Name: The Light We Lost
Rating: 3.872093023255814 (215 reviews)
ISBN: 9780735212756

Jill Santopolo

"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 Light We Lost

Jennifer

Quick, easy read. Easy to put down. Entertaining but not necessarily good. The characters were realistic enough where everyone was kind of an a-hole. This would be a good Lifetime movie that I would watch once. 

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

Ena Kalkan

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

The Light We Lost

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