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

I absolutely loved When Sparks Fly and couldn’t wait to return to the Spark House. Helena Hunting did not disappoint. Spoiler alert… she never does. Love her! It was fun to be back with Avery, London, and Harley! I love the sisterly bond and watching them continue to develop as characters. Jackson was such a lovable hero. I enjoyed how supportive he was and the way he challenged London.

Starry-Eyed love was a charming and hilarious sequel. It was full of emotion, funny moments and sweet romance. Oh, and lots of business talk. I think I would have enjoyed this a tad more in physical form so I will definitely re-read once I get my hands on the book.

I love a series that gives each main character it’s own book and I am excited to read Harley’s story next.

What I enjoyed;
💜 Swoony Jackson
💜 Character development
💜 Workplace romance
💜 Slow-burn

Starry-Eyed Love is available 5/10/22. If, you enjoyed When Sparks Fly, you won’t want to miss London’s story! Pre-order your copy today.

Thank You NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Did I already read an advanced physical copy of this? Yes.

Did I then proceed to listen to the audio version? Also, yes.

What can I say? Helena Hunting nailed it with this one. Pun intended. 💜 Well, and every other book as well. She’s an auto buy for me. Just buy anything with her name on it. You’ll thank me later.

Watch my Amazon Live with Helena: https://amazon.com/live/broadcast/56cbdc70-0502-431e-bd82-ef35a2cc8624?tag=erinmbransco-20&linkCode=ilv&ref_=social

I would do anything to visit Spark House if it was a real hotel!
If you haven’t read Sparks Fly 100% start there, you totally don’t have to read it first but it definitely helps! Starry-Eyed Love focuses on London Spark the middle sister and lover of all things crafty and cute. When Jackson Holt slips into her life for the first time at not the right moment she turns him down…only to find him crashing a meeting she has several weeks later. Through some wild moments these two form a new connection of friendship, until they can really deny the attraction no more.
I really love Hunting’s way of writing and how she always bring about magical moments that focus on love, family, and following your own path. London Spark is a spunky and fun lead who keeps me yearning for another book in this series!!

Will be posted on instagram @literarylu_ on May 9

Starry-Eyed Love by Helena Hunting Narrated by Jason Clarke and Stella Bloom was a cute ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 star read for me. I couldn’t connect to the characters and felt like backstory outside of the Spark sisters dynamic was missing. I really enjoyed the narration and storyline but just wish there was a bit more character development.
Additionally - I didn’t understand why someone who was so passionate about the environment and living a “green” lifestyle would constantly fly in his private jet for business meetings and social events.

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

*

I really loved this starry-eyed romance!

The romance in this book had so many facets to it. It was way beyond a cozy B&B romance. London and Jackson's business relationship made everything so complicated, but added tension/heat between them. The restraint to remain professional had to be so hard. Some "non-dates" were kind of fun (estate sale shopping anyone).

I liked both characters a lot, London's devotion to her sisters and business, and Jackson being down to earth despite his wealth. Of course London making paper stars gave her a little extra quirkiness.

I hadn't read the first book, but didn't need to since I easily got sucked into this one. I want to go back and read the first now since I liked this one so much.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this Audiobook for my honest review.

I loved this book so much!!! Great writing. Great conflict. Great character development. I loved the level of London’s anxiety and uncertainty at the beginning of the book vs the end. The plot was fun, and I was engrossed in the book the entire time. I read this book and listened in audio. The narrators were great. I love Stella Bloom. She knows exactly how to make Helena Hunting’s characters come to life. Great second book in this series. Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!

I have mixed feelings about the audiobook version of Starry-Eyed Love and am not completely sure how much of it would apply to the book, as well. I did not love Stella Bloom's narration. London Spark, our heroine, is highly anxious and not nearly as self-confident as her work-ethic and natural talents should allow her to be, but the narrator's whiny tone only magnified this slightly annoying (and far-too often repeated) characteristic. Other issues, and these may be on me and not the production, but every time a section in London's point of view began, the narrator said, "London." This is common in audiobooks, even if such headings do not exist in the printed versions. However, every time I heard the word, I thought for a nano-second that I was in LONDON, and then had to remember that we were talking about a person, and that the story primarily occurred in Colorado. In addition, some of the chapters (or perhaps the section breaks came across as chapter breaks when they weren't?) seemed to have titles and others didn't. So while I overall enjoyed the story, I was eager for the audiobook to conclude. This is the second book in a series, but in all honesty, the irritating behavior displayed by London's older sister throughout this volume did not encourage me to go back and read her story, the first in the series. I suspect that Jackson's (Starry-Eyed Love's hero) best friend and London's younger sister may be the subjects of the next book, and I am interested in hearing how (and if!) they come together. Jason Clarke, who voiced Jackson's sections, did his typical wonderful job, but his voice was heard far less frequently throughout the story.

