I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
When Sparks Fly by Helena HuntingSeries: Spark House #1
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on September 21, 2021
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance
Pages: 288
Source: the author
Format: E-galley
My Rating:
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Synopsis:
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.
My Review:
I love how this book had it all. Romance, emotions, sexy times, and really good lessons in the end. It started out hooking me from the very first page. The car accident was kind of a given based on the synopsis, but you could see what was going to happen as you read even if it hadn’t. At first I also was thinking that I hated how guys could sure seem to get lucky and sleep around, but rarely do girls get to do that in stories, and then we’re supposed to be okay with the guy moving on to the heroine. But the way it was done in this book, because they were just friends, it was okay.
Besides that though, I did love how Avery had one thing she needed help with that Declan wasn’t expecting. Something she didn’t even think she’d need help with, and when it turned into what it did, that was ingenious and so unexpected! It was perfectly fitting a book by Hunting. And oh my gosh, there was that first shower scene after that, man did it get hot! Whew! I was reading that on my lunch break at work, and yeah, might have been better read at home alone in my own bed.
Declan’s reaction towards the end was so over the top, even after the phone call with his mom, that I was dreading the drama just for drama’s sake that is so often put into romance novels. But it was the perfect way for the author to turn this into a realistic ending to the story, or at least what should be realistic and how people could or should fix things. And in the ending, we got the perfect wrap-up we needed or at least that I needed. I loved the Survivor-esque obstacle course at the end!
Finally I have to mention that I loved all of their friends as well as Avery’s sisters, even London when she was being herself. I can’t wait for the sister’s stories in the future!
Yes! The ending was so good. As much as Declan disappointed me in the beginning (and that one part later one), I loved them as a couple. And thought *that* part was painful, I think it was important for the couple since their lives had been intertwined for so long. Still a struggle for me though. I guess the scavenger hunt and survivor obstacle course were my rewards.
Agreed! I think it was done perfectly and realistically.
[…] loved the first book in this series about the Spark sisters, When Sparks Fly. And so I’ve been eagerly awaiting this second book in the series. And as much as I loved the […]