A sweet story on a tv set. It took a bit for the story to pick up but it wrapped up nicely. It’s fun to see the mechanics of a film set and the side characters were fun.

I received an arc from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This had such a fun premise an enemies to lovers work place romance. But ultimately it didn't live up to what I was expecting. First off, there's jumping into the story and then there's jumping into the plot *well*, and this was definitely the former. No context, not character intro, nothing. There's no building of chemistry between the MCs and then all of a sudden at 50% they're making out in a closet, seemingly out of nowhere. There were multiple heavy plot points/relevant conflicts that were too glossed over for the heaviness of the content but yet the story ultimately had no plot?


Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you Alcove Press & netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am sad to say that this book fell short for me. I had a hard time believing in Cali and Jory's relationship. It just didn't seem real or genuine to me. I also didn't love the characters.. If someone is looking for a workplace romance, enemies to lovers type of book, I'm sure others would love this!! Unfortunately it just wasn't for me :(

Love, Camera, Action: ★★☆☆☆ (2)

Pub date: available now!

I enjoyed reading Love, Camera, Action by Noel Start. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

Calliope "Cali" Daniels has been hired to direct a two part spicy episode on the TV series The Demon. Cali thinks this could be her big break to becoming an A lister director. Unfortunately, Jory Blair, the Director of Photography seems to block her choices every step of the way. Jory is an A lister and Cali is excited to work with him, but he is making this job very difficult. Over the course of filming, Cali and Jory keep butting heads but this ultimately creates a sizzling chemistry between the two and before they know it, they've crossed that line.

While Cali and Jory are spending more time together, Howard Fox, the top executive producer is trying to convince Jory to fire Cali. It seems Howard is like a "good ol' boy" and doesn't believe females can be in any position of importance. Of course Jory doesn't feel this way but he finds himself having to walk a fine line. Both Cali and Jory have many factors being thrown at them and they don't know what to deal with first. At the same time Jory is also having a health scare and finds himself at a crossroad in his life. Jory has to figure out what he needs to do to find his happy ending and makes a very surprising decision. Finally, Cali and Jory will have their happy every after.

This contemporary romance was an interesting read. This story had a lot of potential but I found some parts just seemed to drag on too long. I really liked the characters of Cali and Jory and thought they were fun together, had great chemistry but at times it was hard to root for them. Overall this was an ok read.

I read this book in a couple days. I couldn’t put it down. I recommend this book.


Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Love, Camera, Action by Noel Stark was fun and lighthearted and I had a good time reading it.
This was a wonderfully written romantic comedy.
I absolutely loved these characters and really enjoyed getting to know them.
A sweet, funny and heartwarming read!

This was a really cute story and I liked the main characters. I appreciated how the book addressed a lot of issues within the film industry (and other industries), although I didn’t find that the resolution of a side plot sat well with me. This is a fun, easy read. I also appreciated that the main characters had strong communication skills.

Cali, a Canadian director has finally received a big break. After the previous director was fired, Cali has been asked to direct an episode of a major show. Her vision, however, clashes with that of her surly director of photography, Jori.

This book was just OK for me. I didn’t hate but I didn’t love it. It took a while for me to get into it.

Honestly, from beginning to end, this book was unable to grab my attention. In the beginning, we see Cali, a new director working on her first major project, that could potentially make or break her career, and Jori, the director of photography on set. Of course, there is insta-lust and the "relationship" forms off of that and after fighting it for a bit, they give in and find themselves in a friends with benefits kind of situation. The progression of the relationship wasn't good. They spend a lot of time feeling lust for each other and becoming co-workers with benefits, yet bickering and miscommunicating the whole time, and then suddenly at the end they want to be in a relationship. It just needed way more work and progression. Other than that, and a little bit of bickering between the two about who is right with what they want to do while filming, nothing really happens. It's just a bit bland.

Thank you to Alcove Press, Noel Stark and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Cali Daniels is the new director on the popular TV show The Demon. She has been brought on to handle a steamy episode. She didn’t realize her leads don’t trust each other or that her ideas may clash with Jory Blair the director of photography. The author seems to really understand how a set works with demands for budgets, time it takes for making small changes in lighting or sound. The story has Cali and Jory as enemies and has them hopeful of getting the same future directing job. They do clash, but they also understand they work well together. I expected the sexism in the workplace storyline and it is handled well. Jori is also experiencing a health scare. This book has spice but sometimes it didn’t flow smoothly for me in the story. All in all this is a good debut novel. I wouldn’t say it is one I’d read again and again. I enjoyed it enough that I would like to see what the author writes next.

Thank you the author and NetGalley for giving me an early ebook copy.

I really enjoyed this debut which contains forced proximity, workplace romance and dual POV.

As an outsider to the filming industry it was amazing to see how scenes get directed and you could really tell the author comes from the industry.

