“A funny, poetic, big-hearted reminder that life can—and will—take us all by surprise.”—Jennifer E. Smith, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight  Can the best thing happen at the worst time?  Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she’s about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend’s brother. With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure’s soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page.

 

I was attracted to This Raging Light by it’s cover. Because yes, I am that type.

I’m in the middle of reading the Throne of Glass series right now and honestly, though I love them, I started getting a little burnt out on them. I guess I’m just not very good at living in one world for that long and I just felt like I needed to mix it up.

I went to Barnes and Noble specifically to pick up the novel Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn because I’ve wanted to read it for months now and I thought it would be a cute story to break up the fantasy slump I was in.

Alas, it was not to be, as Firsts was sold out at my local B&N. On the “What Teens Are Reading Next” table sat this beautiful book. I had seen the cover around on a few different blogs but didn’t really know much about it. The description on the book jacket sounded like what I was looking for – a cute, contemporary love story.

This Raging Light was fairly standard, and landed in the “just okay” camp for me. I didn’t find myself really caring that much about the characters and the love story just didn’t connect with me at all. This book is more about Lucille’s relationship with her sister, her parents, and her best friend than it is about Lucille and Digby. Don’t get me wrong, I know other relationships are important in life, but darn it I just wanted a good swoony romance à la Anna and the French Kiss. Is that so much to ask?!

Also, not that this is all that important, but I went 97% of this book thinking that Lucille was black and I was excited because I feel like we need more diversity in YA books. At the very end Lucille looks in the mirror and says something about her blonde hair and green eyes and I was like:

So either I missed out on the description at the beginning or Lucille’s attributes aren’t described until the end. I know that some authors like to leave the descriptions up to the reader but that one really took me by surprise.

All told, I would say this book is easily forgettable. There are some great lines and Lucille’s relationship with her sister Wren is really touching. It’s super short so I wouldn’t discourage you from reading it, but this is one that I don’t think I would find myself revisiting.

 

Do you have any recommendations for cute romances? I’m looking for something in the vein of Anna and the French Kiss, Since You’ve Been Gone, and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Let me know in the comments!