This was (almost) the perfect second-chance romance! I loved Gemma as the main character, she was messy and flawed but still earnest and easy to root for. As much as I was here for the romance, I also loved getting to cheer for Gemma’s professional accomplishments, for her personal growth, and for her friendships.

Speaking of the romance, this was such a glorious slow(ish) burn. We knew they liked each other, that much was obvious, but the will-they-won’t-they of their happy ending felt like high stakes the whole way through. I was very pleased that their own personal growth and needs weren’t sacrificed in the name of the romance, and that despite the rocky start to their reunion, both Gemma and Celeste felt authentically like people my age, in their late 20s with a better perspective than in their early 20s, but still muddling through and figuring it out.

However, there was one massive drawback for me, and that is the wholly unnecessary addition of a third-person perspective for Celeste. There was nothing we learned from those (thankfully few) chapters that we didn’t or couldn’t learn from Gemma, with the exception of some blink-and-you-miss-it biphobia. The narrator change for the audiobook felt jarring, and Celeste’s narrator did not match the tone of the book at all. She had that ASMR-style of speaking (my least favourite audiobook style) which just felt wrong talking about pop culture and Twilight memes.

Worse than being unnecessary, it actually detracted from Gemma’s chapters. I wanted nothing more than to go on that journey with Gemma into the unknown, and to experience those early relationship feelings of excitement and doubt with her, but I couldn’t because I was also privy to Celeste’s thoughts and feelings. I just with the author had trusted the reader enough to let us fill in the gaps ourselves.

On the whole, this was a great book. If I were to read it again, I would just skip all of the Celeste chapters, and I think that would make it an excellent book! I will definitely be returning to this author though, and I hope we get some more adult fiction from her in the future.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

This was a cute read while I did enjoy reading Gemma's character development in terms of self discovery I did find myself getting bored.. Also I needed more when it came to the second chance there wasn't intense emotion/second chance romance feels.. overall cute easy to follow read

3.25⭐️ Thank you Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm honestly so thankful that this was the story that popped my sapphic romance cherry (lolol) and I'm also surprised that it took me so long to read one. Two hot, queer Asian women in their late 20's getting a second chance at love? Yes, please and thank you. The narrators for Gemma and Celeste were dynamic and truly breathed life into to their story. I especially loved Natalie Naudus, whose voice I immediately recognized from a recent audiobook listen, Bat Eater & Other Names for Cora Zeng. The fact that Naudus can switch between horror and romance, and excel at both, is a testament to her skill as a narrator. I loved that Gemma was willing to push herself out of her comfort zone when it came to pursuing and romancing Celeste, whom she had relations with in college, but at this later stage in life she was more adventurous and vocal about what she wanted. Celeste was a bit harder to crack, as the former hopeless romantic that was averse to relationships, but her caring nature still shined through said cracks. The pacing of the story was easy to follow and cute set against the backdrop of San Francisco. There were a plethora of modern pop culture references, which I typically don't care for in my books, but I will make one exception for the Chappell Roan reference lol. Overall, this was a fun, summer-y romance that will definitely find its audience within the AAPI and LGBTQIA+ communities, and outside of these too!

Love in Focus follows relationship advice columnist Gemma Cho, who is left believing love doesn’t exist after her seven-year long relationship ends. While out on a type of rebound date, she meets her ex-girlfriend from college… also know as her first ever girlfriend that made her realized she’s bi… So, in comes super hot, super confident, world-renowned photographer Celeste Min. Well, it just so happens Celeste is in town to work a job for the same company Gemma works at. And maybe even for the same project… This is a sapphic second-chance semi workplace romance.

I’ve really been in love with audiobooks for a while now, so being able to listen to this early was perfect. It was a super easy audiobook to listen to. I was able to follow everything well even while doing small tasks through my day (I tend to do some room cleaning).

I’ve listened to another audiobook read by Catherine Ho and she’s great at portraying emotion through audio reads! I’m also a sucker for audiobooks with different narrators, so the change for each characters chapters was perfect. Natalie Naudus does an amazing job narrating and I’m actually very excited to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her!

