Many thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and the author for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so pleasantly surprised that I managed to finish this book in a single go in a single day, which is a record for me with this genre.

I'm going to just owe it to the fact that it is a queer romance and there was an actual good plot with emotional turmoil, with cultural references, and with actual history behind the characters leading up to their second chance. There were also pop culture references, and there were moments that actually made me tear up - the sort that also made me realise that I only usually tear up for queer romances and never for straight romances, which should be a sign if there ever was one haha!

Side note - the ex was a bitch - eww.

There was good enough reasoning behind why the first time didn't work out - sort of. Even though it was miscommunication, it was plausible miscommunication. Gemma's friends and their cat were so cute - I absolutely adored the little side story going on there. All together they gave a full slice of the life of a queer woman's experience.

The Bi - lesbian story with the full arc and actual character growth just across these 300-something pages without any stereotyping was so good to read and added to the experience. Not to mention the fact that the characters are of Korean ethnicity was not just there for the sake of it - there was actual impact shown with the twitch of reality and a bit of fictionalism. I also enjoyed how the characters were passionate about their careers and how it was positively included within the story without taking much away from the story in itself.

The narrators were absolutely brilliant in bringing to life these two characters and setting the tone for the entire story and the pace. The smut was perfect - not too much, not too little, and not cringe at all. I think this is one of those books where I would appreciate it much more when I reread it, and this is definitely going into a possible reread list.

I read this audiobook twice, a couple months apart. I liked and appreciated it even more the second time around. This is the second chance romance, and these two sure did have their work cut out for them. I loved their dynamic and was rooting for them all along.

Many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the chance to listen to this book early and then again after the release date

Gemma Cho, a romance advice columnist, is dumped by her boyfriend of seven years. She is tasked with collaborating on a Valentines day feature "Modern love in Focus" for a magazine.
Assigned Photographer, her college ex, Celeste Min, who ghosted her years ago by moving back to South Korea without explanation. The two haven't seen each other in nearly a decade.
As they interview modern couples and work together, old sparks reignite. Gemma and Celeste confront their pasts, cultural expectations and their evolving identities.

It's such a sweet romance!! The characters are very well fleshed out and the narrators did a perfect job at portraying their personalities.

It also deals with some serious topics, making the romance more realistic, I quite liked that since it made the characters more relatable and flawed

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Love in Focus was my first book by Lyla Lee, but it won't be my last. This second chance romance was really brought to life by the narrators. Natalie Naudus and Catherine Ho were great for our two main characters. I feel like they really fit this story and their characters. I need to listen to more audiobooks narrated by them.

This sapphic second chance romance and that is something I love. When I read one I want to be emotionally invested. All of the elements were there, but I just didn't feel it? I didn't end up as emotionally invested in Gemma and Celeste as I had hoped. I actually was more invested in their individual stories more. I will say that this author kept me entertained during the whole story. I do feel like the pacing for this romance and the hint of spice felt perfect for these two characters.

I do hope Lyla Lee will give us more contemporary romances. I'd definitely pick them up!

