Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen book, I love for k-dramas and manhwa, and I actually do love a good miscommunication pitfall. But this was very, very boring. And Persuasion isn’t a story where a lot happens, but in a contemporary romance, even if there’s only character centered plot, something has to move the story along. Nothing did. I gave up at 40-ish percent because between the info dumpy writing and absolute lack of *anything* happening, I just couldn’t stay interested anymore.

The cover is stunning and the Korean representation is front and center (and I did love what I saw of Anne and Frederick!). Lots of potential that just fell flat for me.

As someone who is a die-hard Persuasion fan, this adaptation fed my soul in the best ways. Absolutely obsessed with the ways Lee still utilized names and main plot lines but still managed to make it her own (and so sexy as well). The dual POV’s added so much to the characters and made their flaws and lack of communication so much more emotional. Loved it!!

I wasn't sure what to expect since I don't know a lot about Korean dramas, and the femc is a Korean drama actress, so I was expecting just a standard romance experience. (Which is still great by the way!) This was beautiful, poignant, angsty, and perfect!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martens Press for sending this ARC my way.

Unfortunately this was not the romance for me. On the surface, a kdrama actress and a Pursuasion inspired romance novel sounds amazing, but it wasn't. Its entirely in third person with dual pov chapters and absolutely riddled with miscommunication.

Anne and Frederick broke up 10 years ago and are still absolutely obsessed with each other. Rather than work that out they outright avoid each other. I hated both leads. There was so much of this book that was unnecessary its absurd. The same memories and stories are told again and again. WE GET IT. They broke up and still love each other. Ugh. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this book at all. You'd be much better off reading Persuasion.

This is a contemporary romance and a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion which I haven't read.

Anne Lee left the college boyfriend she loved with all her heart to pursue an acting career in K-drama to make money to save her family home. She spent ten years there before returning home. She had always regretted leaving Frederick Nam behind but convinced herself that it was for his good.

Frederick Nam has never gotten over having his heart broken by Anne. But he has made a life for himself, first in finance where he was very successful and currently as a Captain in the fire department.

When his best friend and fellow fireman is set to marry, he learns that the bride-to-be is Anne's cousin and Anne will be playing a big part in the wedding.

It is difficult for both Anne and Frederick as they need to spend a lot of time together in the run-up to the wedding. Neither has gotten over their love for the other, but neither can find a way to tell the other about the state of their heart.

This story is set in Southern California and people by quite a number of Korean Americans. Anne is especially steeped in the culture and attitudes which wasn't good for her romance with Frederick.

This was an engaging dual-viewpoint romance.

arc review

thank you sm st. martins press and netgalley for the arc!

unfortunately this is the case where the book just wasn’t for me and that’s okay!

i found it quite hard to finish the book. i can usually do okay with miscommunication tropes but this one was a little frustrating for me. i didn’t really care for the main characters as a couple and found frederick rude at times.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the chance to read this early in exchange of an honest review.

I'm sad to say this story wasn't for me. The third person POV, miscommunication trope, and information dumps did not work. I wish this author luck and I hope this book finds its perfect reader.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press | St. Martin’s Griffin and author Jayci Lee for providing me with the eARC of “Give me a Reason”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: July 29th, 2025
Reviewed on Goodreads: July 5th, 2025

I thought this book was okay!
This story is apparently a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”. I personally have not read Persuasion, so perhaps I would have enjoyed this story more had I done so beforehand, or if I had a special love/attachment to Jane Austen literature.

In this story we meet Anne, an actress who has just recently moved back to the United States after her acting career in Korea came to a halt. What she doesn’t expect to find when she returns is her Ex-boyfriend, Frederick, who she broke up with 10 years ago before moving to Korea.
Frederick hates Anne for breaking his heart and wants nothing to do with her.
The problem? They are part of the same wedding party and will have to spend much more time together.
They soon discover that they both never really wanted to let go, and still might have feelings for each other.

This is a second chance romance, and an enemies-to-lovers story, which I think are enjoyable tropes and were nice to read in this book.
I enjoyed reading about Anne, and how she felt pressured to break up with Frederick and leave her life behind to support her family- even though it was not necessarily what she wanted. I think her story and her challenges may be relatable to a lot of people.
Unrelated to the material, but I really want to note in this section how beautiful the cover artwork is for this book! It is very gorgeous.

What I didn’t love about the story was that it felt somewhat impersonal, and there did not seem to be much depth to it. I really wish the characters were more developed, and that we saw more of their lives outside of just their feelings toward each other. I think that would have elevated this book so much.

Overall, the story wasn’t bad, but parts of it just fell a bit short for me.
Though, I am sure some people would enjoy it more!

Give Me a Reason follows Anne and Frederick as they are forced to interact with each other a decade after their heartbreaking breakup and figure out if they can overcome the hurt and give their love a second chance. While I found the concept of the story interesting and cute, as someone who adores second-chance romances, it felt like this story took too long to progress. I understand that backstory is key in a second chance romance, and for me, that is the best part, even compared to the happy ever after; however, I found myself feeling like not much had happened by the 28% mark, and struggled to continue reading. I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did; however, I know that even with the issues I found with it I know there will also be many others that will enjoy it as is. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

I just want to give these damn characters a hug. A slow-burn, second chance romance with SOOOO much yearning. These poor babies were so hard on themselves, but their story was so beautifully written.

Honorable mention for the side characters and family dynamics as well- I’d love to see more about a loooooot of these characters and their stories.

I did really enjoy this Persuasion retelling with Korean Americans! The two main characters were lovely, they have such depth of feeling for each other, even when they're still angry and hurt.

The thing is, the original Persuasion is mostly miscommunication. I personally love that story, but I think retelling it in a modern setting is dangerous because in today's world, this level of assumptions and lack of talking to each other doesn't work as well. The story pace drags a bit in the middle and toward the end because they're both still thinking the other person couldn't possibly love them (even after they have a pretty spectacular physical connection) and it just seems like willful misunderstanding on both their parts. You have cell phones and cars! Talk to each other!

I also wish we got more of Anne standing up to her family, specifically her dad and elder sister. I wish we got more of a relationship between Anne and her Aunt, who is supposed to be like a mother to her but whom we don't actually get to talk to much. I think a modern retelling should give Anne more of a chance to grow out of being accommodating at the cost of her own happiness, and we didn't get to see much of that.

Overall, I would recommend it, I think especially for people who already know and love Persuasion!

I recently read a fantasy by this author called Nine Tailed, so I was excited to check out this romance. This is about a k-drama actress that returns home, where she left her childhood lover behind to peruse her career. He's now a firefighter and works with someone about to marry one of her family members, so there's a few instances where they are thrown back together. The moments they were together I was just waiting to see how the author would get them in the same room together.

Loved Give Me a Reason from the very first chapter! Jayci Lee is a new author to me, but I will definitely be picking up her other books. This book was a charming, heart-warming love story that spans a decade. It’s about a second chance at romance and love, building relationships and learning to prioritize yourself over others. It definitely gives off some K-drama vibes as well. I highly recommend this book! 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC copy of Give Me a Reason!

This felt like an old school kdrama and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Although I do not like second chance romance, I do however reading about a man who is so pathetically in love. I liked that we got to see both perspectives and although I despise the miscommunication trope when it comes to romance since it can get frustrating and repetitive to read I think this one did a good job at justifying why it had to be done. Anne and Fredrick were decent protagonists and I think their story felt natural and I liked that there was actually chemistry there.

I had to DNF this, I had really high hopes and the cover is gorgeous. But the book itself, it just felt like a lot of nothing. I love Jane Austen so I had hopes for this retelling. But it just doesn’t hit

I was drawn in by the cover. Absolutely love it! Nothing grabbed my attention after that. I really wanted to like this but it just fell flat for me. I never found myself fully invested. I did enjoy the letters and the side characters were fun. Not bad, just not for me.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!! This book!! I was screaming and kicking my feet the whole time! I LOVE Anne and Fredrick together so much! The banter at the beginning to the pining throughout. Ugh so good! Did I several times want to fight both of them? Yes yes I did. But ugh still so good!

This book had a good premise but the story development fell short for me. I wanted more of the past so that I could create an emotional connection to the main characters rather than having them thrust together by chance with no background story. I did appreciate the romance in this story though, as it felt natural and the characters were likable!

1.5⭐

DNF @55%

I’m so sorry, y’all, but this book just wasn’t for me. I have such a short attention span, and honestly, it’s a miracle I even made it this far.

It felt like a whole lot of nothing. Nothing was happening. Nothing grabbed my attention. Absolutely nothing.

And that’s such a bummer, because I love anything Korean—manhwa, K-dramas, K-pop—so I wanted to love this. Why did I pick up this book? No idea.

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Thank you so much Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC 🫣♥️

I was intrigued by the premise (a modern Persuasion retelling), but ultimately the execution fell a little flat for me. I am a huge second chance fan, but this one leaned too heavily on the miscommunication for my liking. The inner monologues overshadowed any dialogue between the two characters and I just didn't believe their HEA was truly earned in the end.