When Sparks Fly is a friends to lovers romance. Avery is all about her profession and leaves no time for anything else but when she gets into an accident and her long time best friend and roommate Declan helps her get back on her feet the lines of friendship blur. I enjoy a two POV on romance books and this was done well but the hero bothered me and I just couldn't quite get over it. 2.5 stars

Avery runs Spark House, an event hotel, with her sisters. Always one of the guys, Avery is a tomboy through and through. Declan, her best friend and roommate, is a womanizer, never wanting to settle down. After a car accident requires Avery to be under constant care, Declan steps in to help, after feeling guilty over being the reason why she got hurt. With forced proximity, Avery and Declan soon cross a line they never thought they would cross by agreeing to a friends with benefits situation, that can either end well or end really badly.

Helena Hunting is a favorite author of mine, because she always brings the steam, as well as the laughs. While this book can be read as a standalone, I appreciated the world building that sets this up as a series. The Spark House was a fun backdrop to meet the sisters and I am definitely up to read where the story progresses next.

As I recover from surgery, I found so many similarities between Avery and myself, including the frustration with having to depend on others to be your caretaker. When you go from being ultra active and independent to having that ripped away, it's a lot to handle, especially when progress is slow. Hunting did a great job of realistically capturing this dynamic between Avery and Declan as they tried to navigate the new facet of their friendship.

While this was a solid friends to lovers, steamy open-door romance, there were a few things that I didn't love in the book. Throughout the first half of the book, Avery and her sisters, as well as Declan himself, place a ton of blame on Declan for Avery's accident. I can see this happening in the moment, but this resentment really carried on for a long time, especially with Avery's sisters. The first half focused solely on the care taking journey for Avery and Declan. I really wanted to see more emotional connection between them, instead of the pure sexual relationship they had going, especially since they have been friends for so long.

I definitely love other books by Hunting much more than this one, but it was an enjoyable, quick read. There are some heavier themes, so please look at trigger warnings prior to reading.

⚠️ CW: car crash (on page), death of parents (off page), infidelity (off page)

Thanks to SMP Romance for the advanced copy.

This is a very charming romcom- love blooming between long-time friends, and their desires to keep each other at arm's length. I found the conversations between characters realistic and the plot to be understandable. I did think a conversation had toward the end of the novel between the main character and someone from her past way too evolved for me, but I may just not be as mature as these characters with their feelings. Overall, it was a fun love story!

I adore Helena Hunting but this book was absolutely exhausting to read. There's nothing remotely romantic about a hero taking care of a seriously injured heroine - with many graphic and depressing descriptions - and add in the fact that the only reason he's stepping up is because he felt he was responsible for the accident. Do I think that the hero and heroine would have gotten together if the accident hadn't happened? No, not really. This book just didn't work for me.

As always, Helena Hunting delivers with When Sparks Fly. Friends to lovers are my jam and this book was just what I needed.

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting was so cheesy and so cliche, I had a hard time with it. If you are a romance reader and can suspend reality, you will love this! I just couldn't accept the story for what it is. It was too unrealistic.

I unfortunatley didn't love this book, which was really unfortunate as I absolutely love Helena Hunting!

There seemed to be no chemistry between the two main characters. I usually love friends to lovers but this one didn't seem to work. They even lived in close proximity as roommates but there was something "off" about the relationship.

I did appreciate the focus on mental health and getting help.. I still had trouble forgiving the hero for his earlier behaviour in the story and it soured things for me. I didn't love his character and felt Avery deserved more.

There's also an abdundant amount of talk about certain male body parts that got really old really fast for me. I get it, let's move on (eye roll).

So, needless to say, this one didn't work for me but I'll keep reading Helena's books as I still love her!

This friends to lovers romance was funny and sexy. Declan and Avery had so much chemistry you could feel it from the pages! I adored seeing Declan’s caregiver side and how the relationship became more. Helena knows how to write them!

A very enjoyable read. I liked how the chapters were narrated by the two main characters, so you got a feel of their emotions. I wasn’t expecting the story to turn as it does, which forms the main story. I felt this gave it more depth and I enjoyed reading and seeing the relationship between Avery and Declan unfold and develop. I also liked the relationship and dynamics between the sisters, meandered into the story. I recommend this read.

(3.5-3.75 stars)

Avery & Declan have been BFF’s and roommates for years. Just friends. Until
Avery’s world is turned upside down. I thought the way Ms. Hunting “pushes” these two together was quite unique. I loved the two of them together. I prefer a bit more angst/conflict between my MC’s but did enjoy this book. It’s nice to breakaway from the heavy every once in awhile.

***5 Stars***

This baby was more intense than I thought it was going to be, it was still a great read filled with all the goodness that makes my romance loving heart get all twitterpated. And in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride that Avery, Declan, along with their friends and family took me on.

I loved and adored Avery and Declan. Their strong and easy friendship. How loyal and protective they were of those they called their own. But they were also both masters at compartmentalizing the issues and demons that plague them and doing their best to keep the walls they’ve built in place.

