Thanks to Dreamscape Media for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.


-what is it about-

Nora decided to go on a one date. She expected it to not go that well, yet... it was even worse. The kiss cam zooms in on the worst moment ever! Her date went to get some snacks and drinks, that is why she needs to decide: to kiss the stranger sitting next to her, or not to kiss him?


-what I loved?-

-> This book was so fun! The addictive storyline full of romcom events made me smile, laugh and giggle (which is a pretty good sign). I felt that the development of the personalities and emotional comments also helped with discovering their insights.
-> The romance was amazing! Nora and Duke had captivating chemistry, that Cindy Steel developed throughout the whole storyline. I couldn't stop smiling at their interactions - just be ready for heartful, funny events!
-> Nora deserves the best!



-what did I not love?-

→ Sometimes I felt the characters acted not like Cindy Steel wanted them to in terms of their reactions.
→ Some themes were just there. I expected them to develop in the end, yet the author put attention mainly to the romance and the most important issues in the lives of the characters.


rating: 3/5 ✮✮✮
genre: Contemporary Romance
themes: strangers to lovers, second chance, workplace romance

A Sweet and Playful Romance

Cindy Steel delivers a charming and lighthearted romance in The One with the Kiss Cam. The story is full of witty banter, laugh-out-loud moments, and just the right amount of swoon-worthy chemistry. The premise is fun and fresh, making it an engaging read from start to finish.

The characters are lovable, with great chemistry that feels natural and endearing. The slow-burn romance is well-paced, building up anticipation without dragging too long. While the story leans into familiar rom-com tropes, Steel’s writing keeps it entertaining and heartfelt. Some moments felt a bit predictable, but the emotional depth and humor more than make up for it.

Overall, The One with the Kiss Cam is a delightful read for fans of sweet, feel-good romances with plenty of charm. A strong 4 stars!

What an adorable story! I loved the romance between Nora and Duke, who first meet at a basketball game, when they are captured on camera, and must now kiss for the cam. Seeing them develop a relationship afterwards was so sweet, and this was just the lighthearted read I was craving.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-slowburn romance
-witty dialogue
-an adorable meet-cute
-closed door romance

I loved the audiobook narration, and actually preferred this format. So cute!

*many thanks to Dreamscape Media/Netgalley for the gifted ALC for review

This was such a fun Swoony Romance. I absolutely loved the chemistry between Duke & Nora. I love how Duke took time to break down Nora’s walls, and helped her to build boundaries. He always uplifted her and made her feel loved and valued. I love all of the banter, and all of their friends.
This was such a sweet, swoony feel-good romance.

🎧A super cute read/listen. This story has slow burn romance, strangers to lovers, witty banter, and no spice. What more could you ask for in a romcom?! A light book with a sweet meet cute plot line. Great audiobook narration that would make for a good road trip listen!

Author: Cindy Steel
Publisher: Independent
Audio: Dreamscape

🔔Content notes: sporadic use of mild language, kisses only, childhood trauma mentioned

This book just didn't keep me engaged, I really liked the set up but the two leads didn't connect for me and/or In didn't connect with them

The One With the Kiss Cam - is an incredibly Meet Cute, clean romance that will have those listening swooning!

I almost skipped over this one accidentally, and whew! I am so glad that I decided to pick it up!

I love the cover, that was what drew me into this one. It was an incredibly cute read to listen to while working! With it being a cleaner romance, I would highly recommend it to those who prefer to read while working :) This one is laugh-out-loud funny, incredibly endearing, and will have you hanging onto the narrator's every word.

Read/listen if you love:
-Meet Cute Romance
-Workplace Romance
-Closed Door/Clean Romance
-Independent Boss Babes
-Bucket Lists
-Rom Com bantering
-Basketball Games
-Vunerability - TW toxic parents

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

🎧Song Pairing: I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You - Tom Waits

💭What I thought would happen:

I love how the title is like a Friends episode. Here for that! And the cover is pink? Like I’m not picking this up. I’m guessing the characters like basketball?

📖What actually happens:

Utah Jazz game meet cute. One fine day romance. Future boss. Work competition. Sprinkle in some drama.

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

How cute, sweet, adorable! Not spicy just letting my thirsty ladies knows 😉

The meet cute is perfection! Have you ever been on a kiss cam because any time I’m at a game I have high anxiety it’ll fall on me. During my single days I’d go to many nhl games and thought dear god I don’t want a first kiss so public

Read if you like:
🤫Closed door
🥤Fountain soda (let it fall)
🩷Independent girlies
🫶🏼Workplace romance
🤬Toxic parental relationships

This book is laugh-out-loud funny!

After a friend's urging, Nora reluctantly agreed to a date for some much-needed fun. Her one rule: avoid relationships with men to prevent attachment, shaped by watching my mother's love life repeatedly fall apart. She was more interested in the basketball game than the date itself, until the kiss cam and an unexpected kiss turned my world upside down. When her life took a downturn, this same man proved that good men do exist, dreams can come true, and sometimes breaking your own rules leads to unexpected magic.

Justis Bolding narration of this book was amazing!

What you will find in The One With The Kiss Cam:
great chemistry
sweet grandparents
workplace romances
bucket lists

Started this book and listed for 5 minutes and went on to another. Went back to it and realized I had missed a great book. You could feel for the female lead who was lonely and ready to try new things and the way they got together with the Kiss Cam was cute. Loved the way their relationship evolved and how true their relationship development was. Really enjoyed the book and didn't expect to!

