Luca is a former hockey player and current coach and artist/welder. Danielle aka Dani is a doctor who has just gotten over some big things, and is still getting through other life drama. Dani is also the one who back in the day was the trainer who was at Luca's side when she got hit in the blindside. They both have a bunch of baggage that comes up as they get closer and closer too.

It was a fun read. Not sure I've read anything set in Winnipeg ever, so, that was cool, and the secondary hockey plot was a lot of fun. Oh, and the characters were just such a hoot to read about.

Nice, quick read with likable main characters. It got a little sappy towards the end for me but otherwise wasn’t a bad read. It only got three stars because I would’ve liked more depth to their relationship.

An unlikely couple reunite after a previously devastating meeting that brought them together in the first place. An iron sculptor/hockey coach and a doctor who struggled diagnosing a career ending virus sounded like a great pairing. I enjoyed the premise abd the characters but would have preferred more emotional development in the relationship.

First time reading this author and thoroughly enjoyed it. loved the chemistry and the storyline. Felt the connection between luca and daniella

As someone who grew up in an area that was not LGBTQ+ friendly, this book was a breath of fresh air that reminded me there are places we find our people.
For me, the strength of this book resides in it's discussion of people and the relationships of all the characters. There is a strong sense of community within this book, from the way the families interact to the friend groups we see, there is a sense of support that these characters have for one another that I truly loved.
The romance in this book was very sweet and I appreciate how communication was emphasized within the relationship, instead of using a lack of communication as a plot device! This healthy communication is something I love to see in books!
I really appreciate the discussion of culture and the issues Indigineous people face within Canada. Those issues weren't just a little side comment either, they were a genuine topic brought up a few times within the book, and it felt like it was natural to see brought up and discussed!
I think the characters were really good, however I do wish they were a little more fleshed out. They are characters who we know are amazing and fantastic, I think I just wanted a little more flesh and dynamic to be added to them.

When Dani returns to her hometown in Manitoba from Guyana and her work with Doctors Without Borders, she returns with a lot of emotional baggage. On her first day runs into Luca, a trainer at the rink where Dani will now act as the team doctor. The two women juggle their immediate attraction with their responsibilities and the evolving careers.

I'm glad I kept this on my to-read list after it got pushed back in the holiday shuffle because I really enjoyed this book. It is always a joy to read about my home country and especially to explore provinces I'm not as familiar with. I found some of the hockey details got a little long winded and specific and didn't really add much to the story. I also wasn't a huge fan of the "secret" that kept them apart, it was on the weaker side for me. Overall I really enjoyed all the characters, especially all of the diversity in this story. Luca and Dani were well developed, three dimensional characters. Their chemistry was really well done and I enjoyed the slow burn of them relationship in spite of the "secrets".

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 23%.

There's a lot of exposition that was thrown in there which I enjoyed. However, I had trouble with the current story and its slow-ish pace.

The rating is the fact that you need to leave a starred rating even if you didn't finish it.

Dani (34) comes back to her hometown from her assignment as a doctor in Guyana. She has been infected with a virus that is still bothering her. Back home, she joins the medical team of the hockey team.
Luca coaches the hockey team and knows Dani fleetingly from her time as an active player, during which Dani was also responsible for the health of the players.
The two meet again after 15 years on the ice.
I had difficulty getting into the book. There was quite a bit of field hockey jargon used in my eyes, which I sometimes had problems with as a true non-expert. For fans of the sport, however, it can be quite a plus.
The story is written fluidly and will certainly have its lovers, for me it was unfortunately not.

I received a copy from netgalley in exchange for a an honest review.

I didn't really like the way the plot was done. Daniella being mysterious and scared about whatever illness she has that is not revealed to readers until later. Coming myself from an island where these kind of illness are a yearly thing I thought Daniella was kinda making a mountain out of a molehill. Sure the illness is serious but you are made to believe the worse of what is wrong with Daniella. Also, it doesn't take that long to find out if someone is ill with those diseases.

As for Luca, her hockey life wasn't written in a way to pull in readers that are not familiar with hockey. Again, the reason and "secrets" surrounding the hit on the ice were also a let down once we find out there was no secret.

