Loved it!!! Melissa Payne is one of my favorite authors. I loved all of her books and always look forward to reading them. They never disappoint. Vega was not prepared to live on her own after her mother died. Renee and Vega never stayed in one spot long enough to call home. The old van was their home. Vega knew all about abusive men, but never realized who she was living with until it was too late. He got mad because of bacon!!! I wanted Vega to document the bruises so she had proof of Zach's abuse. Crystal was the perfect place for Vega and Riley. The people were so kind and helpful (most of them). I couldn't imagine why JJ and his cousin hated Eve so much. I enjoyed how the book alternated between Eve, Vega and the past with Donna in 1995. This book was beautifully written and I felt like I really got to know all the characters.

Definitely recommend the book. I loved the characters, writing style and story. I want to live in Crystal and be friends with everyone there. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Loved the book cover.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Lake Union Publishing, through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Strong Story Well Told - Yet Very Preachy As Well. I've been reading Melissa Payne's books since the very first one, and I can assure long time fans that while this book is in fact quite preachy on a couple of subjects in particular (more on that momentarily), it is also her usual quite strong storytelling here. For people that haven't read Payne yet, this is a good one to start with *if you don't have issues with the topics she is preachy about here*. (Otherwise go with literally any of her other books - The Secrets of Lost Stones, Memories In The Drift, or The Night Of Many Endings.)

The preachiness here is *mostly* around trans/ LGBT issues, though there is also a fair amount of "country men who don't agree with my opinion on these issues are all backwards a**h***s". (I'm not going to say outright misandry, because there *are* a few male characters who are both country and shown in quite positive lights - so long as they agree with particular views on the above issues.)

Beyond the preachiness though, there *is* a genuinely strong story here. Perhaps not quite as strong as the prior works by the author, all of which created strong dust storms no matter where they are read, as this reader's eyes got watery no matter what environment he was reading them in - and *that* never actually happened with this book. Still, as a story of finding oneself even in tragedy - a few times over - and how traumas can last to new generations, this really was quite a strong tale. And heck, there are even elements of the tale that the most hyper militant pro-LGBT types probably aren't going to like much either, but discussing those gets *way* too far into spoiler territory to mention beyond the simple fact that they exist.

Overall truly a strong tale well told, and one that while preachy, is still readable and enjoyable by most anyone - one that even if you would normally be put off by the preachiness, it is still a tale strong enough to push through those feelings and read anyway. Just please, if you do that, don't lower your rating because of the preachiness. Do what I did here, and put your thoughts on that subject in the text of the review. :)

Very much recommended.

A Light in the Forest is a great read and I intend to read more by Melissa Payne.
Vega and her baby Riley are on the run, trying to escape her abusive husband . Drawn to a small town called Crystal. Here she finds help and friendship but even small towns have bad people. I loved the characters in this story especially Eve.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Vega and her baby are on the run from an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. Being on the run is nothing new to Vega since she and her mother lived a nomad lifestyle until the day her mother died. Having no family or ties, Vega heads to the only place she can think of, Crystal, Ohio, where her mother ran from. The book does contain some touchy subjects but I feel it is worth reading. Hatred and small-mindedness is, unfortunately, everywhere. This dual-timeline novel also has family, friendship, and acceptance. Some tense moments in the book have you wondering what will happen next. Thanks to author Melissa Payne, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

From NetGalley. A very good read! New to Melissa Payne I was impressed by the character driven story which unfolded through different times as well as various character’s pov’s. in a strange way it reminded me of Charlaine Harris’ Midnight Texas series… obviously very different styles and concepts and minus…most of…the supernatural elements… but the quirky dark mysterious yet cozy and welcoming small town and its eclectic characters had a similar feel to me. Gripping yet delicately and empathetically handled subject. Really beautifully done.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me and I read until about half way before I decided not finish it. I really wanted to enjoy it more but I could not connect to the characters and felt the story was a bit overdone.

A Light in the Forest by Melissa Payne starts with Vega fleeing with her baby son after her partner has abused her. She ends up heading towards a small rural town that she remembers her mother had some connection with as she had a postcard from the town. Her mother called it “a small town of nobodies” and that is exactly the sort of place Vega wants to hide out and figure out her next move.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending this book for honest review. All opinions are my own.