thank you to netgalley & hachette audio for providing me an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review <3
HAPPY PRIDE MY FELLOW GAYS WHOOHOO (yes this is being written after pride SHUT UP).
i majorly loved this. i love love loved this. this was SO fun. holy shart.
can i first just say… whooooo boy was this a lot smuttier than i was expecting. actually lowkey i wasn’t expecting smut at all. but what i got….. Woah. that shit is still on my mind a month later. props to lyla lee because goddamn the only other book to do that to me was the god forsaken knotting in bride (kill me kill me kill me kill me). anyways yes this was absolutely peak sapphic smut. if anything alone read this for the lesbian sex. HELL YEAH LETS GO LESBIANS.
ok so what else in this book ate? gemma was a great protag. i really liked her personality, and it was easy to empathise with and relate to her. her dialogue always felt natural, and her decisions didn’t feel contrived or forced for the plot. i really liked as well the fact that throughout the story, you had the photography plot guiding the romance. it added some nice tension, as well as a timeline for the speed of their relationship, and kept the book grounded. the chemistry between gemma and celeste was….. 😼 ok but seriously like. the minute they first met (in the present day), i immediately felt like they had suchhh good chemistry. dare i say the best chemistry i’ve seen in a romance book from the first encounter (ok first encounter covered in the book that is). the sexual tension between these two was fucking craaaazy and had me hooked immediately, and boy did this book not disappoint (insert 2010-esque cringe biting lip emoji). i also really enjoyed the discussions surrounding being bisexual and the pressures that comes with, difficulties surrounding just being queer in general, and the intersectionality between being queer and asian. obviously i can only relate to the lesbian part but i found the conversations very meaningful, and delivered with a tact a lot of books flop on. extra shout out to featuring an older poc sapphic couple with a nonbinary partner… holy air ball!!!!!
now i hate to add a “but”…… but i did find some parts of this story that i didn’t really enjoy. for one, i couldn’t connect with celeste at all. she always felt cold to me, and i can’t really put into words *why* i couldn’t gel with her, but idk something about her felt… off-putting to me? idk i really couldn’t warm up to her, even in scenes where she is honest and raw about her emotions. i also really really hated the discussion around why gemma & celeste originally broke up, and although it wasn’t a big thing after a while, it bugged me the rest of the book. the whole miscommunication trope was resolved as “ok we’re actually slightly at fault for our break up, oopsies”, but like…. no? gemma very much did nothing wrong in my mind, so it felt weird every time it would be brought up by celeste and be painted as something gemma did wrong…. like ok yeah she moved on a bit fast… but then that’s not an issue with her not communicating with you celeste!!! idk that really annoyed me. i blame my autism giving me an insane sense of justice. the thing of celeste saying she “doesn’t do relationships” when with gemma also annoyed me because it was paradoxical.. you won’t have a relationship with gemma because of gemma. ok. sure i get past trauma’s will still hurt but the reasoning felt stupid! and the epilogue….. i fucking hate the third-act break-up trope with all my being, and the epilogue felt like it was rushing to get to a point where it became a non-issue, and then yay everyone’s happy and oh ok the book is done. like why did we just speed-run all of that. genuinely one of the most rushed chapters of a book i’ve ever experienced.
anyways, i did really love this book, minus all the flops gemma and celeste’s relationship had. a lot of that enjoyment may have come from the sexual tension but hey it was pride month. let a nonbinary freak be freaky about fictional lesbians. i loved reading this and seriously had a good time. i will say tho, i think i would’ve maybe had a better time reading this versus audiobooking it, simply because the voice given to any character other than gemma broke me out of my immersion. imo multiple narrators would’ve worked better, but hey that’s just my opinion idk shit about audiobooks.

I enjoyed this read because of the drama, the romance, and for showing the raw duality of growing up in different environments while being part of the lgbtq+ community.
The audiobook is very good, the narrators fit the personalities of the characters like a glove and motivate a lot in moments of tension and/or emotion.
I liked the side characters and the project that Gemma and Celeste work on together.
However, I still can't get the writing style out of my mind; It didn't convince me (possibly because I didn't understand it) that the chapters narrated by Celeste were in the third person, unlike Gemma's, which were in the first person. It just doesn't convince me that much, that's all.
I am open to continuing reading Lyla Lee...

I absolutely adored this sapphic, second-chance romance between Gemma and Celeste! They dated for over a year in college, when one day, Celeste up and ghosted Gemma with no explanation. Of course, 7 years later, they end up working on a project together - Gemma writes a relationship advice column, and Celeste is a renowned photographer, hired for a shoot called “Modern Love in Focus,” where they will be interviewing couples about their relationships and what love means to them. Though they try to put the past aside, as the project is important for both of them, emotions and attraction make it difficult for them to remain professional. I really appreciated the vulnerability and honesty these 2 eventually showed each other, and the exploration of their Korean background/families and how that affected their ability to show up in their relationships. I enjoyed the narrators, but the narrator for Gemma resonated with the character more for me; I’m not sure if this is because Celeste just had less chapters/storytelling in this novel, it felt uneven and the narrator for Celeste felt flat at times (pretty much my only critique for this book), I really enjoyed the story and audiobook overall. This was my first book by Lyla Lee and won’t be my last!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ALC!

I genuinely enjoyed this book. The narration was really engaging, got me hooked right from the start. What I especially liked was how real and relatable the characters felt. The story had this nice mix of light, sweet moments and deeper emotional beats, which kept me interested all the way through. It’s so refreshing to see genuine, well-developed LGBTQ+ characters that aren’t just there for shock value or stereotypes. It felt authentic and respectful, which made the story even more meaningful. It’s a sweet, heartfelt romance that’s easy to get into, and the overall vibe left me feeling good. Definitely a great listen if you’re into contemporary love stories with good diversity!

