I feel like this is less about her finding love again and more about her still being infatuated with Gabe.
Which made this a little disappointing for me.
While I did enjoy it. I would have liked more of her relationship with a new guy and less about Gabe. He took up majority of the book.

This was a fast read short chapters that kept me reading, 'just one more chapter' rather than going to sleep.

This book involves a trip down memory lane to allow the characters to heal themselves. I didn't realise initially that this was the 2nd of a pair of books and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the first book. I will probably do this now as I think it will give a lot more context.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

ahhhhhh my first ARC !!!! 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️

the light we lost made me ugly cry and was a 6 star read for me, so i went into this with high expectations…

super short chapters, so it was a quick and easy read but this book didn’t give gut-wrenching sadness and uncontrollable ugly crying like the first book did.

the relationship between Lucy and Dax was very insta-lovey then felt like an afterthought and I didn’t really care for their relationship.

it wasn’t a bad book by any means, Jill Santopolo does a great job at writing about secrets and guilt, modern families and how the choices we make shape our life and coming to peace with these choices. but for me, it fell flat since i loved the first book so much.

Thank you to the publisher, the author & NetGalley, for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful and moving book, about loss and love, and how maternal love can sometimes clash with romantic love. A very human story, with identifiable emotions and conflicts. Lucy is still grieving for her lost love, even though ten years have passed since his death. However, she is also wracked with feelings of guilt about the secrets she is keeping. When she unexpectedly finds new love she is unsure of how she can allow this relationship to develop without compromising her time with her children. It touches upon themes that are particularly relevant, in particular the plight of refugees and the need for comfort and humanitarian aid. After starting this novel I became intrigued by what had happened in the previous book, so suspended my reading until I had found and finished the first novel. Reading that definitely helped me to fully appreciate this sequel, so would recommend to any reader that you do enjoy them in chronological order. I really enjoyed both books, which are sad at times but essentially uplifting and hopeful

The Light We Lost was an absolute roller coaster of emotions, and The Love We Found is no different.

Thank you HQ and NetGalley for giving me this arc to review.

I loved following Lucy again ten years after losing her soulmate to see how her life had continued, and I really was not disappointed. The Love We Found is an emotional but righteous end to Lucy and Gabe's story and I will think about this duology for some time.

The Love We Found | Pub Date: Mar 18 2025 - 4 stars

This book is one of those stories that leaves an aftertaste for some time. I never read the first book, but I can't say I missed much. The information provided was more than enough to give me an idea of what the story was about.

To be honest, this book left me a bit confused, and I’m still not sure if it was in a good or bad way. On one hand, it was a very easy and quick read. The short chapters (who doesn't love those?) and the good writing style made the story flow by itself. On the other hand, Lucy, the main character, spent so much time reflecting on her past that sometimes I wanted to slap her and scream, "wake up!" Yet, at the same time, the author brought up very important theme throughout the story - refugees, especially children, escaping their countries and how it affects their lives when they have to start over from scratch.

That being said, there were parts of the book that I really enjoyed. I liked seeing how Lucy's children's personalities developed through the story and how they navigated all the changes in their lives. I also appreciated the maturity of the decisions made between Lucy and Darren, her ex-husband.

I think this story will appeal to fans of the first book, those who familiar with the original story line. But it also works as a standalone read and will find its way to readers outside of that fanbase.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you for the opportunity to review The Love We Found.

I loved The Light We Lost so I was excited to receive an ARC of the sequel. While I love the premise of moving on through grief and seeing how Lucy copes in the years following Gabe’s death, this unfortunately fell a bit flat for me.

Lucy’s decision making in the wake of Gabes death seems entirely selfish for the most part which takes away from the romance aspect of the book in my opinion, especially when it comes to the narration of the secret she’s kept regarding her son’s paternity.

There’s definitely a lot of family drama which is interesting but ultimately the book wasn’t as enthralling as the first but it was interesting to see the closure for the characters.

What a beautiful story of friendship, love and loss.

A heartbreaking journey down memory lane leads to a new lease of life.
Loved this book.

