I wanted to love this book as I couldn't wait for Iris's book but the story was extremely slow and I wasn't a fan of the third act break up. Overall it was nice catching up with the Greene sisters and I would recommend reading the whole series.

I absolutely adored this entire series. Torn between this or The Neighbor Favor as my favorite but they are all so great! Iris and Angel are the CUTEST couple with so much chemistry, it burst off the page. So many comedic moments mixed with the slow-burn romance. I sincerely hope Forest has another series in the works because I already miss the Greene sisters!

Kristina Forest’s Love Lyrics is a heartwarming, tender, and beautifully crafted romance that will leave you swooning and smiling. With relatable characters, emotional depth, and a touch of music magic, this novel celebrates love, second chances, and finding harmony after heartbreak.

Iris Greene is a heroine you can’t help but root for. From the very first page, her story pulls you in as she balances the challenges of single motherhood, a demanding career, and the lingering pain of loss. Her six-year-old daughter, Calla, is a scene-stealer, a vibrant, delightful presence who adds so much heart to the story. When Iris crosses paths with Angel Hughes, a pop R&B star with a secret crush on her, sparks fly, and their chemistry is undeniable. The dual perspective adds richness, showing both Iris’s journey of rediscovery and Angel’s struggle to find fulfillment in his music and personal life.

The romance unfolds with authenticity, from their first encounters to the inevitable complications of navigating their different worlds. The campaign tour setting adds a fun, dynamic backdrop, blending professionalism with the thrill of new love. And while their lives initially seem out of sync, Forest weaves their journeys together in a way that feels genuine and rewarding.

As a fan of Forest’s previous novels, I loved seeing glimpses of her former main characters. If you’re a purist, I highly recommend reading her books in order to avoid spoilers, as these cameos are a treat for long-time readers.

The audiobook, courtesy of Berkley Romance and PRH Audio, is an absolute gem. It brings the characters to life, especially Calla, whose warmth and charm shine even more in audio format. The story’s musical elements, particularly Angel’s songwriting, left me longing for a playlist to accompany the book, it’s the perfect complement to the rhythm of their love story.

Love Lyrics is a must-read for fans of heartfelt contemporary romance. Kristina Forest delivers a moving, joyful tale about love, resilience, and the courage to embrace life’s second chances. Highly recommended!

I just didn’t LOVE this one the way that I did the very first in the series (THE NEIGHBOR FAVOR).

TLL is the third book in the Greene sisters’ series, and it continues to deliver with its same endearing characters and relatable family dynamics (I love that she kept the same family bbq on July 15th going even in this book too). For me, the sisterhood bond is a nice highlight, and the way Forest weaves their relationships throughout the series adds depth to the story. The romance is sweet and has some tender moments, and this story includes a fun backdrop of the music industry but I just didn’t care for their relationship.. There were quite a few moments were I felt like the story was dragging a bit.. While it may not have been completely enjoyable for me, the book does offer an enjoyable and lighthearted read for fans of the series, and it’s a nice addition to the Greene sisters’ journey.

The third Greene Sisters book features widowed, single mom, Iris who against her will finds herself falling for Angel, the musician who is her company's brand ambassador, and the man who is off-limits but extremely irresistible. This was good on audio, had a dual POV structure and can easily be read as a standalone but features great cameos from Iris's sisters. Definitely worth picking up!! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 stars rounded up. The way that I love Iris and Angel! This surprised me in the best way! It really hit me right in the heart! The way that Angel was respective of Iris but still let her know that he wanted her! I feel that the song lyrics really added a cute touch to the story. I was giggling and smiling at their interactions. Ugh, I really ate this up. I can't say enough amazing things about this story!

3.75 ~ This was a sweet one. I liked seeing how the relationship progressed. How Angel was respectful of Iris and her wish to be friends. But how he also showed up and did some swoon-worthy things. I feel like the drama and 3rd act breakup was a little frustrating and super expected. I loved the little reflections back to the other sisters and how they were doing with their respective partners. Overall enjoyable.

Thx PRH audio for the advanced listening copy.

Spoiler-Free Synopsis: Kristina Forest’s latest edition to the Greene Sisters’ series combines the same heart and levity as we dive deep into Iris’s love story. An eldest daughter, young widow, and working mom, Iris does everything for everyone and has difficulty being vulnerable enough to let others care for her. Angel’s dreams are coming true and he is finally getting recognition for his music, even though it's not the type of music he wants to make. As Iris and Angel’s worlds collide, will they harmonize, or will their chance at love flat?

Review: The Love Lyric was soo good I didn’t want it to end! I even paused halfway through because I wanted to make Iris and Angel’s story last a little bit longer. Iris and Angel grapple with complex family dynamics and work obligations that feel real to life even in the midst of Angel’s fame. The gentleness and care Angel showed Iris and Iris learning how to let go of fear and obligation were a delight to read. The Love Lyric by Kristina Forest is my first 5-star read of the year and my favorite Greene Sisters’ story.

