After enjoying Helena Hunting’s Kiss My Cupcake, I was happy to read her latest, When Sparks Fly!
Avery Sparks and her two sisters run Sparks Hotel (I spy a trilogy coming…). After an accident, Avery’s best friend and roommate Declan helps nurse her to health, which of course leads to much more.
This was a fun, quick read!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. Reviewed on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Instagram (@teacherneedsabook).

Good book, this is Avery and Declan book. They have been best friends and roommates for a long time, both have had other relationships and hookups! Avery had a bit of a fear of driving from her past and relies on Declan to help her out driving in bad weather on long trips. Well Declan screws up and misses a long trip with Avery and she gets in a bad accident! This starts on a journey of them being in close quarters with just each other! This book was a good story definitely entertaining but kind of just ok for me! I did enjoy reading it and would recommend it but it was just ok for me! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Pick up this delightful romance as soon as possible! The author has such a lovely rhythm to her writing and romance arcs. Declan our male lead is dreamy, you will want to be friends with Avery, and I’m such a fan of the relationship between the sisters. Was a fan of the author’s book Meet Cute and will need to check out some others, too.

3 1/2 stars.

This is a story between Avery and Declan, who have been friends since college. They live together as roommates and hang out with friends from college.

When Avery is in a serious car accident, Declan steps up to take care of her when she returns home from the hospital. They become very close, both physically and emotionally, with him doing everything for her. Their relationship shifts, and the change starts putting a strain on it.

Declan's growth surprised me. I was expecting him to change quickly, but he put the effort into become a better person for Avery.

Sexual content and language.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

I literally received this book less than 24 hours ago and have already devoured it. Helena Hunting is a genius, creating relatable characters, a moving storyline, and a plot that will leave you laughing, swooning, and wanting more.

Avery and her sisters are likable in every way. I connected with each of them easily and loved how close they were. Declan is the perfect BFF and I loved watching him grow and realize he was more than the environment he grew up in. Together, they were so cute and their chemistry was electric.

The overall storyline was gripping and the plot was fast paced and entertaining. I loved everything about this book.

I want to note that Helena Hunting is one of my FAVORITE romance writers. Her books are consistently some of my favorite rom-coms and I’ve loved her for years. That being said, I did not love When Sparks Fly.

I had such high hopes for this story, I got a copy from Edelweiss and was so excited to dive in. Friends to lovers and forced proximity (they’re roommates) AND the hero takes care of her after an accident?? Yes please! All my favorite things! I always go into Helenas books with really high expectations, and that might have been my mistake. I felt so disappointed by this story. (Spoilers to follow)

To start, I was surprised the hero, Declan, has a one night stand with someone else at the start of the book. That didn’t bother my necessarily, but I know a lot of romance readers who will not like that aspect of her story. I didn’t love that his actions that night propelled the story forward and were seen as the *cause* of Avery’s accident.

Speaking of accidents, holy cow if car accidents are a trigger for you, do not read this book. Avery’s parents die in a tragic car accident when she was a child, she has a lot of PTSD around cars from losing them. Her accident in the story is on the page and kind of horrifying. On top of that it is a multi-car accident and only she and one other person survive. I was surprised this part of the story was so graphic and killed off so many people.

I did enjoy the first 50% of the book (once it was past the accident scene) but Declan’s behavior quickly began to wear on me. I did not like his character at all. He’s noted in the synopsis as being a playboy, and you see some of that behavior in the beginning, but he absolutely wasn’t ready for a relationship. He has so many problematic jealous and immature moments that were red flags for me.

One notable moment that really bothered me comes towards the end of the book. Declan and Avery have started a romantic relationship at this point, it’s new but very hot and heavy. It’s noted a few times that Avery dated Declan’s friend in college, and that almost split up their friend group when she and her ex broke up. Years later and Declan STILL can’t get over that, even though he chose to stay friends with Avery. The ex starts communicating with Avery again and they meet up to combine their businesses for an event. Declan becomes controlling and suspicious, TRACKS HER PHONE, and sees she was with her ex (and his ex best friend. From there all hell breaks loose and Declan explodes on Avery, and accuses her of cheating on him.

It’s a mess, his behavior during this last part of the book is horrendous (he invades her privacy so many times). He doesn’t even let her explain before he gets mad. To make matters worse, she temporarily moves out and when she returns a few days later he’s having a party with other women over. At this point in the story I wanted them to break up for good, Avery deserved better!

In all this was sadly a two star read for me. I was really disappointed, but I still love Helena’s other books and will continue to read her in the future.

Avery and Declan are friends and roommates but that’s all. However after an accident, Declan goes from friend to caretaker for Avery and that has them getting closer then ever before. Avery runs Spark House Hotel with her sister’s and Declan works on the financial side of the business. Can they stay just friends when boundaries get crossed? This a sweet and funny friends to lovers romcom with some emotional moments. I really enjoyed the moments between Declan and Avery. A easy paced, light hearted read with some great characters. Told in dual POV