A Study in Sparkling (Love Notes #2) by Jodi McAlister
Fiona Fisher thought she had it a loving husband, three kids, and a solid plan to get the PhD no one in her family thought her capable of. But when her husband reveals that he's leaving her for his secret second family, Fiona is devastated and completely humiliated.
Satoshi Tsukamoto wants it all. He’s the proprietor of a cult wine bar, and he’s studying for the hardest exam in the the Master Sommelier exam. There aren’t enough hours in the day for anything else – even Fiona, his favourite customer, and the woman he’s inconveniently in love with.
On paper, Fiona and Satoshi make no sense. He’s eight years younger than her and a consummate bachelor. She’s a single mother and doesn't know if she'll ever be able to trust anyone again. But how can Fiona resist when Satoshi proposes they give into their mutual attraction to let off some steam? And how is he supposed to resist when the woman he adores is finally within his grasp – even if they’ve agreed to keep things casual?
Review: Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC, out on September 15th!
I absolutely loved An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister and was excited to learn that she was writing a second book in this universe focusing on Fiona, the sister of the MMC from the first book and who plays a fairly large role in the plot of book one. Fiona is a mother of three who is left floundering when her husband tells her that he has a whole second family and he's leaving her for them. In the aftermath of the dissolution of her marriage, Fiona gets closer to Satoshi Tsukamoto, who runs the local wine bar and is studying to be a Master Sommelier. Despite the fact that she has three kids and is 8 years older than him, Satoshi is down bad for Fiona.
I deeply appreciated Fiona getting a redemption story in this book. Her husband is the WORST. I cannot believe he had a whole other family the whole time he and Fiona were together. I especially felt for Fiona trying to navigate this emotional mind field for her three kids, who very much feel like their dad has picked the other woman and family over them. Fiona's oldest child is non-binary, and I loved Lex so much! Fiona is so thoughtful and mindful about what Lex is going through both with his identity and their dad leaving. I also really loved how Satoshi has his own relationship with Lex and Fiona's twin daughters. He goes out of his way to know them and see them for who they are, and it was really sweet and mad points in his favor of why Fiona should be with him.
Satoshi wins the award for most unique and distinctive MMC I have read this year. He is Japanese by birth but living in Tasmania. He is a pansexual sommelier with blonde hair, and he's fallen for a woman eight years older than him. He also is the perfect gentleman and incredibly thoughtful. In fact, he is almost too saintly?? He is courteous to a fault, and he almost felt too good to be true at times.
One thing I really struggled with in this book is understanding why exactly Satoshi is so into/in love with Fiona. He claims to have fallen in love with her while she was still married, just from observing her and how kind she is. It was hard for me to believe but I also didn't really understand what it was he liked about her, since they seem to only have a mutual interest in wine in common. Also, because Satoshi is in love with her from basically page one, this wasn't the slow burn that usually reels me in. It does take Fiona longer to come around but I think his immediate interest killed some of the tension for me.
Also, Fiona is not kind to him at various points, not necessarily intentionally, but through misunderstandings, her own insecurities, and the troubles in her own life. Satoshi very much feels like Fiona is embarrassed of him, doesn't want to be seen with him, or that he's not good enough for her and it hurt to witness him go through that. He's also supposed to be this paragon both physically and in terms of how great a person he was so it was hard to buy he would go for Fiona.
Another element that I loved about the first book was how bookish it was. Both of the main characters are in academia and there were so many references to reading and writing. That was replaced in this book with an interest in wine. Every chapter starts with a wine note, and the characters are both deeply invested in wine tastings, discussing wine, writing about wine, etc. etc. This would be ideal for a wine lover but alas I am not one. The wine notes at the start of each chapter didn't really seem necessary or add much, for me anyway.
Stars: 3
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