Gemma is a relationship columnist, she’s now heartbroken when her seven year relationship ends abruptly. She thinks she’ll never have her happy ending., that’s until she runs into her ex from college. The one who got away, also the one she has to work with on her work assignment.

This was a cute and quick read, I enjoyed it overall. I loved the dual POV, but the difference in characters chapters being in first and third person was somewhat confusing. Other than that I enjoyed it!

very cute story premise, but I couldn’t finish it. DNF at 39%. It was kind of hard to follow and the characters and drama didn’t really land. The POV - first person present vs third person past reeeally took me out of the story.

What a cutie little story! One of my goals for the year is to read more books featuring lesbians as the main characters, so I was so so excited to read this one. I loved this second chance story featuring, not only lesbians, but older characters as well! As someone in their late twenties, I always appreciate characters who are around my age experiencing things for the first time. I really loved this one and it was just a fun time.

Thanks to Netgalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the E-ARC! So cute! Fun characters & loved the romance. Enjoyed the setting too. Will definitely read more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this ARC!

This book was so cute and I always love to read about bisexual representation. I love a second chance romance and this was just what I wanted!

one of my most anticipated releases of 2025!!!! and it lived up to my expectations and then some!

i adore lyla lee’s YA titles, so seeing she’d have an adult contemporary romance debut that’s sapphic was SO EXCITING! she writes amazing verisimilitude into her characters and such charming romances, and this is indeed no exception. she was able to age up the voice well while also retaining her signature penchant for lighthearted romance with grounded emotion. i love gemma and celeste and reading their story was like a warm hug. i will be recommending this to as many as i possibly can!!

This was a super cute plot idea, but unfortunately, it was lacking some character development for me. I simply could not really fall for the chemistry between these two characters.

I had a hard time wanting to pick this back up, and eventually gave up at around 70% because I was not able to connect with the story. I think the chemistry just was not very present, for me, so it made it hard to root for these girls.

ARC Review: Love in Focus by Lyla Lee
Pub Date: May 27th

Thank you @readforeverpub for the early copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was super excited for this queer Asian second chance romance! I loved the found family/secondary characters and I thought the spice was pretty well done too! I think a lot of the discussion about being Asian and queer and not seeing older queer Asians in relationships was really important - and clearly very important to the characters!

I wish I liked this a little more in reality - I think I just didn't jive with the writing and had a hard time seeing the "spark" between the characters. Part of the writing that really didn't work for me was the tense changes between POVs - I'm not sure what that served to do but it felt really jarring every time. I almost would have preferred to just not have Celeste's POV which is not something I typically say. The pieces of POV we got from Celeste were really short and because of it being third person, it didn't allow us to get to know her as much as we get to know Gemma.

I've started to like second chance romance a lot more recently but this is one of those that I have my typical issues with - the original reason for the breakup is pretty immature (I do recognize that they were young) but then the resentment they both had for each other 10 years later still feels really immature.

Ultimately, while this didn't work for me (my actual rating is 3.5 stars), I recommend checking it out to see if it works better for you! I think the author has potential and if you're looking to diversify your reading, this is worth checking out.

Cute second chance romance, and liked the different representation for the two FMCs, but their character development fell short for me. I wasn’t able to root for them or feel connected to them. It was a cute story, but that aspect fell short.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Love in Focus releases May 27, 2025

Gemma is a 29-year-old bisexual woman who lives in San Francisco, and works as a romantic advice columnist.
Recently single after being engaged, Gemma is forced to question why the two serious relationships she’s had in her adult years both ended without any explanation.

<i>Love in Focus</I> is a second chance romance between Gemma and Celeste — former college roommates who meet again eight years later while working on a Valentine’s Day piece in which Celeste is hired as a freelancer to photograph the couples that Gemma is interviewing.

The utilization of forced proximity as a plot device quickly made this read unnaturally claustrophobic. The reader is given no reprieve from any of the major characters who are introduced since they’re all tied to the same workplace — this includes the love interests, the ex-fiancé, <I>and</I> the two best friends whom Gemma temporarily lives with and spends most of her free time with.