The story was written beautifully. I love that it was surrounded by the influence of their backgrounds. The part when they’re interviewing older couples, and it’s brought up that there was nothing in the past to shape the realization of being bisexual because she didn’t have any Korean relatives that were or they didn’t speak of them, made me really emotional.

I’m so excited for people to have this in their hands. So many people need to read this and know that they’re seen. I’m so thankful for being able to be an early listener, I couldn’t be happier.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Forever for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Love in Focus was a sweet and cozy, sapphic second chance romance that follows two women on their late 20s. The two main characters are Gemma a relationship advice columnist and bisexual woman who's newly single after her relationship of seven years falls apart; and Celeste a renowned photographer and lesbian woman. Fate does what it usually does when it throws them together to work on a project about modern love that could potentially save Gemma's company.

The premise of the book was interesting from the get go even though second chance is not something I usually look for in my reads, however this was great. I liked that it followed the FMCs and their present lives and didn't mention the past more than the strictly necessary. The pace of the book was good and there was a good balance of plot and spice. I particularly loved the friendship between Gemma, Kiara and Val, they gave supportive friends/parents vibes. There was a lot of great BIPOC and Queer representation. However there were parts were some Korean dishes or costumes were mentioned and I got a bit lost because it's not something I know so some context would have been great.

Also, all the conversations about age felt a bit premature for characters that are just getting to their 30s, I feel like that's more of a conversation that people in their middle to late 30s have, not 29 year olds.

As for the audiobook, I very much enjoyed it. I think Natalie Naudus did a great job bringing Gemma to life, she fit her personality and depth really well. On the other hand, Catherine Ho as Celeste felt a bit weird and slow at times, I'm not sure why but I couldn't connect with her character completely. It could be because it was written in third person while Gemma's was in first but that's the author's decision so we can't fault her for that.

Overall, Love in Focus was a light and sweet story that you can read in one sitting. II liked it and would recommend it.

Thank you Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the Advanced Listener Copy.

Release date: May 27th 2025
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Story: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Audio: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ALC in exchange for an honest review. This was such a sweet sapphic second chance love story between Gemma and Celeste. It was a super easy listen and wasn’t super heavy. While I did really enjoy this story, I would there would have been a little more kick to this story. I feel like James for how crappy James ended up being, he could have held a more important role in the story. He felt kind of just thrown in randomly. I honestly forgot what he did most of the time. I did like Gemma’s friends and how supportive they were. They added a nice layer to the story. The project Gemma and Celeste were working on was a good way to make them have to be around each other and reignite the feelings that neither of them really ever got over. The way the story wrapped up felt very true to these characters and didn’t drag it out forever. I look forward to reading more from Lyla.

This was so so cute. Celeste and Gemma dated for over a year in college, then suddenly and unexpectedly lost touch, and Gemma moved on to date a man. Years later, Gemma finds herself newly single (and dumped) and also put on a work assignment with Celeste, whom she never expected to see again. The second hand romance that unfolds is heartfelt, sometimes hilarious, and infused with local area details and culture that I loved.

The San Francisco Bay Area references are top notch, especially with so many Korean culture highlights. I'm all about the instagrammable cafes that Celeste and Gemma visit. I also really enjoyed the workplace aspect of this as Celeste and Gemma are forced to work together on a series of interviews / photoshoots. I absolutely melted when Celeste and Gemma interviewed the older sapphic couple and everything that came up with that. The Asian Queer Immigrant feelings are so good in this. The feelings between Gemma and Celeste, however, are somewhat lackluster. I enjoyed their ending but didn't find myself hardcore rooting for them.

I found it especially jarring that, while Gemma's POV is in first person and sounds approachable and inviting, Celeste's POV (which is infrequent) is entirely in third person, and sounds cold and detached from the events rather than giving a unique perspective into Celeste's point of view. This is even more pronounced on audio with the chosen narrators for this book. Natalie Naudus is absolutely darling with her narration as Gemma and it is full of inflection and emotion. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy Catherine Ho's narration as Celeste. It felt flat and detached and made Celeste seem like a very unapproachable character. I think I found myself really disliking Celeste based on the narration alone, or maybe it was the third person POV combined with the flat narration? I wish this book had been entirely from Gemma's POV, as Celeste's chapters felt like they took away from an otherwise darling story.

