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.
When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting is a light-hearted and fun-filled romance that hides some surprisingly deep moments. Avery is the sporty, athletic, always on the run kind of girl – so when a car accident takes her out of commission, it’s quite a blow. And emotionally, her sisters are also hit emotionally as their parents died in a car accident years ago.
Avery’s roommate and long-time friend, Declan, volunteers to help take care of Avery as she recovers. What no one really expects is for them to realize they’ve fallen for each other. And it’s not a good time for that to happen. Both are dealing with some pretty heavy emotional burdens that sabotage their budding relationship every step of the way. Some of Declan’s threw out some red flag alerts for me, but don’t worry, the author does a great job confronting those and not just letting them slip around without resolution.
There are a lot of hilarious scenes that definitely balance out the more serious scenes and brought the story back into the feel-good romcom territory. The relationship between Avery and her sisters made me wish I wasn’t an only child. They are everything to each other and are perfect at annoying each other and lifting each other up at the same time. Declan’s tenderness with Avery after her accident really showcases how much he cares for her (just hadn’t realized it yet), and I was so excited to see them get a happily ever after.
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Three Reasons You Should Read This Sweet Western Romance:
That Cowboy of Mine by Donna Grant is everything I wanted in a modern cowboy/ranch themed romance.
The level of suspense and thriller that is woven into the story is amazining. The feeling of danger and menace is better than many romantic suspense books.
A couple with two strong characters! Both Dillon and Cal are very strong in their own right – and when they come together on something, it’s magical.
Can she trust the man who holds the fate of her family’s ranch–and her heart–in his hands?
Astrid Anderssen never planned to manage her family’s ranch. When her father breaks his leg, however, she has no other choice. She has pinched every penny and stretched every dollar, but it’s still not enough. If the new bank owner is anything like the old one, he’ll send them packing when the next loan payment comes due.
Grant Watson left Rattlesnake Ridge under a cloud of shame. Inheriting his late uncle’s bank brings him back to town, but ledgers full of gouging loans do nothing to help his reputation. Even the lovely blonde newcomer he crosses paths with on his first day in the bank seems to share the town’s opinion of him.
When all hope seems lost, Grant offers Astrid a job in the bank. Is it an answer to her family’s prayers? Or will a growing attraction for her new boss add up to a disastrous end?
If you enjoy romances with tortured heroes and damsels in distress, then you’ll love Returning from Rhode Island.
That Cowboy of Mine by Donna Grant is one of the best cowboy/ranch romances I’ve read in a very long time. The characters were deep and developed, and at times I even felt bad for one of the villains. Each character had their own motivations and ways to get what they wanted – be it good or bad.
Dillon and Grant were an amazing pair. Dillon was stubborn and hard-headed, but willing to back down when she saw the sense of things. There is a lot of distrust of Grant on Dillon’s part, and she has every ready to do so. This sets up some really amazing story-telling. Between Grant and Dillon trying to navigate their very unusual relationship, Dillon trying to find out what happened the night he doesn’t remember, and the people trying to drive Dillon off her ranch, there’s a lot going on.
We know who the bad guys are right away – they aren’t hidden from the reader at all. And I really liked this. The short sections where we got to see into their minds and motives were fantastic, and those sections are the reason I almost felt bad for one of them. But the author still kept a few surprises up her sleeve for a very suspenseful big reveal at the end.
The romance between Dillon and Grant was an equal partner to the suspense, and I don’t know if it could have grown without it. It was a perfect mix between the two. Grant was ever the gentleman cowboy, and while he was what some might consider an alpha male trying to protect everyone, he did it all as a partner with Dillon, not as someone who felt better or more than her.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
As an affiliate at retail sites, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. See my disclosure for more details.
Three Reasons You Should Read This Contemporary Literary Fiction:
My Mother’s Gift by Steffanie Edward is the story of a family growing old together and apart – of generational changes and taking care of the ones you love.
Erica’s story is slowly told – her past, her present, her plans for the future – as she confronts the challenge of helping her mother, Ione, live with advanced Alzheimer’s Disease.
ione is very family-orented – and even on her worse days, you can still see this in her, and she wants nothing more than to live her last days among them.
What if going home was the only way to find out where you belonged?
When Erica gets a phone call to say her mother, Ione, is ill in St Lucia, she knows she must go to her, even though their relationship has always been difficult. The island – the place of her mother’s birth – is somewhere that Erica has never called home.
Even when the plane touches down in the tropical paradise, with its palm trees swaying in the island breeze, the sound of accents so like her mother’s own calling loud in the air, Erica doesn’t find herself wanting to stay a moment longer than she has to.
But stepping into her mother’s house, she is shocked by what she finds. Her mother’s memory is fading and she is having strange, erratic episodes. Erica knows the right thing to do is to stay with her, even if it means leaving everything in England behind.
Could you uproot your whole life for the person who raised you? Can a place you’ve never felt at home ever feel like where you belong? And – as you experience loss – is it ever possible to also find love and peace?
My Mother’s Gift by Steffanie Edward is the story of a family finding a new way, a family coming together and drifting apart, of past arguments and joys forgotten. And while there are some very sad and heart-breaking scenes, the story overall feels more like a love story between a mother and daughter.
Erica returns to St Lucia to visit her mom every year, but this year it’s a lot different. Ione’s Alzheimer’s has progressed quickly, and she doesn’t even seem to be the same person most of the time. There are wonderfully sweet moments for mother and daughter to share that quickly deteriorate into manic episodes of violence and rage. Author Steffanie Edward did an amazing job showing how this disease can tear families apart. She artfully showed the real trauma experienced by both Erica and Ione.
The family that lives in St Lucia didn’t always agree with Erica’s decisions, and sometimes I didn’t either. But they all shared one common goal – doing what was best for Ione. Did they make the right decision in the long run? Maybe. It’s hard to say, and the book makes sure that this is very clear. You never know what the best choice at the end will be, you can only choose what your heart is leading you to.
There’s life outside of being a carer for Alzheimer’s too, and this was something Erica had to learn, and her family helped her learn it. Being able to lean on and depend the people around her was such a blessing.
There were a couple of inconsistencies that jumped out at me. For example, a time when she drank wine at night, then complained about being tired after her third rum and coke from the night before. But they were pretty minor. There’s life outside of Alzheimer’s too, and this was something Erica had to learn, and her family helped her learn it.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