The Love Lyric was such a cute and heartwarming read! Watching Iris navigate her grief and the complexities of love was both emotional and uplifting in the best way possible. As an eldest daughter, her sense of responsibility really resonated—though at times, it got in her way so much that I wanted to scream at her!

Kristina Forest has a real talent for crafting memorable secondary characters, and Calla was a standout for me. Even though she wasn’t the focus of the story, I couldn’t get enough of her. The musical references throughout the book added a fun layer that gave the story light rom-com vibes, perfectly balancing the heavier moments.

If you’re looking for a romance with depth, strong characters, and a touch of music, this one’s for you!

Short Synopsis:
Iris met the love of her life in college. But after he died in an accident, she’s focused her life on her corporate job and being a good mom to their daughter. But her path keeps crossing with famous singer, Angel. And she can’t deny the pull she feels toward him.

My Thoughts:
THE LOVE LYRIC is such a cute, sweet novel. I adored (and related) to how Iris is very type A and wants to take care of everyone. But Angel just wanted to take care of her. 🥹 Angel and Iris were so precious and adorable. I loved the inclusion of Iris’s daughter, Angel’s pup and Iris’s sisters. It really brought depth to the story.

THE LOVE LYRIC is an interconnected standalone and third in a series. Though you can absolutely read it as a standalone.

I mostly did audio for this read, and J. Shani Michaels and Ian Hackney are the narrators on this one. I love the smooth cadence of Ian’s voice - it was a perfect match for Angel. And J. Shani truly brought Iris to life.

What You’ll Find:
Celebrity romance
Single mom
He falls first
Love after grief

Such a beautiful love story and a great way to end one of my favorite series!
The story of Iris and Angel does not come easy. Angel is a successful R&B pop singer who becomes the brand ambassador of Save Face Beauty (The company Iris works for). Iris is cautious about their connection mostly because of her daughter, Calla; but also because she is a widow and has not shown interest in another man in 4 years. While on the beauty campaign, their chemistry is undeniable, despite Iris trying to remain professional.
I also really liked how the characters developed their relationship organically. It just felt so real.
Thank you Berkley Publishers and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved the entire Greene Sisters Series and I’m so happy we finally got to Iris and Angel’s story!!

Iris is a widowed single mother who is finally ready to start dating, or at least ready to think about the idea of dating again. Angel is a pop R&B singer, who works with Iris’ sister Violet, and has been drawn to Iris everytime they meet. And now that Angel is the brand ambassador for the new skincare line that the company Iris works for is releasing, they will have admit their mutual attraction to each other and try to stay professional as they work together.

Iris and Angel might be my favorite couple of this series! Iris is the ultimate eldest daughter and seeing her learn to love again after loss was everything my heart needed. Angel has always had a crush on Iris and as he learns more about her and her past he fully understands and respects why Iris has turned him down, but that does not stop him from showing up and supporting her. And by doing so he is actively showing her that being vulnerable and open to receive help from him is something that she doesn’t even have to ask for. *cue the swoons*

Angel also has some trauma in his past, he grew up in an extremely religious household and was quite sheltered before he left to LA as a young adult. And now that he has a growing career, he still faces the rejection of his life choices by his mother. And this is something that we see in their interactions. And I loved how often Iris stood up to his mother for him.

Their romance is so sweet and tender and I just love them so much!! I cannot recommend this book and series enough!!

So sad to see this series end but man did it end on a high note! Forest saved the best for last.

I really loved Angel and Iris. Angel is drawn to Iris the moment he meets her (we love to see a man down bad!) Iris is hesitant to date due to her grief over her late husband, plus she has a daughter to think of. The relationship between these two progressed naturally and was super sweet. I just liked how kind and considerate they were of each other. They are very loving towards each other which just warmed the heart. The romance will give you butterflies. I thought the steamy scenes fit the characters and were still sexy.

I thought the author handled the topic of grief well and celebrity romances. Everything was well balanced and written with care.

A romantic romcom that many will swoon over!

I am very excited for this grand finale to the flowery sisters series! THE LOVE LYRIC was a great story, and truly cemented my love for Kristina Forest. She is so incredibly talented at writing complex characters with unique backstories. She makes her stories centered around not just a love story, but also the union of two families, of two support systems colliding to make a stronger one. One thing about this novel that I didn't enjoy was the obstacle keeping the couple apart. I don't want to write spoilers, but I feel like the reasons for Iris being hesitant to dive into a relationship were weak and unfounded. It felt random and strange for her to avoid putting labels on her relationship with Angel for the sake of another person, and not even a person who was extremely close to her. I felt like this book needed more conflict and tension between Angel and Iris to not only turn up the heat, but also create a REAL reason for them not being able to get together. Obviously, I wasn't a huge fan of the plotting, but the characters did indeed steal my heart.