I received a free copy of this book from Forever Publishing, and a free copy of the audio from Hachette Audio. Thank you both! Thoughts are my own.

I am a huge fan of second chance romances. This one was so so cute. A sapphic/queer romance with Asian rep. This was an easy binge book for me. Celeste and Gemma dated for a year in college. Celeste completely ghosts Gemma 8 years ago. Gemma moves on with James. They even get engaged. Then one day he randomly dumps her. I am not going to lie I felt like James was kind of not really relevant. There wasn't as much conflict with him as I thought there would be. I mean he is a terrible person but I do think Gemma moves on relatively easy. I did absolutely love the reconnecting of Gemma and Celeste. I think the two had chemistry. It did kind of bother me that Celeste was so mad at Gemma for moving on so fast but like Celeste completely ghosted Gemma. Gemma even tries to contact her and gets nothing in response. Anyways after they move past this I enjoyed the two getting to know each other. Also the more spicy scenes were so so good. I loved the audiobook however I found myself enjoying Gemma's POV chapters more. For some reason Celeste's chapters felt a little more choppy. I'm not sure if this is due to the narrator or just the writing. Thank you netgalley for an arc of the audiobook.

This book was okay..

The mc’s irritated me, and some parts went on too long and the flow wasn’t.

However I did enjoy the plot mostly, heartbreaker girl reunites with her first wlw relationship

Love in Focus was a cute sapphic romance, but nothing majorly stood out to me. I didn't feel that strongly about either main character or their relationship.

I recently listened to "Love In Focus," and I can't recommend it enough! This heartwarming tale centers around a woman who navigates the complexities of falling in love with another girl during their college years. Their relationship takes a turn as circumstances pull them apart, but fate intervenes when a job opportunity brings them back together.

The story itself is beautifully crafted, intertwining themes of love, friendship, and the bittersweet nature of time and distance. What truly sets this audiobook apart is the talented narrator, who brings every character to life with emotion and depth. Her ability to convey the nuances of each moment kept me completely engrossed—I felt as if I were right there with the characters, experiencing their challenges and triumphs alongside them.

One of my favorite aspects of "Love In Focus" is the clever incorporation of nerdy references throughout the narrative. It’s evident that the author understands their audience, seamlessly weaving in pop culture elements and quirky nods that will resonate with many listeners. These touches not only add humor but also create a relatable and inviting atmosphere.

Overall, "Love In Focus" is a delightful romance that captures the essence of young love, the struggles of distance, and the joy of second chances. If you’re looking for a touching and engaging story, this audiobook is a must-listen. You’ll find yourself falling in love with it time and time again!

she was cute but she wasn’t life changing 😛 i loved the queer asian rep and how it was woven into the story particularly, but the two fmc’s themselves were sometimes hard to root for 😭 it felt like everything was pretty solid about this story except them!

for james being the absolute villain he was, tell me why he’s completely irrelevant the entire book. that could’ve added EXCELLENT angst and was underutilized *side eye* i feel like celeste was more of a background character than the main love interest even in her pov. they’re in their late 20s but a lot of this read like younger gen z in the approach to love, romance, and dating in this day and age (derogatory). i wanted for affirmation from them than they’re flaky, will-they-won’t-they because i didn’t believe that they could pull it together!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

…but they did! this isn’t a negative review my bad ya’ll i had a good time i PROMISE. this is also short as hell i flew through this bad boy!!! oh oh also the spice was 😏 there’s a certain scene that rhymes with trap…hint hint wink wink that had me blushing and giggling up a storm 🙂‍↕️

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee (Publication May 27, 2025)

This was a fun and flirty sapphic romance perfect for a wholesome (and spice-y) quick read. I appreciated Gemma‘s story line, an aspiring journalist, dumped and left to figure out herself and her long history of being in one relationship after another. She’s finally faced with her ex, Celeste, a world-famous photograph who may have been the love of her life. This is a messy, complicated, ex-lovers to friends to lovers romance to fall into this summer. I think it’s a perfect beach read for Summer 2025! The vibes were fluffy, but the characters made it feel emotional and relatable.

