Starry-Eyed Love (Spark House #2) by Helena Hunting

I was hopelessly devoted in love with Starry-Eyed Love. I couldn’t put this phenomenal, engaging and fun book down. I adore this author’s style of writing and I loved both London Spark and Jackson Holt. And being back at Spark House with the Spark sisters was so exciting, refreshing charming, as well as frustrating at times. You will love how close these sisters have become as they work together to grow their amazing family business.

London Spark is the middle sister and so creative she even has an Etsy store on the side. She has just broken up with her latest boyfriend and is out celebrating her new single status with her sisters Avery and Harley. When an attractive man pays for their food and drink and slips London his phone number, but she turns him down flat. Fast forward a few months later a multi-million dollar company calls and asks for a meeting to learn more about Spark House. They want to see if it would be a good addition to their network, since they are seeking out more family-run companies like Spark House.

During the meeting, the company’s CEO Jackson Holt, enters after London has started her presentation. Eventually she is floored when she realizes that although he looks different, he is the man that she rejected at the bar a few months ago. And now she and Spark House could really use his help.

Jackson Holt is usually a strictly professional business man who is against romance with colleagues, but the chemistry between him and London is hard for him to get past. But, he knows from experience to not mix business with pleasure and he stays away until their business has concluded. But then he is dropping by and supporting her in every way and in everything she is involved with. And their spark soon is quite the flame as he uses everything at his disposal to woo the woman that has captured his attention.

I loved the slow burn chemistry between London and Jackson. I was a goner for him and his caring and loving ways. This story was sweet, romantic, charming, delicious, hot and totally swoon worthy. A story that kept me fully entertained from start to finish. Leaving me with a wide grin on my face and a happy heart. I can’t wait to see what’s next in the wonderful Spark House Series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

I wish I could put my finger on what didn't work for me in this book. In theory, it should check all of the boxes. Was it so much talk about how green they are? (but only in the first half. they forgot in the second half) Maybe it was the light amount of chemistry on page between the main characters? It could definitely have been the bossy older sister. I wanted this book to work so badly. I liked the story premise. I love the sisterhood between the Spark girls. I just think I wanted to FEEL more from this book.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

Starry-Eyed Love is a slow burn romance full of meddling sisters, millionaire flair and love after loss. While I didn’t love the first book in this series (When Sparks Fly), I was excited to dive into London’s story.

London Spark is the middle Spark sister and the one who feels the most boxed in by her work at Spark House. She loves her sisters and working with them every day but the administrative work she handles is not her strong suit and doesn’t use her creativity. Even though she disliked her job, she suffered in silence, dealing with the anxiety before every meeting and pushing herself out of her comfort zone constantly. I think London was a bit of a martyr and always put others before herself, leaving her physically and emotionally drained and feeling a lack of passion for almost everything.

Jackson Holt is a young CEO who has devoted so much of his power and influence to do good and build up smaller businesses with similar missions, like Spark House. He’s a millionaire with a heart of gold and he’s caught up in London from the first time he sees her. I really liked Jackson - he was sweet, caring, thoughtful and really smart. But he also was naive about a lot of things and didn’t fully think things through before acting sometimes which seemed strange for such a successful man.

London and Jackson meet during a night out with her sisters and she turns him down. But then they meet up again when London is giving a presentation to partner with Jackson’s company. They become business associates, friends and more than that but things are difficult since they work together and are partially long distance. These two seemed to click pretty quickly and they connected due to their mutual loss of their parents. But I felt like we only scratched the surface of their relationship. I didn’t feel a deep connection between them or like I knew much about them other than surface level things and I wasn’t really invested in their happily ever after. They went through the motions but didn’t pull me in.

There were a few things I kept getting hung up on in this story. The first was Avery in general. I didn’t love her in her story but in this one she’s insufferable, selfish and honestly kind of rude, even to her sisters. Every time she was on the page I rolled my eyes. The second thing that drove me crazy was the conflict between London and Jackson - everything could have been solved with a conversation. One 10 minute talk and everything would have been fine between them…it was frustrating to say the least.

Overall, Starry-Eyed Love was an easy read with some sweet parts, but also some frustrating points. I’m really curious to see where Harley’s book will take us and how things will be wrapped up for the Spark sisters and Spark House.

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝."
"𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝."

