A huge thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!
.
This the second book in the Spark House series, following When Sparks Fly which I had the opportunity to read last Summer. I was overjoyed to receive a widget to the follow-up novel and was not disappointed. You don’t have to read these books in order, but there are little references to the first one sprinkled throughout as this one follows a different Spark sister. I am sure there will be a third installment to explore Harley’s eventual happily ever after.
.
London is a captivating character and Jackson is a likable love interest. It felt a little unauthentic how quickly he went out of his way to help her and trusted her to not be going after his money, but their relationship is steamy, fun, and London is quick to fight the stereotype that she needs a man to rescue her from anything. I did think that Avery’s character takes a bit of nosedive in this book, but push through for her redemption arc that pays off in spades.

Helena Hunting’s Spark House series has prompted me to go into a spiral reading romance novels. Her first Spark House novel, When Sparks Fly, introduced us to three sisters working together to elevate their family’s B&B. While the first novel centered around older sister Avery, it gave us a little peak at her sister’s London and Harley.

Starry-Eyed Love picks up after When Sparks Fly, but focuses on middle sister London who I particularly loved from the beginning of the series. As a middle sister myself, I automatically related to London, but even more so as a peacekeeper and organizer who tends to keep her emotions to herself so as not to burden anyone else. London keeps people (particularly men) at bay because she’s afraid of being vulnerable, so when a handsome guy asks her out at a bar, she naturally turns him down even though she’s interested.

In true romance novel form, London is shocked to find that the guy from the bar is the CEO of a company she’s pitching to work with to elevate her family’s B&B. Determined to keep things professional, London and Jackson proceed to work closely together and end up on several adorable “non-dates,” getting coffees, going to estate sales and building their bond overall.

Once again, Helena Hunting hits me with the Hallmark spirit – pleasantly cheesy. Similar to the first novel, she touches on deeper topics like grief, death and illness, but ties it together in a way that’s still light and fun to read. Without giving away any spoilers from the first book, I also really loved the subplots that are carried through with Avery and Declan’s relationship and how those events are woven into London and Jackson’s story. I can’t wait to see how Helena Hunting continues the series with Harley’s story!

Starry-eyed Love is the second installment of the Spark House series and features London Spark, the middle Sparks sister.

For any reader with siblings, it is easy to identify the roles each of the Spark sisters adopt (as all siblings do!) Avery is the organiser, Haley is the nurturer and London...well London has various roles but she is mainly the peace keeper and the Jack-of-all trades, doing what needs to be done!

There are many things she could otherwise be doing but being part of their family legacy and business is very important to her. When Jackson enters London's life, he shows her a perspective that she has missed.

I loved London and Jackson together. I loved the impact they had on each other. Not just on the day to day of their lives, but in the way their personalities sparked to life.

I was awed by the love the sisters had for each other and in how they had each others' backs...even when it was tough to do so.

This was a real page turner that was difficult to put down. The story easily captured my imagination and I was cheering and hissing in all the appropriate places before getting my HEA...sorry London and Jackson's HEA.

I look forward to revisiting Spark House in the future.

If you’re looking for a fun, we’ll written romance, then Helena Hunting is perfect. And so is Starry-Eyed Love. I can always count on a well written, fun romance when I pick up one of her books. The characters are likable and often relatable in many ways. You can never go wrong with Helena!!

Captivating, charming, and romantic!

Starry-Eyed Love is a cosy, heartwarming tale that takes you into the life of the ambitious, overworked London Sparks as she juggles her job as an administrator for the family business, her Etsy store that’s her true passion, a sister who’s determined and extremely stubborn, and a new partnership with a handsome CEO who she unfortunately happened to turn down once and is entirely too irresistible for his own good.

The writing is warm and tender. The characters are professional, genuine, and considerate. And the plot is an enchanting, push-pull tale of life, love, drama, friendship, self-discovery, familial dynamics, miscommunication, jealousy, dreams, goals, secrets, and finding a positive work-life balance.

