ARC provided by netgalley thank you Forever publishing!
Unfortunately, I dont have many good things to say about this one. The characters felt underdeveloped, they had physical chemistry but no emotional chemistry, and the plot was flimsy. My biggest gripe however, is with the structure of this. The story is dual POV one being in first person and the other being in third. This shift between first and third person was always very jarring and added nothing to the story. It was a flaw I could not get over, especially when everything else felt forgettable.

3.5 🌟

This book was adorable. Though it did lack some things, I loved the sapphic-Asian representation. This book had a diverse cast and was a great palette cleanser after reading a Fantasy novel.

What I loved: Sapphic/Asian representation is sooo needed in the Romance genre and in the book community as a whole. I am so grateful for that. A light-hearted romance with Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan references? Sign. Me. Up.
I really loved the overall themes of this story, the ups and downs of Celeste and Gemma's relationship and Gemma finding time for herself after break-ups. Gemma's friendships! We love a woman with friends that are more than a MMC's side-kick. As a woman, I also enjoyed reading about women doing things they loved and spending time with people that they loved. I also appreciated how the story didn't automatically end with marriage and children. The book had a realistic ending with the characters still working on their love, but feeling confident in their relationship. Honorable mention for the spice, we love her!!

What I disliked: The dialogue seemed one-dimensional and fell short for me. I feel like, especially the romantic, interactions could have held more depth and impacted me more. The ending also felt rushed to me, there was a time jump from paragraph-to-paragraph during the time Gemma is trying to find herself as a single woman. It felt like more could have come from that time, more self-discovery or some impactful moment with her family. I'm not sure, it just felt lacking.

Loves and dislikes aside, this story was a win for me. I so enjoyed reading a Sapphic romance and cannot wait to read more in the future. Sure, I had dislikes about the book, but they definitely do not outweigh my loves.

Thank you Lyla Lee and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for approving me for a read of this ARC!
🎀🤍✨🩷✉️

3.5⭐️

I really appreciated the sapphic representation, which felt refreshing and authentic. As someone who ended a 7 year relationship with a man only to find my now wife, I can definitely relate to a lot of her feels and views. Oooops.

That said, I did have a few hangups. The Celeste chapters felt way too short, which made it hard to connect with her as much as I wanted to. I also struggled with how she treated Gemma for most of the story. It felt a bit frustrating at times, especially when I was rooting for their connection to grow stronger.

Despite those hiccups, the book was a deliciously spicy and quick read that kept me hooked. Definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun sapphic romance with plenty of tension and steam! A huge thank you to Netgalley, Lyla Lee, and Forever Publishing for the advanced copy of this wonderful book! Publishes May 27.

Love in Focus brings two college exes back together for a work project after a misunderstanding drove them apart nearly a decade prior. Lyla Lee crafts a compelling sapphic second chance romance that delivers on the dialogue and the characters. Yet while this manages to deliver on the romance, most of what I longed for —the yearning and deep dive into a failed relationship failed to come into focus. Second chance is really about the angst and yearning, and while sweet, this romance never really got all the way there. I also wished both of these characters interrogated why the relationship had failed more, particularly Celeste who unbeknownst to Gemma had to travel home but failed to communicate that and ghosted her instead. Celeste made these decisions completely separate from her partner, yet still held onto this animosity as she reconciled with Gemma and they discussed what really happened. What I did appreciate was the attention paid on getting time away from romance to gain perspective, which Gemma did need after consistently being in romantic relationships. This is a charming second chance romance and I can very much see this being a hit for many romance readers.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Lyla Lee for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee is written from the POV of Gemma and Celeste. They dated for a year in college, but that ended when Celeste abruptly moved back to Korea. Eight years later, Gemma is working as an relationship advice columnist when she finds out about her newest project that involves 3 sets of couples at different points in their lives. The problem? The photographer on the project is none other than Celeste. The spark is practically instantly reignited as Gemma and Celeste struggle to keep their relationship strictly professional. As they work through the project, they battle with trusting each other and themselves. In the end, will they be able to heal themselves and ultimately draw closer?

This book was super adorable! 💕 I loved the queer + Asian representation. The author even featured an older queer + Asian couple in the work project which meant so much to Gemma and Celeste as it can be hard to find older queer representation, and even more so to see Asian rep in the LGBTQ community. I can partly identify with that, to read about a gay couple with a great relationship like Gemma’s friends/roommates and then the older couple, it meant a lot to me to have that example of queer love (even if it is fictional). This book also had the perfect amount of flirting and spice. 🌶️ I really enjoyed reading it, and I recommend you check it out when it’s released on May 27th!

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for the eARC.

This is a fun, second-chance romance with great spice!

What I loved: The Asian queer representation was so great to come across. The elder queer couple that was mentioned and how they commented on how important that representation is. Oh, that got to me! 🥹❤️

What could have been better: Maybe the final copy will be different from the ARC, but I did get some disconnect with Gemma's POV being written in 1st person vs Celeste's POV being written in 3rd person. The ending also felt super rushed, in my opinion.

