*Spoiler if you haven’t read the first book, The Light We Lost*

A story about second chances, third chances, secrets and the repercussions of the secrets we keep.
Ten years following Gabe’s death we find Lucy dealing with her life in week long increments. With her kids and without as they go to their dads, her ex-husbands.
Lucy is finding herself in the shadow of the ten years following anniversary of Gabe’s death and an art studio wanting to have a ten year studio showing of his photography. After going through a box of his things looking for photos Lucy finds and address in Rome. She finds herself questioning the address, who lives at the address and their importance to Gabe.
On a whim she travels to Rome to find out which set into motion a week of meeting new people, including a side of Gabe she hadn’t known before.


“Even if they don't seem to be a big deal while you're keeping them, secrets are insidious. They work their way into relationships like moths chewing holes in fabric, until you realize that your favorite coat has been destroyed.”


I loved this story almost as much as I loved the first. The development of main character Lucy through the book and her internal struggles. The story is written as if Lucy is talking to Gabe and detailing to him her struggles, fears, and hopes. A great balance of loss and love and discovery is in this story. This will certainly have me reaching for more of Jill’s books and her back catalog.

What a wonderful, heartbreaking story. It is written in such a real way - the story is messy, beautiful and wonderful. You will cry. You will question decisions made. You will want to scream and hug the main character. It touches on grief and regret. How choices we make impact us forever. How people stay with us forever. This book is about finding happiness after sadness. It is about motherhood and family. I don't want to give any parts of it away, but if you loved All the Light We Lost, you should absolutely read this. It moved quickly, grabbed my attention from the story and flowed seamlessly. A story that feels as if a long lost friend is sharing it with you.

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

The Light We Lost was a book that touched me and broke me. I was left drowning in a puddle of my tears by the end. Once again, Santopolo left me in tears, but this time, they were happy tears.

The Love We Found picks up a decade after Gabe's death with his editor reaching out to Lucy regarding the re-release of Gabe's book forcing Lucy to finally open the boxes. Gabe's boxes had been tucked away in Lucy's closet for years and opening them unleashed a lot of emotions. She also discovered something therein that sent her on a journey, a healing journey and one where Lucy learned to forgive herself.

Though this book was set ten years later, there were visits to the past as Lucy recounted her life with Gabe in an attempt to cope with her present and make decisions about her future She had endured a decade of mourning and keeping secrets which was isolating. It took its toll on Lucy, and she was ready to move forward. I have to admit, I was rooting for her. I know she made mistakes in the past, but it was time for Lucy to free herself from the pain, the grief, the guilt, and the weight of the secrets she was keeping.

This was one of those sequels that I didn't think I needed until I read it. I really DID want to know what happened to Lucy, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to take this journey with her as it was a wonderful and emotional journey that touched my heart.

THE LOVE WE FOUND
BY: JILL SANTOPOLO

UPDATE: I read "THE LIGHT WE LOST," immediately after reading, "THE LOVE WE FOUND," because I LOVED THIS ONE SO MUCH! They're both Powerful and I didn't need to read the first one to love this one, but they both are UNFORGETTABLE! I flew through both of them at lightning speed as they both have short chapters and right from the first page I was drawn in all the way through to the endings. "THE LIGHT WE LOST," was more intense, but they both are excellent in their own way. I knew what was going to happen from what I read in the sequel, but I still think they are top favorite reading experiences. They both have so much GREAT STORYTELLING!

This sequel to Author, Jill Santopolo's bestselling and popular first novel in this series, "THE LIGHT WE LOST," is on my Kindle, and I plan to read it next since this sequel felt like a big warm hug. "THE LOVE WE FOUND," is the second book or sequel and the one I'm reviewing. I like Women's Fiction and I loved the main character, Lucy who is speaking to Gabriel and the reader pouring out her heart in the first person narrative. I think this was self explanatory from what I read that I got the gist of the first book which I'm dying to read. I loved the wisdom of the philosophical musings many which are quotable in this book, since Lucy's character was expertly developed enough to know Jill Santopolo knows a lot about life and it shows in this sequel.

