I really enjoyed this as a magical realistic novel, it had that element that I was wanting and enjoyed from this type of book. It uses the world and characters that I was expecting and enjoyed. I thought the concept that I was wanting and enjoyed in this character development. Arthur Ni has a strong writing style and was glad I got to read this.

I received a e-ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. This has not affected my review, which are my own thoughts.

What the f*ck was that prologue? In fact, what the f*ck was this whole book? This is probably the first time I'm gonna regret requesting an ARC, because what a massive waste of my time was this; good thing Desert Spark was quite short! That's probably its only good thing, and even then it is not that good, 'cause maybe a longer book would have solve the pace and development of some issues, but I don't know if I would have finished it then😂

While fixing his VR's generator one day, an accident gives Arius powers, more specifically, electricity powers. Now, he doesn't need a generator to start his VR. But he's contacted by the Specter Order due to this and forced to stay in a 50-mile radius, where they'll be watching him. Arius accepts the deal and spends the next six month traveling through the desert, making ends as best he can, using casinos and his powers to gain money and living all alone.
Until, stopping for gas one day, leads him to meet Delilah at a gas station, who might need some help with her car. And there goes Arius. But these two meeting will lead to secrets getting revealed about the magical community of this world and Arius to grow into himself and change.
At least, that's what the book's premise promises to us, but it does not deliver at all.

First, that prologue I mentioned, is where Arius gets his powers in the accident with the generator. But like, he has no reaction at all. "Oh, I can now feel electricity moving inside me and use it? Never heard of this, but it must mean that I have powers". My man, be a little more in shock, this is unusual for you, is rare, don't treat it like breathing. Not long after that, he gets to the road and arrives at Desert Spark, a bar, in which he intends to sleep. Except, that he is contacted by a member of the Specter Order, who says they vow to protect the magical community and that Arius is an anomaly, and so they want to keep him under radar and control.

And then, we jump ahead six months from that weird prologue that took me three times reading it to understand it. Not only is it poorly written (as in, grammatical errors, though, as the rest of the book, I must say) it does not make sense in its pacing and tell tale of events. I think the nonsense and chaotic structure can only be appreciate it actually reading it, but I dislike this book so much, that I cannot recommend it, so y'all just have to take my word for it. But it is chaotic, no matter how good I worded its events here. And, I must also say, that it doesn't add anything of value, because it only explains how Arius got his powers (which he retells various times throughout the novel), the fact that he is not weirded out at ll by him being able to control electricity now, and his encounter with the Specter Oder's member and the deal Arius makes to stay in the radar in exchange of keeping his life (AKA, nor being killed); something that he repeats various times in the future too.

So, the prologue didn't say anything that couldn't been said in the future through flashblacks or Arius recounting it through narration. Moreover, because it didn't explain anything about the Specter Order that we couldn't have get any other way through the rest of the novel, or about how the magic works in this world, or even something about the magic community Arius meets later in the book. Nothing different that could have added to the world presented in Desert Spark.

Also, Desert Spark is both the title of the book and the name of the bar where Arius meets the Specter Order member, yet he never returns to it nor does he think about it again😐 Why name the book after it at all?

Anyway, let's forget the prologue and get on to the rest of the book, which is as bad as that prologue, in my opinion. Six months later, Arius travels the desert, never staying in the same place more than necessary so people doesn't focus on him and get a chance of finding about his new powers, but also, because he wants to stay alone and doesn't like people.
Take a shot any time that Arius says he wants to stay alone, is better alone or thinks about how he prefers it but Delilah makes him rethink it. We'll be at the hospital sooner that we can spell the word.

But yeah, he wants to stay away from people until he meets Delilah at a gas station, and then he follows her to the middle of nowhere; a girl he just met, could be a killer or worse and that is not even telling him where they go, just to act as his boyfriend for other people. Mysterious much, but also, someone like Arius that prefers to be alone and doesn't trust people shouldn't go so easily after Delilah, just because she makes him "feel indescribable things". When I tell you, that there was not a coherent thing in this book, I'm not exaggerating, unfortunately.

And so Arius follows Delilah to her little corner of the world, where she lives in a close knit community where everybody is overly nice and people knows things that Arius does not and they also do not want to tell him, just like the Specter Order, who make him hide his magic in front of her because "reasons" (and Arius doesn't really question this much and does as they say). So, Arius is kept out of the juicy secrets but he does as he is told, following Delilah around for a while and hiding his magic.

