** spoiler alert ** "The Love We Found" picks up 10 years after Lucy had to make the huge decision in "The Light we lost". It delves into lifes messy nuances of Lucy's life during those 10 years to present day. Lucy has been called by Eric Weiss (Gabe's former editor) to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Gabes' death. Lucy goes on a mission to collect more of Gabes photos and in doing so starts the healing process of being able to let Gabe go and open her heart up for others. This book brought me to tears as did the last book and I wish I could read them both again for the first time. This duology will be one of my favorite reads of 2025.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and the author for an ARC of this book in which I had the pleasure of reading.

The Love We Found
To say I loved “The Light We Lost” is an understatement. I really enjoyed book two. While it didn’t bring me to uncontrollable tears like the first one, I read these in two nights and loved seeing where these characters were all these years later. Full video review on my socials.

I was excited so excited to see what happened next with Lucy after losing Gabe. While I'm happy to see was finally able to move on, I found some of the interactions between her in Dax cringy (especially the spicy scenes). Overall, stars.

The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo is a beautifully heartfelt story about love, fate, and the choices that shape us. With deep emotion and Santopolo’s signature storytelling, this book is tender, poignant, and impossible to put down!

This gem of a book is the sequel to “The Light We Lost” and it is absolutely beautiful. I read this in one day because Lucy’s story is so enthralling. Highly recommend this book for everyone!

Wow i Loved this so much. Although the second book doesn’t get me as emotional as I was while reading the first, this still tugged every heart string, It was so beautifully written and I could not put it down. Watching the relationship between lucy and her kids really warmed my heart. I also really loved Dax.

DNF I couldn't get passed all the spice I did however enjoy the writing style and being in the mind of Lucy and feeling her emotions. I just couldn't deal with the spice.

The Light We Lost was amazing so when I saw there was a sequel, I had to read it! This book follows Lily ten years from where the first book left off. It's a great read if you enjoyed the first book!

Many, many thanks to NetGalley & G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read an early eARC in exchange for my honest opinions. When I saw that this book was coming out this year, I was beside myself, so thank you for the advanced copy!

I absolutely loved “The Light We Lost.” I loved Lucy & Gabe’s story and was so excited to see how their story progressed 10 years later. Lucy’s love for Gabe is still as strong as it ever was. She is at a crossroads in her life where she wants to tell her son, Sam, the truth about who Gabe is. She is also very reluctant to open herself up to romance again, as she doesn’t feel deserving of it. This book had my heart just like the first one did, and I’m so glad Jill Santopolo revisited Lucy & Gabe’s love story.

In preparation for this book, I read the first book in the series, The Light We Lost. I fell absolutely in love with it and couldn’t wait to read The Love We Found. I was overjoyed when I was approved for this ARC on NetGalley and it did not disappoint!

In this sequel, we find out what has happened in Lucy’s life 10 years after the last book left off. Without giving too much away from the first book, we know Lucy did experience a huge loss and has been struggling with that. In that struggle, an opportunity presents itself for her to honor the person she lost, who that person was to so many others and their impact on the world. Thru this experience, Lucy meets someone that makes her feel alive again, but she’s afraid of getting hurt. She also worries about disrupting the balance she has built with her children and her ex-husband. We see her wrestle with this throughout the book.

As was the first book, this was another great piece by Jill Santopolo. I could not finish the book without shedding some tears. I would love to see this get picked up by a streaming service for a mini series!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jill Santopolo, and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for this ARC.

I know that many people loved the first book, “The Light We Lost,” and it was on my to-be-read list for a long time. When I saw there was a sequel, I decided it was time to try the first one so that I could next read the sequel. They both are three-star reads for me.

This book picks up after the first, and we see Lucy and Darren’s family navigate the divorce and two households. As an important milestone comes up, Lucy goes to Italy to research some things in Gabe’s past and retrace some of his steps. She meets an interesting doctor there and wonders if she can find love again.

As I sit on Outlier Island, I think about why this book is not for me. I am not crazy about the novel's structure, which is a rambling monologue to Gabe, her first big love. It also feels like Lucy has put Gabe on a pedestal. I think at the root, I just don’t care for Lucy’s character, making it hard for me to like this book. The writing is fine, I just didn’t root for Lucy at all. Many others have loved these books, so they might work for you!

Thank you to Putnam Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

The Light We Lost broke me to pieces in the best way possible. When I found out that there was going to be a sequel, I knew this would be one of my most anticipated reads of 2025. It did not disappoint.

The author does a nice job of recapping events from the previous book, so it isn't necessary to do a reread prior to going into this one. Immediately, I was drawn back into this story. The feeling and emotions bleeding from the first book right into this one.
The story takes place 9 years after the loss of Gabriel. Lucy finds herself going through the motions of life but still weighed down by profound grief.

This book is about Lucy's journey to opening herself back up to joy, honesty, and love. Lucy is at a fork in the road and has to decide which path will lead her to freedom from the confines and secrets of her past.
This is Lucy's story, but Jill Santopolo carefully crafts each character, so you are equally invested in them all. I would have loved for more Darren and his wife and am keeping my fingers crossed that they might get a story of their own.

