Falling For A One-Time Fling

by Kiva Hart

They agreed it would only happen once.
Their hearts didn’t get the memo.Lavender has always done everything right. Top grades. Perfect plans. Zero regrets. Or so she tells herself. Now that she’s starting fresh at Denning College, she’s determined to be a little braver. Even if that means saying yes to one impulsive night she never plans to repeat.

Kurt isn’t looking for drama. He’s quiet, thoughtful, and far more comfortable with routines than risks. But one unexpected connection changes everything. What was supposed to be a single moment turns into something he can’t stop thinking about. And while Lavender tries to move on, Kurt finds himself falling first. Hard.

As misunderstandings pile up and friendships are tested, both of them must decide whether guarding their hearts is safer than taking a chance on something real. Because sometimes the person you never planned for becomes the one you can’t imagine walking away from.

Sweet, lighthearted, and full of college-age charm, this clean slow-burn romance explores first love, second chances, and the courage it takes to choose more than “just once.”

Perfect for readers who love clean college romance, boy-falls-first stories, friends-to-lovers tension, wholesome love stories, and heartfelt slow-burns set in the small town of Starlight Valley.

119 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 29, 2026

About the author

Kiva Hart is a passionate romance author known for her ability to weave steamy, heart-pounding love stories with unforgettable characters. With a love for exploring intense chemistry, forbidden romance, and emotional conflict, Kiva creates stories that keep readers on the edge of their seats. Whether it's enemies turning into lovers, brooding heroes falling for bright-eyed heroines, or love blossoming in the most unexpected circumstances, Kiva’s books are filled with sizzling tension and heart-stopping moments.

Reviews

[Jordan Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute, clean and sweet romance! It kept me wanting to know what happens next. I fell in love with Kurt and Lavender from the start. Kiva Hart writes such wonderful heart warming stories and I love being able to read them first!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shawna · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars – A Soft, Emotional College Romance About First Love and “Just Once” That Turns Into Everything 💕🎓✨

Falling For A One-Time Fling is a beautifully gentle slow-burn romance that takes a simple “we’ll never do this again” moment and turns it into something unexpectedly deep, emotional, and real. 🥰

Lavender is a classic perfectionist heroine—driven, responsible, and used to controlling every outcome. I really liked how her decision to step outside her comfort zone at Denning College wasn’t portrayed as reckless, but as a quiet act of bravery. 🎓📚

Kurt is the kind of hero who sneaks up on you. Quiet, steady, and observant, he doesn’t try to push or overwhelm Lavender—he just feels everything more deeply than he lets on. The fact that he falls first gives the story a really sweet emotional angle. 💙

Their connection starts as something impulsive and contained, but the emotional weight of it lingers for both of them in completely different ways. I loved how the story leaned into that tension—what happens after the “one-time” moment when neither person can stop thinking about it. 💭✨

The misunderstandings and hesitation felt realistic for college-age characters navigating new independence, friendships, and emotional risk for the first time. Nothing felt overly dramatic—just very human. 🥹💬

✨ What I loved:
🎓 College setting
💕 One-time fling trope
💙 Boy-falls-first romance
📚 Perfectionist heroine
💬 Emotional slow burn
✨ Friends-to-lovers tension
🥰 Soft, clean romance tone
💖 First love exploration

One of my favorite parts was how Kurt never pressured Lavender—he just stayed consistent, steady, and emotionally honest even when things got confusing. That quiet devotion made the romance feel really genuine. 🥹💖

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A tender, heartfelt college romance about unexpected connection, emotional growth, and the kind of love that starts as “just once” but refuses to stay that way. 🎓💕✨📚.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lindsey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️️⭐️/ ️🌶️

What a cute story by Kiva Hart! Falling for A One Time Fling is the first book in the Denning College series. This story focuses on two friends who share a moment that quietly, but wonderfully turns into something more.

Lavender is a complete perfectionist, which means she can easily overthink things. When she starts college she is determined to step outside her comfort zone. The exploration that she partakes in is described more as an act of bravery versus her acting out and going wild.

Kurt is quiet and loves his routines. He is the MMC who you don’t see coming, but quickly falls for, because he is sweet and caring. He has a lot going on under the surface and feels things deeply. His emotional maturity is written so well.

Kiva does a wonderful job in writing their story, going from a moment of sweetness, to misunderstandings, to emotional declarations, to steady love. While a short story, Kiva definitely provides a well rounded story that had me captivated. She writes human emotion perfectly, making everything feel organic and fluid and not forced.

I have loved this series and since I read them out of order, I can 100% say these can be read as standalones.

As always, review any author notes before reading.

What to Expect:
💛College Romance
💎He Falls First
💛Friends to Lovers
💎Perfectionist FMC
💛Quiet MMC
💎First Love
💛Closed Door Romance

[Mouse Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Review of Falling for a one-time Fling by Kiva Hart
I need to state, before getting into this review, I was given this book through Booksprout for free. Now with that being stated I can now get into the book review.
One of the main things I want to point out is that this isn’t a “clean” book, there is some spicy that happens thought the book. While I don’t personally care about the spice I do need to mention that it is in this book because the author is claiming that it is a clean book. I’ve seen somepeople claiming that cussing in this book makes it not clean as well. I don’t believe that. Cussing is a normal part of college life, so is spicy time. I couldn’t finish the book because most of the interaction between the main characters are awkward. They feel forced. There is so much potential with this book. Kiva is really good at writing clean romances. So, I think that this book was an attempt to branch out and was mislabeled as “clean”.


