This was so cute!! Lyla Lee knows how to write a nice rom com. It was fun to read and I like how Gem and Celeste's relationship was explored. I do wish that the reason behind Celeste leaving wasn't given so early. I'm a sucker for a good secret but overall this was done very well and i appreciated how it all came together!

This book was so cute! I usually don’t care for second chance romance novels, but Lyla Lee did it so well in those book. I loved Gemma and Celeste’s relationship, as it goes from exes to friends to a little fake dating to friends with benefits and more. The writing was good and I loved the sapphic Asian representation, as well as Gemma being in her late twenties and still love and life out.

This was a solid romance that was fun, cute, easy to read, with a cast of very easily likeable characters to back it all up. It was very simple to me, thought it has a few tough talking points such as Celeste's family struggling to accept her bisexuality fully and what it meant to Gemma and the feelings it brought up for her when her 7 year relationship very abruptly ended it doesn't go as deep as you might think it does. Val and Kiara were fun side characters and amazing friends to Gemma the entire time, I also loved the talks they had with Gemma as to how different relationships work, that they don't all look the same and things change over time. Same thing with all the different interviews for the Love in Focus project Celeste and Gemma were working on the entire story. It was interesting to see couples in all walks of life and the different things they had to say about love in general.

I did have a few issues with this story though that made it fun, but not totally groundbreaking for me and that dropped it down to a 3 instead of maybe a 4. I didn't hate this by any means though. Even though I liked Celeste and Gemma, I didn't really feel like i ever got to KNOW them. I knew things ABOUT them because the story tells us them but I couldn't tell you much more about them. They were surface level at best, and I wish they weren't because they had so much more potential. I found it a little odd that Celeste had a lot fewer POV chapters than Gemma did, for every 3-4 Gemma had Celeste got one and they were very short at that. I think it might be the first time i've seen that in a dual POV romance and I really wonder why. James also wasn't as relevant as I expected him to be, he was for 2-3 moments maybe but as shitty as he treated Gemma he needed more page time than that if only so that he could get his lashings for being that shitty lol.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4/5 stars
3/5 spice

I had such a great time with Love in Focus by Lyla Lee. The characters feel like real people and I found their romance to be really comfortable, in a good way! Things weren't over the top, there was no dramatic miscommunication or other annoying trope, and I really rooted for the two of them. It felt mature and realistic and I will definitely be picking up more books by this author in the future!

This was cute but super predictable. I did really enjoy it! I am not the biggest fan of second-chance romance. But I did not mind it in this book.

While I wasn't as emotionally invested in the romance as I always hope to be, I had a great time reading this. It was very cute, and by the end of the novel I was totally rooting for Celeste and Gemma to be together.

This book was good, it was a quick fun read, and was a great example of queer joy!

While I enjoyed the book, I found the main plot and center romance to be a little forgettable. While I liked both characters, I didn’t feel all of the angst and the need to be together.

However, I loved the centering of queer love stories throughout the ages - especially seeing examples of queer couples who have stayed together throughout their entire lives!

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!