Second chance romance gets me every time. I fell in love with Gemma & Celeste. The "it was always you" and first love vibes were everything! I listened to this book in a sitting. The narrators were fantastic and this is definitely a book I will relisten to. Thank you so much to the author and publisher for the ALC. I really appreciate it!

I DEVOURED this in less than 24 hours. The Audio was so good. This was such a fun second chance. I really loved the dynamic between the two characters!

Thank you for this ALC! I love a good sapphic romance. The two MFCs were both likeable and relatable.
The only thing that bugged me was the different POVs - one being in 1st person and the other being in 3rd. It didn't necessarily take away from story, but kept catching me off guard.

I made it about 15% into this book and realized it would not be getting any better for me. I don't love it. The characters are dull and uninspiring, and I can't stand the 3rd person sections. Their interactions are corny and super cringeworthy. I'm sure there is an audience out there for this book but that audience is not me!

Historically, I have had negative things to say about second chance romance. I may have not always liked it, but books like Love in Focus, as well as Julian Winters’ I Think They Love You, make me believe in love… again… again.

This was a sweet sapphic romance between college roommates (yes… queue the roommate jokes) that meet up again later in life with a chance connection through a column on modern love. Gemma was just broken up with by her boyfriend (fiancé, actually) of seven years with no explanation whatsoever. She’s living on a couple friend’s couch while she figures out her next step. And then in walks Celeste, a famous photographer now, who was hired freelance to help create this article that could potentially do really well. If only they didn’t have a lot of baggage themselves.

What I love about second chance romance is that you don’t need to explain in writing how the characters have such great sexual chemistry so early on. Obviously, they are going to have tension, because there is a preexisting relationship. So you could immediately have them F*CK and it could make sense. It wouldn’t necessarily be too soon, because there is a lot that happened prior to what we know.

I am a huge fan of Natalie Naudus as an audio actor. She is the voice of so many books that I love. Catherine Ho is relatively new to me. I loved her voice and thought she did so well. Together, I feel like they sound like they are too different in age. One sounds much older than the other. I know that the idea is that they have very distinct voices so you can tell the characters apart, but unless this is an age gap romance, they should sound like they’re relatively close. That could be just me. I have a thing for voices sounding like the age they are portraying.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I always love Lyla Lee’s books and I’ve been sad that we haven’t had another YA one in so long. So when I saw one was coming out in romance, I’ve been counting down the days!!!

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for my ALC.

Thank you Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the ALC.
Let me just start out by saying wow, I related to Gemma’s character so much it was scary. This was a quick, cute second-chance romance.
I really liked the narrator for Gemma but wasn’t as big of a fan of Celeste’s narrator since she seemed to have long pauses and less expression in her narration.
What else I liked: How much these two gravitated together when they were back in each other’s lives. But also how they took it slow so neither one would get hurt again and they could figure out what they wanted. I also really appreciated them sitting down and clearing things up between themselves before working together. Their conversation felt very mature. Finally, I liked that each couple they interviewed was different and we got to hear their answers to some of the questions Gemma asked.
What I didn’t like: The miscommunication when Celeste left for Korea was literally all on her and she had no right to be upset with Gemma for how she handled it (by moving on). Gemma even tried to reach out first and Celeste fully ghosted her but then expected Gemma to just sit and wait for her to come back? Also, while I loved Gemma’s two best friends she lived with, I thought it was weird that they hid their engagement from her.

My rating and reviews for this book are a little mixed. Plot wise, I'm all in. The two main characters of the love story I actually are sweet. But listening as an audiobook, it just didn't work for me. It's silly but the two narrators had very different reading styles, one being a noticably slower pace than the other and it could be just me but I just found that alone pretty distracting from what was going on in the story. This might just be a story that gives better being physically read than listened to.

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee, Narrated by Natalie Naudus; Catherine Ho. This book combines the fun of a workplace setting with forced proximity tropes into a second-chance romance. We have two Korean Women as the main characters who started as college roommates and fell in love several years ago. Now, in the present day, Gemma & Celeste have to work together on a story for a magazine, and that old spark is still there.