⏤ 3.5 Maple Leafs ⏤

London and Jackson seem to keep coming into each other’s lives at the wrong time to act on their attraction to each other but when the right time finally comes, Jackson’s past may be too much of a hurdle to overcome.

I am not sure why but I have struggled with the Spark House books. I did not feel a romantic connection between Jackson and London, there was a little too much drama from the secondary characters, and the book moved a little too slowly for me.

Starry-Eyed Love is the second book in the Spark House series which is a friends-to-lovers, workplace romance told in the dual first-person point of view.

*Sigh* This was wonderful. Witty and romantic, with that Spark sister dynamic I’ve come to love. I really liked how naturally Jackson and London’s relationship evolved and how they didn’t let their personal feelings get in the way of their respective businesses. I thought the focus on eco conscious locations was great, and I loved getting to delve deeper into London’s creative side. The honesty and candor between London and Jackson was super refreshing and I thought it really added to their chemistry. *I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Party planner London is meeting with a potential client when their billionaire CEO joins in and starts grilling her. She's shocked to realize he's the man she turned down a few months earlier when he propositioned her at a bar. Jackson still seems interested, but their working relationship makes romance impossible. Can they find a way to be together?

London and Jackson have a fun and flirty relationship that makes this book a pleasure to read. The story was well-paced and compelling. London's sisters also play an important role in the novel. The main characters were well-developed with tons of sensual tension.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This author can write any genre and do it well. In this series about the Spark House, each of the sisters has their own story to tell and London’s is fabulous! She’s a woman who has to get things done and there just isn’t time in a day for everything she needs to do. Her sisters have figured out how to add variety to their lives – London still has to work on that. Meeting Mr. Wonderful will have to wait for her until she meets a guy who won’t take no for an answer! Jackson is just as stubborn and makes the sparks fly in this wonderfully written HEA. I can’t wait for the next one!

I seriously loved London!

London Spark was taking a break from helping to run the family hotel with a night out with her sisters when a gorgeous guy asked her for a date, but she turned him down since she had just ended a relationship. Little did she know he was Jackson Holt, and she would see him again when his company wanted to partner with Spark House and their new green initiative.

I seriously loved London because she slowly fell in love with Jackson working through all the baggage each of them carried working together to balance their private and public lives.

I can’t wait for Harley’s book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is my version of the perfect book I love to read. There is a determined and talent main woman, London. There is a hunky man, Jackson, who knows what he wants and goes after it. There is romance, chemistry, heat, drama, jealousy, other love interests, and resolution.
I have a tendency to forget men can become haggard and heartbroken just as women can.
Hunting captures a myriad of emotions in an engrossing way. I never looked up until I finished.

Whoa. I enjoyed the heck out of this one. Starry-Eyed Love was just about everything I love in a romance.

Both Jackson and London were excellent characters with wonderful characteristics as well as flaws. I loved them as individuals, and together they were absolutely amazing.

I really appreciated the slow-burn of their relationship. Even though they had initial attraction and chemistry, they were friends and business associates before they went further. It took some time in the story, but the anticipation was well worth it.

I also loved the Cinderella vibe of the story. Jackson lavished London with some special gifts and sweet gestures, and I adored him for it.

Avery actually took some of the enjoyment out of the story for me. She was controlling and unreasonable for a good portion of the book, and I just didn't like her.

I did, however, enjoy Harley, and I can't wait to see what her story will bring.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

London is so relatable. It is clear that she has accepted less than she deserves in many areas of her life. Dedicated to her sisters and the family business, her work day involves many things that she can do but doesn't love while her passion project, an Etsy store for paper crafts, is often shoved aside. Her love life is a constant series of relationships with men she doesn't have a spark with to prevent heartbreak.

Slowly but surely, a romance develops between London and Jackson at work. Initially, they are just business associates, then they become friends. Although he doesn't realize it, Jackson is an expert at "work dates" as well as pampering and supporting London. The buildup is well worth the wait as London and Jackson together are hot!

It was wonderful to see more of the three sisters together in Starry-Eyed Love. As their boutique events hotel grows exponentially, their strong bond is put to the test. I love how realistic the sisters' tensions are about the business direction and finding balance, and that underlying love between them shines through throughout!

I really enjoyed this fun and sexy latest installment in the Spark House series! I can't wait to read the final sister's story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this voluntary review are my own.

This is only the second novel I’ve read by Hunting, and I loved it just as much as the first. This series is heartwarming, sweet, and handles communication challenges that are worthy of your full attention.

