My goodness. How do I love Helena Hunting? Let me count the ways.
.
The most amazing build up.
.
The characters. Plain and simple. I love them.
.
Prince charming is not real. What is real? A real man with real issues facing them.
.
Chemistry.
.
Everything is not wrapped up in a hot minute.
.
I could keep going.
.
This story made me smile and laugh. I blushed and all in all. Loved it. So excited it is a series. I cannot wait for the rest!

Wow- In True Helena Hunting fashion, this has everything f you could want in a book- friendship, romance, comedy, strong women, and real life getting in the middle of all that. Absolutely loved this book- finished it in a plane ride and made it go by so quickly

This is a sweet, friends-to-lovers story that is an easy read. The plot was rather obvious and it was easy to see where the story would go, which is a bit of a shame. At times it was a little slow and repetitive, but it had its good points and I did enjoy reading it.

I liked the friendship between Avery and Declan, both friends since college, they get along really well and share a flat. After Avery is in an accident they have to get a lot closer as Declan looks after her. I did find them a little frustrating at times, with all the introspection and I certainly wanted to bash their heads together.

Overall, this is a nice story and if you are after an uncomplicated love story with a touch of heat then this book will probably suit you.

This book pulled at my heartstrings. It’s got a lot of funny moments but it has a lot of depth to it’s storyline. There’s pain and sorrow to go along with the funny. It’s a best friends to lovers story. The writing is super and I loved the characters. I just devoured this book. I was so wrapped up in Avery and Declan’s relationship. I really hope Avery’s sister’s each get a book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thank you to the publisher for ARC of When Sparks Fly. I love a good friends to enemies and forced proximity - sign me up!! Overall, I enjoyed the interaction between Avery & Declan. I do feel that this story was missing the great banter and heat from HH’s books. I was frustrated with Declan with his self sabotaging ways and those types of big conflicts. This was a 3.5 star read.

I’m normally a fan of Helena Hunting’s, but this one fell a bit flat for me. It’s an ok friends to lovers/forced proximity but the transition from friends to lovers felt rushed and just kinda weird for me. I wanted to like the characters more, but I feel Avery was a huge pushover and I wanted her to be stronger. She kept apologizing for things she shouldn’t have with both Declan and her sisters. I also didn’t feel a more than friends chemistry with them, until nearer to the end of the book. With them having been best friends, I felt the big conflict was a bit much. I know Declan has trust issues stemming from his parents, but I don’t feel he would have gone off the way he did. I did like that therapy played into it because he wanted to be better for her and he needed it for himself. The last 25% of the book I thought was the strongest. I just wanted to feel the love between them more.

Overall, it was an ok, quick read and I will continue reading Helena Hunting books.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3 1/2 Stars

I struggled with this one. I honestly forgot I was still reading it. There was a lot going on, more than necessary. I liked both main characters but thought they were a little too one dimensional and caricatures of what people should be like. It followed the exact format a friends to partners story would, but what split them up just didn’t sit right with me or feel realistic.

Ms. Hunting’s romantic tale of friends to lovers has angst, sweetness, anger and redemption. Declan and Avery have put each other firmly in the friend zone, until an accident makes her dependent on him and gives him the chance to change the status quo. Told with sweetness and humor, these friends get...eventually to their H.E.A. although it was a twisty path. It’s definitely a fun read and not to be missed.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse, and recommend it .

Another win for Helena Hunting! I’ve been reading her stories since her days of Twilight fan fiction and she never disappoints. I loved the angsty arguing back and forth with Blaine and Ronan that they both realized was based on situational irritation. I will ALWAYS request a Helena Hunting novel because it’s a promise of a page turner I won’t put down.

Declan and Avery are college friends who become roommates and with some bumps along the way eventually more. After an accident forces some dependency issues things progress fast between the pair but Declan has some relationship/family/trust issues and these come up in a not so pleasant way. This kind makes him a not so lovable character, but it wasn't irredeemable to me. Overall this was a nice quick friends to lovers read.

When Sparks Fly is an emotionally satisfying romance novel that’s easy to love. I enjoyed the friends to lovers trope and appreciated how the ending wrapped up nicely. There were some instances where it felt a tad bit too lengthy and crammed with unnecessary details but overall, I fell in love with Declan & Avery.

I did not enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed others by the author. Story and characters were fine, but I feel as though it went from zero to sixty with some of the romance scenes and it felt a little out of place. However, I really liked the main characters and how their relationship grew through the experience. I will continue to read more Hunting's books because overall I am still big fan.

Best friends to lovers is the worst trope in human history, IMO. That being said, THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!
Avery and Declan have been friends since college and now live together. They share the same friends and spend most of their evenings together.
When Avery is involved in an accident, Declan is wrecked with guilt. He was supposed to be with her in the car but he blew her off for a one-night stand.
Declan dedicates himself to helping her recover and keeping her company while she is stuck at home.
Declan and Avery get closer than ever as he helps her heal and soon they realize that their feelings might be more than just platonic.
So again, like I said. Worst trope ever but Helena Hunting does it SOO good.
The friendship between Declan and Avery honestly seems platonic at first and I was like "eeww" because I couldn't see them falling in love.
Basically their feelings surprised me as much as it surprised them. I loved how the evolution of their relationship just seemed so genuine.
This was the book that brought me out of my book slump and I am so glad for it. If you're a fan of romance, this is the book for you.

Spectacular! This book has it all, tragic backstory, amazing friends and family, friends to something more, car accidents and then healing not just the physical body but the mental mind as well. I could not put this book down, once you start and really get a feel for the characters you are immersed in this world and nothing else exists, just ask my family who had take out pizza because I burnt dinner.
Dec is an amazing male character who doesn’t have the physical wounds but is emotionally unavailable. I know I shed a tear when the car accident happen just thinking if only Dec would have put her first, or not been a jealous jerk the accident may not have happen.
I love that this story felt very real after she moved out. It took that much for him to start to get some help. Then how they took their time to rebuild their relationship, the scavenger hunt at the end, tears!
You really saw the characters grow in this story and really take a superficial relationship and start building a firm foundation for their relationship to grow on.
I wonder did the fountain ever get restored before grandma came home? How about the super sporty bride, how did the bachelorette party go with the penis piñata? Which was hysterical by the way.
I wish there was a way to rate this story with 10 starts or an over the top, you need to read this book because it’s so awesome rating!
Excellent job!

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an arc of When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting!

I have been a fan of Hunting’s books and was so excited to read this one. It definitely had some good humour and I loved the forced proximity. There was a lot of “telling” about how things happened and less showing through writing and character interactions and this sometimes felt forced and it took me out of the story a little bit. I also found some behaviours of characters out of line - I really did not like London, Avery’s sister and even though some of Declan’s behaviours and reactions were ‘explained’, it did make it hard to root for Avery and Declan as a couple. I did like that there was importance placed on therapy and mental health support.

Triggers: death of parents in car accidents, serious car accident of main character told on page with detail. Alcoholism, discussions of cheating on partner,

I really enjoyed this romcom. There were spots that kinda got annoying the constant reading of their past. I think we got it that Sam cheated and was an asshole lol. But overall highly recommend it if you want a good summer romance novel. Love that it takes place in my home state 😍

A friends-to-lovers romance with plenty of steam, this book was humorous but also dealt with some serious issues. I appreciated the family dynamics between the main character and her sisters as well as between all the friends. An emphasis on mental healthcare really helped ground the romantic relationship and was written with sensitivity and care. All in all a great romantic read.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the early copy to read. All opinions are my own.

What can be said? This was true to Hunting's modus operandi. It made me laugh, teary, and was an adventure from start to finish. I'm creating quite a following with her titles and my readers are no disappointed!

This was my first time reading author Helena Hunting & I really enjoyed the book. The story of friendship & love & fear & jealousy was a wonderful read. I enjoyed the relationship between Declan & Avery, their relationship was one of friendship first & after a tragic accident it turns into more. It was fun watching the very independent Avery have to rely on Declan to take care of her & heartache on Declan’s part for his hand in Avery’s accident. The roller coaster ride of emotions as they grew closer & then were torn apart by fear & jealousy kept me glued to the pages. This is a definite recommend to read. I’m hoping that there might be a couple more books coming after this. Thank you to the publisher & Net Galley for letting me read this book for an honest review.

This is not my kind of novel, so it was a challenge reading through. But I appreciate the publisher sending me a copy to read.
There's A LOT of sexual undertones throughout the entire novel, with a heat level that will take you behind closed doors. For me, this was off-putting, as it wasn't so much about the relationship between the hero and heroine, but more about how long could they hold off jumping in bed together.
There were some clever moments, but unfortunately I just didn't get into the story due to the heat level. (I'm more of a sweet romance reader).