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oneflesh_somebooks 's review for:
Love in Focus
by Lyla Lee
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
This book delivered on all of its promises. A cute (sexy) sapphic romance full of pining, passion, and emotional baggage. It had all of the elements of a sapphic romance I look for—especially in the more spicy scenes. The tension was palatable between these two and I love how it played out on page. Their emotions were explored well, and we got a lot of depth from these characters. I enjoyed the read for the most part.
With all that being said, I did have a big problem with one particular moment of Celeste’s internal dialogue. Celeste describes how, back when they had first broke up in college due to unforeseen circumstances in Celeste’s life (that she did not communicate) she is upset to find that in the time she had been gone (4 months), Gemma had already moved on. On its own that wouldn’t have been a problem, but then Celeste says something along the lines of “…and she moved on with a man, a lesbian’s worst nightmare.” Not only is that dangerously close to biphobia, if not blatantly biphobic. It’s also just weird and untrue thing to say (please give lesbians more credit than that). It also had no real bearing on the story considering that’s not why Celeste stays single or why she is now wary of romance—which IS explained and makes a lot of sense! So that made the comment so much more unnecessary and confusing. The book could have (SHOULD HAVE) done without it.
I would have rated this book between a 4-5, but honestly that line left such a gross taste in my mouth, it was hard to get past. I am not sure how comfortable I am recommending it.
This book delivered on all of its promises. A cute (sexy) sapphic romance full of pining, passion, and emotional baggage. It had all of the elements of a sapphic romance I look for—especially in the more spicy scenes. The tension was palatable between these two and I love how it played out on page. Their emotions were explored well, and we got a lot of depth from these characters. I enjoyed the read for the most part.
With all that being said, I did have a big problem with one particular moment of Celeste’s internal dialogue. Celeste describes how, back when they had first broke up in college due to unforeseen circumstances in Celeste’s life (that she did not communicate) she is upset to find that in the time she had been gone (4 months), Gemma had already moved on. On its own that wouldn’t have been a problem, but then Celeste says something along the lines of “…and she moved on with a man, a lesbian’s worst nightmare.” Not only is that dangerously close to biphobia, if not blatantly biphobic. It’s also just weird and untrue thing to say (please give lesbians more credit than that). It also had no real bearing on the story considering that’s not why Celeste stays single or why she is now wary of romance—which IS explained and makes a lot of sense! So that made the comment so much more unnecessary and confusing. The book could have (SHOULD HAVE) done without it.
I would have rated this book between a 4-5, but honestly that line left such a gross taste in my mouth, it was hard to get past. I am not sure how comfortable I am recommending it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia