I wanted to love this. I really did. It has some of my favorite tropes. We get a friends to lovers romance, with a lot of forced proximity. And yet, none of it felt authentic.

Avery and Declan are supposed to be best friends. And yet, if I hadn't been told that they were best friends, I might not have believed it. Likewise, if I hadn't been told that they were in love, I wouldn't have believed that either. Their relationship seemed forced and very superficial. There was little to no chemistry.

Another issue that I had was with Declan's character. He wasn't a hero I could cheer for. His jealous and selfish actions led to Avery's accident, even if he didn't outright cause it. Those same jealous actions led to his overreaction and jumping to conclusions and acting like a generally horrible person. And while I liked that he recognized that he was wrong and that he had issues, by that point, I had already lost all hope for him.

Lastly, I wasn't too much a fan of Avery's characterization. She was very much, 'not like other girls'. She was 'one of the guys' because, according to her own words, guys are easier than girls because they're 'uncomplicated'. Not just that, but aside from Avery herself and her two sisters, all the women in this story were depicted as being stuck up and horrible, or were slut shamed for being with Declan. Declan himself, of course, is excused from any negative label.

Overall, I wasn't a fan. I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't love this either. There was simply no one in this book for me to cheer for.

Another book I’m able to check off my backlist of NetGalley books thanks to currently available audiobooks. 😂 (Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the free copy in exchange for a review!)

I should have DNF’d this book. I have liked some of Hunting’s previous works, and this one sounded promising as it had my two favorite tropes: friends to lovers and forced proximity. However, this story hit all the wrong notes.

If I hadn’t been told they were friends for years, I don’t think I would have believed it if presented these characters without context (Avery and Declan). Their friendship, and eventual romantic relationship, felt forced and surface level.

The beginning was very much like a soap opera, which I don’t hate if done well, but oof. It didn’t work. Then from there I just hard eye rolled my way to the end: How the characters got together, the conflict and the underdeveloped supporting characters. It gets an extra half star because Declan does decide to seek therapy for several months before trying to rekindle his relationship with Avery. We love to see mental health taken seriously.

3.5 stars.
After browsing some of the reviews for this one before starting it, I’m left feeling the same way as quite a few others: LOVED the first 2/3 of the book, but the last 1/3 of it really annoyed me. Actually, I was chugging along quite nicely until Declan acted like a tremendous douche canoe & derailed the whole thing. & for Avery to forgive so easily and act like nothing happened?? Maybe I’m crazy but it’s no from me, dawg.

Also, I didn’t always like how her sisters treated her. She very nearly DIES in a severe car accident and the one sister throws having to run their company while she’s on the mend in her face. Ugh.

& speaking of car accidents - if that is a trigger for you, you should probably skip this one. Her parents fatal car crash is mentioned 7 times before I lost track. And as I said before, the MC herself is in a very serious accident that only she and one other person survived.

This definitely had more heat than i was expecting and I loved Avery & Declan's relationship from friends to lovers. I hadnt read a plot like this one before so it was definitely a refreshing read. Helena Hunting is a auto-buy author for me and I have never been disappointed by her books!

I did not read this book due to some problematic storytelling and ableist situations for the main characters. Therefore I won’t be reading this book.

I don't think I've ever actually been or seen historical reenactments before and this book takes place on a horse farm where grown men come to reenact historical fantasies. It's super quirky in its own way but still has that Helena Hunting romantic touch. One thing I didn't absolutely love was when they talked about how she walked in on him having sex with another woman. I don't really like reading about the male hero being such a player (it's ok if it's implied) but that's definitely my personal preference.

Roomies and friends since college, Avery and Declan have never seen each other as more than that--just friends. All of that changes when Avery gets into an accident that leaves her immobile, and Declan volunteers to be her caretaker. Their closer than normal proximity sparks (hehe) a chemistry they have been avoiding for years,

You would think that falling in love with your best friend would be easy, but it's not. Avery has had feelings for Declan for years, but has made sure to never cross any lines due to Declan's womanizing ways and doesn't want to ruin their friendship. Declan is honestly kind of the worst and doesn't really see what's right in front of him until something bad happens to Avery. I wanted to smack him so may times, but he finally gets his act together.

I thought this one was cute. I loved the storyline but I felt like there was a bit more that could have been added to flesh out the story more. It wasn’t a bad story just needed a bit more oomph.

LOVED this book! I'm reviewing for BookTrib, and will post here when my review is posted first week of May.
I would like to connect with the author for a quick interview - thanks.

This was a delightful and heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance with the perfect amount of angst and steam.

Declan’s and Avery were amazing and I loved the depth of their friendship. They were clearly meant to be together but had to work through the baggage they each carried before they could truly have a lasting romantic relationship. But the strong foundation they had built from their years long friendship was always there and helped them as they went through growing pains.

