The Light We Lost

pensé que iba a ser mucho mejor pero al capitulo 30 me di cuenta que no. llego un momento donde sentí que la trama se volvió repetitiva y eso hizo que dejara de disfrutar la lectura.

If I read a romance I want a romance not cheap attempts of pulling heart strings with no emotional depth to back it up

I'm sure I will be of the unpopular opinion on this one. The only reason this is a 3⭐ instead of lower is because I really enjoyed the author's writing style.

Epic love story? Ya I think not. Without spoiling (for those who want to read this one) this one started out great for me and I was completely locked in. Until it was made apparent where it was going. If there is one thing that irritates me the most it is the glorification of “love” as portrayed in this book.

This didn't really feel like love either....more of an obsession on both their parts. Gabriel is completely self-centered and has no concern for Lucy or her feelings. Lucy was unlikable for the most part as well. She didn't deserve Darren or the love he showered on her. Darren could be a bit close-minded when it came to Lucy but that's partly her fault because she never really let him in or voiced her concerns when he did something that put her off. Marriage and relationships are a two-way street.

It was predictable early on where this was going with Gabriel and why Lucy was reciting their story. I was hoping for a love story that melted my heart and brought some tears. Instead I was more irritated than touched and the ending left me unsatisfied.

I do understand people make mistakes and that love is not black & white. However, I don't believe in justifying those mistakes and essentially taking no responsibility for them.

Went into this book thinking it would be a new favourite.. the disappointment I feel right now is indescribable

While this book is a little cliche and predictable at times, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It is an emotional read that had me crying at the end, and I figure if a book can make me cry, it deserves at least a 4 star rating.

In this story, Lucy falls in love with Gabe on September 11, 2001. Their relationship is a tumultuous one that “ends” when Gabe chooses to follow his dream of becoming a photojournalist. Lucy then moves on and develops a more grounded, sustainable relationship with Darren. However, Gabe remains a part of her heart and her life, coming in and out at intervals. Throughout the story, the reader wonders when this is going to become a problem, knowing full well that it will.

Some readers have given this book a low rating because the plot has been done before and the outcome is somewhat predictable. I see what they mean, but I do not feel it takes away the enjoyment of reading this book. There are so many things to like about the book.

First, New York City is a nice backdrop for this story. I enjoy the references to places and people of that wonderful city. I like that the book pays homage to September 11 and to the fact that it significantly impacted the people of the city, even those that were not directly part of the tragedy. It makes me want to take another trip there.

Second, the relationship between Lucy and Gabe is not portrayed as perfect love. The author shows the flaws and develops the idea that it probably is not healthy or desirable. The author also shows the good and bad sides of Lucy's relationship with Darren. I am glad the author does not make Darren into the bad guy. He has his flaws, just like Gabe does. I also appreciate that Lucy is always considering the needs of her children in her decisions. I couldn't have respected her if she had just run off to be with Gabe.

Finally, the author's writing is well-paced and beautiful. I love the use of short chapters, which keeps the story moving along well and makes it easy to read. The language is almost poetic at times, without being pretentious or hard to understand. I enjoy the Shakespearean references. I even enjoy the unusual use of second person. It allows the reader to know from the start that Gabe will still be a part of Lucy's life in the end because she is telling the story to him.

Is this a perfect book? No. Does it contain some overdone plot tropes? Maybe. Is it worth reading? Absolutely!

I initially was about to give this book 4 stars mainly because I like the writing and I was so interested by the love story of the main characters. But the more I think of it, the more I dislike it.

I was rooting for Lucy and Gabe's relationship but then things just started not working out for both of them so they broke up with each other. Then, Lucy met this other guy named Darren and I also find myself rooting for their relationship as well. But at that point, I'm kind of annoyed with Lucy because she's still obsessed with Gabe even though he doesn't care much about her anymore. Plus, she's already dating Darren, got engaged and eventually got married with him.

I didn't enjoy the second half of the book as much as I did in the first half. I'm constantly annoyed with the characters. I didn't like that Gabe just wanted to talk to Lucy just when he felt like talking to her. He would call her at random and will tell her that he misses her and that she's still his light, whatsoever, and then never calls her again for months or a year even. He's self-centered and doesn't acknowledge Lucy's feelings sometimes. I also didn't like how Lucy still thinks about Gabe all the time even though she's already married with two kids. I also didn't like how Lucy talked about how she didn't want to be a full time mom. I get that she's a career woman but she's talking about full time moms like she's degrading them. My mom is a full time mom and that scene just pissed me off. Being a career woman is no better than moms who prefer to stay at home and tend their kids. And Darren is even worse. I hate the way he treated Lucy and how he pushed his ideas and his plans towards her without asking for her thoughts and ideas on things that involves them both. I also hate that he doesn't trust her and commands her to do things with their kids when he can just do it himself.

The cheating part of the story just left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't like how this book glorified it and made it justified at the same time and it drives me crazy. I know that these things do happen in real life but I just didn't like how the author handled and executed the said topic. I also didn't cry reading this book which is what I was expecting. Instead, I ended up not liking the characters and I felt let down by all of it.

A gorgeously readable story about two young people who meet on Sept 11 and their resultant criss-crossing lives.

