This book hooked me from the first words. When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting is the first in a new series of standalone romances. This one features two friends who through unexpected circumstances find themselves moving their relationship from platonic to lovers. I personally loved this one. It is filled with heart-felt emotions and touches on mental health and childhood traumas. Declan and Avery are easy to root for, and their relationship progresses in a natural and believable way. I sat down with the intention of reading just a few chapters of this one, and before I knew it, I was closing in on the end. It is that good.

Avery is the eldest sister of the Spark family. Working with her two younger sisters, she is turning their childhood home into a hotel/event space that is renowned in their state and has become the destination for corporate and personal events. But her life comes to a crashing halt when she is in a car accident that leaves her dependent on her sisters and best friend for everything. Driven and hard-working, Avery rarely takes a break. This forced sabbatical isn’t what she had in mind, but it is exactly what her heart and soul needed to reset. And thankfully her best friend is there to help her pick up the pieces.

Declan is an interesting character, to the say the least. I was not expecting the depth that the author gave him. He has been Avery’s best friend since college and roommates for years. He firmly put himself in the friend category when Avery dated and was briefly engaged to his best friend Sam. But when that ended in disaster, Declan chose Avery’s friendship over Sam and never looked back. When he nearly loses her in the car accident, he has to face the feelings he’s been hiding head on or face losing her forever.

The car accident that is the catalyst for the story is alluded to in the blurb so as a reader you know it is coming, and I SO wanted to stop it. My heart was breaking before it even happened for both Avery and Declan. Declan made some bad decisions that resulted in Avery driving herself that day, so he blames himself every time he sees her grimace in pain or upset that she cannot do for herself as she is used to doing. I loved seeing their relationship evolve on the pages. It quickly goes from sweet to steamy, but does so in a natural and believable way.

Overall, I really enjoyed When Sparks Fly and look forward to Avery’s sisters’ stories. This is truly a friends to lovers story, even how they handle the (inevitable, 75% point in the book) conflict is representative of the years of their friendship. If you enjoy sweet romances, I highly recommend this one.

For the most part I enjoyed this light hearted friends to loves romance story by Helena Hunting. There were many hilarious and emotional moments for Declan and Avery in this story. At the same time there was a lot missing in connecting me to the characters. I liked it, I didn't love it.

I love Helena Hunting, but this newest one just missed the mark for me. The first half of the book was okay, but I struggled to stay interested. The last half of the book was missing so much for me and I just didn't enjoy it like I had hoped I would.

This is a cute and cozy friends to lovers. I definitely found myself saying "boys are dumb" a couple times but I liked Avery and Declan's chemistry a lot. Not my favorite of Helena's books, but a sweet read.

I read this book after the second one in the series, but it didn't matter. I was able to understand everything that was happening. This is Avery and Declan's story. She runs Spark House with her two sisters. He's a financial guy. They've been best friends for years. He makes a mistake that causes disastrous things to happen to Avery. In an effort to make up for his bad choices, they grow even closer. Their story is sweet, and heartbreaking. I really enjoy all the characters in this series and hope to read the last one as soon as it comes out.

I received this novel as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a cute friends to lovers romantic comedy that is easy escapist fiction where the characters have good chemistry.

Sweet book, easy reading. I really enjoyed this one! I'll be looking into more books from this author.

I'm torn on this one... I've been a huge fan of Helena Hunting's for quite some time. Though I really loved Avery's character (independent, athletic woman), I had some issues with Declan, especially near the end of the book. There are alpha heroes and then there are men who use tracking devices/apps and read their partner's texts... That's a no for me.

That aside, I do appreciate the way that Hunting tackled some heavier themes - grief, loss, mental health.

Helena Hunting writes in a way that makes it easy to lure her readers in; and I have thoroughly enjoyed my past reading experience with Hunting’s series of tales. When Sparks Fly is a part of a new series that Hunting has assembled featuring three sisters and their potential flames. This first book in the series was difficult for me to get through as I found it hard to empathize and like the main characters, particularly the male lead. It is interesting to see the changes in Hunting’s writing, from the beginning of her career with her humor-filled romance stories to her new, more serious romantic plots.

I received an ARC from the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ehhhh, there are some real problems with the themes of this book. Lots of trust problems and mental health issues. Pass.

The author's writing was great, actually, it was the plot that frustrated me. I just couldn't get a good vibe from these characters and I found it tough to get though the book. I actually ended up finishing it by listened to the audiobook, which was well done by the way. I didn't particularly care about the characters and their friends to lovers story was lackluster.

