I received this ARC in audiobook format in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

This was my first time reading anything by this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It also appears to be Lyla’s first venture into adult fiction and she’s handled it with a maturity and charm that really shine through.

I’m a big fan of sweet, romantic palate cleansers and this one absolutely delivered. The story thoughtfully explores themes of diversity, including race, age and sexuality in a way that feels both authentic and tender.

If you’re in the mood for a sapphic romance with a happy ending and just the right touch of spice, this is one to add to your list.

While I did receive the audiobook version, I found the narration for ‘Celeste’ a little flat and robotic at times. That said, increasing the speed to 1.25x helped improve the overall experience.

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee was one of my favorite second-chance romances! I loved how the issues that led to their initial breakup were addressed pretty early in their reconnected relationship. Now that they are more mature, they are able to handle the harder conversations with only minor issues.

Gemma and Celeste are a perfect couple that I was rooting for the whole time. The Korean influences on the Sapphic relationship was predominant features in the book. The story was well woven and made it a breath of fresh air! Second-chance can be really hit or miss for me, and I can say this was a hit! If you're looking for your next romance, look no further!

The audiobook was well done and I enjoyed the narrators.

A solid 3.5.

As you can see from the cover, this is a contemporary sapphic romance set in San Francisco. As a lesbian in the Bay Area myself, I was immediately sold. It was fun to hear all the mentions of San Francisco landmarks, but I wished they'd left the city more. That would've felt more realistic as the Bay Area is very interconnected and the city is pretty small.

I listened to it on audio, and the narrators were great!

The writing was fine. The narration was fine. The plot was fine. The characters and their chemistry was all fine. Everything was fine, but it all felt a bit lackluster. I wanted to like this book, and there's not really a lot that's very wrong with it. But the stakes always felt too low for me to feel engaged and the more dramatic plot points didn't pack much of a punch. The last two hours really dragged on and I was so ready for the book to wrap itself up. Maybe some cuts could be made.

But overall, I still really appreciated the book, and I think a lot of people who love sapphic contemporary romance could love this too.

Thank you NetGalley for the ALC!

Just finished Love in Focus by Lyla Lee, and it was such a soft, heartfelt sapphic romance! This was an ARC audiobook from NetGalley, and the voice actors truly brought the characters to life.

Set in San Francisco, this quick listen follows a photographer and a journalist navigating love, identity, and the pressures of being queer and Asian in a world that doesn’t always make space for both. It’s a beautiful second chance love story that explores therapy, staying closeted, and finding your voice through art and storytelling.

It’s tender, affirming, and had just the right amount of emotional depth. Definitely recommend if you're in the mood for a thoughtful, queer contemporary read.

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the ALC.

Did Not Finish.

I got through 69% of this audio (giggity) before I finally lost all interest and quit. Even at that point, I didn't feel any connection to either FMC. I judged Gemma for jumping into a rebound relationship so quick after her break-up with Celeste (don't get me started on how she acted with James) and I judged Celeste for being so uncommunicative when she broke up with Gemma over text then getting mad that Gemma tried to move on and deal however she could. I liked Gemma's narrator a lot though!

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee
What happens when your college ex — the one who ghosted you for 8 years — suddenly becomes your coworker on a career-defining project? Cue the sparks, tension, and a whole lot of unresolved feelings.

Gemma’s fresh off a heartbreak, Celeste has sworn off relationships, and neither is ready for the chemistry that still lingers. This short, sweet sapphic rom-com is full of second chances, cultural nuance, and flirty bathroom meet-cutes. Lyla Lee’s adult debut is a fun, fast read that delivers both heart and heat.

Full review available on blog: https://brewsbooksandbffs.blog/

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee
What happens when your college ex — the one who ghosted you for 8 years — suddenly becomes your coworker on a career-defining project? Cue the sparks, tension, and a whole lot of unresolved feelings.

