Ever have a defining life moment you wish you could do over? Harley Spark has one. The time she almost kissed the widowed father of the toddler she nannied for. It was so bad they moved across the state and she never saw them again.
Fast forward seven years and sheās totally over it. At least she thinks she is. Until Gavin Rhodes and his adorable now nine-year-old daughter, Peyton, reappear at a princess-themed birthday party hosted by Spark House, Harleyās familyās event hotel. Despite trying to avoid the awkwardness of the situation, she canāt help but notice how unbearably sexy he looks in a tutu. Add to that a spontaneous hives breakout, and itās clear sheās not even remotely over the mortification of her egregious error all those years ago.
Except Gavin seems oblivious to her inner turmoil.
So much so that he suggests they get together for lunch. For Peytonās sake, of course.
Itās the perfect opportunity to heal old wounds.
Or it could just reopen them.
This is one of those times Harley wishes she could see the future.
Title: | Make A Wish |
Author: | Helena Hunting |
Series: | Spark House (Book 3) |
Pages: | 368 |
Genre(s): | Contemporary |
Trope(s): | Friends to Lovers Single Parent |
Point of View: | First Person, Present Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
Location: | Colorado Springs, Colorado, US |
HEA: | āļø |
Release Date: | 24th January, 2023 |
Emotional and uplifting
This is the third and final book of the Spark House Trilogy and finally gives us youngest sister Harleyās story. While I have hugely enjoyed the previous two books in this series (When Sparks Fly and Starry-Eyed Love), Iām happy to say that this book stands completely alone and no previous knowledge of the sisters or their books is needed to fall in love with this one. Which Iām completely sure that you will do.
We start off with that nearly-kiss before moving onto the current day and the re-introduction of Harley and Gavin. Even in that first non-encounter I felt the sparks between our pair. And when they meet again, itās still there and as obvious as if there was a giant bonfire of lust burning beside the couple.
I knew I loved Harley from the moment that Gavin came back into her life. She was wearing an adult fairy outfit, is covered in glitter and yet sheās still panicking about that nearly kiss. No drama over her costume – just a mess of overthinking. She was a delight. I liked her honesty, her ability to self-reflect and also the juxtaposition of her fear, doubt and unsureness and the sexy self-assured sexual minx that comes out when sheās with Gavin. I think her dilemma of finding her own place and passion was so relatable that youāll be rooting for her from the first.
Gavin himself was a great character if a little more layered that I first realised. At first heās grumpy, then friendly, and then jealous before finally getting with the programme. Heās unsure – about a lot of things – but heās as honest as he can be. Even when you know heās wrong, the reason for his actions is completely understandable. I especially liked his chats with friend, Ian. He was like a little guardian angel giving blunt advice in ways that only men seem able to do.
I always say that Iām not normally keen on stories with children – but then I also donāt think Iāve ever actually disliked a story for that reason. And with that in mind, Peyton was an absolute delight. She was sassy, funny and smarter than she probably should have been. I loved her relationship with her dad as well as her relationship with Peyton. The fact that we get her perspective in the story was the icing I didnāt know I needed on the cake.
While thereās definitely a palpable connection and chemistry between our characters, this is definitely a sloooow burn romance. In fact, Harley has a boyfriend for a while after she meets Gavin again. I know this can be a problem for some people but thereās absolutely no cheating and I personally didnāt feel any lines were crossed – even emotionally. And even so, Harley beats herself up enough about the circumstances anyway. With all that out the way, Harley and Gavin are deliciously hot. And somehow itās hotter that they have to sneak around to get by Peyton – the little cockblocker!
Iām also not normally one to choose stories with widows or widowers but I couldnāt resist rounding out the Spark House series. And Iām very glad I did. There are definitely some emotional parts where I was shamelessly crying and some uncomfortable truths to be uncovered. But ultimately itās an uplifting and happy romance that makes all the emotional turmoil more than worth it.
What Iāve especially liked about this trio of books is that whichever sister is in the spotlight – thatās the one you root for and focus on. When it was Averyās story – she was my favourite. Then London was my favourite. Now Harley has all my love and affection. Iām just glad Iām not that fickle in real life! Maybe. Itās not that I stopped liking the other sisters but Ms Hunting does a fantastic job of giving the reader that insight into the mind of our heroine and making her our number one. It was fantastic to see Harley find her own perfectly imperfect love – and also to see all the sisters have their happily ever afters. Whether youāre reading your way through the Spark House series or just looking for some emotional but happy romance – Iām sure youāll love this book. 5 stars.
*I received this book in exchange for my honest review.*
NYT and USA Today Bestselling author, 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 with all the feels to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.
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