Overall, I still recommend this as a fun, queer romance book! There are a lot of things I still loved and enjoyed.

This cover is absolutely adorable and based on the summary this book sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately the execution felt lacking and left me a bit disappointed.

I feel like the writing jumped around a lot and the breakup wasn’t really explained. I would’ve loved more details. Also the switch from first to third person really threw me off. I wish the book would’ve stuck with one of the other.

I honestly really loved the cover and description of this book and I was very excited.

I want to make it clear I did not hate this book, it was not terrible, it was not the worst thing. It was just so bland and boring.

The writing was decent. I appreciated the subtle aspects of the main characters being Korean that felt authentic without being too much.

I think the weirdness of the breakup with the ex and lack of info on that, the lack of dialogue between Gemma and Celeste, the switch between first and third person, the quickness Gemma and Celeste moved, i don't know it just did not work for me.

I pick this book in the perfect moment. Its lovely!! I adore some of the cliches that this book has, like forced proximity. And second chance romance not always are my thing because the reason of the break up its stupid. In this book this not happens. I laugh, I smile and I care about this to girls a lot. It’s not the book of my life, but is just the perfect book for me in the moment that I need it. If you’re in a book slump, I highly recommended this one. 4.25 stars for me!!
P.S: lovley cover, the art work it’s amazing!!, and the name Celeste it’s beautiful.

✨Book Review✨

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee is a fast-paced, easy-to-read sapphic romance that follows Gemma as she navigates the aftermath of a tough breakup with her fiancé of seven years. Things get even more complicated when she’s assigned to a work project where her ex, Celeste — the one that got away — is hired as the photographer. The story is primarily told from Gemma’s point of view, but occasionally shifts to third-person chapters from Celeste’s perspective, which I appreciated as it gave some insight into her mind. Their reconnection felt romantic and meant to be, and I enjoyed watching them come back together.

One of the strongest aspects of the book was the cultural representation, especially of the queer Korean community. Both main characters are POC, and the Korean culture is woven into the story in a way that feels authentic and intimate, adding an extra layer to the relationship.

That said, the writing style didn’t fully work for me. At times, it felt disjointed and choppy, with shifts in tone that were a bit jarring. When it came to the romance, I felt that the emotional build-up and yearning were missing, which made their transition to a physical relationship feel too fast. Given the emotional weight of their past, I wanted more tension and slow-burn development before they got intimate.

Overall, while I enjoyed the plot, the cultural elements, and the side characters, the pacing and writing style kept me from fully loving it. It’s a fun read any fellow lovers of sapphic romance. Also, that cover is stunning!

3.5 ⭐️
3🌶️

Author: @authorlylalee
Release Date: May 27, 2025

Thank you @netgalley and @authorlylalee for providing me with this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

I had a good time with this one. I really appreciated the queer Asian representation, especially how it was woven into the story, but the two main characters, Gemma and Celeste, were a little too closed off and stubborn and that was a sticking point for me. They were however, very well described and developed throughout the story.

Celeste sometimes felt more like a background character than the love interest, even when we were in her POV, which was oddly written in third person? Their approach to their reconciliation felt very immature for their age as well. I was hoping for a bit more depth in their romance, but it often felt like they couldn’t figure it out.

That being said, this was still a very fun and lighthearted read!. Also, the spice was giving! One thing I absolutely loved was seeing sapphic characters get their moment. Representation really does matter, and I’m so glad this book highlights that. The setting of San Francisco for a majority of the novel was lovely! If you have ever been, it makes you want to go back and if you haven't you will surely want to visit after reading!

Would I recommend this? Definitely! It's worth it for a light-hearted, cute love story.

I love second chance romances, they are my favorite trope but this one didn’t really do it for me. I think it had a lot of potential and I’m sure that it’ll be a hit for others but there wasn’t enough yearning, or really much of a explanation of the past and felt as it if jumped around a lot.

This book follows Gemma as she attempts to recover from a failed relationship and renew her faith in love, which is especially important as a relationship advice columnist. While she reconnects with her ex from college, they work together on a project that focuses on modern romance and love. They struggle to keep things professional as they fall for each other again.

While this was a lovely read with great representation throughout, I struggled to really connect to the characters and their romance. A great quick read for sure!

Queer Representation: bisexual FMC, sapphic female LI

Summary: Gemma is unlucky in love - not only did her first girlfriend suddenly disappear from her life without a word and flee back to Korea, now her fiance is breaking up with her out of nowhere. Maybe it's best for her to focus on work, and the new project where Gemma will pair with a photographer to interview couples on their relationships and their ideas on love. The only problem? The photographer is the previously mentioned ex-girlfriend, Celeste. Can Gemma and Celeste navigate the way they made each other feel, both before and after their breakup, to manage this project and succeed in landing on the magazine's front page, all the while still having the hots for one another? Only one way to find out....

You will like this book if you like:
- more variety in sapphic sex than I've seen in a GOOD long while
- Korean representation!
- couples who grow and change into better people while apart
- First person POV with occasional chapters of third person POV

I flew through this book like it was butter! Just a smooth, easy read. As an adult only a bit younger than Celeste and Gemma, I really enjoyed the emotional growth that happened in the last 15% of the book particularly.

Gemma’s life is turned upside down. Her fiance abruptly broke up with her. She has to move out. But the whole break up is also awful because she still has to see her ex fiance at work.
Luckily, her friends step in to help her. She ends up crashing on their couch.
She wants to try dating again then runs into her college ex - Celeste at a bar.
She mysteriously disappeared and ghosted her 8 years ago.
Gemma has to learn to unscramble her feelings. Clearly there’s still some longing for Celeste but can she trust her again?

This was just a sweet and easy ready with some steamy scenes. If you’re looking for a sapphic, second chance romance - this book is for you.

Lyla Lee’s *Love in Focus* is a delightful sapphic rom-com that blends humor, heart, and second chances into an engaging contemporary romance. Perfect for fans of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and The Bold Type, the novel follows two exes who reconnect and are given a shot at rekindling their love.

Gemma Cho, a relationship advice columnist, has built a career out of guiding others through their love lives. However, when her boyfriend of seven years suddenly breaks up with her, she becomes disillusioned with the idea of real love. Struggling with heartbreak and writer’s block, Gemma’s world is upended when she unexpectedly crosses paths with her ex, who once held her heart. As their lives intertwine once again, Gemma must confront her past, reassess her beliefs about love, and determine whether she’s willing to take a second chance at happiness.

Lee crafts a compelling and authentic romance, capturing both the angst of heartbreak and the joy of rediscovery. The chemistry between the protagonists is palpable, and their emotional journey feels natural and deeply relatable. The novel also excels in its witty dialogue and engaging banter, making for a fun yet heartfelt read. Additionally, the book shines in its representation of LGBTQ+ relationships, portraying Gemma’s sapphic romance with sincerity and depth. Themes of self-love, career aspirations, and personal growth intertwine seamlessly with the central love story, giving the novel an added layer of richness.

Lyla Lee’s *Love in Focus* is a heartwarming, witty, and empowering romance that beautifully captures the magic of second chances. With lovable characters, sharp humor, and meaningful themes, this novel is a must-read for fans of sapphic rom-coms. Whether you’re a longtime romance enthusiast or simply looking for a feel-good read, *Love in Focus* delivers an enjoyable and emotionally fulfilling experience.

Love is Focus is a sweet & cute romance!

I liked the way the story was set up and thought the characters were great. The chemistry was electric too. I liked the second chance romance between college sweethearts too.

I did have an issue with the writing at times though. The changes from first to third person were a bit jarring.

The steamy scenes were well done, especially chapter 33. Twas quite hot!

Overall, an enjoyable second chance love story.

Okay, WOW!

The amount of swooning I did for this book!

Gemma, the soft-hearted romantic, reminded me so much of myself in my twenties. Hopping from relationship to relationship to fill a void I never thought I would be able to fill, so I relied on long-term relationship dependency. She was such a relatable character, and I loved her!

But omg, Celeste! 😍 She is me in my thirties. Jaded, scared to try relationships, scared that another relationship might break me. Someone who doesn't know how to feel about love and marriage, but is secretly yearning for one.

The two of them together? Literally the best representation of romantic and platonic love I've read in a long time. Not only was there great communication between the two of them when they actually were communicating, but they BOTH did the work!

While I'm as white as they come, my step-mom is Filipina, which I know is not what is represented here, but I did feel like I could relate a bit because of similarly held ideologies about family and conservative viewpoints. However, I think Lee did an incredible job really explaining the intricacies of cross-cultural norms, experiences, and expectations. Seeing–well, reading in this case–representation of older queer characters made me absolutely break down and sob.

This book was perfection, and it's made one of my top favorite sapphic books I've ever read.

Thank you so much to Forever and NetGalley for this ARC. I feel deeply humbled to have been accepted to read this one early.

Before I get into my review of “Love In Focus”, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC copy!

I loved this book SO much and never wanted it to end! Such a great book for anyone who wants an easy cozy book to read or a book to get them out of a reading slump.

As someone who’s not a fan of the second-chance romance trope, I was thoroughly surprised by how much I loved this book. It was sweet and spicy and had all the feels!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee is a sweet and lighthearted romance that follows a young photographer navigating love and self-discovery. The story has a charming premise and relatable characters, making it an easy and enjoyable read. However, the plot is somewhat predictable, and the character development feels a bit rushed at times. While it’s a good choice for fans of cute contemporary romances, it doesn’t stand out