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whendotheykiss 's review for:
Love in Focus
by Lyla Lee
Thank you to the publisher for making this Read Now on NetGalley.
3 stars! This story was just OK for me, and I wish I liked it more! It's my first book by Lyla Lee, and I can see where the writing has potential — diverse characters, queer representation, cultural expectations from being raised in an Asian household — but there is a moment of biphobia, and there is way more telling than showing.
Celeste and Gemma dated eight years ago in college, and their romance had a huge impact on both of their lives, to the point where neither could forget the other despite how much time had passed. Yet, when they're reunited, I wanted a bigger moment of surprise, not a random meeting in a bar that they both happened to be at. Gemma's friends are hinting at a hot photographer who got hired for Gemma's article, and the reveal could have been in their first story meeting! Plus, we're told that this magazine feature will save Gemma's job and her co-workers, but her boss says it's a big opportunity, not that Gemma's job is on the line if this doesn't work. And as a former journo myself, it's unlikely that anyone's career would come down to the performance of one story — it would be an accumulation of a lot of factors to lay people off, so the responsibility for Gemma to put aside her unresolved feelings for Celeste didn't have enough high stakes for me.
I also would have preferred if the author kept the same writing tense for Gemma and Celeste's chapters. Switching from first person to third was odd, and it didn't help me learn more about Celeste, and with Gemma's chapters we're in her head with little dialogue sometimes to move us through the plot.
3 stars! This story was just OK for me, and I wish I liked it more! It's my first book by Lyla Lee, and I can see where the writing has potential — diverse characters, queer representation, cultural expectations from being raised in an Asian household — but there is a moment of biphobia, and there is way more telling than showing.
Celeste and Gemma dated eight years ago in college, and their romance had a huge impact on both of their lives, to the point where neither could forget the other despite how much time had passed. Yet, when they're reunited, I wanted a bigger moment of surprise, not a random meeting in a bar that they both happened to be at. Gemma's friends are hinting at a hot photographer who got hired for Gemma's article, and the reveal could have been in their first story meeting! Plus, we're told that this magazine feature will save Gemma's job and her co-workers, but her boss says it's a big opportunity, not that Gemma's job is on the line if this doesn't work. And as a former journo myself, it's unlikely that anyone's career would come down to the performance of one story — it would be an accumulation of a lot of factors to lay people off, so the responsibility for Gemma to put aside her unresolved feelings for Celeste didn't have enough high stakes for me.
I also would have preferred if the author kept the same writing tense for Gemma and Celeste's chapters. Switching from first person to third was odd, and it didn't help me learn more about Celeste, and with Gemma's chapters we're in her head with little dialogue sometimes to move us through the plot.