When Sparks Fly was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021! I adore Helena Hunting and this book is totally another magical wonderful romance to add to you tbr!

Helena Hunting had the way of making you care about both main characters almost immediately. I was so invested in their story and was emotionally attached right away.

I love a friends to lovers romance and this one does it so well! My only wish was that there was a tiny bit more levity in the story. It gets kind of heavy at times so I was hoping for a bit of comedy to lighten the mood hit it reads more serious than that.

I highly recommend this one to all my romance lovers - Helena Hunting never disappoints! I will keep buying her books as long as she keeps writing them!

Thank you so much @Netgalley and @Stmartins for my copy of this book!

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting was a wonderful, sweet audiobook! There were two talented voice actors to give a voice to the two main characters! It was super well produced and I loved getting to hear this story out loud! Avery and Declan are friends from college and current roomies, but when a selfish choice by Declan ends with Avery in the hospital everything changes! I loved seeing their relationship evolve and how real it was!

One spark sets emotions aflame. Hunting highlights the tough moments without ever losing her sense of humor. With a voice that makes you feel and a charm that makes you smile, Hunting is a one-click treat to bookshelves everywhere. When Sparks Fly gives love a fighting chance when the realism of life gets in the way. Declan and Avery are a delight that prove to have double potency as Jason Clarke and Stella Bloom put their spin on perfection.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam Level: 🔥🔥🔥

Quick synopsis: Avery and Declan are BFFs, who also live together. When Avery gets into a potentially life threatening car a accident, and gets severely injured, Declan offers to take care of her. What he doesn’t realize is how completely he will end up taking care of her.

❤️Trope: Best friends to lovers

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I was invested right from the start. The characters are so lovable and relatable. I was rooting for them the entire time! Even the supporting characters are great. I loved Avery’s sisters, and the mutual friends that Avery and Declan share.

Fair warning: the book does get a little heavy when the author is talking about what happened in the crash. For me, it showed how intense the friendship and love was between the characters and Avery.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance novel. 💓💓

This was what i was looking for something nice , something without too much drama something too take my mind off and enjoy the story the characters.

This is the story of two best friends Avery and Declan they were always together hanging out, enjoying sports and games until something happened that change the dynamic forever, they were not anticipating this but life and circumstances brought them more together than ever.

This was a great story i really enjoy it because is not the tipical drama where the main characters will have to drag themselves to fix whatever was broken, it felt more mature more enjoyable.

I really enjoy Averys characters, she was smart, and bold not your typical heroine making mistakes over and over again. I love how sure of herself she is and how she was always on top of everything.

Declan was a gentleman that sometimes made mistakes and assume things but i like that he was also on top of things even if something he was not very tune with Avery but still he wasn't big on drama or mistakes.

The narrations by Jason Clarke and Stella Bloom were perfect i really enjoy how much depth they brought to the characters and the story.

I really recommend this book, you will enjoy and laugh a lot with the characters and the story.

Avery and Declan have been best friends since college and now that has come to the forefront. Trust issues and fears open a door to possibilities with Declan taking care of Avery and Avery needs Declan. When the friends goggles get removed, they finally have their eyes open. I am so thankful to MacMillan Audio for an opportunity to listen to an advanced listening copy.

When Sparks Fly is a new offering from busy Canadian author Helena Hunting. Avery Spark and Declan McCormick have been best friends since college. They have purchased a condo together and host game nights with the other two in their group, Mark and Jerome. Declan, an investment banker, does the investing for Avery and her sisters, London and Harley, for their family business, busy event center Spark House.

Seeking a sizable contract from her alumni association, Avery is set to make the drive to Boulder, a few hours away, to visit old friends, take in a game, and make her presentation for Spark House. The night before the trip, Avery goes on a first date with an online suitor. Declan’s reaction is to meet a friend from work for a drink, get sloshed, and bring home a random. When Declan is in no shape to travel the next day and his SUV is left somewhere downtown, Avery angrily takes her small car in the pouring rain and never makes her destination.

As Avery heals from a tragic accident she needs full time help. A very guilt ridden Declan insists on taking on the task. After all, he can work from home while London and Harley cannot run an event center from home, they are already down one person, and Declan feels he is the reason Avery was so greatly injured.

Through weeks of healing and rehab, they are together 24/7 and piece together quite a different relationship. But is Declan so damaged from his childhood home life that he can have no future other than the past he has known? This is a well crafted story that examines issues of circumstance closely and kindly while presenting engaging characters with humor and feeling. I very much enjoyed this book and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

When Sparks Fly is a cute and funny friends to lovers romance with a heavy dose of “fun times” if you know what I mean.

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting

Avery Spark enjoys her time with her friends, sisters and working at Spark House, an event hotel her family owns. She doesn’t have much time for anything, especially relationships!

She enjoys hanging with her best friend and roommate, Declan McCormick, than dealing with the dating scene.

Her sisters insist she tries dating.

Declan avoids relationships as well, he has a playboy reputation. He puts a one-night stand ahead of a promise he made Avery.

Avery is in a car accident and needs someone to care for her while she heals. Declan feels he’s the perfect one to care for Avery. He feels horrible he wasn’t there for her.

Will the time they spend together lead to something more as Avery heals?

Thank you Helena Hunting, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio to listen to this book in return for my honest review!

Harlequin Junkie Recommends!

Helena Hunting's newest flirty romance, When Sparks Fly, was aptly named because boy didn't things get sizzling hot between best friends--who were also roommates--when they decided to give a relationship a try.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of well-told friends to lovers romances. And Helena Hunting had a solid storyline, likable yet flawed characters, and a good amount of real emotions in this book. There was also an interesting backstory for both Avery and Declan in regard to how Declan was raised, and a tragedy that befell Avery's family. It explained a lot about their relationship hang ups. And it was unfortunately part of what caused some of the friction between Declan and Avery as they tried to navigate their friendship-turned-romance.

It was a lot of fun getting to know all of the cast. Avery was athletic, great with people, adored her sisters, and was a wonderful asset to their family business, Spark House. Some of the events Hunting created for them to host...oh my word did they make me laugh. And I have a feeling that the antics were probably based on true events, which made it even funnier. (lol)

Declan was a smart guy who worked in finance, was also athletic, and was fairly laid back. He was definitely a charmer. And was the king of casual hookups--nothing too emotional for him. I'll be honest that it was Declan I became the most frustrated with over time, but it was one of those situations where as a reader I knew it would work out and had to see where Hunting took his part of the story. I'm so glad I persevered because I loved the ending. The grand gesture fit Avery and Declan to a T and had a swoony feel to it that gets me every time. *sigh*

This was a fun story, a friends to lover trope that I enjoyed. Avery Spark is living her dream, running her family's hotel/event center known as Spark House. She works with her two younger sisters and it is now a premiere place to have events in Colorado Springs. She loves working with her sisters, has a great group of friends, and lives in a fantastic condo with her best friend Declan. She is very happy, but is missing a love life. On her way to an activity at her alma mater, that her and Declan were supposed to attend together, she is in a car accident that leaves her immobile and almost an invalid for several weeks. Declan is feeling guilty as well as scared that he almost lost Avery, that he offers to take care of her during her recovery. He arranges to work from home, so he is there 24/7. As he takes care of her and her needs, their friendship begins to shift into something more.

I really enjoyed this story. The characters were all wonderful, from Avery to Declan, Avery's sisters and the group from college that they met with regularly. The back story is that Avery dated Declan's best friend while in college and something happened where that friendship ended and Avery and Declan became roomies as well as inheriting the guys. There is a lot of humour, sexual tension and banter in this one that I loved. The relationships in the story, both family and friendships were amazing. Considering there is a lot of sexual activity, I was surprised I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I tend to be a bit prudish, but this was such a fun story, that I just went with it. I will say that the ending was predictable, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story. I really enjoyed listening to this book's audiobook, and the narrators was very good. I prefer having both male and female narrators in a romance and both Jason Clarke and Stella Bloom use expression and tone to give voice to the various characters. I do recommend this one to those who enjoy a good friends to lovers romance and do not have issue with open door romance.

A bad decision has life changing effects in this tale of best friends to lovers!

Avey and Declan have been best friends since Avery dated Declans BF in college. These two have even purchased a condo together. Nothing romantic has every came up between them and Avery has always been seen as one of the guys… that is until she isn’t…

Realizing that Avery might eventually meet someone and their perfect existence will be over creates a chain reaction of bad decision making by Declan that results in Avery getting into a terrible car accident… she needs constant care and as the one who put her in the situation, Declan insists on being her full-time caregiver until she is able to take care of herself. The close contact and the intimate situations they find themselves in evolve into more that a caregiver relationship and into a girlfriend /boyfriend situation.

But there are reasons why these two never got together earlier and when their past comes back for them, they find they have what it takes to make this relationship work outside the sickroom or loose everything.

I enjoyed this story and seeing Declan and Avery realize their attraction and feelings for each other and eventually act upon it. The catalyst for their coming together was really dramatic and places Declan in a pretty deep hole to climb out of as the hero of the story. I felt that he did in my opinion and I appreciated that later work he puts into himself in order to be ready and worthy of a relationship.

Overall I enjoyed both Avery and Declan and found myself very invested in the outcome of their relationship.

I listened to this in audiobook form and the dual narrator easy to listen to and handy for navigating the changes in narration. Both narrators had good pacing and complemented each other. The narration was well done and really helped bring Avery and Declan’s story to life.

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting is scheduled to release September 21st, 2021.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s and the audiobook from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#WhenSparksFly #HelenaHunting #Netgalley #pinkcowlandreads

First I want to thank Macmillan Audio for sending me an arc copy of the audiobook. I am a big fan Helena Hunting so when I say my request was approved I did a little happy dance and when I was done embarrassing myself, started listening.

When Sparks Fly follows roommates and best friends, Avery and Declan. After Avery gets in an accident and is unable to care for herself, Declan, who blames himself for the accident, steps in to take care of her. Neither of them could have imagined just how much assistance she would need and just how close they'd become.

My Helena Hunting loving heart really enjoyed this one. It was like the nurse you back to health trope but on steroids' and I ate it up.

In a level of transparency, the "dark moment" of the book frustrated me at first and it seemed pretty immature. Upon reflection, however, it made sense for the character to behave that way considering their lack of experience with relationships and upbringing.

The way the author chose to resolve the conflict and wrap up the story washed away any lingering annoyance. I felt it was really well done and smart and MATURE.

Since I was given an audiobook, I feel it is only fair to also review the narrators. They, Stella Bloom and Jason Clarke, did a phenomenal job at bringing these characters to life.

Overall, was very happy with this read :)

I switched between the audio and ebook version and was so thankful to have both, so I could keep reading while commuting and running errands. I am still new to the audiobook fiction game, so I loved reading this one where there were two different voices telling the story. I appreciated hearing Declan's story from a male's voice and then Avery's story from a female. That alone, kept me reading the audiobook version longer than the ebook!

Below is my review about the plot and the rest of the story that I wrote for the ebook version:
Avery and Declan have been friends for years and even roommates for the last couple of years and events in college perfectly solidified them in the friend zone, they have been fine until a car accident sets all sorts of things in motion!

I will always love a romance where it is a rekindling of an old flame or a kindling of someone the main character already knows. Because there is a past, it is easy for the book to stay far away from instalove and a from hello to bedroom too quickly! Because Avery and Declan have years of a past of friendships and the situation the author puts them in, it can easily go from 0 to 60 mph in a few chapters. Also I loved these characters - that helped.

Avery and her sisters were fun characters and I loved that we got to follow them in this book and watching how they balanced their business while Avery was out of commission was a fun dynamic to add to the book. I love when an author includes some real details and events about a character's job, makes them feel more well rounded and like a full human being!

This was my first Helena Hunting read and I hope to read more because I love the way she wrote the characters and the events of the story.

This is a very cute and funny friends to lovers romance. The friendship between Avery and Declan was believable. The pacing of the romance worked and didn’t feel rushed or insta-lovey.
The narrators chosen were great and truly added to my reading experience.

I enjoyed this book. I love a good friends to lovers story. Avery and Declan really are perfect for each other.

OK, this is cute. I’m happy I took a shot on those on the net galley. It’s adorable.


It’s very, very trope heavy, which happens especially with friends to lovers. And feels a little forced at times which again occurs in the romance genre.


There is nothing wrong with it, not really, it’s cute, it’s funny, but it’s generic, I usually love friends to lovers and enemies to lovers, and I didn’t feel at this time.

There’s nothing wrong direction with the audiobook. There’s nothing wrong with the writing.

It’s just that they’ve been living together as roommates for quite a while, and all of a sudden, they now have feelings, huh
This could work in some ways, but it doesn’t feel like it works here

It’s a cute sweet contemporary romance, but it’s also not exceptional. If you really love the trope, I’d say take a chance at it.

This is not what I would suggest to try or to start reading Friends to lovers.

So yeah, it’s cute, it’s funny, it’s fun, right exactly what you’re expecting

As always, thank you net galley, for sending me a review copy for free
And trust me, these are my thoughts and feelings and opinions

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to MacMillian Audio and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book.
I love love love coming of age stories!! Avery and Declan met in collage. Avery was dating Declan’s friend Sam when they first met. When Declan finds out Sam has been cheating on Avery. He tells her and then cuts Sam out of this life to support Avery. After college they buy a condo together. For 2 years they live as perfectly happy roommates until Declan makes some selfish choices that end up landing Avery in the hospital. When she leaves the hospital she’s going to need round the clock care until she’s back on her feet. Declan feeling so much guilt takes on the job. Will this change the dynamic of their friendship? Can they handle a change? You’ll have to read When Sparks fly to find out.

When Sparks Fly by Helen Hunting
Contemporary romance. Friends to lovers troupe. Alternating chapters between Avery and Declan. Stand-alone.
Avery and Declan have been friends and roommates since college. When Avery gets in an accident, Declan puts everything on hold to take care of her. Their awkwardness in intimate situations such as helping her into the shower becomes routine. Their awareness of each other increases as they spend time together.

Laugh out loud antics and quips. I enjoyed this novel for the amusing friendship they shared and the increasing sexual tension. There were issues they had to deal with to get to a healthy relationship. It wasn’t just bushed away which I appreciated.
I liked the heroine for her comfort with her life and body and her understanding of dealing with issues head on.

Is love different than “in love”? Avery and Declan need to figure that out.

🎧 I listened to the audio version while reading along with an ebook copy. For me, the ebook increased the humor and tension but the audio made me more aware of Declan’s thoughts since his chapters were narrated Jason Clarke. Both he and Stella Bloom did a wonderful job with the performances. For each of their chapters, they did both male and female. I was impressed with both and liked the alternating as the change enhanced the two different points of view. I listened to most of the recording at 1.25 which is the most comfortable for me but to read the text at the same time, I needed to increase the speed to 1.5.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley, Macmillan and Macmillan Audio. I also purchased a copy to keep and read again in the future.

Ahhhh, truly loved the picks to narrate When Sparks Fly, I was quickly immersed as soon as I pressed play. This was my first time listening to a book narrated by Stella and Jason. I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for more books they've narrated and hope this publisher uses them again!

Friends to lovers aren't my go-to trope, but since I've read books by Helena Hunting and have enjoyed some of them, I was eager to give this a try. But it didn't quite work out for me like I hoped it would.

We have Avery and Declan that have been best friends since college and are now roommates. I was quite curious to see how everyday life would be like since Dec is known as a playboy. But things start coming to light when Avery unexpectedly goes on a date and that set things in motion for me. We start seeing the jealous side of Dec, which was something I expected, but just the actions he took because of that lead to other things that became quite unforgivable.

In the beginning of the book, Avery gets into an accident, which the aftermath of it all was a little graphic than I expected it to be. It definitely surprised me a bit. With the long road of recovery for Avery, Dec steps up and takes care of her. So, there's definitely more I want to share on this, but it's kind of spoilery.

The first half of the book, I was enjoying, but hesitant about Dec. Now that they're in even more of a close proximity situation because of Avery's injuries. We start seeing things grow even more between them. From then on, I started liking Dec less and less.

One of the things that I did like about the book is mental health and that the author normalized talking to someone or getting help. Both MCs still have some growing to do especially apart. Even by the end, I still wasn't on board with Dec and everything he did in this book.

I really wished this worked out better for me, but I know many will absolutely love this book.

Narration - 5/5
Story 2.5-3/5