Vega finally has enough of her abusive relationship and takes off with her son. Not really sure where she’s headed but an old post card kinda points the way. She arrives in a small town her mother may have had ties to and decides to stay.
I thought the book was really good. It does deal with some painful issues. Definitely recommend!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

The story starts out with Vega living with her boyfriend Zach and her son Riley. Zach had been abusing Vega so she decided that she was going to take her son and seek refuge in small town crystal where everyone knows everyone and they help each other. Although there are a few bad people. Vega at first keeps to herself, scared and keeping a low profile so Zach doesn’t find her. Eve lets Vega rent her apartment to help her out and gives her work to help her support her son.

Vega caught JJ Harrison cutting up Eves pig so Vega maced him and got on the bad side of the Harrison’s but that is the least of her worries. She worries Zach will find her any day. One day she walks into her apartment and sees Zach pointing a gun in her face trying to get Riley back. Heff walks upstairs and saves her the whole town got together and saved Vega and Riley from Zach.

The book was great! I enjoyed the book a lot. I didn’t think the story would end the way it did. Vega found the answers she was looking for and family. She was very lucky. I give the book 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I highly recommend this book!!

hank you NetGalley and Lake Union for the eARC.
A wonderful, emotional read with a cast of great characters that made me quite emotional at the end. I loved baby Riley and really felt for him and his colic.
The cover was terrific too, it really added something to the story.
There are triggers: domestic violence, gender hate and animal cruelty, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book, it was handled sensitively.
Definitely recommended!

This is a tough, dark book that tries too hard. Vega is running from an abusive husband. She has a two-month old with colic, a tiny bit of money, and an old postcard that holds some tie to her late mother's background.

There's a lot of man-hate here, especially at the beginning of the story. There is also a strong agenda that preaches throughout the novel, constantly beating readers over the head with its insistence on how to think and feel instead of just telling the story and letting readers make up their own minds. The author has obvious writing skills, but this was a complete miss for me.

Not family friendly due to profanity, domestic violence, references to incest, and violence.

I actually didn't finish this. For some reason I just didn't connect with the characters or the story; it was fine, but the writing was a bit meh and the mystery and action were very predictable. I also take issue with a ciswoman writing from a trans character's POV.

Melissa Payne writes yet another story that made me feel so many emotions. This one really broke my heart at times it was so raw and painful. I felt so much for these characters and what they lived through.

Vega was very brave to go out on her own to find a safe place to land, and a wonderful place (for the most part) she did find. Many issues were on topic during this read, domestic abuse, LGBTQ hate, animal cruelty, and just plain nastiness. I felt bad that Vega grew up thinking all men were bad, her mother did her a disservice there, especially since she has a son of her own to raise.

I enjoyed the past and present timelines and the differing points of view in each chapter. The characters were varied, some you love and some you love to hate. I liked that about this story because it made the town and its inhabitants feel real.

This was such an inspiring story and an interesting tale in that eventually everything weaves together in the end and all questions are answered and I loved the theme of community and that family isn't always blood.

I cannot write a review without mentioning the amazing cover for this book, it is so eye-pleasingly beautiful and fits well with the story inside.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book - the initial blurb didn't give too much away, and after starting the book - I didn't want it to end.

I will admit, I was a little sceptical at first when I first started reading, as it seemed quite familiar to the premise of another book (that I haven't read) that then was made into a TV show - thankfully, it sharply changed direction and became something more.

The characters were great, some very interesting connections and relationships, and the writing was excellent - lots of beautiful imagery and scene setting. There were some parts of the story set in the past which helped the reader to understand what was going on in the present, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The ending seemed a little neat, and I feel that I could have done with just a little more, which is the reason for only 4 stars.

A Light in the Forest
A Novel
by Melissa Payne
Vega Jones escapes an abusive relationship with nothing but her two-month-old baby and the van she grew up in. Her destination is a small Ohio town her late vagabond mother left years ago. It’s one full of nobodies, her mother warned. That makes it the ideal refuge for Vega to lie low, feel safe, and maybe learn more about a past her mother never spoke of.

Vega warms to the town and to new acquaintances like Heff, the young deputy and artist who prefers his yard art to actual policing, and empathetic Eve, a local farmer whose near-death experience gave her more than just her life back. But even in this welcoming community, there’s an undercurrent of something unsettled, talk of a tragedy that unfolded in the woods years ago, and a mystery connected to Vega in ways she couldn’t have anticipated.