Really, that's all that happens next. The important parts to the plot, at least. Because, then, Arius and Delilah go on to enter a romantic relationship that has less chemistry than two separated cement walls and build on knowing each other for two whole days and Arius "feeling calmed" around her, which isn't even shown, just tell by him all the time, but the feelings are never shown on the page or described beyond "calmness" and being relaxed, something he hasn't been in the last six months since he met the Specter Order.

Also, Arius tells us, and is a little shown, that he only uses his power to keep the VR (his home) running or to alter the slot machines at the casinos so he can get some money, but nothing bigger like creating storms or powering the electricity through him and creating amazing sparks. All he do is make his life a bit easier. Which is good, you can get powers and just do that if it helps, I'm all for it. But it is ALL that Arius does, and he even admits that he never practices (which, we can really know, because we are skipped the six months since he gets his powers, so who knows if he does practice or not). So, it is unbelievable for me that, at the end, he can create lightning, emitting electricity from his hand and killing various people. No built up, no seeing him practice. Just powers that show and grow at convenient times to save the protagonist.

A shallow romance that is base on whatever Arius tell us he feels that we are never shown, characters killed in some big battle, created with little built up to it, for shock purpose that isn't even shocking because we barely know these people, and a protagonist that says he has grown and learn to trust and know doesn't want to be alone anymore. Because, as with everything, we are told everything instead of shown, with Arius saying what we should feel and what the final idea and lesson of this book is. It also felt rushed, everything happening in like three days, with little substance to it.

And the writing... As an aspiring writer and author, I shouldn't say that this reads like the first book in someone's career that hasn't even seen a developmental editor, but it reads exactly like that😅 The pace is off most of the time, dragging when it should be at medium pace, fast when it should be slower and not fast enough when some action and battles are taking place. Some chapter also end abruptly and quite off, not leaving you wanting to read the rest, but rather cutting off like the author wasn't sure how to end them. Also, a lot of typos that I hope have gotten fixed for the published version, or else readers are in for a while ride of grammatical errors through most of the book.

To sum up: I do not recommend this at all, don't waste your time with it. If you want to read a book where the protagonist gain powers, or about finding community or even just some adventure, I'm sure there are far better books out there, so no need to get near this one to get that feeling.

I could say more, but I think this review is already long enough. Maybe, it even entered rant territory😂

Apart from having a nice cover and a somewhat promising annotation, this book doesn’t have much else to offer.

Let’s start with the setting and the story in general. Ideally, I’d say that a story should gradually and coherently develop into something bigger and deeper the more you dive into it. You may or may not have questions while reading, but as you go further, you should get more answers. It’s especially satisfying when some questions remain until the very end, but then you finally find that missing puzzle and gain the full understanding. Well… that is definitely not the case with Desert Spark. The more you read, the more you question what the hell is going on. There are no clear motives behind the characters' actions, which creates a weird sense that something big is missing. The characters feel very paper-thin, to the extend that one moment they’re here, and if they disappear, no one seems to care. You keep hoping that things will start making sense as you turn the pages, but they never do. For instance, when the main character, Arius, meets the girl and joins her community, it’s completely unclear what’s happening. Why do they go to the cinema? Why do they rush into a relationship after just meeting yesterday? What is this community, and why do they hang out together? There’s no background story to unravel anything about the neighborhood or the lives of the people in it. Even fundamental elements, like why they are fighting against the Order and what keeps them all together, are left unexplained. It’s just… weird.

Then, if you take a closer look at the characters, there’s no development there either. They show zero growth in both their magical abilities and in their personalities. Take Arius, for example. He gains some magic at the beginning of the book, but then nothing really happens with him for a while. He has some visions, wanders in the desert, meets a new community, and… that’s pretty much it. Then suddenly, at the end of the book, out of nowhere, he can kill enemies with lightning strikes. But how? How did he learn to use magic and control it? How did he suddenly become a ‘powerful superhero’? The same goes for the other characters, as there’s no explanation of how their superpowers appeared or how they work, why the community trusted Arius, or even what’s wrong with the girl. And let’s not forget the talking frog. Why does it talk? Are there magical creatures in this world, or was it transformed by someone’s magic? The sci-fi elements are barely explained, if at all.

All of the above is made even worse by the many mistakes and typos in the book, as well as inconsistencies with names and events. You meet a character who says he likes being alone, so you picture an introverted person, but then, a few pages later, he says he has never liked being alone. How does that make sense? Or, in another case, there’s a character named Johnny, who later randomly becomes Timmy. Another example: Arius says he didn’t do anything in his RV except get a talking frog, yet later he says he decorated the place. These inconsistencies keep happening throughout the book, which makes reading it even more frustrating.

