I loved the exploration of love, grief, secrets and moving on.

The characters, and their emotions, were relatable and elicited empathy from me throughout. I loved watching Lucy develop and grow, and really appreciated her parenting! I made the mistake of not reading The Light We Lost first, but this was easy to read and understand on it's own! I would recommend though, reading The Light We Lost prior!

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC!

*The Love We Found* by Jill Santopolo is a heartfelt exploration of love, loss, and healing. Following the emotional journey of its protagonist, Santopolo weaves a story that resonates with anyone who has experienced the complexities of relationships. The protagonist’s personal growth, set against the backdrop of love's many forms, feels genuine and relatable, making the book a moving read. Santopolo's prose is gentle yet powerful, guiding readers through moments of vulnerability and resilience. This novel is perfect for those who appreciate emotionally charged stories about love’s capacity to shape and break. I was very excited for this book, and was not disappointed!

Difficult Conversations and THE LIGHT WE LOST and THE LOVE WE FOUND by Jill Santopolo

Cover of the book THE LOVE WE FOUND by Jill Santopolo used as a teaching example for ways to have difficult conversations.
Cover of the book THE LIGHT WE LOST by Jill Santopolo used as a teaching example for ways to have difficult conversations.
THE LIGHT WE LOST is the story of Lucy, her love Gabe, and her husband, Darren. Lucy and Gabe met in New York on September 11, 2001. Later, they dated. Their relationship brief relationship changed Lucy forever. She never got over him. Even when Darren became her husband and the father of her children. Even when Gabe died. This situation led to difficult conversations.

THE LOVE WE FOUND tells the story of Lucy, her tween and teen children, Gabe, Darren, and a new love interest. It’s ten years after Gabe’s death. Lucy and Darren are divorced. It’s time, Lucy thinks, to tell her kids a life-changing family secret she and Darren kept from them. This decision provokes a series of difficult conversations. Darren initially disagrees but eventually acquiesces. They talk with the kids, their loved ones, and their families.

The idea of having difficult conversations provokes anxiety, especially for conflict-avoidant or people-pleasing people. In the moment, emotionally raw and potentially hurtful conversations can seem best avoided.

Unfortunately, avoiding difficult conversations causes problems and harms relationships. Luckily, when slowing down and analyzing thoughts, many people realize that their initial fears surrounding tough conversations are exaggerated, especially compared to the potential harms of skipping the talks.

Here are tips for having difficult conversations:

Clarify Your Why: Ask yourself: Is the conversation to impart information? Share feelings? Redirect behavior? How will you know when you’ve accomplished your goals?

Consider All Levels of Communication: Ensure your tone, body language, and words are consistent and appropriate to the discussion. Aim for caring / supportive or firm/neutral.

Practice: Ask a trusted friend to rehearse the conversation with you in advance. Seek feedback and consider what worked and didn’t work. Then, adjust and practice again until you feel ready.

Answer Questions: Answer questions honestly and in age-appropriate terms. If you don’t know the answer, offer to try research. If you don’t want to answer, set a boundary. Do not lie.

"The Love we Found" is a sequel that I didn't expect or know I needed (to the incredible "The Light we Lost"). The first book just shattered me & stayed with me a long time. I am not sure this sequel will stay with me, but it is really nice to get some closure on the first book, as its ending was my only real criticism of it. In this one, we see Lucy, ten years later, still mourning Gabe & how's she's coped (or not) with his loss. I do hesitate to call this a romance, to me it's really more character growth and a grief study, but I did like it, and felt it had important things to say. I also feel very strongly that this would not work as a standalone & I did revisit the reference material, and was glad my library still had the first novel. I also think the author is a very good write, which is why I've read her whole backlist & recommend. My thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for my review copy - my pleasure to read & review it.

It’s been ten years since the events in The Light We Lost. Ten years since Lucy lost Gabe. Ten years since Samuel, Gabe’s son, grew inside her. Ten years of a secret Lucy never wanted to keep, but did for Darren.

At the heart, this is a post-divorce story about a family healing. There has been betrayal, secrets, and lies and Lucy wants to do better for her family. Since the loss of Gabe and her divorce, Lucy has concentrated on her kids and welcoming Darren’s new wife and twins into the folds. Her heart has been closed off to romance. But when Gabe’s editor calls to get Lucy’s help with the reissuing of Gabe’s photography book, Lucy starts a new adventure to Rome, and this adventure just might lead to love.

What I like most about the characters Santopolo creates is that they are both perfectly human and flawed. They have made mistakes, big mistakes, but they recognize their errors and work to make them right. This is a story about an imperfect family making it work, and I think there’s a beauty in that. As Lucy says, every family has secrets. This story is theirs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jill Santopolo for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This follow up novel answered a lot of lingering questions I had but it was a little too cookie cutter neat for my taste. I kind of liked the soulful sadness of the first book better. Not that this was bad it just wasn’t what I expected. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this early copy for read and review

It had been a while since I had read The Light we Lost. It took me a while to get into this second novel. It did a good job refreshing my mind about the story. However, I was SO BORED reading this. IDK why, but I just could not get into it. I think if you read the first book, and loved it, like I did, try this. It just didnt' live up to my expectations, and I didn't connect with the characters like I did in the first book. 3 stars

I didn't think anything could top " The Light We Lost", but when I found out there would be a sequel I could not wait. It exceeded all of my expectations. Nearly ten years after Gabe's death, Lucy finds a mysterious address in Rome hidden in his old photos. It starts a journey across the ocean to uncover new connections, old secrets, and forces her far out of her comfort zone. This book is beautifully written, emotionally gripping and I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Years ago, I loved the Light We Lost. I have to admit my memory for the story had faded but quickly came back. I liked being 10 years in the future and seeing how much the loss was still impacting Lucy (and her family) on a daily basis. This book wasn't my favorite, but worth a read if you liked The Light We Lost-- it seems like most like it more than I did!

I loved this book. 🥹 As a fan of The Light We Lost, I was excited to dive back into Lucy and Gabe’s story. Jill Santopolo does an incredible job painting vivid surroundings that make you feel fully immersed in the story. The emotions felt raw and authentic, pulling me even deeper into the characters’ journeys. I found myself not wanting this book to end—it was such a satisfying continuation of Lucy’s story.

Thank you to the author for giving us another beautifully written chapter in Lucy’s life. Make sure to have the tissues handy. ❤️

What an amazing sequel to "The Light We Lost!" The story continues with Lucy, her marriage, her kids, and her life after Gabe. This one is equally as emotional!

In the larger sense, for me there was a time for school, a time for romance, a time for mothering. In the smaller sense, month by month, week by week, or day by day, there's a time for work, for play, for creation, for relaxation. the next few weeks really felt like time to concentrate on healing.

This book is so good and will stay with me for some time. I hope the story continues for a third book!

Romance, Beautiful Journey, and Emotional!
4.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 3/18/25.

3.5 stars rounded up

I was so excited to see I received an ARC for this book! The Love We Found was an enjoyable read and went very quickly. It didn’t quite compare to The Light We Lost but was overall a book I would recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This book was quite good. There are many things I missed and didn't understand because I read it as a stand-alone and not as a sequel. With all of that additional context and background information, I believe I would have liked it more. Despite some cheesy parts, I thought it was still quite good and entertaining.

I actually read the first book in this series years ago and was so excited to see that there was another coming. I felt this was a great second chapter to this story. I really enjoyed that the story wasn’t set immediately at the end of the last book, but allowed some time for growth before the reader's view of Lucy picked back up. I think it was a really great full circle in a way as well just with what felt like closure for Lucy and her story as a whole.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Years ago, The Light We Lost was the book that brought back my love of reading. I was in a rut after having babies and that book changed the way I read. The Love We Found is its beautiful sequel. I adore the characters of this story and could not put this one down.

This book was is the sequel to The Light We Lost, which I highly recommend reading first if you haven’t already. This story picks up almost 10 years from when the first book ended. Lucy and Darren are now divorced and sharing custody of their three children. Lucy finds an address in Rome among Gabe’s belongings, she decides to travel to Italy and uncover who lives there and what they have to do with Gabe. She then decides to follow Gabe’s journey, where she then meets Dr. Dax Armstrong who is also divorced and dealing with his own grief. As Lucy delves into Gabriel’s past she realizes that revealing the truth to her children, parents and brother who her youngest child’s real father is will offer her closure.

I enjoyed this sequel much more than the first book and I loved watching Lucy’s relationship with her children. I found myself connecting with Lucy’s character a little more this time. I still did not care for her ex-husband Darren. And I thought Dax was a little too perfect. The writing excellent and the chapters were short just like in the first book. You should know that I did cry in the end.

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for providing me this ARC for my honest review.

I absolutely adored Jill Santopolo’s The Light We Lost. It was a beautifully written and emotionally gripping novel that resonated with me deeply, quickly becoming one of my top reads that year. So, needless to say, when I heard about the release of its follow-up novel, The Love We Found, I jumped at the opportunity to read it. I couldn't wait to be reunited with the characters and immerse myself in the continuation of their story. The Love We Found follows Lucy's life 10 years after the passing of Gabe. Initially, I was curious about how the novel would unfold, but I couldn’t have loved this conclusion more. So many loose ends tied up, and I love what Jill Santopolo had in mind for Lucy! Loved it! If you loved the first novel like I did, then you wholeheartedly NEED to read this 5-star gem! It’s the closure I never knew I always needed!

Well well well. Here we are.
Thank you so much for the ARC, this was definitely a high priority book, five star prediction for me. However it was not five stars. Things were great for the first 35-40% and then I lost interest real quick.
I still enjoyed the storyline for the most part and I'm glad we got a ending for Lucy. This just didn't hit me as hard as The Light We Lost , and I know it's not fair to compare, but I can't help it.

I would still recommend this to the group of readers who enjoyed TLWL, but I don't feel a big connection to any of the characters here.

This was just as good as I knew it would be! 5 stars. This was so emotional and it perfectly wrapped up Lucy’s story! ❤️ I ate this book up in 24 hours. I love Jill’s writing so much!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the arc.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I finished this book in ONE DAY! I think it was the perfect conclusion to Lucys story. At times, I had tears in my eyes, as she has been through so much, and the love she had for Gabe, She finally was starting to heal, and open up again. Santopolo, is one of my favorite authors and she didn't disappoint. The only reason its only 4 Stars, is because it touched on COVID, and sometimes I get sick of reading about how much COVID touched peoples lives.