As a mother on the run and following a path of mounting risks and illuminating secrets, Vega discovers that even during the darkest of times, there’s light in unexpected places


Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union for the eARC. Beautiful cover, and a beautifully written story. With a few surprises. This was my first book by MelissaPayne, but it will NOT be the last. A soft place to fall with so many people becoming a force to help. Family and friends HELP one another. The back story also helped wrap this into the magic wonderfully. Renee, Vega, Betty, Carl, Heff, Eve, and Tera. were people you wished you knew. Brilliant,

WOW!!! What an amazing feel good kinda story! Everything Melissa Payne has written has been amazing and this one had so many different aspects, layers and some killer secrets.

The mother daughter relationship, the friendships from years ago and the present friendships plus a tiny small town welcoming a stranger into their town and helping her when she didn’t know she needed it. The mysteries solved and lots of secrets revealed.

I loved everything about this book, even the pigs!! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for one amazing story!!

First thing to say about this book is that there are some triggering topics such as cruelty to animals, domestic violence and gender discrimination in it and so some readers may not find it as enjoyable as I did.
I think this is an incredibly brave book that absolutely has an important message to tell but may not be well received because of its content, but I really enjoyed it and found it both emotive, heart-wrenching and yet hopeful at times
I am def gald I read this book even with the awful things that happen in the book and I would recommend it, it was a compelling tread with well developed characters and I am still thinking about it now after finishing it a while ago.

⚠️TW: this book mentions domestic abuse, near death experiences, transphobia, animal cruelty, homophobia, sexual abuse ⚠️

I was able to get an ARC of this book from NetGalley and in return give it my honest review. What drew me to this book is definitely the cover art. I'm 100% the type of reader who judges books by the cover. Sorry not sorry. Here's some thoughts while reading, along with my overall opinion:

Most women who are in abusive relationships don't see the red flags at first.. abusers are strategically good at hiding it..

She should get rid of that phone, if he bought it for her he can probably track her.

Was Vega's mom running from her dad?

I'm assuming that nothing town full of nobodies and bullies is where Vega's dad is..

Had a sister? I wonder if Renee's sister is the one who had been abused and the reason Renee took care of abused women.. maybe the nowhere town turned the other cheek when it happened...

Heff seems like a decent guy.. maybe someone she can connect with since she said he's not much older than her..

It's sad that she believes all men are the same because of her experience watching her mom help women in bad situations and then Zach..

What if that girl who left, Donna, was Renee and she changed her name so nobody could track her down?? They said 25 years ago, and Vega is 24..

Ooh. I like how we get to see a little bit of Eves POV.

Carl and Betty encouraged Eve to leave town?

Hopefully we learn more about Eve and her dad's past..

Could Eve be related to Vega?

Sounds like Vega has PPA - the thoughts of Riley getting hurt

Maybe Vega's dad WAS a good one, maybe he died? Or maybe he didn't know Renee was pregnant and she left before he found out?

Heff was able to calm Riley down. I wonder how long it'll take for her to trust him...

"A phoenix will change your life" - I wonder if one of Vega's tattoos is a pheonix...

Hmmm. Another prediction/possibility.. maybe Renee wasn't from Crystal.. maybe she helped Eve out when she escaped Crystal and that's how she got the post card.

How often are Eves knowings correct? Could it be possible for them to change?

Maybe the boy on the bus is Vegas dad? We don't know how old Renee was when she got pregnant..

Donna was sexually abused? This was stated after her thinking about her dads hot breath "She'd rather take his fists, but she never had a choice"

Was Ethan the owner of the girl clothes and makeup?

Is the bus the reason Renee lived in the van? Reminder of that time?

Oooh.. Ethan is Eve.. makes sense about when Carl stopped at "E-" when he came over to the farm and met Eve..

The girl and dad that went missing, maybe Donna and Ethan killed Donna's dad and then she ran away?

The kid beaten to a bloody pulp was probably Ethan..

The animal cruelty made me sick to my stomach. My mother-in-law owns pet pigs, the thought of someone doing that to one of her babies makes me nauseous.

Eve, back when she was Ethan tried to stop Donna's dad from hurting her? Maybe that's how she was beaten?

