5 Stars

This was an absolutely adorable slow burn romance!

What I loved:
1. London's plight was relatable, especially if you have siblings.
2. Jackson Holt was so charming. And while his ignorance with certain aspects of relationships is frustrating, it was something that he works hard to make amends for.
3. This couple had a connection from the first page, and I ate up every single moment of them together.
4. The story is charming and endearing mixing romance and familial love.

Cannot wait for the last Spark sister!

I’m going to preface this by saying that Helena Hunting is one of my comfort authors. I will read absolutely EVERYTHING she writes and always have a great time.

I firmly believe that in every authors repertoire, there will always be ONE book that just did not vibe with you.. This was my one book, and I am SO SAD to say this.

While this book did highlight some positive mental health interactions, I felt like the majority of the book was slow.

The relationship between our two main characters was not believable at all. Usually you can sense what one is feeling in their POVs, but whenever Jackson’s POV came up (if ever) he felt so monotone and uninteresting, and barely have a hint that he was interested in London. All of their interactions felt so formal.

I think the OW drama was completely unnecessary and took away from the rest of the book, it was a cop out of a way to cause conflict.

Don’t even get me started on Avery - this book made me hate her, despite her groveling and apologies at the end.

This was such a miss for me ;(((((

If Helena Hunting wrote the phone book, I would read it. (are phone books even a thing anymore?) Another great addition to this series and I’m highly anticipating what she publishes next . So so awesome.

3.5 ⭐️

I struggled to like London in When Sparks Fly, and found myself having the same issue in Starry-Eyed Love, I eventually came around to liking her once I connected with her character a bit more BUT Jackson saved the whole book for me.

Other than my dislike for London, I really enjoyed their romance. I love a good meet cute moment, plus it was fast paced, pretty funny, and had just the right amount of spice!

This was an entertaining contemporary romance. London Spark runs the Spark House - a small boutique hotel that also hosts events - with her two sisters. Her sister Avery (When Sparks Fly) is in the middle of planning her wedding leaving her sisters London and Harley to pick up the slack. They are all feeling pretty overwhelmed. London is the sister who puts everyone else first and she is starting to feel really stressed that she can't concentrate on the more creative parts of the hotel and her own Etsy shop, but is stuck with the business and finance aspects of the hotel.

When Holt Media calls offering a relationship that would be very beneficial for the hotel, it is London who is stuck taking the meeting. When the CEO of the company billionaire Jackson Holt takes over the meeting, it takes a while for London to realize that he is the same cute guy she turned down a couple of months earlier when he spotted her in a bar and asked her out.

Now they are working together and both of them are falling in love but trying to keep things all-business while they are working together. This causes lots of miscommunication and misinterpretation of motives as they are beginning their relationship.

Jackson's people are worried for him because they think London might just be using him for his business connections. Things really come to a crisis point when an old girlfriend who is also a social media influencer seems to be getting between the two of them.

I liked the story. Both main characters were interesting people who were both a little gunshy when it came to relationships. I liked London's relationship with her sisters even though their relationship was going through some upheaval because of the changes at Spark House.

Fans of contemporary romance will enjoy this story.

Starry-Eyed Love is a charming romance novel, and London and Jackson are an endearing couple! I really enjoyed their story, and could feel the sparks between them! It’s sweet and funny and messy—the things I love most in a love story!

This is the second book in this series but could be read as a standalone. This is London’s & Jackson’s story. London & her sister’s run Spark House a hotel/event place. .Jackson runs Holt media & is very well off. The get involved on a joint project and even though there are sparks they don’t do anything until the project is over. Cute enjoyable story.

I am just so obsessed with this series! Helena Hunting gets it right every time! When London Sparks gets hit on at a bar she turns him down gently after breaking up with her boyfriend. Not ready to date, she doesn't think anything of it. Until, her family business is being considered for a partnership with a mega-million company and who is the CEO except Jackson Holt the same man she turned down at the bar months before. He handles it with grace and take Spark House on their team. Can they keep their workplace partnership PG or will the chemistry between them spark into more?

SAAAAAWOOOOOOOON! The chemistry between Jackson and London was palpable from the beginning. I loved that Jackson was the down to earth person and not some smooth hot-shot alpha CEO that a lot of "billionaire romances" characterize. He's as a bit nerdy and I love a hot nerdy romantic hero! I also related so much with London. Her willingness to hold her family together and putting their needs in front of her own is something I also struggle with. She's trying to keep all the plates spinning and it's taking a toll on her.

