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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh boy where to I even begin? Just finished this story any my eyes are full of tears and I have a little bit of a FOMO sensation settling in my stomach.
The story covered a myriad of differential equations from love, loss, marriage, to engagements and friendships. All of which came together in lessons we all have learnt or need too.
Enjoyed listening to this book a lot with such a high quality production put together by the team at HachetteAudio, and let’s take a moment to appreciate What an amazing casting has been chosen with Natalie Naudus and Catherine Ho bringing this world to life in such a perfect way. I couldn’t imagine anyone else as Gemma and Celeste!
Favourite Quote: “You can take as much time as you want with the pizza…. And I promise you. I’ll take as much time as I want with you later in bed!”
“Sometimes the hardest person to be honest with is yourself.”
Spicy Level - 🌶️🌶️
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Review about the audiobook
Phew, that was extremely emotional and really touched me.
I come from similarly difficult family circumstances and could relate to a lot of it.
It was also cheeky and funny with lots of very loving characters.
The two MCs could have been shaken up at times, but then they were wonderful again.
The narration was excellent from Gemma's voice.
The second voice wasn't necessary in my opinion and wasn't my favorite.
Gemma's emotions came through really well.
That was a bit lacking in Celeste.
The pacing was generally good, but here too the second voice was a bit too choppy.
Otherwise this audiobook is really great and the story is highly recommended. Thanks so much for this ARC!
I‘ll gladly listen to everything from this Author and narration again.
Phew, that was extremely emotional and really touched me.
I come from similarly difficult family circumstances and could relate to a lot of it.
It was also cheeky and funny with lots of very loving characters.
The two MCs could have been shaken up at times, but then they were wonderful again.
The narration was excellent from Gemma's voice.
The second voice wasn't necessary in my opinion and wasn't my favorite.
Gemma's emotions came through really well.
That was a bit lacking in Celeste.
The pacing was generally good, but here too the second voice was a bit too choppy.
Otherwise this audiobook is really great and the story is highly recommended. Thanks so much for this ARC!
I‘ll gladly listen to everything from this Author and narration again.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
This book delivered on all of its promises. A cute (sexy) sapphic romance full of pining, passion, and emotional baggage. It had all of the elements of a sapphic romance I look for—especially in the more spicy scenes. The tension was palatable between these two and I love how it played out on page. Their emotions were explored well, and we got a lot of depth from these characters. I enjoyed the read for the most part.
With all that being said, I did have a big problem with one particular moment of Celeste’s internal dialogue. Celeste describes how, back when they had first broke up in college due to unforeseen circumstances in Celeste’s life (that she did not communicate) she is upset to find that in the time she had been gone (4 months), Gemma had already moved on. On its own that wouldn’t have been a problem, but then Celeste says something along the lines of “…and she moved on with a man, a lesbian’s worst nightmare.” Not only is that dangerously close to biphobia, if not blatantly biphobic. It’s also just weird and untrue thing to say (please give lesbians more credit than that). It also had no real bearing on the story considering that’s not why Celeste stays single or why she is now wary of romance—which IS explained and makes a lot of sense! So that made the comment so much more unnecessary and confusing. The book could have (SHOULD HAVE) done without it.
I would have rated this book between a 4-5, but honestly that line left such a gross taste in my mouth, it was hard to get past. I am not sure how comfortable I am recommending it.
This book delivered on all of its promises. A cute (sexy) sapphic romance full of pining, passion, and emotional baggage. It had all of the elements of a sapphic romance I look for—especially in the more spicy scenes. The tension was palatable between these two and I love how it played out on page. Their emotions were explored well, and we got a lot of depth from these characters. I enjoyed the read for the most part.