Gemma’s fresh off a heartbreak, Celeste has sworn off relationships, and neither is ready for the chemistry that still lingers. This short, sweet sapphic rom-com is full of second chances, cultural nuance, and flirty bathroom meet-cutes. Lyla Lee’s adult debut is a fun, fast read that delivers both heart and heat.

Full review available on blog: https://brewsbooksandbffs.blog/

Before I get into my review, I first want to say thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC of “Love in Focus.”

Love in Focus was a sweet, sapphic second chance romance that follows two characters, Gemma and Celeste, after being forced to work with each other. I really loved everything about this book. But my only issue with the book was the switching between first person with Gemma’s POV being the majority of the book and third person with Celeste’s point of view.

During the audiobook, I did enjoy Natalie Nadus’s narration of Gemma more than catherine Ho of Celeste’s. Natalie seemed to bring Gemma’s character to life while Catherine’s seemed flat with Celeste, but overall, the narration is absolutely beautiful!

This one is one I'm going to recommend reading with your eyeballs and not your ears. Gemma's pov is 1st person with a great narrator and I really connected with her. Celeste is in third pov and unfortunately the narrator fell very flat for me. You could tell me it's ai and I would believe you. Honestly to get through it I started skipping Celeste's chapters after the 60% mark. If I had the time I would have eyeball read those parts but I was walking dogs 😉.

This is
second chance, 8 years later
workplace romance
sapphic
close proximity

They both hurt each other 8 years ago in college. Gemma has recently broken up with her fiance of 7 years and is dealing with that grief when she finds out Celeste will be the photographer on her journalism project she is working on.
The journalism project was my favorite part of this book! Getting to hear from some many different couples and what they think about love! So good.

Thank you Forever Pub and Hachette audio for this ALC/arc

*Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC and to Hachette Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review*

I love how Lyla Lee writes queer love stories. The entire focus on defining love and how it evolves with the 'Modern Love in Focus' magazine feature series was genius. I also enjoyed seeing so many queer couples in love, with her roommates and other interviewees. She really approaches portraying cultural differences and lack of queer role models with care. Natalie Naudus's narration was EVERYTHING. She made Gemma come to life, trepidations and all.

I did feel like Celeste's chapters didn't add much to the book, and Catherine Ho's narration fell a bit flat for me. It also felt like there were several false starts at an ending post break-up, though you can't say Lyla Lee didn't make us wait for their happy ending. But overall, a really cute second chance sapphic romance.

A sweet, sapphic second-chance romance that had me smiling and swooning throughout. I absolutely adored this book. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

My literal only issue was there was a line that I'm paraphrasing but was along the lines of "she moved on, and with a man, which is a lesbian's nightmare" and that just really didn't set well with me—it just felt biphobic and out of place, because aside from that there was no biphobia or shaming of sexualities. Because it was handled well everywhere else it didn't know down a full star, but I couldn't quite justify giving it 5 because of that line.

I also really liked the narrators—they were both really great.

I really liked this book! I thought it was well paced, cute, and not so unrealistic that I couldn’t get it into it.
Tropes: Miscommunication, second chances, forced proximity/working together.
Reasons I really enjoyed the book:
1. I liked that the author addressed lack of representation and described the way the characters were providing it.
2. I liked the side characters a lot.
3. I liked that both characters had and that they owned up to their mistakes without diminishing the impact they had.
4. I liked the way the author discussed the relationship between the main characters and their parents. The expectations that people have to provide care and support for their parents during illness but also how that can impact your life even after you’re no longer providing care.
5. I liked the narrators, I thought the delivery was really good.
Reasons Why this book wasn’t a 5 star read
1. I honestly thought Celeste wasn’t a main character, even when they were her chapters. She felt somewhat stunted.

2. The fact that both of them were in therapy and instead of talking to each other, she applied for a job? That was weird. Kind of showed that she didn’t have growth.

