleigh to give him a chance romantically? I found this to be a sweet story of two people who literally grew up together, secretly love one another, finally take the step to date and be challenged each step of the way. This seems to be a constant up hill battle but it is worth the win. Enjoy!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Solid 3.5 star
This was a good read but it was an extremely long slow burn, Kayleigh and Liam grew up together and due to not wanting to ruin their friendship never let each other know they really liked the other nor acted on their attraction. Now due to their opposing sides in regards to having the 4th of July fireworks things are going to change one way or another in regards to their feeling for each other, you can feel the passion they both have for each other and the fire works but lordy these two have no clue how to deal with each other so at times you really don’t know if they will get together.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Adored this sweetly sexy, hometown goodness romantic journey filled with engaging charters that deeply care about their town and each other. This was an emotionally thrilling and heart racing adventure from beginning to end and was so hard to put down. Great reading!
I received this arc from Tule Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book. However, I felt it took so long for the couple to get together, there wasn’t much left of the book. The story takes place in a small own in NY, Mulberry. The story is about 3 friends since kindergarten, Liam, Kayleigh and Evan. Liam is the police chief whose always had a crush on Kayleigh, the Fire chief. Evan is the head of their city and their boss. Kayleigh joined the military right after high school and had been gone for 10 years. She was devastated when she learned she missed her mom’s funeral while in Iraq. She returned after getting out of the service and looking for different places to live instead. She isn’t sure about staying in Mulberry.
Liam has always been in Mulberry along with Evan. He unsuccessfully kissed Kayleigh when they were younger but his dad ruined it. Either have pursued it over the years. Kayleigh has 3 sisters and her dad left in town that she’s very close with. Her mom was always the one to shoot off the fireworks at the towns annual festival at the Fourth of July. His year she wants to take over this responsibility to honor her mom’s memory. The year before she had some mishaps with her fireworks show and so Liam and Evan wanted to cancel the fireworks. Neither realized how important they are to Kayleigh. The story is mostly about the competitions between Liam and Kayleigh as they try to best the other. There is the chili cook off and softball game between their departments where each tries to win. It is ironic as both are in love with the other but won’t give up a hint until the end of the book. I can see possible future books sr each of Kayleigh’s sisters. I recommend this for a light read with a HEA..
A Spark of Romance by Jamie K. Schmidt is a friends to lover romance story of Liam and Kayleigh. a chief of police and a fire chief. a fun,sweet and entertaining story of small town Mulberry that you will love and enjoy. Kayleigh had a crush on Liam since there teen years,unbeknowst to her that Liam loe her but he didnt do anything about it..untill now, is he to late? read it to find out! well done!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A well written romance of friends to lovers that’s pure entertainment to read. The story flows smoothly and captures the reader’s attention. The characters are amazing and well developed. An enjoyable book to add to your summer reading list. Perfect for the pool side or sitting on the beach with your toes in the sand.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A Spark of Romance by Jamie k. Schmidt was a well written romance which handled the friends to lovers/crush and love trope so well. I enjoyed the drama, the characters, the sweet romance and in short everything about the story. A Spark of Romance is a perfect paced, easy to read story that makes for a lovely escape for a couple of hours. Perfect read for a lazy day. Absolutely loved this other side of romance from this author and can’t wait to see what she writes next. Happy reading everyone!!