With all that being said, I did have a big problem with one particular moment of Celeste’s internal dialogue. Celeste describes how, back when they had first broke up in college due to unforeseen circumstances in Celeste’s life (that she did not communicate) she is upset to find that in the time she had been gone (4 months), Gemma had already moved on. On its own that wouldn’t have been a problem, but then Celeste says something along the lines of “…and she moved on with a man, a lesbian’s worst nightmare.” Not only is that dangerously close to biphobia, if not blatantly biphobic. It’s also just weird and untrue thing to say (please give lesbians more credit than that). It also had no real bearing on the story considering that’s not why Celeste stays single or why she is now wary of romance—which IS explained and makes a lot of sense! So that made the comment so much more unnecessary and confusing. The book could have (SHOULD HAVE) done without it.
I would have rated this book between a 4-5, but honestly that line left such a gross taste in my mouth, it was hard to get past. I am not sure how comfortable I am recommending it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Overall, it was cute and sweet, but I can't say that I really bought the relationship between Gemma and Celeste. It also felt kind of rushed... I don't usually say this, but this book could have used another 100-200 pages to develop their relationship.
I really didn't like how Celeste's parts were narrated in 3rd and Gemma's in 1st. It felt... weird. Kind of like Celeste was one of those people who refer to themselves in 3rd person in a cringey way.
The bi representation made my heart happy! As a bi woman myself, I've witnessed so much biphobia, especially (and unfortunately) from the lesbian community. To see Gemma, a bi woman, so openly accepted and loved by the lesbians in her life, gave me hope. Unfortunately biphobia has scared me away from pursuing women romantically, which really sucks because my bisexuality is part of who I am. This book is another example of why representation is so important.
Would I recommend this? Yeah. It's an easy read with little angst, so a good pallet cleanser.
Thank you Hachette for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!
I really didn't like how Celeste's parts were narrated in 3rd and Gemma's in 1st. It felt... weird. Kind of like Celeste was one of those people who refer to themselves in 3rd person in a cringey way.
The bi representation made my heart happy! As a bi woman myself, I've witnessed so much biphobia, especially (and unfortunately) from the lesbian community. To see Gemma, a bi woman, so openly accepted and loved by the lesbians in her life, gave me hope. Unfortunately biphobia has scared me away from pursuing women romantically, which really sucks because my bisexuality is part of who I am. This book is another example of why representation is so important.
Would I recommend this? Yeah. It's an easy read with little angst, so a good pallet cleanser.
Thank you Hachette for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!
emotional
lighthearted
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
I thought this was such a cute second chance romance. Not normally a trope I pick up, but I will read every sapphic romance I can get my hands one.
This story follows two exes that have to work together after basically ghosting each other after college. The majority of the story is from Gemma's pov which was really engaging and funny. When it would switch to Celeste it didn't work as well. It was jaring and she didn't seem as balanced or fleshed out s a character.
I do love the bi rep in this and the talk about the underrepresentation of sapphic media. I was hoping for more heavy romance but I still enjoyed their story.
Overall super cute, will definitely be looking for more books by this author in the future. Thank you to netgalley for the arc for an honest review.
This story follows two exes that have to work together after basically ghosting each other after college. The majority of the story is from Gemma's pov which was really engaging and funny. When it would switch to Celeste it didn't work as well. It was jaring and she didn't seem as balanced or fleshed out s a character.
I do love the bi rep in this and the talk about the underrepresentation of sapphic media. I was hoping for more heavy romance but I still enjoyed their story.
Overall super cute, will definitely be looking for more books by this author in the future. Thank you to netgalley for the arc for an honest review.
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I have a love hate relationship with second chance romances. This one I loved. This audiobook was such an easy immersive listen. I loved watching Gemma grow throughout a breakup, reconnection, and finding herself. I personally don’t know much about Korean culture so it was nice to learn some new things through this cute romance. I loved that the “third act breakup” wasn’t miscommunication, it was to allow Gemma to learn more about herself and being single. It showed true maturity in knowing you want someone, and if it is the right person it will happen. The idea of Love in Focus was so cute and I loved it.
