“Have faith in the power of true love, my dear, it conquers all.”
Author: Helena Hunting
Narrators: Stella Bloom and Jason Clarke
Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Narration: 5 mikes
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses age gap relationships, parental death, death during childbirth, dysfunctional relationships, and gaslighting. Contains explicit sexual content.
“Make a Wish” is the third and final installment in the Spark House series, and it follows the youngest Spark sister: Harley. She used to be a live-in nanny for a toddler named Peyton, but that was until she tried to kiss the girl’s widowed father, Gavin, and they upped and left to the other side of the State. Harley never saw them again, she moved on to work with her sisters in their boutique hotel, and that was that. Until Gavin and the now 9-year-old Peyton move back and they naturally reconnect. Will Harley get over what happened years ago and be able to move on to what the future could hold? Or will her embarrassment win this time around?
Hear me out: this book is part of a series, yes, but it works so so well as a standalone novel. And you can trust me with this one, because I have not read any of the other Spark House books and I was not only able to understand what was going on, but I was able to love the novel and all the characters as a whole.
And then when it came to the narration of this ARC audiobook—it was simply perfect. Stella Bloom’s voice was soft and really expressed Harley’s quirkiness, and Jason Clarke… Oh, Jason Clarke. His voice was so so deep. It was absolutely immaculate. I recently found out all the other audiobooks for this series are narrated by this pair and I can’t wait to get my hands on those.
The age difference and change in power dynamics was a bit weird, I’m not going to lie. I sometimes doubted Gavin’s intentions and really thought all he wanted was another live-in nanny. Also, that 9-year-old acted more like a 5- or 6-year-old, it got to be a bit annoying, yet I still honestly enjoyed this book—hence the aaaalmost perfect star rating.
I can’t speak for the rest of the series, but I would highly recommend “Make a Wish” if you’re looking for a romance that leans more towards the complex. Touching topics like childbirth death and losing both parents at a young age, this is a bit of a heavy read—but it still finds ways to be heartwarming.
If you enjoy age difference and second chances at love, then “Make a Wish” is most definitely for you.
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ARC provided by NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.
andrea's galley 