[ARC Review] Starry-Eyed Love by Helena Hunting
London Spark has hit a slump. Her relationship prospects are dull at best, and as much as she loves her sisters and Spark House, she doesn't love her work there and it's become physically and mentally draining. As Avery takes more time away from work to plan her wedding to Declan, the more London begins to dread her hours doing financials at Spark House while neglecting her Etsy shop more and more. But then London meets Jackson Holt. A self-made, environmentally-conscious millionaire with many of the same tragedies in his past that London has in hers, Jackson and London couldn't be more compatible with each other. However, with work in the way, plenty of family drama at hand, and secrets Jackson is apparently not ready to share, London accepts that her love for Jackson is just not written in the stars. But he's not ready to give up on her just yet, and with some sisterly support, London might just finally get her happily ever after.
As much as I loved When Sparks Fly, I enjoyed Starry-Eyed Love even more. In fact, Starry-Eyed Love actually retroactively made me like the first book a little less than I did before. I thought I loved Avery in the first book, but Avery is definitely shown in a different light when we see her from her sisters' perspectives and I didn't care for her as a character nearly as much. So, sadly, this book sort of hurt how I feel about Avery and Declan's love story.
I loved London's story. I thought her story was so relatable - an overworked young professional who is trapped between paying the bills and pursuing her passions, all while struggling to find the right balance with her family. If London isn't a millennial archetype, I don't know who is.
While Jackson wasn't quite as relatable for me, I thought Hunting did a fantastic job at making him a swoon-worthy character who was equal parts perfect and flawed. Jackson really was the perfect guy for London and I'm glad Hunting created them for each other.
However, there were a few parts of Starry-Eyed Love that didn't resonate as well for me - all due to my personal tastes and no fault of the author's writing. I really don't care for the secrets/miscommunication trope, and unfortunately, Jackson did keep some big things from London that led to unnecessary drama and strife. The fact that the major problems in their relationship - and a major part of the whole story's conflict - could have easily been avoided had Jackson just been open and honest with London will always be a sticking point for me, in this and any romance. That's really the only issue I had while reading London and Jackson's story, though, and like I mentioned, it's a personal opinion due to my dislike of that particular trope.
Overall, Starry-Eyed Love was a swoony, sister-centric romance between the relatable, overworked London Spark and her environmentally-conscious, self-made second-chance, Jackson Holt. I'm so glad that London got her happily ever after (even if it made me like Avery's HEA a little less), and I can't wait to see what's coming for the third and final Spark sister!
Thank you so much to the author and Social Butterfly PR for providing a review copy of Starry-Eyed Love. All opinions are my own.
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Release date: 5/10/22
Format: eARC
Source: Social Butterfly PR
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