Give Me a Reason

by Jayci Lee

An instant USA Today bestseller!

In this modern retelling of Jane Austen's PERSUASION, a K-drama actress gets her second chance at love with the man she left to save her family, if only she can work up the courage to risk her heart on forever…one last time.

For ten years, Anne Lee told herself that Frederick Nam was her past. To save her father from bankruptcy, she dropped out of UC San Diego to pursue an acting career in Korea. Anne had to stop Frederick from following her and ruining his future. Breaking up with him was the best way she could love him.

After Anne left him, Frederick spent years loving her, missing her, and hating her until he decided to live his life for himself. He followed his dream and became a firefighter in Culver City. He didn’t need romance. He had his work and his friends.

When she returns to Los Angeles, Anne and Frederick find themselves in the same wedding—she as her cousin’s bridesmaid and he as his friend’s groomsman. Even though he is cold and distant with her, Anne can no longer deny that she never got over him. Not even close. As for Frederick, needing to take care of Anne is a habit he can't seem to kick, but that doesn't mean he has to forgive her.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Second Chance, Fiction, Audiobook

346 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 29, 2025

About the author

Jayci Lee writes poignant, sexy, and laugh-out-loud romance featuring Korean American main characters. Her books have been in O, The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood Reporter, E! News, and Women’s World. Jayci is retired from her fifteen-year career as a litigator because of all the badass heroines and drool worthy heroes demanding to have their stories told. Food, wine and travel are her jam. She makes her home in sunny California with her tall-dark-and-handsome husband, two amazing boys, and a fluffy rescue.

Reviews

[Veronica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sorry, but the cover was the best part 😭

[saisha⊹{ia~be back soon!} · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25✧!!
╰honestly not that bad omg🩷

♫ ~ treacherous
“this love is treacherous
this path is reckless”
tell me that the cover does not scream treacherous omg?

⊹my thoughts!💛

this was such a cute book- i actually enjoyed it a lot more than i thought i would actually! the characters were so well written and the tension between them was literally so >>> i was kicking my feet and holding my breath with anticipation because the slow burn was really smth else! i loved the dynamic and vibe so so much and im not the biggest fan of second chance romance but omg this was so fun! but again the fist half filled with all the longing and angst and yearning didn’t match the second which made me a lil sad. and the cover is so pretty i want to grab it and plaster it all over my room wall and wake up to the gorgeousness it is! but overall this was pretty good aw! a nice fun read🤍

love,
saisha


⋆·˚ ༘ ୨୧┆post-read!
ooh rtc<3

⋆·˚ ༘ ୨୧┆pre-read!
i’ve been in such a slump lately :( but this looks so cute and the cover is literally so gorgeous eeek??!! hoping i love this🙌🏻🩷
thank you so much to netgalley and the publishers for the arc!!

[Aya ☕︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐

DNF @55%

I’m so sorry, y’all, but this book just wasn’t for me. I have such a short attention span, and honestly, it’s a miracle I even made it this far.

It felt like a whole lot of nothing. Nothing was happening. Nothing grabbed my attention. Absolutely nothing.

And that’s such a bummer, because I love anything Korean—manhwa, K-dramas, K-pop—so I wanted to love this. Why did I pick up this book? No idea.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕻𝖗𝖊-𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Thank you so much Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC 🫣♥️

[Helen Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book straight up felt like watching a K-drama in paperback form, and honestly? I was living for the drama. The breakup reason alone had me like, “Yep… this is absolutely something that would happen in episode three of a Korean drama show.” Anne and Frederick’s chemistry is chef’s kiss, and the way their past kept crashing into their present gave the story that perfect swoony tension.

Now, the miscommunication? Whew. If these two had just sat down and used their “inside voices” to talk through their feelings instead of yelling about who hurt who first, this could’ve easily been a five star, no notes needed. But even with the miscommunication, it was exactly what I needed right now. After binging heavy fantasy back to back, this was the perfect palate cleanser. It’s soft, emotional, and super easy to follow, the kind of story you can settle into with a blanket and just vibe.

[kella · Rating 3 out of 5]

˖ ⁺ ౿ 🦢┆3 stars
⤿ arc review

⊹"say you want me. please. just give me a reason to give you my heart. to give you all of me."

ৎ my thoughts
i thought this was a pretty decent read! i loved that the romance was a slow burn and a second chance romance. i thought frederick was sweet and the way he was down bad for anne 🤭 and the little letters/journal entries he wrote to her omg. also at the end when he confessed everything in a physical handwritten letter ! idk why but something about that just tugs at my heartstrings <3
i do feel however that anne and fredrick’s relationship could have had more angst or substance or something. it just felt overall a little lacking to me, i don’t really know. nothing about it really stood out to me or grabbed my attention.
but lowkey the end made up for it, especially after reading pride and prejudice—he literally proposed to her on the set for the scene (she’s an actress) on the hills where elizabeth and mr. darcy were if you know what i’m talking about. like!!
but in all, this was an enjoyable read and thank you netgalley for proving an arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written, entertaining, steamy, second chance, contemporary romance novel. It has likable and sympathetic characters, family and relationship drama, beautiful settings, engaging banter, firehouse camaraderie, and a satisfying conclusion. Thank you to St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin, Ms. Lee, and NetGalley, who provided me with an advanced reader copy of this wonderful novel. This is my honest opinion.

