I loved the audiobook of this!! It's been so long since I have read a good sapphic romance and this was itttt!!

Rating: 3 stars

Love in Focus was a really cute second chance, sapphic romcom, with two Korean leads and an interesting premise. What do you do when you have to work with your college ex who you haven't seen or talked to in eight years? The sparks fly for Gemma and Celeste, who are still drawn to each other even after so much time apart - will they be able to overcome the pain of their past and find love again?

I did really enjoy this story, though I definitely still had my issues with it. It was really heartwarming to see Gemma and Celeste falling in love again after all they'd gone through. I especially ADORED the interviews of the couples at different stages of life, all giving their own insight on what love truly is. I thought it was really special to see how that affected Celeste in real time, making her realize how she did want something more with Gemma, and that she was allowed to want that. My issues story wise came mostly from the second half of the book so I can't say much without spoiling, but primarily I thought the third act conflict was a little contrived and the character growth wasn't all there.

Additionally, I listened to the audiobook version of this story and I must say that took away from the experience at times. Gemma's was significantly more entertaining and easier to listen to than Celeste's - I found Celeste's narration stunted and impersonal at times, and the sentences didn't really flow from one to the other which made it difficult to listen to regardless of listening speed. Though I will say, at least part of this must have been due to the rather interesting choice to have Gemma's POV in first person while Celeste's was in third; this really didn't help with Celeste seeming more impersonal. It seemed as if the story overall was supposed to be written from Gemma's POV, and then a few chapters for Celeste were thrown in. I also didn't like how clearly I could hear Gemma's intakes of breath between sentences - I tried changing the listening speed but it was still very noticeable regardless.

Overall, a cute, easy story to listen to, especially for those looking for sapphic or Korean representation. I would recommend!

Thank you NetGalley, HachetteAudio and the wonderful author Lyla Lee for this audio ARC of Love in Focus!

This was a very cute second chance sapphic romance! Exes Gemma and Celeste end up having to work together on a very important, potentially career saving project. And it's all about modern love. Now being in close proximity together, they're forced to face their past issues... and their present chemistry.

I enjoyed the story a lot! It was a fun and sweet read. I'm a sucker for a second chance romance, I love the angst and the feeling that comes with them and this didn't disappoint.

I found the switching between 1st and 3rd person for Gemma and Celeste a little jarring when listening, it took me out of the story at first because it felt like it didn't flow as well during Celeste's POV. But once I got used to it it was okay. I understand it was probably used to help differentiate perspectives but it wasn't my favourite way of doing it.

The narrator was great, I really enjoyed her performance and would listen to more of her work!

If you're looking for a good second chance sapphic read then definitely add this to your list!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC! Unfortunately, this story was not for me. There's some biphobia in this book, and I will unfortunately have to DNF. I would try another book by this author, pending some sensitive reading/removal of the biphobia for future stories.

That being said, the narrator was wonderful! Her voice kept me intrigued.

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee was an enjoyable listen/read. This audiobook version utilizes the talents of two narrators alternating point of view chapters. I wasn't sure this was needed for this book as each narrator would have been capable to carry the entire story, yet in the end it was nice to hear the different cadence to differentiate that character's voice and head space. This was my first experience with Catherine Ho and she has a clear and concise narration style that lent itself well to the character and story and I would listen to her narrations again. I have listened to (and full disclosure- worked with) Natalie Naudus before and she has not disappointed me once! Always a lyrical delivery that keeps me in the story.

Lyla Lee has given us a fine story. I enjoyed Gemma and Celeste as well as the supporting cast of characters. They were mainly around the same age- save parents and bosses- and therefore their communication was similar across the board and most likely enjoyed by readers around that same age. The main thrust of the novel centers around Gemma's working through a break up, well actually two-- just give me a second, and Celeste working through the armor she put up from a break up eight years earlier from Gemma. That's right, Celeste and Gemma dated, and fell in love so deeply neither really ever recovered, their last year in college. Neither handled the split well and coincedentally neither were prepared to ever see each other again.

