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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love in Focus by Lyla Lee, Narrated by Natalie Naudus; Catherine Ho. This book combines the fun of a workplace setting with forced proximity tropes into a second-chance romance. We have two Korean Women as the main characters who started as college roommates and fell in love several years ago. Now, in the present day, Gemma & Celeste have to work together on a story for a magazine, and that old spark is still there.
This book was one where I was yelling at both of them to go to therapy to work through their trauma, but then they did, and I was obsessed with that being included. I really enjoyed the storyline and the character's communication in this book. If you are looking for spice, some exploration, and a strap scene, this is right up your alley.
I also really enjoyed this dual narration of this book. Both did a fantastic job. I had a hard time figuring out which narrator was reading for which character at the beginning because they were similar, but once I got into the book, I could distinguish between them. This, however, could have been a problem, as I listen to my romance novels at 1.5 to 2.0 times the speed.
Overall, I had a great time reading and listening to this audiobook, and I highly recommend picking up this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC.
This book was one where I was yelling at both of them to go to therapy to work through their trauma, but then they did, and I was obsessed with that being included. I really enjoyed the storyline and the character's communication in this book. If you are looking for spice, some exploration, and a strap scene, this is right up your alley.
I also really enjoyed this dual narration of this book. Both did a fantastic job. I had a hard time figuring out which narrator was reading for which character at the beginning because they were similar, but once I got into the book, I could distinguish between them. This, however, could have been a problem, as I listen to my romance novels at 1.5 to 2.0 times the speed.
Overall, I had a great time reading and listening to this audiobook, and I highly recommend picking up this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly, I did not enjoy this book; it was super mid. Nothing original and the amount that Masc and Fem were used in the beginning just made me angry. Love that FMCs gave themselves a chance to grow before becoming a couple again. The setting was light, characters were pretty well-developed. This book might be more enjoyable if you're looking for something light and easy to read.
emotional
funny
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love in Focus was absolutely adorable. It strikes a great balance between embracing cute, fun romance tropes and keeping the story grounded and relatable, I especially appreciated that the relationship isn’t portrayed as perfect from the start!
That said, I found myself wanting either more of Celeste’s thoughts or none at all; as it stands, her perspective felt a bit underdeveloped.
I listened to the audiobook, and I have to say it really brings Gemma to life, the narrator does an excellent job with the dialogue, making the entire listening experience smooth and engaging.
A perfect read for Valentine’s season!
I thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review
I thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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:
No
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Lyla Lee for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
📸📸📸 Three cameras
Love in Focus was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025—with a cover like that how could it not be—but having read it I'm left feeling underwhelmed. While the story hits a lot of sapphic tropes it read as kind of wishy-washy and I just felt like things progressed too quickly for it to be at all believable, even for a second chance romance involving a lesbian (no U-Haul jokes please). I guess maybe I wanted a little more bitter in my bittersweet buildup, and I just didn't get it. In saying that, I liked the characters, I just wanted more from them. They were well written, but I wanted them to be written about more. This book could honestly have been longer and I'd have been fine with that.
One thing this book does really well is it highlights queer people of colour, and Korean queer people in particular, throughout the story—from Gemma and Celeste themselves, to their families and friends, to the people that they're interviewing for their media piece. While the publishing industry is diversifying itself to a certain degree, it's still rare to see love stories about sapphic Asian characters on shelves in big box bookstores, so to see a book like this that is unapologetically about them is terrific. I hope it has a lot of commercial success!
Love in Focus didn't quite do it for me, but I'll be waiting for Lyla Lee's next book to see how her writing grows. I recommend the audiobook of this one. Natalie Naudus does a stellar job as always, though I don't think the second narrator was necessary.
📸📸📸 Three cameras
Love in Focus was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025—with a cover like that how could it not be—but having read it I'm left feeling underwhelmed. While the story hits a lot of sapphic tropes it read as kind of wishy-washy and I just felt like things progressed too quickly for it to be at all believable, even for a second chance romance involving a lesbian (no U-Haul jokes please). I guess maybe I wanted a little more bitter in my bittersweet buildup, and I just didn't get it. In saying that, I liked the characters, I just wanted more from them. They were well written, but I wanted them to be written about more. This book could honestly have been longer and I'd have been fine with that.
One thing this book does really well is it highlights queer people of colour, and Korean queer people in particular, throughout the story—from Gemma and Celeste themselves, to their families and friends, to the people that they're interviewing for their media piece. While the publishing industry is diversifying itself to a certain degree, it's still rare to see love stories about sapphic Asian characters on shelves in big box bookstores, so to see a book like this that is unapologetically about them is terrific. I hope it has a lot of commercial success!
Love in Focus didn't quite do it for me, but I'll be waiting for Lyla Lee's next book to see how her writing grows. I recommend the audiobook of this one. Natalie Naudus does a stellar job as always, though I don't think the second narrator was necessary.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
DNF beginning of ch 3, 41 minutes (9%) into the audiobook. This book has very little pov from the love interest (just a couple minutes here and there), and with it being second chance, I'm just uninterested in continuing.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
there were moments when the writing felt a bit over explanatory? but otherwise if was wonderful i loved the characters the emphasis on friendship and independence and self respect as well as being a gorgeous and sexy and heartwrenching romance
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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:
Yes
This sapphic romance was fast paced and had such good side characters too! I loved her friends especially when she was like im manifesting a better queue in Beyoncé’s next tour. So iconic. I loved Celeste and Gemma dynamic with their flirting and being affected by each other even after so many years. The cliches about lesbians are mostly true especially since i have seen it in my friends which i find even more funny and heartwarming. I really enjoyed seeing the author mention that its rare we see queer couples who are Korean or come from a cultural background that see things as man/woman relationship only. Seeing that in Celeste and how she had to navigate through that when she moved back home temporarily was so heartbreaking. On the lighter side though when they were trying to deny their attraction to each other cracked me up like just make-out already! I definitely would have folded like a house of cards being flirted with by Celeste or Gemma. I appreciated the ending even though it had me crying because Gemma did need to be getting her life together as a single person for a bit. But im happy how it ended.