I did not finish this book. I was surprised and disappointed about some of the comments made in the book.

This book was a bit hard to get into and stay focused on. I found myself putting it down and not too interested in picking it back up.

Sadie and Monroe have a history that was not really elaborated on. They are made out to hate each other but get married then become all friendly and close. Although the marriage of convenience made sense, the way is was executed was not the best. It felt like this book focused more on the people around the MCs and their relationship took a back seat.

I did not feel close to either MC and it was hard to root for them when there was not a lot of chemistry. Sadie seemed very smart and level headed but then she would have these moments that showed her as aloof and it made it feel like there was two different FMCs. Monroe was very committed to Sadie, but I felt like they had more of a friendship than relationship.

Racist comment aside (yes, it wasn’t great), I think this book had the potential to be fantastic. The story of saving the vineyard was genius, but the solution felt way too easy. I was hoping for more angst and conflict, but I like Monroe and Sadie enough to not hate this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!!

DNF’d at 25% - I was genuinely really excited to read this book, but the blatant disrespect to migrant communities and the impression that they are beneath the MMC (with no challenge from the characters around him to change his “flawed” behaviors). I waited to share my review to see how Sophie and Bloom would respond and I am EXTREMELY disappointed in the apology post. The fact that Sophie was advised to change the line and didn’t, and that Bloom chose to continue with publishing was disheartening. My disappointment was only exacerbated by Sophie liking comments on her Facebook page where her white readers (aka, those not hurt by her ignorance) were absolving her of any wrongdoing, therefore making her apology disingenuous and performative. While I am happy to see that the book is being pulled, I think Bloom needs to do a better job of platforming and empowering authors who aren’t problematic *before* signing with them, and calling in their readers whose writing and actions are potentially negatively impactful on their audiences.

Did not have a chance to read and review prior to author’s statement that the book release will be paused for re-writes.

A NEW FAVORITE!
This romance is a captivating blend of tension, passion, and family rivalries, making for an unputdownable enemies-to-lovers story. Set against the lush backdrop of a sprawling, overgrown winery, the stakes are as high as the emotions when Sadie Sparrow is forced into a marriage of convenience with her family’s sworn enemy, Monroe Beaumont. What starts as a reluctant alliance quickly turns into a battle of wills, as Sadie fights to protect everything she holds dear—while resisting the undeniable pull of her new husband.

Sadie is a fiery, determined heroine, willing to do whatever it takes to keep her family’s legacy intact. Monroe, on the other hand, is equal parts infuriating and irresistible—exuding dominance and charm in equal measure. Their chemistry sizzles from the start, with sharp banter, forced proximity, and an underlying tension that makes every encounter electric.

Beyond the romance, the novel shines in its exploration of deep-seated family rivalries, the weight of inheritance, and the complexities of duty versus desire. The rich setting, complete with a vineyard full of secrets, adds an atmospheric charm that enhances the emotional depth of the story.

For fans of slow-burn tension, high-stakes love stories, and sizzling chemistry, this novel delivers on every front. The special edition’s gorgeous detailing only makes it more irresistible—a perfect addition to any romance lover’s shelf.

“Sparrow and Vine” is poorly written and poorly edited. In my book, this a total breakdown and I would give it zero stars if I could. Obviously Sophie is the most at fault but there is plenty of blame to be had for management and editing.

