Phew, that was extremely emotional and really touched me.
I come from similarly difficult family circumstances and could relate to a lot of it.
It was also cheeky and funny with lots of very loving characters.
The two MCs could have been shaken up at times, but then they were wonderful again.
The narration was excellent from Gemma's voice.
The second voice wasn't necessary in my opinion and wasn't my favorite.
Gemma's emotions came through really well.
That was a bit lacking in Celeste.
The pacing was generally good, but here too the second voice was a bit too choppy.
Otherwise this audiobook is really great and the story is highly recommended. Thanks so much for this ARC!
I‘ll gladly listen to everything from this Author and narration again.

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee
Release day 5/27! Just in time for Pride!

Thank you to Forever Publishing, Hachette Audio, NetGalley, and Lyla Lee for entrusting me with an early copy!

Dual POV, sapphic romance, forced proximity, second chance romance, the BEST female friendships, therapy rep

Gemma is trying to recover from a big breakup, but at least she has her friends and her job that she really enjoys as a relationship advice columnist. However, the pressure is on because the new project she has been assigned to could determine if the magazine continues on as it is without major revamp (that may mean her department getting cut). What she absolutely did not expect is for her ex from college being the photographer on the project! Celeste was heartbroken when Gemma moved on from her so quickly when she moved back home suddenly for an ill family member. The experience taught her to swear off relationships for good. But now that they are working together can they work through what happened to give this project their all? And what if they still have feelings for each other?

I listened to this via audio and really enjoyed the narrators! Natalie Naudus and Catherine Ho did a great job enhancing the emotion of the story and I stayed very engaged because of them!

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the representation of both Korean and LGTBQ individuals and the discussion around representation in media that happened too.
I don't usually seek out second chance romances but this one was so sweet, and I appreciated how they were able to come back together and talk things through with more life experience to recognize they both played parts in their heartbreak. And how being happy as a single person was a theme and how therapy played a role!

3.75

Love in Focus was such an enjoyable read! I loved the friendships, the romance, and the California setting that gave the whole story a warm, summery vibe. Gemma and Celeste's relationship felt honest and real, with cute banter and mature communication.
Lyla Lee did a great job showing not just the now of their second-chance romance, but the then those small, tender moments that made them fall for each other the first time. It gave their reunion so much more weight and sweetness. The writing really captured the vulnerability of love and being human ,so relatable.
That said, the audiobook experience was mixed for me.

The narrator for Gemma was spot-on, but Celeste's voice came across as robotic, which made it harder to connect with her chapters.

Overall, if you're looking for a heartfelt sapphic romance with strong characters and a second chance that feels earned, l'd definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and @hachetteaudio for the audio ARC.

Love in Focus
By Lyla Lee
Narrated by Natalie Naudus and Catherine Ho

Publishes May 27,2025

A second chance romance always grabs me in quick. Colleges exes end up back working together on a project in their late 20s and things begin to rekindle between them. Gemma who writes a relationship column breaks up with her fiancé. She’s assigned a new project about couples in love and learns her ex is the photographer.
I really enjoyed this and look forward to more of Lyla’s work! I also really liked the narrators they truly brought Gemma and Celeste alive.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC audiobook. All opinions are my own.

3⭐️

Maybe it’s because this was my third second-chance romance of the week, but this one just didn’t stand out.

I didn’t find the main couple particularly exciting—their dynamic felt a little flat, and I struggled to stay fully invested in their story. They weren’t awful by any means, just kind of… there.

That said, I do appreciate that they at least acknowledged their issues. They didn’t pretend things hadn’t gone wrong between them, and that gave the story a layer of emotional honesty that I liked, even if it wasn’t enough to fully win me over.

Overall, it was okay, but nothing that left a lasting impression.

this was so so cute but nothing new or wowing. i loved the queer asian rep which isn’t something i read a lot. i don’t really like second chance romances but it was so well done here i didn’t mind it at all.

i didn’t fully connect with the main characters which made it a little hard to get emotionally invested, but the romance was soooo good and the smut a easy 10/10

the narration was nice but didn’t really fit with the characters in my head, still it adds a nice layer of immersion to the story.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC — opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved every second of this.
Gemma is such a messy, fun character to read about. I adored her story so much.
It was nice to get a few chapters from Celete's point of view as well but considering there were so few of them compared to how many from Gemma's point of view, I kind of felt like 'why was her POV there??'

