The Light That Gets Lost Mini Review

The Light That Gets Lost
Written by Natasha Carthew
Contemporary,  British
Published December 1st 2015
320 Pages
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia
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★★
A small boy hiding in a cupboard witnesses something no child should ever see. He tries not to look but he still hears it. And when he comes out, there's no mistaking. His mum and dad have been killed. And though he's only small, he swears that he'll get revenge one day.

Years later, Trey enters a strange camp that is meant to save troubled teenagers. It's packed with crazies, god botherers, devoted felons and broken kids. Trey's been in and out of trouble ever since the day the bad thing happened, but he's he not here for saving: this is where he'll find the man who did it. Revenge and healing, salvation and hell are a boiling, dangerous mix, and Trey finds himself drawn to a girl, a dream and the offer of friendship in the dark.
As a young boy, Trey had seen his family slaughtered and his older brother left with a severe disability as a result of the attack. Spending his teen years determined to avenge their death, he finds himself at his final destination, a slave labor camp run by the church offering salvation to wayward teens and a second chance at life. It's at Camp Kernow where Trey has found what he believes the brutal assassin, a man of the cloth simply known as The Preacher. Driven by the Demon who invokes his blinding rage, Trey will stop at nothing until The Preacher pays for his crime even resulting in risking his own life in the process.

Kelly's Thoughts

Trey constantly refers to the Demon when talking about his drive to avenge his parents. At first I assumed it was a metaphor used to describe his anger, I'm not sure whether it was part of Trey's journey but he seemed to believe the Demon was a physical being that possessed him that was never clarified. Another aspect of the storyline that I found difficult to connect with was the dialogue between the characters. The characters all had a very distinct British dialect and even being Australian, I couldn't follow it. Int (short for isn't it) was overused and was incredibly irritating after a few short chapters. To be honest, I wanted to take to the little bastards with a frying pan.

I loved the concept. Not being a religious person, I'm fascinated by fictional cults and religious based institutions but sadly due to the lack of world building, I just couldn't immerse myself. I felt as though I was waiting for something to happen, but it seemed to lose direction and cause.

The Final Verdict

I always write less than positive reviews with a heavy heart and although I enjoyed the rawness of the writing, this one was not for me sadly. The Light That Gets Lost is a strange journey that had the making of a truly wonderful read, but never realised. It lacked direction, much needed world building and perhaps tried to be too clever and lyrical which amounted to a disappointing read. The cover is absolutely gorgeous though.

24 comments

  1. Hey Kelly, your blog is looking beautiful :D
    That's too bad that the reference to the demon wasn't clarified. I'm assuming he's calling the guy who killed his parents a demon? But I guess who knows. Religious cults kind of freak me out in books. I just assume something bad is going to happen to the MC but it's a pretty cool concept nevertheless so I might just bite the bullet and read something like it.
    Hope you had a great Christmas!

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    1. I did and thank you poppet, it's lovely to see you again. I hope you've had a lovely Christmas and wonderful new year too.

      The demon is what he calls this pit of revenge that he has inside him, but often refers to it as almost a living, breathing thing. It felt a little awkward and I found I just couldn't connect to any of the characters. If you enjoy Neil Gaiman, you might actually enjoy this one. I'd love to see what you think of it.

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  2. Hey, not every book will work for you! I think the parts that you didn't like or that annoyed you would bother me too. It has an interesting premise though, I must say!

    -Lauren

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    1. The premise is really interesting Lauren, but I just found that it didn't have that emotional connection for me sadly. Being an Aussie, I thought that the English slang wouldn't have bothered me, but I found it hard to understand in some places and couldn't get past that language barrier. I was more disappointed in myself, I wanted to love this one but just sadly couldn't.

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  3. curiouser and curiouser, at least the whole driven thing makes it a read until the end?

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    1. If you like something a little bit different or outside the box, you'll probably really enjoy this one Ailyn. Would love to see what you think of it.

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  4. The cover IS absolutely gorgeous! I'm glad I'm not the only one that struggles with British inflections lol! The cults in this one definitely sounds like it wasn't handled too well, unfortunately Minnow Bly is the only book I've read that has done this well. Lovely review!

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    1. Usually I don't have too much of an issue with it Jeann, but it was really jarring in this one because all the teen characters spoke the same slang. There wasn't any reprieve. I think with likable characters and well defined world building, I would have probably really enjoyed it.

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  5. I'm sorry this wasn't the book for you, Kelly, but I can definitely see why it wasn't for you. I like stories about cults too because I find them fascinating. The directionless plot and the dialect would really frustrate me too.
    I don't think I'll be picking this one up.
    Lovely review, Kelly.

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    1. Me too Nick, it was more akin to a slave labour camp more than anything, as it didn't really explore the the religious aspects even though it was run by men of the cloth. It felt as though it just skimmed the surface and didn't delve too deep into the world that was created by the camp. A shame really, this could have been an incredible read otherwise.

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  6. This sounds like it's...not even in the realm of being my thing, I'm sorry it didn't wow you :(

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    1. Sadly it really didn't Wattle. I'm sure others might really enjoy this one, but I just couldn't connect to the characters or storyline unfortunately.

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  7. This gorgeous cover caught my eye. Sorry to hear you ended up disappointed, Kelly. Oh, well, looks like this book is not for me either. I don’t like when the book tries too hard.

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    1. Oh no, still give it a go. Reading is so subjective Ksenia and it might really work for you.

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  8. I've never heard of this one but like you, I was intrigued by the synopsis and concept. Too bad it was so frustrating and just kind of... odd. Hope your next read is better :D

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    1. Thanks Alise. It really just wasn't my type of read in the end, but I'm glad I took the chance and gave it a go.

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  9. Yikes on that low rating! Sad because such a beautiful cover too. Hope your next book is great! Also, I love your blog design :).

    Jess @ Princessica of Books | Twitter | Instagram

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    1. Thanks Jess. It's such a shame isn't it. But this one might really work for you, give it a try. It could really surprise you.

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  10. DAMN! I read the synopsis and mentally screamed " I WANT, I WANT " Plus that cover is so cute, and you know I'm a cover whore girl. So here I am all excited, then I read your review and I'm like, * sad face emoji *. UGH this sounded so freaking promising, but I know for sure I would've rated it lower than you lol.

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    1. Yeah, I can say with almost certainty that you probably wouldn't have finished it. It read as the characters being much younger, but the underlying theme felt like it was aimed at a more mature audience. And of course, no romance. It could have been epic, but just felt underdeveloped sadly.

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  11. Someday I'll run my own cult and I'll tell you all about it. lol. Too bad this disappointed, but yeah, that cover is pretty.

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    1. You're almost there now Christy. All those lovers of bodice rippers and epic romance readers follow you like hungry wolves. Move them into the woods and establish your leadership. Instant cult.

      whispers I'm joining too.

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  12. I often find magical realism to be lacking something for me, is just that I'm expecting that big twist to come and make everything make sense but it usually never comes. Sorry this wasn't the best reading experience for you, hope your next book is better.

    Deyse @ Bound with Words

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    1. Thanks Deyse. It wasn't really magical as such, but it alluded to it being more than a contemporary but didn't delve into those aspects sadly. I hope so too. Thanks poppet.

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