I absolutely adored this book. It’s tender, emotional, and so full of quiet heartbreak and hope that I found myself aching right alongside Anne and Frederick. The writing is subtle in the best way, letting the emotions breathe without ever feeling heavy handed. Every glance, every moment of tension between them carried so much weight. I could feel the years between them pressing in on every scene. The nods to Persuasion are thoughtful, but this is very much its own story too. It’s Korean-American, it’s modern, it’s cinematic in all the right ways, but it never loses the soul of what makes second chances so gutting and so beautiful. I loved how the author gave their history room to breathe and didn’t rush the healing. Some love stories take time, and this one felt like it was worth every second.

Thanks to Netgallery and St Martin's for the e-ARC of Give Me A Reason. I really wanted to like this book, as an avid K-DRAMA watcher I was so EXCITED for this one. but it was just not for me. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the story. The writing was not my cup of tea. I really wish I had a better time with this but I just didn't.

Anne is a Korean actress, leaving Jonathan, her boyfriend behind a decade ago. She feels bad about breaking his heart and is concerned about coming home. Jonathan has never gotten over her and his hurt keeps him from discussing anything with Anne. Anne has never gotten over Jonathan as well. Jonathan is captain of the fire station and his crew care deeply about him. They are his strength and end up supporting Anne as well. Anne left him because her family needed her income to keep their home. She did not want to keep Jonathan from finding a career himself. I loved Anne’s family and how they supported her just as Jonathan’s fire family supported him. Good story with memorable characters!

Give Me a Reason by Jayci Lee is stated to be a modern retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen. As a fan of Kdrama, I was immediately drawn in by the infusion of Korean culture, especially the FL being a Kdrama actress. The communication issue that stresses us in Kdrama appears in this book too - it's a cultural thing apparently. I enjoyed reading this - the romantic buildup was sweet.
I got the ARC from St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are mine

I gave the original story, Persuasion, 2 stars so.....I already didn't love the source material, but the beautiful cover drew me in.
At the beginning I was enjoying this more than Persuasion, but it soon fell flat to me just like the original, except with more harsh attitudes and more sex.
I always hate when someone breaks up with someone "for their sake" and a simple conversation would do. Those kind of choices shouldn't be left to imagination but with mature communication. Granted they were young and such but even as an adult Frederick decided being rude and aggressive towards Anne was the right attitude to have? It was a turn off.
Yes there was pining and yearning but they, especially Frederick, didnt seem to actually respect each other enough to behave like adults. Also kinda of ridiculous how many girls were after Frederick when Anne was supposed to be the famous one and her family had originally thought him beneath them lol
I did give this one more star though because it was impressive how well it mirrored and stayed true to the original source even in the modern and different cultural setting. THAT was very well done.

I just finished Give Me a Reason by Jayci Lee, and wow—what a ride. First, huge thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the gifted ARC. As someone who counts Persuasion as my favorite Austen novel, I went into this modern retelling both excited and cautious. Could it pull off the deep yearning and emotional payoff that makes the original so beloved? For me, the answer is mostly yes.

Anne Lee is such a compelling heroine. Her choice to leave Frederick Nam a decade earlier—sacrificing her own happiness for her family—felt heartbreaking but believable. Watching her return to LA, more mature but still carrying that guilt, made me root for her all the way. Frederick, now a firefighter, brings the right blend of bitterness and lingering love to the table. Having both of their perspectives was key—I loved being inside his head just as much as hers. The tension between them is thick. Every shared glance, every moment of forced proximity at the wedding they’re both in, practically crackles with unresolved feelings. Yes, the miscommunications were frustrating at times (just talk to each other already!), but honestly, that frustration felt true to the story. After ten years of hurt, it’s not like either of them would jump straight into an honest conversation.