[ari [gin’s vrsn &#x1fa75;] [semi ia]]

someone take away my ability to request arcs right this minute

[rhea ☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 ⭐️

thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the eARC!

the cover and the premise of this book being a persuasion retelling + second chance romance was super interesting , however the story fell flat for me pretty quickly. there was a lot of ~telling not showing~ and miscommunication, i can’t stand those things in romance bc it just drags the plot on for no reason. i think the dual pov in third person didn’t help for me either; a lot of the text was the main characters talking about how much they loved / missed the other.. but they didn’t do anything about it for a long time.. ://

[yuvi ● ia]

Anne?? Frederick?? Second Chance??
Is this a Persuasion retelling?!!!
gimme😔🫴🏻

[Emily, Shadow's Girlie ✞ [semi hiatus till 26]]

I was really looking forward to reading this but I just read a review saying there are, and I quote, “hot sex scenes” in it. *le sigh* there goes another book down the drain that I shall not be reading 😔

[Kat Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun fact about me is I have never met a jane austen retelling that I have liked.

✰ 3.5 stars, I want to frame the cover and display it on my wall. however, the intense yearning, pining, tension that impressed me at the beginning fizzled out in the last half. this book’s primary downfall is the lack of page time allowing the characters to get to know the new versions of each other. they claim they are still in love with each other, but all they know is the version of their former lover from ten years in the past.

thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ebook arc in exchange for an honest review

platform: netgalley ebook arc

[BernLuvsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A second chance romance about the loss of first love/true love, familial obligation and overcoming heartbreak to reclaim the love they let go.

[justine ⊹ ࣪ ˖ (semi-ia) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Give Me a Reason
⤷ ⭑⭑⭑.𝟱

❝ Say you want me. Please. Just give me a reason to give you my heart. To give you all of me. ❞

𓏲⋆🎬.* As a favor to her cousin, Anne Lee didn’t expect to find herself at the back of a classroom, ready to introduce herself to a group of 2nd-graders for Career Week after returning home to California. She is set to discuss her life as an actress in South Korea when the firefighter, scheduled for the afternoon, arrives early. This wasn’t how Anne imagined seeing Frederick Nam a decade after their breakup. And if that isn’t fate testing its luck, then what are the odds of them being a part of her cousin's wedding entourage?

❀࿐ this book is a modern take on Jane Austen's 'Persuasion'. full disclaimer: i have not read the book and have only heard about what it's about, so i did some research and only then noticed the similarities it had with this book. regarding my thoughts on this book, i honestly enjoyed it so much that I keep switching between listening to the audiobook and reading the ebook because i was so invested. it's been days since i finished this book, but i still think about these characters.

“My feelings for you? They’re too … big. It’s overwhelming sometimes. But that just means that I have to become stronger so I can hold you in my heart. I have to become strong enough to love you with everything in me. Strong enough to deserve you.”

the yearning and pining between these two is crazy. it's the strongest factor about these two, but also what frustrated me the most. Anne and Frederick are both incredibly selfless that there were numerous moments when i found myself breathing heavily around these two olympic overthinkers. they kept overanalyzing each other and the most minor details, failing to address or clear up their self-made misunderstandings. so when we get scenes of them together, i ate every single thing up. actually, this is a perfect summary of what 'could've, should've, would've, but didn't'.

despite this, i still think the ending was rushed, and we needed more of the romance!! my main issue with the story is that the characters constantly think about what they should've or would've done, but never act on it and regret second-guessing their choices. where was the romantic revelations? the extravagent gestures?? and when we got to them finally getting together, we never got to see it because what do you mean he proposed and we did not witness it?? it's also a crime not to show the scene where everyone found out about their former and current relationship ( ｰ̀εｰ́ )

also, the audiobook narrator did a great job, but i questioned why there was a male narrator when he only comes to the scene whenever its time for frederick's letters to be read.

but regardless, i’m pleased to say i had a pleasant time reading this despite some frustrating turn of events, but then again, it’s all part of the experience. i can't wait to check out more of Jayci Lee's works ꕤ

❝ If loving Anne were an Olympic event, I’d break the world record for the most gold medals. ❞

⟡ ݁₊ .

pre-read : a story about a korean actress and a firefigher with a beautiful cover?? I'M IN ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ₊˚⊹♡

[romancelibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Give Me A Reason is a Korean-American Persuasion retelling, and if you're new here, well, I'm a hoe for Persuasion.

Anne Lee and Frederick Nam fell in love when they were in college. Their love was deep, intense, and it was supposed to last forever. But Anne broke Frederick's heart and left for Seoul to become an actress. Now, 10 years later, Anne is back in the US and she crosses paths with Frederick again—his friend is marrying her cousin, and the ex lovers are both in the wedding party.