I loved the author's voice and the way she brought the characters alive.

I cried pretty much every time I picked this book up. Beautiful prose and a lovely way to tell a story. Though I figured out the ending before it happened, it didn't lessen its emotional punch when I got there.

‘'The world felt like it was cracking in pieces, like we'd gone through a shattered mirror into the fractured place inside, where nothing made sense, where our shields were down, our walls broken. In that place, there wasn't any reason to say no.''

This book was quite a departure from what I usually choose to read. It was all in the cover, to be honest. I saw the lovely couple's silhouettes and I said ‘'yeah, okay. Bye!'' Because romance, people. Not my style at all. But, then my brain processed the New York scenery in the blue background and the title that sounded bittersweet, sad and I said to myself I would pretend this wasn't a romance, but good old Contemporary Fiction. And I was right, thankfully. Yes, at the heart of the story lies the love and unbreakable bond between two people, but it was more complex than that. Family, choices, priorities, worries over an uncertain future are issues that are very prominent in this book, and reading it was a delight. And I confess, there were two-three times when I was really moved. And a little pissed-off at the characters' choices...

Many have claimed there's no plot in this book. I disagree. Not every novel can have mind-blowing moments, twists and turns. What about a story that touches upon daily, universal subjects and has a quiet beauty and characters one could actually meet in actual life? Sometimes, these are elements that are enough to satisfy a reader.So, we follow Lucy and Gabe's relationship through the years, starting in that nightmarish day of 2001 when terror struck New York and the world changed forever. Lucy and Gabe make some bad choices and their lives turn quite differently that they had planned. Still, the love they share is strong and so beautifully written that you cannot help feeling both touched and concerned over what the future has in store for them.

Do I believe in love at first sight? Definitely. I guarantee you it exists, and I am the least romantic person you'll ever find. In this novel, we witness a kind of love that starts as an obsession (and we all know how that feels when we are 20 years old) and becomes so strong that haunts the characters' lives and the lives of those who struggle to approach them. Now, such a bond is unique, almost rare and it must be hard for a writer to communicate it to the reader without resorting to clichés. Jill Santopolo succeeds in creating a kind of language that is both contemporary and beautiful, lyrical and raw where needed. As we witness life unfolding through Lucy's eyes, we are given a sense of her longing for Gabe, remembering their life together, and the way this pining is depicted is powerful, sincere, realistic, devoid of any drama.

I really, really liked Lucy. She has the strength to admit her own faults and stands for her choices, she has her head screwed together and her doubts are understandable. She isn't in the least bit selfish, to the point when I know I would have chosen differently. (But this is my personal opinion...)Gabe is complementing her perfectly, although they are two very different personalities. He had the power to make me really angry at times (often...) I mean, the guy was so wishy-washy and couldn't see further than the end of his own nose. His choices can be a matter of endless debate, but he is so well-written that he makes us look upon him as if he is that troubled friend or relative who always gets on our nerves -especially at family gatherings- but you cannot help loving him and caring for him. However, Darren...Bliah!!! Yikes!! I do hate him and I cannot lie. You can find me a dozen reasons that are supposed to make me sympathise with him and I'd still want to punch him. The man is a human soup - I hate soup, sorry:) - and I hate him. Truly! The way he constantly doubts Lucy and tries to patronize her is outrageous...

The theme in focus isn't love, in my opinion, but choices and priorities. The great ‘'what ifs''' that shape our lives. What do we want from life when we find ourselves at a point where we need to sacrifice something we love for something we feel equally strongly about? Do we wait? Do we compromise? Do we wonder what could have gone differently? Of course, we do. And these questions do not refer only to romantic feelings, but to anything related to future plans and human relationships. You see? This book is far from a simple romance...

I cannot recommend it enough. Read it for the descriptions of New York during terrifying times and times of prosperity and hope. Read it for a beautiful reference to a kind of love that is firmly rooted in the souls of two people. Read it to reflect or reminisce of the past. Perhaps a similar feeling once came your way. Read it because it is a very good book, not light, not heavy. Just realistic and attainable.
.........and did I mention I hate Darren?

I'll be honest, I had a hard time starting this since it starts on and uses 9/11 and the events following it as a backdrop. It's still a raw day for me. But I kept reading and eventually found I didn't want to put the book down and that the backdrop was fairly respectfully interwoven.

I loved the writing style – someone narrating the story of their life, or at least the highlights, as they remember them with small intimate details that still stick out through the fog of memory. The memories are immersive and flash by you, making the foreshadowing very subtle. You only get bits and pieces of memory– the perceptions of what happened over a lifetime, the questions about what could have happened instead, the things that were left unsaid, the choices made. If you're completely honest with yourself, no one looks back on their life and says, “I made all the right choices. I wouldn't have done anything different and I'm not remotely curious about any other paths my life may have taken.”

The protagonist isn't perfect, but no one is, and in the end, I am left hungry for the other perspectives we didn't get to see and for what recent and future thoughts and choices may be made and/or remorsefully questioned going forward. As an individual, constrained to our own perspective and singular experience, those other perspectives and alternative paths are things we would never be privy to anyway, so that hunger is completely fitting with the tone of the book.

Received free review copy from First to Read, opinions are my own, yadda yadda.