Wow! I couldn't get this one read fast enough! I hated every time I had to put it down. It was well written and never felt tedious with the pace of the story. Avery was very relatable and I loved the dynamic between her and her sisters and also with Declan and their foursome of college friends. I knew a "break up" was coming, because it's pretty much required in romance novels but I was left wondering how and when it would happen. It almost caught me by surprise and I loved how the separation caused Declan to seek out therapy for his past issues from his parents, and Avery to realize she was also at fault. The fact that they didn't just get back together but worked on repairing their friendship first felt believable and made me root for them even harder. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Swooooooon. My first Helena Hunting book & I loved it. I listened to the audio & it was just so good.

Helena Hunting’s When Sparks Fly is a heartwarming friends to lovers story with a journey that is fraught with challenges and near tragedy. All the ups and downs kept the story interesting and engaging…and the pages turning. Declan’s vulnerability and Avery’s determination were the perfect elements that created a once in a lifetime love story. This couple’s journey is one that touches the heart and stays there long after the last page is turned.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

This was not Helena's best, and I say that as someone who has read everything Helena has written, down to the Pucked outtakes. I have loved all of her books, but I had a hard time enjoying this one. Avery wasn't my favorite MC; she felt too "much", like she was constantly trying to prove something. I didn't sense the chemistry between the friends, either.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Best friends to lovers, Avery and Declan have been friends for years and never really crossing the line. Avery gets into an accident and Dec feels so bad he wants to be able to help her mend. I've read quite of books from this author, this was an ok read for me. I liked their friendship, a bit complicated but I enjoyed it. They needed to wake up to see what was right in front of their eyes, but overall it was a decent read for me.

So this was a first for me by Helen Hunting and while I enjoyed the story I don’t think I’ll be returning to this author. The writing and premise of the story was interesting and could have been amazing but it sadly it a few of my peeves. The story begins with two best friends/roommates who have to deal with the trauma of one of them in a live altering car accident and then they have to deal with the fallout. Avery Spark has shared an apartment with her best friend Declan since college and despite a few bumps in the road she is generally happy with her life, except that her family business is in serious danger of going under. When she sets out to win a contract to save the business, tragedy strikes and she wakes from a terrible car accident to find herself with a broken arm and leg, and essentially at the mercy of her roommate. Declan is devastated about Avery’s injuries, blaming himself for letting her down and her being hurt, but he’s determined to see to her every need and make sure she gets back to 100%. Forced into constant and VERY personal contact, Avery and Declan discover a deeply buried attraction that quickly becomes more as they become lovers. But can their relationship survive when Avery is no longer dependent on Declan or will the love they thought they found die like sparks flying from a fire? I enjoyed some parts of this story, but there were a lot of points where the story got to slow and mired down for me. Avery was not my favorite character and Declan definitely had some issues to work through. I will say that they are definitely believable characters, with a lot of personable and understandable traits, but sometimes there is such a thing as an overwritten character. I also wasn’t a huge fan of Avery and the way her sisters interacted for a good bit of the book, the huge lack of communication making me slightly nuts. In the end the story was an enjoyable enough read, with plenty of heated moments, a few laughs, but entirely too many tears and moments of unhappiness for the H/h and I was left wanting for the romance. I wont say not to read it for yourself and see what you think, but I will say it was not my cup of tea by any standard except that is was well written and the plot flowed nicely.

I think this is the first book from this author that was just ok to me. I have raved and loved every other book this author has written and read most of them multiple times. I look forward to her next release every time I know one is coming out.

I first heard about this author from another favorite Julia Kent (who also writes under many pen names!!) One day I read a post about one of her author friends releasing book two in a series and I read book one and was hooked. It helped I love hockey and it was her hockey series. Imagine my surprise when I read the teaser about this series and see the main character in this story has the exact same name from one of Julia Kent's biggest series. I was so confused hearing that name and separating from the character I know with that name.

With that said this book was a little different from the usual she writes. There was the best friends/ roommates to a couple. It was not over night and I really do not think either character realized they has been in love with each other till circumstances changes.

They both have had difficult past with not only partners but also both have family issues. Even though they have been friends for years they do not have a good base when things happen to help them through it.

What I loved about this book is when things get tough it was not fixed over night which is what usually happens. This had the real life feel of how to fix issues.

Not sure if this is the first book in the series but I will always support this author and buy her books!

Sweet friends to lovers story that introduces readers to Spark House and the stories of 3 sisters, orphaned at a young age. Declan and Avery were sweet, but I never really felt the chemistry between them, which made it difficult to connect with them. Overall there was a lot of "telling" with not enough "showing" to reel me into their romance. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy in exchange change for honest feedback.

I made it to about 40% before I gave up. I was not loving this book at all.
The male MC was not likeable to me at all.