Something that struck me right away was the author's choice to write in dual POV. I've read a lot of Persuasion retellings, and it's an interesting and rare choice to retell this story in dual POV. And oh, what an absolute delight it was being inside Frederick's head 😮‍💨 For Frederick, yearning for Anne comes as naturally as breathing. The yearning is, of course, mutual, as Anne pines away for the one that got away. She is so regretful and angsty. He's so angry and angsty. And it's all so delicious. I ate it all up!!

Frederick may be angry, but he also cannot help but be drawn to Anne. When she's in even the slightest dilemma, he comes running to her like a knight in shining armour. The author does such a great job showing Frederick's struggle: he doesn't want to care and he pretends like he doesn't care, but his actions demonstrate otherwise. These little moments, like the one at the Thanksgiving dinner, are my everything. It's in these little moments that the main leads' love for each other shine through. The mutual yearning had me swoooooning. And when these two finally bang it out...I was mouth agape. The desperation. The yearning. The FEELINGS. It was so incredibly satisfying and worth the wait after the pining, the slow burn, and 10 FREAKING YEARS. I was dying. So were Anne and Frederick 😂

I want to take some time to highlight the epistolary element in this book. It was my everything. I love that Frederick had been writing letters to Anne to express the feelings he was unable to tell her face-to-face. The letters he wrote as a 19-year-old were so freaking cute—he sounded so young and in love. It's the most adorable thing ever. His letters throughout the years finally lead to the epic love letter we get at the end, and ugh, I just really love how the author incorporated the epistolary element in her retelling.

It's also hilarious how both Anne and Frederick are classic overthinkers 😂 Anne thinking that Frederick is in love with Bethany (Louisa Musgrove). Frederick convincing himself that he can be friends with Anne. These two idiots need to be given an award for the way they overthink everything and always come to the wrong conclusion at the end. Speaking of Bethany, I really liked the Louisa Musgrove arc here. Contemporary retellings often fumble this arc because it's difficult to convince readers that Louisa and Benwick would get together so quickly in the modern world, but it worked out really well here.

I want to address some of the negative reviews I've seen floating around.
- Repetitive inner monologues? Yes, I agree. For instance, Anne and Frederick spend lot of time overthinking and overanalyzing each other's feelings. It was funny and tragic, but also repetitive.
- Miscommunication? It's not miscommunication, more like a misguided attempt to protect the person you love.
- They barely spend any time together and only know the version of themselves from 10 years ago? Disagree. They spend a lot of time reconnecting and they have many important conversations before they decide to get back together. Do they also spend a lot of time in their heads? Oh yea, but they also spend a lot of time together in person.
- Nothing happened? Uh...not sure what people mean by this, but my conclusion is that Persuasion might not be the story for them.
- Too much telling and not enough showing? I think there was a good balance of both—YMMV.

Aside from the repetitive monologues, the other issues I had with the book are as follows:
- Jane Austen exists in this world. This is a pet peeve of mine when it comes to retellings. It's just odd to me. Anne Lee and Frederick Nam would surely have noticed they're the same characters as Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth lol. And sometimes, the characters in retellings do break the fourth wall and make a note of the similarities—another pet peeve LOL.
- I wanted some flashbacks of Anne dealing with her father and eldest sister, especially after her mom passed away and she had to take care of everything. That part of the story was told to us and we didn't get to spend much time with the Elliot family overall.
- Mr. Elliot doesn't have much of a role here, nor is he a villain. His only purpose was to make Frederick jealous, which is fair. But we totally missed out on some good drama here.

I should note that I'm not a picky reader when it comes to retellings. I know there are hardcore Austen fans out there who have a very stringent rubric for retellings. For me personally, retellings need to accomplish two things. One, they need to have enough elements of the original story to be classified as a retelling. If there aren't enough shared elements, then I would classify the story as a loose retelling at best. Give Me A Reason is a solid retelling of Persuasion: the characters, the storyline, the second chance romance—everything and everyone is recognizable. The second, and last thing, that retellings need to accomplish is give me the same feelings and vibes the original story did. For example, Pride and Prejudice needs to have that "she hates his guts, but he loves her" feel, along with the secondhand embarrassment of the Bennet family's antics. Emma needs to have comedy and the feeling that disaster is looming because of Emma's meddling. Persuasion needs to have that deep-seated yearning and conflicting moments of "does he hate me?" and "I think he might still care for me?" Give Me A Reason checks all of that for me.

If you're turned off by the negative reviews, I would urge you to reconsider and give this book a try.

On that note, Give Me A Reason is one of FOUR Persuasion retellings coming out this year! If you're interested in reading all of them, feel free to join my storygraph challenge. I've only read two of these retellings so far, and Give Me A Reason is my favourite (yet).

P.S. This is a noona romance 😏

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5.

Heat Index: 7/10

—Persuasion retelling

—K-drama heroine, firefighter hero

—first love to last love(?)

The Basics:

Frederick Nam and Anne Lee were once wildly in love; until Anne left for Korea to become a K-drama star, leaving Frederick bitter and brokenhearted. A decade later, Anne is back in the States, and Frederick is now better than ever. Her feelings linger; he's, despite his best efforts, still resentful... and still longing for Anne. The pain is intense—but so is the wanting. Is that enough to overcome years apart?

