When Sparks Fly: An Absolutely Addictive Lesbian Romance Novel

This adult romance novel is a captivating read. The story is well-written and the characters are relatable and endearing. The romance is passionate and intense, and the plot keeps you guessing until the very end. The novel is a page-turner that will leave you wanting more. It's a must-read for anyone who loves a good love story.

What a beautiful contemporary story of young love and family love. Both girls are seniors in high school. Avery comes from a well-to-do family. Her mother is an attorney and her father owns a gaming company. She's the golden girl cheerleader, the leader of the pack, but she's still reeling from the death of her sister. Britton has just been placed in their home. She's been in the foster care system her entire life with less than positive results, yet, she's a brilliant, resilient survivor. This is actually the first placement in which the family loves her and treats her as one of their own. I really loved this character. But what happens when the two girls develop feelings for each other? It's a beautifully crafted book. So many wounds from the past for both girls, yet they're strong, loving and productive. The story isn't all deep. The secondary characters were spunky, relatable and had a lingo of their own. It's really a slightly different culture in school today so this author kept it fresh. The significant situations are treated gently and respectfully, and at a slow moving pace so everything felt honest and believable. It takes great sensitivity to write a book like this. Well done, Kristen!

Stars: 4 Stars Format: Digital Series: Stand Alone Steam Level: Steamy I read this for the I Heart Sapphic 2025 Reading Challenge for the prompt Taboo/Forbidden Relationship. I had read this to fill this reading prompt and only realized after I bought the book that I had read The Gravity Between Us years ago and enjoyed it. So after I finished this book I immediately bought another book by Kristen Zimmer. I am now a fan. Quick Thoughts: - This story is exclusively from Brritton’s POV - Super low angst and was exactly what I needed after reading a few pretty heavy books - Something I loved about this book, is that in almost every story of this kind that pairs the popular cheerleader and new, fringe kid, the cheerleader is either horrible to everyone or is nice only to the love interest or has horribly mean friends. In this book Avery and her friends are genuinely good people - Also love that Britton is very empathetic and a little stand offish, but isn’t that stereotype of a mean, borderline cruel, foster kid. She wants to make connections but hasn’t felt safe enough in her environment to try to connect to others before - The family drama wasn’t surprising but learning the details about it pulled me in - I liked Brit’s tone. Some of internal stuff didn’t land cause it was written like a text message but it was still nicely done - At times the various teens spoke like they were in their late 20s or early 30s and not high schoolers - Holy smokes this family is…

Started reading and couldn't put it down. Absolutely loved this book. It reminds the reader again of how difficult it is to come out---especially when you're a teenager. So much is always expected of you. This tells of how a child can hate the foster system but has no where else to turn. Britton really just wanted a family--someone to love her. She knew she was a lesbian from her early years but didn't tell the world because she figured the world already hated her so why add additional fuel to the fire? Avery was the one person who could make her think differently but would that ever come to fruition? Both young women were just trying to get through high school. They sure didn't plan on things working out the way they did. I could feel "all the feels" that they had. Story was so well written that I lived their feelings. It was very sweet to see them learn to navigate the world. Their friends helped enormously and I really liked the foster family, Cate and Tom and of course, Avery. Loved them all. The epilogue solved my worry about Spence and whether she could find her "someone". Even if you are not usually drawn to young adult stories, I highly recommend this one. It is such an amazing read. It has everything--love, friends, coming out, grief, acceptance, relationships and did I mention love!!! This author is so darn good that I will automatically read everything she writes. Thank you so much for sharing this story with the rest of us, Kristen Zimmer.

When Sparks Fly is, as titled, an absolutely addictive lesbian romance novel. The story is told from Britton's point of view, an orphan who was bounced around the foster system. The story opens with Britton, senior in high school, moving into the house belonging to her new foster family and starting her first day at a new school. She could think about nothing else than finishing the school year so she could finally age out of the system. Meet Avery, the daughter of Britton's foster family. When first introduced, she seems like your stereotypical cheerleader-type, but she quickly proves us wrong when we start to see Avery's outer shell, her public self, begin to crack. Avery goes through incredible changes throughout the book, though not without help from Britton. Their relationship quickly twists and turns, but builds up with a sloooowwww burn from the very start. When Spence, soccer captain and ex-friend of Avery's, becomes friends with Britton, there is some tension between Spence and Avery that Britton doesn't understand. A secret weighs heavily on Spence and Avery's shoulders, though neither has helped the other carry the burden. Instead, they avoid contact completely and silently suffer. One thing I really admired about Britton was how she was able to keep both friend groups without feeling pushed or tugged by either group. It was refreshing to see the friend groups, too, be totally fine with Britton splitting her time. Britton's internal dialogue will leave you…