Take a photo of a barcode or cover
scarlettereads 's review for:
Love in Focus
by Lyla Lee
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.