I don’t know what to rate this because I was unable to finish it. So, I’m going to give it 3 stars because I feel like it could’ve been a good book if I was able to set aside my feelings of it being awkward. I was just unable to push through that.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a clean romance. Awkward reading about teenagers transitioning into adults, wanting and trying to act according to a college behavior playbook. Who likes a herd mentality? It's one thing to try new things, to step out of your comfort zone, but not if it's against your own morals.
Both characters seem nice, but some of their behavior is way off. His lying doesn't suit him, especially about small things, or is it only about not wanting to look bad and not wanting others to feel bad?
They seem genuinely to like each other from the first moment, shy enough that it caused some problems, but these could have been avoided if they were honest with themselves and each other about how they felt. She shouldn't have suggested a one-night stand just because friends suggested it, and he shouldn't have accepted, instead offering a date first to see where it went.
Nice people using curse words and some phrases that come from a specific area don't seem nice or intellectual.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lovergirl25 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lavender and Kurt's story was funny and also full of dumb decisions and just doing things for the first time. Navigating through life to on their own. Trying to see what's right for them. I think for Kurt it was love at first sight but he was an awkward guy who didn't fully know how to express himself. And for Lavender it was like her first time at freedom without her parents hanging over her head watching her every move. Trying to have the perfect grades and be the perfect person to succeed and make her parents happy. But meeting each other was something they both never expected but loved all in the same sense . Now Kurt shouldn't have played her and her roommate but I think he was too awkward and shy to get his words out and express he liked someone else. But I'm glad it worked out between them and college life has just begun.

[Kami Mauldin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, this was not what I expected. I think you really need to realize your meaning of the word “clean” may not be the same as someone else’s. My definition of clean is closed door romance, no swearing. That’s it. Unfortunately, this story couldn’t deliver on either of those. The main characters, Kurt and Lavender, were likable and sweet; the side characters were also likable, which is talent in such a short story.

But besides characters and content, the writing was not great. I found it distracting not knowing who was speaking half the time, I just had to guess sometimes. I suggest this be ran by an editor again.
Thanks to PRC for the ARC!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lavender and Kurt
Cute sweet quick read. It's the start of freshman year at college. Lavender meets Kurt. It awkward and Kurt forgets to get her number. Later he's invited to a party by a girl who just so happens, unknowingly to him, to be Lavender's best friend. When he gets to the party, Lavender is there and they hook up. Yep, it's got it's little love triangle, but reading this little rom-com bring back how easily feelings get confusing when it's your first love.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Book 1 of the Denning College series. And a very good start to the series.

'Sweet, lighthearted, and full of college-age charm, this clean slow-burn romance explores first love, second chances, and the courage it takes to choose more than “just once.”'

The characters were very appealing and likeable. Plot was well written and straightforward. World building was solidly drawn. Recommend.

Grab a copy, kick back and enjoy!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bianca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so much potential. The way the three main characters react to the situation they end up in is extremely immature which just honestly just made me angry. The Book is described as clean but the author has attempted done mild spice throughout. The overall feel is kind of cringy, three writing of those scenes feel written by a middle schooler or some extremely uncomfortable talking about sex.

I feel like if the author had stuck to a truly clean romance it would be a much better read.

[Fatima Salih · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun and light read. The story flows naturally, and it shows how a sweet, slow-burn college romance where one impulsive night turns into something neither of them can ignore—soft, heartfelt, and impossible not to root for.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shannon Binegar-Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lavender is just starting college, when she has an encounter while looking for the library. Soon they meet again and have one night together. Things of course get complicated when her roommate has a date with the same guy. Typical college drama. It was a sweet romance and a fun new series. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by booksprout.

[Arabella Santana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast cute read of misunderstanding and love. Kurt is so naive and a sweetheart, he gets Lavander on their first day of college only for her to leave with out getting her number.
He gets he best friend and that is when the fun beggins.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bookish Emili Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story. It is a different pace than my normal reads but still enjoyable. Looking forward to the next book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute story. Kurt and Lavendar are fun and their unexpected connection is great and couldn't be denied. It was a great story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book one of the Denning College series. This is Kurt and Lavender’s story. They start out thinking this is just a one time thing, but do they want more?.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[The Book Ssirren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved Kurt and Lavender. The connection was so unexpected, but it was so sweet while it developed slowly between them. Neither having thought of one another as anything more, were pleasantly surprised even they started falling for one another. I thought this was a really sweet story.

[Kennedy Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the book love the storyline and characters thanks for writing it can't wait for the next one.

[Alicia Viola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Falling for a One-Time Fling by Kiva Hart. The story was fun, sweet, and easy to get pulled into right from the beginning. I liked how the relationship between the characters slowly developed, turning a simple fling into something deeper and more meaningful.

This was a light, feel-good romance and a great pick if you enjoy stories with chemistry, emotional moments, and a satisfying happily-ever-after. 💕.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.