There has been a lot of focus the laborer comment from the MMC so I don’t need to go into why that is obviously harmful. Racism, including casual racism should be beneath every writer, editor, and publisher. For me, it wasn’t just what the MMC said, it was the FMC’s response. The FMC responded with "sometimes there is." No reprimand of the MMC. No nothing. I was shocked. The casualness is irresponsible and choosing not to change it made a loud statement. Racism is not a character flaw for people to root for, especially not in 2025 (or summer 2024 when Sophie says she wrote this), particularly when it isn’t even addressed and just accepted as normal. No thank you. This entire interaction was unnecessary for the characters and the plot. This decision made for wildly unlikeable characters and an offensive book. Poor editing and poor author management. Let’s get to the Musk thing. Frankly, it was a lazy tool to establish the side character in question and their aptitude for business acumen and efficiency, particularly when history has a literal record that Musk is not what he claims to be. It could have been done many different ways or changed later, especially since the comment wasn't necessary for the plot. Just swap it out with the character saying, “a Harvard business school professor visited the vineyard and we got to chatting. From running this place, I don’t have time to take more classes but I can listen to audiobooks and he gave me a ton of recs. It’s been so helpful.” We’ve now learned that the character is bright, motivated, and resourceful. Wonderful. But this book didn’t do that. Anyone who throws a Nazi salute should be radioactive and to leave his name in this book for no reason is lazy at best and antisemitic and hateful at worst. It leaves readers wondering a lot about what kind of writer and business they are supporting.

Also, yes, Bloom advised not to use these lines. But they still attempted to publish it. Bloom, if you’re reading this, please look inward and do some soul searching on this. Authors of color and/or authors from other underrepresented groups often have to be flawless at all times. They have to be twice as good to get half as far other authors. It's smells of privilege that Bloom saw the error, advised against it, but accepted the decision and went forward with publication anyway. I hope Bloom reviews its internal editing and review process, identifies the decisions that led to this, maybe work on some bias training for example (we are all human and have things to unlearn), and implement improved processes so this does not happen again. Bloom, you have so many incredible authors on your roster, I believe you can do better and I am rooting for you to accomplish that task.

Signed,
A Latina reader, Esq.

Spoiler Free Summary:
This is a Juliet and Romeo type romance. Essentially two families feuding over a vineyard and big house. A child from each feuding family marries and starts to fall for each other. Due to their parents ill intent and breakup the children has miserable childhoods. Together they have to work together to heal and save the vineyard.

Due to the current ongoing controversy, I do not feel comfortable reviewing the rest of the book.

I am choosing to opt out of reading THIS VERSION of this book due to the recent statements made by Sophie Lark and Bloom Books. It has since been pulled from Netgalley and all pre-orders have been canceled. I would still like to read this book, but only once the appropriate changes are made.

(wish you could just choose to "not rate" a book but since that's not an option...it has to be a 1 star by default)

Since the author+publisher have officially pulled/postponed this book due to the concerns over the writing I'm opting not to read this one to avoid repeating the same concerns.

I didn't enjoy this book, could be some of the verbiage that was used. Could just be that it's not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I probably would have DNF'd this anyway, or at the very least struggled through, but the casual racism in 2025 was the icing on the cake, and I struggled to make it past that.

I will say this book and premise had a lot of potential, the plot sounded like we were in for a fun ride, but the writing unfortunately just didn't do it for me personally. I found it quite flat, and the characters difficult to enjoy. Based on the synopsis, I think readers would expect more of an enemies-to-lovers trope in play, although it reads more as an 'old friends to lovers' relationship. More backstory and build-up could have been brought in throughout the initial chapters; we're vaguely told how these families don't like each other, and then all of a sudden the two leads are away to get married off page.

I'm glad to see the author confirm this book is now pulled for revisions, although I'm a little surprised that the choice was made not to remove these before advanced copies went out, however, I don't think I'd be inclined to re-attempt read this again. But I will keep a look out for future reviews, as I said, I think the concept of the plot was brilliant, but much much more could have been done.

The above opinions have been expressed by numerous other reviewers, so apologies but I will not be adding this to any reviewing platforms.

While this book was an anticipated read for me in 2025, and I was excited to have received the arc. I was shocked to see the blatant racism and Elon Musk references in this novel which has led to a DNF.
After reading Sophie Larks Grimstone ARC she was an author I was interested in reading other works, however after seeing that this author not only neglected to change the lines first time when flagged by Bloom and preceded to publish those lines has dropped my rating to 1 star. I appreciate the author and blooms transparency with this issue, but unfortunately, I likely won’t be reading this author’s works in the future.

As always, thank you to NetGalley and Bloom for this ARC <3

I received an ARC of Sparrow and Vine but will not be reviewing it, as it is being pulled for revisions due to concerns about problematic content. I appreciate the transparency in addressing these issues but will not be revisiting the book.