Starry-Eyed Love is the second title in a series that, for me, just keeps getting better and better. It’s an amusing, sweet, adorable read by Hunting with characters I couldn’t help but root for and a swoon-worthy ending that left me smitten, satisfied, and ecstatic that there’s Harley’s story still to come!

London Spark and her two sisters own Spark House, a hotel that hosts fantastic events. After breaking up with her boyfriend, her sisters and her head out for some drinks. When a smooth-talking, sexy man hits on her, she hands back his number, but Jackson Holt is not to be deterred and tells her basically, if it’s meant to be, the universe will bring them back together…

And of course, it does.

Jackson’s company hires London to hose an event, and when Jackson sees her, he can’t get her out of his head. I loved his love of her. He was confident and treated her with such tenderness. This is a story where the two characters try to keep the relationship profession, but I never felt frustrated at them. I appreciated the flow of the story and the timing of when they get together.

I also really enjoyed London’s sisters, which has me thinking, I definitely need to go back and read book 1 in this series now!

I would recommend this one for romance readers that enjoy an easy-sweet romance!

Starry-Eyed Love (Spark House #2) by Helena Hunting

I was hopelessly devoted in love with Starry-Eyed Love. I couldn’t put this phenomenal, engaging and fun book down. I adore this author’s style of writing and I loved both London Spark and Jackson Holt. And being back at Spark House with the Spark sisters was so exciting, refreshing charming, as well as frustrating at times. You will love how close these sisters have become as they work together to grow their amazing family business.

London Spark is the middle sister and so creative she even has an Etsy store on the side. She has just broken up with her latest boyfriend and is out celebrating her new single status with her sisters Avery and Harley. When an attractive man pays for their food and drink and slips London his phone number, but she turns him down flat. Fast forward a few months later a multi-million dollar company calls and asks for a meeting to learn more about Spark House. They want to see if it would be a good addition to their network, since they are seeking out more family-run companies like Spark House.

During the meeting, the company’s CEO Jackson Holt, enters after London has started her presentation. Eventually she is floored when she realizes that although he looks different, he is the man that she rejected at the bar a few months ago. And now she and Spark House could really use his help.

Jackson Holt is usually a strictly professional business man who is against romance with colleagues, but the chemistry between him and London is hard for him to get past. But, he knows from experience to not mix business with pleasure and he stays away until their business has concluded. But then he is dropping by and supporting her in every way and in everything she is involved with. And their spark soon is quite the flame as he uses everything at his disposal to woo the woman that has captured his attention.

I loved the slow burn chemistry between London and Jackson. I was a goner for him and his caring and loving ways. This story was sweet, romantic, charming, delicious, hot and totally swoon worthy. A story that kept me fully entertained from start to finish. Leaving me with a wide grin on my face and a happy heart. I can’t wait to see what’s next in the wonderful Spark House Series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

I wish I could put my finger on what didn't work for me in this book. In theory, it should check all of the boxes. Was it so much talk about how green they are? (but only in the first half. they forgot in the second half) Maybe it was the light amount of chemistry on page between the main characters? It could definitely have been the bossy older sister. I wanted this book to work so badly. I liked the story premise. I love the sisterhood between the Spark girls. I just think I wanted to FEEL more from this book.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

Starry-Eyed Love is a slow burn romance full of meddling sisters, millionaire flair and love after loss. While I didn’t love the first book in this series (When Sparks Fly), I was excited to dive into London’s story.

London Spark is the middle Spark sister and the one who feels the most boxed in by her work at Spark House. She loves her sisters and working with them every day but the administrative work she handles is not her strong suit and doesn’t use her creativity. Even though she disliked her job, she suffered in silence, dealing with the anxiety before every meeting and pushing herself out of her comfort zone constantly. I think London was a bit of a martyr and always put others before herself, leaving her physically and emotionally drained and feeling a lack of passion for almost everything.