The Review:

There are retellings that basically exist to capitalize off fanservice, and there are retellings that exist in name only. Give Me a Reason is neither of those things—it's a retelling that considers and takes into account its modern update (and its focus on Asian leads) while honoring the original. In a lot of ways, this is a better adaptation of Persuasion than a lot of the movies we've seen (it's certainly better than the most recent).

Persuasion is a story about aching longing and regret; it's deeply romantic, but it's also relatable in a way I think some Austen books aren't. This has the same effect. We all have "would've, could've, should'ves" in our lives, and while breaking up with Frederick is Anne's BIGGEST regret, it's not her only one. Because she's in her early thirties now and she can look back on time that feels wasted and choices she would redo, and that is just... so real. I'm about Anne's age, and I'm certainly feeling it!

But the romance of it all is that you don't usually get this kind of second chance in real life, and boy does it hurt so good in just the right way here. This isn't a super plot-heavy novel. For much of the book, Anne and Frederick are both very internal (thank God we have dual POVs) and yeah, they do struggle so spit it out. I know that this is "miscommunication" and miscommunication is apparently a sin, but... It makes so much sense here. You don't end so badly and spend a decade apart and just leap back into love. There's a lot of fear involved! A ton of anxiety!

And so, when Anne and Frederick do get it together, it feels that much more impactful. I'm a hard sell on a slooow burn, but this one is very satisfying, and it's a great blend of complex feelings and the kind of Austenian romance that's very hard to capture in contemporary right now.

The Sex:

You know what's not Austenian? The sex scenes. There aren't a ton, and you do have to wait. But what you get after the wait is GOOD. Passionate and fraught, and mixed with just enough roughness that it feels like two people who've been waiting... and waiting... and just can't wait anymore. HOT.

The Conclusion:

A book of pining and longing and heavy emotion that nonetheless hits the romance beats that will leave you swooning. That's a success in my book!

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[vaishnave · Rating 1 out of 5]

i was not expecting netgalley to approve me for this arc as soon as i requested it but i guess they want to try and be the one to get me to 5 star a romance.

unfortunately, they failed spectacularly.

this had none of the subtlety of persuasion, none of the austen-level romance whirlwind, and none of the poetic writing romance should have.

everything gets told to us, rather shown. we immediately get thrown into them meeting, with repetitive info dumps occasionally explaining why the characters feel the way they do. and because it's dual pov, we can't guess at the characters' actions, we immediately know what they're doing. if it was single pov, at least we can guess at what the other character is doing, so that it makes it less of a miscommunication struggle, and more anticipatory rise to the climax, which is the letter scene. the reason why persuasion is so loved, is because of the final letter scene, and the beauty of how it suddenly happens, just as anne thinks wentworth is gone from her forever. having this as dual pov, makes it difficult to gasp and clutch our hearts when the climax does happen, because we know it's going to happen; the character told it to us a chapter ago. dual pov only works when there's no miscommunication involved, when both characters aren't actively avoiding each other. it's so that we can see things about the other character that they can't express in their own point of view.

the side characters...i have nothing to say about them, to be completely honest. they were just...there. i liked the firefighter squad, but the sisters were average. there was no resolution with the family, and very minimal character development.

the pining in this is at least 50% of the book, and if that's your thing, by all means, go for it. but as someone who wants a well-rounded romance, with pining done subtly and strong, rather than weak and plentiful, and more about falling in love rather than hiding feelings, i'd say this wasn't for me. sorry, netgalley, maybe next time.

netgalley arc!

[b.andherbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, the audiobook narrators were really lovely (Greg Chun & Michelle H. Lee). I was a little surprised Captain Frederick Nam's letters were the only part narrator Greg Chun performed but this is in third so ultimately it worked great for me once I settled in.

I am not a big Persuasion person (I enjoy it but it isn't the most familiar Austen to me) but I would say this was a good retelling // adaptation. I enjoyed it, there were lovely moments. If you do not like miscommunication, this is not the book for you.

What took it down a little for me was the pacing; this story felt LONG. There is a LOT of description of place, other characters, the vacation house, etc. and it just really got bogged down especially in audio. I think this too may have been more of a nod to the source material, just one that didn't work the best for me. The inclusion of a high heat, dirty talking sex scene also felt a little out of place from the otherwise more romantic and flowery way Frederick wrote to Anne in the past and the stoic way he was treating her in the present.

All in all, a fine listen and one I'm glad I tried.

[Nim_reads_a_lot · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a huge fan of Austen’s Persuasion, I was very excited to request this ARC from St. Martin’s Press. I found many parts I enjoyed in this book but there were areas that I felt needed something more. I loved the promise of it being between K-drama actress and a fireman. I loved how it was set in California, featured Asian characters, and how the story paralleled Persuasion quite a bit. For example, instead of a formal dinner/ball we have a Thanksgiving Dinner. I also enjoyed the dual POV aspect. I loved the angst. So much yearning and so many possessive “she’s mine!” moments.

