[Book Review] A Spark In The Air By Dena Blake & Backyard Beans Bandwidth Blend

Title: A Spark In The Air
Series: Standalone
Author: Dena Blake 
Publication date: December 13th 2022
Page Count: 240 pages
Age Range: Adult (explicit spicy scenes)
How I got my hot little hands on it: Received a review copy
Publisher’s page: A Spark In The Air

When internet executive Crystal Tucker is given the opportunity to finally make it to the top in her company, she jumps at the chance. She just has to sell Pine Grove’s government on the future: Wi-Fi, high-speed internet, and streaming services. Should be easy, right? Apparently not. To succeed where others have failed, Crystal must blend into the community and understand why the small town is stuck in the past.

The internet café Cyber Shack has been in Janie Elliott’s family for decades. More than a place to access the web, it’s an integral part of Pine Grove culture. Meeting your neighbor for a coffee? Working from anywhere-but-at-home? Want in on the local gossip? Cyber Shack has it all, and almost everyone wants to keep it that way.

Crystal is sure Wi-Fi could really help the more marginalized residents, even if it means putting a small business out of business, but her instant attraction to Janie makes moving ahead with her plans complicated. As their spark combusts into an undeniable flame, Crystal has to come clean about why she’s really there, and what it might mean for Cyber Shack, for Pine Grove, and for her relationship with Janie.

My Review

Big city executive comes to small town during the holidays, falls for local small business owner, learns the importance of love, family, and community – A Spark In The Air has that classic Hallmark movie structure that we all know and love.

Spark Wireless Broadband executive Crystal works too hard and puts her job and pursuit of a promotion ahead of everything, especially according to her ex who dumps her right before the holidays. When her boss sends her to a small, picturesque town in Vermont the week before Christmas to convince the city council to allow Spark to bring in WiFi and cellphone service, she finds herself caught up in the holiday magic and the pretty blue eyes of one of the town council hold outs.

Janie runs the Cyber Shack. The small business has been in her family for years and is the lone place in technology-suspicious Pine Grove where residents can access the internet or play console games while enjoying coffee and local gossip. She finds herself immediately drawn to Crystal, who she thinks is simply a visitor in town for the holiday season, and is thrilled to find the attraction is mutual.

Janie herself isn’t so much against the idea of WiFi as she is someone who goes along with what other people want – her friend, a fellow business owner and council member, is afraid of the town losing its Rockwell appeal and his children becoming addicted to their cellphones; the older generation (including her father) are against the government being able to track them through their phone and interest use. Crystal lies to Janie from the beginning, even pretending to be the niece of the local Inn keeper who goes along with it, and she just gets herself in deeper and deeper. She lets Janie introduce her to friends and family and falls into an intimate relationship with her, all the while using Janie’s insider knowledge to give her an edge in convincing the town to bring in WiFi.

I was so invested in all these people, even as I was yelling at Crystal to stop making it worse before she comes clean (spoiler: she didn’t listen to me). No worries though since this is a feel-good Christmas romance: HEA guaranteed.

Overall, I really liked A Spark In The Air. Sure it’s a little formulaic, but there’s a reason this kind of holiday romance is a classic. It’s warm and cozy, with just the right generous dash of spice and wee-bit amount of angst to keep things interesting.

Just like how Spark is looking to bring WiFi and highspeed to Pine Grove, Backyard Beans Bandwidth Blend will give coffee drinkers a “much-needed jolt” to get them up and going. It’s a light roast with a subtle chocolate background and crisp hints of citrus and cherry. Perfect to get you booted up in the morning.