3.75/5

When Sparks Fly is my first time reading Helena Hunting, and I gotta say it was pretty dang cute! I thought it was off to a strong start, both as the beginning of a series and a story. I hadn't read the synopsis in SO long, so when Avery got into the car accident it really hit me hard. There is definitely an overall feel of lightheartedness throughout, but there are also those deeper moments that I really need from characters and a book. The romance between Avery and Declan was incredibly sweet, and there are a few steamy moments that were interesting to listen to at work! This is a friends to lovers story that was perfectly believable, and I loved how real the characters felt.

The Spark House and Avery's sisters were great parts of the story as well, and I loved that Avery was such a headstrong and resilient female character. She didn't let the accident break her spirit, and she was smart to boot. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Jason Clarke & Stella Bloom and while it wasn't the best audio I have ever listened to, I still found it really enjoyable. I think if I ever end up doing a reread of this I will give actually reading it a try to see if that makes me love it more. When Sparks Fly had a great HEA ending which absolutely brought tears to my eyes. I am really interested to see where Hunting takes this series, and I am excited to get more of Spark House too!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I hate when a book is shorter and takes me forever to get through despite me enjoying it. Mostly because if my brain will allow it, I'll end up reading for hours to finish it and go to sleep at like 3 am and then not be a happy camper the whole next day. Hi, it's me, Not a Happy Camper! I finally had the willpower to read more than a handful of pages before falling asleep and finished this book at 2:45 last night.

This story follows Avery, a small business owner (event hotel business with her sisters), and her friend, Declan, who she met through her ex-boyfriend. The roommates (YES, ROOMIES) are platonic but both seem to have a bit of an unrequited crush on the other but haven't acted on it. Avery ends up getting into a car accident and requires assistance for everything. Declan swoops in to help her and their feelings grow from there.

I really loved both Avery and Declan (except for the big conflict - then I didn't care for Declan). I really liked Avery's sisters and I know that London's story is next and I am sure that there will be a third book from Harley's perspective and I'm super ready for it. This has a great mix of romance and the sex scenes are a good balance of angst and fade to black. I have always appreciated how Hunting writes her smut!

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for a genuine review. Reading is subjective, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion -- this review is just MY opinion. :)

The good:
The writing is very smooth and compulsively readable, so it makes for a pretty quick read. The characters have engaging dynamics, and the family aspects of the story felt real to me. I liked the friends-to-lovers direction of the story and enjoyed seeing how that developed. The character banter occasionally made me chuckle or smile.

The bad:
Let's do the usual Prudie™ breakdown, shall we? 10 is atomic bomb, 0 is none to speak of.
-> Language: 7/10
An overabundance of the F-bomb, lots of instances of "sh-t", and a number of smaller words. It was entirely overkill for me and gave me profanity fatigue.
-> Steaminess: 6/10
It was hard to nail down a precise rating for this, but this was by far the raciest book by Hunting that I've read so far (haven't read but a couple other rom-coms in her backlist). So much discussion of s3xual acts, and then the very frequent doing of s3xual acts in various stages of explicitness. And I still can't get over how totally unrealistically the s3xual aspect of the MC and her love interest's relationship developed. It was BONKERS to me!!! I'd say this book is probably considered moderate on the steaminess scale for most mainstream romance readers, but if you prefer your romances sweet more so than steamy, there are other titles out there for you that hit that mark better.
-> Positive theme(s): 6/10
Found family, meaningful friendship, emotional and physical healing, the intentional practice of personal growth, hard work ethic, complementarianism, honesty and trust, vulnerability and developing close connection, consideration of others, teamwork, work-life balance, sisterhood, the helpfulness of professional therapy.
-> Political correctness: 4/10
"S3x-positive" (promotes premarital relations and mast-rbat!on), frequent alcohol consumption at various levels, lots of focus on "going green" and other aspects of environmentalism and wildlife preservation, a few brief comments regarding various darling social justice movements and progressive stances.
-> Violence: 2/10
Car accidents and related deaths and injuries, dudes trying to beat each other up with hobby horses, lol.
Overall score for enjoyment/appreciation: 5/10 for 3 out of 5 stars.

This book is really hard for me to review because I both absolutely loved it and also hated it. For the most part I really loved it but there were certain parts of the book that made me stop and say wtf that is completely unbelievable. Somewhere in the middle of the book even though I had devoured the book up to this point I got to one of these wtf moments and I didn’t come back to the book for a few months but boy am I glad I decided to finish it! Overall I loved the book minus some wtf moments in it.

