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grumpyreading 's review for:

Love in Focus by Lyla Lee
4.5
emotional funny 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: Complicated
📸 LOVE IN FOCUS by Lyla Lee 📸 

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 

Gemma’s fiancee just dumped her out of nowhere after 7 years. Living on her best friends couch, she tries to focus on work… and avoid him in the office.  She writes a relationship advice column for a magazine, and her and her coworkers jobs might be on the line. To build readership, they’re starting a new article highlighting people’s love stories. Her boss even hired a fancy photographer… who happens to be her ex, Celeste. Celeste was her first love and the reason she realized she’s queer. After leaving the country and basically ghosting Gemma, this is the first time they’ll be seeing each other in years. They have to manage their emotions while collaborating on the project, and confront their past. 

I loved this book! I loved the characters, the relationships between Gemma and her friends, the California setting, and the romance. I really enjoyed the writing, and wish I could include quotes in ARC reviews, as there are some I definitely highlighted while reading. The writing made this book so relatable to the vulnerability of being in love and being human. 
Love in Focus also does a good job of showing scenes from when they fell for each other first, and talking about the familiarity that I feel is sometimes missing in second chance romances. Lyla Lee makes sure the reader sees those moments of sweetness that explain why they fell for each other in the first place, and why they do again. 
The banter was cute, and I liked that in most cases, Celeste and Gemma communicated like adults rather than letting miscommunication control their dynamic. 

I definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a sweet sapphic romance! 

Read this if you like: 
  • second chance romance 
  • forced proximity
  • workplace romance 
  • found family 

Vibes: 📸👩🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏻🌉🍺☘️🎊🥵

Full review including content warnings on my StoryGraph. 

📸 Love In Focus is out May 26, 2025! Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the eARC. 📸
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