Chelsea Curto writes contemporary romance, sports romance, holiday romance, and romantic suspense. Her best-known books belong to the Love Through a Lens and D.C. Stars series, which share characters and exist within the same broader fictional world.
Most of Curto’s series books follow a new couple and provide a complete romantic ending. They are interconnected standalones rather than one continuous story, but publication order remains the safest choice because previous couples return and later books reveal earlier relationship outcomes.
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Quick Answer
New readers who want the complete connected experience should begin with Camera Chemistry, continue through Love Through a Lens, and then start D.C. Stars with Face Off.
Readers interested only in hockey romance can begin with Face Off. The Boston books form their own connected sequence, while the holiday romances can be approached separately.
Chelsea Curto’s Series in Order
Chelsea Curto’s books are divided into these main groups:
- Love Through a Lens
- D.C. Stars
- Boston
- Holiday romances
- In Stormy Weather, a separate standalone novel
Love Through a Lens and D.C. Stars have the strongest continuity connection. The Boston and holiday books should be kept outside that main sports romance order.
Love Through a Lens Books in Order
Love Through a Lens combines contemporary romance with professional sports, photography, media work, and a recurring circle of friends. Each novel centers on a different couple, but characters continue appearing across the series.
- Camera Chemistry (2023): A photographer agrees to help her best friend with a photo shoot, creating the short introductory romance that establishes the series’ social circle before the main novels begin.
- Caught on Camera (2023): NFL head coach Shawn Holmes becomes caught in a public romantic situation involving a viral kiss-cam moment, pushing a close friendship into fake dating and then something more serious.
- Behind the Camera (2024): Photographer Maven Wood takes a new job connected to a single father and professional football player, where a nanny arrangement and forced proximity gradually alter both of their plans.
- Off Camera (2024): Social media professional Avery Sinclair becomes involved in another sports-centered romance, closing the series while revisiting characters and relationships established in the earlier books.
Is Camera Chemistry Book 0.5 or Book 1?
Camera Chemistry is officially treated as the introductory novella and is commonly numbered book 0.5. Caught on Camera is the first full-length novel.
The distinction does not change the recommended order. Read Camera Chemistry first for the complete experience.
Classification: Included.
It can be skipped without making the later plots incomprehensible, but it introduces the shared cast before the main storylines begin.
Do the Love Through a Lens Books Stand Alone?
Each full-length book follows a different central couple and reaches its own romantic conclusion. Readers can understand the main relationship in an individual book without reading every earlier installment.
Order still matters for the surrounding cast. Later books reveal which earlier couples stayed together and continue developments that began in the background of previous stories.
D.C. Stars Books in Order
D.C. Stars is Chelsea Curto’s professional hockey romance series. The books follow players, coaches, staff members, reporters, and people connected to the fictional Washington, D.C. team.
- Face Off (2024): Emerson “Emmy” Hartwell finally receives an opportunity with the D.C. Stars, placing her in direct conflict and close proximity with hockey star Maverick Miller in the opening rivals-to-lovers romance.
- Power Play (2024): Recently divorced reporter Piper Mitchell crosses paths with D.C. Stars goaltender Liam Sullivan, combining professional complications, media attention, and a romance neither approaches casually.
- Slap Shot (2025): Star defenseman Hudson Hayes develops a slow-building relationship with a private chef and single mother, bringing forced proximity and a new family dynamic into the team’s continuing story.
- Hat Trick (2025): Hockey player Riley Mitchell becomes involved with a team athletic trainer, while his career, physical history, and use of a prosthetic leg shape the trust required between them.
- Sin Bin (2025): D.C. Stars coach Brody Saunders enters a romance involving figure skater Hannah, shifting the series’ focus from the players to the people guiding and supporting the team.
- Cross Check (2026): Assistant coach Amelia Green becomes involved with Grant in an off-limits strangers-to-friends-to-lovers romance that continues the team’s internal relationships after Sin Bin.
- Weak Side (2026): Ethan receives the seventh D.C. Stars story, but detailed official plot information remains limited ahead of publication, so its complete romantic setup should not yet be treated as confirmed.
Why D.C. Stars Should Be Read in Order
The central romances are complete within their individual books, but the team functions as a continuing ensemble. Players, partners, coaches, friends, and relatives remain present after their own stories finish.
Starting with a later volume can reveal established couples from the earlier books. Publication order also lets readers meet the team gradually instead of encountering a large group of already settled relationships.
Can You Start With Face Off?
Yes. Face Off is the proper entry point for D.C. Stars and can be read without completing Love Through a Lens first.
Readers who begin there will understand the main plot. Reading Love Through a Lens beforehand simply provides more context for recurring characters and connections within Chelsea Curto’s shared romance world.
Boston Books in Order
Chelsea Curto’s official book guide groups three earlier contemporary romances as the Boston series. These books are connected by setting and character relationships, although each focuses on a different couple.
- An Unexpected Paradise (2022): Coworkers Josephine Bowen and Jack Lancaster travel to Key West for a conference, where Jack pretends to be her partner after her toxic former boyfriend appears and their fake relationship begins feeling real.