However, I think many would not like how much the characters spiraled in their minds. I mean, it was crazy how much they over analyzed everything and then did very little about it. I enjoyed the overanalyzing a bit as that is my brain but there were times I wanted to shake them very hard. It was taking forever for them to just text each other and in this instance I think the author could have moved away from the older story. The letters were lovely but in this modern age they could have texted or called at any point in addition. They could have talked about their worries more. I also wish we could have seen closure with her father and sister. They used poor Anne for her money and she did nothing about it. The story had her slowly stepping into her worth but it didn’t flesh it out as much as I wanted. I would have loved a scene where she stood up to her dad. I also wanted Frederick to show how he was going to step in to be her support. There were brief scenes with his attentiveness but I think we could have sped the story up slightly and spent more with them together. The story was primarily in their minds and not as much with them together. I wanted more of them in the same space. I did have fun. I was addicted and read it in a day. I only took brief breaks as I didn’t want to stop. I was glad to have read it as second chance romance are my favorite thing.

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Give Me a Reason by Jayci Lee
Contemporary diverse romance. Second chance troupe.
Anne Lee left her home, family and boyfriend for an acting career in Korea. She’s had a successful ten plus years starting with bit parts and moving all the way to the lead in a Korean drama. But she paid for her success in losing touch with family and walking away from the love of her life. Frederick Nan would have gone with Anne but she refused him.
She back in California now, deciding on what’s next in her career and is pressed to be in her cousin’s wedding. Frederick, now a firefighter, is one of the groomsmen and the two must at least appear to get along for their friends and family’s comfort. It’s time for them to finally talk.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook version narrated by Greg Chun and Michelle H Lee. Both did a marvelous performance and their voices were similar in pitch so volume or speed did not need to be adjusted between them. I clearly felt and heard their anguish as they get thrown together and their longing. Anne and Frederick came to life in the audiobook and kept me listening and hoping they could work things out.
I listened at 1.5 and slightly higher to more closely match local conversation speeds.

Romantic self sacrifice for an altruistic reason = honorable. Starting over from a different place in life is harder than it should be, but so worth it. Older and wiser.
Heartbreaking backstory. Hopeful future and deeper love. Beautiful second chance story.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio.

[Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3★!

“I have to become stronger so I can hold you in my heart. I have to become strong enough to love you with everything in me. Strong enough to deserve you.”

Anne left Frederick 10 years ago and suddenly she comes back to America after pursuing her acting career, accidentally meeting him at her cousin’s school. Frederick is faced with complicated feelings after seeing Anne and will their relationship evolve?

Anne - i love her personality. She is very gentle, genuine, and just very kind 😩 but her kindness may be taken for granted by her family because she is the glue that helps prevents her family from falling apart.

Frederick - lowkey so grumpy but humorous. As the captain of the firefighter team, he often feels like he is the one who has to bear the burden of his team’s mistake which is understandable because he is the captain.

I feel like the pacing was pretty slow because throughout the entire book, Anne and Frederick kept on trying to mend their relationship. It was probably because I felt like the writing was too much like so compact, too descriptive for some reason and the dialogue felt lowkey unnatural and exaggerated.

Frederick and Anne already opened up about what actually happened 10 years ago, that Anne left him not just because of her aunt’s encouragement, but due to the fact that she was also scared about the future of Frederick halfway through the book. The rest is how they will go from friendship to lovers again. I wish they will include how Anne also mend her relationship with her father or something because I absolutely love the family bonding and friendship here, it was so tight knit.

But the yearning was CRAZYYY. Secretly talking to eqch other, only finding one and another in a crowd, and the jealousy was on fire 🔥

I felt bad for Bethany but glad that she also found her love even though I thought Aiden was going to be with Tessa 🤣
And also Andrew who actually had an attraction towards Anne suddenly helped Frederick to confess his love? I wish that wad also seen in the book yaknow.

Overall, if you’re looking for intense yearning and slow burn couple forced to meet because of their situation. This is the perfect book.

╭──────────.★.. ─────────────╮

pre-read
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC! The cover is so beautiful and I’m excited to start 💖

╰──────────────..★.──────────╯

[Alyssa Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a second chance romance so there was alot of angst and YEARNING. Unfortunately though, the miscommunication trope was huge in this book so that brought down the rating for me. We are full grown adults... Just speak to each other.
I also felt like the reason they broke up originally was dramatic and lowkey stupid but they were young so 🤷‍♀️

Thank you LibroFm and publisher for a bookseller audio copy to review.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a suck at pretty covers, and when I saw this cover, I decided why not!
I have read the author's previous works, which are more fantasy romance, and this was a nice change for a rom-com.

This romcom is based on a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion and is about a second-chance romance featuring Anne and Frederick. They met when they were in college and broke up due to Anne’s family circumstances and her leaving the USA to pursue an acting career in Korea. They unexpectedly meet again 10 years later and discover that Frederick’s close friend and lieutenant, Joe, is engaged to Anne’s cousin, Caroline. Can they put their painful past behind them to rekindle their romance?

