I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Esme lives ballet, and completely immerses herself after her little sister goes missing, becoming a professional ballerina. When her older sister calls with an astonishing update, Esme returns to her family to reconnect and start the healing process. Fields leads the reader through the mine field that is a family after a child is taken, focusing on the breakout child, the sister with talent in dance, and the opportunities opening up to forge her success. “What ifs” haunt Esme, and she feels isolated by her family’s perspective of her. The writing flows gently through the tension and the pain, coming to a screeching halt with the revelation that changes everything. Fans of Liane Moriarty, Diane Chamberlain, and Kerry Ann King will appreciate this novel and author.

I was really interested in the story throughout the book, and while the beginning was stronger, I enjoyed the whole thing immensely.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4, because I really did enjoy this book.

This book is less of a thriller/mystery, and more of a family drama. There is a central, important mystery- the disappearance of a young girl - but the story deals more with how it affects those who remain and how it shapes their actions into the future, than with actual possibilities for her fate.

Lily disappeared from her family’s Queens apartment one night and changed her family’s world forever. Esme, the main character, is forced to examine her priorities and how she can move on, using her love of ballet to help get her through. All the while, her family begins to crumble around her. About halfway through, the novel jumps eight years into the future, when a phone call from her older sister shakes Esme, now a successful ballerina, to the core.

The book really is suspenseful, in that it is quite a mystery how a little 4-year-old girl just walks out of her apartment and seemingly disappears into thin air. I mean, how is that not a complicated mystery that you just can’t wait to be solved? But the central storyline isn’t really about what happened to Lily, but how her remaining family members just wilt under the strain of the emotional aftermath. They desperately search for her, while they really seem to lose each other in the process. That’s what makes the book so emotional and realistic. It’s a heavy, heavy situation that everyone hopes they will never have to go through and can’t imagine how to move on if it did.

Esme is a great character, but I felt like she was a bit more mature than an 11-year-old would have been, though I guess everyone’s situation is different. There were times I definitely had to remind myself that she was only 11, not 15 or 16. And the emotional strain, especially as she prepares to perform a ballet that reminds her of her younger sister, is so realistic, i was absolutely gripped.

Overall, I think this was a great book, though I wish there was maybe a little more focus on the mystery itself and more tension created there, rather than with the family itself. The novel felt so heavy in parts, it was really very emotional and almost draining. But I did enjoy this book and it was very powerful. Just know what you’re walking into.

Beautiful cover! Compelling and emotional read. The characters were well written and easy to relate to. It dragged at times but overall an enjoyable read.

Beautifully told and elegantly executed. This is an emotional read.
Compelling and moving. A great book with exceptional writing style

I am a total sucker for anything ballet, I’m also a total sucker for a great cover.. this had both, unfortunately that’s where my excitement ends. The book had great potential but it just fell short .
I realized when I found myself completely uninterested in whether they found Lily or not, that this probably wasn’t the book for me. Sad, because I wanted to love it..

I voluntarily reviewed an digital copy.. all opinions are my own

I was so excited to read this book when I saw it. The idea of it being a mystery yet really focusing on how a family moves past unthinkable grief just intrigued me. I liked this book but I didn't love it like I thought I would.
Here are the positives - the storyline is excellent. Reading this you honestly feel like this scenario could have happened to anyone, even you. And that's humbling and scary. The characters are extremely relatable (whether you like them or their decisions or not). I feel they were true to many of the emotions and decisions a family would have/make while going through a traumatic experience such as the one this story was about. It felt real, true, authentic. The beginning of the book starts off so strongly but then it starts to fizzle. And here is where I go into my criticisms of the book - I do feel the book started to fizzle. There were parts that seemed very repetitive, and as a reader that's a little frustrating. A few parts were somewhat boring there in the middle and at times a tad flat, but I was so drawn by the whole premise of the story I wanted to know how it ended. This is a slower read, I personally felt the pace could have been picked up a little and still have the intended results. And lastly, by the end of the book I felt there were too many unanswered questions to be able to wrap this up with a neat little bow. It's an okay book, not a great book.

My thanks to Kristin Fields, Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of is book in exchange for an honest review.

