From the publisher:
Charming, hilarious, and emotional…When Sparks Fly is Helena Hunting at her very best!
Avery Spark is living her best life. Between her friends, her sisters, and Spark House, the event hotel her family owns, she doesn’t have much time for anything else, especially relationships. She’d rather hang out with her best friend and roommate, Declan McCormick, than deal with the dating scene. But everything changes when she is in a car accident and needs someone to care for her as she heals.
Declan avoids relationships, giving him a playboy reputation that he lives up to when he puts a one-night stand ahead of a promise he made to Avery. While he may not have been the one driving the car, he feels responsible for Avery’s injuries and is determined to make it up to her by stepping into the role of caretaker.
Little did they know that the more time they spend in compromising positions, the attraction they’ve been refusing to acknowledge becomes impossible to ignore. When they finally give in to the spark between them, neither is prepared for the consequences. Their love is fragile and all it will take is a blow from the past to shatter it all.
Hunting has become one of my favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint. Avery and Declan have been best friends since college. Yes, it’s unusual for a man and woman to be best friends without it going anywhere else, but that’s the way it is. When they were in college, Avery was going out with Declan’s best friend, Sam. But after they graduated, they were doing the long-distance thing, and Declan found out Sam was cheating on Avery. He told Avery and everyone in their friends group cut Sam out. Avery and Declan even went on to buy a condo together, and everything is going great. They hang out with the guys, play soccer together, and have a good time. The only fly in the ointment are the “randoms’ that Declan is constantly bringing home.
Declan’s parents have spent their lives fighting and cheating on one another. He has no good role model for what a relationship should look like. He is convinced he is not ever going to be in any kind of committed relationship, so he sticks to his one night stands. They guy makes a good living in finance, and is hot as hell, so no worries there.
Avery’s girl friends convince her to try a dating app and the first guy that shows interest looks like he may be worth meeting. He’s good looking and into sports like she is. Her friends convince her to wear a tight, fitted minidress and heels, and as she is going out for her date, Declan about loses his mind. She looks so hot he feels jealous, so he goes out and picks up a woman that reminds him of Avery. Except they are supposed to leave early the next morning to meet up with some friends and go to a game. Only when Avery tries to get him up, he’s busy with the random. Avery tries to get his keys to his SUV as it’s raining and her tiny car needs tires, but he was too drunk to drive home the previous night so his car isn’t there.
Avery is really pissed off. She lost her parents in a terrible car accident years earlier, and has been afraid to drive ever since, especially when it’s raining. But Declan is of no use and she decides to just go by herself. She’s a nervous wreck driving on the highway in the rain, especially when she sees this pickup truck weaving in and out of traffic. Declan calls to apologize and they are working things out. The next thing you know, she’s in a multi-car pile up which he hears over the speakerphone, but she is not responding.
Turns out she has multiple broken bones and is unconscious for a couple of days. But Declan sticks by her, along with her sisters, until she wakes up. Then they fight over who is going to take care of her. But her sisters have to run their family event business without her for several weeks, and Declan can work remotely from home, so he wins and becomes Avery’s caretaker. It is a lot of work but he feels a lot of guilt, plus he loves her, so it’s not a problem for him. Until he walks in on her trying to masturbate one handed.
It’s pretty obvious where they end up, except Declan has never been in a relationship before. Turns out all their friends were just waiting for the two of them to realize they were in love, but there are a lot of bumps on the road before they can really be together.
I loved these characters and their story; I couldn’t put it down so another one night read for me. I loved it.
9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
WHEN SPARKS FLY by Helena Hunting. St. Martin’s Griffin (September 21, 2021). ISBN: 978-1250624703. 320 pages.
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