Thanks so much, Berley Pub for the ARC copy!

𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑜𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑒𝑤.

Iris once had big dreams but life had other plans. After losing her husband, her priorities shifted to raising her daughter, Calla, on her own and building her career. She holds it together for everyone… but forgets to care for herself first.

Angel is a R&B/pop star artist who seems to have it all together. But under the spotlight, he struggles to be his true authentic self in an industry that demands “perfection” (If you’ve read the earlier books in the series, you’re aware of who Angel is but you don’t really know him know him until now!)

Two words collide to create a beautiful love story of two embracing the possibility of something new

I’ll admit, I was nervous after seeing a few early low rating reviews but I’m convinced we did not read the same book! The Love Lyric was such a sweet, beautifully written love story! Angel’s patience, understanding, and respect for Iris was everything. Their chemistry was fire!🔥
Iris’s character as the one who holds it together for others is so relatable. So many women (myself included) can relate to being the “strong” sister, friend, or daughter who takes care of everyone around her before prioritizing her own needs. When Angels asked her “𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡?” I melted 🥰. The discussions around grief were real, too. It truly impacts every decision you make.

I think this may be my favorite of The Greene Sisters series

Highly recommend to my lover girls! 💕

This beautifully woven romance is between Iris, a successful businesswoman, and Angel, an R&B singer who is the new brand ambassador for the company Iris works for. As a busy single mother and a widow, Iris finally decides she wants to make time for love again, but that she needs to find something simple. But when she's sent on the road with the hot new brand ambassador, whose fame and success make him anything but simple, she can't seem to stop thinking about him. And Angel, oh ANGEL, I love a man who is down bad from the very start. He's just so genuinely sweet and patient and supportive. I loved how much space Angel held for Iris to still be sad about the loss of her husband, and reluctant to move on with her life, all the while also supporting her when she realizes she deserves and wants passion and love again. This is the third book in an interconnected universe, and though I haven't yet read the first or second, I do feel like they are enjoyable out of order and I will be returning for the others!

Thank you to Kristina Forest, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for a free copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

“The Love Lyric” by Kristina Forest was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it didn’t disappoint. This is the third of the “Greene sisters” books (the first two being “The Neighbor Favor” and “The Partner Plot”) and while I was excited for Iris to get her love story, I initially wasn’t sure about how I’d feel about the whole R&B singer angle. After being introduced to Angel’s character, I got over that very quickly and did not want to put this book down. I started this book on Saturday and was able to stay up finishing it on Sunday thanks to the snow day today. I love how in addition to Iris and Angel’s love story this book also explores grief and difficult family relationships. This was a great end to the Greene sisters books and I’m looking forward to more adult romance from Kristina Forest.

Iris Greene met the love of her life when she was twenty-four. They got pregnant, got married, and started to create a life together, but within a year and a half, Iris found herself widowed. Now, she's spent years grinding to earn her spot at the top rung of a beauty company, all while raising her six-year-old daughter, Calla. Despite her full life, Iris still feels lonely but hesitates to bring a new person into her carefully constructed fold. Angel Harrison is a successful R&B singer who just landed a brand ambassador deal with Iris's company. He's also worked with Iris's younger sister, and the pair shared an intimate dance at her wedding. The pair have hovered around one another for years, and Angel has been smitten since the beginning, but when they're thrown together for an ad campaign tour, the chemistry amps up. Iris knows she should keep things professional, but with Angel writing songs about her and seeing her like no man has ever since her late husband, it's hard to deny the itch to follow her heart.

I've adored this series since the first book, and I've been looking forward to getting Iris's story. She's gone through a lot, and I couldn't wait to see her get her HEA. Iris has spent so much time closed off to the possibility of love, so watching her open up to Angel was the highlight. Angel was so patient and willing to meet Iris wherever she was comfortable. You could tell how much he cared for her, and it was so sweet. I liked the added dynamic of them working close to one another while trying to hide their growing feelings. It did lead to the relationship being more slow burn than I would've liked, but I thought it allowed them to learn more about the other on a deeper level. It wasn't my favorite installment in the series, but I still enjoyed it and recommend checking it out.

