This is my exact definition of a palate cleanser. You know, one of those stories that is well written, engaging, and entertaining but not stressful or consuming or heavy. I find that this is a niche genre that I NEED in my repertoire every few books.

The characters were relatable and likable. The story, while somewhat predictable, was unique and I was rooting for Avery and Declan from the start. I sometimes get frustrated with the romantic arc of build-up, intense love scene, completely avoidable conflict, make-up. Particularly the conflict part. But in the case of "When Sparks Fly", the conflict felt much more set in reality. There wasn't any petty "not calling for weeks" or hopelessly devoted "wishing for someone to apologize for a very minor misunderstanding". It felt real. People do have baggage and trauma and it can cause conflict. You work through it and hope for a happy ending. In this case, I was along for the ride and appreciated the messy normalcy.

The audiobook was well done with different voices for Avery and Declan. A quick listen that I am sure would also be a quick read.

This friends to lovers was such a great yet cute, sweet read and I enjoyed it from page one. This did not feel like the typical friends to lovers type of read. In this book, we meet Declan and Avery, two friends and roommates that have known each other since college that have had unresolved feelings for the other for just as long. When Avery is severely injured in a car accident, Declan steps in as her caregiver. While taking care of Avery, the pair take that their friendship to the next step and let their amazing chemistry loose. In the end, events occur and the pair are forced to face some serious issues in their life.

In this book, the characters were well written. Avery, the tom boyish girl who is also one of the guys is still a little damaged from her parent's death while being busy trying to please everyone in her life. She is the oldest of her sisters and runs an event center with them. She works hard with them to keep ensure that the business is successful while keeping her sisters happy as well as their customers and determined to have a full recovery from her accident. Declan on the other hand has been Avery's long time friend from college. He assists her and her sisters with the finances of the event center and comes from a set of parents that did not have a healthy relationship who constantly use him during their arguments. He is extremely loyal and carries a lot of guilt when it comes to Avery's accident.

This book moved along well and had me hooked from the start. I enjoyed the dynamic between the characters as well as their chemistry. I was sorry to see this book end and while on one hand wish that the supporting characters can get a story of their own also feel that the book ended just right and it would not matter if this story turns in to a series.

In the audio version of this book, both narrators did a great job bringing this story to life. Both Jason Clarke and Stella Bloom's performance of this book made it an enjoyable listening experience, keeping my interest in the story throughout their performance.

Overall, this was a great read that I enjoyed from page one. I have been a long time fan of Ms. Hunting's books and like her other books, I would recommend this book to others.

I loved the first half of this book!!! Steamy, dramatic, a perfect friends to lovers storyline!!! The second half just fell a little flat for me.

A mostly fun listen. Avery and Declan have been friends forever. They are truly the best of friends and even bought a condo together that they live in platonically thinking they’ve got it all worked out. They are both fooling themselves. They are also both emotionally stunted and immature in their personal lives, though are both stellar in their professional ones. Avery gets in to a car accident as a result of being monumentally let down by Declan and a really bad driver in the other car. As they live together Declan feels immense remorse and wants to help her with any and everything. They make an agreement to a few unconventional things and it all start off well. And then it goes off the rails. Refer to my previous comments about their collective maturity levels. Some of the story is really sweet and you only want the best for them, but keep hoping they’ll grow up. Overall it makes for a nice listen and or read by a terrific author.

Omg this book!! It gets you all in your feelings and make you want everything Declan can offer!! This man… phew! The book was enjoyable to listen to, and the narrators were great. I highly recommend it!

I have read several Helena Hunting’s books and I’m a fan. This book is a friends to lovers. I found it to maybe be a tad too predictable but overall an enjoyable romcom. Stella Bloom & Jason Clarke do a great job with the narration.

Avery Spark is an event planner living her best life. When a car accident leaves her bedridden, her roommate and best friend Declan steps into be her caregiver. The car accident is indirectly Declan’s fault - he was supposed to be driving her in his SUV. Instead, he had a one-night stand the night before and was too hungover to take her. Declan feels responsible for Avery’s accident and takes on the responsibility of handling all of Avery’s needs. (ALL of them - do you see where this is going?)

