Jill Santopolo

The New York Times Bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick “This love story between Lucy & Gabe spans decades and continents as two star-crossed lovers try to return to each other…Will they ever meet again? This book kept me up at night, turning the pages to find out, and the ending did not disappoint.”—Reese Witherspoon “One Day meets Me Before You meets your weekender bag.”—The Skimm “Extraordinary.”—Emily Giffin He was the first person to inspire her, to move her, to truly understand her. Was he meant to be the last? Lucy is faced with a life-altering choice. But before she can make her decision, she must start her story—their story—at the very beginning. Lucy and Gabe meet as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever. Together, they decide they want their lives to mean something, to matter. When they meet again a year later, it seems fated—perhaps they'll find life's meaning in each other. But then Gabe becomes a photojournalist assigned to the Middle East and Lucy pursues a career in New York. What follows is a thirteen-year journey of dreams, desires, jealousies, betrayals, and, ultimately, of love. Was it fate that brought them together? Is it choice that has kept them away? Their journey takes Lucy and Gabe continents apart, but never out of each other's hearts. This devastatingly romantic debut novel about the enduring power of first love, with a shocking, unforgettable ending, is Love Story for a new generation. “It's the epic love story of 2017.”—Redbook

The Light We Lost

Light We Lost

Maria M

You were my comfort and my pain all at once.

A woman filled with light makes everything she touches brighter.

Sara

"Lucy and Gabe meet as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever. Together, they decide they want their lives to mean something, to matter. When they meet again a year later, it seems fated--perhaps they'll find life's meaning in each other. But then Gabe becomes a photojournalist assigned to the Middle East and Lucy pursues a career in New York. What follows is a thirteen-year journey of dreams, desires, jealousies, betrayals, and, ultimately, of love. Was it fate that brought them together? Is it choice that has kept them away? Their journey takes Lucy and Gabe continents apart, but never out of each other's hearts."--

the first half of this book really had me in a chokehold- the author does a great job showing how all consuming and passionate your first love feels. HOWEVER by the second half, i was begging the characters to have a real and honest conversation. lucy tells us she feels one way and then actually says something else and its frustrating to read. anyways, i did cry at the end 

Sophia Rico

If I could give it 6 stars, I would. I devoured this book and fell in love with Lucy, the main character. A strong, intelligent, understanding woman who’s an idyllic lover and a realist wife. So good with no sugar coating reality.

Sarah Wilson

very very very messy, but this is exact how me and man would be too if we broke up 🤪 except the ending… lucy is little dramatic bc i think they were together for less than year with gabe and she been married for 8 and have two children with her husband so to still be consistently thinking about ur ex from a decade ago is kind of crazy… but can’t compete with a girl’s first love I guess… BUT the writing super good, i think this is 2nd POV so easy to read 

debbie <3

Megan Parrott

** spoiler alert **
           Not a fan of romanticized infidelity, but it’s easy to be swept away by the wrestling of one’s emotions over two loves.

Isabella 

A very quick read, but I didn't like the plot. They were both grown-up people acting so stupid. I was so annoyed the whole time. I didn't like the characters, and their whole relationship... we never even got to delve into their relationship and how they can't get over each other. Everything about their relationship was on a surface level, so I didn't understand. I could tell Darren's flaws were written just so the readers would root for Lucy and Gabe, but even so, I was annoyed especially when the cheating happened. All those years of marriage even when they had kids, Lucy kept mentioning Gabe. I know that's the whole point of the plot, but it was so unrealistic. I also hated the ending. I thought the ending would at least make it up, but no. I expected a much more different story, and I hate plots with any kind of cheating involved which is probably why I don't like this.

Ena Kalkan

well, without going too much into it, this book made me cry my eyes out. the ending really tore me apart.

Laurianne

"We see everything through the filter of our own desires and regrets, hopes and fears."
Let me start off by saying I just can't stress enough how the foundation of Lucy and Gabe's "relationship" wasn't strong at all. It was merely infatuation and lust. Some may disagree of how I perceive it, but that's how I feel. The years of longing, their names lingering in the back of each other's minds, or only Lucy (I doubt Gabe thought of her as often as she did his). Lucy knew the consequences of her own actions and was well-aware of what was right, yet still, she managed to disappoint me just the same. How lovely! Apart from the writing, this book angers me and I just want Darren to step out of that marriage and be happier somewhere else.