Musician love stories will always win me over. Not only that, though, this was such an impactful and quick read. This book addressed topics such as loss, grief, and the fear of opening yourself up to love again for Iris that were absolutely beautifully done. Angels struggles with his parents and religion were also done in a way that had a balance of showing its power and importance but the value in putting yourself first, and the joy that can come from it. Finding a work/life balance was also heavily emphasized in this, while not taking over the entirety of the plot. At the end of the day, the romance in this book was beautiful and joyous, and the spicy scenes were a great balance of detail and privacy that really highlighted the way the characters are as a whole. I loved reading about the Greene family and the continuations of their stories, and Calla!!! Beautiful, quick-witted, and fun little Calla stole the show for me despite her relatively small appearances. This book left such an impact without having to dive into great detail about topics, and I truly enjoyed this read! I also reallllly loved the therapy features and being able to get glimpses into sessions! Each and every side character was so fun to read as well- there were none that I felt deserved less time on the page. Such a great romance that was not JUST about the romance. The only reason I really docked a star was for the pacing. It felt almost too easy to read and too easy to flow into the relationship (especially for Iris), but I think the last half really makes up for it as well as what the characters are going through. While I don’t always love a third act breakup, I felt how necessary it was to this book, and their relationship’s growth.

Thanks to @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for the free ARC and to @prhaudio for the ALC!

What I Liked—The three sisters had such a close relationship. I didn’t read the first two books, but I still got a chance to get to know the other sisters well. A lot of interconnected standalone romance series don’t give any further details about characters from the previous books, but this one made them part of the story. I also liked the single mom aspect and the focus on grief and therapy. I really liked Angel’s character as well. He had managed to overcome his toxic upbringing and be a kind, generous, well-adjusted person despite his celebrity status. I also liked how the author showed that religious people don’t have to be toxic. His sister remained religious but was in a kind and welcoming community.

What I didn’t like—There was so much telling. I like to know what the characters look like, but detailed descriptions of every minor character just drew me out of the story. I also felt like the resolution after the third act breakup was rushed and that after spending so much time seeing every thought and feeling the characters had, suddenly Iris was giving completely different reasons for her actions. It felt jarring.

But honestly, if I had read the book on paper instead of listening to it, I would probably have given it four stars. But I really struggled with the narration. The female narrator made the descriptions drag. And I wasn’t a fan of the voices either narrator gave to the minor characters, especially the young daughter. I also felt like the two narrator’s voicing of each other’s characters didn’t match at all. For me it was a two star audiobook.

A four star story with a two star audiobook. So I’m meeting in the middle with three stars.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
After the previous book was a dud, I still had high hopes for the final book to measure up to the solid quality of the first. Unfortunately, The Love Lyric was just as bad. Like its predecessor, it was slow as molasses and felt very uninspired and passionless.
Kristina Forest has great ideas for characters once again, and individually, they’re not awful. Iris and her journey of self-discovery is fairly compelling for a decent part of the book. Angel’s struggle to find meaning in music is also fairly well-realized, and comes across well. However, I was not invested in their romance at all; the bit about him having written a song about her after meeting felt weird, and there was no real enduring chemistry to make me root for them. The narrative also felt like it was trying to be a slow-burn, but it moved at such a snail’s-pace, that while I was initially invested for like the first 50%, I really began to stop caring after that. The main reason I bothered finishing, apart from being so far into it, is that Forest’s writing made the subpar story fairly tolerable to get through, despite my generally lack of investment.
I’m once again sad that a Greene Sisters/Kristina Forest romance didn’t work for me, especially since book one was so great! But it’s perfectly possible it’s just me not meshing with the specific tropes included in this book and Forest’s execution of them, as this book in particular has gotten a lot of love from other reviewers. I implore you to go look at those reviews as well before making a decision, especially if you happen to enjoy slow burn contemporary romance, and are looking for one with Black leads.

*Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the eARC* I absolutely LOVED The Love Lyric. I enjoyed Iris’s story so much. Being the eldest daughter, I could relate to some of her struggles and motivations which made her very relatable. Her grief was also relatable for anyone who has lost someone close to them. The connection Iris and Angel had was delightful. I found myself laughing at their banter throughout the book but also tearing up when they were being vulnerable with each other and experiencing their own personal growth. Their love story is so many things but in the end it was heartwarming and hopeful. Beautiful book.

4.5 stars. thank you berkley for the e-arc! this one was a hit! i love this series so much. superstar x business woman romance with depth and an engaging story. i liked how Angel found his way back to his r&b roots while keeping boundaries between his mom. i also liked iris’s character development on letting love in after terry. great read and can’t wait for the world to have their story! out 2/4

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC. This finale to the Greene Sisters series was heartwarming and cute. Perfect if you’re looking a book that’s sweet with a little bit of spice.

Iris reminded me so much of myself. Type-A planner, problem solver, takes care of others before her own needs.. the list goes on. Being a single mother and older sibling has been such a big part of her life. She’s been everyone's support for so long and in this book you see her go on her journey of self-discovery. It was beautiful to watch her open her heart up and embrace new changes after experiencing a big loss.

Angel literally was so sweet and I just love an MMC who falls first. He was so patient, understanding, and charming. I appreciated reading about his struggles with his family, faith, and battle with staying true to his vision of his music.

The mutual respect and support of one another shine the most throughout this book. Vulnerability and communication between the two were admirable.

The only drawback I had while reading was some moments the pacing was a bit too slow.