I wasn’t actually aware this was a follow on book, yet it was still an easy reading style and uncomplicated in this way! It was heartfelt and emotional, I only wish I had read the previous novel beforehand!

The story follows a couple who, after a heartbreaking loss, try to rebuild their relationship and find hope again. Santopolo does a great job showing the messy, real emotions that come with grief and second chances.

The writing is warm and straightforward nothing too complicated, just genuine feelings that hit home. The plot isn’t packed with surprises, but that’s okay because it focuses on the characters and their journey to heal and reconnect.

If you want a heartfelt, comforting read about love, loss, and starting over, this would be a great pick. Perfect for a cozy weekend.

The Love We Found is a deeply emotional and poignant follow-up to The Light We Lost. Ten years after a profound loss, Lucy embarks on a journey of discovery that leads her to uncover secrets about her past love and opens her heart to a surprising new connection. It's a beautifully written exploration of grief, family secrets, and the enduring power of finding love and hope again, even when rooted in the echoes of the past.

I did enjoy this book, although not sure I found it quite as satisfying as some other reviewers appear to have done.

A good holiday read, with a happy ending, if a little predictable at times!

Worth packing in your holiday bag

It’s always tough to write a follow up to such a loved first book. And I’ll be honest - this one definitely wasn’t one I loved as much as the first one. BUT that is because the first book was such a ‘once in a lifetime’ type of book! This is still a lovely heartwarming read, and the writing is very good as always.

Really enjoyed The light we lost and this sequel completes Lucy’s story beautifully. Both books are very well written with a story line that pulls at the heart strings. I am so pleased to have discovered them and know they will stay in my memory.

I hadn’t realised that this book was a follow on from a previous one! I think I might have enjoyed it more had I read the previous one. As it is I found it hard to get into and struggled to finish it. Sorry!

In the Love We Found we pick up ten years later from The Love We Lost. With a ten year anniversary pending, a revised edition of Gabe's book is being published. Looking for photographs, Lucy finds a sketch and an address in Italy written by Gabe. Lucy who shares custody of Liam, Violet and Sammy with her ex-husband Darren, decides to visit this address hoping to piece together more of the life Gabe had lived when they were apart.

This trip will upend Lucy's life in ways she couldn't have imagined.

The whole book is a love letter to Gabe, a man Lucy will always love. It's also a testament to her willingness to open her heart once more.

Filled with love and family and healing, The Love We Found is a beautiful sequel and a book that can't fail to touch every heart that reads it.

The book shows how loss can impact lives and continue to do so even while trying to make a new life. The protagonist felt at times frustrating as she had been all consumed about what she had lost and how this had impacted her family. Secrets had been kept and these come out and that then causes more hurt. A good read.

Enjoyable book though I felt that the first book was better, the storyline flowed more naturally whereas this follow on book was a bit more forced in my view.
The formatting when transferred into Kindle really doesn’t work well; the paragraphs are separated incorrectly and numbers are spread throughout the text so it makes the read challenging!
Overall it was lovely to return to Lucy’s life and find out what happened to her next.

I wasn't aware that this book was a follow on to The Light We Lost however I did enjoy this book all the same. I found Lucy to be quite relatable as a Mum. I feel this book covers grief perfectly, along with how to move on from losing a loved one. I feel it was a beautiful story and I look forward to reading the first in this series (even though I know what happens!)

Really enjoyed The light we lost and this sequel completes Lucy’s story beautifully. Both books are very well written with a story line that pulls at the heart strings. I am so pleased to have discovered them and know they will stay in my memory.

So I only realised *after* reading The Love We Found that it is in fact a follow up story to The Light We Lost. I'm someone who likes to read books in the order they are intended to be read so I do feel a little annoyed at myself for not clicking that this one was a sequel BUT I'm also excited as I have The Light We Lost on my TBR and I know I'm going to enjoy reading about Lucy and Gabe's love story (even though I now know how it ends 😭)

This is the first of Jill's books that I've read and I found her writing captivating. There has been a lot of positivity surrounding her as an author and I can see why: she creates real, flawed characters who you get to know intimately and situations between them that are difficult to peel your eyes away from. I loved the chaotic and messy reality of Lucy's family life with her three children - their emotions and the way they handled them were realistic and recognisable as traits we, as humans, have ingrained into us. Lucy is a wonderful mother and navigates the intricate lives and feelings of Liam, Violet and Sammy in a profound way.

