Not sure why I put off reading this for so long - I really loved Hold Back The Stars, so maybe I was worried this would not compare well? No worries then on that score, as this book is completely different!

I really enjoyed Katie Khan’s writing style, and her particular perspective on time travel - it’s a well-worn plot, but there are enough wrinkles here to make it a fresh and interesting story.

I can’t say much more without spoilers, but definitely pleased I finally picked it up!

Thank you to both Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this title. Apologies as it appears my review updated on Goodreads but not on Netgalley in Dec 2019.

Hold Back the Stars is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read so I had high hopes for this. That may be why I was disappointed.
It felt like Khan had some beautifully cinematic ideas in her mind and was maybe writing around them. Or maybe she had a few ideas she couldn't settle on and smooshed them together.
There are gorgeous passages but I found the science problematic. The whole story felt strung together and the end really bugged me. It made no sense.

I am in charge of the senior library and work with a group of Reading Ambassadors from 16-18 to ensure that our boarding school library is modernised and meets the need of both our senior students and staff. It has been great to have the chance to talk about these books with our seniors and discuss what they want and need on their shelves. I was drawn to his book because I thought it would be something different from the usual school library fare and draw the students in with a tempting storyline and lots to discuss.
This book was a really enjoyable read with strong characters and a real sense of time and place. I enjoyed the ways that it maintained a cracking pace that kept me turning its pages and ensured that I had much to discuss with them after finishing. It was not only a lively and enjoyable novel but had lots of contemporary themes for our book group to pick up and spend hours discussing too.
I think it's important to choose books that interest as well as challenge our students and I can see this book being very popular with students and staff alike; this will be an excellent purchase as it has everything that we look for in a great read - a tempting premise, fantastic characters and a plot that keeps you gripped until you close its final page.

Beautiful book.
Sorry it has taken me a while to read and review.
But I enjoyed it and will be recommending to friends .

Another great book from Katie Kahn, with characters you believe you might pass on the street one day and a story that will leave you with tears and stars in your eyes in equal measure.

The Light Between Us is an intriguing and wonderfully told story full of brilliant women, friendship, love, art and time travel. Perfect for fans of The Time Traveller’s Wife and Sliding Doors. Its a stunning book and I can't wait to dive into her debut novel now after reading this book

Thea and Isaac have been friends since university. Their attraction is undeniable but their timing awful. The main issue though is that from the start Thea has been obsessed with the idea that time travel is possible and her brilliant scientific mind has found a way. When an experiment goes wrong and one of her best friends and Isaacs exes goes missing they are drawn together again to search through time, not just for her but maybe for each other too.

Warning. Do not read this book if you are likely to be distracted. My usual attempt to read at work, on the bus was pretty fruitless as there is a lot of theorising and philosophising in this book. If you get distracted for a moment you're likely to be lost. Well, I was but you can't say I didn't warn you.

Time travel seems to be the in thing lately so this book couldn't have been published at a better time. It's marketed as a love story but for me, it is much more about the possibilities and consequences of messing with time. Whilst it doesn't go hard and heavy on the science I did find myself sympathising with Isaacs confusion and it is he who is the perfect conduit to Thea's theories and our understanding. As I said before I did find if I was even a little distracted I ended up losing the thread of Thea's theories but in the main, they aren't too out there. Although we know time travel isn't possible (or do we) the ideas behind how she does it was convincing enough for this not to feel daft. I especially like the ideas of the gems and crystals been used. Probably mainly because I work with them and I had a moment of "finally there's something I can understand easily!"


I really enjoyed this but I think one issue is that if you come in expecting a love story you might be disappointed. The novel is undoubtedly Thea and Isaacs story but it really has a strong sci-fi theme as well that might put some people off if they were not expecting it to be such an integral part of the story. But those people are missing out if they can't get past any previous prejudices. Whilst not as instantly engrossing as Hold Back The Stars Katie Khan has more than succeeded in getting past that difficult second novel hurdle. I get the feeling that with this and the upcoming movie adaption of her first book her will soon be a household name.

This is a story of an attempt at Time Travel that goes wrong. It is a fascinating Sci-Fi of young people trying to push the boundaries between reality and fiction. Good read

Thea is a student at Oxford university. She is obsessed with proving that time travel is possible, despite being told by the university professors to stop her research.
Thea meets Isaac at Oxford. They become friends fast, but Thea's obsession puts strain on their relationship.
After Thea is thrown off her course, she returns to her family home. There, with the help of her friends, Thea continues running experiments.
When one of Thea's friends disappears during an experiment, Isaac and Thea must find out where and when she is.
Can Thea find her friend?

I enjoyed Hold Back the Stars so I when I heard that Katie Khan had another book coming out I was excited to read it.
Thea and Isaac were interesting characters. Of the two of them I preferred Isaac but I liked how determined Thea was.
I found the science really intriguing. I hadn't thought about using light in time travel before.
The plot was good but there were points where it felt like Rosy being missing took a backseat and Thea and Isaac's relationship took over.
The writing style was easy to follow and held my attention, but I wasn't gripped.
I am slightly disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall this was an enjoyable read.

