Camera Shy by Kay Cove is a perfect book for friends with benefits turn to lover fan.

Avery just ended her 4 year relationship after his ex declared he lost interest in her. She went to Vegas to recover from the breakup and meet her photographer neighbor. From him, she learns to love herself and embrace herself.

The payback toward the betrayal are so satisfying which reminds me of a drama.

✅ Breakup
✅ Rejection
✅ Neighbor to lover
✅ Plot twist
✅ Betrayals
✅ Hot and confidence boudoir photographer slash neighbor
✅ Sweet confident but soft heart consultant
✅ Angst
✅ Suspense
✅ High sexual tension
✅ Plenty of Spicy scenes: explicit and intense ( anal play)

I'll definitely be looking forward to read the next book by Kay Cove.

Two getting over emotional breakups - the experienced, hot male and the insecure, inexperienced 30 year old female. Exes haunt, and emotions increase - the expected rollercoaster. A good brain break for the weekend or vacation.

After a devastating breakup from a man that she thought was going to propose to her, Avery needs a break from her inner circle and decides to go Las Vegas to fish-sit for a client/friend. Anything to get away from home.. that’s not really even home anymore.

Avery has intense insecurities after this horrible break up. Comparing herself to what her ex-fiancé decided to pursue - which was a gorgeous fitness instructor. She’s aware that she is a fuller figured woman and her sex life has been, well, quite stale.

We meet Finn. He’s a boudoir photographer and his life mission is to uplift women’s confidence. (After what he witnessed with it helping his mother overcome an awful divorce.)
These two become neighbors and strike up a odd deal. She helps him remake his website and build his photography business…And he gives her lessons on… Sex. Confidence. Self Worth.

Finn is honestly one of the most amazing male characters that I have ever read. The way that he sees Avery and the way that he treats Avery had me truly tearing up for these fictional characters. He loved every single bit of her from the top of her head to her very tips of her toes. It just took her a little longer to see herself that way as in her own eyes and in his.

As Avery gains her confidence throughout the book, she also takes charge of her life, and takes out the trash with the people in her life. This book is spicy, beautifully romantic, but it’s also a story of self growth and finding your own self-worth. I absolutely loved this book with my whole heart. Kay Cove is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors

“ But confidence starts with you. A man is going to treat you how you treat yourself. So please, for the love of God, act like a fucking Queen. “

This book started out rocky for me but I feel like Kay Cove pretty thoroughly turned it around. After the FMC is unexpectedly broken up with on her 30th birthday, she falls apart and runs away. Unknowingly running into what could be her whole future if she let it be.

While it took a bit to get there, with a fair amount of bumps twists and turns and a lot of empowerment from the MMC, the FMC goes from full of body dysmorphia and insecurity, to remembering that she's a freaking boss who deserves the world.

<spoiler>**noting quick, I feel like a stark difference between this and some other books I've read where a man's opinion heavily influences the FMC's self perception is the plot point of the "supporting" characters actively tearing her down, which is a massively hard obstacle to overcome solo.</spoiler>

- No third act breakup
- He likes to ✨watch✨
- Curvy FMC
- Praise kink
- He ✨helps✨ her with shmexy things
I loved as a plus size girly, this is a book to lift you up. This book really opens someone’s eyes and insecurities and self deprecation. There is a lot of healing in this book. Loved it!

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

Camera Shy is book 1 in the Lessons in Love series by Kay o wholesome and real.
The plot details, the development, conversations, the whole story it was all perfect.
This book was splendidly addicting! It is a book that will grab your attention and not let you go. The author has an enjoyable writing style. Very fluid and easy to read but never bland or boring.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Loved the body positivity!

This was a really quick read! I enjoyed Kay Coves writing style and I love how Finn helped Avery to love her body.
4⭐️
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

I love Kay Cove and this book is *chef's kiss! Cove's writing is so flawless and it just immerses you into the story. The romance was so good in this book. I was afraid that Camera Shy wouldn't be able to live up to the love that I have for Whistle Blower but it 100% did and I'm so glad that I read this book! Cove is an amazing author and this book solidified her being a one click author for me!