I also appreciated how Jayci Lee integrated Korean cultural elements and the realities of fame into the narrative without making it feel gimmicky. Anne’s background as a K-drama actress added an extra layer of pressure and complexity to her choices. The supporting characters—Frederick’s crew, Anne’s family—helped flesh out their world in a way that felt warm and real. And let’s talk about the longing. If you love slow-burn romance, this book delivers. There were several moments that had me practically yelling at my Kindle. The eventual payoff was worth it, though—romantic, satisfying, and true to the spirit of Persuasion.

A few small quibbles: some of the inner monologues did get repetitive, and Frederick occasionally felt a bit one-dimensional outside of his love for Anne. But those didn’t detract too much from my overall enjoyment. If you’re an Austen fan, a K-drama lover, or just someone who appreciates a good second-chance romance packed with angst and heart, Give Me a Reason is absolutely worth your time. I’ll be thinking about Anne and Frederick for a while.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5 stars

Give Me a Reason by Jayci Lee is a breathtaking, emotionally charged second-chance romance that beautifully reimagines Persuasion with all the heart, heat, and heartbreak of your favorite K-drama.

Anne Lee and Frederick Nam’s story is full of longing, regret, and the aching hope that maybe—just maybe—you can get a do-over at the love of your life. Anne's choice to leave Frederick a decade ago in order to protect her family’s future was selfless and devastating, and now that fate has brought them back together, every glance and silence between them crackles with unresolved feelings.

Frederick’s transformation—from heartbroken college student to grounded, steady firefighter—makes him the perfect modern-day Wentworth. He’s strong, guarded, but so full of unspoken emotion, and his quiet care for Anne even when he’s trying to keep her at a distance had me swooning.

The chemistry is off-the-charts. Their reunion at the wedding is layered with tension and nostalgia, and each interaction slowly peels back their defenses, revealing that love never truly left either of them.

Highlights:

Deep emotional stakes and rich character development

A K-drama vibe that feels cinematic and immersive

Nuanced family dynamics and cultural depth

Quiet yearning and vulnerable growth

An ending that completely delivers on the promise of forever

Whether you’re a Jane Austen fan, a K-romance lover, or just a sucker for beautifully written second chances, Give Me a Reason is a must-read that hits all the right notes. Prepare to feel everything.

3.5⭐

LIKED:
- As far as Persuasion adaptations go, and I’ve read a few, this one is relatively solid, surprisingly. I saw a lot of the inspiration with the characters and plot structure that I thought overall worked pretty well. I especially thought that the choice of making Anne’s reason for leaving him in the past being that she got cast in a K Drama was fun and then Frederick being a firefighter (and still a captain) just really worked.
- I liked the full cast of characters (save for a few that I’ll talk about in the next section). They all felt unique and informative to helping get these two together for their HEA.
- I liked getting both Anne and Frederick’s POVs. I think there will definitely be complaints about the miscommunication (or rather them just not talking to each other while basically feeling the exact same thing a lot), but that is definitely because it is retelling of Austen. Not that Austen does miscommunication, but it’s because of when Persuasion was written and the differences in communication of the time. It did still get a little tiring and uninspired at times.
- I do think that this is probably my favorite Jayci Lee book I’ve read. So that’s something. I do think doing a retelling helped her quite a bit to add some structure.
- This cover is gorgeous. My only critique is that it gives off the impression of being a YA novel which it very much is not.

LAMENTED:
- My biggest critique with Jayci is always her dialogue writing and this is no exception. There is just something really clunky and unnatural in the way she writes it. There are also just some weird choices she makes in word choice even when not in dialogue, like when Frederick thinks, not in an overtly jokey way, as an adult man, the phrase “go potty.” I physically cringed. Also, minor note, but it’s 2025 and I do not believe that a 28-year-old man would have the name Frederick. I know that’s the name from the original Austen. But…it did distract me.
- I wish that I believed this as a second chance romance just due to the inherent chemistry (and utilized source material), the fact that they dated for only a few months 10 years prior and they’ve been this hung up on each other that whole time was a bit of a stretch. I think they needed to have been together initially for a bit longer to make that level of pining more understandable.
- Bethany and Tessa did not need to be two separate characters. Like I get it, I know why it was done. But they were both so annoying and I hated them both thirsting after Frederick.
- What is the timeline of this book? Why is it like 7 months. It should not have been this drawn out. It was goofy. And this is a me thing maybe, but it was totally unnecessary for there to be so many engagements, referential to the source material or not. It was wholly unbelievable.
- I don’t really get this title. Maybe it’s a reference to Persuasion that I somehow missed, but it feels pretty arbitrary.

