A friends to lovers romance, this fun novel takes a quick left turn with series of tragic car accidents. The implications leave the main characters with a lot to sort through and recover from. I appreciated the exploration of trauma and how that impacts relationships. In the end, love prevails!

I enjoyed this book very much. I think it's really sweet low anxiety friends to lovers.

Declan and Avery are long time friends and housemates. Avery ends up having to rely on Declan for almost everything after a horrible accident.

I loved the way Declan easily nurtures and tends to Avery. He liked feeling needed by her. He seemed to dive in his role as a caregiver.
I really liked Avery as a female lead. She is strong and confident in herself. But you get to see all her vulnerability after the accident. She breaks but she rallies. She didn't let it keep her down. A very multidimensional character.

What bothered me a bit was how much blame got cast on Avery. They implied that she was acting selfishly towards her sisters because she was focused so much on herself. But she had been thru a major accident. She should have been focused on herself. And she was always super grateful to her sisters and Declan.
And then also near the end with her fight with Declan, I think she took on more blame than she was actually accountable for.

But overall this was a fun and touching book.

When Sparks Fly was a friends to lovers that I fell in love with!

Friends to lovers isn't my always my favorite but this had the added fun of forced proximity as they already were roommates as well as best friends.

Avery helps run an inn/event space with her two sisters and when she's in a bad car accident and her best friend Declan steps up to help her whole she recovers. Will their new feelings jeopardize their friendship?

The characters felt real and while I didn't love everything Declan does, I did like how they took time to work on themselves and what they need from a relationship. This wasn't as steamy as her other books but there was lots of chemistry!

I'm looking forward to sister London's book next spring!

Avery Spark has a great life with her friends, her sisters, and Spark House, the special events hotel that her family runs. After she's left to recover from an accident, her best friend and roommate help her heal. The two always hung out and didn't bother with romantic relationships before, but now they're in close proximity with compromising situations. The attraction they never discussed before now becomes too strong to ignore.

I liked how Avery had a great relationship with her sisters and her guy friends, in addition to Declan. He had some jealous tendencies that he didn't really verbalize, but it was obvious to their other friends. This led to him bailing on the trip that Avery was so invested in, and Avery took off driving in the rain despite her fear of it after her parents' death from a car accident. She's in an accident herself, with an arm and a leg casted as well as broken ribs and bruises everywhere. She can't maneuver to do anything, from walking to going to the bathroom, and Declan goes out of his way to help her with everything because of his guilt. That help extends to manually assisting her to orgasm after he accidentally walked in on her masturbating, and it was all downhill from there.

Declan's behavior went from overly solicitous to jealous rapidly, which was the inevitable complication to their romance. As much as Avery conceded she was wrong in talking with her ex, his reaction was over the top and I agreed with her that she shouldn't accept his behavior. It's on Declan to make sure he gets over himself and his insecurities, and he works through them in therapy in the final quarter of the book. It allows him to reconnect with Avery while in a healthier place so that they can have an actual relationship again. I really appreciate the message that sends, and how normal it is for everyone to work through emotional difficulties and stress with a therapist. Everyone can use a little help when they are stressed, and it helps Declan be a better person. In turn, it helps him be a better boyfriend and truly connect to Avery. I'm glad they could work through this and have the relationship they truly deserve.

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting is absolute perfection. Witty, emotional, and laugh out loud funny with just the right amount of steam. I loved watching the progression of Avery and Declan's friendship into a relationship.

And I can't wait for Starry-Eyed Love!!

Thanks to SMP and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I love Helena Hunting's books and this one was no different. It was a friends to lovers type book and I think that she does this so well. I loved Avery and Declan, the characters are very well written, there is a lot of swoon, and romance, but also they have an angsty past. It is also a roommates type situation because they live together. One of my favorite things about the characters that Helena Hunting writes is that they are strong on their own merits and they have their own interests.