- The Companion Project (2022): Two lawyers competing professionally form an anonymous connection through a companion service, creating a workplace romance shaped by hidden identities, fake dating, and feelings neither recognizes immediately.
- Road Trip to Forever (2023): Fashion designer Lola Jones asks her lifelong best friend Patrick Walker to join her on a road trip to Florida, giving Patrick a chance to reveal the love he has kept hidden for years.
Should the Boston Books Be Read Together?
Yes, particularly for readers who want to follow recurring characters and shared-world details. The individual romances remain understandable alone, but the author groups them as one series.
Read them in publication order, beginning with An Unexpected Paradise. This keeps character introductions and relationship outcomes in their intended sequence.
Chelsea Curto Holiday Books in Order
Chelsea Curto’s official bibliography groups the following titles as holiday romances. They do not form a tightly numbered narrative sequence, so order is less important than it is in D.C. Stars or Love Through a Lens.
- Booked for the Holidays (2022): A seasonal romance built around a holiday setting and a book-centered premise, designed as a self-contained story rather than a required introduction to another series.
- Dashing All the Way (2024): A Christmas romance combines marathon training, an age-gap relationship, and an attraction involving the heroine’s former boyfriend’s father.
- In the Dark (2025): A darker holiday-season romance introduces romantic suspense elements, giving the relationship more danger and tension than Curto’s lighter seasonal stories.
Do the Holiday Books Need to Be Read in Order?
No strict order is required. Each book tells its own romance and can be selected according to mood or preferred trope.
Publication order is the cleanest arrangement for a complete bibliography, but these titles do not appear to require knowledge of one another.
Classification: Optional separate grouping.
They should not be inserted between numbered D.C. Stars or Love Through a Lens installments.
Standalone Chelsea Curto Book
In Stormy Weather
- In Stormy Weather (2026): Meteorologist and online science communicator Quincy Munroe is forced into close contact with Sebastian Dunn, her longtime academic and professional rival, during a severe Florida hurricane season.
The novel uses an academic rivals-to-lovers structure and follows characters who work in meteorology and storm communication. It is Chelsea Curto’s first traditionally published novel.
Classification: Separate continuity.
It does not need to be placed within Love Through a Lens, D.C. Stars, Boston, or the holiday romances.
Chelsea Curto Books in Overall Publication Order
This list is useful for readers who want to follow Chelsea Curto’s career from her earliest releases. Series order remains more important when reading connected books.
- An Unexpected Paradise (2022): A Key West work trip pushes two coworkers into fake dating after an unwanted former boyfriend reappears.
- The Companion Project (2022): Rival lawyers connect anonymously through a companion service without immediately realizing how closely their online and professional lives overlap.
- Booked for the Holidays (2022): A self-contained seasonal romance offers an independent holiday starting point.
- Camera Chemistry (2023): A photography assignment introduces the friends and relationships at the center of Love Through a Lens.
- Road Trip to Forever (2023): Two lifelong best friends drive to Florida while one quietly hopes to turn years of unspoken love into a real relationship.
- Caught on Camera (2023): A viral kiss-cam incident pulls an NFL coach into a public fake relationship with someone already close to him.
- Behind the Camera (2024): A photographer seeking a new beginning becomes involved with a single father and professional football player.
- Face Off (2024): A woman pursuing her place with the D.C. Stars clashes with one of the team’s leading players.
- Off Camera (2024): A social media professional’s romance concludes the main Love Through a Lens sequence and revisits its established cast.
- Dashing All the Way (2024): Marathon preparation and the Christmas season frame a high-heat age-gap romance.
- Power Play (2024): A divorced reporter and a professional hockey goaltender navigate attraction alongside public and career pressure.
- Slap Shot (2025): A protective defenseman grows close to a private chef and single mother through a slow-building forced-proximity relationship.
- Hat Trick (2025): A player and a team athletic trainer confront professional boundaries, physical vulnerability, and an increasingly serious connection.
- In the Dark (2025): Romantic suspense adds danger and uncertainty to a darker seasonal relationship.
- Sin Bin (2025): The D.C. Stars coach becomes the romantic lead in a story pairing the hockey world with figure skating.
- In Stormy Weather (2026): Rival meteorologists are brought together during hurricane season as professional tension develops into intimacy.
- Cross Check (2026): Amelia and Grant’s off-limits relationship expands the D.C. Stars ensemble after the events of Sin Bin.
- Weak Side (2026): Ethan’s forthcoming romance is positioned as the seventh D.C. Stars installment, though full plot details remain unconfirmed.
Is There a Chronological Reading Order?
Chelsea Curto’s books do not need a separate chronological arrangement.
For each connected series, publication order already provides the clearest timeline. Moving books around to follow isolated references or backstory events would risk exposing established couples before their romances have been read.
Publication order preserves introductions and reveals. A chronological rearrangement would offer little benefit and could reduce the sense of discovery.
