When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 21, 2021

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:WHEN SPARKS FLY by Helena Hunting is a contemporary, adult, stand alone, erotic, romance story line focusing on PR /event planner and co-owner of Spark House Hotel/Event space Avery Spark, and business consultant Declan.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Declan and Avery) WHEN SPARKS FLY follows the friends to lovers relationship between PR /event planner and co-owner of Spark House Hotel/Event space Avery Spark, and business consultant Declan. Declan and Avery have been best friends since college, and currently share a condo as roommates and best friends but a fatal traffic accident has left Avery dependant upon her best friend for help with the simplest of tasks including mobility and bathroom breaks. Weeks together finds our couple dancing around the proverbial ‘elephant in the room’ pushing their relationship from best friends to more but jealousy is about to rear its’ ugly green head, and the fall-out is about to disrupt a life-long friendship, and a growing love between our leading couple. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Avery and Declan, and the potential fall-out as issues of trust force Avery to walk, leaving an angry and heart broken Declan to reconsider everything he lost.

Spark House is struggling to sign up a sponsor, and with it the event side of the hotel is struggling to survive. A series of real-life bloopers and mistakes finds potential sponsors walking away, forcing the Spark to find blame for their loss of income, targeting both Avery and Declan in the line of fire. As Avery battles daily her in recovery, Declan battles between head and heart as he begins to fall for our story line heroine.

The relationship between Declan and Avery is a best friends to lovers that is put to the test when Avery becomes dependant upon Declan for the smallest of tasks. Declan doesn’t do relationships, our hero is a bit of a manwh*re, but his heart wants something more with our story line heroine, something he struggles to accept and understand. Avery knows falling for her best friend places their friendships in a precarious position, a position that is about to be tested with demons from the past. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and dynamic secondary and supporting characters including Avery’s sisters London and Harley, and Declan’s best friends Mark and Jerome. Here’s hoping the author has plans for London and Harley, as well as Mark and Jerome.

WHEN SPARKS FLY is a story of family, friendships, betrayal issues of trust, forgiveness and love. This is NOT a story of cheating or infidelity as some ‘reviewers’ have claimed it to be. Our couple begins as best friends and roommates with neither one making a commitment to one another but jealousy will become the starting point for a crack in the relationship that may not be able to heal. Both Declan and Avery are somewhat immature and selfish but it doesn’t help that their friends and family pick at the scab that refuses to heal. Issues of trust have been a part of Declan for all of his life, and Avery was betrayed by a former love. The premise is engaging, entertaining and captivating; the romance is sexy and hot; the characters are energetic, flawed and playful.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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FOLLOW: NYT and USA Today Bestselling author of The PUCKED Series, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from contemporary romance to romance comedy, sports romance and angsty new adult romance.