With a title like When Sparks Fly, I expected sparks and passion between main characters Avery and Declan, but there were fewer than I hoped. It's a good book, and there's nothing inherently bad about it, we (the book and I) just didn't have the kind of sparks I expected.

Best friends Declan and Avery navigate their changing relationship after an accident leaves Avery dependent on Declan and brings the two closer in proximity than usual. I adored their relationship right away because they were completely attuned to each other, as best friends usually are, from sharing a love of sports to knowing one another's favorite foods. Although both have firmly friend-zoned each other, stolen glances suggest the lines aren't as rigid as they appear to be. Had it not been for the hints of long-buried attraction, I would have been perfectly fine with their relationship remaining platonic.

From a technical standpoint, all the events of the book fall in line with each other. It's planned well with nearly flawless execution. Similar to Hunting's other books, it all leads to a logical conclusion, even if there are surprises along the way. I've come to appreciate this about Hunting's writing, and it's one of the reasons I enjoy her books so much. From an affective standpoint, this particular book lacked the romantic tension and the emotional entanglements I often look forward to. The romance was a little disappointing. The sexual tension begins building after Declan becomes Avery's caretaker, but the sparks don't turn into fireworks. I was hoping for something that burned fiercer than what I got, which is not what I am used to with Hunting. Romances in her previous books that I particularly enjoyed always had some amount of longing that helped to bolster the impending romance. The romance here is more slow than slow burn.

What a fun little friends to more romance! I was able to devour it in a weekend and really enjoyed it! I loved Avery and Declan! They had a strong friendship and I was like hurry up and realized you two love each other!!! I also love Avery’s sister and their bond that steamed from tragedy!
When Sparks Fly is a great escape with a side of some 🔥🔥!! The storyline is your traditional friends to more that is so fun! There was some substance in the back stories and characters that was a nice bonus!

Helena Hunting’s latest romance features friends to lovers who deal with their forced proximity by becoming even closer. But can their friendship survive their relationship hang ups?

Avery and Declan have been best friends since college, and now are roommates too. They’ve always been very close, but since Avery broke up with her boyfriend, and Declan’s friend, Sam in college, neither one has seriously dated. But, when Declan discovers Avery is going on a date, he freaks out and immediately heads out to find a hook up. Since his one night stand is still around the next morning, he bails on his planned road trip with Avery. She proceeds to get into a serious car accident on the way. While dealing with his guilt over not being with her, Declan offers to take care of her when she gets out of the hospital. This new responsibility and proximity brings the two even closer together, and they are forced to deal with their deepening feelings for each other.

I liked but didn’t love this book. Declan and Avery are great characters, but I missed the banter and humor that shows up in my favorite Helena Hunting books. The story had tons of potential but didn’t quite get there for me. It feels like one bad thing after another happens and it doesn’t seem like there are enough fun asides to lighten the tone. Sparks definitely fly in this story, with lots of steamy scenes. If you are looking for a straightforward romance, When Sparks Fly will do the trick.

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

Full of potential just waiting for a spark to illuminate the dynamic characters, detailed story lines, and incendiary chemistry that I've come to expect from Helena Hunting, but sadly the flickering moments of potential in this friends-to-lovers romance never ignited into a satisfying read.

I always eagerly anticipate a new read from Helena Hunting, and while When Sparks Fly missed the mark for me I will still look forward to reading more of her books.

***Note: Potential trigger warning: As the blurb says, one of the main characters is recovering from a car accident. Which is described in the book as Avery experiences it, and may be traumatic for some readers.***

I am a Helena Hunting one-click/pre-order before I even read the blurb type of girl, so I had high expectations for this book. While this isn't one of my new favorites, my overall love for Helena Hunting will not change based only on this book.

When Sparks Fly is a sweet friends-to-lovers romance novel. It did have some depressing themes that tend to come up rather repeatedly though (car wreck resulting in severe injury, struggling business, and loss of parents). I am glad I kept reading until the end because I did become more invested in the last few chapters, and the epilogue is super cute!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide my honest review!

When Sparks Fly is a friends-to-lovers romance that has its share of humor, heat, and emotion.

Avery and Declan have been best friends since their first year of university. I liked the dynamic of their relationship. They were buddies first. True buddies and roommates. With their competitive natures, their love of sports, and their comfort level and camaraderie, they were just a good match.

When Avery is seriously injured in an automobile accident, Declan can’t help but feel responsible. While he wasn’t the cause of the accident, he broke a promise to Avery, which resulted in her driving in poor weather conditions when she was too nervous to be behind the wheel. Declan takes it upon himself to care for Avery during her long road to recovery. All of this time together and close, constant contact made them see each other in a different light.

I enjoyed watching their friendship evolve. They were used to being together, but this newfound proximity and intimacy made their feelings grow that much deeper. They were both very aware that they could ruin their friendship if things didn’t work out, but the temptation and intensifying feelings made them want to throw caution to the wind. Their foray into this new territory wasn’t without its issues.

