Genre 📚: Adult Contemporary, Romance
Tropes 💁♀️: Celebrity romance, Second chance romance, Love triangle
Rep ✔️: Korean American main characters, BIPOC side characters
CW ⚠️: Off-page death of a parent, emotionally distant family
Rating ⭐️: 3/5
Anytime a Pride and Prejudice retelling pops up, I add that sucker to my to-read list faster than you can say, “Most ardently.” The P&P formula just never gets old, no matter how many times I read (or watch) it. But I’d never really ventured to any of the other Jane Austen formulas, so I was excited to get into Jayci Lee’s Give Me a Reason. The book is a modern retelling of Austen’s Persuasion, following a Korean actress’s second chance with her first love.
At nineteen years old, FMC Anne was convinced that she had to leave MMC Frederick behind in order to pursue an acting career and take care of her family. Ten years later, after gaining success in Korea, she returns to America and reunites with Frederick… causing a mess of emotions for both parties. Anne is still very much in love, Frederick is too angry and bitter to realize he’s still in love, and they’re too scared of rejection to freaking communicate any of this.
That’s pretty much the story — denial and miscommunication, miscommunication and denial, aaaall the way through. It drove me crazy, but I liked the characters and their chemistry enough to keep going. And after a while, the frustration subsided and I was able to enjoy this for the fun, sometimes spicy, retelling that it is.
**Much thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Give Me a Reason will be released on July 29, 2025.
Sara Bechtol 