We also see some familiar faces from the first book in the series, and we see a different side to her sister Avery. It was nice that we saw she had some characteristic flaws without us totally turning on her. There are some heavy topics that are brought over from the first book including her parents death, cancer, and potential cheating. But dont let those triggers fool you, this is a great and uplifting read that will make you laugh and tear up.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in return for an honest review! This book releases 5/17

I received a review copy of this book via Netgalley.
London Sparks is one of the three owners of Spark House, a family-run events company. When she goes out to a bar to celebrate being newly single, her sisters are delighted to see the return of "fun London". London tends to get too serious when she is in a relationship and her sisters are glad to have her let off some steam.
However while celebrating, London makes intense eye contact with a gorgeous guy who pays for their drinks and then gives London his number. London politely turns him down. Like all newly single people, London has decided to focus on her career.
A few months later, London is stressing about their business, which is rapidly growing, when she receives a call from a multi-million-dollar company who wants to discuss working with her.
London presents to the team but is interrupted by the CEO of the company, Jackson Holt. Who is also the guy from the bar.
London and Jackson eventually start to develop feelings after working together for a while. However Jackson has something in his past that might pose a threat to them being together.
This was a wonderful read that I enjoyed immensely. (Though to be fair, I have not seen a Helena Hunting novel that I did not love). If you are looking for a fun, contemporary romance, give this a go.

I really enjoyed this story and read it in almost one sitting. London helps run Spark House with her sisters. When they get an opportunity to work with a multi-million dollar media company, they jump at the chance for an interview. Needless to say, when London meets the CEO, she is surprised to find this is the same man who asked her out a few months ago at a bar that she turned down. Jackson, like London, have had tragedy in their pasts and haven’t been looking for love, but as they start to work on this project they grow closer even though “they aren’t dating”. This is a billionaire trope, but unlink many, Jackson is a down to earth guy. I loved their slow burn that leads to some steamy scenes. This is a feel good book with low angst. I also loved seeing some old friends from Helena Hunting’s Shaking Up series who made appearances throughout the book.

This was so cute! Jackson is probably my favorite of the male MC's in the books I've read by HH so far. Slowly making my way through her back list after I read the first book in this series and fell in love with her storytelling.
I'll admit that wedding planning Avery drove me up the wall. Let's hope she is much calmer in book 3.
I loved the chemistry between Jackson and London. I both laughed and cried and if that's not the sign of a great book, I don't know what is!

This was a sweet workplace romance. I always love reading about the Spark sisters and London’s story did not disappoint!

Spark House, the sisters’ up and coming boutique hotel, is growing when London meets high-powered executive Jackson Holt at a bar. Jackson asks her out, and London initially turns him down because she was just getting out of a long term relationship. But when Holt Media learns about Spark House and decides to help them expand, London and Jackson start working together and both agree a relationship is off the table. As time goes on, London and Jackson can’t deny they are starting to have feelings for one another, and they begin to wonder if they really can have it all: success at work and a flirty romance.

I loved the build up to Jackson and London’s relationship, and I loved how attentive Jackson was. But something about him rubbed me the wrong way. He seemed really cocky and that is not a quality I like in a man. I thought the love triangle in the book could have been avoided SO easily, which didn’t help my feelings toward Jackson. I also loved London’s close relationships with her sisters and the classic Helena Hunting steam she is so good at writing! Overall, this was a cute read and I can’t wait for Harley’s story to come next 😊

"Starry-Eyed Love" by Helena Hunting
A FUN read with Family and Love
It was fun to be back in Spark House even with the stress of a growing business. I first visited Spark House back in August 2021 in the book "When Sparks Fly". I thoroughly enjoyed my time getting reacquainted with the Spark sisters and with London in particular. I expect you read the description and that is why you are reading reviews. So yes, there are some moderately spicy scenes with London and Jackson but that is to be expected. There are happy times, and heart-breaking times, and a really good story waiting for you to enjoy. Happy Reading ! !
NOTE: I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley
This review expresses my honest opinion.

The only reason 'Starry-Eyed Love' wasn't perfect for me was the graphic sex. That being said I haven't read a book in a long time where the character development was so real and engaging. To watch London and Jackson grow together was delightful. For a brief moment I thought it was going to veer into a woke, virtual signaling message, but I ended up learning a lot about people who are motivated to be good stewards of the environment. Other than the too intimate steam I would highly recommend this book as a wonderful snapshot of the world today,.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I am loving this series! I honestly forgot this was connected to the first book until the mention of Spark House 🤭.