I love Helena Hunting, and I was so excited for this one. It did start off slow for me, but once I get into it, I couldn’t put it down. Typically, I hate the friends to lovers trope, but Avery and Declan’s relationship felt genuine. I loved it!

Thanks to @NetGalley for my ARC! When Sparks Fly is on shelves on 9/21/21. You should preorder it, so it’ll fly to your shelf in September. 😉

When Sparks Fly is a best friends-to lovers romance that brings a unique spin to the classic trope.

Declan and Avery are the very best of friends. Things begin to change when a guilt stricken Declan desire to car for Avery after a terrible accident. Declan and Avery are a wonderful match and I commend Hunting on bringing awareness to mental health in this novel. Declan is so caring but struggles with guilt and his self-worth. I loved how supportive Avery is in this story and she had friends to lean on.

The narration is done flawlessly. I loved the dual narration. Stella Bloom and Jason Clarke did a wonderful job at capturing the emotional moments and the flow and pace was perfect.

When Sparks Fly is a great best friends-to-lovers romance that will evoke a multitude of emotions but still love every minute of it. I recommend this books for any romance reader.

Helena Hunting does it again with another romantic comedy! This is the second Hunting book I've read, but I binge read both of them! When Sparks Fly is a friends-to-lovers romance and the first of a new series. Avery and Declan have been best friends since college and now live together. Everything changes after Avery sustained leg and arm injuries after a car crash, and Declan blames himself since he was not there. Now Declan becomes Avery's care partner during her recovery journey...what could go wrong? Sparks ignite, and Declan and Avery need to acknowledge how they really feel.

Thank you, St. Martin's Griffin, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley, for my complimentary ALC/ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not the biggest fan of friends to lovers, because the shift in dynamic is always weird and everyone around is unsure about everything, but <i>When Sparks Fly</i> was well written with an interesting plot. Recovering from a traumatic event changes how you see life, and it's guaranteed that things that were normal and easy will no longer be normal and easy.

This book was a cute friends to lovers. The male love interest would infuriate me at times, but he worked it out. Do people not understand communication? Anyways, I would recommend this to someone looking for an enjoyable, entertaining next read.

Avery and Declan have been best friends for years, and are great roommates. When Avery gets into a car accident that leaves her immobile for months, Declan steps up to take care of her. As they spend more time together, the attraction they’ve both kept below the surface starts to come out. But can they transition back to normal life and have a relationship?

Warning: this book is super singable. From the first scene with the hobby horses, I was hooked and before I knew it I was 75% in and hadn’t stopped reading. You will feel literally everything when reading this: anger, sadness, happiness, amusement - this touches on all the emotions AND gets a little steamy and very romantic. The character s were flawed but likable and very relatable. The drama felt realistic and not forced. This was really just a fantastic rom com. This was my first book by Helena Hunting and I will soon be reading more of her work.

I adored the audio. There were two different narrators for Avery and Declan’s points of view and both were fabulous!

Thanks Macmillan audio for the advanced copy. When Sparks Fly will be released on September 25th.

I always look forward to Helena Hunting's books and I admit that this is one of the first times that I have heard one of her audiobooks. I really enjoyed the narrators, Jason and Stella. I felt that when both started there was a bit of feeling like it was going to be a monotone voice but that feeling quickly dissipated. Both were in the character and it really helped get the comedic timing right. They added personality to the story and did an awesome job with these characters and the whole story. The only thing I would have changed is to have allowed the narrators to voice in the same chapter during conversations. For example, during a chapter where Stella was the voice, she would also attempt and be the male voice if she had a conversation with the male character.

I give this audiobook 5 stars. I think listeners will appreciate the narrators for really capturing the characters and their respective personalities.

I pretty much love everything Helena Hunting writes so I was so excited to get an early copy of this audiobook! And in true Helena fashion, this was GREAT!! An adorable friends-to-lovers romance with a great plot, great side characters, and a good amount of steam! Avery and Declan's relationship was just so great and I was constantly rooting for them to grow their relationship into more. To note, this was not a super fluffy romance - it tackles some serious circumstances that they have to work through. I will say I wasn't the biggest fan of how the conflict shook out, so that's why I docked it a star, but overall, I really enjoyed this!