The narrators were amazing, and I loved the life they brought to this story.

Overall, it was cute and sweet, but I can't say that I really bought the relationship between Gemma and Celeste. It also felt kind of rushed... I don't usually say this, but this book could have used another 100-200 pages to develop their relationship.

I really didn't like how Celeste's parts were narrated in 3rd and Gemma's in 1st. It felt... weird. Kind of like Celeste was one of those people who refer to themselves in 3rd person in a cringey way.

The bi representation made my heart happy! As a bi woman myself, I've witnessed so much biphobia, especially (and unfortunately) from the lesbian community. To see Gemma, a bi woman, so openly accepted and loved by the lesbians in her life, gave me hope. Unfortunately biphobia has scared me away from pursuing women romantically, which really sucks because my bisexuality is part of who I am. This book is another example of why representation is so important.

Would I recommend this? Yeah. It's an easy read with little angst, so a good pallet cleanser.

Thank you Hachette for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

My first book by Lyla Lee and I really enjoyed it! This was my very first ALC, and as a pretty heavy audiobook reader it felt lovely to be able to read this book as an audiobook.

There are many things about the book that I enjoyed, namely, the representation and diversity of the book, what it brings to the romance genre, and the fact that the main characters themselves were working to increase diversity and representation in the media through journalism. I loved the representation of elder/older couples , especially those who were queer. I really enjoyed this second chance romance (despite it being usually one of my least liked tropes). I especially liked that the miscommunication that occurred early on in their relationship regarding Celeste moving to Seoul was addressed pretty quickly and didn’t drag on.

With regards to the production and narration - I think that it was recorded very well, and I felt very connected to Gemma’s character. However, Celeste‘s point of view is written in third person present tense, and often felt very clunky and made it difficult for me to connect with her character. I also think that it is difficult to write a book or romance where both the main characters share the same pronouns, because they often can’t just say she/her, and often have to say the characters name very frequently so that we know who they are referencing. I think this is partly what made it feel clunky, is that I felt like I knew who we were talking about, but I still heard Celeste’s name over and over and over every single sentence. The narration itself was very beautiful with very clear diction and no bad background noise.

There is one instance of a comment about it being a lesbian’s worst nightmare for their ex to move on and start dating a guy, which in retrospect is a biphobic comment despite Gemma being an out bisexual character. I feel like this particular comment did not add anything to the story, and it is the only specific instance in the book that I feel like did not contribute in anyway to the issues that they were dealing with. Wish it had been left out.

Thank you NetGalley, Lyla Lee, and Hachette audio for an advanced listener copy of this book. All views are my own.

I really enjoyed this! Such a heartwarming and fun second-chance sapphic romance.

The plot: Relationship advice columnist Gemma Cho is left reeling when her seven year relationship ends abruptly. Gemma’s stress is compounded: not only has the breakup left her heartbroken and in need of a spare couch to crash on, but she’s under enormous pressure at work. She’s the lead on an experimental new piece chronicling modern love with photographer Celeste Min, her college ex who broke her heart and fled the country without explanation. Gemma and Celeste both struggle to keep their relationship platonic amid the haunting past memories and distracting present-day sparks. Gemma needs this project to succeed.. but she’s wondering if she needs Celeste almost as much

My opinion: Such a good read. I enjoyed the various threads that Lyla Lee made feel “real” - second-chance, “what went wrong” breakup, career struggles, and good bi representation. The extended cast of Gemma’s friends/roommates added some excellent humor to complement the main plot. I found the meta-level question of “what is love” to be well addressed via the article interviews and POVs, and found myself rooting for Celeste and Gemma to just figure it out! I recommend to fans of second chance and sapphic romances!

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ARC!

