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This was the author's first foray into adult romance, and IMO, it read that way. These characters were pushing 30, but they read like they were 19-21, and their overall behavior made it difficult to get invested in their relationship or root for them in any way. I'll still check out the author's future works as there were things to like, but as a woman in her mid-40s, I just couldn't handle the immaturity of these characters.

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what a cute romance. i love a good second chance, and these characters seem like they are made for each other. I think they both have made some mistakes in their first relationship, although i think its unfair of celeste to blame gemma for moving on after completely ghosting her. nevertheless, i think she more than made up for that.
this was such a nice and easy read.

this audio production was really good too, with two narrators who both portrayed their characters very well.

thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

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Overall, this was an enjoyable book! I had the opportunity to read an e-arc and listen to an advance copy of the audiobook, and the audiobook definitely was the way to go for me, because it kept the story moving when I wanted to slow down.

This is a second chance romance where the original breakup gets resolved pretty early on, so that was super refreshing. Instead of spending a lot of the story trying to figure out the mystery reason the main characters are separated, we get to see them handle that and then explore their rekindling friendship with a slower burn relationship.

I thought the pacing of the story was done really well, and I liked getting to watch Gemma grow and find herself throughout, without rushing the romantic plot line.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys:
- Second Chance Trope
- Forced Proximity / Workplace (Gemma is a journalist and Celeste is a photographer.)
- Sapphic Romance
- BIPOC Representation (Both characters are Korean and there is a diverse friend group.)
- Self Discovery

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I really appreciated the Korean and bisexual representation in this book, and I love seeing sapphic second chance love stories getting more page time, but unfortunately the story itself didn’t fully work for me.

My biggest issue was with the actual “second chance” part. Celeste literally ghosts Gemma. They lived together in college and she just up and leaves the country with basically no explanation (apparently because of her sick mom, but she never tells Gemma that). Not only does that feel completely unrealistic (how do you clean out a whole apartment and flee to South Korea without your live-in girlfriend noticing?), but when Celeste finally shows back up eight years later, Gemma barely calls her out on it. Then Celeste has the audacity to act hurt that Gemma moved on four months later after being ghosted. YOU COULD HAVE RESPONDED TO HER TEXTS!!!! YOU GAVE HER NO CLOSURE!!!! Honestly, four months is more patience than I would have had.

Even once they reconnect, Celeste continues to be super wishy washy. First she only wants a friends with benefits situation, then she suddenly decides Gemma is the love of her life… and immediately runs away again. By that point I was just exhausted with her behavior. It was hard to root for a relationship when one of the main characters refuses to communicate or show any actual growth (beyond going to therapy…).

The writing also leaned a little kitschy, and I actually thought at times it sounded like it might’ve been generated by AI. The whole scene in the Irish bar sounded like an alien on their first day on earth wrote it. The audiobook also didn’t help. One of the narrators (for Celeste) almost sounded like AI, which made it hard to stay immersed. And the spicy scenes were so short that they didn’t really make up for how mad I was at Celeste.

To be fair, it’s a quick read and there were parts I enjoyed. But overall I had a hard time buying into the romance when the foundational behavior was so immature and never really addressed.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. 3/5 stars

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I have hand sold this a couple times. It's hawt and well written. I love the character growth separately and together. The romance is delightful

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I only have 3 points cause I don't have much to say about this book.

1. It's fine.
It's a little basic.
There was so much potential but the relationship just doesn't go anywhere with it. It has a similar tone and voice as any other contemporary sapphic (or queer) romances published the last few years and does not stray far in terms of how it communicates queer identities, modern dating or big city lifestyles.
The subplot about their collaboration piece is tooth-rottingly sweet and gives Hallmark vibes.

2. The POVs.
I am not the first who will say that the ratio is very uneven and Celeste is less developed than Gemma and that drags on their romantic relationship. Whilst Gemma has much more going on in her life that we get to see, Celeste remains much more of a mystery which does not help. If Gemma had only been more focused on Celeste we might have learned what attracted her in the first place.

3. the last third/ending.
I hated it. It just all falls apart and I did not believe that HEA, sorry.

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Love in Focus is a cute sapphic romance between Gemma and Celeste; two former lovers who are assigned to work on a project together.

Second chance romance is hard for me to root for sometimes, but when it's done well, it REALLY hits the spot. I'm so glad that Gemma and Celeste get a second chance to reconnect, because they both have grown since their split and are extremely sweet together. It is difficult to root for them at times, but I am really satisfied with their relationship in the end. Also, the spice was high quality 🔥

Bi representation in books always makes me kick my feet in excitement. Celeste is a bisexual woman, and both her and Gemma are Asian; I am happy to see Asian representation in both main characters, especially in a queer romance novel!

The only thing that I didn't enjoy about this book, is that the chapters alternate between first person point of view and third person, which felt a little unnatural. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators, Natalie Naudus and Catherine Ho, delivered an excellent performance that brought the characters to life and helped to offset the unique alternating 1st person and 3rd person POVs.

Love in Focus is a cozy and comforting read. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a sweet queer romance! Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced listening copy of Love in Focus in exchange for an honest review!

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I loved this book. So cute! I loved the audio book too!
2nd chance and then a 3rd! Adorable. And they were so sweet to each other the whole time. Loved it!