The only thing I didn’t particularly like in this book is the voice of Celeste made her seem like in her 40’s not 30. I liked her but it was hard to picture a badass photographer with tattoos, when the voice made me think of a mother who had kids already.
Thank you to Hachette Audio for letting me listen to it early on NetGalley!
The only thing I didn’t particularly like in this book is the voice of Celeste made her seem like in her 40’s not 30. I liked her but it was hard to picture a badass photographer with tattoos, when the voice made me think of a mother who had kids already.
Thank you to Hachette Audio for letting me listen to it early on NetGalley!
They had me at "Delilah Green meets The Bold Type!"
This is a cute, fairly light, second-chance romance.
I really liked both main characters, and while I felt like Celeste's excuse for ghosting Gemma in the past was very flimsy, it did make sense in the greater context of the story as a reason so many things were left unsaid and why their attraction was so strong as soon as they saw each other again.
I appreciated the mental and emotional journeys of self-discovery both characters undertook throughout the story.
While this one did not blow me away, I thought the audio was really well done, with both narrators doing an excellent job of pulling me into the story. This is a great romcom to listen to while you're multi-tasking.
Thank you to @netgalley, Hachette Audio, Forever, and Lyla Lee for my advance audio copy.
This is a cute, fairly light, second-chance romance.
I really liked both main characters, and while I felt like Celeste's excuse for ghosting Gemma in the past was very flimsy, it did make sense in the greater context of the story as a reason so many things were left unsaid and why their attraction was so strong as soon as they saw each other again.
I appreciated the mental and emotional journeys of self-discovery both characters undertook throughout the story.
While this one did not blow me away, I thought the audio was really well done, with both narrators doing an excellent job of pulling me into the story. This is a great romcom to listen to while you're multi-tasking.
Thank you to @netgalley, Hachette Audio, Forever, and Lyla Lee for my advance audio copy.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Thank you Forever and Netgalley for providing me with an Audio ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
The book was a fun read! The characters had great and believable chemistry from the start. I hadn't read any second chance romances, I think. so this was probably the first time reading about exes falling back in love. The interesting thing about second chance romances, is that you can already tell that they care about each other from the start. They have a different friendship bond due to their history. That's different from when you read about people meeting each other for the first time.
It makes me happy to see this book getting published. Especially to see more Asian queer rep. Representation matters!
I read an audiobook of this book and I m really liked the narrator for Gemma. Which is good, considering most chapters were from Gemma's pov.
I have to say that I wasn't whether to give the book 3 or 4 stars at first. But, I did really enjoy myself a lot, reading this. So, I ended up going with 4 stars.
What I didn't like about the book were Celeste's chapters. The change of narrative perspective threw me off every time. I'm curious why the author chose to change between first and third person. But for me, it didn't really work. To me, it created more of a distance between the reader and Celeste
Lastly, the Celeste voice actor was in my opinion not as good as Gemma's. Maybe it was because of the third person perspective, but Celeste sounded more expressive. While Gemma sounded monotonous at times.
I gave the book 4 stars, because overall I liked the book a lot! It's such a cute read, while also being angsty. I think I'm really into Sapphic adult romance!
So, although I had some criticism, I would totally recommend it.
The book was a fun read! The characters had great and believable chemistry from the start. I hadn't read any second chance romances, I think. so this was probably the first time reading about exes falling back in love. The interesting thing about second chance romances, is that you can already tell that they care about each other from the start. They have a different friendship bond due to their history. That's different from when you read about people meeting each other for the first time.
It makes me happy to see this book getting published. Especially to see more Asian queer rep. Representation matters!
I read an audiobook of this book and I m really liked the narrator for Gemma. Which is good, considering most chapters were from Gemma's pov.
I have to say that I wasn't whether to give the book 3 or 4 stars at first. But, I did really enjoy myself a lot, reading this. So, I ended up going with 4 stars.