To conclude: this could have been a great story. The idea had potential and could have been developed into something special, but the author completely blew it big time. I definitely do not recommend it.

There was so much potential here and I don't feel like it followed through. I wish there was more world and character building, I felt like I was held at a distance throughout this novel, which was a bummer because the concept was so cool!

Arius Is working on his RV when he gets hit with a powerful electrical charge. He slowly discovers his power but it takes more time than he knows. He is warned that the Spectral Order will be keeping an eye on him even though he wasn’t born with magic. He is given instructions that he must follow. His only friend is a talking frog. When Arius helps a woman get her car started, she invites him to the cookout in her neighborhood. He wasn’t sure what to do but the Spectraal Order decides he must go and keep an eye on him. So he and Delilah develop a friendship. He discovers many things at this neighborhood over time. One evening he finds out that they are afraid of the Spectral Order as they believe that it will destroy them. Will Arius be able to help them fight the Spectral Order?

The character Arius grows as well as learn to trust. Trusting is dangerous for him as he feels people aren’t trustworthy due to his experiences. Arius falls for Delilah. The author has written wit and the comfort of community — feeling a part of it and having a true friend. It is a journey of finding a home and choosing love.

The cover, title and synopsis are great! I was just not so satisfied with the execution. The story was choppy feeling and superficial. I wish there was more background or description given. I had no attachment to the characters because they felt like just the outlines of characters that hadn't been fully built after the ideas were introduced. A quick read though and I do really wish it were a bit more fleshed out.

This story had a great premise, an intriguing cover and a blurb promising some of my fav tropes.. I had really high expectations for it. Unfortunately both the characters and the plot fell flat. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters, which really puts me off a book. Plus the world building was really thin.

I was really excited to dive into this book—the cover, title, and premise seemed to promise a magical adventure I’d love. Fantasy, mystery, and a touch of adventure? Yes, please! But sadly, it didn’t deliver.

The story had potential, but the execution left a lot to be desired. The writing felt rushed and unpolished, with grammatical errors and inconsistencies that constantly pulled me out of the story. At one point, a character named Johnny was suddenly called Timmy, only to switch back to Johnny in the next paragraph. Little details like that made it hard to take the story seriously.

The world-building, which should’ve been a highlight, was barely explored. I had no idea where the story was taking place—was it a desert, a forest, or both? And the magical elements lacked depth. Arius’ powers were intriguing, but we never learned where they came from or why they mattered. The same goes for the talking frog (why??) and the mysterious Specter Order. So many questions, so few answers.

The pacing was another issue. Everything felt like it was on fast-forward. Delilah, a key character, barely got any development, and the “neighborhood” that seemed so central to the plot felt like an afterthought. I wanted to know more about the people, their powers, and their connection to the story, but instead, I got vague hints and little payoff.

In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to care about the characters or their struggles. I loved the concept of this book, but without the necessary depth and polish, it just didn’t work for me. That's why I'm giving it 1 aka 0 ⭐.

The cover, title and description had me intrigued. I love me some magic. The idea for the story was definitely interesting - there was a bit of fantasy, a bit of mystery, a bit of adventure. I really liked Freddy - OH SORRY, I mean Frederick 😂

As I continued reading though, it started hurting. There were many grammatical errors - typos, lacking punctuation, words in weird order. There’s a point where our main man is talking to a kid, Johnny, and calls him “Timmy”, and then Johnny again in the next paragraph. The writing style was pretty choppy, and the entire story felt VERY rushed. I also had a hard time envisioning any of the setting besides the inside of an RV. The story implies desert, but then you’re reading trees and creeks - it was a little confusing. I had a million questions that weren’t answered.

How did Arius get his magic? Why is he special? What the background for people born with magic? Why/how is there a talking frog? What’s the deal with the Specter Order? What’s the deal with Sophia?

A key part of the story is Delilah and the neighborhood, but I feel like we barely got to know Delilah at all. We definitely didn’t get to know the neighborhood well at all. I would have loved to hear about everyone’s powers. The plot felt rushed, the decisions felt rushed, the relationships felt rushed. There was little to no build up and made it hard to feel invested in the characters or their struggles. I liked the concept a lot, I would have just liked to see everything more fleshed out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Arthur Ni for the eARC!

Loved this, such a fun enjoyable read. Cant wait to see more from the author. It is very quick and easy to get through, takes us on a journey getting to know the characters and the issues they face.