Book Title: Sparks Will Fly
Author: Laurel Holl
Publisher: Self-published (available on KU)
Publishing Date: June 2026
The STEM nerd-romance reader hybrids are in for a treat with Laurel Holl’s Sparks Will Fly.
In Holl’s world of high-stakes combat robotics competitions, sparks fly both literally and figuratively as rivalry, attraction, ambition, and the realities of living with chronic illness collide.
What immediately sets this novel apart from many of its contemporaries is its setting. While STEM romance has become increasingly popular through authors such as Ali Hazelwood, Hannah Brohm (Love and Other Brain Experiments), and Nicole Cubba (Deep In Love), many books in the genre remain rooted in academia. Hall takes a different approach. By centring the story around combat robotics, she introduces readers to a STEM environment that feels dynamic, competitive, and adrenaline-fuelled. The result is a refreshing take on the genre: it combines scientific expertise with the excitement and momentum often associated with sports romances. There are competitions to win, teammates to rely on, crowds to impress, and rivalries that keep the stakes high. The science is substantial enough to satisfy STEM enthusiasts, without ever overwhelming the emotional core of the story.
In short, it will satisfy both sports-romance and STEM-romance readers.
Yet the novel’s greatest accomplishment lies in its character work. Holl populates the story with remarkably vivid, three-dimensional people. Even the most seemingly inconsequential side character arrives on the page with a distinct voice, personality, and purpose. Whether it is the supportive teammates rooting for Mari and Jacob respectively, or the entitled caricature of tech bros who view the sport through a very different lens, or family members, each character evokes an immediate and often visceral reaction. No one feels like they exist merely to move the plot forward.
What is particularly impressive is how effortlessly Holl establishes relationships and group dynamics. The friendships, rivalries, mentorships, and team bonds all feel intuitive from the outset. Readers are rarely given lengthy explanations about how people relate to one another; instead, they learn through observation, conversation, and interaction. We understand these characters through osmosis, piecing together information from subtle cues and secondary details rather than direct exposition. The process is so seamless that it is easy to overlook while reading. Only in retrospect does one realise how much information Holl has communicated without ever drawing attention to the mechanics of it.
That effortless clarity is a testament to the strength of Holl’s writing. The relationships never feel confusing, the emotional beats always land, and every interaction contributes to a richer understanding of the world she has created. In a novel filled with engineering challenges, fierce competition, and romantic tension, it is ultimately the humanity of its characters that leaves the strongest impression.
“I’ve been disabled for most of my life. In a rapidly changing body, my journey down the path of acceptance can’t quite keep up with the downhill decline. The judgment of being a young, fat person with mobility aids is a tough pill to swallow. The layered societal biases stack up, each with more derision and anger layered on. Not to mention, I’ve never seen another visibly disabled builder on Circuit Smack.”
And because I can already imagine people labelling our protagonist, Mari, as an insufferable female lead, I feel the need to jump to her defence in advance. She is dealing with — and coming to terms with — a lot, including her living reality of chronic illness and how it limits her body. Her chronic illness does not exist as a trope, and as such it percolates all aspects of her being, including how she thinks of herself, her future, and her support system. There’s bound to be ugly punctuations and hiccups on account of her shaky sense of self-esteem. But I urge readers to extend her grace, as we wish she would to herself, too.
“I’ll miss you, you know. Even if I’m glad to get a break from losing to you.”
Jacob wants to fight with Mari. The rivalry is his love language, and the whole thing is more than reminiscent of Nolan Sawyer from Check & Mate, or Lewis North from Love and Other Brain Experiments, Sebastian Dunn from In Stormy Weather, or Wes Talbot from Chase Me If You Can. These male leads are in their sport or field for the love of the game, but also for the love of the woman. Now that’s a trope we can get behind.
Sparks Will Fly gets an unconditional recommendation with 4.5 stars for:
- Fans of STEM romances (think Ali Hazelwood, Nicole Cubba, Hannah Brohm)
- Readers who love a rivals’ romance that elevates the rivalry to foreplay and where they stay rivals even after falling in love
- Sports romance enthusiasts who are looking to diversify their sports palate into something nerdily competitive.
Thank you to the author for providing an advance review copy (ARC). All opinions expressed are my own.