Rating: 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an early copy of this audiobook - all opinions are my own!

When sparks fly
By Helena Hunting.

Avery and Declan were college best friends.
Now in their late twenties after deciding to share a condo for years, their love for food and crosswords as well as playing sports together with two of their college friends, they find themselves sharing a bit more after an accident that leaves Avery in need of a full-time nurse. Declan's sense of guilt for not prioritizing his plans with Avery makes him feel not only responsible but available 24/7 for every need she could have from the moment she is out of the hospital. Proximity, chemistry, and personal needs make the story funny,
fast-paced, super sexy, dorky, and cute.

Back in the day, Avery fell in love with Declan's best friend Sam. They shared a relationship for a few years until he cheated on her. This broke up the group and Declan’s and Sam’s friendship. Declan decided to stay loyal to Avery and
He is a key part of her life.

They navigate how to bring afloat The sparks House, the event company managed by Avery and her sisters after the accident impedes Avery to work onsite and find the necessary sponsorship and business accounts the way she used to; As well as their internal demons and traumas that had avoided them to see what they share as an exponential powerful love relationship, and while doing it all they grow as beautiful human beings.

Reading about their friendship felt like a warm hug to my heart. Built on loyalty, pure simplicity, and absolutely no masks except the love for each other surpassing a friendship that had been building up for so many years and none of them willing to recognize.
One of the things that I most liked is how healthy Declan’s and Avery's friendship is and how they acted once everything was exposed.
There was no excessive drama or traditional back and forth in decision making the way is frequently observed in most Friends to lovers stories.
Their internal dialogues and Declan's awareness of his actions joined with Avery's knowledge and compassion for his emotional development made up gratefully for their mistakes helping each other grow as well as their relationship.

Hunting’s style is clean and so engaging. She makes it practically impossible to stop the fiction and continue with your own life.

I heard this story in audio format.

The overall narration was excellent.

Stella Bloom and Jason Clarke did an extraordinary job bringing out all the feels, as well as differentiating each character with unique personal voices.



4 1/2 ⭐️
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I feel that this friends to lovers story did a lot of things right, and fell into some tragic tropes as well.

The first half of this book was amazing. I loved the friendly dynamic between them, as well as their friend group in general. Our hero, Declan, comes across as a playboy unwilling to commit because he doesn't want to be like his parents who had a very toxic relationship.

Avery has her own anxieties and things that she deals with, and leads to Declan being a reason she pushed herself into a situation that furthers her anxiety. This leads to a devastating car accident, where she is out of work for a long while.

I loved the nursing back to health grovel that Declan goes on. I felt like it was appropriate. The chemistry and tension in the house because of that was really captivating, and I enjoyed that. Once things started to go back to their more normal circumstances, that is where this book fell apart for me a bit.

Overall, it was still a fun time, and the audio narration was fantastically done as well. Really enjoyed the dual narration. If you are going to pick this one up, I would recommend the audio.

A friends-to-lovers rom-com.

Avery and Declan are best friends. They have been friends since college and they live together in a condo they purchased together. After Avery suffers an injury, Declan becomes her caregiver. While they have known each other for years, this is a whole new level of intimacy. They are both faced with feelings they have been supressing for years.

I basically read this in one sitting. Declan and Avery have amazing chemistry and the majority of the book moves at a fast pace. Towards the end, I felt things got a little slow. I understand the need, but it was still quite a shift.

This was almost 5 stars for me. Almost. While it contains several elements that I typically dislike [Especially the H having sex with another woman (hide spoiler)], it made sense with the characters. Both are damaged. Declan has been a womanizer his whole life, but his backstory makes it make sense. But, despite the story working well, I couldn't completely get past some elements that typically make me cringe.

I listened to the audiobook. Both narrators did a great job. I always love listening to Jason Clarke narrate ;)

I really enjoyed this book. But I know it is not going to be for everyone.

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.