Book Review April 22nd
Light In the Shadows (Find You in the Dark #2)
by: Meredith A. Walters
★★★★ 4 Stars
Clay never stopped thinking of Maggie. Even after ripping their lives apart and leaving her behind to get the help he so desperately needed. He is healing...slowly. But his heart still belongs to the girl who tried to save him.
When a sudden tragedy brings Maggie and Clay face to face again, nothing is the same. Yet some things never change. Can the darkness that threatened to consume them be transformed into something else and finally give them what they always wanted? And can two people who fought so hard to be together, finally find their happiness? Or will their demons and fear drive them apart for good?
REVIEW
I guess I’m not so much on the Find You in the Shadows bandwagon. I enjoyed this story don’t get me wrong but at times it was extremely depressing and turned me into a Debbie Downer. I’ll admit however, that this book was much better than the first. Mostly because we see Clay and Maggie facing and fighting their demons head on and not brushing them aside to deal with later.
I felt three things when reading this book: annoyance, boredom and emotional. Most of the book is about Clay and Maggie overcoming their issues, demons and the like. Clay is off at much needed therapy and finally getting the help he needs, which he is understanding of this time around. Maggie has gotten her life back on the pre-Clay track and lying to her parents and skipping school is a thing of the past.
OF course life (even real-life) loves to throw curve balls when everything is going OK and stirs it up all over again. Not to give anything away, but there is a death in the book. At first I was like, “Come on,” but I think with Clay’s issues it was a good plot point because it was a turning point for Clay. Most times he would go off the deep end but this time it was up to him to persevere and be strong and not only for himself.
For the most part Clay and Maggie are on the road of forgiveness and understanding. Not just for themselves, but for those close to them who have been hurt by their poor decisions. Clay’s parents still suck but he finally begins to see and understand how much he hurt his aunt by hurting himself. It’s easy to point fingers at them for being so blasé about their son and his life, only caring when he makes them look bad. Luckily he realizes they are not worth it. Not worth the pain, anguish or the need to be loved by them because they don’t deserve it.
What angered me so much was how often it was repeated that Maggie was like the trigger to Clay’s disease and how quickly and easily things are started back up. I enjoy seeing them together and was happy they worked their ‘shit’ out but considering how young they are and how little time Clay actually spent at the clinic, I thought they should have waited a bit, a few months in the least.
“The girl who had easily been the best thing in my life is now my greatest nightmare… My crazy, fucked up mind had succeeded in twisting my beautiful girl into something that caused me complete and total anxiety.” –Clay
Both Maggie and Clay are trying to heal in their own way. Once they are ‘together’ again they try to start fresh, thankfully, and avoid the mistakes of the past. I can’t say they are perfect but Maggie finally uses her backbone and speaks her mind dealing with Clay in direct and efficient ways that don’t allow him to push her away or turn to the darkness inside of him. I guess in some ways, she is the balm to his should, the light to his darkness because she is able to pull him back to reality when he skirts the line.
There is so much turmoil in watching Clay face his demons. It becomes refreshing after watching him give into them over and over again in Find You in the Dark. He is fighter through and through even without the emotional support of his family. I found myself liking him a lot better this time around because he gave up being weak and took a stand, both for himself and Maggie. And though Maggie was there to help, it wasn’t like she was an available doormat for him anymore either.
“I could either wallow or whine about life not being fair or I could suck it up and find something else to live for.”-Clay
Maggie’s parents and friends continue to be beyond awesome. Her parents are understanding and agreeable to her restarting things with Clay but they let her know their thoughts and opinions on the matter. Her friends (still together and adorable) accept Clay back in like a long lost friend, but still watch over Maggie like older siblings. It was cute to see them together, having a normal relationship, when right alongside them is Maggie and Clay in a relationship that is anything but normal.
I enjoyed the ending and the epilogue. I love how we can see the characters in the future and this was no let-down. I was so thankful they weren’t a family with kids or anything like that because that would have been too unbelievable for their characters. Instead they are still taking life and their relationship one day at a time, clearly showing how much they learned from their mistakes and work to stay together.
Overall
I enjoyed Light in the Shadows but it’s definitely not my favorite book and I don’t know if I would read the series again. Most times it was boring, the plot of this book revolves around them finding themselves and fighting their inner darkness. Book one had much more action but also that tinge of crazy whereas this one takes out the crazy and puts a Band-Aid on. There is not much action and the one major plot point that brings Clay back home was so depressing and left a tinge on the rest of the book. It was a good sequel to Find You in the Dark and I was happy to see their issues being worked out. If you read Find You in the Dark, I would recommend reading this in order to get some closure on the whole Maggie and Clay thing and to see them in a new light, as if they are new characters.
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