Okay, so Donna, still my guess it's Renee, isn't from Crystal.. but Ethan is, so maybe him being beaten is the reason she calls it a nothing town full of nobodies and bullies.

I'm thinking they killed Donna's dad and threw his body in one of the old mining holes.

Vega isn't used to men being kind, she's very thrown off by Heff..

The reason nobody knows Renee Jones is because it's Donna...

Betty and Carl are such good people. Helping kids in need.

I'm hoping we find out what happened to Beth..

I really hope Eves "knowings" aren't set in stone.

I'm thinking that since Renee said she had a sister, I think Beth either got abused so much she committed suicide, or her daddy abused her to the point of no return..

Eve had that vision of a little girl hiding under the bed before/during her NDE, that was possibly Donna hiding from her dad?

It makes me sick that Donna's mom just let the abuse happen, and then got angry at Donna when she did something about it.

I think I like Tera's character, I hope she's around more.

"Unreliable second sight" so 🤞🏻 fingers crossed Heff doesn't die

An Amber Alert?! He doesn't even take care of his son, what does he think will happen if he gets Riley back? Vega would go to jail or if Zach convinced everyone she's mentally unstable, a hospital...

Vega has a pheonix tattoo!!!!!

Oh no, was Vega conceived by Donna's dad? Renee said her dad was a good man.. did she just say that you protect her?

Donna is Renee!!

Betty and Carl looked at Donna like a daughter, so that kinda makes Vega a granddaughter of sorts.

I'm intrigued by Eves thought that Vega is Beth.. that would be a very interesting twist.

If Vega was Beth, she would be older than 25 though.. because Beth was old enough to stand when Donna ran away because it talked about her hiding behind their mom's legs when the mom held the gun at Donna...

JJ burned Eves barn 😡

Maybe Ethan is Vegas father... but does Eve not remember having sex with Donna?

Poor Donna and Ethan. He doesn't know how to explain to her why he didn't enjoy their moment, and she felt rejected by him.

The animals got out of the barn before it burned down!!

Zach is going to find Vega.. I think he might be able to trace her phone from the picture she sent of Riley..

I think Zach is in town and I think he might be who shoots Heff.. and I still think that Eve is Vegas father..

!!! Tera just told her that she's Vegas dad!!

I love how all the women helped with Zach after he shot Heff.


Okay, so overall thoughts are, I liked it. I didn't love it, but that's more so a me issue and not a Melissa Payne issue. I decided to read a book out of my comfort zone with the one, I'm typically a rom-com or fantasy type of reader. But I thought it was well written and enjoyed it for a book I wouldn't typically pick for myself.

Things I enjoyed about this book:
- multiple POV, some people don't like books that bounce between characters, I personally love hearing from multiple perspectives
- Vega learns not all men are abusive when she meets Heff and Carl
- that we got closure with what happened to Donna's dad and her sister
- the author left the ending open enough that the reader could decide for themselves if Vega and Heff ended up together

Things I could do without:
- the animal cruelty
- how often Vega kept saying she didn't need help, everyone needs help every so often

Thank you to Lake Union and NetGalley. What a brave story with so many wonderful and brave characters. This book was such a good read, and I'm so glad it found its way to me.

This is a courageous book that I’m thankful found me. It opens with a brave, unsure woman leaving her abusive husband with 2 month old in tow. On the run, she finds herself across country in the small town of Crystal because of the only photograph she has of her late Mom, Renee, standing next to a broken down bus in the woods.

Afraid most of the time and fearful to trust anyone, not even herself, Vega reluctantly accepts help because she must for her son’s well being. The stories, history and relationships formed through survival, acceptance, courage, and understanding bring together a family of misfits and a place to call home. This book brings the reader to the heart of tough, relevant traumas of domestic abuse, child abuse, gender identity, bullying, and loneliness.

I am thankful to have read this book and to experience the resilience and strength of Renee, Vega, Betty, Carl, Heff, Eve and Tera. Beware of intense emotional content. If you are drawn to it, read it! Now, let’s go make some buckeye cookies.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. #ALightintheForest #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union for the eARC.
A wonderful, emotional read with a cast of great characters that made me quite emotional at the end. I loved baby Riley and really felt for him and his colic.
The cover was terrific too, it really added something to the story.
There are triggers: domestic violence, gender hate and animal cruelty, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book, it was handled sensitively.
Definitely recommended!