This audiobook was such an easy immersive read. I loved watching Gemma grow throughout a breakup, reconnection, and finding herself. I personally don’t know much about Korean culture so it was nice to learn some new things through this cute romance. I loved that the “third act breakup” wasn’t miscommunication, it was to allow Gemma to learn more about herself and being single. It showed true maturity in knowing you want someone, and if it is the right person it will happen. The idea of Love in Focus was so cute and I loved it.

The only thing I didn’t particularly like in this book is the voice of Celeste made her seem like in her 40’s not 30. I liked her but it was hard to picture a badass photographer with tattoos, when the voice made me think of a mother who had kids already.

They had me at "Delilah Green meets The Bold Type!"

This is a cute, fairly light, second-chance romance.
I really liked both main characters, and while I felt like Celeste's excuse for ghosting Gemma in the past was very flimsy, it did make sense in the greater context of the story as a reason so many things were left unsaid and why their attraction was so strong as soon as they saw each other again.

I appreciated the mental and emotional journeys of self-discovery both characters undertook throughout the story.

While this one did not blow me away, I thought the audio was really well done, with both narrators doing an excellent job of pulling me into the story. This is a great romcom to listen to while you're multi-tasking.

Thank you to @netgalley, Hachette Audio, Forever, and Lyla Lee for my advance audio copy.

Thank you to @hachetteaudio for providing me an early copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

First of all, what’s not to love about that cover?? I Just think it’s so pretty! 😍

As for the inside of the book: I enjoyed it!

Gemma’s fiancé just broke up with her after a 7 year relationship, and she’s also just happened to be put on a project with her ex-girlfriend (who ghosted her back when they were in college). But with so many hurt feelings all around, they really shouldn’t try to rekindle anything…right?

A cute second-chance romance where they’re teamed up on a project to interview couples. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the long term romantic relationships with Celeste’s detest of love after some *personal* stuff. The book also delves into Celeste’s difficulty with being a queer woman in Korean society, and how that’s definitely had an impact on her.

I really enjoyed the ending, and the lead-up and circumstances that led to it (including therapy 🙌).

Overall a quick and cute little read (with plenty of spice! 🔥)!

Audiobook notes: Natalie Naudus was as fantastic as ever, and I also really enjoyed Catherine Ho’s narration as well! 👍

What this book is giving:
✅ Sapphic Romcom
✅ Dual POV
✅ Second Chance
✅ Workplace
✅ Korean/Korean-American Culture
✅ Project about Love

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

The book was a fun read! The characters had great and believable chemistry from the start. I hadn't read any second chance romances, I think. so this was probably the first time reading about exes falling back in love. The interesting thing about second chance romances, is that you can already tell that they care about each other from the start. They have a different friendship bond due to their history. That's different from when you read about people meeting each other for the first time.
It makes me happy to see this book getting published. Especially to see more Asian queer rep. Representation matters!
I read an audiobook of this book and I m really liked the narrator for Gemma. Which is good, considering most chapters were from Gemma's pov.

I have to say that I wasn't whether to give the book 3 or 4 stars at first. But, I did really enjoy myself a lot, reading this. So, I ended up going with 4 stars.
What I didn't like about the book were Celeste's chapters. The change of narrative perspective threw me off every time. I'm curious why the author chose to change between first and third person. But for me, it didn't really work. To me, it created more of a distance between the reader and Celeste
Lastly, the Celeste voice actor was in my opinion not as good as Gemma's. Maybe it was because of the third person perspective, but Celeste sounded more expressive. While Gemma sounded monotonous at times.

I gave the book 4 stars, because overall I liked the book a lot! It's such a cute read, while also being angsty. I think I'm really into Sapphic adult romance!
So, although I had some criticism, I would totally recommend it.

I think I'm in a romance slump.

I just don't have much patience for a miscommunication trope. I also think the ways Celeste and Gemma interacted didn't really feel like an authentic second chance romance (and in the end, third chance). They did have chemistry, but I didn't feel much emotional intimacy despite their shared past.