Recommended Chelsea Curto Reading Order
The best order depends on whether a reader wants the complete connected sports world or only one type of romance.
For the Full Connected Sports Romance Experience
- Camera Chemistry
- Caught on Camera
- Behind the Camera
- Off Camera
- Face Off
- Power Play
- Slap Shot
- Hat Trick
- Sin Bin
- Cross Check
- Weak Side
This order keeps the Love Through a Lens cast together before moving into the hockey-centered D.C. Stars sequence. It is the simplest spoiler-conscious route for a first-time reader.
For Hockey Romance Readers
- Face Off
- Power Play
- Slap Shot
- Hat Trick
- Sin Bin
- Cross Check
- Weak Side
This is the fastest route into Chelsea Curto’s hockey books. Love Through a Lens can be read later without disrupting the main D.C. Stars story.
For Chelsea Curto’s Earlier Contemporary Romances
- An Unexpected Paradise
- The Companion Project
- Road Trip to Forever
Keep these Boston books in their own sequence. They are not required preparation for the D.C. Stars series.
For Seasonal Reading
Choose Booked for the Holidays, Dashing All the Way, or In the Dark independently. No fixed order is necessary.
Novellas, Bonus Scenes, and Shorter Works
Camera Chemistry
Camera Chemistry (2023): A short photography-centered romance introduces Love Through a Lens before the first full-length novel.
Read it before Caught on Camera.
Classification: Included, but skippable.
Grant and Amelia Sneak Peek
Grant and Amelia Sneak Peek: A preview of the couple featured in Cross Check, intended as promotional material rather than a numbered series installment.
Classification: Optional.
It should not replace the full novel.
Piper and Liam Bonus Scene
Piper and Liam Bonus Scene: Additional material featuring the couple from Power Play, with later-series context that can reveal developments from subsequent books.
Read it after Sin Bin to avoid spoilers.
Classification: Optional.
Emmy and Maverick Bonus Scene
Emmy and Maverick Bonus Scene: A later glimpse of the couple from Face Off, written for readers who have continued beyond their original romance.
Read it after Sin Bin to avoid spoilers.
Classification: Optional.
Bonus scenes add time with established couples but are not required to understand the main series.
Boxed Sets and Alternate Editions
Special editions, discreet covers, illustrated covers, and traditionally published reissues do not create new positions in the reading order. They are alternate editions of the same stories.
Readers should also check the contents of bundles before purchasing them. A collection may contain books already owned individually.
Latest Chelsea Curto Book
As of July 24, 2026, Chelsea Curto’s latest published novel is In Stormy Weather, released in July 2026.
The next scheduled D.C. Stars installment is Cross Check, currently set for August 1, 2026. It is followed by Weak Side, currently scheduled for November 25, 2026.
Upcoming publication dates can change. Both books should remain after Sin Bin regardless of any scheduling adjustment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Chelsea Curto book should I read first?
Begin with Camera Chemistry for the fullest introduction to her connected sports romance world.
Begin with Face Off when only the hockey series interests you. Begin with An Unexpected Paradise for the Boston books.
Are Chelsea Curto’s books interconnected?
Some are.
Love Through a Lens and D.C. Stars share the clearest broader-world connection. The Boston books form a separate group, while the holiday romances and In Stormy Weather should be treated independently.
Are the D.C. Stars books standalones?
They are interconnected standalones.
Each installment follows a different main couple and provides its own romantic conclusion. Recurring characters and earlier couples make the numbered order preferable.
Does Love Through a Lens need to be read before D.C. Stars?
No, but reading it first gives readers more context for the shared world.
Starting with Face Off will not make the central hockey romance difficult to understand.
Is Camera Chemistry required?
No, but it is the best starting point for Love Through a Lens.
It introduces characters and relationships before Caught on Camera, so readers seeking the complete experience should include it.
What comes after Face Off?
Power Play is the second D.C. Stars book. It should be followed by Slap Shot, Hat Trick, Sin Bin, Cross Check, and Weak Side.
What comes after Sin Bin?
Cross Check is D.C. Stars book six and follows Sin Bin. Weak Side is book seven.
Is In Stormy Weather part of a series?
No. It is currently a standalone romance and can be read without any of Chelsea Curto’s previous books.
Are the Boston books standalones?
They have self-contained central romances, but Chelsea Curto groups them as the Boston series.
Reading An Unexpected Paradise, The Companion Project, and Road Trip to Forever in that order provides the cleanest experience.
Where should I read the bonus scenes?
Read the Piper and Liam bonus scene and the Emmy and Maverick bonus scene after Sin Bin. The author specifically warns that reading them earlier may reveal later developments.
Final Reading Recommendation
The safest starting point is Camera Chemistry. Continue through the four Love Through a Lens stories, then begin D.C. Stars with Face Off and follow the numbered order.
Readers who want only hockey romance can go directly to Face Off. Keep the Boston books, holiday romances, and In Stormy Weather in their separate groups, since none of them needs to be inserted into the D.C. Stars sequence.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.