The strongest themes in this book for me were those of secrets, grief and love. The importance that was placed on secrets having the ability to tear families apart; grief that lingers and wraps itself around you and love that creeps up on you and trickles into the cracks in your heart. I just think this story was written beautifully ♥️

Having recently read The Light We Lost (and being quietly devastated by it!) I was hoping The Love We Found would heal the wounds of Lucy and co and bring her a more positive experience. This book felt like revisiting old friends and all the ten year time jump changes felt like we were being taking on a rollercoaster of emotions. The story picked up where we left off with book 1 but I felt the growth and maturity of Lucy showed so much through her parenting and she obviously had done a lot of grieving and healing in her own way. I was again captured by Jill’s writing and almost wonder if there could be more to tell of this story. I’m not ready to let go of these characters yet! ✨ Thank you Jill Santopolo and HQ for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review ✨

This is the second book in the series but I started and finished it before finishing part 1. This was so powerful and emotive it made me fall in love with love again. This works as a standalone . The main character developed and grew as she was faced with life changing decisions, how to allow yourself to trully love again when you have lost your one true soul mate 20 years previously. This may have been a novel but it radiates with so much emotion and realiism it felt true to life. The life changing decisions Lucy was faced with were dealt with perfectly and showed the reality of life. you may need tisusses . Thank you so much netgallery, publisher and author for this 5 star highly recommended read.

I hadn’t realised that ‘The Love We Found’ was a sequel, not that it made a difference to me enjoying the story for what it is.

The way the story is written and the way the narrative reads, you get a sense of Lucy and the loss she has endured.
Centring around Lucy, a mother of three with her ex husband as she approaches the 10 year anniversary death of her previous partner, Gabe. The story centres around grief and a big secret she has been harbouring.
I like the way the story is written, with the conversations that Lucy has, she has as though she is talking to Gabe.
The story covers grief, getting over keeping secrets and how you move forward.
An emotional read that doesn’t hide away from the realities of grief, whether it be in the shape of death or dealing with divorce.

The Love we Found by Jill Santopolo is a sequel to the book The Light we Lost. I read the first book years ago so was intrigued to see what story a sequel would tell so requested on NetGalley.

The Love we Found see Lucy find a link to Rome amongst Gabe’s belongings and she heads there to find out what Italy meant to him. A moving sequel about love, grief and families.

This book follows the light we lost, ten years since we last encountered Gabe and Lucy.
Lucy now has a successful career and co parents her three children with ex husband Darren.
As Gabe's 10 year anniversary approaches she unearths a photograph that sets the wheels in motional for Lucy to travel in search of the story behind the image.

The love we found
⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Well, I confess that by the time I requested this book, I didn't knew it was actually a sequel, the premise sound it cool and it was a surprise to realized that I had to read The love we lost first, which I did, and I really enjoyed it.

However The love we found didn't hit in the same way for me! Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful story, but it kinda felt like an extended epilogue for book 1.
In general, this books deals with what has been going on in Lucy's life from where we left her till her present day and how she has been experiencing grief and loss. It is essentially, a love letter to the man she still misses and how all of this emotional dinamic plays out at the face of old secrets and maybe a new love interest.

This sequel doesn't carry as much weight and depth as the previous one but is a much needed closure. Is more a quiet story of how to overcome a never ending sadness and I liked that. The chapters are short, sweet and it made me emotional sometimes which is a big shotout to how the author writes and makes the reader connect with the plot.

So yes, I do recommend this book, is was pretty tho it didn't reached the hype of his predecessor, however it does scratch that itch and show us how beloved characters are doing.

The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo is the follow up to The Light We.
It was a heartfelt and captivating read, the storyline really captured the complex feelings of learning to move on.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.