In Love in Focus, Gemma’s world is turned upside down when her boyfriend of seven years suddenly breaks up with her. To make things even more complicated, her ex, the world-renowned photographer Celeste Min, reappears in her life just as Gemma is working on a career-changing project with her.
I have to say, I really connected with Gemma. She felt so real, and I loved following her journey. As for Celeste, though, me I could pass on her. I just couldn’t get behind her. Honestly, I’m not sure if the author was going for a "grumpy x sunshine" dynamic with her, but Celeste came off as cold, distant, and almost completely unaware of how her actions affected Gemma. She was “hot”, cool, and frustrating but her emotional unavailability drove me nuts.
Celeste's issues with Gemma were particularly maddening. I couldn’t wrap my head around why she was upset with Gemma for moving on when, 1) Celeste left Gemma without any warning or explanation, and 2) she just assumed Gemma would wait around for her to come back, without a single message or attempt at communication. It was hard to sympathize with her at all.
That being said, the story was still really cute. It was a quick, heartwarming read with a nice message about second chances in love. Even though I struggled with Celeste, Gemma’s character and the overall charm of the story made it worth the read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Forever for the ALC!
Pub Date May 27 2025

DNFed this audiobook at 31%. At first, I found this story engaging and it had moments that made me laugh. However, I quickly became uninterested in the story and decided to not continue with it. Gemma was, in my opinion, a terrible narrator that came across very juvenile at times despite being in her late 20s. It felt like this was trying really hard to be like a popular sapphic romance and it just missed the mark for me. Also, not ever contemporary romance needs a Taylor Swift reference. It's overdone and quite cringeworthy.

3.5⭐️

The Poetic , yearning-packed finish I’ve come to expect (and prefer) on the prose of second chance romances was absent , but I didn’t mind nor expect it from Lyla Lee’s Love in focus.

The media house ,advice columnist Gemma works for pitches “Modern Love In Focus” , a project which aims to explore the love stories of Gen Z , Millennial and GenXers of different ethnicities, sexualities and gender identities. Because romance book , Celeste —Gemma’s ex from college— is the contracted photographer for this spread , forcing them to work together

I would 1000% buy this magazine issue ! It was both heartwarming and a clever way to mirror the interviewed couples to Gemma and Celeste’s relationship, Which neatly tied in the books theme about platonic , familial and romantic love.

Relationship wise , It was refreshing that Celeste and Gemma immediately discussed their breakup —which was far from melodramatic to require a big reveal later on.

And while I generally liked them , I wasn’t invested or sold on their individual and combined journeys , until the 60% mark. Especially because Lee opted to periodically inject a “oh remember when we did this in college “ line to remind the reader that these two women have history when it wasn’t palpable otherwise.

More than halfway in , is where the good stuff lies. That’s where we finally got some genuine romantic moments and emotional depth from the characters especially Celeste —who was grappling with the isolation from her family and country by being a Korean lesbian. And how that trauma manifests in her relationships. It was a realistic inner conflict ,which contributed to their breakup in the third act . It was heartbreaking and functional to the story ! I hate stupid conflicts.

The resolution was so cute ! I loved Gemma’s friends.

One last thing : I like pop culture references in books and think they can enhance the writing, to fully contextualise the time ,place and age of characters, but lee’s use of them was ham-fisted at times .

I liked the audiobook , although Natalie naudus is a stronger narrator than Catherine Ho.
Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC!

After seven years together, Gemma Cho's fiancé breaks up with her without explaining why, and it leaves her wondering whether true love really exists. But when she's paired up to work with photographer Celeste Min, her first love, the woman who helped her realize she was bisexual, and also the woman who ghosted her for eight years, Gemma finds her heart still capable of old feelings.

This was a super cute second chance romance, and I loved that even though the MCs hadn't spoken to each other in eight years, they were able to act and speak maturely with each other during and after clearing the air. Both MCs are Korean, and I thought the open discussion about their culture and the fact that neither of them saw sapphic representation growing up was very interesting.