This book was one where I was yelling at both of them to go to therapy to work through their trauma, but then they did, and I was obsessed with that being included. I really enjoyed the storyline and the character's communication in this book. If you are looking for spice, some exploration, and a strap scene, this is right up your alley.

I also really enjoyed this dual narration of this book. Both did a fantastic job. I had a hard time figuring out which narrator was reading for which character at the beginning because they were similar, but once I got into the book, I could distinguish between them. This, however, could have been a problem, as I listen to my romance novels at 1.5 to 2.0 times the speed.

Overall, I had a great time reading and listening to this audiobook, and I highly recommend picking up this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC.

I saw this book on the Pride Month reading list and request it on NetGalley to see if I would get approved for the audio and I did! Yah! This book was fun and enjoyable! I thought I was good!I loved the honest conversation, and Gemma just going for it, I loved the diversity and the representation of Korean culture. I love the narrators for the audio. I wish I could put my finger on what it was missing, but it was good!

(3.75⭐️) What a way to start out Sapphic summer with this second chance sapphic romance!! The chemistry between these two is SIZZLING!! I loved getting to see them fall back in love with each other and grow in their own personal journeys! I also really loved Gemma’s friends, they were such great characters and the I loved the honest conversation about overcoming struggles in relationships and how relationships aren’t perfect, but you get through it together! It also included many great conversations about how different love can look like in different cultures, races, gender identities, and sexualities as they interviewed the different couples for their article, which I really enjoyed! I wish we had more time with the couple after they decided to be together, the ending felt a bit abrupt to me. We get to see all of this buildup but we don’t see them together in a relationship for very long at all. And the getting back together after the third act conflict was very rushed as well, it could have done with about 50 more pages to really build those aspects of the story out more.

While I’m not always a second-chance romance fan, I’m always up for a sapphic contemporary romance and this one enticed me even more as it had two Korean women! So many books feel like they’ll feature one non-white character and that’s it so this was a wonderful part of the novel.

Celeste is a lesbian photographer. Gemma is a bisexual writer. YAY FOR QUEER REPRESENTATION.

The two FMCs felt about a decade younger than they actually are which was a struggle for me personally. They were hard to root for at times because of that, but I still really enjoyed the novel overall.

The dual narration is done by Natalie Naudus and Catherine Ho and they both did a wonderful job. I really felt the characters through them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC!

I really enjoyed this book!
This was a fun sapphic, second chance romance. I loved learning about the character’s Korean culture through their experiences.

I did like the dynamic between our two FMC’s but but wish we got to spend more time with them in the past in order to feel more connected with their relationship.

Gemma’s abrupt breakup comes at the opportune time for a second chance romance. Celeste has given up on love since the one that got away. Their shared project explores modern love in all its phases, as they rediscover how to love themselves and each other. I adored these characters; their flaws, their relationship hang ups and fears are genuine and easy to connect with. The character’s reflections on queer elders, especially queer bipoc elders, reaffirms that representation is essential and quintessential to identity. All of the side characters felt like whole people individually, only thing I would have liked to see more of was Celeste’s LA friends and Gemma’s integration into that found family.

We love a good sapphic romance.
I devoured this book in less than twenty four hours.
This novel is a sapphic second chance romance that gives you all the feels. It has elements of self discovery, spice, and love of all genres.
Familial love.
Romantic love.
Platonic love.
A book full of love is always a book for me.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Hachette Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review. This had its cute moments, and I was rooting for Gemma during her self-discovery—she was sweet, but not life-changing.

It’s pitched as a second chance romance (which sold me, along with the gorgeous cover), but I needed more emotional depth. They had history, tension, potential… but it felt like watching a romcom on mute. Cozy, but not the heart-squeezing kind of story I wanted.

The two main characters were tough to root for. James, the supposed villain, barely mattered. And Celeste felt more like a background character than the love interest, even in her own chapters.

The tone felt younger than their ages suggested, and I wanted more stability than the flaky will-they-won’t-they dynamic. That said, they did pull it together, and there was one particular spicy scene that definitely delivered.