Omg! I loved this book! I didn’t want it to end! Avery is an everyday woman, likes to be comfortable and not put too much into her appearance since she views herself as the fat, average girl.
Finn on the other hand is an Adonis. Built and sexy but also funny and so caring I wanted to cry.
He is instantly attracted to Avery and makes it his mission to make her see herself like he sees her.
I loved their relationship. It was so organic and fun. I felt like Avery and still do at times. I also have a Finn in my life that’s been trying to tell me I’m sexy for the past 20 years. This book really helped me see that what we view as imperfections, others see as strengths. That we need to love and accept ourselves before we can ever accept love from others.
There were so many sexy scenes that were also character building and so many sweet moments that had me tearing up. But the betrayals Avery went through made me full out cry.
This was excellently written with real life characters and situations that pulled you right in and didn’t let go.

This was WAY better than I was expecting - I never thought a book could make me feel emotional attachment to fish that the FMC is looking after whilst house sitting but here we are 😅 I saw this book on NetGalley, loved the cover and title and went into it absolutely blind. It was so enjoyable that I’ll be picking up a physical copy asap 📚

We follow Avery, a successful brand strategist, who goes through a rough break up with her boyfriend of 4 years on her 30th birthday when he panics and decides that they’re not right together anymore. She needs to get away for a bit and one of her clients needs someone to house sit, so she heads over to Las Vegas to look after his house and his fish for the summer 🐠

Whilst there, she bumps into the neighbour, Finn, who runs a body positive boudoir studio. I don’t want to go too much more into the plot to avoid spoilers but Finn has easily made it into my top book boyfriends. There’s a lot of spice in this book and we see Finn really work with Avery to help her love herself 🌶

There’s no third act breakup in this book which was refreshing BUT there is a plot twist that I didn’t see coming at all - I love when a book can surprise me 👀

I struggled to connect with the FMC a little, there’s a lot of self-negative talk and we definitely could have seen more growth for her throughout the book. There’s also quite a lot of negative women vs women going on - most of the other women in the book are either being vile about the FMC’s body, or trying to steal Finn. I wish there was a little less of this throughout the book - I totally get that it’s there for the drama (which did help the plot move) but it felt like there was too much of it at times 🤔 I do prefer books with more women empowering women.

There’s also a scene towards the end of the book with one of the MMC’s friends (Cass) that felt a little off/out of place (you’ll know which scene I mean when you get there). It had me questioning the MMC’s intentions a little and I think I’d have preferred the scene not exist 😅

I did really enjoy this book and I feel that this book is really missing an epilogue - I would have loved a glimpse into 5 - 10 years down the road for these two 👀 Though it looks like there’s a second book coming that follow’s Finn’s cousin/employee so maybe we’ll get to see some cameos from Finn and Avery in that book 🤞

“Camera Shy” by Kay Cove is not just a book; it’s a journey of self-acceptance that resonated with me on a deeply personal level. The protagonist, Avery, is a beacon of hope for anyone who has ever doubted their worth or beauty. Her transformation from self-conscious to self-confident is not only inspiring but a powerful reminder of the strength we all hold within.

Kay Cove has crafted a narrative that is as much about romance as it is about personal growth. The lessons Avery learns through her unexpected photography adventure are lessons we all need to be reminded of: to love ourselves, to embrace our flaws, and to step out of the shadows and into the light.

This book touched me profoundly because it mirrors the struggles many of us face in a world that often feels like it’s judging every aspect of our being. “Camera Shy” is a testament to the fact that true beauty comes from within and that sometimes, the right person can help you see that beauty more clearly.

In a world where we are often our own worst critics, “Camera Shy” offers a refreshing perspective on self-love and the courage it takes to be vulnerable. It’s a story that I will carry with me, a reminder that being camera shy doesn’t mean you’re not picture perfect in your own unique way

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC on this book.

As someone with a photography degree, I am begging the book gods to send me photography romance books my way so I was really excited to start this one.