The evolution of their friendship, the maneuvering around each other, and the will they/won’t they aspect was probably my favorite part of the novel. While I did enjoy it overall, I just didn’t fall in love with it. I can’t exactly pinpoint what it was that made me feel disconnected to it, but for some reason I just didn’t feel as much as I had hoped. I’m sure that many readers will be completely smitten with this friends-to-lovers story.

*3.5 Stars

Avery and Declan it took a tragic accident and many months to realize what they truly meant to one another. Yet there are some serious issues that need to be addressed before they can really try a relationship. Love this story about trust and love and healing. Not just physical healing but psychological wounds as well. Bravo For portraying a healthy start to a solid relationship!

I received an advanced reader’s copy of When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting.

I enjoy friends to lovers stories. The attraction and tension between Avery and Declan was good. Declan was flawed and his behavior at times was a bit of a disappointment. I liked that he was shown doing the work needed to be able to be a supportive partner for Avery.

I really enjoyed the epilogue in this story; it hit the right emotional notes for me.

I love a good friends to lovers theme! This romance book from Helena Hunting had it and I was a fan! I thought the build up was great and the pacing of the story was just right. I also liked the main characters and the way the relationship progressed. You could feel the chemistry in the pages.

In the story Avery and Declan were best friends since college who ended up living together after Avery's boyfriend cheated on her. Declan was commitment phobic and had a string of women constantly coming and going from the apartment. But they really worked well as friends and you could feel the tension between them. Then one day when Avery ends up in a serious car accident, Declan steps in as her primary caregiver and the two end up closer than ever. The progression of the relationship was great and realistic. There is definitely some steam in this book, but its not too much. Overall, this was a great read for fans of a good friends to lovers romance!

Content warnings: serious car accident, death of a parent (happened in the past, but is mentioned often throughout the book).

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book. Unfortunately, that's where my praise for anything related to this story ends. I finished this afternoon and have been wavering between one and two stars since. I found Declan and Avery to be immature, especially Declan and I wasn't even sure he liked her for half the book. He certainly wasn't flattering in his first few POV chapters. Everything changes when Avery gets in a terrible car accident (content warning for the accident, it's not graphic but it was definitely descriptive, death from car accidents and parental loss in a flashback). I get the feeling the author was setting this up to be a trilogy (why else would you have three sisters) but I honestly don't care about any of the characters. What really threw me was the third act breakup. Declan's behavior was so uncalled for and then a couple of chapters later, to see Avery AND her sister think he had a point? Absolutely not. It was so cringey and I almost stopped reading the book at 75% as a result.

Not my favorite work from this author. I'm getting a bad feeling in my stomach just thinking about it and for that, I think I'm settling on one star.

Oh how I hope that this is just the first story in a new series!

I absolutely fell in love with Spark House, the Spark sisters and this love story between Avery and Declan.

This friends-to-lovers story is above the norm, it's got a bit of spin that will leave you breathless and makes you cheer even harder for Avery and Declan.

Friends forever, roommates for years, the friendship between Avery and Declan is what a true friendship should be. Even when obstacles and accidents get in their way, they are able to get through it together.

You could see that they belonged together, and you could see why they weren't at first.

The sparks surely do fly between Avery and Declan and I fell in love hard with both of them. The dialogue is fresh and fun, the smexy times were sultry and the slow burn was scorching.

The secondary characters are fantastic and I hope to see stories of their own in the future!

I highly recommend this book to readers! Way to go, Ms. Hunting, another bestseller for sure!

With every friends to lovers I read, it's moving from my least favorite trope, to one of my favorites!

Hot Takes
- I loved the concept of this, friends who live together and Declan stepping in to help Avery with her recovery. Declan's guilt was felt hard and I hurt for him!
- The build up to them admitting (finally) their feelings and then the scene where their friendship shifted to lovers...SEXY. And exactly what you want as a romance reader.
- If you like steam, though this was moderate, there were scenes that will still make you be like "hell yes that's what we need!!!". Think, catching your friend you secretly love doing something...
- This one definitely hit different than the usual Helena Hunting, but I couldn't put my finger on why. Maybe the submit matter was super serious, but there was just something.

Read If You Like
- Josh and Hazel's Guide To Dating for friends living with each other.
- People We Meet On Vacation for friends finally admitting their love to one another.
- My Favorite Half Night Stand for friend's group being knocked upside-down


CW: Car accident, death of a parent.

I absolutely love a friends-to-lovers trope! I thought this was a really fun and engaging story line. Avery and Delcan have been friends since college and roommates for the past few years. They have a very strong friendship with each having a secret attraction for each other. They manage to repress those feelings and avoid crossing the line out of the friend-zone until Avery finds herself in a life-altering car accident for which Delcan is partially to blame. Delcan steps in as her caretaker, somewhat motivated by guilt, and that’s where the lines start getting blurred.

A few things that I did not love: The dialogue felt repetitive - both Avery’s and Delcan’s internal thoughts were constantly repeated. I was missing the slow burn that I love with friends-to-lovers romances – we didn’t get a lot of feelings towards each other before they jumped into a sexual relationship and it even lacks that first kiss that gives you all the butterflies.

