3.5 stars. I'm not really a fan of young adult fiction anymore, but I am a fan of Jamie Mcguire, so I was looking forward to reading this book. As for the YA genre, this was done really well. It wasn't naive and cheesy. I do feel that it ran a little long and the circumstances were a little repetitive at times. I was also a fan of the ending and explanation for all that was happening.

This was such a sweet read and definitely the first of many I will be reading by this author. I found all the characters relatable in their own way. The romance aspect was written so well.

This just wasn’t for me. I didn’t connect with the characters and felt bored a lot of the time. Prefer Jamie’s other works.

I couldn't wrap my head around this book because it was just so slow paced and it's like nothing was happening. The characters were incredibly bland and boring to the point that I just ended up skimming the book just to read the end. And that twist everyone has been talking about had me rolling my eyes. I'd say this book was a DNF but I did reach the end by skimming.

I began to read this story before it was released but stopped which is the reason for my long delay in my feedback. Sadly I did not enjoy this story at all. I felt it was too detailed in places that did not need it. It lost my attention and I made the decision to stop reading. I also deleted from my GRS account as I decided to not publicly rate or review,

All The Little Lights tells the love story of Catherine and Elliott, from friendship and broken promises to lovers with dark secrets.

This book was not for me; I did not like the writing style, the book was structured badly and the tone of the book was weird. I found the book slow paced, long for no reason and so boring. The romance was instant love and there was no build up to it, I did not like it especially the focus on Elliott always fighting and Catherine just accepting this part of him.

There was no plot to the book, the book tried to be a lot of things and it made this weird mix of things and just turned out bad. The ‘mystery’ part of the book was the only reason I read on and the reveal was so disappointing.

1/5

This was my first Jamie McGuire book and I was pleasantly surprised. It reminded me a bit of Nicholas Sparks romances. It comes with big lessons about love - and deals with a lot of heavy topics like abuse, bullying, mental health issues, etc. But it's done in a way I didn't feel was harmful or problematic. The alternating points of view was also something I found enjoyable between our two love interests. I like getting into the other characters heads sometimes. Overall, I was very pleased and fell in love with Elliot and Catherine's love, and it made me so envious that I didn't have a romance like this as a teen. Highly recommend

My obsession with Jamie McGuire started with Beautiful Disaster. When I saw this one, I knew I had to request it. This book is about young love, with mystery and teenage angst. Don't we all love teenage angst. This gave me all the feels.

This was not a favorite of mine from the author. In fact, it was. DNF for me. I didn’t enjoy the plot, or the writing.

ALL THE LITTLE LIGHTS is a dark coming-of-age story that involves teenagers and their high school angst along with dysfunctional families. This is Catherine and Elliot’s story, along with the friendship and love they share.

When Catherine and Elliot first meet, they are high school freshman and become summer friends when he stays with his aunt and uncle. They both have family problems. Catherine’s mom always needs soothing, and only her dad seems to be able to calm her down. Elliot’s parents are always fighting, and his dad is abusive.

Elliot is a photography buff and loves to take pictures of everything and everyone. Both teenagers are loners. When Catherine’s dad dies suddenly that summer, it might just be the beginning of the end of their friendship.

They meet up again two years later when Elliot once again moves in with his aunt and uncle, away from his home. But now they are seniors attending the same high school. Will they pick up where they left off, or have too many years passed? We get a flavor for the school environment with bullying, classes and cliques along with the football team, of which Elliot becomes the quarterback.

This is an emotional read, and there are a lot of twists and turns along with darkness and violence. Catherine’s home, which her mom turned into a B&B after her father died, plays a significant role in the story–and all of it on the dark side. There isn’t too much happiness there for Catherine, and she sometimes fears for her safety (from her mom and their guests).

The story is filled with angst, love, and hope amid the darkness of abuse and the violent repercussions it can have. The prologue set the stage and the epilogue gave some closure. Will Catherine and Elliot make a success of their lives after their tumultuous senior year? I’d love to meet up with them again in another book to see how their lives turn out.

McGuire is a fairly new-to-me author, only having read BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, the first book in the BEAUTIFUL series which was a five star read. I hope to read more of her books and have added some to my always growing TBR pile.

It's been a minute since I've read any books by Jamie McGuire. Being such a big fan of her Beautiful series, when I saw this ARC available it was a must read for me. As common to my preferences, I did not read any reviews and honestly don't remember reading the summary in Goodreads.

The story begins when the main characters are young teens. Catherine lives in a small town in Oklahoma with her mom and dad. They live in an old, what I pictured to be, antebellum style home that has been in her mom's family for generations. Her mom has a dream of turning it into a bed and breakfast but her dad, the more practical of the two, is staunchly against the idea.

Hot summers combined with little air conditioning leads Catherine outside more than inside. It's there outside where she meets an awkward but kind boy named Elliott. He is native american and they both find a common friendship as being sort of the outsiders in this small town. Elliott spends summers with his aunt and uncle and the summer of their freshman year of high school they grow loser together than ever. He loves photography and Catherine is his favorite muse.

