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Love Through a Lens #1

Caught on Camera

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Shawn Holmes is the youngest head coach in NFL history, and his team has the best record in the league.

He should be excited about their win streak, but he's distracted by his best friend, Lacey Daniels, sitting in the stands at his game with a date.

When Lacey's date refuses to kiss her on the kiss cam, she's mortified…until Shawn saves the day, jumping in to kiss her in front of seventy thousand screaming fans.

The kiss doesn't mean anything—it's just a friend helping out a friend. But when a video of their PDA goes viral, Lacey and Shawn are forced to reevaluate how to handle the publicity.

With Shawn's family asking when he's going to settle down and Lacey wanting to impress her boss at the hospital Christmas gala she's supposed to attend, they agree to pretend to date each other through the holidays.

As the weather turns colder and they spend more time pretending, things between Lacey and Shawn heat up. Soon, faking it feels like the best relationship both have ever had. With New Year's approaching, will they realize how much they care about each other, or end the agreement and move on?

Caught on Camera is a spicy, friends-to-lovers, fake dating, sports romance. It can be listened to as a standalone. While it does contain light winter themes, it can be enjoyed all year.

Includes a bonus novella, Camera Chemistry.

Audible Audio

First published November 28, 2023

1604 people are currently reading
19371 people want to read

About the author

Chelsea Curto

18 books5,141 followers
Chelsea is a flight attendant and romance author who writes fun, fresh and flirty love stories with plenty of spice. When she's not making fictional characters banter for twenty chapters before they finally kiss or serving chicken or pasta on an airplane, you can find her trying to pet as many dogs as she can.


COME SAY HI!

Instagram: www.instagram.com/authorchelseacurto

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chelseareadsa...

Newsletter: https://authorchelseacurto.myflodesk....

Website: www.authorchelseacurto.com



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5 stars
4,042 (31%)
4 stars
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3 stars
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156 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,661 reviews
Profile Image for megan ◡̈.
808 reviews561 followers
December 5, 2023
run dont walk to read this absolutely adorable book 😩

if you’re looking for a friends to lovers sports/holiday book look no further!! lacey finds herself in a bit of a pickle at shawn’s game, her date wont kiss her during the kiss cam. shawn being the good friend he is absolutely cant stand the thought of letting lacey continue to be embarrassed so he fixes the problem himself by kissing her himself. this leads us to the two besties making a fake dating pact to get what they want!!

this book tackles mental health rep, is overly cheesy and theres no 3rd act break up which was *chefs kiss*, my only issue was that it seemed a little longer than necessary and took too long really get going!
Profile Image for Chelsea.
Author 18 books5,141 followers
November 21, 2023
You’ll love Caught on Camera if you like:

✨ sports romance
✨ fake dating
✨ nfl coach x doctor
✨ sunshine man with a dirty mouth
✨ just once to get it out of our systems

I hope you enjoy Lacey and Shawn!
Profile Image for Heather Adores Books.
1,565 reviews1,804 followers
August 9, 2025
This was really super duper cute. Super looonnnggg listen at over 18 hours, though. I'll try to review soon

Lacey & Shawn (46)
Currently reading notes:
~ dual 1st person POV
~ Washington DC setting
~ NFL coach
~ Pediatrician
~ best friends to lovers
~ fake dating
~ some steamage

Narration notes:
Kelsey, of course, is doing great. Robert is good, too. No complaints yet.
Profile Image for Tarah DeWitt.
Author 11 books4,514 followers
December 5, 2023
Oh she real real cute. Chelsea has come a long way and I could feel her excitement and love in these pages. Shawn and Lacey are so lovely. Her best work yet, just a joy to read.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
3,601 reviews325 followers
December 9, 2023
4.5 stars.

🥵

These two!

🌶️💦

If only they weren't being a little idiotic as well. They kept on going "there's nothing going on even tho you're my best friend and hot AF".

Their friends knew the truth. And eventually they move towards each other with little drama and no third act breakup.

Shawn is solid boyfriend material. A great partner and friend. May I order up one of those, please!? And their sexy times!? 👏🏻

Why did this book make me cry so many times!? It wasn't sad. It just kept hitting me in the feels as they found their home in each other.

There is so much cheese in this book... but I love cheese.

Safety deets
- they've been friends for two years and haven't noticed their attraction to each other (at least she hasn't)until he rescues her from embarrassment by kissing her on the kiss cam.
- They talk about birth control and diseases. And then go bare.
- Consent was fire.
- We hear that he's had very few relationships and a few one night stands. She's not had a lot of relationships either.
- I love that they're older. I think he's 46. She's 34.
- He falls first.
- Epilogue shows them getting engaged.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jen ♥.
1,673 reviews908 followers
December 20, 2023
4.5 ⭐

MCs:
- Shawn, 46, NFL Coach
- Lacey, 34, Pediatrician

Book info:
- Friends-to-lovers
- Age gap
- Mental health rep (anxiety, panic attack)
- Fake dating
- Christmas romance
- Sunshine x Sunshine ❤️
- Non-virgin MCs
- Steaaamy
- No cheating, owd/omd, third act breakup
- HFN

Notes:
- Shawn admits he did sleep around when he was younger (I think up to his early 40s), but he's not a player. I don't know how this works, though. HAHA.
- They've known about each other's ONS since they became friends because they only see each other in a platonic way—that is, until the kiss cam incident.
- Shawn and Lacey were almost perfect, and I can't find a fault in them. 🤷‍♀️


I enjoyed every minute of this 400+ page cheesefest and fluffy read. Their relationship is almost perfect, with no problems at all—there is absolutely no angst in this book.

Due to the fact that their best friends are dating, Shawn and Lacey have known one another for at least two years. They were introduced, and they grew close to one another—in fact, they consider one another best friends too. While they both think the other is attractive, they also don't feel much attraction to one another, or so they thought.

At one of Shawn's games, Lacey brought a date, but her date was something—a really awful something. They appeared on the kiss cam eight times in total, and each time her date refused to kiss her, even on her cheek. On the eighth time, Shawn walked towards her and planted a kiss in front of the more than 70,000 spectators. Following this incident, they appeared in quite a few news outlets and even in gossip magazines.

Then Lacey approached Shawn about pretending to date in order to make good on their unexpected notoriety. The hospital she works for has been receiving little funding, so she thought that by fake dating Shawn, they would be able to use his connections to get the hospital some recognition as well as possible sponsors and donors. Additionally, this will help her become the chief of the paediatric department, something she has been incredibly hardworking for.

Shawn agreed to her proposition after she gave him an explanation, realising that she was coming from a good place. Also, he thought that by accepting this, his mother would stop bugging him about being single and he would be able to invite someone to their family's Christmas celebration. It was a win-win situation for them both, and they decided to carry out this plan for a month before calling it quits at the beginning of January.

Like I said, they were close friends and cared for one another even prior to their fake dating plan. However, something about their kiss made them realise that they like one another more than just friends. They slowly grew closer as they spent more time together and began to fall in love. They have become each other's home, source of support, and safe haven. Shawn and Lacey have always known how to support one another without expressing what they need. It seems as though they are each other's missing pieces—they complete each other's lives in the most perfect way.

Even though they were starting to feel more deeply for one another, they were both worried that this would end their friendship. But when their plan was about to come to an end, Shawn knocked on her door, declaring his love and wanting to make their "fake" relationship into a "real" one. Lacey didn't hesitate; she agreed instantly and confessed her own love as well.

Most of the time, this story made me smile and warmed my heart. The tension and chemistry between these two were off the charts. Every time I read their lines and scenes, I get an odd feeling in my chest (a good one). I can't help but swoon over them, even though they were sickeningly sweet. They were obviously madly in love with each other, even though it took them some time to realise it. All it takes is a kiss to reveal the truth right in front of them. I just love reading about them finally realising they love each other.

As for the spice, gaaawd, was it hot. Shawn and Lacey made me hot and bothered all the freaking time. I had no idea that dual praise and dual dirty talk were my thing. I'm also glad they discussed clean bill status, because these two did it bare the first time and every time after that. Expect plenty of sexy scenes because this is a steamy one, but I found the scenes tolerable because the story still focuses more on their relationship than the physical aspects.

It ended with HFN. When Shawn's team won the Super Bowl a year after they started dating, he proposed to Lacey in front of everyone there, and she accepted. I also thought their plans for expanding their family were admirable. Lacey isn't interested in having a biological child because she thinks there are many children out there who need a loving home, which she believes she can provide, and Shawn is more than happy to support her plans.