While reading, I couldn’t help but think I was missing something. When I got to the end, I realised this was book two.

I have to admit I probably won’t read that one. I don’t feel this book is for me.

The love we found carries a unique fragrance. It touches on loss, grief, heartbreak, parenthood and dilemma we face as human beings when we fall in love or are not quite sure about our emotions. Beautifully exposed are secrets and the impact of keeping them on fragile and sometimes fraught relationships. Ten years has passed since Lucy Carter Maxwell lost her soulmate. She has hidden away from love. She begins to unravel secrets Gabe has left behind. Along the way parts of her are awakening. Is she able to embrace love again? Definitely worth reading to find out.

A bit difficult to get into as characters were not explained, Lucy ramblers on about Gabe who she loves then it goes onto Darren who she divorced just doesn't flow.
It's a family drama but you just want to slap Lucy and say get over it, it's too full of her talking to her dead ex and the sex scenes were cringe worthy.
Just not my cup of tea.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review.

A tragic love story.
Lucy is still somewhat in mourning after losing her great love, Gabe, ten years previously.
She finds a slip of paper in his things with an Italian address on it and finds herself on a trip of discovery to find out more about who lives there, why they were important to Gabe, and to finally put his ghost to rest, so she can get on with her life.
Lucy meets Dr Dax in Italy and finds her self drawn to him and some deep sadness within him.
There is the matter of being a divorced mum on 3, with a tremendous secret hanging over the family, that could make or break many relationships.
Lucy has a lot to deal with, not least the fall out of that secret becoming known, as well as navigating whether she is ready to move on, somehow, or whether she doesn't deserve any more happiness.
It was heartbreaking but equally beautiful to read.
I've not read the first book The Love We Lost, but I could read The Love We Found with no issue.s I do, however, now want to read the first book to understand a bit more about how the whole situation arose!
Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Publishing for an ARC.

The Love We Found wasn't my cup of tea. To me, it feels like a somewhat unnecessary sequel that lacks the emotional intensity of The Love We Lost.

The narrative style remains the same as in the first book — Lucy narrates her story to Gabe, addressing him as "you" throughout. However, in this sequel, the unique narration feels somewhat strange and distracting, especially since Gabe isn’t present in the story. The novel centers around a promising premise: Gabe’s editor wants to publish a retrospective of his work on the tenth anniversary of his death. I believe this would have been enough to keep Gabe in the reader’s mind without relying on the same narrative style as before.

My biggest issue, however, was the romance. The novel leans heavily on the infatuation-at-first-sight trope, making it feel shallow, convenient, and a bit unbelievable. I struggled to connect with the new love interest, though I’m glad Lucy has found someone new. Moreover, Lucy herself is, at times, an unlikable protagonist. Of course, given her actions in The Light We Lost (cheating, lying, etc.), this is to be expected. In that sense, I appreciated that The Love We Found addresses the consequences of her choices.

That said, there were parts of the novel I really enjoyed. I liked the emphasis on the kids’ personalities and the evolving relationships between Lucy and Darren, as well as Lucy and her family. This book definitely leans more into family drama, fleshing out characters who were somewhat sidelined in the first novel. Additionally, I enjoyed the continued focus on Lucy’s career as a TV producer for children’s shows.

Overall, The Love We Found didn’t draw me in as much as the first novel. However, I do think that fans of the first book who are dying to know what happens to the characters will be pleased.

*I received an e-ARC for free in exchange for an honest review*

Oh wow. I absolutely loved this story. I felt it was the perfect sequel to ‘the light we lost’
A story of love, grief and dealing with secrets and finding a way of navigating those relationships. Jill has a unique way of storytelling and I felt this book helped mend my heart after reading ‘the light we lost’ which absolutely broke my heart!
I was so invested in the characters and felt like I knew them.
If you enjoyed this first book, then I feel you should definitely make a point of picking this one up! Amazing sequel

What a beautiful continuation of Jill’s first book. I was so invested in the very first book and it’s so nice to have an addition on to the beautiful love story of Lucy & Gabe and also the promise of new low and hope as well