LONGED FOR:
- Less clunky dialogue & cringey word choices
- More believability to the pining of the leads
- Slightly less repeated miscommunication

Will I read the next one? : If she does another Austen retelling I might try it out, but I’m usually a bit apprehensive with Lee’s books.

I kind of enjoyed the book. It has been a long time since I had read this kind of POV writing style. It was an easy read but the beginning of the book was great, I loved that yearning for each other. However that left really quick for me and I wasn't interested anymore. The two main characters clearly made growth in their lives being a part from each other and they definitely love each other still but it seems like they loved the past selves instead of loving and appreciating each other in their current self.

I was pulled in by the cover absolutely, beautiful, just wish I loved the book right to the end.

I was excited to read this because Persuasion is my favorite Austen. While it clearly mirrors the original, it lacks everything that made me love the story so much. All of their dignity and poise is gone, replaced with possessive growling, pantherine stalking, and extremely repetitive and immature inner monologues. Entire plot points and scenes slipped by with no weight, and the spice was weirdly slow and detailed when compared to the rest of the writing. There were a few really funny moments and a couple nice turns of phrase, but they were nearly overshadowed by the 5+ occurrences of "i left him all those years ago."

I just wanted to say Thank you so much Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the Arc. I appreciated the chance to read this early. I think the story being told in third person is really what is not working for me. I feel like a lot of the story kind of fell flat. I refuse to continue a book when I am not invested fully. I really wanted to like this because the story line was personal to me, but it just didn't resonate . I loved the concept, but this just wasn't for me.

Fans of Jane Austen’s Persuasion will devour this modern retelling.

When I saw that Jayci Lee was releasing a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion in the year we are celebrating 250 years since Jane’s birth I was all over it. Plus, with the added bonus of writing Anne as an actress who starred in K-Dramas for years, it is the diverse read I’ve been waiting for!

I admit that I have never read Persuasion before but I did recently watch the latest film adaptation starring Dakota Johnson so I had that film and its key plot points in my head the entire time reading this and I’d say that it hit all the marks!

You’re instantly thrust into the moment when Frederic and Anne once again come face to face with each other after ten years a part after a brutal break-up that neither has been able to forget.

Instead of them meeting in an English countryside, however, they come face to face in an elementary classroom where Frederic is going to talk about his career as a firefighter and Anne as an actress in K-dramas in Korea. From that very first moment Jayci does an amazing job of denoting their tortured pining and the hurt and the devastation of Anne cutting off their relationship all those years ago.

So don’t expect a subtle build up or a lot of background at the beginning just as you don’t really get in the movie. You’re immediately swept into their tortured reunion and forced proximity in the coming months as his friend and co-worker is set to marry her cousin.

If you are a fan of the film adaptations, then I think you will adore this book and love the modern twists that Jayci gives this popular story. If you’re completely brand new to Persuasion you might wish that there was more background at first but it’s just not how I saw this playing out given the original story. The letters from Frederic to Anne that he wrote in the past that are sprinkled throughout the book however do a great job bridging this gap to show just how enamored and devoted he was to her from the beginning and helps to explain why he would still be so in love with her all this time later.

When reading a modern retelling, I’m looking for the story to hit all the highlights of the classic which this one did. You got the ignorant father and spoiled older sister that Anne sacrifices for, the miscommunication that Frederic might be falling for someone else right in front of her eyes, Anne’s injury and Frederic coming to the rescue, and many other moments that stand out as iconic to Persuasion.