Overall, this was a heartfelt read, and I loved every minute of it. I was hesitant at first because this was a friends-to-lovers story, which is usually a miss for me. But I'm glad I read it because I thought it was a great story with great characters and an interesting plot. In my opinion, this is worth reading and recommending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Skyler.
410 reviews8 followers
December 5, 2023
2.5 rounded up

This was… fine. I’ve always been a huge fan of Chelsea and her books, but after reading every book she’s written so far, they’re starting to feel very repetitive. Her books all follow the same formula, and her MMCs are very similar.

There is also no angst in this book and no third act break up – which usually I love! But this book was over 400 pages long and with no conflict or angst, it felt entirely too long.
The main characters also felt incredibly immature. They were supposed to be in their forties but acted like they were in their early twenties. Nothing about them made me believe that they were the ages they were supposed to be.

I think this book will work for a lot of people, but it wasn’t for me.
Profile Image for Kat | katreadsit.
401 reviews566 followers
December 12, 2023
This was so fun! I loved the dual POV, the friends to more and the chemistry 🥰🥰🥲. The entire set up for how they got together was perfect. But truly it was the banter that stood out the most, it was so entertaining to read!

Thank you so much to Love Notes PR and Chelsea Curto for my ARC. I appreciate it 💜.
Profile Image for courtney.
468 reviews
December 12, 2023
This man said shucks too many times for my liking
Profile Image for AC.
103 reviews297 followers
March 3, 2024
If he’s “oh so generous,” he should find a way to compensate me for managing to make it to the end of this book
Profile Image for sil ♡ the book voyagers.
1,344 reviews3,181 followers
December 1, 2023
Last book of the month? And it was a banger. Chelsea Curto has surely become one of my favorite authors to read and this one is by far her best.

Best friends that decide to pretend to date who never thought about each other romantically before their first kiss? I ADORE ALL THE TIME. I'm going to love a book if it has this trope. And this book does! It's also very adorable, soft, and wholesome. Perfect for the holidays while also set during the actual holidays. But it's low on angst, doesn't have a third-act breakup, and you will get such a nice love story.
Profile Image for Anna-Marie.
204 reviews76 followers
November 25, 2023
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! 5 ⭐️!!! I loved every second of this book. The best friend banter was perfect and stayed perfect throughout the whole book. I loved watching them fall in love and be the person they both deserved. These characters have my HEART! Usually I love just one character but no, the MMC and FMC were both absolutely perfect. The cinnamon roll MMC my my heart melt.

This is so chaotic because I just finished it and I’m crying from the ending still so just know that I highly recommend reading this book!!!!

🫶🏻Football coach x pediatrician
💗Best friends to lovers
📚fake dating
🫠the best banter
Profile Image for vivian.
143 reviews31 followers
January 20, 2024
3.75⭐️

💗❄️"She's my favorite person in the entire world."❄️💗

→NFL coach and pediatrician. Fake dating (act surprised). And it takes place during ✨xmas✨

→My first time reading a "Xmas/holiday" book and honestly I had so much fun with this one. Shawn and Lacy's story was so cute, the friends to lovers trope is just so heartwarming and gives all the feels🫶🏽. Also, I did not expect this to be so spicy, the three chapters back to back were CRAZY but I was living for it tbh

→Shawn. Holmes. Omg y'all, he was giving HUSBAND MATERIAL. The way his love language was acts of serviceeee😭. He took CARE of Lacy and he always made sure to make her feel loved and appreciated and cared for, it was just so adorable I wanted to sob. Like this 6'5 tattooed man was out here delivering lunch and coffee to her workplace just to make sure she was caring for herself- I was so sick. Also, the things he said to her??? the MOUTH on this man?? he had me BLUSHING, I loved it.

→Lacy. I liked her character. She was independent, witty, and just so caring and compassionate when it came to her friends, it was so nice seeing her and Shawn's personalities match each other so well. Also, her inner dialogue had me snorting out loud, she was so funny. Her banter with Shawn and the way they would give each other shit was so funny, which I love when characters joke and play around with each other like that.