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A sweet second chance romance between photographer Celeste and journalist Gemma. I loved everything about the characters and plot!
The book is read by dual narrators but the majority of chapters are from Gemma's POV. When we swap to Celeste's chapters, the author swaps to third person, which was very hard to get used to. I would have preferred that both characters were written in first person and I would loved to have heard more from Celeste's perspective. I did think both narrators did a good job of bringing the story to life.

Read if you like:
Sapphic Romance
Second chance
Bi-racial representation

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this is a cute story with diverse representation which is why I requested it but it ultimately isn’t my favorite. I appreciated Gemma’s story here and was rooting for her happily ever after. I liked the story of her and Celeste, but I found some of the secondary elements of the story flat and/or unnecessary.
the audiobook was good! the narration and production was good and enjoyable but the story didn’t really enamor me.

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This book was a little slow for me. I didn't get a lot out of it emotionally - it didn't feel like it really fit the trope of a "second chance romance." I really wanted to like this novel, but it just didn't do much for me.

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DNF. This was so boring. I was able to finish due to the narrators but I honestly could have cared less about the story. The romance was just not believable.

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First and foremost, thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for providing this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review

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⚝ Rating ⚝: 2.5✩ / 5✩’s (rounded down)

⚝ Review ⚝: I had been looking forward to this book for so long, following the author's journey and then was absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to receive an ARC Aduio. Unfortunately, this was probably my biggest let down of the year. This is a second chance, forced proximity, workplace romance largely following Gemma with a few scattered POV chapters for her ex and current workplace partner, Celeste.

The POV chapter set up: It was...strange. Most chapters were in First POV following Gemma, but there were a few scattered chapters, told from Third POV, and the jumps between the two were often jarring and took me out of the headspace of the story. While I often enjoy books with multiple character POVs, multiple different styles of POV was too much and isn't a style I will be seeking out in the future.

As for the characters, I just really didn't like either of them...at all. Gemma felt whiney and Celeste felt almost manipulative and the biphobia right at the beginning (I believe Chapter 5, but could be off), was so uncalled for. At no point did I see a future between the two, and couldn't really see their relationship as healthy. Plenty of tension, yes, but that's all there really was. Gemma was mad that Celeste ghosted, Celeste was mad that Gemma ultimately blocked her online and moved on with her life. After EIGHT YEARS. All in all, by the end of it, I did not care about their relationship and felt they really shouldn't have been together.

Gemma's roommates were cute though!

⚝ Audio/Narrator⚝: If I see Natalie Naudus is a narrator, I'm going to want to listen to it. I love everything she does and she is likely the reason I got through this book as she was the majority narrator. This was my first experience with Catherine Ho and while I did overall enjoy her work, there were times that she did 'feel' quite a bit older than the character actually was.

⚝ Representation ⚝: Korean-American, Bisexual, Lesbian, Queer

⚝ TWs ⚝: Biphobia, alcohol

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This was such good audio book. I enjoyed both narrators. I think they complimented each other well and I really felt like the characters were talking to me, which can also be attributed to the authors incredible writing! This is probably my favorite sapphic story to date and I love that one of the main characters was bisexual. I haven't read many novels with bisexual girls and I need too! I'm going to buy a physical copy of this novel as soon as I can!!

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This was such a great audiobook!
Even though there is only one narrator, both MCs have different voices and show different personalities. I only get that from audiobooks with more than one narrator, so I appreciate it.
This is a book where the miscommunication trope is used in the right way. Why do I think that? Because normally I hate the trope, especially when it's used to justify very common things, but I had such a great time listening to this book.
I would love to read more from the author and to hear more books narrated by this narrator. If they could collaborate again, it would be awesome. They make a great team!

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Thank you Hachette audio for the audio arc!

This was such a sweet but moving queer story. I loved seeing Sapphic love portrayed in a way that felt both relatable and endearing. I found myself really understanding both Gem and Celeste’s doubts and hesitation when it came to their relationship and that also came through amazing in the audiobook. Seeing them work together on Love in Focus’ project article gave so many great moments for growth and reflection and we see how other unique couples feel and express love in their life.

It was also nice to see sapphic sex and love in a mature relationship with what I felt to be, realistic smut (yay for strap representation 🤣).

I really loved Gemma’s narrator and felt her voice fit the characterization very well. I had a harder time with Celeste’s narration as often times it felt a bit robotic, almost as if Siri was reading as it lacked a bit of emotional depth.

Overall a great listen!

I accidentally forgot to download before jt expired so I listened to my copy via Spotify audiobooks :)

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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.

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A really moving second chance sapphic romance! Not only this but they have to work together on a project. Definitely a story I adore. In my opinion, shows the good and bad of personal relationships and approaches love in different ways which most of the time is not portraited in romance books.

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I absolutely love a good sapphic romance and this was no exception. The narrators were perfect for this these characters. Thank you to @hachetteaudio for the audiobook! The cover is what drew me in, two people who seem to possible be opposites. The project that the two FMC are working on really draws you in and is so important! Throughout the novel you can really feel their chemistry! attraction and their beautiful relationship. Lyla is such an incredible author and I’ll definitely be adding her next book to my TBR. She has quickly become an autobuy author for me. I would definitely recommend this book to my fellow sapphic lovers!

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This was a really good read and I enjoyed! I am a big fan of second chance romance and I love how their jobs found their way back to one another. Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

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