This books was recommended to me by another reviewer and the cover immediately drew me in. Unfortunately the cover was the best part. It was a fight to make it through this for me. The writing style felt far more telling than showing in a way that left me bored and hunting for the sparse moments of dialogue.

This was a very cute, simple contemporary romance read. I don’t think it introduced anything new or groundbreaking for me but it was an enjoyable read overall.

✔ The pining in the first part of the story was so so good. The angst made everything that came after sweeter.
✔ Both of the characters were flawed and those flaws contribute to the continued angst, rather than relying on tropes or excessive miscommunication to keep the story rolling.
✔ I loved this take on Persuasion and specifically how the themes fit really well into Asian or Asian-American families and the related expectations. Family pressure is tied into both themes and the combination of them was an enjoyable new interpretation.

✖ There was a lot of inner monologue rather than actual dialogue between the two love interests - it seemed like they fell back in love with their past selves rather than spending a lot of time getting to know, which is always disappointing in a second chance romance.

3.5/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to hear Lee was writing a Persuasion retelling and the first third of Give Me a Reason was so good. It was angsty and Frederick and Anne had so much sizzling tension. But then it just fizzled out. While I loved the whole cast of characters and the places they went throughout the story, but for a story with so many characters there was too little dialogue, especially between Anne and Frederick. There was also too many instances of “ they inhaled a sharp breath” to the point of being distracting. I just really wanted more dialogue and less internal monologues of the characters because then it didn’t feel genuine that they resolved anything or grew as characters by the end.

I love Lee’s writing, but this one just didn’t quite meet my always high expectations when it comes to a retelling.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for a review!)

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s for the ARC!

By the gorgeous cover I was excited for the story, but unfortunately it really didn’t work for me. The author did a lot of showing versus telling and I didn’t really buy into the characters’ chemistry or feelings for one another.

This is a book for all the other Austenian girlies like me! Give Me a Reason is a modern version of Jane Austen's Persuasion, starring Anne, a K-drama actress, and firefighter Frederick. The pair were first loves who reconnected 10 years later in time for their mutual friends' wedding. Give Me a Reason, just like author Jacyi Lee's other novels, brings a slew of compelling language, witty dialogue, and authentic characters. This book read quite quickly and did have, like, one-or-two steamy scenes, which definitely didn't overpower the plot. All in all, I just wanted to keep reading this sweeping, modern Austenian adaptation. It's fun and cute -- especially for all the other Austen fangirl freaks like me. (Which, yes, I wear that with a badge of honor. Loud and proud.)

Like many others, this cover was one of the main reasons I wanted to read this book, along with the Jane Austen retelling aspect. Sadly it did not live up to either of those things. There was a lot of miscommunication by the characters and a lot of information dumping and talking at the reader instead of letting them analyze information. The side characters do not add much to the story and the pining does not build enough tension to be worth the pay off.

Oh my goshhhhh the writing of this novel was excellent. I couldn’t put it down. I love a Jane Austen retelling and this one was so cute.

I fear I was drawn to this book by it's cover. I know they say never judge a book by it's cover and I did here but because the cover was so gorgeous I was expecting the story to be gorgeous as well. While this is definitely not the worst book I have read, it is not the best either. This book would probably make a good palate cleanser book and you can literally zone out for half of it and not miss anything so there is that. I think overall this book was fine but ultimately forgettable.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A very good attempt of a modern retelling of Persuasion! There were a lot of emotions from start to finish! There were times where I was a bit frustrated but all in all, a very good job! I really adored the side characters and also the found family aspect!

First of all love the cover of this one! Perfect for fans of kdramas and Jane Austen! Again I love yearning in a book and this one had that!

I absolutely love this cover! That’s one of my reasons why I requested to read it. I found this book to be very slow. It was hard for me to get through it. I really wanted to like this book but it wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Jayci, and St.Martins Press for the eARC!

Publication Date: July 29th 2025
Rating: ✨✨

Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen, and Give Me a Reason gave me all the same feelings as the original. The soft, quiet yearning is exquisite (we all want to feel that Darcy handflex, right? This book is the embodiment of that handflex) and Anne is still so recognizably Austen's Anne but Jayci's Anne learns how to take up space. The modern updates work beautifully, within the characters and the plot, and having Fredrick's POV is just chef's kiss--I was giggling and kicking my feet when he was convincing himself that they could just be friends. It was my favorite part.

If Persuasion is your favorite Austen, definitely pick this one up and snuggle in with a cup of tea. It's beautiful.

I really wanted to like this - especially given that it’s a Jane Austen retelling. But there just wasn’t enough character development, let alone time to even get to know the characters enough to feel attached to them. I didn’t find the love story believable unfortunately. But the cover art was so pretty, I had such high hopes. 😭

I think there is definitely promise though for future books from the author if they really take more time to create in-depth characters and story arcs!

I’m a sucker for second chance romance. So when I read the synopsis of this book, I was immediately intrigued. I had never read anything by the author before, but the premise gripped me—and I just had to read it!

The story follows Anne Lee, a Korean actress who left the love of her life ten years ago in California to pursue acting in Korea, hoping to save her father from bankruptcy. Anne walked away from Frederick Nam when he was 19, refusing to let him follow her and potentially ruin his future. He wasn’t sure about much back then—except that Anne was his soulmate. After she left, he spent years loving and missing her, but eventually, he began living for himself. He worked on Wall Street for a few years and is now a firefighter in Culver City. But his world shifts again when Anne returns to Los Angeles to be closer to her family and begin working in Hollywood.

Anne and Frederick keep running into each other because they’re part of the same wedding—her cousin is marrying his friend. Seeing him regularly makes Anne realize she never truly got over him.

ISTG, this was such a roller coaster of emotions! The book is dual POV, written in third person, so as a reader, you can clearly see that they both still love and care for each other. But the way Anne left Frederick caused him to harbor some resentment, and Anne carries a lot of guilt. Still, they can't deny their feelings, and you can see it in the small gestures they make for one another. The angst and mutual pining going on in their heads was INSANE! Keyword being: “in their heads.” Both are reserved and quiet, which led to major communication issues and a bunch of misunderstandings. The assumptions and lack of honest conversation nearly made me lose my mind. I just wanted to shake them and yell, “JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER!”

The story occasionally flashes back to the past through letters Frederick wrote to Anne over the years, which added such emotional depth. I really admired Anne’s character. Although she’s the middle child, she has full-on eldest daughter syndrome—quiet strength, always putting others first, and being a leader, a kind of superhero to her sister and cousins. But her growth arc was incredible. She slowly starts choosing herself and doing things on *her* terms, and that was so powerful to watch.

I also adored the found family dynamic and genuinely loved almost every side character. The pacing and writing were easy to read, and I’ll definitely be checking out more of Jayci Lee’s books. If you’re a fan of second chance romances, this is one you don’t want to miss!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The best thing about this book was its cover.

Every new development was compromised of a massive info dump and the characters explaining exactly what they were going to do. There was so much pining but no actual romance. The storyline had so much potential but it was lost in an overabundance of dialogue of info dumping.

Thank you net galley for this advance reader copy!

This is a cute, contemporary second-chance romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion. The cover art is absolutely stunning and caught my eye immediately! I liked the author’s reimagining of the main characters - Anne left Frederick for an acting career in Korea, and he became a firefighter captain in her absence. They are reunited ten years later due to being in the same wedding party.

While I enjoyed different elements of this story, it didn’t hold my attention as well as I had hoped. The constant miscommunication was a bit frustrating, and I think the dual POV may have contributed to that for me. Seeing both characters think the same, incorrect thoughts about each other for a majority of the book felt excessive.

I liked seeing Anne adjust to her new life back home and take time to figure out what she wants for her future career, I felt like as a reader I got to know her pretty well outside of her romantic interests. Unfortunately Frederick didn’t come across the same way, I don’t feel that I knew him much outside of his heartbreak and love for Anne. I would have been nice to get more insight into his personality and characteristics.

The ending was sweet, I loved that their proposal occurred during the filming of Pride & Prejudice.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I wanted to say thank you for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. Once I started, I could not put it down!! I fell in love with Frederrick and felt for him and the pain he had gone through when Anne broke up with him. Anne's character frustrated me because I wanted her to speak up and stand up for herself. I hated that she felt she needed to keep her family together and sacrificed her happiness to help her family. It wasn't until I got to the end of the book where Anne had gotten the role for Elizabeth Bennet that I made the connection that Frederick and Anne were betraying Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice. I enjoyed that the two main characters show progression from being mad at each other to trying to be friends to them realizing that they love each other. Don't even get me started on how Frederrick proposed to Anne. That first scene is my all-time favorite scene of the story, and I would love to have a proposal like that. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Publishing Group, for the amazing opportunity to read an early copy of Give Me a Reason.

I really enjoyed the story! As a big Jane Austen fan I was a bit hesitant but I was proven wrong. I found the dual POV an interesting change. But it didn’t always help because I felt there was little mystery or build up. I enjoyed the tension and build up of the first half of the book. A lot of elements from Persuasion that was incorporated into the story. I enjoyed the romance and whirlwind of it all. A great second chance story and to fight for who you love.

I really enjoyed this book! I think it was a pretty solid modern retelling of persuasion, and it convinced me to give the original book a shot! Although there were points where the book just seemed a little cringy or over descriptive, I don’t think it caused for it to be any less readable!

Give Me a Reason was an easy, enjoyable read with a second-chance romance that kept me turning the pages. The writing flowed well, and I liked the premise, especially as a retelling of Persuasion. The emotional moments landed, and the romance had its sweet moments, but overall, it didn’t leave a lasting impression. While I had fun reading it, I know it’s not a story I’ll be thinking about again. If you’re looking for a quick, light romance, it’s worth picking up—but it won’t stick with you long after the final page.