It was a quick read and I enjoyed it a lot. I hope the sisters get books also.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

I was honestly surprised by this book. It went a little darker than I thought I would be. It was also very emotional. I feel like some of the representations of PTSD and the anger following the accident were accurate. I will also say I really adored this relationship. Watching these two acknowledge their feelings after being at an all-time low was fantastic. They truly liked the worst and the best of each other. There was just something missing when it came to this book. Overall it was a quick and emotional read. I would recommend it.

Friends to lover excellence. This story is filled with great characters and a captivating plot.

Avery lost her parents in a car accident. When she is on her way to her former university in a bad SUV she also is in a bad accident. Her roommate/friend Declan was supposed to drive her, so to make it up to her, he promises to take care of her in her recovery.

This story follows Avery and Declan in a dual POV story about heartbreak, and mending hearts. I loved the main characters relationship with each other, but you also grow to love the relationship with the side character’s. Avery’s sisters and close friends add great insight and side plots.

This cover design is a very popular at the moment, and I totally see why. I’m all for the “cartoon” illustrations and would definitely pick this cover up to read more.

Helena Hunting books are so underrated to me. This was an absolute joy to read. I'm ready to hand-sell this title for 2021!

Gah not even enough stars for this one.

Love this books sooo much. Simply could not put it down. Heart warming, charming, funny, and amazing read.

Completely recommend. Read it Now!!

This was a very enjoyable story. Very well written, full of emotion, humor, drama and substance. It's a friends to lovers story that is so well done you will have trouble putting it down. Highly recommended.

I loved this adorably cute and romantic slow-burn friends to lovers story.

Guys will be guys, but I had to feel sorry for Declan suffering so much pain and remorse after making his big mistake. He had promised to lend Avery his safer SUV to drive but instead left it at a bar overnight so she had to drive her own car to her appointment and had a serious accident on the way.

To try and make up for it Declan promises to take care of Avery while she is recovering which changes their friendship to something a lot more personal, as he has to help her in the bathroom. As the two of them spend more time together they get much closer and have to answer a big question - if they have a relationship will it spoil their close friendship? Helena does a great job of making the characters slowly to come to the realization that they have had feelings that go so much further than just friendship since college but that now they are ready to make the leap to being together.

Mostly great characters though Avery's sisters seemed a bit needy and dependent on her even though they were there to support her after her accident I felt that they put too much pressure on her to get back to work.

Overall a very relaxing read with very little angst, lots of fun banter and hot steamy scenes between Avery and Declan.

Helena has this amazing ability to get you committed to the story by the end of Chapter one. I think if you open a book with Hobby Horse tournament you really can’t fail. (Also definitely look up videos of competitive hobby horse, your welcome).

This book is a friends to lover. And a true friends to lover. There minds in the beginning are pretty firmly in the friends zone. This book is truly about them discovering these underlying feels they’ve always had.

Be prepared for your heart to go through a bit early on, but I promise there is more fun to come. Mary Jane brownies and crazy stoned girl rants. That is all I will say.

Did I miss some of the steam? Yes. The build up
Scenes were so good. But the final boom moment was not the level I wanted. But still good. So I did miss that touch of more.

One of my favorite things about Helena is that the relationships always have to be healthy for them to continue. That mental capacity to handle a relationship and just personal mental health is explored quite a bit. I love that there was an importance on that. It was very realistic to true relationship struggles.

I can’t wait to see what the next sister holds.

After a serious car accident leaves her with several broken bones and in need of round-the-clock care, Avery Spark's best friend and roommate, Declan McCormick, volunteers for the job. He's overwhelmed with guilt after backing out on his promise to accompany Avery on a road trip the morning of her accident and hopes that caring for her will help convince her to forgive him. As they're forced into closer proximity than ever before and Declan helps Avery cope with increasingly personal needs, the chemistry between them becomes impossible to ignore. Neither of them is willing to risk their friendship, especially Declan, who has sworn off serious relationships after witnessing the fallout from his parents' disastrous marriage and subsequent divorce. Declan and Avery may just find that their love is worth the risk, but first, they'll need to work through the baggage of their past.