Their journey to their HEA is a slow burn one that is filled with a ton of emotional turmoil. At times it was so heavy that it felt as if it jumped off the page and on to me, but I loved how their friendship trumped everything, even when things went sideways and how, in the end, it was that foundation that brought them back together again.

I’ve read a pretty decent cross section of the authors books, and while I do find her romcom’s enjoyable, I have to admit that I prefer these more contemporary, not so romcom romcom reads. They seem to pull me in more and I have no problem getting lost in the characters and all they go through. And as I said at the start, things get intense here, triggers happen, but I felt that they were all necessary in Avery and Declan’s evolution ~ both as a couple and individually. And as for the supporting cast of characters. I loved London, Harley, Jerome and Mark. I figure London and Harley will be getting their own HEA’s, but I’m also crossing my toes that Jerome and Mark do as well.

~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

I absolutely loved the friends to lovers in this book - my favorite trope and my favorite romance writer! A win win! It was really a great time. A fair amount of conflict and tension while also being entirely unique and engaging. I love Helena!

Definitely not my favorite Helena Hunting book. The pacing was off and I had a really hard time connecting with the characters.

I loved this one and never pass up this author. Avery and Declan are roommates and best friends but when Declan doesn't come through for her and Avery ends up driving in a storm and has an accident he feels responsible. He feels it is his responsibility to take care of her during her recovery, much to her sisters dismay. During this time they become closer and feelings begin to change. When lines are crossed will they be able to make the turn to lovers and partners or will be the end of their friendship? I really enjoyed this one and recommend it.

**Received this ARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

I was expecting a bit of a Hallmark friends to lovers trope, but this was NOT that. It was best friends melting into each other because of external factors and whew! It was a steamy, sensual, and seductively sexy. Avery and Declan made the best couple ever, except neither of them realized how perfect they were for each other until Avery needs him, and then Declan rises to the challenge. I loved the sweet moments and special “them” things, the amazing way Declan cares for Avery, and the way they eventually begin treating their relationship like a precious gift. The audiobook version was really lovely, and I enjoyed the difference in Avery and Declan’s voices.

When Sparks Fly was a fun and entertaining read. The pages flew by and I wanted more of the story by the end! Helena Hunting is a fabulous author and this book is no exception. Definitely recommend!

I have never been disappointed by a Helena Hunting story before. My first by her was Meet Cute and I adored it. That was the book that set me into the contemporary romance scene. I was not expecting this book to be as serious as it was though. Thank you to the publisher for this gifted copy in exchange of an honest review.

Avery ends up in a car accident because her best friend Declan decided to hookup with a girl the night before they were mean to go to an Alumni event together. Declan and Avery are best friends and have been since college. They even bought a condo together. Now with Avery's car accident that has left her with longer than expected recovery times, Declan steps up because of his guilt to care for Avery. She is not able to take care of herself easily and even requires assistance with bathing, changing, eating, and taking care of her intimate needs. Will Declan stepping in help or hurt their friendship?

I love how the characters are so well developed individually and together. The writing is told from Declan and Avery's POV. They each have a lot of growth to do and it shows through their actions and words. I like how the story focused on character analysis and the two together and separately. It focused on more than just sensual needs and romance. It also dealt with parent death, breakup issues, insecurities, infidelity, commitment issues. Great details, plenty of commentary, likable characters and relatable issues, this is one of my favorites.

Book received for free through NetGalley

Adorably sweet and oh so hard to put down once you start reading. I finished this in only one to two days. It made me smile so much.

/Traditional boy meets girl both not looking for a relationship, but you can't deny the sparks between them and the connection. They aim to avoid the signs but you can't stop fate.

✍️ One Sentence Synopsis: Your roommate gets in an accident (kinda your fault) and so you naturally become her nurse…and take care of ALL her bodily needs?

💭 Overall Thoughts:
I truly thought I would love this. I love friends to lovers and have enjoyed Helena Hunting’s books. This one though was a big miss for me.

To be fair, the writing style itself is descriptive and engaging. There is some positive mental health representation normalizing seeking help.

Biggest thing here, I felt icky reading it. Like truly cringing feeling it in my body kinda icky. The way they “got together” left me feeling uneasy and I think from there it was hard to turn things around for me. I couldn’t help but feel they didn’t have real chemistry and it was a weird forced attraction with almost a power differential.

I also appreciated the mental health and trauma aspect, but I felt like Declan in a way strung her along while he tried to figure out his own stuff. The timeline of the ending based on his needs also felt rushed to me. If you have that significant of a history, I feel you would need more time to work through it.

It just wasn’t for me.


What I Liked:
👍 Writing style
👍 Mental Health normalization

What I Didn’t Like:
👎 Forced chemistry
👎 Can’t get behind the way they “got together”
👎 Timeframe for the ending


⚠️ Content Warnings: family dynamics, infidelity, traumatic accidents, bereavement

Thank you to Net Galley and St Martin Press for the opportunity to read with request for review.