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Caught on Camera by Chelsea Curto
5.0

Caugh on Camera
By Chelsea Curto

When I flipped over the last page of Caught on Camera, I was smiling wide and giddy for Shawn & Lacey. I absolutely loved their love story, and dare I say: I think I’ve found my #2 most favorite book boyfriend ever in Shawn. (First place being Noah Riley ❤️ , also a former football player – coincidence? I think not!) For almost the last year, my trend in book genres has been dark romance / dark RH romance, and this is not at all in those categories, but it was a great palette cleanser, so to speak. Saying I adored these two and their chemistry together is an understatement. Basically, Chelsea Curto had me in a non-stop SWOON the entire time I was reading this book. Like I said, this is a genre (sports rom) I like and enjoy, but it hasn’t been the constant in my recent book picks. This book reminded me to mix it up from time to time, because while I love a dark romance, I loved this just as much.

Lacey & Shawn’s story begins with them having been best friends for almost two years now, and their best friends, Maggie & Aiden, have been dating each other for nearly just as long. Shawn is an NFL coach and Lacey is a pediatrician. They all get along great, they have dinner and game nights together, but Shawn & Lacey haven’t ever seen each other as potential love interests. I think, deep-down, Shawn knew he was attracted to Lacey & liked her on a different level than friendship, but never really admitted it to himself or “out loud” to anyone else. One day, when Lacey asks Shawn for an extra ticket to a game so she can bring a date with her. When the kiss cam hits Lacey & her date, he refuses not once but multiple times to kiss her, despite the light-heartedness surrounding the moment in the stadium. After seeing Lacey on the jumbotron – she looks mortified – Shawn jumps up in to the stands from the fields and kisses her for the kiss cam. They both admit afterwards that the kiss was great and Lacey comes up with a plan to propose a “fake dating” scenario to Shawn which will align with both of their interests throughout the holiday season.

A seven-minutes-in-heaven supply closet make out sesh during one of Shawn’s games kicks this “fake romance” up a notch and these two are feeling the fireworks but take for-dang-EVER to admit it to themselves, and even longer to admit it to each other. Shawn adores Lacey and Chelsea Curto’s style of writing makes it so palpable, you can feeling it coming off the page/Kindle as you’re reading it. When I say I swooned the entire book, I’m not lying – it would be easier to count the times I was not actively swooning!

Outside of the romance itself, some of my favorite parts of this book include the ages of the main characters being closer to my own age, versus early 20s/college aged characters. Plus, there is a little bit of an age gap between Lacey & Shawn – probably 10 years or so. In addition, they treated each other with such mutual respect the entire book, it was refreshing to read. I also really loved that Lacey was steadfast in her career and did not NEED Shawn to take care of her financially, she was able to support herself. Lastly, before their friendship even takes the next step, Lacey routinely wears one of Shawn’s jerseys from when he was pro football player in the NFL, and he loves it. They both listen to each other, take note of what the other likes/dislikes, and it truly turns in to a genuine friendship taken to the next level.

If you enjoy a good sports romance, with some well-written steamy scenes *fans face*, where there is a guaranteed happy ending, this book is for you! I rated it a 5/5 because I loved the characters, story development, and I will definitely read it again in the future when I need to read a friends-to-lovers story. Lace Face & Shawn Yawn captured my heart.