Lucy is seemingly talking to Gabriel who is deceased and was a photojournalist and from what I gathered he was killed in Gaza. Lucy is a writer and producer of children's television shows that have garnered her success, but that aspect of her former life in the first book is not explored in this sequel except in mentioning infrequently. The book opens and she is telling Gabriel that she just got a call almost ten years later from his Editor, Eric Weiss. Lucy is at work and she can't imagine why he is calling. She answers and he tells her he's sure he doesn't have to remind her that the ten year anniversary of Gabe's death is approaching to which she answers to Gabe, July twenty-fifth is tattooed on her heart. Eric tells Lucy the Associated Press would like to do an exhibition or compilation showing Gabe's work as an artist to give their readers an update on how the places he photographed are doing now.

Eric tells Lucy that he took the liberty of calling Gabe's publisher of his book called, "Defiant," and they'd like to update the book with some never-before-seen photographs, and possibly an afterward which he would write. He said of course, we wanted to check with her first. Lucy is happy but sad at Gabe's death but its bittersweet to her that Eric is also thinking of Gabe, and not just her. Eric tells Lucy she'll need to go through his photographs and find a number of files for the original images. He tells her he's going to email her the list and asks her if she thinks she can find them? She tells him she'll do it as she imagines three boxes of his sitting in her closet behind her long dresses with one that is open.

After she hangs up she remembers getting a call from Eric that Gabe had been injured and that he was in a hospital in Jerusalem and he didn't think Gabe would recover. She is saying this to Gabe and she's informing the reader how the whoosh of machines keep him alive, while she placed his hand on her stomach so he could feel his son Samuel inside her. This becomes a bone of contention to her now divorced husband Darren who they alternate custody every week of their three children. They had told everybody that Samuel, who is nine that Darren was his father. Lucy feels that it's time to tell everyone the truth which Darren remarried to an empathetic woman named Courtney that agrees with Lucy. Darren won't return Lucy's calls or texts and her three children tell her that the atmosphere between Darren and his wife is tense. Lucy feels bad that her decision that she feels strongly about telling the truth about Gabriel being her youngest child Samuel's biological father is long overdue. It has come between her relationship with her brother Jay and her parents relationships with Lucy.

Before that becomes one of the overriding theme in this novel which totally immersed me, and I flew through it because it's addictive reading worthy of my five star rating, while looking through Gabe's boxes she finds an address on an envelope in Italy where she is so preoccupied with curiosity she impulsively books a flight there, to find out who lives at that address for which she goes there. She meets a young man named Bashir who knew Gabriel, which he inspired to become a photographer himself. Lucy really likes Bashir when they go for coffee he tells her how meaningful Gabriel was to him which steals Lucy's heart.

Lucy writes to Eric that she found the photos on Gabe's flash drives which she had saved his computer and phone and his camera which one day she'll give the camera to Sam. Lucy asks Eric if Gabriel had any assignments in Italy and she sees dots of him writing and the dots disappearing meaning he is hesitant to explain to Lucy for which he finally writes her a paragraph saying that Gabe did work on a powerful story of the Syrian refugees coming through Lampedusa not long before he died. He tells her that Gabe got a World Press photo award for one of the photos he took there, and that Gabe might have flown in and out of Rome to get to Lampedusa. Lucy also met a doctor working for the NGO named Dax Armstrong , and they have a much too graphic for me sexual experience one night in her hotel. This romance is not a huge theme of this wonderful meditation on family, divorce, custody swaps with Darren, the importance of telling the truth since Sam finds a picture of Gabriel and his mother Lucy left out and he asks her why he looks just like Gabriel. She really has the urge to tell Samuel that that's his biological father since they both are artistic.

This is mostly a love letter to Gabriel for most of the book as she hasn't had a second date in seven years and she is finding that she has feelings for Dax. My review sounds really dry compared to how beautifully written this novel is with short chapters. It is about as realistic a portrait of a blended family that I've read with feel good vibes throughout. It feels deeply intimate since Lucy's narrating I felt like she was speaking directly to me about the depths of her thoughts. I really loved it, otherwise I wouldn't be starting, "THE LIGHT WE LOST," today after I get back from grocery shopping. Other reviewers said that I must read that novel first, which has piqued my curiosity so I'll come back and update this review after if my thoughts change, but I doubt they will since I got enough background with reading this enough that she will always love Gabe, but it's time to let love in again since she's found it with Dax. She puts the needs of her children first so after Dax returns she introduced him to her children on a day in Central Park which the two children from Darren make it clear that they aren't interested in any of his planned activities. Not even ice cream after. His young son and only child is deceased which Lucy helps him through his mourning on the anniversary of his son's death. He was taking her three to do the activities that his son enjoyed and it goes poorly with her children.
This causes Lucy to break up with Dax, since she and her children need to heal from the fallout of them discovering that the two oldest children are angry at her when they accuse her of cheating on Darren, their Dad.

