Reviews with content warning for Death - A luz que perdemos

I really loved this book. It’s so beautifully written and it really captures feelings I’ve never quite been able to write out into words. What a wonderful story of love and loss and life.

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erikalv97's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really liked the author’s writing style and the stylistic choices of this book.

I found the characters thoughts and actions pretty realistic, while the situations were, maybe, not as much.

All the same, this was a nice quick read.

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beyourownkindofyou's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

An emotional roller coaster! The book, told from Lucy’s perspective, is basically a recounting of her life and love for Gabe. It starts with their meeting in college, right when 9/11 occurs. They have this immediate connection during a traumatic event, but then life takes them in separate directions. A chance encounter a few years later in a bar beings them back together, in to a 1.5year relationship. What follows after is ~10 years of independent but never really separate lives. There are toxic parts to their relationship and draw to one another, but also a deep chemical connection.

Lucy is Gabe’s person, his “luce,” his light, even if he leaves her multiple times. And, while Lucy moves on and gets married and has kids, his pull on her doesn’t really go away either. I don’t love the infidelity component, but I understand why it happened. It also made me really sad though that Lucy felt less fulfilled and respected in her marriage. Of course she speaks about good times with her husband, and loves her kids a lot, but they way she talks of her husband’s views and expectations make it easier to accept that she would fall back in to Gabe’s arms, and his bed. Ultimately though, Lucy never gets Gabe back and is the one who actually has to make the decision to take him off life-support, while alone in Israel, pregnant with his child (from their one night together). The reader is left wondering if Lucy will return to her old life and blow it up with the news that her child is Gabe’s or return into the folds of the life she has built. But, she does mention that one day, her new son will know of his true father, a man she never stopped loving, the light they lost.

.
The audiobook is narrated by the author herself, which I think always adds to the listening experience because she is able to infuse the emotions and inflections intended with her words. I would definitely recommend giving this one a listen!

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matchai's review against another edition

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This book is not romantic at all. It’s deceit, lies, unfaithfulness, obsession, and lust. Whatever happened in this book to the point that I read, was NOT love and no one can convince me otherwise.

I literally hated everything about the main character, Lucy. Her relationship with Gabe is actually completely insufferable. The fact that she starts to date Darren all the while, she can’t get over Gabe and is willing to drop everything just to see him? Girl, just go see a therapist already. This did not even sound like love to me, it just sounded like an obsession— a teenage obsession, with no real meaning behind it. I couldn’t even feel their connection when they first met. It was like girl meets boy, then *boom* they’re in love with each other. They kiss once and have a date for half a day and then she thinks about him for the rest of her life? And she then continues to date Darren knowing she doesn’t even really love him?

She’s soo insufferable and I literally cannot even force myself to continue reading the rest of the book about their miserable relationship.

I ended up reading some other spoilers and found out that Gabe died and I’m honestly glad it ended with his death so it could finally end their stupid obsession with each other.

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racquelb0574's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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riareads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This story was beautiful. The author did an amazing job helping readers feel the gut wrenching emotions the main character, Lucy, felt. This book was heartbreaking in so many ways and I found myself bawling by the end of it. The perspective of Lucy was so well explained and seeing life through her was relieving and helped me better understand her as a person. Although the ending was a little predictable, I do think that the build up was beautifully written. Regardless, it was absolutely devastating to read. I also loved how a lot of the story revolved around 9/11 and its significance, not only to Lucy but to others who were there. It really made me reflect and think about my community and others around me. How one decision or event can play such an important role in our lives. All of this being said, I did think the book was a little slow paced at some points but I did not mind that very much. Overall, I loved the writing and honestly wish I could glue some sentences from these pages onto me, so that they will stick with me forever.

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wednesdayonacafe's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

“I never knew how much I could love another human being until I met you, Gabe. I’ll never forget that.”

I love stories set in NYC so that was nice and I liked how the author interlaced the story with everything surrounding sept11. You can see how their relationship evolves through out the years and how, no matter what was happening in their lives they could always find comfort in each other. My only problem was that I figured the ending way too soon and that there was

some cheating (which i don’t condone no matter the circumstances)

, still sobbed like a baby tho.

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lauradowden's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was so heartbreakingly sad, I predicted me outcome very early on but that did not stop the tears from rolling in by the end. This story holds such a great message and I think everyone who reads this should reflect on the choices made by the characters and how those choices shaped their outcome. This goes for us readers in real life as well. I loved it.

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