Striking Sparks is the first book in ‘The Walker Boys’ series. It stars Jake Parnell, who has returned to his small hometown to help his sister-in-law, and run his deceased twin brother’s restaurant. He has to face an old secret crush, Beau Walker, who owns the Barbecue Shack, because a TV show wants the two restaurants to have a competition. The money earned from the show will help his sister-in-law and her family get through this difficult time. This book is told in third person and is in duo pov.



This is an enemies-to-lovers story. Jake returns to Buffalo Lick, Texas, after having gone away to college in California to make a life for himself where he didn’t have to be afraid of being gay. Beau stayed behind, mostly because he didn’t want a career other than running his family’s restaurant. This is one of the issues between the two men. Beau thinks Jake thinks he’s unambitious, and Jake took to heart what Beau said to him when they fought many years ago. Beau told Jake he didn’t belong in Buffalo Lick. The comment cut Jake and he’s never forgotten it. They also have to work through the underlying feelings they suppressed with each other when they were younger. To reach the stage where the two of them can talk without sniping at each other, they have to work past the miscommunication and hurt feelings they each harbor from their high school years. I liked that the authors didn’t over exaggerate the miscommunications. It was realistic, as the two men had to get out into the open how they felt at the time and why they said what they said. Then admit to how they feel in the present. This isn’t a high conflict book. It’s about Jake and Beau talking it out and then participating in the TV show. Their relationship grows while they do that because they are forced to take things slow.

I liked both Jake and Beau, they had distinct personalities and once readers got to know Jake better, he did seem like a small town boy.

There were fewer errors in this book than in many other stories I’ve read by these authors, which was nice. The one thing that did bother me however was there was still too much monologue for me which is similar to other books I’ve read by this author team. For me it often makes the story feel slow and since there wasn’t much conflict in this story, it felt even slower. I’ve always preferred less monologue, but that is personal taste, and likely, the monologue won’t bother other people.

Striking Sparks is a low conflict story, and is easy to read if you’re looking for something mellow and has romance and food. I give this book, 4 stars.



I received a copy of this book from the author's for an honest and unbiased opinion. ( )

Jake Parnell has returned to his hometown somewhat reluctantly after his twin brother dies to pick up running his brother's restaurant and supporting his wife and family. And part of this involves carrying on with a reality television challenge his brother agreed to against Jake's longtime rival (and secret crush) Beau Walker. The two men have never seen eye-to-eye, even though they self-identify as the only gay men in a three county radius. As they put their differences aside to film the show, however, they begin to realize maybe they don't have nearly as many differences as they thought they did. Communication and misunderstandings feature so prevalently in our relationships, and this story brings that to the forefront. And how these characters react and adapt as they start to pull away the layers of their past interactions is at times entertaining but always endearing. ( )

The small town of Buffalo Lick (I just love that name!) is too small to contain the egos of two of the top restaurant owners who live there. Beau runs Walker’s Barbecue Shack and has remained local, while Jake took over family restaurant Parnell’s Pantry when his twin brother, Josh, died in a car accident. They have been rivals since high school, Josh’s return has made it clear the worst is far from over because there are lots of unresolved emotions between them, and if it’s true that teasing is a sign of affection… well, these two are headed straight for major “heat” in every sense of the word.

Beau is “the one who remained behind” – he never felt bright enough for college, and he loves cooking. Running the Shack, with all the admin stuff that entails, is not his first love, but what else was he supposed to do when his parents retired? The place has been in his family’s hands for generations and he is not about to give up. With the barbecue competition between him and Jake coming up on the Gourmet Network there will be lots of chances to prove who is better…. at cooking, of course.

Jake is “the one who left town as soon as possible” after high school; he is talented with numbers, became a math teacher, and loves his life in California. He had no problem coming out while there, but now that he is back in Texas, the closet doors are firmly shut and locked again. He is afraid his sexuality will make his young nephew and niece’s life impossible, and he is all about supporting them and his sister-in-law. In essence, he has taken over most of his brother’s life out of a sense of responsibility, maybe even survivor’s guilt, and I was waiting for that to go wrong. It is not a life Jake is suited for, not one he would have chosen, and I just knew there’d be a point at which he had to go back to living his own life.

The author sure held me in suspense! There is a lot of history between Jake and Beau, the differences in the way they see themselves and each other are significant, and the rivalry of the cooking competition is not exactly helping them get along better. With an unrequited crush on both sides, the sexual tension just sizzling between them, and their future reputations at stake, the pressure could not be much higher. What a ride!

If you like pseudo-enemies going head to head, if you want to know how two former high school rivals deal with “fighting it out” in public years later, and if you’re looking for an intense read with high stakes, strained emotions, and more heat than you’d think fits into one book, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s entertaining, funny, and very touching.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )