sometimes books give you the butterfly feeling of LOVING a book and sometimes they are just fine. Not bad, enjoyable, easy read, but nothing too notable. That was this book for me. I liked it….just didn’t love and gush over it. I really enjoyed the Lucy/ Dax storyline, but there was A LOT of “I miss you Gabe” and I was sort of
Over it.
Entertaining, sweet, a little spice, quick read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

It was such a pleasure to see Lucy in today’s world. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I’m very glad to have received an advanced copy of this and I just devoured it nearly in 1 day.

This book made my heart so happy and was the perfect follow up to The Light We Lost (one of the most devastating and conflicting books I have ever read). No spoilers in case you have not read the first book, but the events in the first book felt so real and totally wrecked me – I cried so much and could not stop thinking about it. Although it references the events of the first book and opens old wounds, this book helped pick up the pieces and put me back together again. Lucy is an excellent FMC because she is fully aware that she is not perfect but she tries her best, which is very relatable. She tries to do the best by her children while also trying to find her own happiness. Also, can I just say I KNEW I never liked Darren – I didn’t like him in the first book but I literally could not stand him in this book. Lucy is put in a very sticky situation and I was fully invested in the outcome which kept me eagerly reading... so much so that I finished it in 24 hours! Santopolo did such an amazing job with this follow up novel (8 years later!) and I feel as though I finally have closure I so desperately needed! Thank you to NetGalley, Jill Santopolo, and Penguin Group Putnam for the gifted ARC. This is a voluntary and honest review.

I am so glad Jill Santopolo wrote a sequel to The Light We Lost (reviewed here), so that we can revisit with some memorable characters. The Love We Found is a heartfelt and rewarding story and I actually loved it more than its predecessor. Moving the story ten years ahead reminded me of when TV shows get a big time jump and then have to fill in all the blanks. I liked the back and forth trajectory. I also liked Lucy a lot more in this story.

Trust me, this novel is just really good! It helps to read The Light We Lost first (as there are a lot of spoilers in this follow up), but my mom was able to read this one on its own and follow along. (She then read The Light We Lost, but she doesn't mind spoilers.) While this one gives a lot of context about the past, it's still helpful to know who the characters were back then and what their relationships were like.

My only concern was that it felt like there was too much projecting to the future instead of staying in the moment. I can't explain it without spoiling things, but it just felt like Lucy was constantly focused on what was around the next corner.

This was a comforting read overall and it also shows the consequences of one decision made a long time ago and the effects it has on the lives of everyone involved. That was done really well and made for some interesting and thought-provoking dialogue. I recommend picking it up, but be sure that you have nothing else going on because you will get absorbed!

(Trigger warnings at the bottom of this post.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Lucy: Odette Annable
Darren: Jason Ritter
Kate: Beth Behrs
Dax: Devon Sawa
Eva: Christina Pickles
Violet: Cailey Fleming
Courtney: Alison Pill
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TW: Loss of child (off page), infidelity (off page), death of significant other (referred to a lot), learning about parentage

The long-awaited follow-up to The Light We Lost: a thrilling love story about the roles fate and choice play in shaping a life.

"It’s been ten years. In case you’re out there somewhere. In case you’re listening, I’m here. And I have so much to tell you."

Looooove this author. I have been eager for this one and I devoured it and it was just as good as its successor.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for a review!

📚 Title: The Love We Found
Author: Jill Santopolo
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Women’s Fiction

“Maybe everything that was supposed to happen to them already did.”

A tender, emotionally rich romance that explores the lingering threads of first love and the power of what-ifs. Carly, a trauma surgeon, and Elliot, a musician, shared a deep connection after a brief summer romance in Italy. Years later, they unexpectedly reconnect at a high school reunion, forcing them to confront past choices, lingering feelings, and what it means to find love on your own terms.

Mood ❤️⌛🌅
❤️ Rekindled emotions and enduring love
⌛ Time’s passage and second chances
🌅 Hope, reflection, and new beginnings

This novel is a beautifully written exploration of soulmates, timing, and healing. If you enjoy romantic stories with emotional depth, gorgeous international settings, and a sense of real-won love, it’ll stay with you long after the last page.

I would highly recommend reading the first book immediately before reading this story. I don't think I had as much of an emotional response to this book as I did the first book so reading them back to back was very helpful. Overall I feel that this was a great continuation of the story and I did like that this rounded everything out very nicely. But I just loved the first book far more than the second book overall.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Penguin Group Putnam for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review

This book is literally a continuation of the previous one. Lucy is narrates the story as she's telling it to Gabe just as she did in the first book. I'm trying to to spoil too much even thought it's been out for awhile.

This book is about relationships and everyone's feelings. How we all should communicate more and speculation can ruin people's lives.

Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC copy in3 exchange for an honest review as always all words are my own.

This book wrecked me in the best way possible. What a beautiful story about the phases of life and living with the decisions we make - as people, as women, as mothers, as partners. I cried so much in the last few chapters. This is such a stunning second book!

There were so many wonderful reminders about humanity and our struggles - and also the stories we tell ourselves. It was important to see how motherhood and duty and love all intersect and I felt it was displayed in a pretty true fashion.

Also Darren is a dick. We hate that guy. 😒

A huge thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC!

After finishing the first book (The Light We Lost) I immediately picked up the follow up The Love We Found and devoured it. I sat there and read the whole thing in a day, it captivated me, it moved me, it was everything I knew it would be. Jill Santapolo brought us wonderful, REAL characters that I just admired. The strength that woman had was so beautiful to see. It’s been an absolute honour reading this series.

The follow up novel that fell completely flat in my book. Soft DNF at 85%.

Maybe I’ll come back in the future!

A sequel I didn’t know I needed! Jill Santopolo transported me right back into Lucy’s world, seamlessly picking up the story 10 years after the events of The Light We Lost. The book quickly caught me up on what Lucy’s life has been like, and I loved every bit of it. Everything that happened felt authentic and grounded—nothing was over the top or unrealistic. While I loved The Light We Lost, I think I enjoyed this one even more because the themes of motherhood really resonated with me. If you loved the first book, then I absolutely would recommend this book!

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐿𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒲𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝓈𝓉 is my all-time favorite book. The sequel didn’t quite live up to same level of angst and passion, but it still was a joy to read. This one definitely had more of a Hallmark-y feel to it, which isn’t my jam. However, I’m happy she wrote it so we could get even more closure. It was like getting a novel-length epilogue.

The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo is part 2 of Lucy's story begun in The Light We Lost. It's 10 years later and this is the story of what happens afterwards. I enjoyed seeing Lucy find her way through grief and to consider what she wants from this life of hers.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Love We Found is available now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I'm not sure I'm the right audience for this book somehow? I feel strange saying that, because I thought this would be a perfect fit, but I just found the book exhausting and overly depressing from the start. This didn't feel romantic at all, but I might be willing to give it another chance later.

If you want a women's lit read, this might be a good fit for you then.

Oh, how to summarize my feelings about this novel… I read the first book, The Light We Lost, several years ago, and reread it before I picked up the sequel. (I’m glad I reread it because this book definitely jumps right off assuming you know what happened in the first book.) I’m so torn on how to feel about both of these books because I really enjoy Santopolo’s writing – it’s engaging and emotional – but I couldn’t quite get behind the story.

I wanted to feel for Lucy, the main character, in the first book as we read her love story with two different men, however I don’t think that even her love for either of them justified the choices she made. I thought this sequel was heartfelt and thoughtful, but I still just couldn’t quite get past feeling like the whole book was just Lucy making bad decisions to justify other bad decisions she had made. I don’t know, call me heartless but I just couldn’t get past a lot of it.

I would still read more by Santopolo but this book mostly just left me with complicated, conflicted feelings.

A great sequel that I’m glad continued the story to give more insight into the relationship of Lucy & Gabe.

***If you haven't read The Light We Lost, you must before picking this one up.***

The Light We Lost WRECKED me, so I kind of tip toed into this one. I love that we meet up with old characters and new. I love following Lucy in her journey. I love the sweetness, heart and sentimentality in these pages. But... I must say some of it felt forced somehow, it didn't quite feel like the same Lucy from the first book. Although I did not love it as much as the first book, I did find it entertaining.

The Light We Lost was one of my fave books, so I was so excited for this book! I love books that have the element of fate and what would happen if even one different decision was made. Lucy’s journey continues in this book, full of emotion and some mystery which led to a very interesting and captivating read that I really enjoyed.

In this sequel to The Light We Lost, Lucy is going through Gabe’s things on the tenth anniversary of his death and finds a mysterious envelope with a Rome address. She decides to go to Rome and learn more about Gabe and his incredible and impactful life, and in the process comes to terms with the choices she’s made and the life she has. This was a fantastic sequel to The Light We Lost, and I enjoyed it a lot! It was so touching and beautifully written, and it was nice to revisit these characters and see where their lives ended up. If you enjoyed The Light We Lost, I think you’ll enjoy this one as well!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for my copy! ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.