I loved it. It felt like watching a 2000s rom-com. It nice to be able to read sapphic books with sweet romance-com vibes.

This was a really quick, cute listen! This was an exes to lovers type storyline. I enjoyed getting to know the background of each of the main characters, Gemma & Celeste. I do feel like Gemma's friends were a tad on the intrusive side at times. I thought the ending was going in a different direction but I was pleasantly surprised. Don't want to spoil anything. I would definitely recommend this on audio as the narrator(s) did a fantastic job. 4 STARS!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lyla Lee, & Hatchette Audio for this ARC!

In Love In Focus, the reader follows Gemma Cho, bisexual relationship advice columnist, after her 7-year relationship dissolves. Gemma then gets paired with world-renowned photographer Celeste Min on a potentially life-changing piece on modern love. Oh, and Celeste just so happens to be Gemma's college sweetheart and bi-awakening who ghosted on Gemma near the end of their college career. Now reunited and with definite sparks flying between them, Gemma and Celeste must work together professionally while reconciling their past.

Love In Focus has bisexual, lesbian, and Asian-American representation. It's a cute, sapphic, second-chance romance that was an easy read. I was fortunate enough to get the ALC and enjoy the audiobook version of this new release. The narrators did a great job and provided depth to the characters during my reading experience. I was excited to listen to the ALC because of the Afterlight Special Edition which I knew was coming in my subscription!

This was my first time reading anything from Lyla Lee and I would definitely pick up another of her books. It was not a high-drama or gut-wrenching read, but there was definitely tension and an appropriate amount of slow burn in this one.

Thank you to the author Lyla Lee, publisher Hachette Audio, and Netgalley for this ALC in exchange for an honest review! Love in Focus is OUT NOW and I do recommend checking it out!

this book was such a breath of fresh air and it honestly felt like the perfect sapphic book i’ve been dreaming of all my life. i am obsessed with lyla lee‘s writing and her ability to make me feel so seen. this book has all my favourite tropes but what really got me was the beautiful characterization and the romance including their chemistry. i felt myself devouring this book, flipping every page as though i could not wait to continue it and when i finished reading it felt like the end of something very special. i was already mourning not being around the characters anymore and immediately wanted to start reading it all over again. i’ve both read an e book arc, listened to the audiobook AND bought a physical copy. thank you so much. this book changed my life and i will cherish it forever and almost definetly reread it!

i will always love the gays but this just did not hit the spot for me. there is also a odd kind of fade to black where you get about half of the sex scene but not the rest. also gemma was in 1st person but celeste was in 3rd?

thank you to netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

I want to start off by thanking the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this audiobook ARC!

I read and listened to this book at the same time which I thought was great!

I loved this book from the very start till the very end. It was fun, sexy and cute but also touched some heavier topics which I thought was amazing.

I will definitely be recommending this book to my audience!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a lovely book, I really liked it! I thought the characters grew a lot by the end of the story which I really appreciated. It's a story about forgiveness both for others and yourself and leaning into the love you deserve.

It also got surprisingly spicy at some parts which I always appreciate!

I loved how both our FMCs are badass queer Korean women. Conversations about family, queerness, home etc where really incredible to read.

I recommend this book! It's cute, it's spicy, and it has good heart!

let me start off by saying i ADORED this book. it’s lgbtq+ rep, second chance romance, Korean main characters, and all around a very good story that’s sole focus is love in all forms.

we follow our fmc’s Celeste and Gemma who are exes and end up getting paired together to work on a cover spread for the magazine Gemma works for, and it’s called Modern Love in Focus where they interview couples. however, this happens right after Gemma’s engagement with her long time partner of 7 years, James, gets called off.

you go through so much with these two characters, seeing them reconnect, seeing them discover who they are in and out of a relationship, how homophonic surroundings can impact an lgbtq+ persons perspective on love. i recommend knowing that there is homophobia, however i don’t believe there is anything else triggering about this book.

the love story that was rediscovered and rekindled in this makes me feel so nice inside and seeing these characters both start going to therapy warms my heart because genuinely, i believe everyone should be in therapy at one point in their lives.

