Love in the Light by Laura Kaye

This book is everything!!!

What’s it About?

Two hearts in the darkness…

Makenna James and Caden Grayson have been inseparable since the day they were trapped in a pitch-black elevator and found acceptance and love in the arms of a stranger. Makenna hopes that night put them on the path to forever—which can’t happen until she introduces her tattooed, pierced, and scarred boyfriend to her father and three over-protective brothers.

Must fight for love in the light…

Haunted by a childhood tragedy and the loss of his family, Caden never thought he’d find the love he shares with Makenna. But the deeper he falls, the more he fears the devastation sure to come if he ever lost her, too. When meeting her family doesn’t go smoothly, Caden questions whether Makenna deserves someone better, stronger, and just more…normal. Maybe they’re just too different—and he’s far too damaged—after all…

First Impressions

When I first saw that this book had been released, I was filled with some pretty intense, and conflicting emotions. On the one hand, I squealed like a kid at Disney World in excitement. A sequel to Hearts in Darkness?! That first book was one of the main inspirations for me to start this blog. On the other hand, would this sequel live up to everything that book one was for me? Is it worth reading if it ends up being worse than what I loved about the first book? Turns out, I had nothing to worry about, as this book not only surpassed every single one of my expectations, but it takes you on an unbelievably emotional journey exploring depression, family and love. One of the few romance novels to actually bring tears to my eyes.

A Humorous Beginning

This book starts off in a rather humorous situation: Caden meeting Makenna’s family for the first time. They met in an elevator, have only been dating for 2 months, and Caden’s covered in piercings and tattoos. Should be an interesting meet and greet! It’s filled with challenges and humor, and I thought this was going to be the main feature of the story line. Turns out it was just the beginning.

An Emotional Turn

Spoiler alert: Who knew there was something more stressful than introducing your boyfriend to your overprotective dad and three brothers? Well hello unplanned pregnancy! Makenna struggles with how to reveal the big news to Caden. Just when she starts to gather the courage to tell him, we see that Caden is slowly pulling away from her before abruptly severing all communication between them. We are then introduced to Caden’s dark spiral into a deep depression.

It ties back to the loss of his mother and brother years beforehand, as well as his fear of losing Makenna. She’s the love of his life, yet he comes to convince himself that he’s not worthy of her love, and that she’d be better off without him. This book provides an insightful glimpse into what it’s like for someone dealing with depression. How the person can push away all that is good in their life, and the intense struggle to try and get out of that dark hole. Laura Kaye’s writing was superb and went far beyond the excellence of book one. In my opinion, this novel was on a whole other level.

*A copy of this book was provided for an honest review*

Series: Hearts in Darkness, book 2. I highly recommend this series. Definitely start with book 1. It’s the best trapped in an elevator romance ever.

Should you read it? Expect an emotional roller coaster ride with this one, as you experience all of the highs and lows of Makenna and Caden’s relationship. This one left me floored.

Smut Level: Ah, the joys of having a tongue ring.

Get it on Amazon: Click here. $3.99 Kindle Price. Self-published. 184 Pages.