Spotlight & Giveaway: Make a Wish by Helena Hunting

Posted January 27th, 2023 by in Blog, Spotlight / 40 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Helena Hunting to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

 

Hi Helena and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Make a Wish!

Thank you so much for inviting me to chat with your readers! For those new to my work, I write contemporary romance, heavy on the feels, steam and laughs, and romantic comedies with quirky heroines and swoony heroes.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Make a Wish is a second chance, friends to lovers, single dad romance with enough heartbreak to make you grab your box of tissues, and a happily ever after that will make your heart swell.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“I’m trying to keep my head with you.”
“Why? I want to lose mine with you.”

“Change is always supposed to be uncomfortable. It’s how you know you’re making the right choice.”

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

  • The working title for this was “It’s Complicated” but we decided it would fit better with When Sparks Fly and Starry-Eyed Love if it was a nod to The Princess Bride (which is referenced in the book, and one of my favourite childhood movies) with As You Wish, but during the cover design stage, it shifted to Make a Wish by accident, and we felt it fit the story perfectly.
  • Harley, the heroine, likes to cook and bake, so I developed a hankering for oatmeal raisin cookies (my ninety-six year old neighbor makes the best ones I’ve ever had) and grilled cheese (my husband’s favorite) and funnel cakes, which are tough to find in Canada in the winter!
  • The story is set in Colorado, which I visited back in 2018. I loved the mountain backdrop, but discovered I’m a flatlander when we drove up Pike’s Peak. It’s pretty, but also terrifying.

 

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Harley is first introduced to Gavin when he’s a new father, grieving the loss of his wife and she is the nanny for his infant daughter. Harley lost both her parents when she was twelve, so she understood his grief, but when he moved to be closer to his in-laws, they lost touch. Seven years later he moves back to Colorado Springs and they run into each other at a birthday party hosted at Harley’s family event hotel. Harley’s bubbly personality and her ability to put those around her at ease attracts Gavin to her, and Gavin’s love and dedication to his daughter melts Harley’s heart.

 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

There’s a scene in which Gavin and his daughter Peyton are talking about Harley that always makes me a little misty-eyed. There’s something about the innocent way kids view the world that always pulls at my heartstrings.

“Do you think you and Harley are right for each other?” she asks.
I smile softly, struggling for words. “Harley and I have a lot in common, and she understands me in ways that not everyone can.”
Peyton tips her head to the side. “I have lots in common with Harley too. We both like fun art stuff, and we’re not afraid to make a mess because they can always be cleaned up. And we both don’t have a mom because they’re up in heaven.”
“That’s very true.” I swallow past the lump in my throat.
“Harley says they’re up in heaven watching us. And if we pay attention sometimes, they send us signs.”
“Is that so?” Sometimes I wish Marcie would send me a sign. Something to let me know that she approves of my choices. That Harley is the right one for me and Peyton. That she’s okay with me moving on.
She nods. “Do you think Mommy would have liked Harley?”
I have to clear my throat to answer. “I think she would have.”
“Me too. I wonder if Mommy and Harley’s mom are friends in heaven. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?” She takes another bite of her grilled cheese.
Her gentle innocence breaks my heart and makes it swell at the same time. “It would.”

 

Readers should read this book….

If they’re fans of steamy, single-dad, second chance, friends-to-lovers romance.

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I just finished the first draft of a book that releases later this year and I’m currently editing three different projects! Next up after Make a Wish is A Love Catastrophe, a romantic comedy with a cat-sitter heroine, a sphynx cat named Prince Francis, and a hockey nerd named Miles. It’s enemies-to-lovers and a whole lot of fun!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: One print copy giveaway of Make a Wish by Helena Hunting, US Winner Only

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What’s your favourite romance trope?

 
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Book Info:

With her signature charm and sense of humor, bestselling author Helena Hunting creates a novel about love, family, and second chances in Make a Wish.

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 she’s 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, Harley’s family’s event hotel. Despite trying to avoid the awkwardness of the situation, she can’t help but notice how unbearably sexy he looks in a tutu. Add to that a spontaneous hives breakout, and it’s clear she’s 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 Peyton’s sake, of course. It’s 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…
Book Links: Amazon | B&N |
 
 

Meet the Author:

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.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |
 
 
 

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40 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Make a Wish by Helena Hunting”

  20. Colleen C.

    Single dad, mistaken identity, marriage of convenience, boss/employee…

  34. Nicole (Nicky) Ortiz

    Congratulations on your new release!
    All of them
    Thanks for the chance!