This just wasn't the book for me.

I unfortunately DNF'ed this at 37%. I truthfully just couldn't get into to it or connect with the characters. I'm sure it's a good read, but just didn't hold my attention and I couldn't push through.

3.5 Stars
C/W: References to past addiction, homophobia and implied racism

If you like stories surrounding sport and f/f relationships, this is the story for you. Dani and Luca are genuinely such easy to love characters and their romance is something you root for from the first meeting. There is Indigenous and Gauyenese representation in this book. While I can't speak on either, I didn't pick up any major red-flags in terms of the representation.

The side-characters were used well and I loved how "When Sparks Fly" didn't shy away from the hyper-competitive nature of high school sport that brings out both the good and bad in people.

While I think the book explains niche topics like hockey and welding well; I also liked the sensitivity that it showed when dealing with storylines of opiate addiction. Sometimes the story did feel like it was too busy, but for the most part, I really enjoyed the direction it went with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for allowing me to read an e-arc of "When Sparks Fly" by Annie McDonald. All opinions stated are my own.

Even though I am not a big hockey fan, I tend to find myself enjoying all romances that deal with sports. I found When Sparks Fly decent. Before I move on, I have to say that I loved the diversity in this romance. Many romances have the same typical mains - blonde, red hair or brunette. I love it when an author give us a non one of those mains.

There are aspects of this romance that I enjoyed and others that wasn't my favorite. I liked the chemistry between Daniella and Luca. I liked the overall story line. I also like the descriptors used throughout the romance. What I didn't care for was the secrecy behind Daniella illness. I just didn't understand why it was a big deal. Though I enjoyed the sort of mystery behind everything that happened to Daniella I found myself wishes it was presented differently. As I analyze why this bothered me it just felt like hiding the many things dealing with Daniella's race and where she worked was a negative thing. I don't think this was meant to happen, but that is what it felt like to mean. Again, I enjoyed the diversity, but this one thing bugged me.

3.5 stars.

This arc was provided by netgalley and the publisher for an honest review.

This was a miss for me. It may be because I'm not much of a hockey fan (don't tell, or I'll have to renounce my Canadian citizenship). I did like reading a book set in Winnipeg - its a refreshing change of scenery and there's definitely a different groove and culture than the books set in NY, LA, etc. It's always nice to see a different setting and the story and storytelling definitely gave an authentic local feel.

There were a number of intersecting storylines, with the primary being the budding romance between Dani, a doctor returning home to recover after contracting a virus while working overseas, and Luca, a former hockey phenom who has a busy life spent coaching, taking care of her father, working as a welder and working on her art. The characters feel real and the atmosphere, descriptions of life in and around Winnipeg are well done. This is a slow burn as both characters have their own issues and baggage to overcome/come to grips with - and the pacing of their relationship (no instalove) worked. This is a slow burn, slower paced story - not a lot of action or outside obstacles.

My key issue was the amount of exposition and explanation - in creating a realistic setting/situations, the author references things specific to hockey, Winnipeg, etc but then stops to frame in explanations. This impacted the pacing and flow - I wish that some of it was mentioned and allow the readers to google or understand the references from the context that they were made in.

3.75 stars. Had I not read others reviews I would not have been expecting this story to be rooted in hockey in the way that it is. No complaints from me though as I love hockey and the setting works really well with these characters.

Luca is an iron sculptor. She used to play hockey until an incident on the ice left her career heading in other directions. She’s had to put a lot of her own dreams aside to support others, but has found a niche for herself coaching and working on her art.

Daniella is returning to her hometown to work as the team doctor for the local hockey team after working as a doctor in Guyana. She’s not well and is keeping everyone at a safe distance until she can resolve her feelings about her time in Guyana.

I love the diversity in the book, I learnt a lot through reading this and it has definitely piqued my interest in certain aspects of Canadian history. I enjoyed how the history was told through the secondary characters.