WHEN SPARKS FLY is the first book in the Spark House series, and I already have the second book, STARRY-EYED LOVE, in hand to read. This is Declan and Avery’s story, and it had me all-in from the beginning.

Best friends since college, Declan and Avery buy a condo and live in it together but only as friends. Apparently, they both have more than friendship on their minds, but they don’t acknowledge it or let the other know their true feelings until a catastrophic event occurs.

Avery is in a car accident going to her college reunion when Declan lets her down and doesn’t go with her. That sets the premise for the book, since he becomes her caretaker as she heals. We watch them get closer and then self-destruct. (A tragedy from her teens brings up a lot of bad memories and shakes them all up.) We learn a lot about Spark House, Avery and her sisters’ family business, and the type of events they plan and execute.

Sparks are flying between Declan and Avery as they try to figure out what their relationship is or could be. I love their interactions and the kind acts they do for each other. But when they’re hurting, they don’t hold back from inflicting pain on each other. There are some very steamy moments in the book, as well as past hurts for the characters to handle. The epilogue takes place six months after the story ends and truly satisfies. I like the cover and the titles for each chapter that give a hint of what’s to come.

This is a cute romance read. The characters are interesting and the story kept me riveted for what would happen next.

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting is a romantic contemporary novel that is filled with steam, emotion, and enjoyable friends to lovers story.

Avery’s life is almost perfect. She works with her sisters and she lives with her best friend Declan. But then her relationship with Declan is tested by some things that happen. And her life is really changed when she is involved in a car accident. As she navigates through her recovery, her friendship with Declan is tested again.

Helena Hunting is a long-time, favorite author of mine, so I’ll gladly dig into any new book that I can get my hands on. Her new release, When Sparks Fly, feature a set of friends to lovers brought together by a tragic accident, a whole boat load of guilt, and years of pent up feelings.

Avery has been running the family business with her sisters since their grandmother’s retirement, which is well-earned after their parents died in a tragic car accident when Avery and her sisters were young and their grandmother stepped in to raise them. Avery excels at planning events for groups at her hotel which are specific and catered to each group. She’s happy overall, participating in a soccer league with her best guy friends from college and living with the best guy friend she could ever have–Declan. He stood by her side through it all in college: when his own best friend stepped out on her when the two were seriously dating, and when faced with a decision of his best friend or Avery, Declan picked Avery and didn’t look back.

Avery and Declan have a years long pattern built up of watching sports with their two best buds from college, eating chicken wings and drinking beers. It’s just like Avery is one of the guys. Declan can almost forget that he was once attracted to Avery when they were in school but she chose to date his best friend. That is until she comes out dressed to the nines for a date with someone, and Declan’s jealousy flares–and his actions have some serious consequences for Avery and subsequently Declan.

Avery and Declan’s relationship as friends is seriously tested as she recovers from a serious car accident and she relies on Declan for everything in her day to day life for a few months. They grow closer than they ever thought possible, but is it out of love, convenience, or guilt?

I give When Sparks Fly a four out of five. I enjoyed the awkward honesty of Avery and her relationship with her guys. There were so many fun and funny spots in this book to balance out the seriously heavy spots. The smoldering tension between Avery and Declan as they dance around each other was palpable, and I enjoyed watching that play out. What really helped put a final star on this book was the work that Declan was willing to put into himself in the end in order to be with Avery. However, I feel like she also needed to put in similar work to be with him as well. The growth of both of these characters was enough to be satisfying, and the side characters of her sisters and the other friends balanced things out nicely. And I really loved the specialty groups that went to the hotel and how weird and funny they were.

I coudn't finish this book unfortunately, it lost my interest at about the half way point, I think it would probably would have ended very nicely but the characters just.felt a little flat for me.

I wanted to love this. I really did. It has some of my favorite tropes. We get a friends to lovers romance, with a lot of forced proximity. And yet, none of it felt authentic.

Avery and Declan are supposed to be best friends. And yet, if I hadn't been told that they were best friends, I might not have believed it. Likewise, if I hadn't been told that they were in love, I wouldn't have believed that either. Their relationship seemed forced and very superficial. There was little to no chemistry.