3.75 🌟

Dax was the star of this book. ❤️

First off, if you haven't read The Light We Lost, make sure to pick that book up first. This book picks up 10 years after TLWL and is full of just as much emotion as the first. It was nice to see this family get closure, especially Lucy.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC of this book.

This book was such an easy read. I loved that it is basically a story that Lucy is retelling to Gabe—almost like she’s catching him up on what he’s missed over the years. I picture her sitting at his grave at the beginning and talking to him throughout the entirety of the book to let him know that him and his work are still touching so many people.

Gabe will always hold a special place in my heart.

My only critique is that I didn’t understand Lucy’s feelings for the MMC and how *insta* love they were. It felt like their relationship was mostly just trauma bonding and fell a little flat for me. However, this could be because this book really is more of a love story about the love that Lucy has for her family than her own intimate relationships.

I did love seeing Lucy’s family grown up and the personalities of each of her children. I’m so happy that Samuel is who he is. Overall, this book just felt like a warm, familiar hug.

The Love We Found
3.5 ⭐️

I love the cover of this book and wanted to continue to see where Lucy’s story led after The Light We Lost.

Set ten years after the first book, Lucy is co-raising her kids while still grieving from Gabe’s loss ten years ago. She slowly learns to let go and grow, while sharing her truth with her kids.

The first half of this book felt a lot like the last one, but I enjoyed the second half a bit more. I wished that Lucy had done more of the therapy and growing she did in the last 10% throughout the book too.

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

-Follow up to The Light We Lost

This sequel picks up 10 years after the ending of book one. I felt that it was a very honest depiction of a woman overcoming grief and the consequences of her past decisions. I really, really liked it and am thankful to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

4.5/5

In “The Light We Lost”, Lucy is faced with a life-altering decision.

But, before she can make that decision, she will reexamine her love story with Gabe-one she feels is Epic.

Lucy and Gabe met as seniors at Columbia University on 9/11. And, on that day, they decided that they wanted their lives to mean something, no matter what…

EVEN AT THE EXPENSE OF BEING TOGETHER

Now, it’s ten years later, and we get to find out what has happened in Lucy’s life since the DECISION.. (No spoilers here!)

Has it turned out as you may have imagined when that book ended? On March 18th, you will get the chance to find out.

Have you ever read a sequel and felt like the main character didn’t feel like the same person? I have, but thankfully that is NOT the case here! Jill Santopolo has written Lucy with the SAME Voice as before-and has written what I feel would be a very AUTHENTIC life trajectory for her. I was immediately drawn back into her World from page one!

Life is MESSY, and people are IMPERFECT, and this sequel will give you much to discuss. I never expected we would get to see what happened next-but, I am glad we did!

If you enjoyed the first-you won’t be disappointed! If you haven’t, you will want to start there!
Review for “The Light We Lost”: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1988832902

Thank You to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

3.5 stars

Thank you to netgalley & the publisher for the opportunity to read “The love we found” in exchange for an honest review.

This story will pull at your heart strings. A story about love, loss, secrets, righting the wrongs and embracing life in the moment and about finding love after loss.

Set primary in New York, a mother of 3 is grappling with a secret that could completely rock her family. A choice that did affect her family in a divorce. They have chosen to not alert the children (or anyone for that matter) that Sammy is Gabriel’s child. Darren is aware as him and Lucy divorced after their marriage was rocked by infidelity, but they chose to keep it a secret from the everyone until later in life.
This is a family that has reasserted themselves to do the best by their children becoming a blended family.

This book revolves around Gabriel’s story and how he impacted lives while he was on earth and the lingering impacts he continues to have even after his death.

This is the story of Lucy finding love that she doesn’t feel that she deserves with Dax and her children having to see how they can support that.

The love we found is a beautiful book, but imo it lacked a bit of the intensity & vigor as the first installment.

i fell so deeply in love with the first book, i was so excited to read the second. it didn’t disappoint but i do think i loved the first more. this one shows grief and healing nearly a decade after and i really love that for lucy!! thank you so much net galley for the ARC!

Jill Santopolo has done it again with The Love We Found, a breathtakingly emotional story that weaves together love, loss, and second chances in a way that feels deeply personal yet universally relatable. From the very first page, I was hooked by the raw, heartfelt storytelling and the beautifully developed characters who felt as real as old friends.


What I loved most about this book was its exploration of how love can be both fragile and resilient—how it can break us and heal us in equal measure. The depth of the relationships, the moments of aching longing, and the hope that lingers even in the darkest moments made this a story I couldn’t put down. The author masterfully balances romance with real-life struggles, making the story feel authentic rather than overly idealized.

By the time I reached the final chapter, I was both heartbroken and uplifted, a testament to Santopolo’s ability to craft a novel that truly stays with you. If you’re a fan of beautifully written, emotionally charged love stories, The Love We Found is an absolute must-read.