I enjoy London's character a lot and would love to see what her projects look like in real life! They seem amazing.

I'm hoping the next book is Harley finding her soul mate.

I will say Avery drives me freaking insane but glad she comes through at the end. I literally wanted to smack her through the pages 🙄🤷‍♀️

Definitely check these out if you love a cute romantic comedy!
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this!

I didn’t love Starry-Eyed Love as much as its predecessor. Instead, I found it to be bland and unoriginal. Though Starry-Eyed Love isn’t exactly a workplace romance, more workplace adjacent, it still features forbidden romance vibes. London and Jackson’s interactions in the opening chapters are filled with subtle tension that I expected to build as their working relationship progressed. Unfortunately, their chemistry never evolved past a simmer. So, their eventual coupling was anticlimactic and mildly fade to black.

Jackson’s first introduction is very different from who he is the rest of the novel. He’s first described as rugged, a little mysterious, and is as smooth as they come. However, Jackson is the workplace is stilted and feels forced. Smooth Jackson is replaced with stiff Jackson.

Spark House becomes a central focus of the novel as London brings in more work than they can handle through the exposure she’s able to garner with Jackson’s partnership. This causes stress and tension between the sisters. Avery was particularly annoying. I understand her feelings and where they’re coming from, however it took up too much page time that could have been better used developing London and Jackson’s chemistry.

Overall, Starry-Eyed Love was slightly disappointing because of the lack of chemistry between the main characters.

This one left me perplexed, and there will be SPOILERS, so fair warning. I had slight reservations from the first sister's story at the start of this series, but I also had high hopes this second offering in the series would be stronger. What confuses me is that I’ve read many other books from this extremely talented lady, but this series feels like it was written by someone with considerably less talent. I’m wondering if it lost something in the editing process.

Hunting has consistently given us strong characters with several layers who effortlessly win me over. They’re flawed and have baggage, which serves to make them more endearing, and the character growth and redemption always leaves me happy, satisfied, and glad that I spent time with them.

My first issue was the change in the heroine from the previous book, Avery, the older sister of London. She came across as a shrew, a bully, and frankly, an unlikable selfish brat. Fortunately, London, the heroine of this story, was somewhat better. For the most part, I liked her and connected with her. But there's a fine line between being selfless and giving or letting people take advantage, and I wish she had been stronger.

The angst came across as fabricated. It was all based on miscommunication on the part of the hero, Jackson, with both London and a pivotal secondary character, which didn’t ring true for me. A self-made millionaire would be skilled in communications. He would be clear about issues, not create misunderstandings. Unfortunately, this was the hero's fatal flaw and kept me from respecting or connecting with him. It also detracted from an emotional connection between the two main characters.

That said, I generally love Hunting's romances and this won’t dissuade me from reading her future works. The other elements are strong and the story is well constructed. Unless you’re a ride-or-die fan of her work, I recommend checking out some of her other offerings, especially those that are self-published.

Starry-Eyed Love is the second book in the Spark House series by Helena Hunting. This one focuses on middle sister London.

I wasn't a huge fan of the first book in this series, but I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed this one. Her books have been hit or miss for me lately, but this one was a definite hit.

London is the protector of her sisters. She's always doing things for her sisters, even if she doesn't like doing them because she knows it's important to them.

Jackson was into London at first sight, but it wasn't the best timing. He just knew they'd run into each other again and they did. I love that he never let others thoughts about the relationship get to him. He knows London is genuinely into him for him. He's such a great guy., even though he has communication issues. He doesn't want his feeling for her to interfere with their temporary working relationship, but once the event they work on together is over, sparks do indeed fly (pun intended).

In addition to the relationship between the main MCs, we get a side storyline for the Spark sisters and how they're progressing with gaining popularity of their hotel.

I felt the tying up of loose ends was a bit rushed or this would be a 5 Star book for me, I'm really looking forward to Harley's story.


4.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Saint Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Starry-Eyed Love is the second in a series about three sisters who work together at their family-owned hotel and event location. I was excited to read London's story after enjoying Avery's. But when I realized this was a secret billionaire brought to his knees by a woman trope, I was all in.

Starry-Eyed Love is sweet, heartbreaking, and has all of that Helena Hunting spice.

I absolutely loved this book. I could not put it down! This romance was full of heart, angst, and romance!! A modern day Cinderella story at its finest! The relationships in the story inspired a hope for families and lovers! A must add to your TBR!