I think the only thing that caught me off guard while reading was the dialogue at times, because of how formal the characters were with one another, but in the setting it also made a lot of sense.

I personally love all romance tropes, but the ones when the characters have to stay away from one another despite how much they just want to be together? Melts my heart every time. I finished this book in a single day and I definitely recommend it (and while you could read it without reading the first, I highly recommend reading them in order).

I’m not even going to try and be cool about this. I really loved this book. After reading Sparks Fly in January I was so hooked on the Spark ladies and Spark House that I needed the next book asap. Of course it wasn’t out yet so what did I do? I stalked Helena Hunting’s social media, I frantically searched through Netgalley and finally I signs up through SocialButterfly Pr to just have a chance that they would give me this book.

I’m so grateful to have gotten this advanced copy. I’m still trying to decide if I liked it more than the first. They were both so different and so so so good.

So Starry-Eyed Love focuses on London Sparks who is in the first book but seems a little uptight throughout most of the book. In this one you realize that London is so uptight because she is taking on way too much work with her sisters trying to make Spark House, their family owned and operated retreat/hotel, successful. She doesn’t have time to do creative stuff which she loves or find the love of her life until a twist of fate brings Jackson Holt into her orbit. And wow what a bright star he is. This was my first millionaire/billionaire (I don’t know how much money he had, I just know it was a lot) romance and it will not be my last. Could be one of my new favorite tropes.

I knew this was going to be good when I read this in the first chapter: “I just needed to tell you that from across the room, you were beyond stunning, but up close. You are an absolute work of art.”
“Oh, really? The kind of art you might hang in your living room?”
“Bedroom, actually.”

This is a tough one to review because I'm so let down. I really enjoyed When Sparks Fly. I loved Avery and Declan's story. I've also read a lot of Helena Hunting and have been entertained by so many of her books. London and Jackson's story was boring with a capital B. I hated Avery in this story as she's planning her and Declan's wedding, yelling at her sisters and not acknowledging what their business, Spark House really needs. The third act conflict made zero sense. I'm surprised by so many praising reviews. Did we read the same book? This make me question if I will actually read the next book in this series because there is one more sister left.

I love London. She is the business side of the Spark House that she owns and runs with her sisters, however, that isn’t her dream. London is also extremely creative and crafty and you can feel the passion she has for creating. Jackson is a millionaire, but he is also pretty down to earth and doesn’t love to flaunt his wealth unless it is to help someone. London and Jackson cross paths shortly after a break up for London and she turns down Jackson. Neither of them thought their paths would cross again….
While this was a slow burn, I loved the build up. I love that you could feel the chemistry between London and Jackson and seeing them connect the more and more time they spent together and just got to talking about their lives. However, also the fact that they are working together kind of puts a damper on taking things further.
There were a lot of ups and downs when it came to London and Jackson and a whole lot of misunderstandings. You could feel the emotions and the pain that these two were feeling throughout the story and also the joy.
I love the bond that London has with her sisters, Avery and Harley. Besides their grandma they are all the family they have. They may not always see eye to eye, but they are protective of each other and will always be there for each other.
If you’re looking for a slow burn, workplace, rom com check this one out.

London Spark has just broken up with her boyfriend when a handsome man hits on her while she’s at a bar with her sisters. Uninterested in a rebound and not ready for anything more, she turns him down and turns her focus to her family’s event hotel and her role as business administrator.

A few months later, a major company calls and asks to meet with London to discuss a partnership. Out of her comfort zone, London works to prove to herself that she can do this, and her meeting is going well, up until the company’s CEO crashes it and turns out to be none other than the guy she turned down at the bar.

Jackson Holt is known for keeping his relationships private but he’s struggling to keep things professional with London when his feelings are anything but. When their professional business is finally over, they take their relationship to official status, but with issues cropping up from Jackson’s past and from London’s job and her sisters, neither knows where they stand.

This story got off to a pretty slow start and it took me a while to get into it. We meet the hero in the first chapter, but then he and the heroine don’t meet again for several months and even then, the heroine narrates the majority of the chapters. We hardly get any of Jackson’s point of view and I found it a little odd that it took so long for him to even really appear on the page and then he only narrated one chapter out of the first ten. That may have been for the best, however, just because the male narrator didn’t differentiate much between dialogues and inner monologues so sometimes it was hard to tell what was something Jackson was saying to London and what was just his thoughts. Other than that, I loved the male narrator’s voice, the female narrator did great voices, especially helpful for telling the three sisters apart, and helped me stay invested in the story once it did grab me.