Quick, cute, and fun—but not the emotionally satisfying second chance romance I was hoping for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC!

3.5/5 stars

This was a cute and quick read! I wish we got more from Celeste's POV but other than that, I think the story was well rounded and sweet. The queer Asian rep was amazing to see, as well. I appreciate the communication and emotional intelligence shown by our characters. There is usually a point in contemporary romance books that has me cringing from a stupid decision or a lack of simple communication and I was pleasantly surprised that Love in Focus didn't have any of the usual issues for me.

Love in Focus was a cute second-chance romance with a fun premise, but it didn’t hit me emotionally the way I hoped. Gemma and Celeste had sparks, but the story lacked the depth to fully pull me in. A light, easy read—just not a memorable one.

I listened to the audiobook of Love In Focus and I loved it. Second chance romance, and the Gemma and Celeste are so likeable as main characters. The story is cute, and I love the ending.

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶

Omg! This was such a good read! I absolutely loved Gemma and Celeste. I enjoyed that the author made them feel real. They weren't perfect or fitting narrow stereotypes. They were flawed and made mistakes. I love how absolutely human it truly was. The ending was very satisfied and healthy. If you want a book that will have you in your feels check out this book!

spoiler alert: this review contains plot details and discussion of key events.

this book is a second chance romance that honestly took me on a bit of a rollercoaster. while there were things i really appreciated about this book, there were also moments that left me feeling disappointed and, homestly, a bit frustrated. it's one of those stories where i can see what it was trying to do, but i'm not sure it fully got there.

let's start with what worked. the cover is eye-catching and just so pretty. it's what initially grabbed my attention, and i still think it suits the book well.

one of the strongest aspects of the novel was the korean representation. it wasn't just decorative or surface-level; it was fully integrated into the characters' lives and decision. celeste's connection to her culture played a big role in her personal arc, and that added depth to the story. it's not something i see often, and it was handled with care and intention.

the audiobook experience was mostly positive. i especially enjoyed natalie naudus as gemma. since most of the book is from gemma's pov, her narration felt natural and well-paced. catherine ho voiced celeste, and while her performance was fine, celeste's chapters felt a little out of place. the dual pov didn't feel balanced, and i honestly think the story could've worked just as well (maybe better) told entirely from gemma's side.

now onto the second chance romance part. this is where things got shaky for me. the original breakup didn't stem from a messy miscommunication; it was a flat-out failure to communicate. celeste left the country without telling gemma anything - no call, no text, no explanation. later in the book, celeste claims she always felt safe and open with gemma, which made her silence back then feel completely inconsistent. it just didn't add up.

what really took me out, though, was celeste's reaction to gemma dating a man after their breakup. as a lesbian, the way celeste framed it as "a lesbian's worst nightmare" felt both biphobic and lesbophobic. the biphobia is clear, this idea that gemma's attraction to men somehow invalidated their relationship, but there's also something deeply frustrating about how it portrays lesbians. like we're petty or threatened when our exes date men, as if our identity is fragile or reactive. it felt a harmful stereotype, and it wasn't interrogated or challenged at all.

on top of that, celeste spends a good chunk of the book acting like gemma was the one who let their relationship fall apart. when again, celeste left. without warning. without explanation. i felt like i was being gaslit on gemma's behalf. i was so annoyed i stopped taking notes in english and switch to tagalog in all caps just to get my frustration out.

that said, i did appreciate how the ending played out. neither of them was in a good place, and i'm glad the book didn't force a neat resolution right away. they take time to work on themselves before even attempting to try again. and when celeste is the one to reach out to gemma near the end, it finally felt like she was taking real accountability. that moment actually landed for me.

in the end, love in focus gave me a lot to think about. it's a mixed bag for me. i really wanted to love it, and there were elements that genuinely worked, especially the cultural representation and the emotional beats near the end. but the romance itself felt uneven, and at times, harmful in how it handled queerness and accountability.

i received an advanced listening copy of the book from netgalley and hachette audio in exchange for an honest review.