I loved When Sparks Fly and it looks like a promising series to follow. The chemistry between best friends/room mates Avery and Declan is off the charts and it hot very steamy between them when they finally let go. I can't wait to see what is in store for Avery's sisters!

I freely admit that as I get older, I have more limits on what I’m willing to put up with. And When Sparks Fly hit my limit.

One of my least favorite tropes occurred in When Sparks Fly: the manwhore best friend hero. And something very early on in the storyline turned me off so much that I knew nothing Declan could do would redeem himself for me.

And thus, I officially DNF-ed. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: life is too short to read books you don’t enjoy.

4.5 🌟

When Avery Spark is in a car accident that makes her lose her independency, she must rely on her roommate Declan for even the basics of needs.

Declan and Avery have been best friends since freshman year of college. They’ve been through a lot together, all the highs and all the lows.

As Declan is tending to Avery’s every need, they both realize, individually, that they have been masking their feelings for one another for quite a long time. With Declan being relationship adverse, and Avery more focused on Spark House, they’re unsure of where their relationship will lead to.

When the inevitable happens, they’re forced to take a step back and evaluate their actions. In this best friends to lovers, they have the perfect foundation for a relationship, but how will they get over the roadblocks in their lives to find the love they so desperately seek?

This story keeps you on bated breath several times throughout the story. It made it hard to quit reading at times when I had other responsibilities to attend to. If you’re looking for a good best friends to lovers story, you should pick this one up.

Romance books can make me feel like I hold irrationally long grudges because I really do not understand how these heroines forgive these f*#% boys so easily. If I were Avery, not only would Declan's initial booty-call-that-ends-in-my-tragic-car-accident be hard to forgive, but the way he comes at her for setting up a business meeting with Sam was just....so wrong. I really had a hard time with their relationship so the story was difficult for me to enjoy. Worth nothing, friends to lovers is one of my least favorite romance tropes, so take my review with that in mind.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my review.

This was a very enjoyable friends-to-lovers story. I really enjoyed Declan. He made a bad mistake and his best friend, Avery, suffered as a result. He feels guilty and devotes himself to helping her recover. His growth and care for Avery is so very appealing. And the relationship between Avery and her sisters is also very touching. Helena Hunting has a real talent for describing a believable relationship that we all might wish we had.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Helena is easily my favorite romance author, but this one fell a little flat for me. Overall I enjoyed this for what it was, a standard friends to lovers romance, but with Helena’s signature characters who have depth and fantastic emotional development. For lack of a better description, this story felt very… human — as in, nothing felt far fetched or too good to be true. The conflicts, the emotions, the relationship development, even the two main character’s back stories. Everything was very realistic, almost making you feel like you know these characters because you personally know someone who was in similar situations or relationships. I feel like this is probably Helena’s most realistic novel and that definitely makes it stand out from all her other books.

None of this is bad or why this book fell a little flat for me. I can’t put my finger on any particular reason… it just didn’t hit the mark. However, I still recommend it if you’re a fan of Helena’s books! All of her books are worth the read!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this access.

I thought this book was quite charming and engaging. I loved the characters of Avery and Declan, and even the side characters. It is a story about how two friends see each other through one of the hardest things they've done together - acknowledging the repressed feelings they have for each other, and dealing with the consequences of their upbringing.

There were parts that I loved - I loved the interaction between Avery and Declan. I loved Avery's relationship with her sisters and with her friends. I loved how unwittingly in love Declan was with her from the very first page. I love how their relationship blossomed, fell apart, and then came back even stronger. I love the author's inclusion of seeking therapy when we are unable to process things by ourselves.

There were also parts that I didn't love - I didn't necessary love how the subject of the physical relationship was initially broached. It felt awkward and rushed, like the author was trying to get to the spicy bits without actually knowing how to get there. I didn't love how rushed Declan's healing was towards the end of the book. I actually wish we had gotten more insight into his mind during that time, and it felt too neatly wrapped up in the last 20% of the book.

But overall, I enjoyed the book and I will look for more by Helena Hunting.

Avery Spark and Declan have been best friends since they met freshman year of college. When Avery gets into a car accident, Declan needs to take care of her and the friendship lines blur. Overall, this is an enjoyable friends to lovers romance. What kept this book from being a five star book was the last quarter of the book. While you always expect a problem to keeps the main characters apart, this seems to drag a bit at the end. I did like getting to know Avery’s sisters (who I assume will be in future books), and Avery and Declan’s guy friends (perhaps the male protagonists in future books?). This is a nice start to a new series. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley for my honest review.

I love Helena Hunting! Her writing is so good and entertaining, I was a little skeptical about this book when I got it from Netgalley because of the synopsis but was hooked the from the beginning. I loved the relationship between Avery and Declan and the transformation from friendship to relationship. I really enjoyed Avery's sisters and their friend group (Jerome and MarK). I'm hoping for more books in this series maybe Avery's sisters or the friend group or both? Who knows Helena Hunting will come up with something great I'm sure! I would definitely recommend this book :)
Thank you Netgalley for the copy

I can not recommend this book enough! I read When Sparks Fly in one day. This romance book is one of best books of 2021.. I appreciate net gallery and selected publishers for this early copy

Might be my favorite book from this author. While sometimes I don't want the end of the book to be clear from the start, sometimes it's just perfect to help build tension and the right amount of anxiety in my stomach.

This was a fast read, hard to put down, even read it while on the treadmill. :)

I really enjoy when there is a group of friend that is so loyal to each other, so supportive, and includes siblings of each other, as well. It's something I wish I had in my life.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars. I enjoy this story and the first half was amazing. I even cried twice. But then some of the internal thoughts were too repetitive and started to become annoying and I skimmed those parts.
Otherwise I would have given this a 4 star.

