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melinya 's review for:
Love in Focus
by Lyla Lee
Firstly, I really appreciated Natalie Naudu’s narration. She captured so much of Gemma’s emotions, and I was hooked right from the start. That said, I ended up feeling a bit confused about the overall direction of the book.
I’ve never read a book that shifts POV styles like this (except outside of fantasy maybe) and even then, the switch usually happens more consistently. Here, the change from Gemma’s first-person POV to Celeste’s third-person POV was jarring every time. I couldn’t quite figure out why, but I never adjusted fast enough before it shifted again. It was like suddenly going over a tiny bump during a smooth ride every time.
The biggest issue for me was that Celeste’s POV didn’t always feel necessary. Actually, I can almost ignore her POV chapters. Since the story was so focused on Gemma and her life events, Celeste’s chapters felt more like a filler. It made me feel conflicted—either make her a fully developed character, or don’t include her POV at all. They were gonna rehash everything to one another, anyway!
On top of that, I’m not sure if it was the source material or the delivery, but Catherine’s narration for Celeste came off very robotic. I thought maybe it was just the contrast between the POV styles, but the narration itself lacked tonal inflection, which made Celeste feel flat and surface-level. Some pauses were also oddly timed, like the sentence had ended, but then it would continue, which gave it a bit of a “corporate narrator reading a romance book” vibe.
Still, there were things I really enjoyed. The little love stories from the interviews Gemma and Celeste conducted were sweet, and I loved the parts with Gemma’s friends and her reflections on her heritage as a bi Korean woman from a traditional Christian family. The romance itself was light and heartfelt in places. Even though they only properly reconnect romantically about halfway through the book, most of the deeper emotional development happens near the end. It makes sense for the story, and I appreciated the honest conversations once they finally addressed their past. That said, their nostalgic walk down memory lane sometimes felt like it overshadowed the present, which made the current timeline feel a bit lackluster.
It’s an easy read overall with low angst—definitely works as a palate cleanser. Grateful to have had the chance to review the ALC. Huge thanks to Hachette Audio for the copy via NetGalley!
I’ve never read a book that shifts POV styles like this (except outside of fantasy maybe) and even then, the switch usually happens more consistently. Here, the change from Gemma’s first-person POV to Celeste’s third-person POV was jarring every time. I couldn’t quite figure out why, but I never adjusted fast enough before it shifted again. It was like suddenly going over a tiny bump during a smooth ride every time.
The biggest issue for me was that Celeste’s POV didn’t always feel necessary. Actually, I can almost ignore her POV chapters. Since the story was so focused on Gemma and her life events, Celeste’s chapters felt more like a filler. It made me feel conflicted—either make her a fully developed character, or don’t include her POV at all. They were gonna rehash everything to one another, anyway!
On top of that, I’m not sure if it was the source material or the delivery, but Catherine’s narration for Celeste came off very robotic. I thought maybe it was just the contrast between the POV styles, but the narration itself lacked tonal inflection, which made Celeste feel flat and surface-level. Some pauses were also oddly timed, like the sentence had ended, but then it would continue, which gave it a bit of a “corporate narrator reading a romance book” vibe.
Still, there were things I really enjoyed. The little love stories from the interviews Gemma and Celeste conducted were sweet, and I loved the parts with Gemma’s friends and her reflections on her heritage as a bi Korean woman from a traditional Christian family. The romance itself was light and heartfelt in places. Even though they only properly reconnect romantically about halfway through the book, most of the deeper emotional development happens near the end. It makes sense for the story, and I appreciated the honest conversations once they finally addressed their past. That said, their nostalgic walk down memory lane sometimes felt like it overshadowed the present, which made the current timeline feel a bit lackluster.
It’s an easy read overall with low angst—definitely works as a palate cleanser. Grateful to have had the chance to review the ALC. Huge thanks to Hachette Audio for the copy via NetGalley!