All Nighter

15| Kiss Cam by KiaraLondon

Reviewed on February 5, 2015

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Available • 30 parts, 93 pages • 6.4M reads • 160.9K votes • 70.6K comments

Language: English

Extended Summary:

Juniper, Jasper, and Lenny have been friends forever and co-own a vlog channel called WereVloggingHere. Their fans are huge "shippers" who believe that Jasper and Juniper are perfect for each other, and, despite warnings from family and friends, a simple Truth-or-Dare inspired kiss soon spirals out of control into a whole new world of making out and surprise kisses.

Juniper and Jasper's relationship begins to shift. But as fan requests for different "Kiss Cam" segments keep pouring in, Juniper puts her worries aside and convinces herself that it doesn't mean anything. After all, it's just kissing... right?

Review:

What makes Kiss Cam different from cliché best-friends-turn-into-lovers stories is that the roles are reversed, and I'm not gonna spoil you guys by telling how. And what keeps me hooked with this story is the fact that this also evolves around three friends, including Lenny, running a vlog channel on a Youtube-like website. I'm actually that Youtube viewer who follows several popular Youtube channels, especially the vlog ones, and look forward to their new videos about their lives and creative work all the time (huge fan of Anna Akana here; you guys should definitely follow her on Youtube lol). So, in a way, Kiss Cam is also a realistic story, because this may have already been happening to some online celebrities! This why I also felt like I was reading a fanfiction of Youtube vloggers, even if I don't really know any real-life vlogger that resembles the lives of these characters. And I also get a peek (although fictional) to the possible lives of my favorite vloggers off the camera through this story!

A lot of readers hated on Juniper, and I don't understand why. Sometimes, I begin to think that it's a common tendency for readers to blame every messed up situation of the story on the female protagonist, which is really irritating. It's sad how the inclination for girls to hate on their fellow girls has also reached Wattpad. I believe that Juniper's reactions to the messed up situations on Kiss Cam are realistic. I don't know about you guys, but when I love something, it's just rational for me to do everything in order to keep it, even if the way in doing so can be irrational sometimes. Even if Juniper's initial decisions just complicated things, they are the rational things to do at the time because she just doesn't want to lose Jasper. (Oh and because what's the point if they're gonna get together that quick? I mean, come on, a good story is a story that makes us keep wanting more, right?) I'm also sick of reading superficial female protagonists who always seem to know what the right things to do are. It's normal for anyone to be irrational when it comes to love and fear of loss and rejection, and both Juniper and Jasper aren't exempted from that.

Another thing I like about this story is that Jasper, the male protagonist, isn't portrayed anything remotely close to a sex god, lol. I admit I love sex-god male protagonists, but sometimes, you just need a break from all those heat-inducing fictional characters, and Jasper's just the perfect break. I mean, June admits that Jasper's physically attractive but just doesn't have the drool-worthy build. According to her, he's just a tall, lanky guy with a pretty face, which is realistic, 'cause I mean, not all guys can have all that, which is just fair, lol. Anyway, this just proves that June's attraction towards Jas isn't just lust, and her love towards him is real. One of my favorite parts is when June rambles all the little things that she loves about Jas, and it was just so freakin' adorable because some people don't even notice those little things about their regular friends! And even without saying so, Jasper also does these little things with June through his small, but romantic gestures that June innocently overlookes! (No wonder Jasiper shippers on Vlogit exist!) They're actually the little things that helped develop and strengthen the story.

Aside from the two, there are also Lenny, a part of WereVloggingHere (their Vlogit channel), Allison, Duke, and a few others, who are part of the gang. Kiss Cam focuses on June and Jas, but I love how the author also included their other friends, who are distinctly different from each other, like they have their own personalities! Lenny's the adorable guy whom everyone loves, Allison's like the party-pooper, but rational mother, and Duke's the wallflower one, and I like how all three of them have functions in the progress of Kiss Cam. I think there are a few more guys who Jasper and Lenny fool around with during lunch breaks, which adds fun to the story. They're basically one of those fictional groups of friends you wish you had, lol.

And let me just add this real quick: TEEN WOLF REFERENCES! Jasper's last name is Lahey, which reminds me of Isaac Lahey, and June's other bff is names Allison - Allison Argent and Isaac Lahey!!! Aaahhhh the feels!

Favorite Lines:

Jasper: Being around you drives me crazy - and not in a bad way, in the best possible way.

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Juniper: He fell and I wasn't there to catch him. I fell for him once before and he turned to catch someone else.

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Juniper: I love you.
Jasper: Why?
Juniper: Because my favorite parts of me are the parts that remind me of you.

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Juniper: When you tell someone you love them, it's the ultimate gesture if admiration and unwavering dedication. Unfortunately, the words "I love you" have lost their sentiment over the course of their use. The words are used to fix situations and manipulate people.

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Jasper: Sometimes, I swear you're in love with me.
Juniper: Truly, madly, deeply.

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Allison: Don't let a couple of boys determine your plans. Don't give them control. Be the pilot of your own plane.