When we first meet Gemma she has just been dumped by her fiancé and is going to stay on some friends' couch. This break up was almost as much of a surprise as her break up with Celeste. But she is an adult and throws herself into carrying on, with work and with play. Naturally, she runs into Celeste at a bar just days before they would have been reunited at work. Gemma writes for a magazine and is given a big opportunity to cover a Valentine special that requires video and photographs from whom the magazine has contracted a photographer to pair Gemma with and that photographer is Celeste. Of course we all saw that coming. But in Love in Focus you really want it to happen, secretly crossing your fingers for it to happen even though you know it is the inevitable but these characters are your friend and you want the best for them.

The two women work together for the assignment and eventually talk about their past and their break up and how it has affected both of them. And they even might be starting to lay the groundwork for a future together. And the millisecond ahead Celeste spots an area that needs addressing and the two adults deal with it. And that is the story, not much else happens except life and a very mature epilogue. I applaud the mental health of this book and these characters, yes they have their growing pains but they really commit to working on themselves so that they can work on everything else- mainly their chance at a life together in the love that never went away.

I could have handled more action and more depth, even more depictions of their San Fran/L.A./Seoul/Irvine settings. However, for a slice of life read this one's enjoyable. If you want to lose yourself a bit and cheer on your two new friends in their quest to secure love this is the perfect book to bring to the beach or pool side for all the good feels in the end. That feels like an amazingly satisfying way to bring Love in Focus to life..
~sincerely, sm for BB

This was such a cute book! I really enjoyed following Gemma as she went on her journey of being newly single after her engagement ended, reconnecting with her first love, and her finding herself while also being able to follow Celeste’s journey of growth and happiness as she realizes she deserves happiness even if it’s scary. Even the side characters were enjoyable to read about. The narrator did an amazing job with the voices.

Love in Focus is a sapphic romance about two exes who were roommates and are now working together. Can they keep their relationship casual? *cue Chappell Roan*
Love In Focus was a light-hearted romance that was very sapphic. I loved it and ate all the tropes up. It was insanely cute and so fun. Not only all of that, but there was a surprising amount of emotional depth. They might be messy saphics, but they GROW.
I also loved the job the narrators did. Gemma and Celeste had two different narrators, which highlighted the different writing styles of their POV chapters. If they already have an established relationship, that is not good. Getting both points of view tends to help me bond with both characters and not hold a grudge against one the whole time. Based on what others are saying, Cleleste's POV was not for everyone, but it made me like her more. Something about seeing Gemma through her eyes had me kicking my feet. There were things about Cleleste that rubbed me the wrong way (specifically relating to Gemma's Bisexuality and the end of their relationship), but the addition of her POV helped me like her way more than if it had been left out. They both did a fabulous job of capturing both characters.
I genuinely loved this book! It's full of sapphic love! HOT DAM that SPICE!!! I had to give myself a second after some of those chapters. I just love a messy saphic relationship, so this was for me.

Mostly a cozy romance, not my favorite genre but I still enjoyed it. This story really shines during it's more dramatic scenes - that employee party! 🤭 It took me until about 40% in to get hooked though. Not to hate on the first half, I just absolutely could not focus and was a teeny bit bored.

The main narrator for Gemma was a delight, lots of personality, good pace, and brought the story to life. Celeste's narrator spoke much slower, almost no emotion, and more monotone. Even speeding up Celeste's chapters didn't help because she pauses so long between every couple words.

There's a switch from first to third person between the two characters, which was a unique choice that I quite loved. Bi rep was also done well, and always a delight to see! The male ex side quest was also satisfying. 😆🤐

I would absolutely recommend this to sapphic romance/cozy lovers; it was cute and queer with a touch of spice. Once I got over that first hump I flew through the rest. Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio for an early listen!

4.25⭐️
Love in Focus is a sapphic second chance romance about two college exes who end up working together on a project about modern love. Gemma is a columnist who recently got out of a 7 year long relationship and Celeste is a photographer who moves to the city temporarily to work on the project.

This is a quick, easy read and i really enjoyed it. The relationship between Gemma and Celeste was really cute and I liked following their journey from awkward exes who were forced to work together, to friends, to something more. I also enjoyed the side plots in the book, other than the romance. I really liked Gemma's friendship with her roommates and I loved the interviews Gemma and Celeste did where they were interviewing different couples and asking questions about their relationship and their definition of love. There were so many cute moments in those interviews and amazing quotes that made my heart melt.
I have been thinking lately that I want to read books with more diversity, since I have been reading a lot of the more popular books lately that unfortunately are not very diverse. I therefore loved reading this book where there is both really good LGBTQ+ representation and Asian (Korean) representation.

