{Release Day Review} The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo (@JillSantopolo @PutnamBooks)

Me Before You meets One Day in this devastatingly romantic debut novel about the enduring power of first love with a shocking, unforgettable ending. A Love Story for a new generation.

He was the first person to inspire her, to move her, to truly understand her. Was he meant to be the last?

Lucy is faced with a life-altering choice. But before she can make her decision, she must start her story—their story—at the very beginning.

Lucy and Gabe meet as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever. Together, they decide they want their lives to mean something, to matter. When they meet again a year later, it seems fated—perhaps they’ll find life’s meaning in each other. But then Gabe becomes a photojournalist assigned to the Middle East and Lucy pursues a career in New York. What follows is a thirteen-year journey of dreams, desires, jealousies, betrayals, and, ultimately, of love. Was it fate that brought them together? Is it choice that has kept them away? Their journey takes Lucy and Gabe continents apart, but never out of each other’s hearts.

Lucy Carter first met Gabriel Samson when it seemed like the whole world was exploding.  It was September 11th, 2001 and there on a rooftop under a grey cloud of ash, she kissed him for the first time and lost her heart forever.
 
But sometimes loving someone with all that you are isn’t enough to keep them by your side. It never mattered how many years passed without seeing his beautiful face or how many other loves had drifted in and out of her life, it was Gabe she could never forget.

Love does that. It makes you feel infinite and invincible, like the whole world is open to you, anything is achievable, and each day will be filled with wonder. Maybe it’s the act of opening yourself up, letting someone else in— or maybe it’s the act of caring so deeply about another person that it expands your heart. I’ve heard so many people say some version of I never knew how much I could love another human being until . . . And after the until is usually something like my niece was born or I gave birth to a child or I adopted a baby. I never knew how much I could love another human being until I met you, Gabe.
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I’ll never forget that.

​Gabriel Samson wanted to change the world with his photographs.  He thought if he could somehow shine a bright light on the atrocity and cruelty that existed, maybe one day things would change.  But for all of its nobility, it cost him the one thing that meant the most to him – Lucy.  And not a day went by that he didn't wish that he had made a different choice.
 
People always say that true love never dies but theirs was a love that could transcend everything – even death.

You’ve shaped me. Did you know that? You; September 11th. The person I am, the choices I’ve made. They’re because of you. Because of that day.

​When I first started to hear whispers about The Light We Lost, I knew immediately that I had to read it.  I thought it was going to great.  But I was so wrong.  It was so much more than that – it was a life altering experience!
 
From the first page to the very last, I was completely caught up in Jill’s beautifully emotional prose and her one-of-a-kind characters.  Every single aspect of this story unfolded flawlessly and I felt every word like a sweetly poisoned arrow aimed directly at my heart. 
 
If you’re just going to read one book this year, make it this one.  It will mark you in all of the extraordinary ways…