→The reason why I bumped it down to 3.75 stars was the pacing...this book could have easily been way shorter. About 60% through I felt a little bored from how drawn out the story seemed to be, and I was just begging for them to get "together" already...but aside from that, I really enjoyed this one. I recommend if u need to get out of a slump or just want something fun to read🖤.
Profile Image for cosette.
152 reviews37 followers
December 9, 2023
“Do you think you could keep holding the door open for me?”

i'm in love

that's it, that's my review
Profile Image for Chels ❀.
177 reviews2 followers
October 16, 2024
I enjoyed the first 20%, and while I certainly thought there were sweet moments in the latter 80%, I struggled with a few too many things to the point that I eventually skimmed the last couple of chapters. I felt like the same situation just kept repeating itself (exclaiming one another is perfect, sex, something sweet is done, repeat), and I got a little bored. Both the MMC and FMC were great people individually. They were accomplished, respectful, supportive, self-aware, honest… all the good things. Love that for them. Love the positivity. But, that also makes for a very slow story.

Things I Enjoyed:
🏈 The mature conversations between the found family members and the MMC and FMC
🏈 The unwavering support and respect between the MMC and FMC
🏈 Strong individual main characters

Things I Struggled With:
❄️ There was no conflict. They were “fake dating” but were in love with each other. Everyone knew it, and their deadline to end their arrangement was the only issue, but it wasn’t even really an issue?
❄️ Everyone was perfect, and they mentioned that a lot. Like, a lot a lot. This also meant that there was no real character growth or change.
❄️ Some of the dialogue felt too cheesy/scripted. Yes, I’m reading a book, but I don’t want to feel like I’m reading a book. I rolled my eyes a few times.
❄️ Repetitive. I kept waiting for something to happen, and I think everyone was just too perfect for it to.
❄️ The MMC also said “shucks” a few times, and I cringed.
❄️ Some details didn’t quite make sense to me. They are “best friends,” and talk and hang out all of the time, yet she’s never seen him without his shirt on to know what his tattoos look like. They’ve never been to a pool together? He’s an athlete and football coach. He’s never exercised around her with his shirt off? Small details like that, since they made it a point to constantly say they are “best friends,” also made other things difficult to believe.
Profile Image for jenna 💘✨.
585 reviews149 followers
May 4, 2025
4.25!!!!! SOOOOOOOO CUTE SO HOT SO FUN!!!! SHAWN HOLMES THE MAN THAT YOU ARE!!!!!!
Profile Image for Ruth♡.
410 reviews56 followers
August 14, 2025
3.5 🌟

Por qué que joyita me había estado perdiendo 🌚

Lacey es una pediatra con una vida tranquila, le apasiona su trabajo, sale con sus amigos a divertirse, lo único que aún le falta es lo romántico pero ella lo intenta por lo que lleva a su cita a un partido de fútbol, el entrenador Shawn es su mejor amigo por lo que consigue buenos lugares, lo malo es que en el partido la enfocan para una Kiss Cam y su cita se NIEGA a besarla por lo que Shawn llega al rescate y la besa lo que traerá vario problema.

No saben cómo disfruten este libro, el primero se me hizo un poco mehh por lo que tarde meses en volver con ellos pero este fue una gran sorpresa, la historia de estos dos es tan linda, ellos siendo ya mejores amigos empiezan a tener un acercamiento de pareja y es tan lindo de leer, ocurre de una forma tan natural, incluso para ellos no es nada incómodo, no tiene mucho drama, todo se arregla hablando, diciendo los sentimientos, fue muy bueno.

La autora toca temas no tan recurrentes y eso me gusta mucho de ella, este es el tercer libro que leo de ella y siempre tiene cosas interesantes en sus protagonistas, me encanta.

Ya quiero leer el siguiente se ve uff 😌
Profile Image for Nivsreview.
155 reviews33 followers
September 1, 2025
dnf @34%