I read this book as an audiobook which I definitely do not regret. It was really good on audio and I enjoyed my time listening to this. The interview parts were especially good as audio since it gave more depth and made it more interview style than if I would have read it physically. There were two narrators, one for Gemma's chapters and another for Celeste's chapters. I found the narrator for Gemma amazing, her voice was smooth and soft which I found fit the character well and I really enjoyed listening to her. I also found that she gave emotion so I was really invested in the story. I am rather new to audiobooks so I am still getting used to it and am therefore a little picky with narrators but the narrator for Gemma was one of the best I have heard. I unfortunately did not enjoy the narrator for Celeste as much. I felt like those parts were more flat and not as much emotion in it. That is a little more suited to the character since they are really different but I found it harder to focus on Celeste's parts and did not enjoy them as much.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to other people. I will definitely be reading more books by Lyla Lee (she has another book coming out at the end of the year that sounds really good and I am already excited for). Now I just need to wait for this book to be released so I can buy the physical copy because the cover is absolutely stunning and so cute so I want it on my shelves.

Thanks to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the ALC

There was so much to enjoy in this book with one major downfall.

Pros-
A sweet sapphic love story
People who actually go to therapy for their personal issues
Queer Asian rep

Con-
Biphobic language
It’s always a cheating ex boyfriend

This was a cute second chance sapphic romance. College exes, Gemma and Celeste meet again in their late 20s to collaborate on a work project.

This was fun, lighthearted, and overall enjoyable. I flew through this one, and it was a very quick read for me. While told from two povs, Gemma’s chapters really carried this book. I may have even preferred this to have been one singular pov.

I tandem read my advanced copy while listening to the audiobook. Natalie Naudus was fantastic as always. I also enjoyed Catherine Ho’s performance as well. The audiobook definitely elevated my reading experience.

My rating: 3.75⭐️

What to expect:
📸 sapphic romance
🌉 forced proximity
📸 second chances; college exes
🌉 workplace romance
📸 miscommunication
🌉 personal growth

*received an audio book arc from Netgalley*

It was a cute read but it was very generic story. I feel like it should have focused on one POV cause changing to Celeste's Pov threw me off and felt like it didn't add much to the story. It follows the same set up that most modern romance stories take.


Spoilers ***

I personally felt like the main issue keeping them apart made no sense to me. I understood why Gemma was mad but I didn't really understand Celeste point. If you ghost someone for months why would you expect them to wait. If the book focused on Gemma getting over her anger and betrayal that would have made more sense but it seemed like it was about Celeste getting over the breakup that she caused. Also, the biophobic comment at the start really didn't make me like Celeste. Third act break ups can work but most of the time its unnecessary and annoying and unfortunately this one did not work. I feel like by the end they shouldn't have ended up together.

I know I had a lot of negative things to say but all in all it was a cute story it just didn't give me anything different than any other sapphic romance books.

The narrator was fine for the first person POV chapters, but the voice for the third person POV chapters felt robotic.

Also, switching between first and third person really took me out of the story. It was an awkward shift each time and I didn’t ever see the benefit of this style.

For all these characters being in their 30s, they’re all acting really immature. This reads like a YA novel but they are not YA age. Overall, nothing was keeping me engaged with the characters or storyline. Everything was just flat.

Honestly such a cute read! I pretty much pick up anything Natalie Naudus narrates and I am rarely disappointed. Gemma and Celeste are such lovable and realistic characters that you can feel yourself relating to. I loved the couples interviews and especially the older sapphics as I agree with them, I never got to see myself growing old in media growing up. I loved Gemma’s growth and her working on herself for a bit before jumping back into a relationship. As a girlie who struggled with that myself I loved to see it. Honestly, a new fav of mine that will get highly recommended to everyone.

3 stars

This was a fine romance. I think there was a lot to enjoy in it I enjoy a second chance romance and I also really appreciated the bi representation and having both queer characters being Asian as both of those things are fairly hard to find in romance novels. I think the writing was well done and enjoyable as well, (with one exception, I did not understand the switch from first person in Gemma's chapters and third person in Celeste's. I am sure there is a reason for it but as a reader, I did not understand the point and it felt jarring to me.) However, I did have a couple issues personally with the story that brought this down from 4 stars to 3.