What I didn't like about the book were Celeste's chapters. The change of narrative perspective threw me off every time. I'm curious why the author chose to change between first and third person. But for me, it didn't really work. To me, it created more of a distance between the reader and Celeste
Lastly, the Celeste voice actor was in my opinion not as good as Gemma's. Maybe it was because of the third person perspective, but Celeste sounded more expressive. While Gemma sounded monotonous at times.
I gave the book 4 stars, because overall I liked the book a lot! It's such a cute read, while also being angsty. I think I'm really into Sapphic adult romance!
So, although I had some criticism, I would totally recommend it.
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received an advance copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Forever/Hachette Audio for the opportunity to read!
Overall rating: 3.5/5
Basics: Contemporary second-chance romance with dual POVs, one in 1st person (about 70% of chapters) and one in 3rd person (about 30% of chapters); open-door, 4/5 spice
Representation: Both leads are Korean-American women. One identifies as lesbian, the other as bisexual.
Characters: (3/5) Overall, I liked both of the lead characters.I did find myself liking Celeste much more than Gemma, and wished we had more chapters in her POV. Celeste was more engaging, self-aware, and active, while Gemma felt a little more passive in her role much of the time. I was taken out of the story by Gemma at times. I am personally not a fan of miscommunication as a romance trope, so I found myself frustrated when, from the beginning, her biggest continual complaint was that Celeste never reached out to her after their original split, despite Gemma having blocked Celeste from being able to contact her. Without spoilers: I did appreciate the third act and the effort the women went to working on themselves before reaching a point where they could be in a healthy relationship.
Romance/chemistry: (3/5) Once these two came together, it was clear they cared for each other, worked well together both professionally and as a couple, and had good chemistry. I found myself more compelled by their friendship, though, than their romance.
Plot: (3.5/5) The two women are thrown together by a work project they must navigate together. This felt fairly background level and didn’t strongly impact the romance other than setting up their meet. However, adding half a star for the couples interviewed later in the book and the beautiful illustration of how powerful representation can be.
Narration/audio quality: (4.5/5) Both narrators were excellent. No issues with audio quality or pacing. Character voices were distinct and easy to follow. Something about the narration for Gemma’s character didn’t quite grab me as much, but I’m primarily putting this down to my feelings about her as a character, not Natalie Naudus’ narration of her.
Overall rating: 3.5/5
Basics: Contemporary second-chance romance with dual POVs, one in 1st person (about 70% of chapters) and one in 3rd person (about 30% of chapters); open-door, 4/5 spice
Representation: Both leads are Korean-American women. One identifies as lesbian, the other as bisexual.
Characters: (3/5) Overall, I liked both of the lead characters.I did find myself liking Celeste much more than Gemma, and wished we had more chapters in her POV. Celeste was more engaging, self-aware, and active, while Gemma felt a little more passive in her role much of the time. I was taken out of the story by Gemma at times. I am personally not a fan of miscommunication as a romance trope, so I found myself frustrated when, from the beginning, her biggest continual complaint was that Celeste never reached out to her after their original split, despite Gemma having blocked Celeste from being able to contact her. Without spoilers: I did appreciate the third act and the effort the women went to working on themselves before reaching a point where they could be in a healthy relationship.
Romance/chemistry: (3/5) Once these two came together, it was clear they cared for each other, worked well together both professionally and as a couple, and had good chemistry. I found myself more compelled by their friendship, though, than their romance.
Plot: (3.5/5) The two women are thrown together by a work project they must navigate together. This felt fairly background level and didn’t strongly impact the romance other than setting up their meet. However, adding half a star for the couples interviewed later in the book and the beautiful illustration of how powerful representation can be.
Narration/audio quality: (4.5/5) Both narrators were excellent. No issues with audio quality or pacing. Character voices were distinct and easy to follow. Something about the narration for Gemma’s character didn’t quite grab me as much, but I’m primarily putting this down to my feelings about her as a character, not Natalie Naudus’ narration of her.
lighthearted
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:
Complicated