The relationship between the two leads is complicated. They have a history but it’s not the one you would expect. They’re attracted to each other but have their reasons to stay away. It makes for an interesting slow burn between two passionate characters.

McDonald has a way with words that mean the descriptive passages about skating and sculpture are almost moving to read. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more McDonald in the future.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know how I missed it but I thought Luca was a guy. Not Into f/f books. Wish it would of said it in the synopsis at the end. I just read though it fast. I’m sorry

I really loved reading When Sparks Fly by Annie McDonald. This is the second novel I’ve read by this author. I enjoyed the first one, but I liked this one even more.

I will confess that one reason I love this story as much as I do may be because it is so Canadian. It’s set in a town just north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, an area known for its extremely long and frigidly cold winters. The descriptions of the cold, the snow, and the sudden changes of the weather from light flurries to dangerous blizzards in a matter of minutes are all true. Add in the references to Tim Horton’s coffee (especially at the hockey rink), the morning Timmies coffee run through the drive through, the pay it backwards in that line, kids playing hockey…there are just so many of these little tidbits that make me think of home in Canada.

This is a slow-burn, gentle romance between Dr. Dani Waveny, and iron sculptor and hockey coach Luca McAffery. Both are well developed characters and have obvious chemistry from their first meeting in the book. I think I fell a bit in love with Luca myself. The secondary characters are equally well developed. All of the characters fit well in their roles. The romance itself is slow and sweet, with a few misunderstandings along the way to add conflict.

This story really is delightful. I can’t wait for Ms. McDonald’s next Canadian romance novel. If you are into tender, slow-burn love stories with a definite Canadian feel, then check out this story.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

When Sparks Fly is teasingly flammable right from the start and Annie McDonald does not quit throughout the book. Luca’s back story and the path her life has taken is fascinating and thought-provoking. In my area we hear about football concussions and injuries all of the time and we are just learning about the lasting effects. Add children playing sports to this mix and the possible outcomes are scary. McDonald addresses these issues and their long lasting effects, but in another sport. I found the mix of youth sports and awareness to be a terrific read.

Daniella has a captivating backstory too as we learn more about the medical treatments happening in South America and the possible repercussions. McDonald not only tackles health topics, but homophobia in other countries. Hatred is never easy to read, but McDonald takes us through it with sensitivity.

McDonald also includes a wide range of diversity throughout the book which is refreshing to read. I hope this means we might get a series from the rink as there are so many interesting characters.

I did mention heat earlier and McDonald provides this too. I adore the chemistry between Daniella and Luca. Their interactions are entertaining and entrancing. Once I picked up When Sparks Fly I could not put it down. McDonald has a scorchingly hot read for you this winter.

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

As a lesbian who loves hockey and lives in Minnesota, this one was right up my alley! I enjoyed it. I don’t often read romance novels, and I felt like they fell in love very quickly. However, that may have just been my lack of experience with these types of novels.

There were so many different stories going on within this at once, and I felt like we could have one or two less of those. I did like that there was also the teen storyline. I enjoyed the racial diversity of the characters, and I’d love to know more about the author’s research for that and whether there were early readers who are part of those groups who advised on those parts of the book.

There were a lot of metaphors and similes. That isn’t a critique, but it was noticeable.

If the author wrote another hockey book, I’d be in.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and publishers for the opportunity to read and review "When Sparks Fly".

Set in Canada, this is a slow and at times very slow lesfic romance between a Doctor and an ice-hockey coach, who meet several years after their first encounter. There are good reasons for their romance to go the slow burn route, and the author makes full use of the reasons, taking time to reveal the demons in both their lives.

I confess to being impatient at times and willing them to just communicate better. For readers who prefer a slow meander of a romance, this would suit them very well. For me one of the main issues I had was that in hiding the complicated histories of both main characters, more focus was made of the additional characters and at times it slowed down the main plot so that it was hard to stay with it. I would have preferred to read more romance and less sex, but no doubt other readers will disagree! Enjoyable story, nevertheless.

Officially 3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book overall, but from time to time their start-stop romance gave me whiplash at times. I enjoyed getting to know both of them and their story while spending hours in their hockey world.