pros: this book contains a deeply unnecessary but absolutely delightful lengthy discussion of Survivor that appeals directly to me

cons: considering a large part of the plot was based around companies with green initiatives, it seems like a pretty wild oversight that one character is constantly flying cross country in his private jet

Helena Hunting is another favorite of mine. These sweet rom-com style books are my favorite and Starry-Eyed Love was the cutest. I thoroughly enjoyed reading more about the Spark sisters. London and Jackson were the absolutely cutest - especially with their slow-burn relationship. Timing is a funny thing and I loved reading about these two finding their way to love.

This is a very cute audiobook romcom about London Spark navigating through life as a business owner with her sisters and trying to manage finding time for her own passions.

Mingling family and business has its own complications, especially its your family legacy that you are proud about and want to succeed in. Mix in a budding romance, made forbidden by a business connection and those waters get even murkier.

This was a wonderful and empowering read of a young woman succeeding in her green business, and the complications of love and finding that special one for you! Especially how important it is to not settle for someone who doesn't make you feel like yourself.

London Spark runs a boutique event hotel with her sisters called Spark House. She handles the business's partnerships and uses her crafty side to create themed decorations for the events they host. She receives a call from a multimillion-dollar media firm that wants to connect their business with partners who embrace similar eco-friendly practices.

London prepares as much as she can for this potential partnership, and when she is giving her presentation the CEO of the company walks into the meeting. She's shocked to see that the CEO is a man she had turned down at a bar a few months before. CEO Jackson is seriously invested in this partnership and uses business as an excuse to talk to London.

Jackson and London's romance is a roller coaster, with high peaks and low valleys. Jackson is supportive of London's side hustle (an Etsy shop) and encourages her to take more time for herself when he sees that the family business is leaving her with little to no free time.

Stella Bloom & Jason Clarke return for the second entry in the audiobook series, and their narration is equally as good as the first novel, especially since you don't have to hear Jason Clarke say Ay-ver-ee (Avery) every couple of minutes.

Recommended for all contemporary romance readers, especially those who enjoyed the first novel in the series -- When Sparks Fly.

As always, Helena wraps you into a world of her creation with one of those loves to dream of. I do think the female voice for the audio book did the story a bit of a disservice the way she praised her thoughts it came across as a learn to read children’s story where each idea gets a separate sentence vs a flowing story. I appreciated the realness of relationships with other characters and enjoy when they bring balance to the plot instead of always focusing on the couple.

Starry-eyed love by Helena hunting releasing may 2022. This is a Cinderella romance. Rich handsome man. Beautiful woman. Lots of drama and love. A good romance to forget reality

This is book #2 in the Spark House series, and is London's story. I didn't read the first one before this, so you can definitely read this as a standalone and not be lost. After reading this, I will read the first one, and look forward to the next book in the series about three sisters who own a quaint event and hotel business in Colorado.

Review of story:
I loved this story! It is everything you want in a romantic comedy.
- Down to earth rich, hot guy
- Romantic gestures
- Sexual tension in the workplace
Then comes the plot twist, with the female main character learning secrets about her love interest that had me heartbroken for them and I couldn't stop listening until the story was finished.


Review of audiobook:
I generally do not listen to audio books for fiction, especially romance, because I like to be in my own head while reading the tension, banter, intimacy. With that said, I immediately got swept up in the story and had to listen to it while I went about my day. Personally, while I appreciate dual POVs and a male narrator, I found it a bit cringe-worthy when the man did the woman's voice, and would enjoy it much more if the female narrator could take on those lines.


Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC of this novel. This is my honest review. Publication date is currently set for May 10, 2022.

This book was so cute! I loved it! Starry-Eyed Love is the follow-up to When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting and I absolutely loved London & Jackson’s story! I also love that this book is set in Colorado Springs (which is where I live). Such a wonderful, steamy, swoony romance. The audiobook was excellent too!

Starry-Eyed Love by Helena Hunting
Narrated by Jason Clarke; Stella Bloom

I listened to the audiobook version of this, and while I certainly liked parts it, overall, I felt a bit disappointed. Jackson's lines felt sort of cliche and sometimes too perfect; London was very angsty, which I was okay with, but Jackson's miscommunications only made it worse.