💋🏀The One With the Kiss Cam🏀💋
By @authorcindysteel

When caught on camera - not just any camera but the freaking Kiss Cam! - at a sports game with a guy she didn’t really know, Nora was not about to have any sort of PDA going on. But was she living too carefully? Was she not “letting loose” have having enough fun?

You guys! This book was a sleep stealer in the best sort of way!! Duke is so dreamy, and Nora was a little too relatable. I did not want to put the book down! There are amazing supporting characters that you will fall in love with, and also a couple that you will want to slap in the face.

I loved this book so much! Devoured it because I couldn’t get enough, and was upset when it was over. Definitely love the way Cindy writes, all her settings and characters and just everything! ❤️

If you’re a fan of closed door/clean romance, you should definitely read this book, and all of Cindy’s other books.

Also I listened to this on audio and the narrators are amazing!!! Thank you Cindy and Netgalley for the copy. All opinions are mine.

Short synopsis: Nora goes to a basketball game on a dating app date, and her date is the worst. She ends up on the kiss cam with the charming guy on her other side.

My thoughts: Okay, first chapter had me pulled in immediately. Nora was at the basketball game for my favorite NBA team, and that never happens. This is set in my hometown (which also never happens) soo I had a lot of fun with it.

The closed door scenes were done so well in this book. You can feel the tension and romantic feelings grow from both characters throughout the book, and I loved watching them fall for each other. The banter and flirting was top notch.

I loved how hard Nora worked to make a good life for herself, because of the bad situations she faced in her childhood. And I loved watching her be vulnerable with Duke,

Duke was such a cinnamon roll Character, wanting to help make Nora’s situation better. And I adored the interaction with his grandparents

I loved the audio on this! The narrator did such a great job telling the story!

Read if you love:
- Basketball games
- Workplace romance
- Bucket lists
- Vulnerability
- Great banter

3.5-4⭐️ When a horrible blind date leads to the cutest of meet-cutes, complete with a kiss-cam kiss for the books, Nora’s life is forever changed. When two years later, she and Duke are once again in each other’s orbits, he will do whatever it takes to show Nora he is one of the good guys.

Sometimes you just need a super cute rom-com, and this book definitely fits the bill. I am a fan of a good meet-cute and this book is all about it. But don’t be fooled by the adorable cover; there are also deeper themes of pursuing one’s dreams in the midst of hardships and breaking the cycle of toxic relationships. Although the beginning makes this one feel like fiction, so much of the discussions between Nora and Duke feel very raw, real and wholly relatable.

Read if you like:
•meet-cutes
•bad blind dates
•he falls first
•workplace romance
•opposites attract
•small town romance

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the gifted copy.

This was such a cute little romcom!

Duke and Nora have a meet-cute at a basketball game and have a magical first night before reality sets in and they go their separate ways.  Fate pulls them back into one another’s orbit and the banter and attraction picks up right where they left off, leading them down a road that neither ever dreamed they’d be on.

I appreciate the fact that this was not an instant love story but more of a slow burn despite their whirlwind first night together.  I love a good romcom but one of the things that always ruins it for me is the whole *they’re-in-love-despite-knowing-each-other-for-two-seconds* trope.  It’s nice to see a sweet love story that is based in reality.

I had the pleasure of not only reading this novel but listening to the audiobook, which really brought this world alive, though listening to the audiobook did make the story feel a lot more drawn out.  I wish there would’ve been more than one narrator as the one speaker doing both parts was a little grating to me.  I feel like the story would’ve been much more impactful had there been distinct differences in their voices, and not a female voice clearly trying to be a male voice.  Other than that, I feel like the voice actor did a great job and it was overall well produced.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel.  The cute, witty banter paired with likable characters in a realistic setting checked all the boxes for me.

This book had me rooting for the main characters the entire time! Genuinely good people who deserve a break in the love department. I found the middle a bit slow but the overall story was great. I loved the meet cute, and meet cute again, and the gradual breaking down of the characters barriers. No insta love, it seemed believable and genuine!

Really cute meet cute! It would make the perfect romantic comedy movie that I would love to watch! I was glued to my phone listening to it and actually finished it really quickly. I couldn't get enough of it!

This book was everything! The writing was beautiful the story was filled with humor, fun, and endless cute moments that had me gushing. There were so many points that had me laughing out loud, the banter between our main characters was just perfect.

This romance had a very cute meet-cute and then a later reconnection. I instantly really loved the characters and enjoyed the way the story unfolded - Nora was so hardworking and really grew as a character throughout the book and Duke was sweet and kind and loving. It was refreshing to learn more about their pasts and watch them very slowly move towards an inevitable happily ever after :) This author is a hit for me and this one was no exception!

Thank you for the ALC, @dreamscape_media and @netgalley!!

This book tells the story of Nora, a woman who has a disastrous first date at an NBA game. She is captivated by a stranger named Duke, who is cuter and less boring than her current date. The story explores the question of whether to kiss or not to kiss. Years later, Nora and Duke meet again, and Duke aims to prove that good guys exist. If Nora gives him a chance, she might see what's right in front of her. The audio version of the book is excellent, with Justis Bolding doing a fantastic job.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this arc!