The writing in this story is very good and captures the emotion and heartbreak of a complex family well. I was hoping for more tension in it but there wasn't much and i kept waiting for things to escalate but by the end i was left wanting. It's a shame because this story had such promise.

A child goes missing and you have no idea what happened or where she is. How do you react. As a mother can you get over that kind of loss. Not knowing if your child is being cared for or treated bad.

Kristin Fields did a wonderful job with this book. It has great characters, great plot and the story is one that will keep you wanting to know what happens next. From the beginning to the very last word you will want this child to come home. For this family to be able to heal. Each child has their own feelings of guilt. The parents blame each other and themselves. Yet no one could have done anything to prevent this from happening. It is a story of such heartbreaking loss. A story of the love between siblings and the strength they have for each other in many ways. Blame is a dangerous thing at times and at times like this it’s enviable. Esme is a ballet dancer who goes on to make it big as a dancer. Falls in love and makes a life for herself all the while thinking Lily is watching her. Not actually there but in her dreams.

This book is so touching and so raw. It is one you won’t soon forget. A debut novel by Kristin Fields. I look forward to more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishers for the ARC of this book. It’s a very touching story of love, loss and making it back to where you truly belong.

Another 5 star read for me.

A lovely story told in third person. The narrator tells the story of how Esme suffers a great loss. The loss of a little sister. She didn't die tragically... she just disappeared. Questions haunted her for years. Her family was never the same. Their lives were consumed with the search efforts. Esme's dreams of becoming a dancer was put on hold until her dance instructor, Amelia offered to take her under her wing. So she moved in, trained and began to move on.
Until one day, her brother called. "Esme, they found a girl in the basement of a house in NJ matching Lily's description".... how can no one know she was there? How can some sick bastard keep a child in the basement! Lily would be 12 now. She would be older than Esme was when Lily first disappeared.
So, was it her? Will life go on? Will her family heal? How long will Esme feel like she has to apologize for everything in her life?
I enjoyed this book. I believe it may have been a more powerful story if told from alternating perspectives. Maybe even alternating Esme, her brother, sister, mother, father or Lily's perspective?
Even so, the story was wonderfully told. The subject matter is sensitive but the character's reactions were realistic. The reader won't believe or be able to imagine how something like this could happen.

I was unsure about requesting this book, the plot sounded like it may be depressing or just too sad. I’m very happy I read it and will most certainly look for more by this talented author. The characters were well developed, conveying the emotional strain of dealing with one another after 4 year old Lily disappears.

The main characters are Andre and Cerise and their four children. Nick is the oldest and the only son, then Madeline, 11 year old Esme and 4 year old Lily. We start with Esme finishing her ballet class, her mother and Lily waiting to pick her up. Esme obviously has a good relationship with her little sister, playing with her and making up stories to amuse her.

Once they arrive home Esme starts studying in her bedroom shared with Madeline. Lily is begging for a story and Madeline yells at her and orders her out of the room. There is crying, there is Andre fussing about the crying and Nick yelling for quiet. As they sit down to dinner they call out for Lily to get to table. She’s gone. Just disappeared. There is more detail in book that plops you flat into the middle of a heart pounding search and the fear that grips you over possible scenarios.

The guilt each member of the family feels is evident as they ponder the before….before Lily was missing. Esme unfairly blaming herself because she didn’t take time to tell Lily that story. Madeline remembering the last words she shouted at her little sister, “it was better without you” and Cerise wishing she had been home instead of church.

The book is told through Esme’s point of view, starting when she was 11 years old and then jumps 8 years ahead with Esme living elsewhere. A scene in the present accurately describes how Lily’s disappearance damaged the entire family irrevocably.
The part about the special cake plate speaks volumes about how life changed for all of them. Esme’s mother brings out that special plate and Esme “would always wish her mother hadn’t packed it away after Lily but had kept making frosted cakes on that plate for her or Nick or Madeline, because they’d always been in reach. They’d been colored invisible instead. The left behind.”

The way relationships developed, and in some cases stalled, were well written. For Esme, her ballet teacher saved her from a half-life at home by recognizing the potential in her young student.  I don’t want to reveal too much as it may ruin the way you are drawn into the story and the progression of their lives.