I found it ironic how one of the first thoughts we’re given from Celeste’s pov is how she felt intensely betrayed because Gemma not only moved on, but moved on with a man… You can’t exactly fault someone for moving on with their life when you don’t give them any indication or reason not to.
It’s a case of classic miscommunication for sure, but for the narrative to say they were both at fault was misguided.

The intentionality behind having the last couple they interviewed be an older sapphic pair with one of them being an Asian woman was great — the representation and hopefulness that sparked for Celeste was vital for her character, though the choice to write Gemma in first person while limiting Celeste to third person, noticeably kept her at arm’s length, which was a bit frustrating.

Up until the last 10%, things were cruising along nicely, but the sudden job change from Gemma threw me for a loop, and I didn’t like how she was running away from her problems and feelings at such a late stage in the story.

Overall, I think this is worth checking out for the SF setting and the sapphic and BIPOC rep!

This was so swoony I LOVED it! Asian sapphics! Second chance! Writer and photographer! A STRAP!!!!!

Okay in all seriousness, I loved the way Gemma and Celeste ended up back together. This is the one and only time where I agree with a third act “breakup”/time apart. I think Gemma needed that time to herself, and they both needed time to go to therapy. And I love that the epilogue wasn’t just them getting married — it was them moving forward, “one romance novel moment at a time.” ❤️

Also obsessed with the Casual by Chappell Roan vibes the last 30% of the book hehehe.

Thank you to my Forever besties for the ARC!

A very solid adult debut.

The way this book features and talks about therapy is amazing. That message needs to be heard loud and clear.

This is a great sapphire adult story that centers around a second chance romance that fizzled in college. A story that is all too common. The only thing that was a little difficult to weather was the changing first and third pov's. Everything else clicked well.

Ultimately Lyla Lee is a wonderful writer and I love that she is writing across so many age groups! Everyone gets a little piece of her. I can't wait for more Adult works from her!

I’m such a sucker for second-chance romances, and this sapphic love story totally hit the mark. Gemma and Celeste had such intense, layered chemistry—it was impossible not to root for them. The tension, the history, the slow unraveling of their past… I was all in. It’s emotional, romantic, and full of that messy, real kind of love that makes second chances so satisfying.

🩷 ARC Review 🩷

Love In Focus by Lyla Lee

I really really enjoyed this book! This is a new to me author and I can't wait to read more of her work after this!

I was immediately draw to the cover art! These characters are absolutely gorgeous!
Start with Gemma our disaster bisexual! She fresh out of a long term relationship and honestly ready to has some fun and find herself again!

Then we have Celeste, who was not at all what I was expecting, but who I truly loved! She grew up being queer in Korea where being queer is definitely not the normal. She worked so hard in school to be able to go to the US for college. Celeste is SUCH a cinnamon roll and I love that about her!

Love in Focus is a second chance romance where our two chaotic girls have to do a bit of fighting and inner work for there happily ever after!

Thank you NetGalley and Lyla Lee for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC copy of Love in Focus!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.25 stars

A lovely second chance romance featuring an advice columnist and a photographer (college exes) teaming up on a work project about love.

I have three things that I absolutely love about this book, in no particular order: 1) Val and Kiara are amazing friends; 2) positive therapy/working on themselves; 3) the way Celeste reacted to seeing a queer elder Asian in a long-term Sapphic relationship.

I loved Lyla Lee's YA books and was really happy with her adult debut. I didn't mind that Celeste's POV was in third person while Gemma's was in first person because it helped definitely differentiate between the two main characters. The time jumps were more jarring to me, especially towards the end. But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this and can't wait for Lee's next release! This is a great addition to Sapphic shelves.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I will be the first to admit that I don't usually gravitate towards sapphic reads, but I have wanted to dip my toe in to try it to see how I felt about it. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. The cover is stunning and that is what initially drew me to read this story. Second Chance romance is one of my favorite tropes because I love the tension and angst that comes from the two people knowing each other. Gemma and Celeste were really well written characters and they were easy to love. This was a cute, sapphic romance read with a few spicy scenes thrown in as well.
I will admit I struggled with the writing style a bit and it felt a little hard to follow. That is probably personal preference because I don't like third person, so switching back and forth felt ehh to me. Again, that is probably personal preference. I wish that it was all done in first person and we had longer chapters from Celeste pov.

I really liked the project Gemma and Celeste worked on together. There was a diverse group of couples and I loved the emphasis that was put on each couple's experiences. All the descriptions of love were beautiful and I liked that we got to be present for all of them. Between the interviews and Gemma and Celeste's own personal stories, we got some great representation and a lot of nice discussions regarding different queer experiences.

Gemma and Celeste were the epitome of right person, wrong time. After meeting and dating in college, they didn't see each other again for 8 years. I really liked that, upon seeing each other again, they very quickly addressed what happened between them instead of letting it drag on. I thought their chemistry was great and they were super cute together. We also got some really good spice, including a fun strap-on scene. I really liked the ending and felt it was a perfect conclusion to the story. I love how well it portrayed Gemma's character growth and it just left me feeling warm and happy.

The author has a post on Instagram explaining their reasoning for switching between first person (Gemma) and third person (Celeste) POVs and her reasoning makes a lot of sense, but the back and forth between the two still felt a little jarring. The majority of the book was told from Gemma's POV which I enjoyed, but I do wish we got more of Celeste's POV. We got to see a lot of Gemma's relationships with her friends and I would've loved to see more of Celeste's relationship with Min-joon and I feel like it would've made her character feel more developed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. It was a cute and quick read. Definitely give it a try if you're interested in a second chance sapphic romance!

This is a well-paced, sapphic romcom. I enjoyed the character depth and love story Lee created. The plot definitely came second to character growth

After her fiancée breaking up their engagement out of the blue Gemma starts to doubt if true love exists but fate has other plans for her. She’s paired up with her ex for a piece on modern love. Their relationship ended abruptly back in the day but they’re both different people now. Gemma is ready to take a chance but can she trust Celeste to feel the same this time around.

Love in focus is a sweet and spicy romcom with LGBTQ+ and korean representation and a dual pov. I adore the characters, friendships and important discussions throughout the book.

The project Celeste and Gemma work on together brought a lot to the story. I especially liked the older couple. This also leads to interesting reflections by the main characters.

The best thing about a second chance romance is that the characters are already familiar with each other. So the relationship moving fast isn’t that big an issue. Even though I personally wish the pacing was a little different.

Read this if you like
🫶🏼Sapphic romance
🩷Second chance
✨Dual pov
📷Columnist x photographer

I was shocked when I realised that Lyla Lee doesn't actually live in San Francisco. Her book reflects a quirk side of San Francisco. Our book revolves around the creative types who have almost all been driven out by the gentrification and high tech salaries. She and her friends work at a local lifestyle magazine, while our other FMC, Celeste, is a photographer. They're the kind of people who know how to find the bar with Halloween cocktails, and the coolest drag shows

These characters are really specific - there's a criticism of romance novels that they are formulaic, but I really appreciated that these characters were really grounded in specific experiences: Celeste's tattoos and what they mean in South Korean culture (and her love of Twilight, sadly), best friend Val and her love of fantasy video games. It was also great that these characters had a broad experience of sexuality: both of our main characters and two side characters, Val and Kiara, date women, but they all have different insecurities, histories and stereotypes in their heads. Often in romance novels, a main female character is mentioned to be bisexual, but it doesn't really add to the plot with the romance with our male main character. The different experiences that Celeste as a lesbian has from Gemma, who is bisexual, is a real point of misunderstanding between them. Their miscommunications and misunderstandings feel very true to how perspectives impact our life - these are issues where neither character is villainous, just a lot of misunderstandings. The book having a dual perspective really helps with that. I was disappointed that the one character who didn't really have the same level of nuance was the one prominent male character - James, Celeste's ex boyfriend. In a book about finding your best self, I wish he had been a bit more complex.

I really loved what good friends Kiara and Val are to Gemma - always cheering her on, finding understanding, a sense of support. There were times in the book that I wanted to follow Kiara out the door to hang out with friends or sit down and play video games with Val. The book has a good mix of strong friendships and relationships, and was just an enjoyable read. Recommended for fans of Casey McQuiston or Susan Lee.