Pretty early on, Celeste comes off a bit bi-phobic by saying that Gemma moving on with a man months after their breakup is "a lesbian's worst nightmare." That statement was unnecessary and disrespectful to Gemma. And for Celeste to believe Gemma was in the wrong for moving on after she dumped Gemma via text after a year together and living together, moved out of the country without any explanation, and ghosted Gemma for MONTHS, and Celeste still being upset about it 8 years later is childish. Gemma did NOTHING wrong in that situation. I also don't think being in a new relationship months later is "jumping from relationship to relationship." And later in the book when Gemma decides to leave SF because she found out James cheated (and was fine staying in the city after they broke up) was a weird decision to me. I would've understood if she wanted to leave after the breakup but to decide you love the city but then find out he cheated and now you want to leave? Also, obviously he cheated! He was making out with someone in the office not even 2 weeks later! I also think the 3rd act breakup was silly and too long. I don't agree that everyone needs to be single to grow especially in a second chance romance with 8 years apart. Why are you wasting more time?? And for their year apart again, they only exchange happy birthday texts? I think they could have stayed long distance friends at least during that period otherwise the reconciliation made no sense to me.

Regarding the audiobook, Natalie is a fantastic narrator but she does tend to have a lot of breath noises. Maybe because I had it at 2x speed it was more noticeable to me but something I have always noticed with her. The 2 narrators also spoke at much different cadences/speeds. I would've probably bumped up Catherine even faster if it was a single narrator. I also think the third person for Catherine/Celeste did a disservice to the narrator since Natalie/Gemma was in 1st person. It made Catherine sound less connected to the character/story than Natalie.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC.

I listened to the audiobook for Love in Focus and really enjoyed it. The narrators did a really great job!

Love in Focus is a story about Gemma who just had her 7 year relationship fall apart and her college ex-girlfriend, Celeste, who comes back into her life due to a project they must work together at work. Gemma is responsible to write a series called Love in Focus for work and Celeste has been hired as the photographer.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Gemma and Celeste. From the very beginning, despite the complications, you can tell that these two still have feelings for each other. The problem is that Gemma is hesitant to start a new relationship, because her last relationship just ended it's hard to trust Celeste to not hurt her again since their relationship ended with her disappearing from Gemma's life. Not to mention that Celeste no longer believes in relationships.

I think that the characters were written extremely well and I really loved the whole Love in Focus series they work on. It features diverse couples talking about their relationships and it's super cute. Without a doubt I recommend this book!

Second Chance Romance
Sapphic 💘
Asian Rep
Photographer/Writer

Celeste and Gemma were such relatable and sweet characters that you couldn’t help but fall in love with. I normally don’t like second chance romance books but this one was different, the miscommunication trope wasn’t used has heavily and I really appreciated it. Their connection felt very authentic and I loved the spicy scenes between the two 🌶️🌶️
I’ll definitely be reading more by this author in the future!

Cute story with a bunch of spicy scenes! I really love that there are two Asian-American queer main characters. The second chances story was overall believable, especially with miscommunication being an issue in many relationships, though the reason why they broke up was a little less believable.

This was so cute!! I love a good second chance romance and this was no exception! Sometimes second chance doesn’t work for me because of the conflict that made the couple break up originally but this one was great because it was more of a miscommunicated ghosting and not cheating or anything that was irredeemable 🤷🏻‍♀️ I also think the third act breakup in this story worked really well because it wasn’t derived by miscommunication, it was mainly just timing and I loved that both Celeste & Gemma were able to work on themselves before they fully committed to each other! Just over all very cute with a handful of spicy scenes and an overall entertaining story! I also recommend the audiobook for this one, great narration!

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

this was my first book by lyla lee, and while some dialogue/descriptions were a tad too cringey and corny for my taste, overall i enjoyed this second-chance sapphic romance! (although the second-chance aspect came about due to a LACK of communication, not miscommunication, i still consider it miscommunication, which is my least favorite trope).

the spicy scenes were SPICAYYY!

as for the narrators, while i love natalie naudus and catherine ho, i felt ho was not the right fit for a romance as she doesn’t really change her voice/tone/inflection for other characters like naudus does.