Being the last book in the series, The Love Lyric was fantastic as a standalone. I can confidently say I’m now emotionally invested in the characters and will definitely be reading the other two. Iris and Angel’s love story feels so real. The author ties in genuine issues like grief, social status, and toxic family relationships in such a loving way. The story flows easily and keeps you engaged with both characters’ points of view. Finding love is tough, and when it unexpectedly falls into your lap, it can be scary. I’m really proud of Iris for having the courage to maintain her boundaries.

I’m so grateful to have received an ARC copy of The Love Lyric as Iris’s story is one I was most looking forward to. I admire Iris the most out of the Greene sisters - a mom, ambitious and career driven. I was rooting for her happily ever after and I’m so glad that she got hers. I’ll admit that Angel, as he is described is not who I imagined Iris to be with. But opposites attract right?! I’m glad that it was brought up in the book; the differences between them (looks, age, careers, etc). I also how enjoyed how Kristina Forest showed difficult parent relationships and how everyone grows up and are raised differently. I loved how she showed that one can also set boundaries with parents. I feel this book was a perfect completion to the Greene sisters series and worth the read! Thank you Berkley Publishing, Net Galley & Kristina Forest for this ARC copy of The Love Lyric.

I loved this book so much! The Partner Plot was one of my favorite books of last year and this one is going on my 2025 list. I have loved getting to know the Greene sisters so much. Kristina really writes magic and it was clear once again in this book! Iris and Angel were the perfect ending!

Angel and Iris were absolutely WONDERFUL! Their instant chemistry and the fact that they were really able to see the other so well and so easily was so beautiful. They were really just two people who were meant to be. Angel was a little more open and willing to give his love than Iris, but she had a little more at stake!! And they were able to have FUN together!! Angel got her out of her comfort zone a little!!

They also both had tough pasts. Angel’s complicated relationship with his family was written so well. I loved that Iris immediately defended him, he desperately needed someone in his corner. And Iris was so cautious with love because of the loss of her husband. But Angel was so sweet and allowed her talk about him and he asked questions and he never over stepped. They were opposites in a lot of ways but they were also both so SOFT, they were the perfect match.

I’ve already preordered a copy and I cannot wait to have it on my shelf!!!

Thank you so much to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Thanks so much to Berkley Pub, Berkley Romance, and Ace Books Pub for the free book!
#BerkleyPartner #AceBooksPartner

The Love Lyric was an absolute joy to read! Forest's first adult romance series started off strong and has only gotten better, more dynamic, more touching, with every book. I adored Lily and Violet, but Iris' story was so heart-warming, gut-wrenching, and all-consuming. The bubble her and Angel exist within throughout the duration of this novel was pure and wonderful to read about. Even the spice felt like ~more~ in The Love Lyric. They were passionate and loving and lovely.

This book is a love story for eldest Black daughters who seldom know how to let others care for them, show up for them, and take care of them; who have no one to tell them if they're modeling Black girlhood well enough for their sisters, or making their parents proud. This series is an ode to Black sisterhood, Black joy, Black love, and carving your own path toward excellence instead of trying to fit within the strict binaries others place you between. The Greene's family dynamic as a whole was strong, supportive, and loving, which is always a nice dynamic to see in fictional Black families.

I really enjoyed how Angel was written—his background as someone with religious trauma living a life in protest of how they were raised is timely and poignant social commentary. Despite this, he is kind, loving, open-hearted, and a real, true lover boy. Iris' growth as a woman and mother as she lives with the trauma of losing her spouse was compassionately presented and well-written.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I am absolutely honored that I received an ARC for it; I can't wait to reread upon its release and have it join Lily and Violet's books on my shelves!

5 ⭐️s
2 🌶️
🚨 Pub: 2/4/25

What a delightful trio these books have been. Sad to see them end!

First of all I have to admit that I kept picturing Angel as Aaron Pierre the entire time..and it did things for me. Respectfully I would fight for Angel; he’s an ideal romance MMC. Iris is your classic oldest daughter trying to out everyone else first before herself and neglecting her own happiness. The only time I really couldn’t relate was when she picked her job over love. Also respectfully…f them people at that job 🤣🤣🤣. A lot of my interests collided here: nap dresses. SpongeBob. Meela still catching strays. A great time!


Thanks so much to @berkleypub @berkleyromance for the free book!

