I am posting an honest review after reading an advance reader copy (ARC) of this story.

I am on the fence about this story. I came to care about the characters almost halfway through. For people approaching 30 Avery & Declan lived like they were still in a college dorm, frat house mentality. I found it annoying. They're both very messed up about relationships, due to parents, friends and cheating partners. Declan is so afraid of turning out like his parents that he becomes a one-night-stand guy. Ugh. They redeemed themselves by the end so there is a HEA. My disinterest in the main characters is the reason I've given only 3 stars.

#HelenaHunting #WhenSparksFly #StMartin'sGriffin #contemparyromance #friendtolover

After her abusive marriage, Aurora Sherborne, the now widowed Countess of Radcliff, has decided to avoid love and emotional entanglements at all costs. With her three best friends married and starting their own families, she is beginning to feel lonely and want a child of her own, but that means a marriage of convenience with no feelings attached.

Garrett Winslow, now the Duke of Corwin and grieving the loss of his beloved father, has loved Aurora since they were children. He hasn’t been back in England long from his world travels, but the distance didn’t lessen his feelings for Aurora in the slightest. Unfortunately, she keeps him firmly in his place as her brother’s best friend, leaving Garrett to use every bit of tenderness he possesses in an effort to show her the love and happiness they could have together.

The first part of this book was lovely and drew me in so much. Garrett charmed me to no end, and I loved him as a hero. He was sweet and sensitive, but he never felt weak or emasculated and I would love to see more heroes like him. My issue here was with Aurora. I’ll start by saying she went through an absolutely hellacious marriage to a monstrous man, but I don’t think that excuses how she treated Garrett. On numerous occasions she enumerates Garrett’s fine qualities and how different he is from her former husband, how good of a man he is, how he would never treat her that way, etc. She then goes on to say she could never marry him because he loves her, and she doesn’t want that. She would rather risk a husband who has no feeling for her and would treat her like an object. This complete lack of logic was maddening for me, especially as poor Garrett is just there having to suffer seeing her court other men, who are of course terrible, but she somehow can’t see this. I just wanted to shake some sense into her and even her friends grew frustrated with her nonsense. It also frustrated me that she told Garrett she would never remarry and listed out understandable reasons, even though they were still hurtful for Garrett. Where she lost me is when she suddenly decided right after this conversation that she needed to have her own children and find a man with which to enter a loveless marriage. All of her previously reasonable fears just flew out the window to be replaced with nonsensical thinking and a problem that was almost entirely of her own making. On top of that, she treated Garrett terribly, taking advantage of his friendship, and then grew incredibly jealous when he received attention from other women, even when he wasn’t reciprocating it and had been blatantly honest about wanting to marry her. Thankfully she did come to her senses eventually, but not until after Garrett had suffered much heartache and not until nearly the end of the book, leaving things to wrap up in a rather abrupt fashion in my opinion.

All in all, I loved Garrett, I enjoyed that this book was mostly driven by conversation over action. I enjoyed the dynamics between this endearing friend group and would love to know more about the sparks that were flying between Helen and Geb and if Prudence can find a new HEA after the loss of her husband. This one was just negatively affected by the heroine for me, but the hero was awesome and made it worth reading.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Great! Really enjoyed this! Avery and Declan are awesome together! I ate this book up. Funny and sexy and very fun. This is just what I needed!

Declan and Averys' story was super cute and fun. I love how Hunting adds different quirks to all her heroines and makes them pretty relatable and realistic.

I love the cute, illustrated cover and the colours look gorgeous in Kindle! I wouldn't say this is my fave Helena Hunting read but that might be because friends to lovers isn't really my thing.

However, I'm so glad I gave this one a shot because it did impress me. I loved Avery's sensibility, reason and logic. She's a smart, driven and ambitious girl. She's also kind and forgiving with a great sense of humour.

Declan was so sweet and caring and attentive in his care of Avery that you can't help but SWOON a little. The way he knows what she needs and when and his care of her likes and dislikes just shows how in tune he is with her and really signifies that they truly were friends before ever becoming anything else. He did frustrate me a little too, make no mistake about that, but he's a guy. What man isn't downright infuriating sometimes? And I loved his ability to own up to his mistakes and make up for them. He was a man in every sense of the word.

The steam factor in this one was incredibly hot, by the way 🔥

With Hunting's signature humour and light heartedness, When Sparks Fly is a great Fall read and I'd definitely recommend it to fans of the 'friends-to-lovers' trope.

*Reviewed by Ali at Fallen For Books.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a cute friends to lovers romance. Helena Hunting writes the friends to lovers trope so well!