The only thing I didn't love was the fact that the different POV chapters were also told in different tenses, which felt weird and unnecessary. Gemma's POV chapters were told in present tense first-person while Celeste's POV chapters were told in past tense third-person. Luckily, the majority of the story was told from Gemma's POV.

I listened to this one on audio, narrated by Natalie Naudus for Gemma's POV chapters and Catherine Ho for Celeste's chapters. While I loved Natalie, I really struggled listening to Catherine's portions. She spoke extremely slowly and her speech didn't seem to flow very naturally or convey the emotion appropriate to the story.

Read if you like:
Sapphic romance
Second chance
Korean rep
Forced proximity
Late 20s MCs
Friends with benefits

Love in in focus by Lyla Lee
ARC from Hachette Audio
Release date: May 27th 2025
-omggg I instantly felt connected to Gemma and she sets the scene so well and quick, I feel the crispy air of San Francisco with a red street car passing by
-if you’re in your 20s and going through it I feel like you’d relate with Gemma cause I sure do
-love Gemma’s voice in this audiobook its soothing and feels like I’m on the phone as she rants about life I’m invested immediately
-eeekkk love the drama, forced proximity and second chance vibesss
-can we take a moment for this cover too cause 😍
-I was not a fan of the 3rd person / Celeste’s character voice and a little too robotic and disconnected in my opinion , I would’ve rathered just Celeste’s POV in first person
-the way Gemma describes Celeste 🥹
-the tension between them ouffff 🔥
-beautiful life lessons and advice in here too
-Ouu and some fake dating in here love all the tropes
-this was such a cute read, Gemma and Celeste are adorable 🥰
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Hachette Audio and NetGalley for this ALC, in exchange this is my honest review.

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee and narrated by Natalie Naudus and Cathrine Ho was a beautiful, heartwarming, sapphic, second chance romance. Love in Focus follows Gemma right after her fiancé suddenly breaks up with her after seven years and her college ex, Celeste, suddenly appearing in her life to work as the photographer with her for her recent assignment about love for her magazine.

Naudus eloquently breaths life into Gemma as she goes through the highs and lows of learning what love means to her. Gemma is fun, and all I could do was root for her, cry with her, and learn with her. Ho brings Celeste’s brightness to life as well for the small interjections her side is presented, helping to weave their love story together. Both Gemma and Celeste have sworn off love only for a chance moment bringing them together at the perfect time to learn together, laugh together, reminisce together, cry together, and love together.

Lee’s storytelling pulls the listener in and I couldn’t help but fall in love with everyone from Gemma and Celeste to the cat Burrito. Gemma gets the opportunity to learn about love from other’s love stories and how love surrounds us all in more than one way. Gemma’s and Celeste’s romance is both steamy and hot, and wholesome and sweet. Overall a 5/5 stars listen. Buy or pre-order Love in Focus to be published by May 26, 2025.

after being very let down by my last romance book, i jumped into this hoping it would be way better, and the beginning was better, but as the book went on, it just felt like i was reading the other book but just different names attached. now that i see it's the same publisher, i'm kinda concerned. does this publisher just give you an outline and you ghost write it? or are they strict about sticking to a formula around the romance genre? some lines i know i heard almost word for word in both books, are they maybe using an AI program of some kind? very weird and off-putting.

the characters were together for like 7yrs but it felt like they just had a bad first date and never tried more, way too surface level. didn't seem like they really even knew each other.

the time jump near the end was... weird ish. i didn't like it, you slowed burned us, then they did a 3rd act breakup (when they were supposed to be casual anyways) then jump 2yrs?!? like what happened??

it jumps from 1st to 3rd POV depending on which character it was. didn't bother me but for some it might.

just felt like same old same old and very formulaic.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy!

This second chance at love is a cute and easy read. One of those books you stay up into the wee hours just to finish it. The spice is 🥵 Being given the chance to listen to it early I'm really glad I preordered it!