I have to say, the hot and cold dynamic between Jackson and London wasn’t the most romantic thing I’ve ever read, but it did make sense given the fear of attachment they both had. I also was not crazy about the unexpected other woman drama that cropped up (nothing Jackson did/no cheating), but it did highlight how clueless Jackson was. I think they both assumed a lot about what the other was thinking and were in desperate need of some communication, but this finally did come through in the end in a satisfying way and I loved the epilogue. I’m also really glad I read Avery’s book first because she was such a pill in this one that I’m not sure I’d want to go back and read her story if I hadn’t already. Overall, this story was definitely worth the read and I liked London and Jackson as a couple, but I would recommend reading the series in order.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book and its audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another great book by Helena Hunting! This is the second book in the Spark House series and I just adored it. We are United with the 3 sisters and the story focuses on London and Jackson. He is the one that London turned down and now finds herself working one on one with to open sores at Spark House. We see a lot of similarities between the two and the "sparks" between them fly right off the pages. London doesn't want to disappoint her family and tries to go with the flow but ends up burning herself out. Jackson doesn't want to admit that London is his forever. The book is endearing, spicy in some spots and give a HEA that doesn't disappoint. We get to revisit Declan and Avery and see a glimpse into their life which is a nice touch after moving on from their book. I am loving this series! I can't wait for the 3rd book!

I absolutely adored the sweet romance between London and Jackson that starts with a turn-down and ends with a marry me! It’s delightful.. and oh so very electrifying the way these two *swooned* all over one another. I loved all the twists that came into play between Jackson’s secretive past resulting in the now what appears to be love triangle.. and London’s work/life balance being off kilter. This was such a fun, humorous, and very entertaining, read in a day book! A new to me author. 5 stars

*I received this book from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was book 2 in the series and I personally have to say this book was better than book 1. Both were great but this one gave me more. A roller coaster from the start. I felt for London from book 1 and was so excited we go to read her story next.

London has always put her wants, needs and life last. She always does what is needed for Spark House (a family business she runs with her sisters) and for her sisters. She is not happy with what she does for the business and would like to take more of the creative part of the business, but there isn’t anyone else that would do what she does, so she is stuff with feeling overwhelmed daily. Her sister recently opened up and Etsy store for her and it’s the only thing that has made her happy lately and loves do it.

Jackson Holt, the dreamy billionaire that build an empire on his own. He has always focused on work. Work always came first. He does what he can though for raising money for cancer and other charities. He thought he was happy with his life, until the day he meet London in a bar, and could not keep his eyes off her. He knew there was something very special about her and needed to ask her out. What he did not expect was for her to reject him.

London is just getting over of a relationship and has so much on her plate, so she says no to Jackson. But all she wants to do is say yes and go straight home with him, he was having an effect on her she had never felt before. Jackson knew it was fate and that fate would bring her back to him, so he walked away. A few months later he was at his office, heading to a meeting and freezes in the hallway, when he notices the most beautiful woman right in the conference room. It was her and it was like she was pulling him towards her. He had to make her say yes to going out with him, she was something special. But he hadn’t realized that by him pushing to have an event in her hotel would put her off limits. He can be good until the event was over, right? He can keep his hand to himself. London knew there was something between them, but was getting mixed signals from Jackson. One day he was flirtatious and making her fall in the love, the next he was business and nothing else.

Received this ARC for my honest review and opinion. I give it 5 stars and cannot wait for Harley’s story. I feel like her might gut me. The baby of the sisters.

Starry-Eyed Love is a charming read. London is the more reserved, level-headed Spark sister, doing her part to ensure Spark House's success. Jackson tries so hard to keep it professional once he learns they'll be working together. Fortunately for us, he can't. There is so much to love here. The anxiety rep is very good, of course, all experiences with it are different. The tension building when they're trying to keep it all business is a rollercoaster. London's willingness to communicate with Selene was amazing. Instead of portraying Selene as the villain, she's a woman with a broken heart, and we get to see that. I also really enjoyed getting to see more of the family dynamic between the sisters and seeing them work out their issues as well. Of course, there's some drama, but overall this is really a feel-good read. I can't wait to see what happens to Harley.