Avery was a relatable character to me because I also love and play soccer and the importance of friendships. I loved Avery and Declan’s friendship. The fact that they share the crossword puzzle warmed my heart. Declan is such a loyal friend to Avery especially when he drops everything to take care of her while she recovers. Declan helps Avery through her anxiety slowly during her recovery and I loved that he took the time and understood what she was going through.

I loved watching the build up that led Avery and Declan realizing their true feelings for each other. This book was a good friends to lovers romance and it had me laughing at times along with my heart bursting.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved seeing Declan and Avery slowly realize they belong together. Everything they had every wanted was right in front of them the whole time. Of course there were times the was some frustrations but ultimately they figured things out. The opening scene with the hobbyhorses was really entertaining. I still chuckle thinking about it.

I love how Helena can write something sweet but also add that much needed heat. I enjoy her small town contemporary books, and find it a nice change up from her norm!
I'm excited to see what this series has in store for us!

I love Helena Hunting. She has the ability to make me laugh my ass off (read her Pucked series), cry my eyes out (Little Lies), fan my face from the steam (all of her books) and basically melt into a pile of goo from her romantic writing.

When Sparks Fly is a lovely romance book with the main couple, Avery and Declan, who you love right off the bat. They are best friends who eventually become more. Their relationship, actually, their friendship is one for the books. They are there for each other and know each other so well. You crave for this type of relationship. Having that one person who knows you so well.

When a scary life incident changes their relationship where Declan feels responsible for Avery's injuries, he becomes her caretaker and takes this role very seriously. And suddenly they are both feeling more than friendly feelings for each other. Their relationship develops in fun and sexy ways. But baggage from both their pasts creep up and cause problems.

You root for them and want this couple to make it so badly. They are made for each other and watching them and their developing relationship is so fun and easy. It's not hard to really like these two and their friends and family. Avery's sisters are fun and a great grounding point for the story. The best guy friends are hilarious and bring levity to some of the situations.

Hunting brings another great romance story to the fold. She creates characters that are fun and well rounded. The story is easy but enchanting. You stick with Avery and Declan to the very last page

On her way to a client meeting, Avery Sparks has a terrible car accident. She survives with a broken arm and leg, several cracked ribs and many bruises. Avery shared a condo with her college friend, Declan, who was supposed to be driving her to this meeting and feels incredible guilt about bailing on her. Avery’s sisters, London and Harley plan to take her home for healing and recovery with them, but Declan begs her to allow him to assist with her rehabilitation. Avery and Declan have always been close, but as she relies on him more than ever, she starts to realize that maybe they could be more than friends.

When Sparks Fly is full of laughs, sobs and sweet romance. The chemistry between Avery and Declan, even as friends, is off the charts, so when they hook up, it’s immeasurable. Definitely not your cookie cutter romance, Avery and Declan both grow and change in ways that allow them to be together without sacrificing their individuality. I loved it!

I have avoided writing this review for as long as I could. I'm a fan of the books I have read in the past from this author. This one fell a little short compared to the others I have read.

This book moved too slow for me. Nothing really happens for most of the book. The characters fell off my radar by the time I got half way through the book. I just couldn't get connected to the book or the story.

I found this book to be ok but I found it fell flat.
I usually love Helena Hunting's books and I have most on my to read again pile but this one just isn't making it into the pile. It is my least favourite book by Helena Hunting.

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting is a good friends to lovers story about two roommates and school friends, Avery and Declan.

Avery runs a family business with her two younger sisters in Colorado Springs, they lost their parents to a tragic car accident and so Avery feels responsible as the oldest sibling to work hard and ensure that their business runs well. She also attempts to have a dating life on the side with her limited free time, heavily encouraged by her sisters.

She and Declan have been best friends since their college days. She dated his best friend Sam, but when that relationship ended she ended up with their friend group and has maintained a good relationship with them ever since. So good in fact that her and Declan bought and live in a condo together and regularly spend a lot of their time together. They both recognize that they are attracted to each other, but are too invested in their friendship to risk anything happening to ruin it. However, once Avery gets into an accident and needs around the clock help to take care of her basic needs, their chemistry is harder and harder to ignore.

This book is good. I love a good friends-to-lovers’ trope, especially when there is forced proximity, but there was just something about it that just did not do it for me. It took me a little while to figure out what it was that was off, the characters are all very likeable, the storyline was good, the sexual tension was steamy – so what was the problem? I eventually figured out that I just didn’t really believe it. Two single people who are attractive and attracted to each other living together for so many years with nothing happening . . . nope. Don’t buy it. I think that was why I could never fully invest myself or believe in their relationship. The chapters also switched between their point of views, and they both sounded very similar, not a huge deal, but it was like there was no difference between their voices.