This romance had heart, humor, sexiness, and great character growth. I very much enjoyed and look forward to more in this series.

A romantic comedy of best friends to lovers. Filled with close proximity troupe. Does have serious accident that happens in the beginning. The main character's were interesting and does hide things that are important later on. The ending did feel a bit drawn out but the book does deal with serious health issues, mental health and family strained relationships. It's a cute friends to lovers romance with a happily ever after!

This was not at all what I expected and I ended up loving it. The characters were great and the story was engaging. So much so, that I finished it in a day. Will definitely recommend.

A really great story, charming, atmospheric, great characters. Filled me with warmth and spirit. Well written and flowed nicely, was romantic and funny, charming and full of fun. A great read, i really enjoyed it.

4.5 ⭐️ (rounded up to 5). This was such a cute and fun book that I really enjoyed. I needed a change of pace after reading so many thrillers so I decided on a feel good romance. I expected it to be like a Hallmark movie (which I do love) but it was not. Let’s just say the sex definitely bumps it out of the “Hallmark-type” book. 😂Wow, were there some steamy chapters in this one!

So let me start with the storyline, this wasn’t a typical best friends fall in love basic romance. While it was funny and sweet most of the time, it also dealt with sadness, trials, guilt and more. As far as characters go, I really liked them all. Avery, London and Harley (the three Spark sisters) each had their own distinctive personality and I liked them all. Then there’s Declan…we definitely need to categorize him as “before accident Declan” and “after accident Declan”. The first Declan, although he was a great friend to Avery, he was also a player, a pig, a jerk….I did not anticipate liking him at all! BUT….then there’s post accident Declan and oh my did he grow on me. The way he stepped up to take care of Avery (even though he was driven by guilt when Avery had her accident). He was so sexy, sweet and obviously had deep rooted feelings for her. After so much time together, it was impossible for either of them to hide the feelings that they’ve kept inside for so long. They were both scared because they didn’t want to jeopardize their friendship. Also, after growing up with parents who cheated and didn’t know what commitment and real love meant, Declan more or less decided he would never have a serious relationship. Then his feelings for Avery surfaced and it started to change him, but also scared him. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt her, so he pretty much acted as if he didn’t deserve to have someone to love. Overall i definitely recommend this one, it was such a sweet romcom and I truly enjoyed it from beginning to end! I laughed ALOT, I smiled and it made my heart happy (and sad) at times! The ending was great and I look forward to reading the second book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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A friend to lovers romance about Avery who runs the boutique hotel/event space with her two sisters and her best friend and condo-mate, Declan. Due to a poor night of decisions, Avery is driving to a client meeting alone when she is in an accident. Scared for her life, Declan rushes to her aid and becomes her caretaker. The two begin to form a relationship but will it survive the bubble created in their home when faced with their own insecurities.

I thought it was a sweet story and the sisters running the hotel reminded me of the Nora Roberts Wedding Quartet. I am excited to read the other sister's stories. 3.5 stars.

Helena writes romance like no other and her vice is so strong. I devoured this one and it will be reread material for e because it is THAT GOOD!

I have to say this one was a pretty solid three star read for me which I wasn't expecting because I usually find myself enjoying Helena Hunting's books a lot more. Usually friends to lovers isn't my favorite trope, so I can kind of see in that regard why this one didn't really do it for me. I think the biggest issue I had was with the hero's trust issues and the way that really one moment kind of ruined him for me.

I will say though that what I especially did enjoy about this book were the sweet little singular moments sprinkled throughout when we really got to see their friendship come through as opposed to just the love part. This one was really cute and fun, but just not a total home run for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Typically Helena's writing works for me but this one was a miss. Thank you for letting me read and review her books.

I love a friends to lovers and Helena knocked this one out of the park. I love the relationship between Avery and Declan from the very beginning and the chemistry between them was apparent from very early on. This book had so much humor (hello hobby horse riding convention). It’s something I love about a Helena Hunting book. That and fantastic, relatable characters.

2.5 STARS!

It pained me so much to give When Sparks Fly such a low rating as I'm a big fan of Helena Hunting, but this one was just not my cup of tea.

Avery and Declan are long time friends and are roommates. When Avery gets into a car accident that leaves her immobile for weeks, Declan steps up and wants to take care of her while she recovers. Soon, the lines begin to blur and these two friends become lovers *yum*.

This is went the story took a turn for me and not in the best way. I enjoyed Declan coming to his senses about his feelings for Avery but he became negative rather quickly. One moment ruins everything and there was no way I could forgive the hero. Plus, he honestly just had too many trust issues and easily jumped to conclusions.

Overall, there were rare moments I really really enjoyed, but this particular story simply wasn't a favorite.