This book which gets into the depths of what's important in relationships I can't recommend highly enough. It's heavy dialogue laden which makes it read quickly and you really feel the emotional side of the multi-themed novel. As I said with Lucy narrating you get an intimate reading experience and through Jill Santopolo's character development of Lucy being so masterfully done there are so many universal truths that we read directly from Lucy. This is an author that has a great grasp on life and it's sadness and growth with the realistic display of Darren's indifference to telling everyone that Sam has in fact, two fathers' Darren is never pushed out of Samuel's life as his father who cared for him along with Lucy. You might find yourself thinking why tell Sam about Gabriel. It's outcome is fraught at first between Lucy's two older children Violet and Liam, but the truth as we all know is paramount and important even though that takes up a big portion of this novel. It's both heavy and lighthearted at the same time, and this was excellent and deserves to reach as wide of an audience as possible. I highly, highly recommend it and will be talking about it to everyone who is a reader who enjoys a domestic family drama with many other themes. It is MULTIFACETED & UNFORGETTABLE!

Publication Date: March 18, 2025

Thank you to Net Galley, the talented Jill Santopolo, and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam--G P Putnam's Sons for generously providing me with my fantastic ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheLoveWeFound #JillSantopolo #PenguinGroupPutnamGPPutnamsSons #NetGalley

This was my first by this author. I was 3/4 of the way through before I realized that this was a follow-up story to The Light We Lost. I grabbed the first from Libby and will be listening to it shortly because despite knowing what happened/happens, I absolutely loved Jill Santopolo's writing and storytelling style. I absolutely devoured this book (including some secret at-work reading - shhhhh don't tell) and couldn't wait to see it all play out. Is it racy? Compared to books I usually read, not overly so. Is it suspenseful? Not particularly in my opinion. The underlying theme of the story is choices. Every choice changes the trajectory of your life in both small and large ways. After the choice is made, living with the consequences of those choices are all on the us. I have some great quotes but won't post them in this review. The ravages of war, the pain of death, the glow of love...all are subjects in the story.

The Light We Lost (despite being incredibly heartbreaking) is high on my list of favorite/most impactful fiction reads so l was obviously very excited to see that a follow-up was being published and to receive an eARC for it!
Unfortunately, this didn't quite have the same impact for me.
Lucy remained an unlikeable/unreliable narrator, having to face the consequences of her actions in book 1 - which I really appreciated. It also shared the same, consistent narrative style of telling the story via Lucy's letters to Gabe.
What I didn't enjoy as much was the character development.
It felt like we really only got spontaneous, quick resolutions to Lucy's problems...rather than a fully-developed and thought out response. It was mainly focused on Lucy's sadness and didn't have as eventful of a plot as book 1.
That being said, I really loved getting to see where she ended up, how her kids were doing, and tie a nice little bow on a story that previously was so bittersweet.
Thank you to NetGalley + the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

"The Love We Found" by Jill Santopolo is the deeply moving sequel to "The Light We Lost," picking up ten years after we last saw Lucy grappling with the tragic loss of Gabriel, her first love. As someone who reread the first book before diving into this one (which I highly recommend), I was completely immersed in Lucy's continued journey through grief, motherhood, and ultimately, rediscovering love.

What makes this sequel so powerful is how authentically Santopolo portrays Lucy's evolution. Ten years after Gabriel's death in Gaza, Lucy has built a life co-parenting three children with her ex-husband Darren, but still carries Gabriel in her heart. When his former editor calls about commemorating the anniversary of Gabriel's death with a new exhibition and book, Lucy finds herself reopening emotional boxes—both literal and figurative.

The narrative style continues with Lucy speaking directly to Gabriel in first person, creating an intimate reading experience that feels like eavesdropping on private thoughts. This approach beautifully bridges the gap between the books while showing how grief transforms but never truly disappears. When Lucy discovers a mysterious address in Italy among Gabriel's belongings, her impulsive decision to investigate leads her to unexpected connections, including handsome doctor Dax Armstrong, who is dealing with his own profound loss.

