Book Review: A Study in Sparkling

A Study in Sparkling (Love Notes, Book 2)

By Jodi McAlister

This novel will be released on Sept 15, 2026 in the United States.

A Study in Sparkling is a friends-to-lovers (well, friends-with-benefits to lovers) romance set in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and it is the second book in the Love Notes series, following An Academic Affair (a rivals-to-lovers romance, about Jonah and Sadie, two academic rivals who have been arguing about literature since they were undergrads and find themselves up for one of the only professor roles available. The first romance novel is set in academia and involves a marriage of convenience for a partner hire. Highly recommend!).

 Fiona is Jonah’s sister, and she was introduced in the first book, but you don’t have to read the books in order, although I think it is more enjoyable that way.

As the book begins, you can tell we have a “he falls first” situation on our hands here. Fiona loves going to Tsundoku, her favorite wine bar, and chatting with Satoshi about wine and life. Satoshi owns and runs the wine bar, which is also a bookstore (what a dream!). At the beginning, they only think of each other as friends, but Satoshi is falling in love with Fiona from afar. Soon, Fiona’s life falls apart in a disastrous fashion (she finds out her husband has a second family in Melbourne, and her husband is leaving her and their three children for the other family). Satoshi comforts her on the worst day of her life.

Cut to months later: Fiona is afraid she will never date or experience pleasure again. Satoshi, who has now loved her from afar for months, jumps at the opportunity to spend more time with Fiona. Maybe she will see him in a new way?

Meanwhile he is studying to become a Master Sommelier and Fiona is trying to figure out who she is beyond being a wife or mom. With Satoshi, she discovers her love for writing and telling stories about wine, and sparks fly the more they spend time together. Will their relationship become anything more than great chemistry? I liked that each of the main characters was developed fully in their own right, with their own problems and internal and external conflicts. I think the dual-POV was actually helpful and useful in this novel!

The romance in A Study in Sparkling was somewhat of a slow burn, while also spicy. When I say slow burn, I mean that Fiona has some commitment-phobia as well, and she has trouble trusting after her ex-husband’s betrayal, while Satoshi might be too much of a people-pleaser. The characters of her children were well-developed and I related to her journey balancing life as a single mom with her own goals and desires. Her oldest, Lex, had come out as queer and non-binary, and Satoshi was a role model, listening ear, and guide for her, while also stocking queer literature in his bookshop just for them.

 Satoshi had already shown he cares about her and her family, but at Jonah and Sadie’s (second) wedding, a LOT happens. I won’t tell you what. Here are my favorite quotes from the book:

Satoshi to Fiona “There is nothing you can ask of me,” he said fiercely, holding my face tight between both his hands, “that I don’t want to give you, Fiona.” (earlier in the book)

Lex to her mom Fiona: “And you deserve to be happy. Like Satoshi makes you. Whenever you see him, your eyes light up. They sparkle. So do his, when he sees you.” (later in the book)

I love how this was a callback to the title, which I initially interpreted as study in sparkling wine.  Overall, a joyful well-developed love story!

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Don’t forget to read the first book in the series, An Academic Affair.