Jackson Holt is a young CEO who has devoted so much of his power and influence to do good and build up smaller businesses with similar missions, like Spark House. He’s a millionaire with a heart of gold and he’s caught up in London from the first time he sees her. I really liked Jackson - he was sweet, caring, thoughtful and really smart. But he also was naive about a lot of things and didn’t fully think things through before acting sometimes which seemed strange for such a successful man.

London and Jackson meet during a night out with her sisters and she turns him down. But then they meet up again when London is giving a presentation to partner with Jackson’s company. They become business associates, friends and more than that but things are difficult since they work together and are partially long distance. These two seemed to click pretty quickly and they connected due to their mutual loss of their parents. But I felt like we only scratched the surface of their relationship. I didn’t feel a deep connection between them or like I knew much about them other than surface level things and I wasn’t really invested in their happily ever after. They went through the motions but didn’t pull me in.

There were a few things I kept getting hung up on in this story. The first was Avery in general. I didn’t love her in her story but in this one she’s insufferable, selfish and honestly kind of rude, even to her sisters. Every time she was on the page I rolled my eyes. The second thing that drove me crazy was the conflict between London and Jackson - everything could have been solved with a conversation. One 10 minute talk and everything would have been fine between them…it was frustrating to say the least.

Overall, Starry-Eyed Love was an easy read with some sweet parts, but also some frustrating points. I’m really curious to see where Harley’s book will take us and how things will be wrapped up for the Spark sisters and Spark House.

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝."
"𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝."

⏤ 3.5 Maple Leafs ⏤

London and Jackson seem to keep coming into each other’s lives at the wrong time to act on their attraction to each other but when the right time finally comes, Jackson’s past may be too much of a hurdle to overcome.

I am not sure why but I have struggled with the Spark House books. I did not feel a romantic connection between Jackson and London, there was a little too much drama from the secondary characters, and the book moved a little too slowly for me.

Starry-Eyed Love is the second book in the Spark House series which is a friends-to-lovers, workplace romance told in the dual first-person point of view.

*Sigh* This was wonderful. Witty and romantic, with that Spark sister dynamic I’ve come to love. I really liked how naturally Jackson and London’s relationship evolved and how they didn’t let their personal feelings get in the way of their respective businesses. I thought the focus on eco conscious locations was great, and I loved getting to delve deeper into London’s creative side. The honesty and candor between London and Jackson was super refreshing and I thought it really added to their chemistry. *I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Party planner London is meeting with a potential client when their billionaire CEO joins in and starts grilling her. She's shocked to realize he's the man she turned down a few months earlier when he propositioned her at a bar. Jackson still seems interested, but their working relationship makes romance impossible. Can they find a way to be together?

London and Jackson have a fun and flirty relationship that makes this book a pleasure to read. The story was well-paced and compelling. London's sisters also play an important role in the novel. The main characters were well-developed with tons of sensual tension.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This author can write any genre and do it well. In this series about the Spark House, each of the sisters has their own story to tell and London’s is fabulous! She’s a woman who has to get things done and there just isn’t time in a day for everything she needs to do. Her sisters have figured out how to add variety to their lives – London still has to work on that. Meeting Mr. Wonderful will have to wait for her until she meets a guy who won’t take no for an answer! Jackson is just as stubborn and makes the sparks fly in this wonderfully written HEA. I can’t wait for the next one!

I seriously loved London!

London Spark was taking a break from helping to run the family hotel with a night out with her sisters when a gorgeous guy asked her for a date, but she turned him down since she had just ended a relationship. Little did she know he was Jackson Holt, and she would see him again when his company wanted to partner with Spark House and their new green initiative.

I seriously loved London because she slowly fell in love with Jackson working through all the baggage each of them carried working together to balance their private and public lives.

I can’t wait for Harley’s book!

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

This is my version of the perfect book I love to read. There is a determined and talent main woman, London. There is a hunky man, Jackson, who knows what he wants and goes after it. There is romance, chemistry, heat, drama, jealousy, other love interests, and resolution.
I have a tendency to forget men can become haggard and heartbroken just as women can.
Hunting captures a myriad of emotions in an engrossing way. I never looked up until I finished.

