This Raging Light, Estelle Laure

Pages: 320

Publisher: Orchard

Release Date: 14^th January 2016

Edition: UK proof, review copy

How is it that you can suddenly notice a person? How is it that one day Digby was my best friend’s admittedly cute twin brother, and then the next he stole air, gave jitters and twisted my insides up?

Lucille has bigger problems than falling for her best friend’s unavailable brother. Her mom has gone, leaving her to look after her sister, Wren. With bills mounting up and appearances to keep, Lucille is raging against her life but holding it together – just.

A stunning debut to devour in one sitting, Laure completely captures the agony and ecstasy of first love.

This Raging Light is very much my kind of novel: a contemporary novel about loss and love and friendship told in exquisitely beautiful prose. I really, really enjoyed it.

Within only a few pages Estelle Laure had flawed me with her writing. It’s fluid, lyrical and so evocative. The way that Lucille describes her feelings for Digby blew me away. It felt so familiar, so real in that abstract, dramatic way that unrequited love always does. I could have read a whole novel about Lucille waxing lyrical about Digby without a single complaint, other than Digby’s name ‘cos it’s a little strange and just reminds me of the teacher in Lizzie McGuire…

Lucille’s friendship with Eden was one of my very favourite elements of This Raging Light. I loved the honesty in their relationship, especially with the advice and help Eden gave Lucille while she was struggling to come to terms with everything she now has to deal with. How Eden came to her rescue helping with Wren and did everything she could for her, but also didn’t stop them having the normal friendship difficulties was so well done. It felt fresh. Of course, Digby came to the rescue too, but he also gave Lucille a hefty dose of confusion and further agony to contend with. I'm glad that everything about Lucille’s narration didn’t begin and end with what she was dealing with, she still had room for the things that had plagued her before her mum left.

This Raging Light ends with on a wonderfully positive note, but still open enough to feel natural. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful but emotionally tough novel. I'm so looking forward to seeing what Estelle Laure brings out next.

Thanks to Macmillan for the review copy.

Sophie