3.5 🌟
Cute second chance romance!
I enjoyed the plot, side characters and Gemma & Celeste’s character growth however I do feel like it was missing something.
I also wasn’t the biggest fan of Celeste’s POV being in 3rd person and it threw me off a bit but I wouldn’t say it’s a reason to not read.

sapphic romances will always feel like a warm hug, they're so comforting to me and this was no different. this book has amazing bi and korean rep (i especially loved all the nuggets of korean culture that were weaved throughout the story). gemma was so sweet and super relatable, celeste on the other hand was a bit more difficult to pin down, her chapters in my opinion suffered from being in 3rd person POV (while gemma's was 1st person) in addition to the writing being pretty stilted. There's a way to do 3rd person while still allowing readers to access the character's thoughts and feelings, however, this wasn't done that way. I wanted to bad to be in celeste's head because she had gone through so much in the 8 year separation from gemma but ultimately felt pretty distant. overall this was a cute, bingeable, lighthearted, sapphic read!

thank you to forever and netgalley for the e-arc

In this fun new LGBTQ+ romance novel, readers follow recently dumped relationship advice columnist Gemma Cho as she is assigned to a new piece about modern love with world-famous photographer Celeste Min -- but Celeste is Gemma’s ex and broke Gemma’s heart during college before moving to a different country, and Gemma still doesn’t know what happened. Unfortunately for them, this piece could save Gemma’s career, so they have to push through their chemistry and stay professional even when that is the last thing Gemma might want. Dealing with work and this complicated reunion, Gemma and Celeste’s story will pull readers into the story with their great dynamic, the tropes, and the exciting plot. Romance readers will love the ways in which Gemma grapples with her bisexuality and complicated feelings for Celeste, and the tropes that Lyla Lee brings into the story really complement the larger emotional storyline and character dynamic. Enjoyable, entertaining, and steamy, Gemma and Celeste are well-written and dynamic characters with great careers and fascinating personalities, and their chemistry and past history adds a great layer of tension to the story. Fun, charming, and heartwarming, romance readers will love this entertaining and heartwarming new LGBTQ+ romance novel from Lyla Lee.

This was a sweet, second chance romance. I really enjoyed the plot and felt the characters were well developed.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to @hachetteaudio for the gifted audiobook and thank you to @readforever for the eARC!
As soon as this book was announced and the cover revealed (stunning!) I was so excited! I loved this book so much. The project that Gemma and Celeste work on together is so special and so important and their chemistry was incredible! I loved how real this book felt and that both characters were humanized and had their own struggles outside of the magnetic attraction and their beautiful relationship.
Celeste and Gemma were both great characters, I appreciate getting both of their POVs and the story as a whole.
Absolutely recommend for my fellow sapphic romance lovers.
I'll be anticipating Lyla Lee's next book in the meantime!

I didn't finish this title. I read about 10% before I realized that I didn't love the story or writing.

This swoon-worthy sapphic second-chance romance had me grinning, crying, and falling in love right alongside the characters. With razor-sharp wit and a heart full of longing, this book captures what it feels like to be bruised by love—and still brave enough to try again.

Gemma is the perfect messy, relatable protagonist: a bisexual advice columnist who’s great at helping others but totally flailing in her own romantic life. Enter Celeste—stunning, mysterious, wildly talented…and the ex who ghosted her all the way to another continent. The tension between them crackles from the moment they reunite, and watching them navigate old wounds and new desires is both deliciously angsty and emotionally satisfying.

The banter is top-tier, the chemistry is off the charts, and the vulnerability threaded through every interaction is deeply moving. Fans of Ashley Herring Blake and Alexandria Bellefleur will eat this up, but this story stands confidently on its own two sapphic feet.

At its heart, this book is about forgiveness, growth, and the courage it takes to believe in love a second time. It’s tender, sexy, and absolutely unforgettable.

I love a good second chance and this is no different. The actual lost love/miscommunication part of the book was rushed slightly in my opinion, I wish that they would've let us sit in that pain for a little while longer, but overall a very cute read.

3.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for letting me listen and enjoy this book.

I was sold at sapphic! This book was super cute read following our two main characters who get a second chance romance after an 8 year split. I enjoyed getting to know both Celeste and Gemma. I liked finding out how they have changed since they were last together and how they have in certain aspects stayed the same. I love the Asian queer rep, I haven’t read much of it. I liked the kick ass females not taking crap from no man and letting him know it. There were a couple spicy scenes which I felt blended nicely with the story and what was happening. I was looking the tension between Celeste and Gemma.
I appreciated that we had two narrators and that they played their parts perfectly. I would absolutely recommend this one.