Oh boy, talk about the emotional roller coaster ride this one put me through! Given their painful past, Frederick harbours some resentment towards Anne…which Anne feels that it is her fault. The angst between them and the shimmering feelings when they interact just throw me for a loop, especially when I feel like this problem could have been fixed if they communicated. Instead, both assume things, leading to more misunderstandings, especially in the book's first half. This does drive me crazy at some moments, especially when both choose to wallow in their misery…but it remains true to the story.

This story is told in the dual POV of Anne and Frederick, as well as some flashbacks of their past and current state. I admire Anne as a character; she displays quiet strength and is always there for friends and family so much so that she chooses to leave school and leave Frederick to support her family's needs and was never given so much thanks. Since then, she has come such a long way that she is now choosing to do what she wants and putting herself first. The supporting cast of characters featuring Frederick’s crew and Anne’s family and cousins throws in some interesting moments and fun.

Given that this is an adult romcom, there was some smut, and the epilogue tied everything up perfectly. It stays true to Persuasion, featuring the most romantic of letters in the end. If you are looking for a second chance romance with the feels and love of Jane Austen, this one shouldn’t be missed.

Thank you, SMP/Gryffin, for the lovely eARC

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover of this book is so beautiful, and the characters and plot are extremely promising. I loved reading about the sisterly relationships in this book and the overarching theme of family and healing.
The romance itself was frustrating considering that it was built mostly on miscommunication, and the pining took up too much of the book, so there wasn't much tension between Anne and Frederick. I struggled with the info-dumping, and most of the narration relied on telling instead of showing.
The characters and plot had a lot of potential, and I liked the elements of Jane Austen's Persuasion that were woven into the story as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

[melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ⭐

Thanks again to Martin's Press Group for sending me an advanced of this book!

I want to write a full review for this book after deliberating for a day or so, and I hope the feedback will be useful to whoever it concerns! These are my personal opinions, and I am very open to hearing what others thought of this book!

This book had the usual exes-to-lovers + endless miscommunication trope, so I was definitely expecting some cliches throughout the book. I really enjoyed the writing and comedic aspects of the book. The characters were self-deprecating at times that felt very natural and relateable, I found myself giggling throughout the book. I thought the idea of K-drama actress and firefighter was an interesting pairing I haven't seen before in an book I've read, so it was cool to see that dynamic between characters.

some particular lines i enjoyed were:
"he wanted to pull a homer simpson and fade back into a hedge"
"he preened like a peacock. over a fucking rock"

I felt the physical and emotional tension between Anne and Frederick, and was so excited for them to have that first kiss after spending so much time apart. Frederick being so protective of Anne, and them gravitating naturally towards each other whenever they were in the same room made me squeal and giggle.

Of course, as someone who loves when characters just TALK to each other, the amount of times they held their tongues, decided not to say anything, or said something they didn't mean were frustrating. I felt that every single character was set back due to miscommunication or just lack thereof, which I've always struggled to enjoy with these types fo stories. It usually makes it all the more satisfying when the characters get together at the end, but I found this one to be a bit rushed. The whole climax of the story is that the characters can't admit to each other that they are still in love and talk openly about their past (and the looming crush Bethany has on Frederick + familial pressure) and I feel like it was almost swept under the rug by the end of the story. Our main characters had 1-2 meaningful (yet very short) conversations about their sides of the story, and the next thing we know they are back together. Bethany ends up "not really liking Frederick anyways" and Andrew Cha, who was thrown into the mix in the last few chapters of the book, suddenly backs off and decides not to pursue Anne anymore.

I think, near the end, it just felt like there was no true obstacle keeping our couple apart. All they needed was to be grown ups and talk it out, which they somehow couldn't do for the entirety of the book. All that to say I really enjoyed this book until the last few chapters, were the author started to lose me a little bit. I would have liked to see a bit more resolution between Anne and Frederick, more conversations, more of them opening up to their respective friends and family about their situation and seeing how the dynamics of their relationships manifested in those conversations.

I also would have enjoyed to see the Anne and Frederick getting to know each other again, because I find it hard to believe that after dating each other for 6 months, then spending 10 years apart, they would have stayed the exact same and easily been able to get back together without discovering new sides of each other, and truly re-connecting.

There were also just a few passages in the book that lacked some continuity/ confused me a bit. In the very beginning on page 6, Anne narrates: "He had an amazing job- he was a fire captain saving people's lives- because she didn't let him leave everything behind for her". Then on page 7, she says "so he became a firefighter [...] being a captain suited him". We go from Anne knowing his job already to finding out all over again what he does, which I found odd.
-page 59: "They've barely said hello to each other". this sentence is written in present tense while the rest of the narration is in the past tense.
-page 105: a passage on this page talks about how frederick believing in anne is what allows her to audition for her k-drama roles, which makes it sound like he encouraged her to go to the audition. however, we find out later (during the flashback of their breakup) that he didn't know she got the role, much less auditioned. I think I just found this part a bit unclear.