Declan was also very problematic in many ways, his actions at the beginning of the book and his behavior when they got into a miscommunication towards the end of it, was very unattractive and raised huge red flags for me. I never understand why so many of these types of romance novels have the girl ultimately being responsible to “fix” the problematic boy.

Avery is a solid female lead, but I wished better for her than to get involved with someone that still has many issues they need to work through before they can be in a healthy relationship. The secondary characters were also really fun to read about, and I would be interested in reading their stories as well.

Although I didn’t really believe in their happy ending, this is still a good novel. I recommend it for those who like steamy friends to lovers’ story lines.

~ Harshita

This is a cute friends to lovers romance! Avery and Declan have been friends since college and are roommates so we have the friends, roommates and forced proximity tropes all tied in one nice little romcom bow! I actually really liked that Declan and Avery were such good friends, their love was set off from a spark that helped get them going in the right direction. Declan is swoony and protective, everything you’d want in a book boyfriend. Avery is independent and is very goal oriented which I can totally respect. This is an easy to read sweet funny and charming book with some dashes of spice to make everything nice haha.

I love the friends to lovers trope and When Sparks Fly definitely delivered! I especially loved the first half of this book, the tension was palpable. Avery and Declan were adorable. I'm so glad they got their happy ending!

When Sparks Fly was a great read by Helena Hunting. Avery Spark has always dreamed of running the Spark House, an hotel and event space that has a long history in her family. Avery and her two younger sisters turned Spark House into a premier destination in Colorado Springs. Avery is very happy with her life, even if love isn't a part of her life right now. Everything changes when she is in a car accident that leaves her immobile for weeks. Her roommate Declan insists that he will take care of her while she recovers. While he is caring for her, the lines begin to blur. I really enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read more by the author.

As a huge fan of Helena Hunting's—all the way back to Clipped Wings in 2014—it pains me greatly to say that I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I know that even our favorite authors can miss the mark once in a while and When Sparks Fly was definitely a miss for me.

I loved the first half of this book. The introduction of Avery and her sisters, their mission at Spark House, and Avery's friendships with her college pals worked really well. Avery's friends-to-lovers journey with Declan was a long time coming and seemed like it should have happened long before her accident.

However, I didn't like the feeling that Declan was just 'helping out' because of his misplaced guilt and obligation. It didn't feel like an authentic start to a healthy relationship, which becomes apparent in the second half of the story.

I am very curious about Avery's sisters and their stories, so I will definitely continue with the series. Also, I am sure this is a case of 'it's me, not you' and many readers will love this story. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them this time around.

Thank you to NetGalley, Helena Hunting and St Martin's Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I have only read one other novel by Hunting, but I really enjoyed both of them and I found this one so quick and easy to read! I adored each and every character and loved following their story. I love a friends to lovers story the best of the contemporary romance. The problems these characters face are thought provoking and I enjoyed that the solutions weren't quickly and easily wrapped up like some love stories. I love when the characters have to work on themselves in real ways to succeed in relationships. Overall, a fun, witty and fast paced novel that I would recommend in a heartbeat.

So I haven't really read a lot of books by this author. And it seems to be hit or miss on whether I love them or whether they are just ok for me. Unfortunately, this one was just ok for me. I ordinarily really like the friend's to lover's stories. I like knowing that there is more to their relationships than just chemistry and such. And don't get me wrong, this story does great with that part of it. It was everything else that didn't get there in my opinion. Their chemistry felt like it wasn't truly there. There seemed to be things in the story that felt like they were just thrown in to try to add something that it didn't truly need. There were a lot of places that I struggled through to keep reading because I was slightly bored with it. Some people may love it, but honestly, while the writing is good the story was lacking for me.

Declan & Avery Stole My Heart

There is nothing like a Helena Hunting small town romance, with the sweetest friends to lovers premise and enough angst to chug the plot along. She knows what she's doing. I would recommend this to any fan of great writing, fun smart characters and an HEA that is sooo sweet.

I just finished this and I want the sisters stories already!
Avery and her family run a business that does fun hotel events and when she gets into an accident her best friend, Declan, steps up to take care of her.
Then the literal sparks fly.
Dec taking care of Avery was so adorable and sweet and he was so loving. I love how their story evolved and how it ended 🥰
I always love a friends to lovers done so smoothly.
10/10 would recommend.