Arianna

This book was… something. I hated Lucy so much. The author could’ve written about Darren watching paint dry for 300 pages and I would’ve rated this higher than what I’m rating it now.

haleigh

I really enjoyed the writing in this novel and thought the pace was kept very well, allowing me to finish within a day. The entire book is written from Lucy's perspective as she retells the story of her and Gabe over the past thirteen years to Gabe himself. Sontopolo's chapters were very intentional, leaving little cliffhangers everywhere that kept me needing to read the next chapter just to find out what happened. However, there were a few factors that kept me from giving this book a higher rating. First, something felt deeply wrong about Lucy and Gabe making out with each other only seconds after commenting that the humans jumping from the burning twin towers looked like "birds". Obviously, I am not old enough to remember much about 9/11 and the author is a native New Yorker that probably has much more authority on the significance of that date, but there was an underlying feeling of insensitivity to the whole idea. (But who am I to question a trauma bond?) Lastly, I despise a cheating plot in a romance novel. To me, it takes away the legitimacy of the love and the likability of the characters within the book and that's exactly what I experienced while reading this. Overall, I enjoyed the novel and it evoked the intended feelings within me, but still feel it necessary to warn against certain aspects before recommending it to friends.

Recommended For: those who need/want a quick cry

Anushree Taparia

kaitlan

4.5

I understand that there are people who didn't like this book very much and called the writing sappy and the main characters annoying — because maybe if I were an Official Reviewer with an Official Thing to Prove about how I am a Literary Person, then I would be afraid of giving this 5 stars. It is sappy, but I was never annoyed, and it really is a very easy read and I finished it in a day. This book does what it wants to do, and I enjoyed it, and it's a nice summer read. So there you are.

Jill Santopolo is quite the romantic, and she's not afraid to show it, and to be honest I admire her for that. I don't understand the people that hate her for it. I think there's this notion that writing about very romantic things makes you shallow or stupid. Like there's no grit or intellect in something like love. I think that notion is shallow and stupid. I like the notion that there are loves that make you feel infinite and invincible. I want love to be like that, anyways. And I think there's actually a lot of seriousness in romance, and that women are far too often written off because they're too emotional or romantic — that if they write about feelings, they're childish, if they write about sex, they're promiscuous, etcetera, etcetera. So, go you, Jill Santopolo. I like your book.

Johanna Macy, who translated Rilke's letters, shared on a podcast episode that on one of those mundane drives, her husband looked over at her and said this: "What a world you've got inside you." The sense that I got when she told the story is that Johanna felt very special, thanks to her husband's sparse, tender words. I feel like this book depicts a relationship in which this tender feeling is again true — this kind of equality between a man and a woman who are in love, which is special and intimate and should be more normal but is not. 

Johanna continues, "And then I knew that it was my own world, and he could tell. He didn’t want to own it, he didn’t want it to be explained, but he was so glad it was there. All of that was in his voice. And that stayed with me throughout all those five-and-a-half decades — a world in myself. And being a stranger to each other, to some extent, we always affirmed that."

There is a sappy but lovely equivalent in this book: "The world seemed bigger when you were around, filled with possibility. I seemed smarter, sexier, more beautiful. You saw me in a way that no one else did. You understand who I was at my core, and you didn't want to change me. You wanted me because of... [not] in spite of." 

Okay, so maybe that quote sounds a little sappy. But the truth is, I do think we all want to be seen in this way. I think we all want to be loved because of, to exist as worlds in ourselves, and not only to be okay with not owning each other, but to celebrate, with another person, the joy in sharing the unexplainable parts of ourselves.

CLAUDIA VALDES

I am broken. Absolutely devastated and a shell of a human. Trying not to think about this book at work because I’m going to look stupid crying in front of everyone. 

Love is so good and pure and kind and rich and forever, and Lucy and Gabe are forever. I’m going to stop writing this review but my eyes are watering, I can feel the beginning of a sob bubble up in me.

I’m really sad.

Lauryn Page

*Small insinuated Spoiler *



Okay this book will definitely be sitting right next to jojo moyes "Me before you" on my book shelf. To say it was exactly the same would be a lie, but they are extremely similar in how the ending plays out. I do like though that it gave a life time of flash backs throughout the whole book and then hitting on present time every now and then. I gave this book four stars only because it is a breath of fresh air that not every story is a happy ending, because life can be the same way. For warning you though, it is a sad tale of love lost so be prepared to cry or get frustrated!

I cannot say enough good words about this book. This is my 2ND time reading it…. And I typically never read a book twice. You get enthralled in the story. Read it, that’s it. 