If two books establish a pattern, then it's safe to say that Katie Khan's books are difficult to rate. There are parts that are absolutely astonishing in their awesomeness, researched to sound as realistic - or at least as possible - as possible. These are the parts you want to shout spoilers about and shove the book into everyone's hands.

But there are other parts of the book that you're just not interested in, or you disagreed with the author's choices for storylines or focus.

This was true of HOLD BACK THE STARS, and it's true for THE LIGHT BETWEEN US. Turns out I'm interested in the sciencey stuff, but not the romancey stuff. The friendship stuff is cool, though, how Thea, Isaac, Urvisha, and Ayo come together to help find Rosy.

Despite my mixed feelings, I'm still eager to get my mitts on whatever the author writes next. The more sciencey stuff, the merrier!

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Yaaaas I love Katie Khan, I thoroughly enjoyed her first output Hold Back the Stars, and this follow up is just as unusual and interesting. Khan writes really entertaining, funny, and tragic novels; this was a really intellectual book about time travel.
I really enjoyed the diversity here, and for once it didn't feel forced or token. All the characters were really well-rounded and full, and I especially loved Isaac. His story was sad but I'm so glad the ending (why why why only the last paragraph) came with a good conclusion for him.

This book had me glued! From the start to the finish.
So, Thea is a young woman doing her masters and she has a theory that she wants to follow up on, despite warnings from the principal of her university not bother to. This theory, of course, is one of time travel. The description did lead to me to believe that this was a time travel-love story but it's really not. Really, really not. What it is, is a very good time travel- mystery.
After Thea proceeds to continue with her research, things very quickly turn upside down and she ends up missing a friend. The book is really about Thea trying to figure out what happened to her, and bringing her back. Although, this too, comes second place to the actual science of the time travel.
And to be fair, it is very interesting especially because a lot of thought has gone into the whole process but there are still tons of loose ends that stop this from being a real time travel mystery.
I wish there had either been more romance or that it had really delved deep into the thriller/mystery aspect of it. But, it's still a pretty good read.

A beautifully written, I'd call it a time travel novel, but it's not quite, but to explain any further would be spoilering it.

The stories were brilliantly interlaced, the science and the character storylines, and I was hooked by both. If you enjoy a good character-led science fiction novel then this is a great book for you. I got lost in this book, involved in their lives and drawn in by events. I'm glad I picked this one up.

I enjoyed Katie Khan's first novel Hold Back the Stars, and dare I say it - The Light Between Us was even better. It's a story about female scientists - one of whom is working on unlocking the secret to time travel - with a dash of romance and a strong emphasis on friendship (as well as "timey-wimey" stuff!). It's sci-fi, but feels very commercial in its accessible style - the explanations of how the experiment works never dissolve into technobabble, and the focus is ultimately on the development of the characters, especially the couple at the centre: Thea and Isaac. If you enjoy romantic sci-fi which doesn't hold back on giving you feelings, then you should definitely pick this up.

Loved this book so much. The science was way above my head but the love story wasn’t. There was so much to love about Thea and Isaac’s journey, their intersecting points and all the potential strands that could change. I also enjoyed the strong resilient female friendships in this book that came over in such a positive way. Love, love, loved the ending!

Unique, thought-provoking romance

Thea and Isaac met at university and instantly became friends, but never more. Their relationship is re-examined when Thea’s experiment into time travel results in the disappearance of their mutual friend Rosie.
The story is full of strong and determined characters. Thea is dedicated to her work of proving the ability to travel through time, at the expense of fully recognising potential consequences. She has a great support network of intelligent friends and her guilt over being responsible for Rosie’s disappearance really comes across.

The chemistry between Thea and Isaac as they search for clues over Rosie’s whereabouts was really wonderful. There are flashback scenes to their time at university, which build a picture of why their relationship had not progressed beyond friendship.

This was a really interesting blend of sci-fi and romance. The science behind Thea’s theory of time travel seems plausible to a non-science expert like me, though I got a little confused about the theoretical ideas at the very end. However, this didn’t get in the way of a thought-provoking concept.

This is much more than a traditional romance, and I thought it was a unique story with a touch of bittersweet.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2018!

Let me start by saying how stunning this book cover is. I adored the hardback cover for Hold Back the Stars so I hoped this book would have a cover that was just as beautiful, and they delivered.

I know it's not all about the cover, but it helps when it's as pretty as this.

I love a good science fiction film, but I haven't read very many books that fall into that category. I think that maybe I worry about not being able to understand it because there isn't the visual advantage like there is with a film. However, that was not the case with this plot. This story is portrayed in such a believable and understandable way that I was able to follow it with ease. Also, you might think a book dealing with time travel won't be very convincing or seem like an unlikely situation, but it was so realistic. You truly do invest in the science and the explanations behind it, so it really could happen.

I also really like that this isn't just a science fiction novel, it has romance and friendship, twists and surprises.

Yet again, Katie has created a fantastically unique story.

I love the characters that Katie creates. My favourite in this book has to be Isaac. I just fell in love with him, from his way with words to his relationship with Thea. But then we have Thea, a fantastic, strong female lead character that doesn't take no for an answer and has a determined head on her shoulders. She's just a girl who wants to achieve her dreams and prove others wrong.

I loved the characters, every single one of them, flaws and all.

Katie's writing is almost addictive. I finished The Light Between Us in just two sittings because I couldn't put it down. The only time I did put it down was at 1am because my eyes were stinging so badly that I had to give in to sleep. Katie's writing just flows so beautifully, hooks you in on the very first page and keeps you gripped through to the very end with the sudden revelations and turns.

Katie truly does have a beautifully addictive writing style.

Overall, I thought this was a brilliant book. It ticked all the boxes for me, with endearing characters, an incredibly interesting plot, shocking surprises that I was not expecting and it was a story that I could understand and connect with.

One of my favourite reads of 2018 so far.

Katie Khan has a habit of leaving me with a HUGE book hangover; it took me a week to get over her debut novel (Hold Back the Stars) and six days after finishing The Light Between Us I am still a little punch drunk! Katie's writing is absolutely beautiful and I wanted to savour every word and relish in all the emotions.

A desire to succeed in her field and regrets from the past result in Thea's attempts to control time. She is aided in her quest by fantastic group of female friends (Rosy,Urvisha and Ayo); I loved seeing the dynamics of this friendship and how loyal they were to each other. Their "heist" at the beginning of the book was hilarious! When things go wrong Thea turns to Issac; after once being close they have been driven apart by Thea's doggedness in her quest to prove time travel is possible but it becomes obvious that still rivers run deep and past issues will have to be faced head on in order to solve a mystery.

What can trip up a story about time travel is confusion but with this book you don't need to understand the complexities of science to understand what is happening. A friend asked me for the blurb of this book and I basically said TIME TRAVEL, HISTORY, ART, LOVE!!! Obviously there is a lot more but in that moment I was a blubbering wreck and pretty incoherent!! I loved that there were so many things I could relate to in this book - I (very briefly) studied the History of Art at university, I live near The Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth so am familiar with the works which are referenced and my family love a good time travel/philosophy debate. These details drew me in to the story even more.

All the stars for this amazing book and consider me signed up to the Katie Khan fan club!

Conflicted by this one, I really enjoyed parts of it but certain aspects just didn't make sense and overall it felt unresolved.
I love the mixture of science fiction and romance, and I loved her first book. I think maybe time travel is too speculative for it to work easily.
Fingers crossed for the next one.....

Oh Katie Khan, what are you doing to me?! First you write Hold Back the Stars which 18 months after reading I still frequently think about and now you have filled my heart with The Light Between Us.

The Light Between Us is about two estranged friends, Thea and Isaac, who are brought back together when she discovers how to travel through time. Thea is studying for her PhD at Oxford University and despite the Physics Department believing that her theory is a waste of time she has doggedly persevered and at the moment of success she needs to hear the voice of her best friend. The thing is, there is something in Isaac and Thea’s past that they have been studiously ignoring which could be life-changing for both of them.

This is a book about love and missed opportunities. The friendship between Thea and Isaac is one of those complicated yet oh so simple relationships. There is an understanding and a shorthand between them that only comes with a history like theirs and yet, what if they had been more than friends? I loved the push and pull of their friendship, the underlying tensions and layers of meaning invoked from a look or throwaway comment. Thea is spiky and Isaac is kind yet stern and is one of the few people who really ‘gets’ Thea. Being more than friends could either be the worst or best thing that ever happened to them.

The time travel aspect is accessible with sufficient science to ground it in facts but you didn’t need to be in The Big Bang Theory to understand it. Katie Khan uses incredibly beautiful and poetic writing to describe the notions of time travel and it never once felt ridiculous or like I had to suspend belief. It all felt so incredibly real to me, and I fully believed that Thea and her friends had achieved the impossible and I fell head long into their world.

I love how Katie Khan takes wonderfully crazy things like time travel and future dystopian worlds and uses them to explore very human themes like love, friendship and loyalty. In The Light Between Us Thea has three female best friends; kind and lovely Rosy, dry and witty Urvisha and sensible and loyal Ayo who well and truly have Thea’s back. This friendship group is very realistic – ancient in-jokes collide with straight talking advice and segue into full on mickey taking. I really felt like I recognised this group of women and how their friendship fed and nourished one another. The Light Between is, on the surface, a love story between the will-they/won’t they relationship of Isaac and Thea but much more than this, it is a love story about the strength of female friendship. There is unequivocal loyalty for each other which was never cloying and it didn’t veer into saccharine sweet moments. It was a dream to read.

I thought this was a beautifully written and accomplished book with some gorgeous imagery and stunning lines. In fact, I fell in love with this book when I read the first line which I thought was poetic and gripping all at once;

The planets were moving towards each other in the night sky when Isaac and Thea first met.

This really is a book that you can fall into, lose yourself completely in and emerge blinking into the real world again a few hours later. It is accomplished and observant and was reminiscent of books like Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. Like these books there is excellent world building in The Light Between Us which allow you to fully invest in the narrative – because who says that time travel isn’t possible?

I loved this book, it is a warm, tender love story with characters that leap from the page and stacks of heart. Bravo Katie.