Overall, I enjoyed the premise of this book and I sped through it because I was genuinely interested in the characters and storyline. I just think there was a lot more room to expand on lots of the themes in the book, like the family ties and each character's history (we don't really talk about how Frederick being orphaned affects his growing up), Anne's relationship with her family and their much needed character development, and the whole getting together part of the story. With a few more short chapters with these details, the story would have felt a bit less rushed and would have wrapped up so nicely!

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 1 out of 5]

At 13% in, and I'm editing. There are so many things that should have been caught with line edits. Words or specific phrases repeated in adjacent sentences throughout the first few chapters. This happened quite frequently in both chapters 2 and 3 (the ones I started to edit). For example, a person 's job title was given in one sentence. The next sentence talking about him included "as [said position]" as if we didn't just get that information the sentence before.


Occassionally, we jump out of the head (pov), without any indication except that it doesn't make sense the character knows these things while having the other thoughts and emotions they do. For example, fmc gets angry at aunt's advice twice only to then know how aunt is thinking without a break from the pov (we find out her aunt has regrets in the same way we find out the heroine's thoughts but no clear way of showing we've jumped perspectives from the heroine to omniscient).


There is a lot of telling, sometimes right after showing. For example, one sentence shows the dad and sister are scrolling on a phone while the fmc is going over her plans for a holiday. The next sentence tells us how they are ignoring her, not caring about her plans for a holiday. Like yes, we see that. That is what the first sentence showed as the scene just had a conversation about the whereabouts of the FMC on a particular holiday. Another example that fits is when we are in the heroine's head, and people go to the kitchen, then the next sentence is her turning her head to the kitchen. We're already in her head, so this action is assumed. Both of these examples also create redundancy.


There are staging issues. A helmet is brought up randomly in the first chapter and then just gone. Like, not left behind, not brought. Just gone. After randomly appearing. In another example, the FMC takes a moment to breathe in and out for a few beats to release anger she feels at being asked a question before answering it, meanwhile no one says or does anything during or after this display of her gathering her composure, as if these breaths are like the many thoughts happening in her head--invisible to the other characters.


Characters thoughts are contradictory, which can be okay, as humans are like this, but it's the telling vs the showing. Showing us one thing and telling us another. Guy goes to therapy but has no self reflection to the point of realizing he is emotionally immature and taking out his frustrations on his boss/friend. More than once. And, also awkward staging and scene there. There are so many thoughts in between what is being said, but the actual dialogue is so awkward. Two to four sentences after him stating the FMC is the problem, he then is like, nothing is bothering me. This would be less than a minute of dialogue happening for both statements. In another example, the FMC states her aunt doesn't know about how deeply the FMC loved MMC, yet FMC took the advice and still has strong anger without any self reflection after 10 years? Vitriol at aunt is still fresh ten years later when she also recognizes she hid her feelings from this same aunt. She is past 30 but emotionally stunted and traumatized, but we are told how mature, thoughtful, and self-aware she is while being a talented actor and manager of her family with patienceof a saint. Her patience for the poor and immature behavior of her father and elder sister are shown as greater than for her aunt asking a question about her future lined with an element of her past. The FMC is shown one way while we're being told she is another.


Also, weird descriptors that are unneccessary or nonsensical, like clothing description given of people at a setting, but after repeated descriptions of French cuisine (see earlier none about a line editor), she rolls up the sleeves of her "champagne-colored blouse" before moving on and away from any of descriptions in the scene. It feels like the author is just throwing in another French word when it's unnecessary and awkward.


Another issue is the way so many thoughts were pouring out but we would find out information about a current scene or information that would affect the reader's interpretation of said current scene after it happened (and it would often be repeated information as if it was important but also unnecessary so close together). For example, we find out the MMC left an hour early from a school career day activity because it's brought up in the next chapter twice. We were shown he was leaving abruptly, but nothing mentioning how he didn't do the Q and A, which would have been more poignant to know and notice from the heroine's perspective that he was not just leaving early but a whole hour early when she would have known how long it would take since it was originally her time slot. Yet, we don't find out until his perspective when someone comments on it.

Also, the use of the word "coincidence" here is like the word "inconceivable" in The Princess Bride. I don't think it means what the author thinks it means. Coraline is not a common name. A Coraline with a sister Bethany and mom Sharon would be less common, yet total coincidence to MMC that his ex would show up around her cousin. Either the two weren't as close as they say they were (and shown as the MMC writes about how he knows how important family is to the FMC) or it's not quite the coincidence for the MMC that the Coraline in the wedding he is a groomsman for is the same Coraline that is the daughter of the aunt that has a daughter Coraline that broke them up. The coincidence would be that his friend is dating the fmc's cousin, not that the fmc just happens to show up around said cousin (as she is super close to her family, which he stated he was aware of during their 6 month relationship) when he doesn't pay attention to her current life (supposedly). It seems like something is off.


And, after spending the majority of the second and third chapter editing, I'm dnf-ing this book. I want to like it because I love Persuasion and want a good retelling, but this is not good (which is a shame for many reasons, including that gorgeous cover). When people talk about how the bar has been lowered for books being published, I see this book with the 4 and 5 star reviews and understand why publishers don't bother spending money on editors if readers are going to buy things like this anyway and rave about them as if they were on a free write site like wattpad or Ao3.