Another issue that I had was with Declan's character. He wasn't a hero I could cheer for. His jealous and selfish actions led to Avery's accident, even if he didn't outright cause it. Those same jealous actions led to his overreaction and jumping to conclusions and acting like a generally horrible person. And while I liked that he recognized that he was wrong and that he had issues, by that point, I had already lost all hope for him.

Lastly, I wasn't too much a fan of Avery's characterization. She was very much, 'not like other girls'. She was 'one of the guys' because, according to her own words, guys are easier than girls because they're 'uncomplicated'. Not just that, but aside from Avery herself and her two sisters, all the women in this story were depicted as being stuck up and horrible, or were slut shamed for being with Declan. Declan himself, of course, is excused from any negative label.

Overall, I wasn't a fan. I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't love this either. There was simply no one in this book for me to cheer for.

Another book I’m able to check off my backlist of NetGalley books thanks to currently available audiobooks. 😂 (Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the free copy in exchange for a review!)

I should have DNF’d this book. I have liked some of Hunting’s previous works, and this one sounded promising as it had my two favorite tropes: friends to lovers and forced proximity. However, this story hit all the wrong notes.

If I hadn’t been told they were friends for years, I don’t think I would have believed it if presented these characters without context (Avery and Declan). Their friendship, and eventual romantic relationship, felt forced and surface level.

The beginning was very much like a soap opera, which I don’t hate if done well, but oof. It didn’t work. Then from there I just hard eye rolled my way to the end: How the characters got together, the conflict and the underdeveloped supporting characters. It gets an extra half star because Declan does decide to seek therapy for several months before trying to rekindle his relationship with Avery. We love to see mental health taken seriously.

3.5 stars.
After browsing some of the reviews for this one before starting it, I’m left feeling the same way as quite a few others: LOVED the first 2/3 of the book, but the last 1/3 of it really annoyed me. Actually, I was chugging along quite nicely until Declan acted like a tremendous douche canoe & derailed the whole thing. & for Avery to forgive so easily and act like nothing happened?? Maybe I’m crazy but it’s no from me, dawg.

Also, I didn’t always like how her sisters treated her. She very nearly DIES in a severe car accident and the one sister throws having to run their company while she’s on the mend in her face. Ugh.

& speaking of car accidents - if that is a trigger for you, you should probably skip this one. Her parents fatal car crash is mentioned 7 times before I lost track. And as I said before, the MC herself is in a very serious accident that only she and one other person survived.

This definitely had more heat than i was expecting and I loved Avery & Declan's relationship from friends to lovers. I hadnt read a plot like this one before so it was definitely a refreshing read. Helena Hunting is a auto-buy author for me and I have never been disappointed by her books!

I did not read this book due to some problematic storytelling and ableist situations for the main characters. Therefore I won’t be reading this book.

I don't think I've ever actually been or seen historical reenactments before and this book takes place on a horse farm where grown men come to reenact historical fantasies. It's super quirky in its own way but still has that Helena Hunting romantic touch. One thing I didn't absolutely love was when they talked about how she walked in on him having sex with another woman. I don't really like reading about the male hero being such a player (it's ok if it's implied) but that's definitely my personal preference.

Roomies and friends since college, Avery and Declan have never seen each other as more than that--just friends. All of that changes when Avery gets into an accident that leaves her immobile, and Declan volunteers to be her caretaker. Their closer than normal proximity sparks (hehe) a chemistry they have been avoiding for years,

You would think that falling in love with your best friend would be easy, but it's not. Avery has had feelings for Declan for years, but has made sure to never cross any lines due to Declan's womanizing ways and doesn't want to ruin their friendship. Declan is honestly kind of the worst and doesn't really see what's right in front of him until something bad happens to Avery. I wanted to smack him so may times, but he finally gets his act together.

I thought this one was cute. I loved the storyline but I felt like there was a bit more that could have been added to flesh out the story more. It wasn’t a bad story just needed a bit more oomph.

LOVED this book! I'm reviewing for BookTrib, and will post here when my review is posted first week of May.
I would like to connect with the author for a quick interview - thanks.

This was a delightful and heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance with the perfect amount of angst and steam.

Declan’s and Avery were amazing and I loved the depth of their friendship. They were clearly meant to be together but had to work through the baggage they each carried before they could truly have a lasting romantic relationship. But the strong foundation they had built from their years long friendship was always there and helped them as they went through growing pains.

This romance had heart, humor, sexiness, and great character growth. I very much enjoyed and look forward to more in this series.