Title: The Light We Lost
Series: Lost Light
Author: Kyla Stone
Release Date: 28th January 2022
BLURB from Goodreads
The sun gives life. It is also capable of profound destruction.
With little warning, a solar super flare erupts from the sun. A billion tons of superheated plasma hurtles through space toward Earth…
When all lights fail, who will save you?
Thirteen-year-old Shiloh wakes with a dead body beside her, her brother missing, and no memory of what happened. As fiery northern lights blaze across the sky, she sets out into the night, determined to find him.
Haunted by the past, Undersheriff Jackson Cross vows to catch a vicious killer. But every clue he uncovers leads him further into a darkness he fears he cannot defeat.
Eli Pope has just been released from prison. Wrongly convicted of murder, the former Ranger has but one goal: exact vengeance upon those who betrayed him.
Meanwhile, Search-and-Rescue first responder Lena Easton begins a harrowing 1600-mile journey to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to find the children of the one person she couldn’t save.
As multiple solar storms strike Earth, transformers explode, the power grid fails, and communication networks collapse. Half the world goes dark, thrusting the planet into utter chaos.
With society crumbling around them, the survivors must fight not only for their lives, but for everything they hold dear--hope amid devastation, justice in the face of depravity, and ultimately, the perseverance of the human spirit against all odds.
REVIEW
The sky on this book cover is amazing, its beautiful, scary, and foreboding in equal measure and I think it will certainly draw your eye to it on a book store shelf! After reading the book I would guess the characters featured on the cover are Jackson Cross and Lena Easton with her canine search & rescue partner Bear.
The action begins right away with this book, one of the main characters, Shiloh Easton finds her grandfather Amos bludgeoned to death, and her brother is no where to be found. Shiloh is an independent, strong willed young teen and gathers supplies for herself to set off looking for her older brother Cody. Shiloh remains a determined to find her brother throughout the whole book and she certainly doesn’t hang around waiting for help. In fact, she is more suspicious of people, though surprisingly takes the newly released Eli Pope at face value, who was thought to be the “broken heart killer,” the man who murdered her mother when she was still only a toddler. The man that put Eli Pope away for the murder of Lily, is deputy Jackson Cross. When Eli is released on a technicality, and heads back to his home, he soon finds out not only are people annoyed by his return they are really open about letting him know about it too. Eli has scores to settle and no one is going to stop him finding out who framed him for Lily’s murder. Eli, Lily, Lilys sister Lena, and Jackson had been inseparable as youngsters. There was another person who would hang out with them too, James Sawyer, who is now the area’s drug dealer, though he covers up the fact of where he gets his money from by having several legitimate businesses. James Sawyer has plenty of lackeys and security working for him so he knows what goes on in the area. However, if approached “officially” he can be evasive and is more likely to co-operate when approached by old friends. Both Jackson and Eli approach James Sawyer for answers, though whether he tells the whole truth, what he thinks is the truth or the version of the truth he wants people to know remains to be fully revealed. Eli is not the only person returning home, Lena, Lily’s sister soon packs up her car and supplies and heads “home” when she finds out about the murder of her father, and the fact her niece and nephew are now alone and “missing.”
Along with all this happening there has been a devastating weather occurrence, a super solar flare. Of Course, there are some people that have prepared for such an eventuality, such as Lena who packs all her supplies up and brings them home for herself and her family. Jackson who lives in the family homes basement conversion since moving home to help his parents care for Astrid, his disabled sister. He has a room where he has built up supplies, purchasing a bit at a time, so when the super solar flare occurs, he feels that there is no immediate rush to purchase more. That soon changes when his sister goads him into going to check the supplies by smirking when he mentions them. It turns out she has emptied all of his secured supplies and given them away. Jacksons parents, former Sheriff Horatio, nervous, eager to please mother, Dolores and infuriating sister Astrid and her long-term boyfriend don’t seem to have a clue. They seem to think everything will be back to normal within a couple of days, until it is all clearly getting worse. This mean Jackson has even more on his plate to sort out. There’s the murder of Amos Easton, the missing Shiloh and Cody Easton, who are both possible suspect and victims themselves. There are also other young girls continually going missing, whom Jackson is trying to investigate. He then has the added aggravation that Eli Pope is back in town as well making him reflect on the evidence he used to convict him all those years ago when there was a different Easton family murder.
I was a tad distracted reading this book as for some reason my kindle stopped telling me what % I was at. I continued to read regardless and became more and more drawn in. The more revelations there were the more questions I seemed to find. If Eli didn’t kill Lily who did and why? What was the “shady evidence” Jackson used to help convict Eli and why did he do it? Where is Ruby Carpenter? Is she with Cody? Will Shiloh find them? Who is after Shiloh and why? As well as who killed Amos and why and how is everyone going to cope in the aftermath of the super solar flare? Some of the questions are answered, others are left for the next book, which I am eagerly looking forward to already!!
I loved so many of the characters, Shiloh though only young being kick butt and strong willed, perhaps like her murdered mother Lily was. I immediately took to Lena Easton, the sister that left everything behind after her sister, Lily’s murder, creating a new life for herself. Then when she is called about the murder of her father Amos and her missing niece and nephew doesn’t hesitate to pack up her car and head right home as quickly as she possibly can whilst negotiating the madness and chaos caused by the solar flare.
I also fell instantly in love with both Eli, and Jackson. Eli, the wrong incarcerated, possibly framed, tough ex-military, prison hardened man, though he has a soft spot when t comes to Easton women. Jackon seems tough n the outside but I don’t think he is as tough as Eli. Jackon literally has the “weight of the world on his shoulders,” from work pressures from parents of missing girls, the recent murder, his guilt about his former best friend and his role in him being sent to prison. He also has home burdens, though he would not call them that. Jackson is the provider, his parents are still living as if everything is plentiful, they are comfortably well off and don’t seem to realise that their money will be useless and worthless in the new after the solar flare world. Jackson also has the responsibility of helping to care for his sister, not that she seems very grateful.
This book also has a plentiful supply of characters I am loving to hate! James Sawyer the drug supplier, shady and into a lot of things that are perhaps illegal! I also think he will be one to be wary of when the full extent of the super solar flare hits everyone. He seems the type to take all and any advantages that come his way. I feel a little guilty about the next character a I think I may enjoy hating and it’s because Astrid is disabled due to a car accident involving drink driving. I wonder how she will cope with the super solar flare aftermath, though I guess Jackson will do all he can to protect her. I can’t help thinking she is a bit of a “bad one” who will take advantage of Jackson’s soft heart and the fact he sees it as his duty to care for her.
Among the questions I am still puzzling over is who created the damning evidence that sent Eli to prison? I am hoping Eli & Jackson will continue to join forces somewhat like they did in this book to find the answers and protect their loved ones.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were wow, I didn’t expect all that! And the whole super solar flare aftermath is only at it’s very beginning!
Summing up, this book had great characters, great world building and great plot. A brilliant start to a probably/potentially amazing series. Seriously looking forward to more of this series.
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