A fun and flirty second-chance sapphic romance with some cute moments and a satisfying ending. This didn't hit any great heights for me, but it was comforting to listen to. The thing I found odd was the fact that Gemma's POV is written in first person, but Celeste's is in third, which made it feel like we got to know Gemma well but hardly knew Celeste at all. There was a certain distance created (intentionally or unintentionally) which was amplified by the fact that we didn't get many chapters from her POV. The other thing that took me out of the story was the "learning moments" which it felt like the author had dropped into the story to remind us that certain prejudices need to be challenged. I don't have any issue with these types of moments when they're woven seamlessly and and authentically into the story, but they felt shoe-horned in here.

Review: Love in Focus - A Sweet & Spicy Sapphic Second Chance Romance!

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Overall Vibes: Adorable, bingeable, great rep, low angst, dual POV (mostly), audiobook friendly!

The Gist: College sweethearts Gemma (a heartbroken relationship columnist) and Celeste (a commitment-phobic photographer) are thrust together for a work project 8 years after Celeste ghosted Gemma. Forced proximity ignites old sparks in this sapphic second-chance romance featuring Korean characters, fantastic bisexual rep, and a thoughtful exploration of the lack of visible queer Asian elders.

What I Loved:

Cute & Captivating: This book was adorable! Gemma and Celeste are incredibly sweet and relatable, both separately and together. Their chemistry is undeniable, and watching them realize they're still meant for each other was pure joy.

Fantastic Rep: Great bisexual representation and a meaningful discussion about the quietness surrounding queerness in some Asian communities, leading to a lack of older role models.

Spice Level: It delivers on the heat! A nice, spicy kick.

Bingeable Audio: Perfect for long drives! The narrator for Gemma's POV was excellent and kept me hooked. I devoured this audiobook (thanks NetGalley!).

Supporting Cast: Enjoyed their friends and the fun situations they got into.

Author Growth: Having loved the author's YA debut, I was thrilled her adult romance debut hit the mark! It didn't disappoint.

What Held It Back (Slightly):

Character Balance: Gemma feels much more fleshed out. While we get some Celeste POV chapters, they felt less developed and sometimes choppy compared to Gemma's smooth first-person narration. I craved more depth for Celeste, especially to match her "cool gay girl with tattoos" vibe (which her audiobook narrator didn't quite capture for me).

Missed Angst Opportunities: The central conflict – Celeste ghosting Gemma for 8 years – was resolved surprisingly easily with minimal angst. Gemma forgave it very quickly, missing a chance for deeper emotional exploration. Similarly, the genuinely awful ex-fiancé, James, felt underutilized as a source of conflict and drama. These elements seemed present but held back, adding layers that weren't fully explored.

POV Switching: The shift between Gemma's 1st person and Celeste's 3rd person POV was jarring. It contributed to Celeste's chapters feeling less fluid and harder to connect with.

Final Thoughts:

Despite the points above, I genuinely loved listening to Love in Focus! It’s a super cute, heartwarming, and spicy second-chance romance with important representation. Gemma and Celeste’s journey back to each other is captivating and sweet. The low angst makes it a comfortable, feel-good read (or listen!). While I wished for more depth in Celeste's character, more drama around the past ghosting, more utilization of the antagonist, and a smoother POV structure, the overall charm and romance shone brightly. It’s an easy 4-star read for me, and I definitely recommend it to fans of sapphic rom-coms! Just be prepared for forgiveness to come easily and some conflicts to stay simmering under the surface.

Perfect if you like: Second chance romances, forced proximity, bisexual rep, Korean main characters, workplace romances, low-to-medium angst, audiobooks for road trips!

The yearning was there. The 2nd chance romance was there. The tension was there but it all fell flat for me. I was not a fan of Celeste at all as a character. The blame shifting was off the charts when she was solely in the wrong for how things went and ended with Gemma. And she threw Gemma moving on from her after she ghosted her for months in her face during their love confession and Gemma just took it. I don’t know who they were 8 years ago but it’s safe to assume they haven’t grown in that time. The lack of communication from Celeste was a big turn off in the story for me. I honestly would’ve enjoyed not seeing them end up together as Gemma didn’t deserve the treatment she got from Celeste. The POVs being in 1st person for one and 3rd for the other was off putting. I did like the narrator!