I think in some ways we've almost been spoiled in the last few years with romances that center communication and consent, and so it's hard to shift back into a book where a MC lies repeatedly to the other MC, even when he thinks it's for a good reason. In this case, he did so to try to prevent her anxiety while also knowing that surprises produced anxiety for her. Ultimately, for me, this just made it hard to get behind this book.

And unless I fell asleep while listening and didn't realize it, I can't figure out how the cover and title of this book connect to the story???

Finally, I just didn't love the narration of this - again, some of the language felt cheesy and so basic - I'm paraphrasing, but "Come over to my place" "Okay, I'll be there soon." "Be safe." "Okay, I will." - some things can just go unsaid.

However, I did really enjoy some of the pieces of the plot - I liked the concept of the Spark sister's business. I loved London's side business and her adoption of folding paper stars to ease her anxiety. I really appreciated that it talked about mental health and work-life balance at the center of this story (though I wish London's sister Avery had been more aware of London's well-being).

2.5 stars

I loved When Sparks Fly and was very excited to get more from the Spark Sisters when I picked up Starry-Eyed Love. Book 2 is London’s story and it starts with London out with her sisters after just being dumped. When an attractive man approaches her she turns him down, never expecting to run into him a few months later at a meeting with a multi-million-dollar company she wants to partner with. Even more surprising, he’s the CEO of that company. As they spend more time together, the lines become blurry between work and a more personal relationship.

First of all, I love the family relationships in this series. The Spark sisters and seeing them run their business together is so fun. Their interactions and their issues are so realistic, but also the way they support each other is so great.

In this particular book I adored London. She is such a relatable main character. Her romance with Jackson was also fun to watch develop. I particularly loved how they communicated through a Google Doc at the beginning. I enjoyed seeing them navigate their business relationship along with their feelings, and really enjoyed seeing London’s success in her business!

I switched between audio and ebook on this one, and LOVED the audiobook which was narrated by Jason Clarke and Stella Bloom. Both narrators were phenomenal, but I particularly loved Jason’s voice, I thought he was perfect for Jackson!

Thank you to SMP Romance, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advanced copies.

Starry-Eyed Loved is the second book in the Spark House series by Helena Hunting and focuses on London Spark. Fresh out of a heartbreak, London brushes off an attractive stranger while celebrating her newly single status with her sisters without thinking too much of it. London is busy as the business administrator for her family's hotel and has enough on her mind. She quickly learns however that fate is not so easily deterred when Jackson Holt, CEO - (and incidentally attractive stranger) becomes a potential and valuable business partner. London does her best to win the favor of his company for the wellbeing of her family business, and the more time they spend together the more (insert wink) sparks fly.

I loved this slow burn romance. I loved the slow burn connection between London and Jackson, it felt so genuine and heartwarming and they had a lot of depth both individually and together. Peppered with themes of heartbreak, grief, honesty, professional goals, and work/life balance (which, as an accountant, loved to see). I laughed out loud at several points and would absolutely recommend this book to friends and fans of Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood.

This is the second book in the Spark House series and I definitely recommend reading these in order. The Spark sisters are so loveable and the more you get to know the better!

This romantic sequel explores the relationship between London and Jackson. No worries if you haven't read the first installment because this can be read as a stand-alone. The series seems highly reminiscent of the Brown sisters trilogy, so if you enjoyed those, be sure to check this series out as well. The novel features dual POVs from the love interests (we love to see it). He's an almost billionaire and she's an anxious, hardworking small business owner. It's instalove. He's a man with intentions; she's never had a relationship with sparks. They seem to be great communicators about their needs in the relationship...up until the inevitable 3rd act breakup. That was the only disappointing thing in the novel. Trigger warnings include multiple mentions of the death of their parents (mild). I give this 4.25/5 stars

This is the second book in the Spark sister series and even though I didn’t read the first one, I was able to immerse myself into their world and enjoy the relationship between the sisters as well as the romantic focus on London and Jackson.

London Spark is struggling more than she thinks with her growing role in the family business of managing a boutique hotel in Colorado Springs. Her anxiety comes out in tiny origami stars and over preparing for situations big and small. Enter Jackson Holt, wealthy media mogul and total babe. Will their partnership stay strictly professional? Well if it did, this wouldn’t be a very good romance, would it?

You’ll like this book if you enjoy:
💫 slow burn romance
💫 strong family bonds and found families
💫 duel POV

However, if miscommunication frustrates (and sometimes enrages) you, like me, this one might not be up your alley.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW/CW: death of parent(s), mental health