Thanks to @readforeverpub for the gifted e-ARC and to @hachetteaudio for the ALC!

This sweet and spicy sapphic romance made me want to run away to San Francisco. Gemma and Celeste were adorable together. Former lovers thrown together on a work project, they spend their days interviewing couples to find out what makes their relationships work.

Slowly they begin to work through the reasons their college relationship failed. And they find healing and acceptance. Their care for each other is so sweet despite the spicy scenes.

I appreciated the dual narration with separate actors for both main characters. I thought both of them did an excellent job bringing out the tension between their characters.

If you’re looking for a quick sweet sapphic read, this one is for you!

Love in Focus is a cute, sweet, and heartwarming sapphic love story that shows the journey of our characters through heartbreak, guilt, reconnection, and self-discovery. I felt all the feels during this book.

Our first FMC is Gemma. She is a relationship advice columnist who specializes in helping others with their problems. She is smart, strong, and caring, and is working through her relationship issues. I have never related to a line more than “As a bisexual woman who’s had zero luck with both men and women, she’s ready to give up on her romantic prospects” from the book synopsis. If this doesn’t describe me perfectly, then I don’t know what does.

Celeste, our other FMC, is the talented, world-renowned photographer with whom Gemma fell in love eight years ago. When she is assigned to a project with Gemma, they are both forced to confront the ghosts of their past and work forward. Celeste was the main character who drew me into this book, as I am an art student who has been doing photography for a long time. She is living out a dream of mine, and I adore that.

On that note, though, the switch in perspectives, from 1st with Gemma to 3rd with Celeste, was slightly disappointing for me. It was not bad in the slightest, but I wish Celeste was also in 1st person so I could connect with her a little bit more. I loved Lyla Lee’s writing overall, though, so that is really my only complaint.

I genuinely really enjoyed this book, and I’m so sad it took me so long to get to it. Shout-out to Burrito, too, because I love a cat in a book. Thank you, Forever and Lyla Lee, for giving me the chance to ARC read this (even though I am late now), and go check out Love in Focus out now!

I liked the characters and the story (although I thought the reason for the initial breakup and subsequent lack of communication was a little far fetched), but the two POVs being in different tenses really took me out of the story unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts <3

My favorite thing about Love in Focus is the exploration of sapphic sex and the fear of not being "good" at it. Gemma isn't the most experienced when it comes to giving pleasure; personally, I thought Lyla Lee approached those feelings with care. This also reflects a lot of the growth in Gemma and Celeste's relationship. They're reuniting several years after their college relationship ended rather abruptly. Obviously, they're not the same people they were and their new relationship has to reflect that as well.

Overall, this was a cute, sapphic, second chance romance with two Korean leads. I recommend picking it up!

I'm so grateful to NetGalley for letting me read Love in Focus as an ARC. Thank you so much!

First of all, it's amazing to see Korean heritage and culture represented!

Gemma and Celeste's relationship made me kick my feet and smile like I was hiding a secret! Plus, Gemma's friends seem so genuine and sweet. They all care deeply for each other!

The beginning of the book has a slight miscommunication trope, but thankfully, we move past it! There's also a second-chance romance and lots of forced proximity! In my opinion, it could have been spicier—more cozy vibes than anything else.

As sweet as predicted, love in focus, is a charming quick read that puts the lens on romance in all it's different forms. A second chance romance with sizzling chemistry from the first encounter and a lovely build up over a shared project that demonstrates how important representation is to people, and how sharing joy is more vital now than ever.

I could not get past the biphobic commentary that was made. Celeste was upset that Gemma moved on but not only that, that she moved on with a man specifically. Bisexual people exist. The rest of the book felt bland and boring. I found myself pushing myself to continue reading. The cover art is super cute but the book itself was underwhelming over all.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A sweet and fun sapphic romance

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Second chance (college exes)
Workplace romance
Love advice columnist/ photographer
Found family
Sapphic romance
Moments of healing

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Korean- American cultural rep

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Chemistry between the two felt a little flat
Pacing was a little off
Underdeveloped subplots

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ “The beauty of being bi, I learned, is that you can get rejected by both women and men.”
★ “But nothing could mitigate the intense pain and betrayal Celeste felt when she’d finally managed to pull herself back to the surface, only to discover that Gemma had not only moved on, but she’d moved on with a man. A lesbian’s worst nightmare.”
★ “She’s raging into love the way soldiers rage into war.”