This book genuinely gave me all the feels. I went from laughing at the hilarious opening scene involving grown men lining up to joust with hobbyhorses to sitting at the edge of my seat while reading the scene of Avery's accident and praying that she would be okay. When she came home from the hospital, I truly empathized with Avery's frustration at being unable to handle even simple tasks on her own, as well as with Declan's feelings of guilt regarding Avery's injuries. Their relationship growth was perfectly paced, and even though I hated to see things between them blow up the way they did, it was probably realistic. I was happy that they used their time apart to work through their issues in a healthy way and they ended up in a great place, both individually and as a couple.

Overall, I loved "When Sparks Fly" and highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I look forward to whatever Helena Hunting writes next.

*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Best friends since college, Avery and Declan have been inseparable. Roommates, confidantes, teammates, they are practically joined at the hip. But they'd never date each other. No. Never. Avery is one of the guys, and Declan doesn't do relationships, not after surviving his parents' dysfunctional marriage.

Then, one rainy day, a broken promise and a car accident changes everything.

Feeling guilty for the events of that day, Declan vows to help Avery heal, becoming her caretaker as she recovers. Now their proximity is even closer than before, and their friendship is strained... but it ends up opening up a new avenue to their relationship that neither saw coming. Or, at least, kept attempting to deny the attraction that has continued to build and build over the years. What will happen when sparks fly?

This friends-to-lovers romance from Hunting is weighty--covering subjects such as past infidelities, past deaths, severe car accidents, etc.--yet still maintains an aspect of fun and flirty-ness that Hunting is known for.

I can count on one hand the number of books by Helena Hunting that I've read, it's not that I don't like her, I really do, I just never get the chance to read them. If I had unlimited pocket change I would buy all of them and read to my heart's content.
This book was suitably adorable. I really enjoyed the friends to lovers trope and Hunting did wonderfully with Avery and Declan. I hope all the Spark sisters get a HEA, because I would like to see more of London and Harle

I am a huge fan of Helena Hunting, but unfortunately, this just didn’t click for me. There were moments of the classic Helena Hunting writing that I love, but overall, I just never quite connected with any of the characters. I’ve found that I’m not a fan of the caregiver trope.

I do love stories based around families — in this case, it’s three sisters who run their grandmother’s inn. It’s also friends-to-lovers with roommates as Avery and Declan have been best friends since college, and roommates for a couple years. I did like some of their interactions and quirks as a couple/individual. I liked the advocacy for therapy, but I didn’t like how the conflict was handled.

This is a story of finding love with a best friend. Avery and Declan are friends and roommates. When Avery is badly hurt in a car accident, Declan insists on caring for her.

Helena Hunting captures different couple dynamics well and When Sparks Fly does not disappoint.
Avery and Declan have been friends for years and even share a condo. The only way I can believe they do not see what is directly in front of them is that they are poorly dealing with their own issues. When circumstances leave Avery in a position of needing more help, Declan is there. As their relationship goes from friends to more. However, they quickly realize that going from friends to lovers may not be a seamless transition.
I like that Avery and Declan each had different issues to deal with and that as the story goes on they find ways to manage them, after they cause a little damage. Avery is very independent but her circumstances force her to rely on others. Declan has trust issues that also do not allow for him to depend on others. However, these manifest very differently. Declan makes a great come back and I would have like to see more from his view as he learned more of himself. Avery and Declan make a cute couple and the redemptiotion part of the book is probably my favorite. There was also good setups of the coming books in this series.

So here the thing: I adore Helena Hunting's writing but this story just didn't do if for me like the rest I read so far did. I was struggling to connect with both MCs. But what I did like about this story is the fact when their relationship hit rock bottom they didn't want to give up especially Declan who knew that he needed help if he wanted to keep her in his life.

Overall it was not a bad story but I kinda liked it better them as friends than lovers..I don't know hopefully next book will bring me back to absolutely loving the plot. This one gets 3*.

***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog ***