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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the hopeless romantic aspects of this book. This was my first sapphic novel and I wasn’t disappointed. All the characters are well written and the storyline pulls you in and gives you all the feels of watching a romance movie on a Saturday afternoon. While the FMC was fun, I very much enjoyed the side relationship of Kiara and Val, they are a great set of friends to Gemma and the character of Kiara has such cinnamon roll vibes and I was drawn to her, always smiling when I came upon her parts in this Rom-com.
The overall topic of LOVE that echos throughout the book is quite heartwarming, you get a look into various relationships from various walks of life and all so sweet and so relatable. There are many lessons to take with you “Accept each other unconditionally”, and “…sticking together through thick and thin” and “”love is Sara, no one and nothing else”. All such great bits from the random relationships.
Celeste and Gemma have a genuinely realistic relationship with ups, downs, separation and uncertainty, but don’t all romance novels have those?
“One romance novel moment at a time”
Don’t force it, take your time and you can also have your Celeste/Gemma moment.
Also thank you NetGalley for the ARC
The overall topic of LOVE that echos throughout the book is quite heartwarming, you get a look into various relationships from various walks of life and all so sweet and so relatable. There are many lessons to take with you “Accept each other unconditionally”, and “…sticking together through thick and thin” and “”love is Sara, no one and nothing else”. All such great bits from the random relationships.
Celeste and Gemma have a genuinely realistic relationship with ups, downs, separation and uncertainty, but don’t all romance novels have those?
“One romance novel moment at a time”
Don’t force it, take your time and you can also have your Celeste/Gemma moment.
Also thank you NetGalley for the ARC
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a little slow in the beginning but I still loved it overall
This was a cute enough second chance romance. I’m glad the audio book narrator for Gemma did most of the story because the narrator for Celeste was hard to listen to.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Love in Focus was a cute queer, second change romance with college exes get thrown together for a work project 8 years later.
Gemma is a columnist focusing on relationships whose fiancé just broke up with her, and she finds out has quickly moved on. Of course, she is assigned to work on a project about couples in love and the photographer hired for the project is none other than Celeste, her college girlfriend who ghosted her.
I loved the friend group background characters but really wish we got a bit more out of Celeste. Mild spice, very few scenes but well written.
I loved the bi representation and the way that the main characters Asian culture and heritage was woven throughout the story. What I didn't love was the way the ex, James, was largely ignored throughout the story but then made to be a huge sticking point in the last 20%, I'd say be done with him entirely.
I received an audio copy from NetGalley and this book publishes May 27, 2025.
Gemma is a columnist focusing on relationships whose fiancé just broke up with her, and she finds out has quickly moved on. Of course, she is assigned to work on a project about couples in love and the photographer hired for the project is none other than Celeste, her college girlfriend who ghosted her.
I loved the friend group background characters but really wish we got a bit more out of Celeste. Mild spice, very few scenes but well written.
I loved the bi representation and the way that the main characters Asian culture and heritage was woven throughout the story. What I didn't love was the way the ex, James, was largely ignored throughout the story but then made to be a huge sticking point in the last 20%, I'd say be done with him entirely.
I received an audio copy from NetGalley and this book publishes May 27, 2025.
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
▫️ Sapphic romance
▫️ Second chance
▫️ Dual POV
▫️ Forced proximity
▫️ Workplace romance
▫️ Advice columnist x photographer
▫️ San Francisco setting
This book was an absolute breath of fresh air 🙌🏽
A sapphic, second chance, workplace romance? Yes please! This was a sweet, spicy, heartwarming romance with great bisexual rep, lots of cultural diversity (that inc some eye opening points) + (mostly) HEALTHY communication, which I loved.
Gem & Celeste were both loveable, realistic main characters, whose shared history added some emotional depth to a plot that otherwise felt quite lighthearted—— although there was lots of great representation & important topics raised, there was no major conflict + no huge plot points (neither of these are bad things) which made for a quick, fun & refreshing read.
The only thing that tripped me up a little was I’d have really liked both characters’ perspectives to be first person—— Celeste’s pov was few and far between but being in third person threw me + I personally found it a little harder to connect with her character.
The found family element was done brilliantly, the (LGBTQIA+ and cultural) representation was beautifully written & the San Fran setting was vivid. Overall; a super fun little read that explored heartbreak, reconnection + self discovery and was a beautiful tribute to love in all its forms.
*𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑟: 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟/𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑟.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
This was a sweet LGBT cute meet! A fun story of love, loss, and self discovery. Very sweet book indeed. ☺️