I am grateful to have received an advanced reader copy of the third and final installment in the Greene Sisters series. 4 stars!

Summary:
Iris is a young widow raising her daughter Calla and working at Save Face Beauty ("SFB"). Her younger sister Violet is a stylist for a *very* famous RnB singer named Angel. Angel and Iris share a moment at a wedding but don't see each other for a while thereafter. Then, SFB hires Angel as a brand ambassador and Iris gets sent on a press tour with Angel. Both Angel and Iris are dealing with personal struggles (Angel's uber-religous southern mom does NOT approve of his career and Iris has lost her spark for her job, which was previously her entire life). Over the course of the tour they grow close, but it seems impossible that they could work in the real world. What are they willing to give up and what will their relationship teach them about themselves?

Review:
I had a great time reading this and I love Angel and Iris. There is a predictable plot line, but that is not a bad thing in my opinion. The real treat is seeing Iris and Angel develop as people in their personal lives and relationship; the way they show up for each other is just so *swoons* heartfelt. I think at its core, this book is about loving and trusting yourself and what you feel is right for you, despite obstacles or other people's opinions. I also love that we get meaningful cameos from characters in the other books in the series. This can definitely be read as a stand alone, but it is so satisfying to see all of the Greene sisters find their person. I also loved how relatable this book was. I highlighted so many passages thinking "wow this could be me." I felt really seen as a Black woman, older sibling, and New Yorker.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. The only drawbacks for me were that it felt a little too long/drawn out at points, and I don't love third person narration generally. However, I did like that the third person narration allowed you get perspectives from both Angel and Iris in the same chapter instead of needing to switch narrators throughout the book. I am a Kristina Forest fan.

Oh I sure do love me some Greene Sisters 👏🏽💕 thank you to Kristina and Berkely for giving us the opportunity to read the arc of the Love Lyric. ‘Twas truly a lovely experience 🥰

I thought this book was so cute! I really liked the whole celebrity romance/secret dating trope. It's not something I usually read, but this was one of the best hands down. I thought it was so sweet how even though Angel and Iris were opposites, he turned out to be the perfect person for her and they were so good at giving the other exactly what they needed. 🥲💕

And tbh, I thought it was perfectly fine how they both literally said f his mom 😅 like that’s so fine to me bc she was really on some bs. And real talk, some family just won’t change no matter how hard you try. So I completely agree to skip over the back and forth and just let them be ya know.

But all in all, I feel very complete with this final installment of the Greene sisters series 😇 it makes my little heart happy to know that Lily, Violet, and Iris are all so loved in their cute and healthy relationships with some of the sweetest black men ever written.

Thanks again Kristina for writing the cutest sister series 🥰 I can’t wait to post more about this closer to the release date!

I’m literally obsessed with this series and Kristina Forest! Every single book that I’ve read of hers is so hard to put down. I think this book just might be my favorite out of the series. Iris’ story is the saddest and this book really pulls on your heart strings. I absolutely love Angel and the celebrity storyline. So well written. One of my favorite reads of the year.

This was so cute!!! I've loved reading this series and I loved each of the 3 siblings. It felt different than your usual story where one person is rich and famous, which I liked. Overall a really cute read that I enjoyed!

The Love Lyric is the third book in The Greene Sisters series. This time we focus on the eldest of the bunch, Iris Greene. She’s a single mom -who works too hard- and an executive at Save Face Beauty, a cosmetics company.

Angel is a world famous crooner that could have any woman he wants.

These two have to work together now that Angel is the face of Save Face Beauty.

I know perfection doesn’t exist, but this book is close to it! The build-up of tension in the will-they, won’t-they game. The witty banter. The real life family struggles a lot of us deal with on a daily basis. This author strikes the perfect balance while delivering a great love story.

Thank you Berkley foremost for this ARC!!
Mrs. Kristina Forest has done it again for me. I literally went through all the emotions reading this book. I loved Angel and Iris's relationship. It was such a great pallet cleanser from the last book I read. Spoiler Alert: The Love Lyric is such a perfect title for this book because the way Angel wrote songs for Iris had me melting and smiling from ear to ear because I too would feel the way Iris did when I found out someone wrote a song for me. I loved their dynamic and how they just completed each other even though they have two different lives. I just love the way the author writes her books, she has you believing that love is so possible no matter if it is by fate, second chance, or just proximity. I loved the way the story was written, if you want to feel all the feels then this book is definitely the one for you. I was crying, smiling, laughing, and sad all throughout the book, I loved how grief was discussed in this book because I know sometimes its a hard subject to touch. I loved that even though Iris grieved Terry, she still had another chance to love again despite all her fears. I would definitely re-read this book again!!!!!