I usually love me a second-chance romance, this is my third one in the last three weeks, but unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. I loved the premise: college sweethearts reunited years after a messy breakup and forced to work together. There was some genuine emotional honesty when they finally addressed their past, and I appreciated that the drama wasn’t dragged out with unnecessary miscommunication.

But overall, the story lacked the emotional depth I was hoping for. The couple didn’t have much spark, and their dynamic felt a bit flat. The POV switch (first person for Gemma, third for Celeste) was jarring, and the plot felt a little overstuffed without enough time to develop the many threads. It had a few sweet moments, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression. Enjoyable enough, just not one I’d revisit.

Thank you Forever Pub for the eARC via Netgalley.

🏳️‍🌈Rep: Korean-American Bisexual & Lesbian FMCs, POC and Queer SCs

📝Tropes/Themes: Second Chances, Partly Dual POV, Forced Proximity, Found Family, “It’s Just Casual”, First Love, Starting Over, Friendship

I love a good second chance romance - add in forced proximity and a healthy dose of found family and I am here for it! This was such a sweet and swoony story with plenty of spice to go with it. I felt for Gemma from the start. Imagine being ghosted by your first love and then having your fiance leave you after 7 years with no real explanation as to why. And then to find out the photographer you’re going to be working with on the most important project of your career is none other than your first love and the source of your bi awakening! Not to mention the fact that just being near her still makes you go weak in the knees…

That chemistry though! You can tell how much history there is between these two and how deep their connection is. Throughout the story we see them frequently falling back into comfort territory - even after 8 years apart their bond is undeniable. And it isn’t just romantic chemistry that sparks between these two…🥵 The spicy scenes in this were absolutely delectable! And did I mention there are toys? 😏

I love that Gemma’s bisexuality wasn’t just a label given to her, but an integral part of who she was. She talked about struggles with dating apps because of how people react to her bisexuality, treating it more like a porn category than an identity. Gemma’s and Celeste’s Korean-American heritage and identity were also central to the story, especially as it relates to their own coming out journeys. The story also speaks to the power of representation - specifically in regard to the lack of queer Asian elders. And Gemma’s found family - oh my gosh! I absolutely adore Kiara and Val. There was so much to love about this story. It truly was a celebration of love in all its forms and expressions.

I know some people think Gemma forgave Celeste too easily, but I don’t agree. Neither of them are perfect. And they certainly weren’t perfect back in college. Gemma thought Celeste was gone forever. So yes, she “moved on” with James...but did she? Not really. And Celeste…she gave up relationships altogether. Neither of them ever got over it. Why hold onto grudges when everything you ever wanted is finally within reach? Now all that is not to say that there wasn’t messiness and drama and miscommunication (or lack of communication). But they do talk eventually. They talk about the past. They talk about the future. They decide to live in the present together and make the most of it. It takes them a while to truly get there. But they both had some work they had to do and I think their story played out exactly how it needed to in the end. It wasn’t rushed. It was meaningful and purposeful.

Things I didn’t love so much. First - James. He’s a douche. But I also think him doing what he did was the catalyst Gemma needed to change her life, and finally make herself her top priority. The other thing was the switch from first person to third person POV. I love Dual POV stories. But in this case it felt more jarring. There wasn’t a lot of Celeste’s POV and I wasn’t a fan of the switch to third person. I would have rather not had her POV at all. But aside from those things I truly enjoyed this story! And I’ll probably listen to the audiobook at some point when I need a comfort read because Natalie Naudus is the primary narrator and she’s one of my favorites!

⚠️TW/CW: sexual content, alcohol use, vomit, biphobia, mentions of homophobia, mention of infidelity (not by the MCs)

This was such a delightful read! I’ve been a reader of Lyla’s YA books for years now and I’m so thrilled to see her have an adult debut, this book was everything I knew it would be and I adored it. Second chance romance is not something I read often but oh it was done so well here and it’s made me like second chance romance a lot more, it was so lovely to see Gemma & Celeste fall back in love and truly they were meant to be and they had me rooting for them from the very beginning. I’m such a huge believer of soulmates and destined type of things and these two were it. I really enjoyed seeing their growth as individuals too, it made their romance hit even more. Their romance was chef’s kiss and had me giggling and blushing, it was sweet and spicy and just perfect! There’s so many good conversations had in the book as well that I think will really resonate with folks, it’s something that made it feel real and honest and I appreciated it so much. If you’re looking for a good second chance sapphic romance to add to your tbr, this is the one! I cannot wait to read more adult romances from Lyla, this was such a great adult debut!