I was excited to receive this ARC, having read and enjoyed Sophie Lark in the past. Having now learned about the overtly racist statements in this book, as well as the glorification of El*n, I will not be reading or reviewing "Sparrow and Vine." For the author to say that the racist tones were flagged and she elected not to remove them....that is a hard pass from me. I understand the book is now being pulled and (hopefully) reworked. I still don't think I would want to read it, as all things Sophie Lark are not going to be my jam.

1 star because I have to give something.

Due to being made aware of the racist lines in this book, I will not be reading it. I was genuinely so excited to read this because I have loved Sophie Lark books in the past. After the statement from the author saying that this line was brought to their attention and they still went forward with it , I felt even worse about having this arc. Plus saying it was written in 2024 like that should make it better is a weird choice. Now that the book was pulled I don’t feel obligated to read it anymore.

Racism and references to Elon ruined this for me. I’ve loved Sophie’s previous books so this was a big disappointment for me. I’m glad she’s taken reader feedback, but still disappointed she wrote it in the first place.

DNF at 20%
I simply cannot emphasize how problematic it is for an author to write their MMC to say
"but shouldn't there be a crew of people with questionable work visas picking these grapes for us?"
to the FMC in which she just thinks is an okay thing to say and doesn't call out.
I cannot believe that we are still allowing racist rhetoric into readers spaces.
Sophie Lark do better. Bloom books, thanks for the ARC I guess but maybe also drop this author from your roster.
Also in chapter 15 one of the supporting characters says "I was inspired by Elon Musk. I use his five-step design process." Absolutely not.

(I read this unaware of the racist undertones as i had completely missed the lines until it was brought to my attention)

The minute enemies-to-lovers and marriage of convenience was put into the same sentence, I knew I needed to read this immediately.

Per usual, Sophie Lark delivers a romance that’ll make you laugh, swoon, and possibly question your own life choices (like why your family isn’t running a vineyard with hot, cinnamon-scented rivals that puts you into a marriage of convenience?).

In short we have Sadie Sparrow, our fmc- who is willing to put herself on the spot and marry her “worst” enemy—Monroe Beaumont—in order to secure the family inheritance.

The tension between Sadie and Monroe is so dhjsjdjsjsjsjjsjd🤭😋😍 that I had to fan myself while reading (literally). Trust me when I say that these two will have you wishing your enemies were as easy to fall for as a rival turned husband with an inconvenient amount of charm.

This book has it all:
- marriage-of-convenience
-, high-stakes family drama
-enemies to lovers
-twists and turns

A must read, and an absolute immediate fave of mine by Sophie lark.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc of this book.
I loved it. I was a bit surprised about how much i actually enjoyed this book but Monroe and Sadie are just such an amazing couple and i loved their whole relationship. I love Sparrow and Wine. But my absolut favourit was June. I can not wait to read more about her.

I would like to revise this Review since i Was now told about how racist some sentences actually were. Racism is not acceptable

At first, I was really excited to get this ARC because I’ve enjoyed some of this author’s previous work. But that excitement? Yeah, it was short-lived.

I found out about the issues (blatant racism!) on Instagram and saw Sophie’s statement (which I’ll get to later). At that point, I dreaded reading it, but I wanted to form my own opinion and give an honest review. Spoiler alert: I DNF-ed as soon as I saw the line from our MMC—

"Shouldn’t there be a crew of people with questionable work visas picking these grapes for us?”

EXCUSE ME?! What?!? How is this acceptable? How am I supposed to root for this character after that? And then I saw from other reviews that later, one of the sisters glorifies Elon Musk… 🤢 Yeah, absolutely not.

Sophie released a statement saying Bloom (the publisher) recommended removing the lines, but she chose to keep them. And her excuse? That she wrote this in 2024 when “everything was different.” Girl, no. This was never okay. It’s not okay now. It’s not okay EVER.

I can’t even express my disappointment enough. Never picking up this author again.