I didn't feel as though Celeste's POV chapters added much to the story, and I enjoyed her narrator less than Gemma's. I also found some of the prose a little cringy, but writing about bodies and intimacy can be difficult.

I did find elements of it sweet--especially its commitment to representation, found family, and personal growth.

I listened to this at 1.25x and it didn't affect my listening experience. This book isn't bad, but it didn't grab me. Maybe it'll grab you.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Forever/Hachette Audio for the opportunity to read!
Overall rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4)
Basics: Contemporary second-chance romance with dual POVs, one in 1st person (about 70% of chapters) and one in 3rd person (about 30% of chapters); open-door, 4/5 spice
Representation: Both leads are Korean-American women. One identifies as lesbian, the other as bisexual.
Characters: (3/5) Overall, I liked both of the lead characters.I did find myself liking Celeste much more than Gemma, and wished we had more chapters in her POV. Celeste was more engaging, self-aware, and active, while Gemma felt a little more passive in her role much of the time. I was taken out of the story by Gemma at times. I am personally not a fan of miscommunication as a romance trope, so I found myself frustrated when, from the beginning, her biggest continual complaint was that Celeste never reached out to her after their original split, despite Gemma having blocked Celeste from being able to contact her. Without spoilers: I did appreciate the third act and the effort the women went to working on themselves before reaching a point where they could be in a healthy relationship.
Romance/chemistry: (3/5) Once these two came together, it was clear they cared for each other, worked well together both professionally and as a couple, and had good chemistry. I found myself more compelled by their friendship, though, than their romance.
Plot: (3.5/5) The two women are thrown together by a work project they must navigate together. This felt fairly background level and didn’t strongly impact the romance other than setting up their meet. However, adding half a star for the couples interviewed later in the book and the beautiful illustration of how powerful representation can be.
Narration/audio quality: (4.5/5) Both narrators were excellent. No issues with audio quality or pacing. Character voices were distinct and easy to follow. Something about the narration for Gemma’s character didn’t quite grab me as much, but I’m primarily putting this down to my feelings about her as a character, not Natalie Naudus’ narration of her.

📷 | 🅣🅗🅞🅤🅖🅗🅣🅢: An enjoyable read. Smooth and easy. Sparks fly. Growth intertwined. Swoony. This was a sweet and soft love story full of cute moments.✨

🌉| Sapphic Romcom
🌉| Second Chance
🌉| Forced Proximity

This was a cute story. I liked the discussions of singleness and the expectations we could put on our romantic/life partners.

4.5⭐ (audio) I listen to tons of audiobooks, and as long as the narrators don't pull me out of the story, I'm fine. These two narrators did a fabulous job, though, bringing something extra to the story and bringing it to life!

3.5⭐ (story) When her boyfriend of seven years suddenly breaks up with her, relationship advice columnist Gemma Cho is convinced that real love doesn’t exist. As a bisexual woman who’s had zero luck with both men and women, she’s ready to give up on her own romantic prospects. That is, until she's paired up with world-renowned photographer Celeste Min on a potentially career-saving piece on modern love.

Celeste is extremely talented and sexy, and would be the perfect collaborator and rebound for Gemma—if it weren’t for the fact that she’s Gemma’s ex, the one that broke her heart in college and moved to a whole other country before Gemma could even make sense of what went wrong between them. Heightened by the unmistakable sparks that still fly between them, Gemma and Celeste struggle to keep their relationship strictly professional. For the sake of her career, Gemma needs this piece to do well. And for the sake of what’s left of her beaten up hopeless romantic heart, she wants to fall head over heels for Celeste again.

I really enjoyed many aspects of this story, especially the focus on how so many different groups don't get the representation they deserve. I kind of felt the second chance aspect felt "off" a little for me, as their earlier breakup felt unresolved. Their coming back together was great though, so I can forgive that. 🙂 Overall, enjoyable read! 3.5⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced audio copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This was a wonderful sapphic romance about second chances. The characters were likeable and well realised and the romance was engaging as I found myself rooting for the couple right from the start. I will definitely be checking out more from Lyla Lee