Helena Hunting returns to the Sparks sisters in Starry-Eyed Love. After Avery has found her happily ever after, her sister London gets her moment to shine. Having just broken up with her boyfriend, London Spark is not in the mood to be hit on. So when a very attractive man pays for her and her sisters’ drinks on a night out and tries to slip her his number, she passes with a ‘thanks, but no thanks’. As the business administrator for their family’s event hotel, London has more important things to worry about than men. As luck would have it, a multi-million dollar company calls a few months later offering a potential partnership and London is eager to prove to her sisters and herself that she can get this deal. Just when she thinks she nailed the presentation, the CEO shows up…and as it turns out, it’s none other than Jackson Holt, the guy London rejected all those months ago. As London and Jackson begin to spend more time together, their work relationship blossoms into something more. But between Jackson’s secretive past and London’s struggle with her sisters, London must question where she really stands—with Jackson and with her job at Spark House.
Gosh, it’s good to be back with the Spark sisters. Helena Hunting really created a well-rounded family with the Spark sisters who balance each other out in the best of ways. An absolute highlight in Starry-Eyed Love is, of course, this relationship between the Spark sisters. A huge component of this story is how the family’s event hotel is getting more and more traction and how the sisters are at odds on how to proceed—while London and Harley would love to hire people to help out so they can take a breather every now and then, Avery outright refuses because she thinks it’s going to turn their family-run business into another bland corporation. I loved the discussions between the sisters surrounding what it means to be a family but also to put your mental and physical health first instead of working yourself into the ground. There are fights and reconciliations, difference of opinions and democratic decisions and it showed how fleshed-out these characters really were. Hunting here mixes tougher topics such as grief, work-life balance and listening to others with a heartfelt romance.
And speaking of romance. London and Jackson are sure to draw readers in with their vibrant personalities. Both London and Jackson are ambitious, strong-willed and often struggle with separating the personal and the business aspects of their lives. I loved that we got to spend time in both of their heads and get to know their deep-seated fears, their goals and their biggest dreams in life. Another aspect of Starry-Eyed Love that enchanted me was that London is also the owner of an Etsy store where she sells her own design creations. I love seeing these side hustles where people can live out their creativity and craft what they enjoy which they might not get to do in their day-to-day job (I mean, we’ve probably all been there). Meanwhile, Jackson has worked hard to create the empire that focuses on sustainability and creating a more eco-friendly world for everyone and watching him and London find ways to make big events happen but keeping their carbon footprint in check was so cool.
And the two of them together? Hoo boy, readers are in for a deliciously tension-filled ride. There’s a lot to be said for forbidden love but colour me impressed by the way Hunting managed to make consent such an important topic in this novel. There are so many moments where both Jackson and London want to give in to their attraction but they both value their professional careers which I really appreciated. Yet of course the tension between them made their eventual collision all that more explosive. There’s also so much love between these characters—by the way they support each other and try to push each other to be better than they already are, which was lovely to read about.
One minor thing that took away a bit of my enjoyment was the repetition toward the second half of the novel. While there’s of course delectable tension and the ever-intriguing “will they, won’t they” between London and Jackson, the second half of Starry-Eyed Love very much hinges on miscommunication, indirect jealousy and other elements that could have been dealt with in one honest conversation. Since both Jackson and London approach life (and relationships) with brutal honesty, it felt out of character for them to not simply talk about Jackson’s past and instead eschew any mention outright which could be frustrating at times. But that’s a minor complaint that I’m sure readers won’t fret over. All in all, Starry-Eyed Love delivered all the tension, drama and complex family dynamics I could have wanted. I can’t wait to get my hands on Harley’s story.
Mixing business with pleasure, Starry-Eyed Love is a wonderfully complex second instalment in the Sparks sisters series. With two charming, ambitious and heartfelt leads, this book is sure to wander on your favourite romances shelf this summer!
Starry-Eyed Love is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of May 10th 2022.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Charming, hilarious, and emotional, Starry-Eyed Love is Helena Hunting at her very best!
Having just broken up with her boyfriend, London Spark is not in the mood to be hit on. Especially not when she’s out celebrating her single status with her sisters. So when a very attractive man pays for their drinks and then slips her his number, she passes it right back to him with a ‘thanks, but no thanks’. As the business administrator for their family’s event hotel, the Spark House, London has more important things to worry about, like bringing in new clientele.
As luck would have it, a multi-million-dollar company calls a few months later asking for a meeting to discuss a potential partnership, and London is eager to prove to her sisters, and herself, that she can land this deal. Just when she thinks she has nailed her presentation, the company’s CEO, Jackson Holt, walks in and inserts himself into the meeting. Not only that, but he also happens to be the same guy she turned down at the bar a few months ago.
As they begin to spend more time together, their working relationship blossoms into something more. It isn’t until their professional entanglements are finally over, that London and Jackson are finally ready to take the next step in their relationship. But between Jackson’s secretive past and London’s struggle with her sisters, London must question where she really stands – not just with Jackson, but with the Spark House, too.