Overall, I really enjoyed it book. It’s not my favorite from Helena Hunting, but it was a fast and easy read with a satisfying ending. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This was a pretty good story. I think it could have had a little more depth in the beginning and middle parts though. I thought Avery was pretty immature in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, Declan didn't uphold his agreement and that was pretty crappy of him, but I thought the emphasis on that was pretty awful. I know they clear that up at some point, but come on. Her hang ups about driving were valid, but when later on there was such an emphasis on Declan getting therapy, but nothing about Avery getting any it really bothered me. She is just as much of a wreck as Declan was, just with a completely different situation. I think that was a missed opportunity.

I really liked all the parts about Avery's recovery. Declan was so sweet and patient even when Avery was being ridiculously stubborn about things. He was a bit overbearing at times, but overall, I really liked how all of that was handled. There were moments in the middle of the book that felt a little dragged out and repetitive and I would have liked for more memorable moments to happen. That being said, the middle was where all of the sweet, fun moments between Declan really happen.

The ending kind of killed some of the story for me though. I absolutely hated that Avery felt the need to apologize when honestly, I don't think she did anything wrong. Declan overreacted and of course he eventually apologized and did what he needed to do to be better, but overall I was pretty disappointed in that whole situation.

Overall, the book was good. It was entertaining and I finished it with no issues, but I wouldn't call it my favorite book ever. Helena Hunting does a really great job with writing hilarious stories, but I honestly think my favorite books of hers are the more emotional ones with comedic moments, e.g. Pucked Off and Little Lies.

Helena Hunting delivers another delightful, fun and romantic novel. I love the consistency in her writing and her devotion to character development, plot follow through and witty banter!

Avery is running a venue hotel with her two sisters and living with her best friend, Declan. Friends since college, Avery and Declan have a very straightforward friendship and roommate relationship. They watch games together, occasionally meet for drinks, share friends and Avery tolerates his frequent one-night stands. However, the lines get blurry when Avery finds herself in a serious accident and needs help for even basic activities of daily living. Declan is riddled with guilt, as he was supposed to have been driving the car for Avery, and vows to make it up for her by waiting on her hand and foot. As one can imagine, their new roles yield themselves to deeper levels of intimacy and both partners find themselves wondering if there is more than friendship and companionship between them.

I adored the fall for both Avery and Declan. When Sparks Fly digs beyond surface level and navigates how deeply past relationships and family situations influence present relationships. Watching Avery and Declan grow as individuals and face their pasts was remarkably well done and their affection for each other was delightful.

When Sparks Fly was a solid 4 out of 5 stars for me!

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m obsessed with everything Helena writes and this book was no different. Sparks definitely flew for me. Memorable characters and a gripping storyline. She’s such an awesome storyteller that you can’t help but be sucked into each book world she creates. You’ll definitely love this book! Highly recommend:)

A Friends to Lovers Story
Avery and Declan have been friends since college and friends they have only ever been. Roommates now she helps her sisters run their business and he is in accounting on his own helping Avery when needed.
Then something happens and changes the course of their relationship.
I usually have nothing but positive things to say about Helena's books but I did feel like something was missing in
the story, maybe because its so different then what she usually writes.. There wasn't anything wrong with the story itself it flowed really well but again something was missing.

If you are looking for a cute, easy read... When Sparks Fly is for you! This friends to lovers romance has a simple plot with a bit of humor, a bit of emotion, and a bit more heat. I enjoyed Declan and Avery's story. I liked how they were friends first and how they evolved into lovers. I really appreciated the secondary characters as well. I am hoping that Avery's sisters will get a story. This group of girls were super fun, and I'm sure that there are a lot more fun stories out of Spark House to be revealed! I adore this author. I can always depend on her to deliver a story that will make me laugh, swoon, and sigh. When Sparks Fly did not disappoint. I look forward to what is next to come from Helena Hunting!

♥ Reviewed by Lys

But can we talk about swoon-worthy!

I love Helena Hunting’s books and this was no exception; I read this in less than a day!

Avery and Declan each had their own issues to work through and I think it was handled well. I love that they had such a solid foundation to start with and how well it translated into the relationship they start and into mending it all in the end. The ending was cute with something that seemed very like Avery and I enjoyed that a lot!

“It’s interesting how we’ll bury our head in the sand and pretend not to see what’s right in front of us until something threatens to take it away.”

When Sparks Fly was a beautiful best friends to lovers story that was funny, emotional and heartwarming. Avery and Declan have been best friends and roommates for years, but when a tragic event happens that changes their relationship, they begin to see each other in a different light.

“I want us to be together. I want to be an ‘us’. We don’t have to label it for everyone else, we can just be ‘us’ together for now.”

Both Avery and Declan had issues from their past that they had to deal with before they could truly commit to a relationship. They had both been in denial about their true feelings for each other and it took a life changing event for them to open their eyes. I loved watching navigate them their feelings and how Declan dealt with his past so that he could be open to the future.

“He’s my best friend, he’s been my rock for years, and in recent weeks he’s become my everything.”

This story was alternately light and humorous and emotional and painful. I could feel the love between these two and while they knew each other so well, they also had to learn to trust in the feelings they had for each other. I devoured this book and I’m hoping that we’ll also see stories about Maddie’s sisters.