Reviews

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

ehampton's review

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It wasn’t keeping my interest. I tried so hard to finish it but I just couldn’t get into it. It felt too boring and too much explanations to certain parts of the book. Very slow and just wasn’t my type of reading

smharps17's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The second person POV threw me in the beginning, but then quickly sucked me in. I had to know where we were all heading together in this intimate story of “love through the ages.” Except… it wasn’t that. It was the story of a girl who, at age 23, dated a guy for a few months and was never able to let go or mature or develop into any sort of healthy, believeable human woman. Lucy’s obsession with her past and a man who clearly never felt that strongly about her is alarming, and frankly, sad.

A great love story for teenagers. An embarrassing love story for adults.

alliemurray12's review

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5.0

if you want a book that will break your heart, this is it <3

karenthlove's review

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3.0

Hard ‘meh’

jackiemontt's review

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3.0

I came into this book looking for a quick "guilty pleasure" read and that is exactly what I got. This book is filled with cliché and drama -- but is a fast read that helped me out of a reading slump.

I think the key to not being disappointed, is to know what you're about to read. I was not looking for a modern classic, but if that is what you want I would skip 'The Light We Lost'.

melissewithanereads's review

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4.0

Beautifully written but not necessarily a beautiful story. The main character, Lucy, is always looking for the PERFECT man and doesn’t seem to have an identity of her own. She is also self consumed in her own happiness and what she expects from a man with no consideration for how she treats her partners.

darth_vader's review

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1.0

DNF. I started this book because our local news station “KSL” said it was one of the 4 best books of the year as a must read. All I wonder is if @yvette Cruz only read 4 books. Honestly, I don’t know how she or anyone else could get through it. It’s awful.

alonziik's review

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.5

lilbanne's review

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5.0

Well, that was a polarizing read! I keep seeing a bunch of 5-star or 1-star reviews. So clearly, you either love this book or hate it. The Light We Lost was an exceptional read for me and tugged on my heart in ways I cannot explain. It wasn't perfect, but nor is love. It is messy and ugly at times. It is a book about love and how all-consuming it can be. There is a lot that I identify with in this book with my own experiences with love. That first intense young love can make you insane; it can swallow you whole, especially when you are on the recipient end of looking in on someone who is magnetic and needs to go on their path apart from you.

Friends, this is love; it is not picture-perfect like in the movies; it is ugly and raw and makes you do dumb things. So, if you want a swoon-worthy romantic book where everything is tied up neatly with a bow at the end, and everyone goes unscathed, read a Colleen Hoover book.

The story is told from the perspective of Lucy, a young woman in college who meets Gabe in 2001 during the September 11th terrorist attacks. They fall hard for one another. Their love is intense and all-consuming, and their relationship is short-lived. As Lucy describes, the two orbit around one another. They are stupid about one another!

I get this. My first love was ridiculous and completely consumed me. It made me insane for six years until he broke my heart because he needed to be free. After we broke up, and for seventeen years, until his death a year ago, and sometimes even after, but that is another story, he would pop into my life every once in a while to stir the pot. Guys like my first love, guys like Gabe, are magnetic, but they need to fly solo. They are hot and intense, and like a moth to a flame, people want to be near them, but anyone around them gets burned. Ironically, my first love and I met in 2001, and I remember being with him on September 11th.

I met my husband shortly after my ex, and I finally broke up for the last time. Your first love earworms into your brain in ways you cannot describe. This love changes you, and you compare everyone after to this love. Lucy experiences this, and she often thinks of Gabe and questions her devotion to her new love, Darren, because it is so different!

Of course, not all of Lucy's actions are commendable; she is fealable. But early on, when she questions the two loves in her life, she wonders if her new love can compare to her first. This is relatable content! This is how love works. This is what many of us do! Thoughts are not facts, and I appreciate the author's devotion to vulnerability. The story is compelling and made me feel many things: sadness, happiness, and nostalgia!

Activating material: pregnancy, infertility

lindseyhorn's review

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3.0

i liked this book overall, but there was definitely potential for it to be better? i wasn’t super invested in any of the characters and i thought the ending was very predictable based on how the story was written. in terms of an ending, i wish we had gotten to see the aftermath and her life afterwards. this was a super quick read for me though because of the smaller chapters and how the 13 year timeline progressed. an easy will they, won’t they romance! (team darren though)