I don't usually rate so little percentage read with stars, but the amount of edits I was doing has me feeling like this is a rough draft needing multiple edits before it would be ready to publish. And, I'm rating it as a book that was published as if it was finished. Which it was.


Edit: There were also the typical kind of errors and issues that happen outside the writing and story structure I noticed, but usually kind of just go with it. Like the school scene descriptions feeling off. The descriptions of Korean film/drama industry sounding off and wrong as I could provide many contradictions to statements, and I don't know much about it. There were also descriptions that can come off as playful and charming while also being wasteful and immature depending on the audience. Also, the author using words that don't mean what they are being used for, while an example of the word is present within the same page.

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Running into your ex-boyfriend who you broke up with to move to Korea and become an actor while visiting your cousin’s kindergarten class is one thing. That’s just a moment of your time. It’s when you realize that you’re both in a wedding as bridesmaid and groomsman and you are forced to be near each other for an extended period of time. Now that’s when things get a little more intense.

I have never been a Jane Austen girlie. Yes, I’ve seen Pride & Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version), but I’m more of a fan of the “and Zombies” version. I have no obsession with Persuasion to look at Give Me A Reason through the lens of. I only know what’s clearly right in front of me. And what I can say is that I loved this.

Anne Lee and Frederick Nam used to be in love. They used to be a lot of things, actually, but then to save her family from utter devastation (really it was just her father’s many mistakes that led up to it and her aunt’s pushiness), Anne broke up with Frederick to start a career starring in K-Dramas… all the way over in Korea… without him.

Now, as she’s moved back to Los Angeles to hopefully pursue a career in Hollywood, he’s happy. He may still be holding a grudge for how she left him, but he finally has his life figured out. He’s working as a firefighter, a job he truly enjoys and excels at. This is when his biggest regret walks back into his life.

I’ve been a second chance romance hater for so long that it hurts to admit when I’ve been wrong. This year, authors have been making me feel like I’ve put my whole foot in my mouth with books that make me want to eat my words. Am I a second chance fan now? Who am I???? This was exactly what I wanted it to be. It was fun, funny and forced proximity. Ohhhhhh! And while there wasn’t spice until the second half of the book, it was def there. We just had to work our way up to it. I definitely blushed!🫠

I really enjoyed this! I love everything Jayci Lee writes tbh! Gimme moreeeee! 😍

Thank you to the publisher for my gifted ARC and NetGalley/publisher for the ALC.

[Cokiereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely book. I'm a huge nerd for a Persuasion retelling, I think I've read almost a dozen. But this one felt really fresh and it was altered enough that a few times I wondered about what would happen next.

Anne Lee is back in America. After going to Korea and becoming a famous K-Drama actress, she's back with her family. Her older sister and father... well they're maybe, kinda, ok indifferent to her being back. Her younger sister? Super busy at school.

So its her extended and sweet cousins and aunt who are definitely glad she's back. And in a round about way someone else is back in her life. Her ex, Fredrick. Fredrick, who's now a firefighter (and Captain!). Far from the young man she knew.

The pining is all here. The family dynamics are a little different but I liked how female friendships were shown here. In the OG book Anne just had a bunch of people telling her what to do.

I liked how we got both sides of the story. Frederick was a really kind guy and it was so evident why Anne would still be missing him. And of course Anne was a sweetheart who EVERYONE counted on. Even when they should have been giving her a break.

Again, lovely novel.

[akacya ❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025 reads: 187/300

i received a digital review copy from the publisher via netgalley. i am leaving this review voluntarily.

for ten years, anne lee told herself that frederick nam was in her past. when she went to korea to be an actress, she left him behind so he could build his own future. frederick has spent the time since missing her, hating her, and finally, trying to forget her to move on. now, though, the two are thrown back together as they attend a wedding. even though frederick is cold and distant, anne can’t deny that she’s never gotten over him.

i’ve been wanting to read jayci lee’s books for a long time, so i was very excited to start this one! i loved all the tension between anne and frederick, since they were together when they were younger and haven’t seen each other since. of course, being part of the same wedding gives them the opportunity to reconnect, but even when they start being honest with themselves about their feelings, there’s more bumps along the road, such as thinking the other was seeing someone else, but i appreciated seeing how they worked through these moments. overall, this was a lovely second-chance romance. i’ll be reading more of jayci lee’s books in the future!

[Cindddaaayyy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just wanted to say Thank you so much Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the Arc. I appreciated the chance to read this early. I think the story being told in third person is really what is not working for me. I feel like a lot of the story kind of fell flat. I refuse to continue a book when I am not invested fully. I really wanted to like this because the story line was personal to me, but it just didn't resonate . I loved the concept, but this just wasn't for me.

[Lisette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It's a cute second chance romance. It's well written and I just wanted to keep reading. I only think they should have spend more time getting to know each other again. Now it feels like they are more in love with the memory of when they were younger. Still entertaining to read though.

I received an ARC from NetGallery in Return for a honest review.