He’s a tender-hearted firefighter who’s been burned by love. She’s an optimistic bookstore owner determined to heal his heart. Little do they know how much sacrifice it will take for them to be together.Firefighter Darren Spark doesn’t think twice about risking it all when it comes to his job, but he’s not about to put his heart on the line for love. He’s accepted the fact that no woman will want … He’s accepted the fact that no woman will want him when he can’t promise them a future …until he meets the one who challenges that belief.
Abandoned as a baby, Danica Reed longs to fill in the missing pieces of her past with a family of her own. She’s more than ready to get married and have kids, but she wonders why the perfect man—who’s just as into her and wants the same things—keeps taking one step forward in their relationship, then two steps back.
Darren won’t let himself hope for more; Danica won’t settle for less. But there’s one obstacle they can’t seem to overcome. Will the spark that drew them to each other be enough to keep their love burning or will their short-lived romance go down in flames?
*Please note this book deals sensitively with the topic of male infertility.
A Single Spark – Book One
A Sudden Spark – Book Two
The Sweetest Spark – Book Three
At First Spark – Book Four
An Extra Spark – Coming soon
more
If you like stories about hunky firemen and sweet bookstore owners, then this is the book for you! Oh, what fun it was to read this book because I could relate to Danica’s love for all things book-related. But, add into the mix a hunky fireman, and then it’s just the icing on the top!
This is the fourth book in this series and boy is it fun! It has a couple of twists and turns in it and the author does a wonderful job developing the whole storyline. I also love how this author brings out how God can direct our steps, past, present, and future.
Liwen Y. Ho is becoming one of my favorites “go-to” authors. I think I’ll definitely be reading more of her books. Her stories are packed full of sweet lessons from God, and how He loves us. They also have wonderful examples woven throughout on how to cherish relationships.
If you like tender stories of love, friendships, and overcoming self-issues, then this is a book you will want to read.
This is a wonderful book to read, I highly recommend you pick it up!
I have enjoyed the first three books in the series about Aiden, Brandon, and Colin and was super excited to read about the fourth Spark brother Darren; the book is fun, heart-felt, poignant and sensitively touches upon topics like adoption and infertility. It was a bit different from what I had imagined Darren’s story would be like but it was a “good” kind of different.
Darren, the hunky firefighter with a gentle and kind soul, doesn’t have a lot in common with Danica who owns a bookstore but they are irresistibly drawn together. Through their shared faith and heart for adoption, Darren and Danica slowly build upon their solid friendship and their budding love is sweet and tender. If you enjoy sweet contemporary romance, you’ll definitely enjoy this book.
I received a copy of the book from the author and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
Such a heartfelt book!
Firefighter, Darren Spark, wants what his brothers have—a family. But he’s been told he can’t father children, so he fights the idea of trying to find someone who will be okay with fostering and/or adopting. He is attracted to Danica, who will be in his brother’s upcoming wedding; but tries not to follow-up and ask her out. They are both interested, though jobs help keeping them apart. Will it ever work out? I recommend you read the book to find the answer.
Liwen Y Ho has magic in her stories, I have never read one that I didn’t like.
This book has so much feeling throughout the story.
The plot was a touchy subject but she handles it well.
The characters are real and so likable that you feel as if you were there.
I love this series.
I loved this book!!! It’s the first book by Liwen that I’ve read, but it won’t be last!!! This is the 4th book of the series; however, it did fine as a stand alone for me. I didn’t feel as if I’d missed too much by not reading the others first. I love the way Liwen dealt with the topic of male infertility. I’ve never read a book (or heard in real life) about infertility from the male point of view. I think she did a wonderful job!! I also love the faith aspect throughout the book.
I was received a free copy of this book, and the opinion expressed is totally my own.
Danica would prefer to read and Darren would prefer to be active. But they both care about their friends and family and helping others. I am a bibliophile myself, so I could definitely relate to Danica. Although I wouldn’t get anything done if I worked in a bookstore all day. I felt for Darren whose inability to have children was a deal breaker for his ex-finance and was the reason he kept pushing Danica away. Danica is adopted and she’s always wondered about her birth mother, which gave them a mystery to solve. This was a sweet opposites attract romance.
What a tender story of love and God. These Spark brothers sure do set a girl’s heart on fire, especially firefighter, Darren. The chemistry between him and Danica ignites right at the beginning, but Darren is holding back because he cannot have any biological children and he knows that Danica really wants to have her own children as well as adopt some children too.
I like Darren’s character. He is tender and compassionate and wants so badly to have a family, but his ex-fiancee made him believe that was not possible. It was hard to watch him take in his brother’s happiness with their families and fiancees.
Danica Reed is a sweet person who owns a bookstore. She was adopted as a baby after her birth mom dropped her off at a fire station. She is starting to wonder about her biological family and has decided to do a DNA test.
I like how Danica was able to find out her story and it was great to see what the last page was in her photo album. I loved the epilogue and I am so glad there is another Spark brother to read about I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.
Darren was broken hearted when his fiancée broke up with him. Now he doesn’t know how to move forward with Danica. He knows that she could never accept him if she knew his secret.
Danica was abandoned at a fire station as a baby, and now she feels as if Darren, a handsome fire fighter, is rejecting her too.
This book brings a beautiful, simmering heat. It’s sweet, passionate, and clean. It has sweet surprises and a heartwarming ending!
I received this book as an Advanced Review Copy and am giving my sincere opinions in a voluntary review.
This is the first book I’ve read in this series, but I want to play catch-up now. Darren and Danica run in the same circle of friends, and are thrown together to work on the bachelor/bachelorette party for his brother’s upcoming wedding. There’s definite attraction between them, but he pulls away because she wants kids. Big sticking point with him, as he’s pretty much infertile due to past health problems. He tries to set her up with his friend, but he ends up going out with her when his friend gets sick. She’s adopted, and there’s an interesting development regarding her birth family. This is such a sweet story. This author always writes characters that have terrific chemistry, people you’d like to have in your own life.
I received a free copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Tackling a Touchy Subject Head-On …Male Infertility
What I love about the Spark Brothers book series is that they tackle elephants in the room. They put a person’s faith to the test. Yes, this is fiction, but wow, does it ever mimic reality. At First Spark delves into the heart wrenching subject of infertility. And this time it’s male infertility rather than female, which offers a completely different perspective, different thought processing and different way of making choices. We see the emotional and mental struggles suffered. We feel the pain, the doubts, the insecurities. All the Spark books have been good. However, this one gets my vote for topping the list.
OBSERVATIONS:
… Loved how the author took on male infertility. We are more familiar with the subject of female infertility and how it affects and impacts a woman and her relationships. This book was unique as it looks through the eyes of a man. Yes, the woman involved is affected also (as is the male when a woman is infertile), however, reading this provides a different way of seeing this real life condition. Well done, Liwen Ho, well done
… This is not an easy subject to write about and can be controversial, but the author doesn’t dodge the emotion, the passion or the struggles that need to be discussed.
I absolutely LOVE this series. This is an awesome family of five brothers all who have a strong faith. In this book there is a constant reminder to trust what God has planned for you. That in a relationship you need to have God right in the center of the two of you. Life in this fallen world is difficult and does not always go as we want. While Darren struggles with a problem he has that can change his entire life, Danica tried to give him the reminder that they can get through and past the problem with God’s help.
Such a beautiful blessing to read a book with such a positive message.
This is my voluntary review of this book that I received as an ARC!
This is a sweet, Christian Romance story! It was very well written! I truly enjoyed reading it!
I love this series. The Spark brothers are amazing and it has been so fun getting to know each of them. I’m so glad Danica got her HEA. I liked her in Aiden and Abby’s story and was kind if sad Brandon didn’t fall for her in his book. Darren and Danica are so good together. They definitely have some hurdles to jump over, but with God’s love all things are possible. Beautiful story that hit very close to home.
Darren and Danica are friends and each want more but…. Darren has a reason he thinks will/should keep him from love and marriage. I thought the author handled Darren’s secret really well. I felt for both of them but got frustrated with Danica toward the end of the book. I understood but my heart went out to Darren. Thankfully their first spark turned to hea. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of At First Spark.
Darren and Danica take you on a journey of faith, and an adventure of love. I was greatly encouraged as they struggled with feelings of being ‘less than’, and finally triumphed in seeing who they are in Christ as being enough. And, of course, they also discover God’s blessing of both of them being better with the other person! At First Spark is a sweet love story that tugs at your heart. I have enjoyed all of the books in this series and can’t wait to read the next one!
I’ve read all the books in the series and although this book can be a stand alone, I would read them all. The brothers are all very different. In this book, Darren and Danica wrestle with the idea of saying yes to each other but good bye to long held dreams. Should they? Will they?
While it’s not my favorite of the books so far, it’s well written and shouldn’t be missed. It has some very sweet moments. Give it a try.
Although this is book 4 in the series, it was the first one I read when I received an ARC and I am voluntarily leaving this review. I loved this story about a heroic firefighter, Darren Spark, who is more about taking action than sitting down to read about it and a lovely bookstore owner, Danica, who loves to read. They both have feelings of attraction for one another but their relationship has stayed in the friend zone due to Darren’s unwillingness to chance romance again after being rejected by his former fiancee for a medical condition that he has no power to change. Their story is a bit complicated but and there are quite a few twists and turns–surprises both good and bad that kept me turning the pages late into the night. Thankfully the characters are blessed with a HEA as the story concludes. I enjoyed this book so much that I went back and read the first three books in the series–each Spark brother has a wonderful story of his own. Can’t wait for book 5!
At First Spark by Liwen Ho is the fourth book in her Spark series, and it lives up to the sweet romance and Christian Fiction the author’s already gotten us used to. This particular story follows Darren and Danica’s, and their long and obstacle-filled journey to love (don’t worry, this just means that their HEA is really hard earned, but well deserved).
I found this installment interesting for the fact of Darren’s struggle, but I also believe the author handled it pretty well. It’s certainly an issue that I haven’t found much in books, but I loved the fact that it allows the reader to see some really interesting conversations that portray the deeply brotherly love between the Spark brothers (and friends).
All in all, a perfectly satisfying sweet romance, and a great continuation of the series 🙂
PS: Can I gush about the cover for a bit? I believe it’s just perfect for Darren, and while reading the book I could easily picture him as the model from the cover. (So much sweetness in one picture!)
I loved how relatable Darren and Danica are in this book. Infertility is something that many couples struggle with. And to know before you even start a relationship? I appreciated that we got a man’s prospective on it, too. I am so happy for this couple that got their really happy ending(s)!
This was a great book. I enjoyed getting to know Darren and Danica in this book. Both needed to learn to be honest with their feelings and let God take care of the rest. They both thought they knew the best way to approach their relationship, but they learned that there was a better way. The chemistry was hot between the couple. The problems they each faced were real. This was a heartfelt, inspirational romance.