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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
emotional
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:
Yes
Thank you to Hachette Book Group, Forever, Lyla Lee, and NetGalley for the arc copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
The last thing romance advise columnist Gemma Cho imagines happening after James, her partner of 7 years, suddenly ends their engagement with no explanation, is running into her ex from college, Celeste Min. But sometimes, the universe has a funny way of bringing people back into your life. Gemma is assigned a project at work that requires a photographer for their upcoming magazine spread on love, and Celeste is hired to photograph. With no real reason to fire Celeste, Gemma assures her boss that the arrangement will not be an issue, and the pair soon work closely together to interview and photograph a group of couples. What they imagined would be an easy assignment turns complicated once the pair realizes they still have lingering feelings and unresolved hurt from college.
This was a quick read and sweet second chance romance. I enjoyed the dual POV from both Celeste and Gemma, but it threw me off that one was third person and one was first person. They should have been the same style. I enjoyed the multicultural and LGBTQIA+ representation, as most romances are told through straight white characters.
The last thing romance advise columnist Gemma Cho imagines happening after James, her partner of 7 years, suddenly ends their engagement with no explanation, is running into her ex from college, Celeste Min. But sometimes, the universe has a funny way of bringing people back into your life. Gemma is assigned a project at work that requires a photographer for their upcoming magazine spread on love, and Celeste is hired to photograph. With no real reason to fire Celeste, Gemma assures her boss that the arrangement will not be an issue, and the pair soon work closely together to interview and photograph a group of couples. What they imagined would be an easy assignment turns complicated once the pair realizes they still have lingering feelings and unresolved hurt from college.
This was a quick read and sweet second chance romance. I enjoyed the dual POV from both Celeste and Gemma, but it threw me off that one was third person and one was first person. They should have been the same style. I enjoyed the multicultural and LGBTQIA+ representation, as most romances are told through straight white characters.
honestly very close to a 2. the story felt pretty flat and the dialogue was kinda stiff in places. this definitely had potential but just felt bland.. the writing is just not my style for sure
did lyla lee have a secret camera crew on me for a decade or something because gemma is almost exactly my 20's 🤣 had a girlfriend, we broke up, got with a guy in northern california, was with him for a really long time, and he secretly cheated on me but i found out after we broke up. lyla lee's books are usually cozy so it was jarring that love in focus was still a little bit of that coziness with a lot more spice than i'm used to. it's not a bad thing though! i enjoyed it.
i'm still waiting for my physical copy to ship from the ripped bodice but i was impatient so i bought the audiobook on libro.fm. natalie naudus's narration for everyone was great except for the guys. she strains her voice in a lower register that makes the characters sound comical. in a book like this, it's more acceptable because almost all of the guys are ridiculous and terrible. there were a few chapters in celeste's pov and i wish there were more because i didn't feel like there was enough substance to add meaningful information to the story. the chapters should have had a good balance of both or only one pov. also catherine ho's narration for this supposedly super cool tatted babe was the most monotone and lacking performance i'd heard in a while. her narration reminded me of some of the older audiobooks where the narrator is just reading the book aloud with no inflection or personality.
barring that, love in focus is a fast read that explores a second chance romance through the eyes of fuller characters almost in their 30's. they're great at communication and have healthier outlooks on life. this book is a great palate cleanser, especially for people who want a korean sapphic romance!
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cover artist: leni kauffman
i'm still waiting for my physical copy to ship from the ripped bodice but i was impatient so i bought the audiobook on libro.fm. natalie naudus's narration for everyone was great except for the guys. she strains her voice in a lower register that makes the characters sound comical. in a book like this, it's more acceptable because almost all of the guys are ridiculous and terrible. there were a few chapters in celeste's pov and i wish there were more because i didn't feel like there was enough substance to add meaningful information to the story. the chapters should have had a good balance of both or only one pov. also catherine ho's narration for this supposedly super cool tatted babe was the most monotone and lacking performance i'd heard in a while. her narration reminded me of some of the older audiobooks where the narrator is just reading the book aloud with no inflection or personality.
barring that, love in focus is a fast read that explores a second chance romance through the eyes of fuller characters almost in their 30's. they're great at communication and have healthier outlooks on life. this book is a great palate cleanser, especially for people who want a korean sapphic romance!
---
cover artist: leni kauffman
emotional
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:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
i was truly disappointed with this one!! i'm not the biggest fan of second-chance romance (i recently have been starting to like it more though!), but this had workplace romance to fall back on, and none of the tropes helped the book... i cannot give this book a higher rating simply because i am not rooting for this couple. like at all. i genuinely don't want them together. celeste was unable to move past the fact that gemma moved on from her with a man for sooo long. keep in mind, the only reason gemma had to move on in the first place is because celeste ghosted her out of nowhere. respectfully, the expectation of gemma waiting for her return is insane. she never once texted anything implying that she would return. a simple "i needed to come home for something, i'll be back soon" could have sufficed!!
the povs were really throwing me off. i don't care what kind of pov books are written in, but it was weird having both first and third person povs in one book, it felt very unnecessary considering the majority of the book was gemma's pov anyways (thankfully it was her pov and narrator that i enjoyed more). also, some of the side comments kind of rubbed me wrong..
thank you hachette audio and netgalley for the alc.
the povs were really throwing me off. i don't care what kind of pov books are written in, but it was weird having both first and third person povs in one book, it felt very unnecessary considering the majority of the book was gemma's pov anyways (thankfully it was her pov and narrator that i enjoyed more). also, some of the side comments kind of rubbed me wrong..
thank you hachette audio and netgalley for the alc.
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
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
emotional
hopeful
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