Thank you Berkeley for this gifted ARC.

What an absolutely brilliant conclusion to a series! This hits all the feels. I tried to read slowly to savor it but I was only moderately successful at it because this was so good.

Angel is a pop R&B superstar and Iris is a makeup exec who happens to be the sister of Angel’s stylist. They met when Angel was just getting started in the business and three years later, he’s the subject of desire to screaming fans the world round.

And he’s been pining for Angel since the moment he first laid eyes on her. Iris is a widow and single mom to the adorable Calla. I love that Angel’s patience gives Iris time to open up to the possibility of loving again. It made when they did fall for each other so much sweeter.

Especially when they have to work together. For weeks. On the road. There’s the delicious tension of the will they won’t they, the complication of her not wanting to cross professional lines because he’s an ambassador for her company (which is recovering from a recent-ish scandal).

This book felt like the warmest of hugs and everything flowed in a way that made you want to live in their world. You will not regret any time you spend between these pages!

Thank you Berkley for this eArc!

I love this book and series so much! I'm so sad that it's over now. Iris and Angel's story was so sweet. Angel was so enduring and he's definitely one of my new favorite MMCs of the entire series. He was so obsessed with Iris, but not in a way that's uncomfortable. He just really wanted to get to know her and was so understanding of her concerns. And then we have Iris the working woman and single mom trying to keep everyone together after all these years while navigating her own grief! Getting back out in the dating pool is tough and you first experience with it being with a major celebrity had to be scary! But I loved how she let loose a lot more with Angel. They were able to just be who they truly are together and love them for that. They also had each other's backs relentlessly. They were so much fun to read. I also felt like this felt a little more mature than the other books somewhat. This might be due to Iris being the oldest and some of the battles she was dealing with. I know she's not much older than her sister and she's not even much older than Angel, but something about it felt a lot more mature and I really enjoyed that.

I know this is Kristina Forest's first adult romance series and I really enjoyed all three books, but what I loved the most is the growth in the way she tells each sister's story. The series was good from the jump, but it just kept getting better and better. I'm not one to determine if a book is good based on how relatable it is, but I'm definitely gonna hold this series close to me because I feel like I see myself in each sister and I really cherish their stories.

I was excited for Iris and Angel story and I definitely wasn’t disappointed because it was everything and more. Following Iris journey of getting back in the dating field after the loss of Terry definitely connected me to her. Then there’s Angel trying to be his true authentic self. I’m so happy for the outcome of this book and can’t wait to get a physical copy.

Emotional, gentle, and beautifully written, The Love Lyric was a lovely read. Iris always likes to have a plan, but now she’s a widow and a single mother, and she feels like her life is missing something. And on the night of her sister’s wedding, there’s Angel. R&B singer Angel might be successful, but he wants to have more creative freedom, and Iris might be the muse he’s been searching for and after Iris’ company’s brand tour with Angel, these two aren’t able to fight their attraction any more. I didn’t love the first one in this series—it was good, but not my favorite—so I wasn’t sure what to think with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised. There is a gentlest in this love story. The writing regarding grief and therapy was beautiful, and it just felt important to highlight. The part that felt lost to me was Iris’ daughter Calla. I wish she had been more present or that Iris was just a widow instead of a single mom because while the relationship of Calla and Iris was really sweet, it was a little flat for me. And I was annoyed there was a third act breakup. Especially because I really liked Iris and Angel together. They had strong banter and connection, and I liked seeing them grow and build each other up. They felt like not only a strong relationship, but good friends and a good team. Angel was complex and interesting and had such a boyish charm, and Iris was so strong and easy to root for. The writing in this is emotional and heartwarming and overall really tender and enjoyable.

I love the Greene sisters so much and it was so refreshing to get a look into another sister!

Thank you NetGalley & Berkeley Pub for this ARC! I love when a man falls first!! I really enjoyed this book!