The chemistry between Cali and Jory was well written as well as her struggle within the industry due to being a female director in a male dominated industry. It highlighted how women still struggle in the 21st century and no matter the work you put in and how great your work is, if you have a dinosaur as a boss it doesn’t matter. The meme to movement was quite prominent in this book.

I loved how due to that fact Cali always supported her lead actress and made her seen.

Now to Cali and Jory’s relationship. They got off on the wrong foot but it quickly changed due to their love for what they were doing and their mutual respect for each other.
It was funny to read the banter and her leaving him sometimes flabbergasted.

I highly recommend this book to readers that want a funny romcom and like the works of Emily Henry or Christina Lauren.

Audiobook + E-book: Love, Camera, Action

Author: Noël Stark-debut author

Page Count: 336

Publication date: 4-22-25 | Read: 4-15-25

Run Time: 9:24

Setting: Atlanta

POV: 3rd person dual

Genre: Adult/Women's Fic, Rom-Com

Tropes: grumpy H/sunshine h, workplace romance, rivals/enemies to lovers, family drama

TW: misogyny, death of parent-cancer, mental illness-h's mother and sister, health scare-H, harassment

Narrator: Maxine Mitchell voices all the characters with standouts from Cali, Jory, and Patsy. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.


Summary: Cali is an up-and-coming director with her first chance to shoot an episode of the popular TV series "The Demon." Jory has been a director of photography for years and has dreams of directing too. Their rivalry causes a hostile work environment for them, the actors, and the showrunner. Jory is asked to spy on Cali to report any mistakes, and in return he will get a directing job.

Heroine: Calliope "Cali" Daniels

Hero: Jory Blair

Side Characters:
*Patsy-Cali's younger sister
*Paolo Ramirez + Thalia Bautista- 2 main actors on "The Demon" TV series
*Howard Fox-the showrunner
*Melanie Reiter-co-executive producer
*Dan-1st asst. director, the voice of reason on set

My Thoughts: This gave a behind-the-scenes look at what happens on a TV show set. Cali and Jory bumped heads both trying to direct. The main actors Paolo and Thalia had intimacy issues that Cali handled well because they didn't have money for an intimacy coordinator. Patsy's visit allowed Cali to finally give up responsibility for her sister and mother. Howard got what he deserved, and it was a HEA for Jory and Cali.

Range of Emotions
*Spice: 4/5
*Emotion: 4/5
*Couple: 4/5
*Rating: 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley, Alcove Press, Dreamscape Audio, and Noël Stark for this ARC & ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this debut opposites attract, forced proximity, dual POV, workplace romance between a Director of photography and his female director. This had emotional depth and fantastic chemistry between the leads, there was also disability rep (he has Lynch syndrome which is a precursor to colon cancer and she has an absentee/neglectful mother). There was also a lot of fun on set dynamics between the actors and the crew that I enjoyed getting insight into. Good on audio and recommended for fans of authors Christina Lauren. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

‘Love, Camera, Action’ was a cute workplace romance with dual POV (in third person). The story follows a female director and the director of photography as they navigate working together on a movie whilst not making the best first impression and being ‘enemies’.
The characters in this story were likeable and had some vulnerability towards the end that I enjoyed seeing explored a little.
The whole book was quite fast paced which I enjoyed, the end felt slightly rushed but nonetheless I still found the book to be wrapped up nicely and a fun one!

4.5 stars
This book resonates with me. I enjoyed Jory and Cali as characters and their development both personally and as a couple throughout this story. These two captured my attention from the very beginning and held it until the very last word. Stark did a good job handling some heavy and strong emotional topics and did it with depth hand. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. I loved the role that family played in both the main characters’ lives and what it added to their story and development as characters. The story is easy to read and get into.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I got such a kick out of this book.

It had spice, loneliness, longing, pain, and so many other elements that the author pulled together perfectly.

I would definitely recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @ 40%

Unfortunately, I think this one was just not for me. I didn't feel connected to the characters and at the almost halfway point I was not interested in reading the romance between these two people.

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cali Daniels is hired to direct episodes of a steamy tv drama after the original director was fired for being sexually inappropriate. Her first interaction in the set is with the brusque director of photography, Jory Blair. They get off on the wrong foot and have different creative visions resulting in tension. Despite their professional differences, they are inexplicably attracted to each other.

This rivals to lovers, workplace romance should work, but the chemistry between Cali and Jory feels underdeveloped. Both are avoiding relationships for personal reasons and that avoidance gets resolved so quickly that it feels superficial. Also, considering the emphasis on #metoo scenarios, both MCs appear to put the actors in uncomfortable situations that cross the line of appropriateness.

The spicy parts of this book are plenty steamy, even if they seem to come out of nowhere. I enjoyed the behind the scenes look at the entertainment industry.

There’s definite potential here. It simply requires some better pacing and a bit more development.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advance copies. All opinions are my own.

I unfortunately had to put this one down, I am thinking I may try again at a later date. I enjoyed the premise of the book, but I was having a hard time getting into the story and the characters.