It follows Avery who is expecting a proposal from her long term and business partner Mason after finding a ring months before. When Mason present the ring to her, he takes back the proposal and breaks up with her instead.

Then we have Finn, our boudoir photographer whose business is quite slow due to lack of promotion and needs more clientele to be more sustainable. After numerous flings and toxic relationships, he has been keeping to himself.

When Avery fish-sits for a client, her and Finn become neighbours and begin to hit it off quite quickly, despite Avery struggling with her break up and the insecurities it’s brought along.

With Avery struggling with confidence and Finn’s business needing more traffic, It’s a perfect solution when they interchange their services with one another to help each other out.

I am going to be honest, I didn’t enjoy this book as I wished to, especially with my personal love of photography and all the body positivity, especially as a curvy girl myself. I just couldn’t get into these pivotal plots of the story as I wished.

Avery and Finn were sweet here and there but nothing exciting to me. I don’t understand the pacing of their relationship because it went from 0-100 in the first few chapters they meet. I don’t know, standing in front of a stranger during your cycle almost naked in the midst of having body image issues just didn’t do it for me. I couldn’t connect with them because they were very two dimensional. Example: Avery is much more than her insecurities and I wanted to see that much more throughout.

The overuse of the nickname “Queen” just did not do it for me either and just felt like the writing overall was quite repetitive and fell flat a lot. Even the affair didn’t shock me the slightest and honestly, I just didn’t enjoy it. The book was also quite long and could have been much more condensed in areas (perhaps I would have enjoyed it more then)

The book has all the components to be a good romance story but they weren’t connected the best which is why I cannot rate it highly. I just couldn’t get into it or have strong opinions on the characters either.

If you like reading some smut, neighbours x lovers, photography and issues such as body issues/positivity then maybe this one will be for you!

Ok, I wasn’t expecting this to be as good as it was. Has all the great things, slow burn but awesome tension building and great spice when it gets there. He falls first and hard. Larger body FMC. Definitely will be one I recommend

I loved everything about this! It had the right amount of spice, focused on finding sexual enjoyment and kink interests ( praise kinks ftw) was definitely a stranger/neighbor to friend to lover story that gave slow burn bur deep rushed passion. I also loved that the fmc was a bigger girl and the story focuses on learning to lofe and accept the body she is in and finding her confidence and to me that means a lot as i am a bigger girl myself and could relate to things she felt and was struggling with! Overall a great read and i really enjoyed it!

This book was so cute! I might have enjoyed the story a little too much because all I wanted to know was how it would end, so much that I couldn't fully enjoy the spicy scenes. I was just too invested in the characters!

This book is an excellent he falls first, plus sized FMC, spicy lessons romance. After a lackluster four years, Avery learns that she is a full figured and sexy woman when her new neighbor Finn shows her how to be. The two sizzle and find love in this electric love story!

Okay I have been loving this so MUCH. The gasp I gusped at “…here’s how the next 5 minutes are going to go………….. How’s that sound?” I FREAKED. SO GOOD.
Did Finn overuse Queen? Probably a little but screw it, he’s trying to show her that she IS a Queen and deserving and worth more than she’s had.
Anyways love love love it was spicy spicy and amazing, thank you NetGalley and the publisher! I’ve been squealing and kicking my feet

Overall it is a cute story with a curvy FMC Avery, and a super supportive mmc Finn, who just happens to be a Boudoir photographer. Our curvy girl struggles with the same issues often found in novels with curvy FMC, insecurity. So when Finn, the photographer offers her spicy lessons in exchange for her help with his business, she can’t say no. Listen the spice.. was great. Especially so if you are a person who has similar struggles. That being said I didn’t really feel like there was much more to Avery outside of her insecurities about herself and her worth. I would have loved this more had there been more had Avery found her confidence sooner.

I loved this book! For all the girls who don’t think they’re good enough, YOU ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH. I loved the idea that the FMC was not a skinny, bombshell model. Through this book we see the evolution of Avery’s self confidence and it’s just beautiful. Also that surprise twist at the end I did not see coming!! I 100% have a boost in my own self confidence after reading this book