Their pining does gets a bit repetitive and it was hard to keep all the secondary characters straight but overall I think it is a wonderful retelling. Plus it has one of the most beautiful covers of the year!

*I received an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

K-drama star Anne Lee sails across the ocean blue to her old home and reconnects with an old flameee that she apparently hurt really bad 10 years ago. Drama drama drama galore!!

This book definitely had some good aspects, but it also had some poor ones. I will start off positive. Woo! Likeable side characters, cute banter, pretty cover. Okayyy, now. I can't say that I wasn't hooked by this book, I will give it that much credit, I did want to know what happens next. That's pretty standard for me in any book I read, but at least that wasn't ruined. And now that I can't delay it any further, let's get to the criticism. This book was not my favorite for the following reasons: the writing felt very rudimentary, like my 13-year-old sister was writing it, with random lusty scenes sprinkled in that felt like they did not fit at all. Another reason was that I just did not like the main characters. I will admit, I started to empathize with them and like them a bit more towards the end, but at the beginning, mostly Frederick (guy love interest) was so unlikeable and just such a jerk for no reason. Oh well. This book was in the least, entertaining.

Let me start this with the fact that the cover is absolutely gorgeous! It was definitely one of the reasons I really wanted to read this book.

Give Me a Reason is a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. It's a dual POV rom-com about second chance romance featuring Anne and Frederick as the MCs.
There's yearning, pining and tension between that characters that made this quite enjoyable to read. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Jane Austen that enjoy second chance romance and stories full of feels and love.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ebook arc in exchange for an honet review.

Give Me a Reason is a second-chance romance retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Our two main characters, Anne and Frederick were in love in college, but broke up unexpectedly and both were heartbroken. Ten years later, they meet again and are constantly in each other's orbit due to an upcoming wedding between Anne's cousin and Frederick's best friend. Cue forced proximity, mutual pining, unresolved emotions, and internal conflict.

This was cute and sweet with just the right amount of angst and longing. I enjoyed getting to see the internal conflicts within both our main characters and how they overcome and reconcile in the end. I liked the story, cast of characters, and relationship dynamics with the side characters.

I haven't read Persuasion, so I'm not sure how much of the arc is drawn from the original, but I think some of the story would've been more impactful if I had. I didn't love the miscommunication/misunderstanding, though this may be true to how the original unfolds.

If you love Jane Austen novels, slow-burn, second-chance romances that include pining, angst and tension in a dual POV, then this might be a good fit!

ALSO can we give it up for the cover art?! GORGEOUS

Thank you to NetGalley, Jayci Lee, and the publisher for the eARC!

The cover of this book drew me in because it is stunning! This book is a Persuasion retelling following Anne and Fredrick and their love story. I liked that this book is told in dual POV because it was nice to have both of their perspectives as the story unfolding over the years. I thought is was really well written and I liked that it even included letters at the end.

Look, I don’t know why people are hating on this book. It is SO good! It was hard to put down. It is definitely a k-drama version of Pride and Prejudice. I LOVED it. I’m a huge fan of both, and this was a magical blend of them both. If you don’t watch k-dramas or if you don’t like the intense obliviousness of Austen characters then you may not like this book. It’s a second chance at love romance novel. The author did a great job of storytelling. I recommend it!

Heat Index: 7/10

—Persuasion retelling

—K-drama heroine, firefighter hero

—first love to last love(?)

The Basics:

Frederick Nam and Anne Lee were once wildly in love; until Anne left for Korea to become a K-drama star, leaving Frederick bitter and brokenhearted. A decade later, Anne is back in the States, and Frederick is now better than ever. Her feelings linger; he's, despite his best efforts, still resentful... and still longing for Anne. The pain is intense—but so is the wanting. Is that enough to overcome years apart?

