Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Tropes: second chance romance; band of sisters; age-gap; single dad
Helena Hunting’s Spark House Sisters series has a steady brand of sweetness with a side of steam and unease. If you’ve read the first two books, When Sparks Fly and Starry-Eyed Love, you’ve encountered the growing pains of Avery and London as they transcend their core family unit, adding men to the mix. Make A Wish, the final story of this series, brings about Harley’s growth. In her newest book, Hunting shows her authorial strength as she crafts a main female character such as Harley to find her voice and position in the family business while reviving a long-forgotten love and finding her place within Gavin and Peyton’s family unit.
Make A Wish was a fast read for me. The plot structure is fairly uncomplicated as it begins in the past and moves forward seven years. While seven years might seem like a long time progression for Hunting’s main characters, it’s necessary. Harley is an interesting character in this series because, I think more than her sisters, her parents’ deaths factor heavily in her maturation. Even more, the inciting incident for her separation from Gavin and Peyton at the outset of this book keeps Harley in a safe space, stagnating to a certain degree. As her story progressed, my heart actually hurt for Harley as she tried to grow and find herself in an ever-changing Spark House. I hated that she seemed pushed out, which became my attachment to Make A Wish.
Because of this, I struggled with Harley and Gavin’s pairing. It’s easy to love Gavin’s precocious daughter, Peyton, and Harley and Peyton’s relationship is a special one, as emphasized at the story’s end. Yet, I didn’t feel the chemistry between Harley and Gavin, and I believe it’s because we never really get his internal motivations. Their relationship felt uneven to me, and I didn’t fully trust Gavin’s feelings for Harley. This is further underscored later in the story when the couple struggles. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I didn’t entirely love Gavin.
What do I know about Helena Hunting’s Make A Wish?
Its ending will make you shed some tears because it’s heartfelt and ties the series up into a neat little bow. Harley’s journey, for me, is probably the most profound because she doesn’t have a distinct place at the story’s beginning; she has to make space for herself at Spark House and with Gavin and Peyton. And Make A Wish is a beautiful swan song for a sweet package of sisterly love. I will miss Avery, London, and Harley BUT I know Helena Hunting always has more to come for her readers.
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 