I enjoyed the pacing of this story and found the writing clear, but repetitive at times. I would love to see the characters developed a further and especially the close friends of Gemma and the chemistry between Celeste and Gemma. We have a lot of spice-y scenes, thoughtful moments integrating the characters’ relationship to Korean culture. I really appreciated this sapphic romance and its depiction of being in your twenties, figuring life out, and finding friends and love throughout all the heartache.

The audiobook was narrated well with the characters Gemma and Celeste feeling grounded and and tangible. I appreciated the talent and quality brought to Love in Focus by Hachette audio who did a wonderful job of producing this audiobook; the experience was seamless and engaging. I would recommend checking out the audiobook if you’re a fan of listening to books rather than the physical/digital copies.

I definitely recommend this queer romance novel for folks looking for a sweet and spicy time and for those seeking more Asian representation in the stories you read! Thank you to NetGalley and Hatchette Audio for a copy of this audiobook, it was a pleasure to listen to.

#NetGalley #LoveInFocus #HatchetteAudio #LGBTQIAP+ #Romance

3.5 stars

Thank you Hachette Audio, Forever and NetGalley for the free advanced copies of this book.

This was a super cute, second chance sapphic romance! This was my first book by Lyla Lee, and I was captivated by the gorgeous cover and the book description.

When Gemma gets paired up to work with Celeste, her college roommate and first girlfriend, who she hasn't seen or spoken to in eight years, she is initially hesitant. Especially since they're supposed to be collaborating on a story all about love. They decide to ignore their past and move forward with the project. But as sparks fly and old feelings return, it has them questioning everything they thought they knew.

I enjoyed so many elements of this book! Gemma and Celeste's dynamic was cute, flirty, and downright steamy at times. You could tell there was still love and care between them, even after all the time apart. I loved Gemma's friends, I need a spin-off book focused solely on them and their adorable cat, Burrito. I loved the interviews with the various couples, that was a fascinating look into how love shows up in many various. The representation throughout the book was great too, and I appreciated the realistic hurdles and dilemmas the characters faced. Overall this is a cute, fun, and easy read perfect for summer.

🎧: I initially thought the audiobook narrator's voices sounded too old for the characters, but they grew on me and I eventually loved their narration. The dual narration worked well to distinguish the two very different characters, and their tones reflected their characters well.

Soooooo cute and fun! We love a good sapphic romcom! Lyla Lee writes characters who are so entrancing. I will definitely be reading more from her ASAP!

Love in Focus was a cute queer, second change romance with college exes get thrown together for a work project 8 years later.

Gemma is a columnist focusing on relationships whose fiancé just broke up with her, and she finds out has quickly moved on. Of course, she is assigned to work on a project about couples in love and the photographer hired for the project is none other than Celeste, her college girlfriend who ghosted her.
I loved the friend group background characters but really wish we got a bit more out of Celeste. Mild spice, very few scenes but well written.
I loved the bi representation and the way that the main characters Asian culture and heritage was woven throughout the story. What I didn't love was the way the ex, James, was largely ignored throughout the story but then made to be a huge sticking point in the last 20%, I'd say be done with him entirely.

I received an audio copy from NetGalley and this book publishes May 27, 2025. The audiobook narrator was well paced and easy to understand. I listened at 2.8x.

Love in Focus is a heartfelt, spicy, sapphic second chance romance that touches on healing and finding yourself while working through the hard times.

I enjoyed the forced work based proximity to not just one but two exes of Gemma’s which forces her to do self-reflection and growth in multiple ways, the found family, the focus on different types of love, and the flirtiness. While I did enjoy the romance I do really love the very human and very relatable aspect of pushing through grief and struggling to find that sense of security in yourself, your personal worth and your boundaries.

I did love the narration on this one and felt like it really suited the characters and story.

Love in Focus was my first book by author Lyla Lee. Thank you to Hachette Audio, Forever & NetGalley for the ALC.

