The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
Goodreads Blurb: 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.
My take: 4 out of 5. The narrating style is quite different but super impactful. ITs kind of a letter/kind of a diary entry but very emotional in its delivery. As much as you expect things and are awaiting the twist, the end is a whole other story. It was sweet and heartbreaking and a lovely quick read.
The Love We Found by jill Santopolo
Goodreads blurb: The long-awaited follow-up to the Reese’s Book Club pick and New York Times bestselling global phenomenon 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. It’s been nearly ten years since Gabe’s been gone when Lucy finds a tiny piece of paper in a box of his old photos. An address in Rome. Why did Gabe keep it, and what was he doing in Italy? Lucy buys a last-minute ticket. Impulsive, but Gabe always brought that out in her. Lucy’s journey to uncover Gabe’s secret leads her to Dr. Dax Amstrong, a New Yorker in Italy working with an NGO. His broad shoulders and sad, intense eyes draw Lucy in. His touch reaches her in a forgotten place—one that no one has neared since Gabe. But her old life awaits, along with an earth-shattering decision—whether she and Darren should tell their son Samuel the truth about his real father. How can Lucy move forward while she’s rooted in regret? Fate broke her heart in the past. Can finding new love set her free?
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 3.75 out of 5. It took me a while to read the Light we Lost after it came out, and i was very happy I got an arc for the sequel very soon after, therefore I could take the whole story all at once. Is it as good as its original? no! but it is a lovely book on navigating grief, growing past in and starting a new life embracing both the pain and the happiness. Also the European descriptions made me want to be in holiday in Europe exploring little coastal towns in the middle of nowhere!
The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave
Goodreads blurb: Estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal… Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar – notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death. he authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything. With Laura Dave’s trademark combination of soulful suspense and evocative family drama, The Night We Lost Him is a riveting page-turner with a heartbreaking final twist you’ll never see coming.
My Take: 3.75 out of 5. For a thriller, and especially the expectations of it being Laura Dave whose previous work has been excellent It was interesting, just not interesting enough. The end was cool, but the road there was too mild and pleasant. The sibling relationship I did enjoy and how they come together after all the riff was a really good character development.
Here one Moment by Liane Moriarty
Goodreads blurb: If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate? Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed. Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all. How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as “The Death Lady.” Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable. A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party. If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny? Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.
my take: 3.5 the concept is intriguing, the execution is ok, the end was lackluster. Not up to my expectation of Liane Moriarty. It definitely sucks you in, the premise is so bonkers that you are up for the ride and see what actually goes on. but that grab from the beginning just doesn’t follow through the rest of the book. It’s like the opposite of a thriller with a great twist, all the excitement was at the beginning and you are just waiting for things to unwind. Its an entertaining book, and her writing is always impeccable, I just wanted more.
Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger
Goodreads blurb: An enthralling novel about three generations of strong-willed women, unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past. Detroit, 1960. Lila Pereira is two years old when her angry, abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum. Lila never sees her mother again. Three decades later, having mustered everything she has—brains, charm, talent, blond hair—Lila rises to the pinnacle of American media as the powerful, brilliant executive editor of The Washington Globe. Lila unapologetically prioritizes her career, leaving the rearing of her daughters to her generous husband, Joe. He doesn’t mind—until he does. But Grace, their youngest daughter, feels abandoned. She wishes her mother would attend PTA meetings, not White House correspondents’ dinners. As she grows up, she cannot shake her resentment. She wants out from under Lila’s shadow, yet the more she resists, the more Lila seems to shape her life. Grace becomes a successful reporter, even publishing a bestselling book about her mother. In the process of writing it, she realizes how little she knows about her own family. Did Lila’s mother, Grace’s grandmother, die in that asylum? Is refusal to look back the only way to create a future? How can you ever be yourself, Grace wonders, if you don’t know where you came from? Spanning generations, and populated by complex, unforgettable characters, Like Mother, Like Mother is an exhilarating, portrait of family, marriage, ambition, power, the stories we inherit, and the lies we tell to become the people we believe we’re meant to be.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 4 out of 5. I really enjoyed this family drama and the three generations history was very well done. All the women were interesting, flawed and very well developed and so were their relationship, even though Grace was very annoying she was well developed.. I also loved the political side of it. I just felt the end kind of happened. There was so much turmoil during the book that the end didn’t feel like and ending, I was expecting a couple more chapters.
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