The Love Lyric is a soft, slow-building, and beautifully crafted romance, with characters who you would actually want to know—and be friends with—in real life. They’re such genuine, relatable people (even though one of them is a famous R&B artist!). I loved how patient Angel was with Iris, and how he respected her boundaries. And Iris’s grief was addressed with so much care. Kristina Forest’s writing is perfection!

The story centers around Iris, an eldest daughter, corporate director, and widow with a young daughter, and Angel, a R&B/pop singer who’s had a long-time crush on Iris.

Iris is a relatable, well-rounded character whose primary focus is her family, career and providing a stable, loving environment for her daughter Calla. Her struggles with balancing her professional life, her duties as a daughter/sister/mother, and the desire to open her heart again are portrayed with depth and authenticity. Enter Angel—charming, persistent, and somewhat vulnerable beneath his public persona. As the new brand ambassador for Iris’s company, Angel has the perfect excuse to spend more time with her, and despite her reservations, the attraction between them becomes undeniable.

Iris is aware that a relationship with a celebrity could complicate her already complicated life. She’s cautious about getting involved with someone in Angel's world of fame and constant public scrutiny. Angel, on the other hand, is patient and understanding, willing to put in the effort to break down her walls, showing her that love doesn’t have to be messy or complicated, even when their worlds collide.

While the stakes are real—both in terms of Iris's career and Angel’s public image—the story never becomes overly dramatic or full of unnecessary angst. Instead, it focuses on the softer aspects of love: trust, communication, and compromise.

For readers who are looking for a sweet romance this is a perfect read. It is an easy book to dive into without needing to have read the previous books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Read this if you like:
•workplace romance
•forced proximity
•celebrity romance

This book was cute! MFC is a widow with a young daughter who wants a partner who shares the same type of lifestyle she has, not the celebrity lifestyle. So naturally she falls for a celebrity. Seeing them both work through their issues, build a partnership together and open up was so sweet. Thank you Berkley romance for the eARC!

Don’t they say all good things must come to an end 😭 but I don’t want this to be the end of the Greene sisters series! Lily, Violet, and Iris were my girls! This series was amazing; filled with love, betrayal, family trauma, sadness, laughter, and overall happiness! I at least need a novella about Angel and Iris getting married or Ray and Bree 👀

The Love Lyric might be my favorite book of the series. Idk it’s something about Angel and Iris that just kept me smiling from ear to ear. Angel was a pure gentleman despite how he grew up and was treated by his mother by not following the gospel path with his music. I’m overjoyed that Iris opened up and gave him a chance after going 5 years without even looking at another man after losing her husband. Angel was patient and supportive with every decision she made regarding her privacy with her child. Their love story will forever hold a special place in my heart ♥️

The Love Lyric by Kristina Forrest

Thank you to Berkeley and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of “The Love Lyric” by Kristina Forrest in exchange for an honest review.

Iris Greene, widowed and raising her single daughter, is not looking for love. She’s considered it, half-heartedly thinking about dating apps, etc, but it’s still hard, moving on from the death of her husband years before. She’s got her hands full, raising her adorable daughter and pursuing her dream career. There just isn’t much room for anything else, so when she first meets R&B singer Angel, she doesn’t even consider the gorgeous, sweet man who is clearly crushing on her.

For his part, Angel Harrison seems to have it all. He’s an enormously talented, chart-topping performer with legions of fans, a fabulous sister, and a loyal crew of handlers. He's handsome, charming, and nice. But his mother is toxic, the music execs don’t support his artistic inclinations, and beautiful Iris Greene barely even notices him.

Until… They meet again at Iris’s sister’s wedding. They share a moment, and afterward, Angel goes to the studio and produces his next chart-topper, inspired by Iris. That might have been where it ended, except that Angel is the new brand rep for Iris’s cosmetics company and she’s been assigned to work with him on his upcoming promotional tour. The forced proximity (and Angel’s unending charm and good looks) work their magic.

It’s a fabulous, rewarding read. The protagonists act like real people, struggling with real emotions. Okay, Angel might be a tad too perfect, but it’s really hard to fault him for that because he’s just so sweet and respectful. There is a third act breakup, but it makes sense for their situation, as does the resolution.

If you’re looking for emotional satisfaction, this book has it in spades. In this story, the relationship is not what fixes their respective emotional baggage. Angel doesn’t magically fix things for Iris, nor vice versa. They fix their own problems and that’s what makes their future together possible. It’s two adults, coming from wildly different places, finding the way to each other. It’s so dang satisfying.

Highly recommended for fans of the Green sisters series and for readers who like emotional satisfaction as much as the naughty bits.

This was such soft book and a great wrap up to the Greene sisters books. I love the single parent trope and I think Angel and Iris fit so well together. I think this book was written a little simply but their love story was definitely so sweet.

What a great way to round out the Greene sisters' story! I liked that even though Angel is a celebrity and that might make you think of whirlwind, fast-paced, thrilling romance but Iris and Angel's story was quiet and slow and sweet and I appreciated it.

Thank you Berkley and PRH audio for free copies

The Love Lyric is the third and final book in the Greene Sister’s series and it was such a perfect conclusion! The story follows Iris Greene, the eldest sister, single mom, and career boss woman. She is the Director of Partnerships at a beauty company that recently took a PR hit, and is tasked with joining their new brand ambassador on a campaign trip to launch their new products. Their new ambassador just so happens to be Angel Harrison, pop R&B singer who met Iris years ago at her sister’s party and has been crushing on her ever since. While Angel is clearly attracted and interested in Iris, she is hesitant to get back into dating since the loss of her husband and beyond that they must remain in a professional relationship for the brand. But as the tour goes on and their attraction continues to burn, they soon find some things are hard to resist.

I loved this book and the audio was great as well! The book is dual POV, which I love in a romance, especially when you’ve got a MMC who is down bad. They had such a sweet romance, starting with Angel crushing on Iris for years and leading to them exploring what can happen. Angel was so patient with Iris, giving her space when she needed it and respecting her boundaries, even when he made it clear he was very into her. He was also so down to earth and cared so much about his fans, it was lovely to see a celebrity romance book with a character like him! Iris’ journey in the book is so heartfelt as well, with her experiencing a journey of grief and growth and learning it’s okay to adjust and embrace something new. I loved the two of them together and they had such healthy communication. It was so refreshing to read and they also had some INSANE chemistry!

The audio on this was engaging as well, with two narrators for the dual POVs. I think both narrators were great choices for the main characters (although some of their side character voices weren’t my favorite). They both really embraced the characters’ emotions and represented them well.

This is Forest’s first adult romance series and I really think she did such an amazing job with them all! I highly recommend reading and listening to these!

Read If You Like:
Forced Proximity
Celebrity Romance
Single Mom
Slow Burn
He Falls First

The Love Lyric 🎶
ARC review ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


I absolutely adored The Love Lyric!! I loved Iris from the very beginning. I felt so seen with Iris and related to her eldest daughter syndrome 😭🤍 she’s a boss, a businesswoman and she knows what to do ✨ she’s a human I admire: kind, mama bear energy, funny, confident, assertive. Angel is literally heaven sent 😏 he’s sweet, deep and has such a good soul 😭 the way he and Iris were with each other was so beautiful, and I love how their love blossomed (sorry I can’t help myself with the puns today) 💐 Angel made me giddy and giggly and ugh, everything about this book was so beautiful 🥹

The narrative progresses at a leisurely pace, which I believe may leave readers craving more from the romantic elements. This is a decent read. I think this book will appeal to enthusiasts of this series.

This was very sweet and I loved the inclusion of Iris’s family (especially in comparison to Angel’s). It felt light despite the very real issues both of them dealt with, and they were both so soft with each other that it made me smile and kick my feet.

Iris is such a determined and focused woman and is also an incredible mom despite single motherhood being dropped on her in the worst way and at such a young age. She’s loyal to her family and to her kid and to her job, sometimes to a fault. And Angel, even before he understands WHY, is respectful of her boundaries and is content to just bask in her nearness.

The Love Lyric is a single mom x celebrity romance full of chemistry, healthy communication, and so much love! The story follows Iris, a senior marketer for a cosmetics company, and Angel, a pop R&B artist who just joined Iris's company as a brand ambassador. This romance was so sweet and gentle, I loved how Iris and Angel cared for each other and were willing to go the extra mile. Angel was completely enamored with her and it was so cute how he was always trying to better understand Iris and become someone important in her life. The found family and all the gentle moments just added up to make such a charming and gentle story that balanced the moments of grief and uncertainty so well!

Read If You Like:
🎵Forced Proximity🎵
🎵Open Door Steam🎵
🎵Slow Burn🎵
🎵Diverse Romance🎵
🎵He Falls First🎵
🎵Forbidden Romance🎵

I absolutely loved this book! I’m a fan of the entire series, but Iris’ story won me over. It’s the story of a woman who has had to deal with the unimaginable and finally getting what she deserves and more. I was rooting for her since the first book, so to finally see her win was such an amazing feeling!

Thank you @berkleyromance for the arc and final copy!

The Love Lyric is a sweet romance between Iris Greene, widowed single mom who works for a beauty company, and Angel a r&b singer. The two have crossed paths before but they don’t really get to know each other until they have to start working together. The forced proximity and all their little moment’s are *chefs kiss*

There was a lot of challenges between the two, but I think I liked most and what makes it sweet was that Iris and Angel were always gentle with each other, it felt like they really saw each pitcher. I loved it.

I’m sad this is the last Greene sister book 😔 The Neighbor Favor is the book that introduced me to Kristina Forest and now she is one of my autobuy authors! I’ve been apart of a lot of “which book is your favorite?” Conversations and I honestly can’t pick one because they were all so great for different reasons. So if you ask me which one I’d recommend, I say read all three!

I really enjoyed the gentle love that was showcased between Angel and Iris. There was an understanding of sorts from their start that what they both needed was something unconditional, kind and meaningful, all things they both brought to the table during this book. Angel was in from the first moment he saw Iris and I was completely here for that. The book lost me a bit with the "forbiddenness" of it all, it just felt like there was not this simmering need between them that caused the tension to explode but instead, a couple of people who have been through a lot looking for solace in each other. In my opinion, the grief journey and the family matters of this book was done very well and my desire for more regarding tension did not pull me out of the story. I still was able to enjoy the love between these two and I was overjoyed to see them together, living their best life in the epilogue. I really enjoyed this series and I am excited to see what Kristina Forest brings next for her readers. She has a big fan in me!

I love these sisters so much and am so sad to see their stories come to an end with this, the 3rd and final book in the series. It does stand on its own but I loved being able to reconnect with the sisters from books 1 and 3.

Iris was probably the most complex of the sisters, navigating her life as a single mom, which added a level of complexity and messiness that made it seem that much more real.

Well done Kristina Forest, can't wait to see what you write next.

The third installment in the Greene sisters series was one that I'd been anticipating since Kristina planted the seeds in The Neighbor Favor and man did it payoff in dividends! Following Iris and Angel was like opening up a book filled with healing and waves of grief that would fall by the wayside from time to time. I felt that she truly took care of so many of the anomalies between being the single mother, widowed, and then falling for a celebrity of high status, the slight age gap but just that clear want and desire on both parties, on top of the utmost respect that they end up having for each other despite the odds. Forest is a master at weaving such high stakes in her pairings and the HEA's that follow are so well worth it and earned.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me to review a digital ARC of this book. As the 3rd book of this series I was familiar with Kristina Forest's writing and I loved this.

I'm a music girly through and through and this was done sooo well. I love the tenderness that was used with Iris' character as she is a widow. I enjoyed the build up for the relationship to flourish between the FMC and MMC.

This was such a good read.

✨ARC Review✨

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this book!

This was my first time reading a Kristina Forest book and I don’t why I haven’t read any of her works before but I plan on rectifying that after this review!!!

I absolutely adored the relationship between Angel & Iris! They were the so cute together and basically had me giggling and kicking my feet for a majority of this book. Angel met her one time and was hooked and I loved that for him. He knew what wanted and he went for it. Iris on the other hand with her being widowed she had to work her way up to being ready and that’s okay! I love that she didn’t try to rush into something she wasn’t ready for which made their relationship that much more worth it!

4/5⭐️
2/5🌶️

Iris Greene hasn’t been on a date in over five years, since she lost her husband and was left to raise her child alone. After an encounter a few years back, Angel hasn’t been able to get Iris out of his head. When the two are reacquainted after a few years, after Angel has made it big in the R&B music space and Iris thinks that Angel won’t remember her, but the opposite is true. And when Angel becomes the new brand ambassador for the skin care company Iris works for, the two are thrown together for a tour which lasts a couple weeks. How will the two deal with their obvious attraction, despite it not being allowed?

This book was so sweet! I loved hearing about Iris’ journey of being a widow, figuring out how to date again after being on the bench for so long. She has to focus on protecting not only her own heart, but also the heart of her little girl. Angel’s challenges with being a celebrity really threw a wrench into everything, but his focus on open communication and vulnerability with Iris made him SO DREAMY!!! I really like watching their relationship develop and grow. This book was cute!

What I Liked:
✨R&B music star romance
✨Forced proximity
✨Single parent / widow
✨Workplace / forbidden romance
✨Therapy rep & a focus on open communication and mental health

Thank you for the free physical copy and e-book @BerkleyRomance! I am grateful to be a Berkley Romance 2025 Influencer and given the opportunity to read this book early; my review is all my own.