Zoey Novak

i didn't like lucy and gabe's characters at all—didn't connect to them in terms of their relationship or them as individuals. the writing style personally wasn't for me, but it was an easy read. i didn't find it boring as much as i just hated the characters and hated the decisions/thought processes lucy showed. i wanted to dnf but i kept going because i wanted to see how lucy's character would develop and it never did.

🌙

Megan Coons

This is my favorite book on the entire planet if I could give a billion stars I would. It’s just so so so good. It was heartbreaking but beautiful!

Gisela Ayala 

"We see everything through the filter of our own desires and regrets, hopes and fears."

So not completely terrible, but not life changing either. I think what compelled me to keep reading was to find out what happened and how it ends (although about 2/3 of the way through I had a feeling on what was going to happen).

Jill Santopolo had many beautiful one liners throughout the book, but I don't know if the way it was narrated worked for me, personally. It was all told in past tense, the main character, Lucy telling the story. I think the story would have been more compelling if told differently, just a thought. 

I know a lot of people thought it was crazy that Lucy and Gabe were hung up on each other for over a decade, even after they broke up, which I completely understand-BUT hear me out...

There are people out there (I have friends, family, colleagues) who really do still have sentimental feelings for their first love, and sometimes despite what they go through, they may get back together. Not everyone, I know this isn't probably this case for me, although I do think fondly of my first love from time to time... But it is possible to still care for a first love throughout your life. I know many people who had that all encompassing kind of love and it still affects them. So I think it might be a bit unfair to hate on Lucy too much for that reason. Yes, maybe it got a bit over the top, but sometimes love really does last despite everything that you go through in life, despite whoever you love and connect with next.

Johnathan Zavala

I liked the story but to be honest I found myself being against lucys decisions towards the end of the book.

Alex King

** spoiler alert **
           This book is hard to review. It is one of those books that I finished and for days my mind is still going over it. I read it very quickly. Partly because it was an easy read and second because I was so into the story I wanted to see where it was going. 

It was written in a wonderful first person story telling style. The main character (Lucy) was telling the story to one of the other characters (Gabe). And through out the book its telling two different love stories - telling about her first love WHILE in the middle of her second (her marriage). And this left me feeling so conflicted the whole time. I read another review and it talked about bieng Team Gabe or Team Darren. I wanted to desperately to be Team Darren but the writer kept leading Lucy and her heart back to Gabe. By doing this it the reader was seeing Lucy second guess her marriage to a wonderful man who gave her 2 wonderful children. Darren didnt deserve that. And yet, here is a beautiful heroic tale of time love story between Lucy and Gabe that the romantic in me was cheering for. So... am I team Darren or Gabe?? this is the thought that has been in my mind for days. I think any book that can stay with you like this is fabulous. Even if it wrecks your heart a little bit.. ugh. That is why I read. To be pulled into a story and feel these characters as if they are real living humans dealing with this conflict. Its fabulous. 

Not to say I am thrilled with how the story ended. Or what the ending means for Lucy and Darren's marriage. That leaves me feeling sad. As a married woman who loves her husband so much. It is scary to think that the "what ifs" of yesterday could spoil a wonderful life. Thinking about that for too long makes me sad. 

Look forward to reading more of Santopolo! This was my first book and I am hooked.

Shan

This was Earth shattering and eye opening all at once. I loved this book. This book will reach you to feel, teach you about your relationships, balancing life and dreams, and teach you to value your time. WOW.

Sydney Butler

I did enjoy this book in the way it was told from Lucy’a perspective and we got to see every thought that passed through her mind good or bad. However, I found that the underlying fact of yes she says she loves Darren but spends the entirety of their relationship comparing him to Gabe and diminishing monumental moments by thinking what they could have been with Gabe entirely unsettling. I appreciate the narrative of a passionate love story and overall did relinquish the small moments Lucy and Gabe had. But, I found myself disliking a majority of the book for the way she viewed her relationship with Darren when this man was completely smitten with her.

Barbara Williford

Lucy meets Gabe on the day the world is in chaos…September 11th. From there, their relationship is passionate, fierce, and chaotic. Lucy is always on edge knowing Gabe will leave in an instant. And he does….

Her life goes on with new love, new career and a different type of love until she gets calls from Gabe and he’s back in her life turning it upside down. 

Trigger warnings: details of 9/11, strong language, strong sexual content

Venn P.

Anika Mano

im broken from this and i genuinely don't think i can be fixed. i started this book at 3 am and i absolutely had to finish it even if it meant pulling an all nighter.

The Light We Lost

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