The Review:

There are retellings that basically exist to capitalize off fanservice, and there are retellings that exist in name only. Give Me a Reason is neither of those things—it's a retelling that considers and takes into account its modern update (and its focus on Asian leads) while honoring the original. In a lot of ways, this is a better adaptation of Persuasion than a lot of the movies we've seen (it's certainly better than the most recent).

Persuasion is a story about aching longing and regret; it's deeply romantic, but it's also relatable in a way I think some Austen books aren't. This has the same effect. We all have "would've, could've, should'ves" in our lives, and while breaking up with Frederick is Anne's BIGGEST regret, it's not her only one. Because she's in her early thirties now and she can look back on time that feels wasted and choices she would redo, and that is just... so real. I'm about Anne's age, and I'm certainly feeling it!

But the romance of it all is that you don't usually get this kind of second chance in real life, and boy does it hurt so good in just the right way here. This isn't a super plot-heavy novel. For much of the book, Anne and Frederick are both very internal (thank God we have dual POVs) and yeah, they do struggle so spit it out. I know that this is "miscommunication" and miscommunication is apparently a sin, but... It makes so much sense here. You don't end so badly and spend a decade apart and just leap back into love. There's a lot of fear involved! A ton of anxiety!

And so, when Anne and Frederick do get it together, it feels that much more impactful. I'm a hard sell on a slooow burn, but this one is very satisfying, and it's a great blend of complex feelings and the kind of Austenian romance that's very hard to capture in contemporary right now.

The Sex:

You know what's not Austenian? The sex scenes. There aren't a ton, and you do have to wait. But what you get after the wait is GOOD. Passionate and fraught, and mixed with just enough roughness that it feels like two people who've been waiting... and waiting... and just can't wait anymore. HOT.

The Conclusion:

A book of pining and longing and heavy emotion that nonetheless hits the romance beats that will leave you swooning. That's a success in my book!

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Poignant, heartfelt, and beautifully bittersweet

Give Me a Reason is a modern love letter to Jane Austen’s Persuasion, reimagined through the lens of a Korean-American K-drama actress and a firefighter with a broken heart. Anne and Frederick’s second-chance romance is tender, slow-burning, and full of quiet ache, the kind that lingers even after the last page.

Anne’s sacrifices, though frustrating at times, felt grounded in love and duty, making her a sympathetic lead. Frederick is emotionally guarded, but the glimpses of his lingering affection and protectiveness are deeply affecting. Their reunion is layered with tension and regret, making every small moment of connection feel earned.

The K-drama influence is subtle but effective, and I loved how the story honored its roots while still standing strong on its own. The supporting cast brought warmth and dimension, especially during the wedding scenes.

Why not five stars? I would’ve loved just a bit more time with Anne and Frederick truly rebuilding their relationship—some emotional beats felt rushed near the end. Still, this was a gorgeous, romantic read with enough yearning to melt any Austen fan’s heart.

Highly recommended for fans of modern retellings, emotional slow burns, and love stories where the past never quite lets go.

Give Me a Reason by Jayci Lee is a contemporary romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, but infused with a distinct K-drama feel. At its heart, it’s a story of lost love, lingering regrets, and the quiet ache of missed opportunities.

Years ago, Anne Lee left college in America to pursue a career as a Korean actress, sacrificing her own happiness to save her father from bankruptcy. In doing so, she shattered both her heart and that of Frederick Nam, the man she loved. Now, she has returned, and fate has placed them both at her cousin’s wedding. But time hasn’t erased the wounds of the past, and their reunion is steeped in longing, unspoken words, and the weight of everything left unsaid.

The novel unfolds slowly with a delicate emotional dance between Anne and Frederick. The dual POV adds richness, allowing us to truly understand Frederick’s feelings, though I found myself wishing for more time spent on their rekindling connection. Open communication remains elusive between them, yet this restraint aligns perfectly with the story’s K-drama atmosphere.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.