The food was as different as the two lifestyles. At home Esme would eat the rotating menu of spaghetti, tacos, lentil soup, minestrone, turkey meatballs and hamburgers. Living with Amelia they had salads, roasted chicken, vegetables, omelets, spicy Chai tea. There was also orange madeleines, macaronis, warm chocolate, baking bread from the Paris portion of the book.

Well written, Kristin Fields. I will certainly be looking for more of your work.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

Esme is the third of four children. She's 13 when her younger sister Lily disappears right from their house, with everyone but their mother present in their house during the time. This disappearance leaves behind despair and guilt. Esme's mother blames her father. The police initially have the eldest of the siblings, Nick, the 17 year old deadbeat brother. Madeline, the second sister feels guilty for the last words she said to the 4 year old Lily was that they were better of without her. Esme, who was the closest to Lily feels her own guilt for putting off Lily's request for a story because of an exam the next day, and not going to comfort her when Madeline said those harsh words.

Lily's disappearance leaves her family damaged. Cherise is obsessed with finding her daughter, and can't forgive Andre for letting Lily disappear in his presence. Cherise also is not above pointing fingers at her son. Even Esme and Madeline can't help but be suspicious of him. This creates a distance between Nick and the others. Cherise is ready to do anything to find her daughter, even if it involves taking help from a psychic or hiring a private investigator. Amidst all this, Esme is intent on not letting it breaking her, choosing to believe that Lily would be back. She feels the distance with her family, more than ever. Her only solace is in ballet.

The author very smartly made us care for Lily in her initial short appearance. I was dreading her disappearing. The complexities in the relationship between the family members, due to the tragedy and the feelings of mistrust it creates among them, were beautifully conveyed. It was heartbreaking to see the distance between these characters, when it was clear that there still was love beneath it all. I was afraid the book would end abruptly like many book about such themes do. I still wish that we could see a little more before the ending. I also would have liked seeing Lily's POV. But other than these, it was a great book, with a well-executed plot and strong characterization.

What is a family to do when their four year old vanished without a trace?

I enjoyed this book. I felt the characters were believable and had real emotions you could feel through the book. 
The one thing I do wish is that this book would have been written from a different point of view, either, the 4 year olds, or in a 3rd person view to give readers multiple perceptions and not just one journey.

I would definitely read another book from this author.

I recieved a copy of this book from Netgalley, and this is my honest review.

The tile drew me in the wonderful writing the story kept me turning the pages and thinking of the book long after I read the final page.,#netgalley #lakeunionpublishing

Thank you for this advanced copy. I highly enjoyed this, more than I expected even! I could hardly put it down. That to me is the sign of a good book, when you put it down and can’t stop thinking of it and can’t wait to get back to it.

<i>I received a copy through NetGalley for review purposes. All opinions are my own.</i>

I finished this book in one sitting.

Esme is a dancer who has dreams of touring the world. Her sister, Lily, goes missing.

Lily is four years old.

Eight years later and across an ocean, Esme gets a call.

A Lily in the Light is a story of a dancer with big dreams. However, it is also about a family dynamic where time stands still because they are looking for their missing child.

I won't spoil anything, but I will say to have tissues handy.
#AlilyInTheLight #NetGalley

11 year old Esme lives and breathes ballet. One night, her 4 year old sister Lily disappears without a trace and life as she knows it is altered forever. Her family starts to fall apart, everyone is a suspect, and Lily throws herself into ballet as a way of forgetting. She is given the chance to escape when she receives an invitation to join an elite ballet company across the country. Fast forward 8 years later and Esme is a rising ballerina and dancing in Paris. She gets a call from her older sister, in tears, explaining that something has changed. A girl has been found that matches Lily’s description. Could this be Lily?

This is a heart-wrenching story that I flew through in a day. This is not a thriller but an exploration into the affect of trauma on a family. This is beautifully told from an 11 year olds viewpoint and I think the author did a fabulous job writing from this perspective. I am impressed by this debut author and look forward to more from her in the future. For me, a Lily in the Light was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you @amazonpublishing for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.