This friends-to-lovers romance packed an emotional punch! Avery and Declan are best friends and roommates who have spent their entire close friendship denying that they might have feelings for each other. After Avery gets in a terrible car accident, she needs a lot of physical help, and Declan steps in to take care of her. *For those who love the caretaking trope in romance, this book will be gold for you.* Declan is so attentive, partially motivated by guilt--because though he wasn't in the car, he feels responsible for Avery having been in that car accident. Things heat up between them and this is where the book really shines for me-- showing us how their physical proximity and dynamic while she needed his help progressed from friendship to feelings they could no longer ignore or deny.

At first I felt a little thrown off by how Declan seemed to go from a player who can't settle down to insta-boyfriend-material, but as the newness of their relationship fades, and his childhood trauma comes to sabotage him, it sort of clicks together and makes sense. He *is* an amazing boyfriend, but he has enormous hurdles to work through and I'm so glad that the author chose to make him work on himself through therapy. He needed it! This made the resolution more worth it and felt like we really come full circle in understanding Declan's actions and motivations by the end of the story.

I will say that I was surprised that this book gave me a whole range of emotions from swoony to rage. In romance novels, our hero and heroine are bound to make mistakes and the best characters have depth and flaws, but I was left just slightly unsatisfied and less confident than I like to be in the couple's stability. I think Declan's jealous anger and retaliation against Avery over a misunderstanding soured his character for me. He was almost redeemed by the end, but not enough for me to be truly satisfied with this romance.

Overall, this story is fun and sexy and has plenty of depth. I think it will not let Helena Hunting fans down.

ARC received by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

It was a real struggle to finish this one!
I really adore this author and have read a lot from her and enjoyed, but this one was difficult for me.
The romance was lacking for me, I just didn't feel the chemistry.
It was a very promising story and I was really looking forward to it, maybe I had a bit of to high expectations.
The "passion" started in chapter 17 which in my mind was late and I didn't even feel the love between them. Which is hard because it is a romance.

*Please don't take my review to heart, because it's my personal opinion and I would recommend you read it. Because you never know if you'd love it.*

This was the traditional NA romance. That may sound like a bad thing but for this title it wasn't. Since NA has been around for a while now, so many books I've read are trying to out do the others or skirt the line with another genre. That was not the case with Not When Sparks Fly. Both main characters are likeable. The romance was believable. The story line was not only realistic but also enjoyable. Just an easy going traditional contemporary NA romance. It was refreshing to read.

Cute as a button with syrupy sweetness dripping from all over, Helena pens an endearing friends-to-lovers story with her trademark honesty and compassion. she pours the same in her characters who are pure of heart and noble in intentions. It strengthens your belief in the bonds of hearts that needn't require a formal sticker to validate it.
It truely is In sickness and in Health relationship of Avery & Declan that goes from strength to strength. Declan is the proverbial rock of Gibraltar in friend form that I wanted to call my own.
But also Helena doesn't forget to interject with her slapstick humour in between so the story doesn't dry up
Avery is a budding flower, she discovers the layers of her soul as the story goes and despite being a confident business owner, her reticencein her personal life is adorable.
It's a remarkably written with subtle romantic nuances. A sure winner, but then this is Helena in her comfort zone.
4.5 stars for “The little things always mean the most.”

I enjoyed the characters and the premise, but the story was very slow moving and not in a good slow-burn way.

Declan and Avery have danced around their romantic feelings for years, and then Avery gets into a car accident that lands her helpless. Nurse Declan takes over, and the sparks start to fly. Can they work through trouble in paradise? A perfect friends to lovers story.

What an incredible and heartfelt book by Helena!

I absolutely fell in love with Declan and Avery's story from the very first page, and loved seeing these two grow and heal together. It was so organically done, that you can't help but feel you are friends with these two and cheering them on! They both have such different histories, and hard pasts to overcome, and it just made me ache for them. Brilliant writers have a way of making you feel everything the characters do, and Helena is one of the best at this. I was aching and laughing and smiling during so many parts of this book, that it made me fall even more in love with this book! Helena is a master at creating beautiful worlds, and this one is no different! I only wish Spark House was a real place so I could go and visit! I'm so excited that we get to stay in this world with London and Harley and can't wait for their books!

A must read for any Helena Hunting fan!

4.5🌟

This story is what I would call a realistic romance because it felt very real and authentic like it could actually happen to someone I know. Hunting’s writing has developed with diversity in that we all know she can write a fabulous romcom, plus now I feel she can deliver a great contemporary romance with wit and emotion that takes me on a journey and has me falling for the main characters.

Avery and Declan met in college, and even though both had an attraction for the other, nothing was said between them as the timing wasn’t right. They were extremely compatible with similar interests in sports, crosswords and movies which bought about them being best friends and then roommates after graduating. Avery’s worst nightmare happens when she has a car accident and is immobile for weeks and Declan is compelled to be there for her 24/7.

Relationships are about give and take, and unfortunately Declan didn’t have any good role models with his parents. To him, once love enters the equation, couples use that advantage to seek revenge and hurt. Avery though knew what a good relationship could be like even though her parents had past years before. When these two spend more and more time together, they understand the attraction isn’t just lust. Avery needs help to do the simplest of things, and Declan always puts her first, so when she has an itch that desperately needs scratching, he’s only too happy to lend a hand.

I loved this couple. I loved their dynamic and how they processed things. I got why Declan was upset and lost it. I also felt for Avery being on the receiving end of his hurt. I appreciated the effort they took to heal and revisit what could be an amazing life together. It may have taken some time but Declan always knew that Avery was his best friend, his soulmate, his everything. The epilogue was super sweet, and something I would have enjoyed doing myself. This is a standalone novel, but who knows, we could be heading back to Sparks House as Avery has two sisters that deserve their own happy ending too.