Love in Focus is a second-chance romance between Gemma, a Korean-American bi woman, and her college girlfriend Celeste, a Korean lesbian woman. There is good attention paid to the identities of each woman, as well as a fleshed out cast of side characters. I appreciated that the miscommunication of their first breakup was cleared up rather early on, even if there was still emotional fall-out for both characters to recon with.

I have seen reviews that were thrown off by the POV changing from first person in Gemma's chapters to third person in Celeste's shorter chapters. I have read a couple other books like this, and I think it is an interesting choice that can put the ownership of the story more in the first person character. I also really like both narrators for this project. They have distinct voices from each other and did good voice work when speaking for other characters. The story flowed with no noticeable awkwardness or fumbles in pronunciation or sentence structure.

I enjoyed this book, but overall, it didn't leave a super-lasting impression for me.

Overall, this was a good book, though possibly a little underwhelming. It features the quiet, almost-shy but not quite girl, making herself smaller to fit into a man's world. Which is a very common struggle for closeted queer women and/or bisexual women. Well, let's face it, women in general. So I like that representation and the fact that the character recognised that and worked on herself to move past those issues. It was very mundane at times, the day-to-day drudgery was a lot to endure. I felt like I could have been reading about one of my friends... Which was nice but I always wanted a little more excitement or tension.

The cultural aspects really drew me in. Representing queer women of color was a major wow factor for me because it just doesn't happen much. It was great to see that.

What I hated, though, was the use of the word "Sapphic" in the dialogue between the two leads. It was prolific. even so far as referring to people as "Sapphics". Which fine... it's not inaccurate, but as a queer woman with many queer friend this just isn't a descriptive term that comes up in casual conversations. I might refer to a book, or movie as Sapphic if I were recommending it. But I certainly wouldn't say I was going on a double date with my wife and our sapphic friends. Maybe the authors circle of queer friends does this? But it just felt like he was prodded in there at any opportunity.

It's a great afternoon read if you are looking for something the pass a day or two without the sure to throw your book in a fit of emotion or don't want something that will make you cry. It was emotionally neutral and predictable in a comforting way.

Overall: 3.75 stars.

Firstly, I really appreciated Natalie Naudu’s narration. She captured so much of Gemma’s emotions, and I was hooked right from the start. That said, I ended up feeling a bit confused about the overall direction of the book.

I’ve never read a book that shifts POV styles like this (except outside of fantasy maybe) and even then, the switch usually happens more consistently. Here, the change from Gemma’s first-person POV to Celeste’s third-person POV was jarring every time. I couldn’t quite figure out why, but I never adjusted fast enough before it shifted again. It was like suddenly going over a tiny bump during a smooth ride every time.

The biggest issue for me was that Celeste’s POV didn’t always feel necessary. Actually, I can almost ignore her POV chapters. Since the story was so focused on Gemma and her life events, Celeste’s chapters felt more like a filler. It made me feel conflicted—either make her a fully developed character, or don’t include her POV at all. They were gonna rehash everything to one another, anyway!

On top of that, I’m not sure if it was the source material or the delivery, but Catherine’s narration for Celeste came off very robotic. I thought maybe it was just the contrast between the POV styles, but the narration itself lacked tonal inflection, which made Celeste feel flat and surface-level. Some pauses were also oddly timed, like the sentence had ended, but then it would continue, which gave it a bit of a “corporate narrator reading a romance book” vibe.

Still, there were things I really enjoyed. The little love stories from the interviews Gemma and Celeste conducted were sweet, and I loved the parts with Gemma’s friends and her reflections on her heritage as a bi Korean woman from a traditional Christian family.

The romance itself was light and heartfelt in places. Even though they only properly reconnect romantically about halfway through the book, most of the deeper emotional development happens near the end. It makes sense for the story, and I appreciated the honest conversations once they finally addressed their past. That said, their nostalgic walk down memory lane sometimes felt like it overshadowed the present, which made the current timeline feel a bit lackluster.

It’s an easy read overall with low angst—definitely works as a palate cleanser. Grateful to have had the chance to review the ALC. Huge thanks to Hachette Audio for the copy via NetGalley!