As the story progresses, time passes after Elliott is forced to leave town. When he returns they are seniors in high school and life is very different for both of them. Catherine spends all of her free time helping her mom run the bed and breakfast, she's still an outcast but even more so now. Elliott is now the star quarterback of the football team. Some things never changed but yet many obstacles stand in their way.

What I thought was a young adult romance story turned into a mix of romance, mystery, and thriller themes. I was not expecting those aspects. I scare easily so a good bit of what occurs in the second half of the story had me slightly creeped out. I was left with several questions at the end which I can't discuss in my review due to the spoilerish nature.

Overall, this wasn't what I was expecting at all. It definitely kept my attention and it kept me guessing as to what was going on. The romantic story line between Catherine and Elliott is very sweet. Beware though, there's more going on than just a sweet love story.

Favorite Quotes:

"...people can only make us angry if we let them, and if we let them, we give them power."

"...you either get good at rising above and meeting ignorance with education, or you get really good at being bitter."

"Don't look at them. Look at me," he said, still extending his hand.

"Catherine, every time I'm close to you, I'm aware of every breath you take. When we're not, everything reminds me of you. I know because nothing else matters."

"Pain...love. Can't really have one without the other."

His words felt like a sunrise, a sunset, a beautiful dream, waking from a nightmare. It was every wonderful moment balled into one.


Language Rating: 2 (medium)

Mature Content Rating: 1 (light)

Final Rating: 4 stars

This one is a little different from what I read in the past … Elliott and Catherine met when they were young – Catherine is lonely, Elliott new to town. Their friendship was cut short when Elliott suddenly moved. They reconnected when Elliot came back during his senior year in high school. He is a star athlete, she works at her mother’s mysterious bed-and-breakfast. While Catherine has not forgiven Elliott for leaving her behind, he is trying his best to get their friendship back on track or possibly more … This is a love story but with a lot of twist and turns, mysterious, suspense and a plot twist at toward the end. Catherine struggles with a lot of teenage issues. Elliott is her knight and shining armor. I enjoy the younger version of these two better. The second part, their romance was overshadowed with drama rama. Interesting plot though – mysterious, darker, a little slower. Not my favorite but that is just me – I like romance romance

Due to racist remarks made by the author on social media, I no longer feel comfortable reviewing this novel at this time.

It strated off really good but towards the middle it became very boring and I really didn't care for the main character.

“All of the lights” by Jamie McGuire totally took my breath away. I wish I read it sooner but I’m also so glad I waited as now I’ve read it I’m heart broken I won’t get to read it for the first time again.

Everything about this novel was just impeccable. The character development was second to none, it was so good I don’t think anyone would ever guess the twist at the end! That twist is the biggest shock I’ve ever experienced in a book. The way it was written and portrayed when it could be such a sensitive subject was also done with such sophistication.

Then there were the relationships. There were so many characters who all had different relationships with each other and they were painted so clear yet not over complicated. When I first start reading a novel I sometimes have to flick back to double check who is who but not “All of the lights”. It was so easy to follow the relationships and to identify each character from the get go.

As for the story itself it was absolutely stunning, I couldn’t put it down. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away but it covers death, love, neglect, abandonment and mental health issues just to name a few. It was just, simply put, a fantastic story as it tells the beautiful love story of Catherine and Elliot who fall in love one Summer but then circumstances get in the way which puts that love to the test.

I will be recommending this novel to everyone as it is such a simple and easy read yet packs a big punch and leaves an impression. It also is not your typical high school love story, it borders on psychological thriller which is my favourite genre,

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free arc in return for an honest review.

This book is different than what we are used to from Jamie. Definitely not bad, just different.
I loved the connection between Elliott and Catherine. For a YA, which i rarely read this was a great book!

This one is a good book for the right reader. That read, obviously, is not me. I’ve read a couple of Jamie McGuire books and could read another, so I picked up All the Little Lights. Catherine and Elliot meet and form a life-changing friendship, but as life changes, that bond is tested. The premise is interesting – I don’t want to give anything away – but it’s a young adult novel and I did not realize it (it was definitely marketed as adult fiction).

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

The first chapter of this book went by very quickly then the story just dragged until past 50%. I really wanted to love this one but for me it was just to slow and I wasn't invested in the characters. I really didn't care about Catherine and I was way more invested in Elliots POV. I loved this authors other story Beautiful Disaster, but if you are looking for something like that this is not it.

I really wished this one would have been faster paced and that we would have only gotten Elliot's POV.



Go Into This One Knowing: Domestic Violence, Dual POV

The relationship between these two characters were incredible sweet with an amazing storyline that really kept me entertained form start to finish. I am a big fan of this author and this story met all he expectations I have of this authors stories. This story was completely filled with emotion about these two characters Elliott and Catherine was heartbreaking, loving, fear, hope and incredibly sweet moments. This was a truly great read that I absolutely adored reading.