What resonated most with me was seeing Lucy finally prioritize her own needs while leading with love. Her determination to tell her youngest son Samuel about his biological father Gabriel feels both terrifying and necessary, creating ripple effects throughout her blended family. The conflict with Darren over this truth feels painfully realistic, as does the fallout with her older children who struggle to process what they see as betrayal.

Santopolo excels at depicting the messy complexities of modern families, co-parenting relationships, and the courage it takes to move forward after devastating loss. Lucy's relationship with Dax unfolds gradually and authentically, with both characters carrying emotional baggage that complicates their connection. Their mature romance acknowledges past loves while making space for new possibilities.

The novel balances heavy emotional themes with moments of joy and healing. Lucy's strength, empathy, and resilience make her one of the most fully realized characters I've encountered. Her journey reminds us that love comes in many forms—for children, for those we've lost, and sometimes, unexpectedly, for ourselves.

By the conclusion, which brought me to bittersweet tears, "The Love We Found" delivers a cathartic and hopeful ending to Gabriel and Lucy's story. This isn't just about finding new love; it's about honoring old loves while embracing the future. For anyone who fell in love with "The Light We Lost," this sequel provides the emotional closure we didn't know we needed.

Thanks to Netgalley + G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC!

Wow, Jill Santopolo has done it again with The Love We Found! This sequel to The Light We Lost is an emotional rollercoaster that had me hooked from start to finish. Lucy’s journey to uncover Gabe’s secret in Rome is both heart-wrenching and hopeful, and the introduction of Dr. Dax Armstrong adds a compelling twist. Santopolo masterfully explores themes of love, loss, and second chances, making this a must-read for fans of contemporary romance.

✨ THE LOVE WE FOUND ✨
Rating: 4 ⭐️ - I Liked It

THE LOVE WE FOUND picks up right where THE LIGHT WE LOST DOES so sharing absolutely no spoilers here!

❤️ for my LOVERS of SEQUELS (especially long awaited ones!), dial-POV and timelines, finding ONESELF, growth, NYC settings!

❤️ It’s truly hard to continue Lucy and Gabe’s story but this one did and in such a unique way! No spoilers! But loved the theme of photography and storytelling throughout the entire novel!

❤️ oh this one is still just as DEVASTATING, all in the best way

❤️ as the book mentions in a way, don’t compare two different things, let each one shine on their own - describes perfectly how I feel about this sequel!

❤️ Jill’s novels are a love story to NYC and I can’t get enough!

❤️ Jill’s novels are also always super BINGEABLE!

💭 Are you planning to pick up this highly anticipated sequel?

I was so excited to get the ARC after waiting years for this sequel to come out.

I was so excited to pick back up with Lucy and see where life had taken her after the big decision. This follow up book was beautifully done and left me wanting more. There were moments I felt like it was rushed but appreciated the smaller page count without all the fluff.

The story is beautiful and honest and page turning! I’d highly suggest it especially if you liked the first book!

I had super high expectations going into this book and I was NOT disappointed. The Light We Lost is one of my favorite reads of all time, so when I saw the sequel, I knew I had to request it. Like the author, I have always been Team Lucy. I love an imperfect female character who feels that pull in two directions. She’s human and relatable to anyone who’s ever been in a similar situation. While I didn’t cry as much as I did with the first book, this one still hit me in the feels.

I was happy to see Lucy, her children, and Darren and how Gabe is still present in her heart and mind. This book gives a brilliant sense of closure to their story and it made me so happy to see.

OMG
I was thrilled to see this book pop up and even more thrilled to be able to read an ARC. I loved the Light that We Lost. This book was filled with hope and acceptance. I'm wondering if there is a third on the way.....

If you haven’t read The Light We Lost - stop everything and read that before continuing with this one!

The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo is the follow-up novel to The Light We Lost. This book finds Lucy (still narrating to Gabe) 10 years later, raising her kids as a coparent and struggling with grief. She finds an address in Italy among Gabe’s belongings and decides to travel there and see why this was important enough for him to keep. The story is absolutely beautiful and the perfect continuation of Lucy’s story. I was left gutted after The Love We Found, and although there were plenty of tears shed during this read, they were healing tears for sure! I cannot recommend this book enough!

Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and the author for this e-ARC.

The Love We Found was the perfect closure needed for anyone who has read The Light We Lost!!! 💔❤️

I truly truly truly recommend reading The Light We Lost first and this is going to be a hard review to write without any spoilers for that book. TLWF follows up with Lucy ten years after TLWL leaves off, with Lucy finding an envelope in Gabe’s things with an address in Rome, to Italy and Dax Armstrong, a doctor from New York working with an NGO. Lucy is left to make some big decisions, work through some big regrets, and figure out if fate is working in her favor and if she’s allowed to find love again after so much time and loss. 💖

Jill Santopolo knows she’s nailed it if she passes the “tears test” (she writes about this in the acknowledgements & a reminder that there are sometimes such fun info in those!!) and when I tell you the tears were flowing at the end of this book is…an understatement. 🫠

Lucy is a character I hold so, so close to my heart. I love her thought process, how she works through things, and how she sees the world and those she interacts with. I find myself yelling at her for self sabotage and cheering for her when she fights for herself and her kids. 👏🏻

This book releases on 3/18, just one week from today! Which means you have time to binge TLWL will be lucky enough to slide right into this one!! 🎉

Thank you to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Jill Santopolo for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 🫶🏻

4 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this long awaited sequel to Jill Santopolo’s The Light We Lost.

The Love We Found finds Lucy (still narrating to Gabe) 10 years after we left them. She’s navigating life without him, raising her kids as a coparent, and still (or maybe for the first time) dealing with grief. As part of a celebration of Gabe’s photography, she begins helping with a photography project, which leads her to Italy, to sharing secrets, and to potentially even falling in love. But of course, there’s more heartache and tears along the way. Without a doubt, pick this up if you (like me) loved The Light We Lost.

It's been 10 years since Gabe's death when Lucy finds an address written on a scrap of an envelope among Gabe's files and photos. Desperate to know the address' significance, Lucy buys a last minute ticket to Rome. There, she discovers a part of Gabe's life she had no idea about. She also meets a doctor who makes her feel alive for the first time in 10 years. She must decide if she is ready to move forward with her life or if she is going to hold onto the secrets that have kept her stuck in the past.

While The Light We Lost was a little bit sad and tragic at the end, I was never left with the feeling that I needed to know what happened to the characters. I felt like the 1st book was very self-contained and never envisioned a need for a follow-up. The Love We Found was a very beautifully and well written book that continues the frame story of Lucy narrating the events of her life to Gabe. I like that this story had an ending that had hope and positivity. This was a very quick read--I finished in one day--just over 3 hours of total reading.

The Love We Found is the long awaited follow up to Jill Santopolo’s The Light We Lost, first published in 2017. This story should not be read as a stand alone.

In The Love We Found, we jump ahead 10 years from where The Light We Lost left us. Lucy is a single mom, co-parenting with a now remarried Darren and has been asked to help with a book project that has her reevaluating some of her choices. I don’t want to give too much away but I loved this story! I loved seeing Lucy as a mother, I loved how engaging the writing is, and how messy and complicated Lucy is. She has grown and changed from the last time we saw her but she’s still so dynamic and interesting. Jill Santopolo’s writing is not to be missed!

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam and Author Jill Santopolo for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh Jill, you did it again. I forgot how much I loved The Light We Lost. Reading The Love We Found reminded me of that. Her writing is so seamless and easy to read. Similar to Taylor Jenkins Reid in that you forget these stories and people aren’t real.

Gabe and Lucy’s love story is over, but Gabe lives on in their son Sam. Lucy hasn’t allowed anyone back into her heart in almost a decade and somehow Gabe led her to someone really special.

This was a perfect sequel and ending to a beautiful story.

4.5/5 rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of this one.

The light we lost ,the book that came before this, was a tragic gut wrenching romance. It left me sobbing so I was hopeful when I heard there was a follow up. I don’t know what I expected but I sadly was not as drawn in and it was more of a forced read. There is no way to go into this without reading the first one and experiencing the loss that Lucy went through. The author does recap so a reread is not necessary. Maybe I needed to read the prior book a lot closer to this so that I’d be more attached to the storyline. I’ll try to pick it up again, perhaps with a book club or decision with others about the character growth… but for now it fell flat. I wish I could have gotten into it… maybe in a different headspace

Thank you to the publisher NetGalley for the ARC

I wish I would have read the first book. “The Light We Lost” before reading this sequel. I think I would be able to appreciate it even more. Lucy is a strong character that is dealing with the aftermath of a love lost. How she copes with moving on and how she deals with telling her son the truth.
You can feel Lucy’s pain and string love that she shared with Gabe. I can’t wait to read the first book!

Thanks to Netgalley for this eArc!