Whoa. I enjoyed the heck out of this one. Starry-Eyed Love was just about everything I love in a romance.

Both Jackson and London were excellent characters with wonderful characteristics as well as flaws. I loved them as individuals, and together they were absolutely amazing.

I really appreciated the slow-burn of their relationship. Even though they had initial attraction and chemistry, they were friends and business associates before they went further. It took some time in the story, but the anticipation was well worth it.

I also loved the Cinderella vibe of the story. Jackson lavished London with some special gifts and sweet gestures, and I adored him for it.

Avery actually took some of the enjoyment out of the story for me. She was controlling and unreasonable for a good portion of the book, and I just didn't like her.

I did, however, enjoy Harley, and I can't wait to see what her story will bring.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

London is so relatable. It is clear that she has accepted less than she deserves in many areas of her life. Dedicated to her sisters and the family business, her work day involves many things that she can do but doesn't love while her passion project, an Etsy store for paper crafts, is often shoved aside. Her love life is a constant series of relationships with men she doesn't have a spark with to prevent heartbreak.

Slowly but surely, a romance develops between London and Jackson at work. Initially, they are just business associates, then they become friends. Although he doesn't realize it, Jackson is an expert at "work dates" as well as pampering and supporting London. The buildup is well worth the wait as London and Jackson together are hot!

It was wonderful to see more of the three sisters together in Starry-Eyed Love. As their boutique events hotel grows exponentially, their strong bond is put to the test. I love how realistic the sisters' tensions are about the business direction and finding balance, and that underlying love between them shines through throughout!

I really enjoyed this fun and sexy latest installment in the Spark House series! I can't wait to read the final sister's story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this voluntary review are my own.

This is only the second novel I’ve read by Hunting, and I loved it just as much as the first. This series is heartwarming, sweet, and handles communication challenges that are worthy of your full attention.

I think the only thing that caught me off guard while reading was the dialogue at times, because of how formal the characters were with one another, but in the setting it also made a lot of sense.

I personally love all romance tropes, but the ones when the characters have to stay away from one another despite how much they just want to be together? Melts my heart every time. I finished this book in a single day and I definitely recommend it (and while you could read it without reading the first, I highly recommend reading them in order).

I’m not even going to try and be cool about this. I really loved this book. After reading Sparks Fly in January I was so hooked on the Spark ladies and Spark House that I needed the next book asap. Of course it wasn’t out yet so what did I do? I stalked Helena Hunting’s social media, I frantically searched through Netgalley and finally I signs up through SocialButterfly Pr to just have a chance that they would give me this book.

I’m so grateful to have gotten this advanced copy. I’m still trying to decide if I liked it more than the first. They were both so different and so so so good.

So Starry-Eyed Love focuses on London Sparks who is in the first book but seems a little uptight throughout most of the book. In this one you realize that London is so uptight because she is taking on way too much work with her sisters trying to make Spark House, their family owned and operated retreat/hotel, successful. She doesn’t have time to do creative stuff which she loves or find the love of her life until a twist of fate brings Jackson Holt into her orbit. And wow what a bright star he is. This was my first millionaire/billionaire (I don’t know how much money he had, I just know it was a lot) romance and it will not be my last. Could be one of my new favorite tropes.

I knew this was going to be good when I read this in the first chapter: “I just needed to tell you that from across the room, you were beyond stunning, but up close. You are an absolute work of art.”
“Oh, really? The kind of art you might hang in your living room?”
“Bedroom, actually.”

This is a tough one to review because I'm so let down. I really enjoyed When Sparks Fly. I loved Avery and Declan's story. I've also read a lot of Helena Hunting and have been entertained by so many of her books. London and Jackson's story was boring with a capital B. I hated Avery in this story as she's planning her and Declan's wedding, yelling at her sisters and not acknowledging what their business, Spark House really needs. The third act conflict made zero sense. I'm surprised by so many praising reviews. Did we read the same book? This make me question if I will actually read the next book in this series because there is one more sister left.