way too annoyingly silly for me to continue reading.
Profile Image for christyheartsbooks.
1,147 reviews32 followers
December 21, 2023
I loved the characters. I thought they were fun, their relationship was fun. They were cute and sweet and beyond supportive of each other. Loved that they were truly friends before they jumped into this fake dating scheme. Their fondness for each other really helped them develop a beautiful relationship and I adored it. But that was kind of all there was. There was no angst, no real conflict. A bit anticlimactic. Then couple that with how forced the reasons behind their need to fake date kind of underwhelmed me which was a huge bummer.
Profile Image for Roppie_reading.
28 reviews
January 5, 2024
The repetition was too much. The amount of times these people said they wanted to take care of each other was literally no longer sweet but annoying. Also from now on you can't add 'girl' after a name, that's definitely NOT a nickname. Shawn must've said 'Lacey girl' like a hundred times in this book and I'm not even exaggerating. Ick ick ick
Profile Image for Alexa.
117 reviews3 followers
December 3, 2023
Not having a third act breakup was weird since there was literally no other conflict. So it was just a lot of lovey thoughts and interactions with no tension. Really enjoyed the characters and the setting, but a story does need actual conflict. Past trauma or someone getting in the way… something.
Profile Image for jasmin.
336 reviews23 followers
May 4, 2025
this was really cute, shawn and lacey had great chemistry and such an emotional connection!! i did feel like the book started dragging around the half way mark, but i still had a good time with it.
Profile Image for alysa.
105 reviews11 followers
December 2, 2023
Not necessarily super good, not necessarily bad. Decent, though there is a lot of talking (which is weird, since it's a book...with words... but if you know what I'm talking about, you know). Definitely cute for you if you love a super cutesy romance with virtually zero angst.
Profile Image for Sammie Pechkurow.
201 reviews23 followers
November 22, 2023
ugh SWOON!!! This book is perfect. If there’s one thing about Chelsea is that she knows how to write a man who has it BAD for his girl. Shawn Holmes needs to be the new blue print because this man was EVERYTHING, from sending lunch to her office to make sure she eats (hello my new favorite microtrope) to donating millions of dollars to the hospital that she works at, I mean he was such a golden retriever and I ADORE him.

As for our FMC, Lacey, talk about a girl with confidence. Lacey was such a refreshing character to me because she knew exactly what she wanted and was absolutely not afraid to ask for it. She also was pretty willing to do whatever it takes to protect Shawn which again SWOON!

At the end of the day all you really need to know is that this is a WHOLESOME story about two people who are fake dating but end up falling in love, but let’s be real they were always in love. Oh, and lots and lots of spice. Shawn and Lacey both have quite the mouth and their chemistry is just 🥵. This is easily going to remain my favorite holiday book of the year and definitely in my overall top 10 of the year.

Go read this book I promise you there is no way you would regret it.
Profile Image for Johanna.
18 reviews3 followers
November 26, 2023
4.5/5⭐️
This had me gigglingggg and kicking my feet several times! I had to put my kindle down sometimes to do so! The banter between Shawn and Lacey is chef’s kiss!
Caught on Camera is a best friends to lovers trope and follows Shawn, a famous football coach and Lacey, an amazing pediatrician as they set up a fate dating plan after an infamous kiss in front of thousands.

This book is for you if:
- You love words of affirmation because its affirmation heaven between these two
- You enjoy spice because we had quite a few scenes to keep us on our toes ( especially if you enjoy Shawn talking you through everythingggg and I do mean everything!)
- You enjoy a man down BAD for his woman

I tore through this book because the beginning swept me up. I will say the ending was a tad repetitive for me at times but I appreciated it as it built the picture of their strong affection for each other. And thank youuuu Chelsea for an epilogue! And thank you Love Notes PR anddd Chelsea for the ARC and opportunity to read this splendid book.
Profile Image for Linna • linnareads.
520 reviews249 followers
February 21, 2024
My favorite from Chelsea so far! I loved getting to beta read this and then do a reread so I could tag all the amazing moments from Lacey and Shawn.

🏈 sports romance
🤭 fake dating
🩺 she’s a doctor
🔥 he’s an nfl coach
👏🏼 no third act breakup
🥰 so many sweet moments
🥵 and so many others that’ll make you sweat

dual POV
5/5 stars ⭐️
3/5 spice level 🌶️
Profile Image for Christy.
898 reviews38 followers
December 12, 2023
This was so freaking cute and the spice was amazing.
Profile Image for kelseyandherbooks .
451 reviews453 followers
December 3, 2023
Caught on Camera kept me company during a sleepless night, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.

I loved Shawn and Lacey’s friendship. Their banter throughout the entire book was so lighthearted and fun and I found the friends-to-lovers of it all VERY believable. They got a bit cheesy at times, but the spice (whew, the SPICE!!!) helped balance all of that out.

I loved seeing more of Aiden and Maggie (you have to read Camera Chemistry, their novella!!!) and I’m so excited to see that Dallas will be getting his own book next year!

Definitely recommend adding this one to your holiday TBR! Thank you to the author for sending an eARC my way. ♥️
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,661 reviews

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