When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting

When Sparks Fly
by Helena Hunting
Published September 21, 2021 by St. Martin's Press Romance

Running the Spark House, a hotel/event space that has been in her family for years, has been Avery Spark’s lifelong dream. After years of working hard and making personal sacrifices, Avery and her two younger sisters have turned the Spark House into the premier destination in Colorado Springs. Avery is living her best life—she works with her sisters and loves every minute of it, she has a great group of friends, and she lives in a fantastic condo with her best friend Declan. She might not have any love in her life, but she's happy.

But everything comes to a screeching halt when Avery is in a car accident, leaving her immobile for weeks. After nearly losing Avery, Declan insists that he will be the one to take care of her while she recovers. However, as Declan becomes Avery’s caretaker, lines begin to blur.

Avery and Declan have been best friends since college and always had an attraction to one another, but when she ended up dating his best friend, Sam, they successfully stamped down any feelings they may have ever had for one another. Now, as Declan and Avery spend more time together, they each begin to wonder what would’ve happened if she'd dated him instead of Sam. What starts as a friend helping out another friend turns into foreplay and, before they realize it, they recognize how deeply they care for one another. But when things get serious their past threatens to destroy everything they have built.

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Review

4 Stars

Hello, Helena? Please contact my girlfriend and have her set up cute long distant-ish dates at parks.

I needed a light-hearted romance and I was so excited to have an ARC of When Sparks Fly handy on the my Kindle. Helena is a fantastic romance writer and this standalone was just what I was looking for. I admit, there are some scenes that I understand could be problematic depending on perspective of the reader and it is worth knowing that in advance prior to starting. The main female character is involved in an accident and while recovering she and her roommate and friend begin a friends-with-benefits type relationship. While I noted those scenes as a bit murky, they did not take away from the read for me and I acknowledge that some readers will see them as fine and others will not.

Declan is your classic millennial a-hole. He has parental-issues, is famous for his hookups, and he harbors very apparent feelings for his female best friend and roommate. He lashes out, sees things in black and white, and can be difficult. Avery is your classic millennial successful female. She's single, has made success on her own, and her best friend is a male. Add in a car accident, some serious groveling, and a quarantine-style stuck inside together scenario and you have a friends-to-lovers romance. There isn't a lot of meat to the story, to be honest, but the minimal angst, fun chemistry, and attraction acknowledgement was enough to keep me entertained. When Sparks Fly is a cute romance that I recommend for readers looking for a quick-read that ends with all the feel-good feelings.