Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy Score

Description

Sophie Keane never meant to go back to Willow Creek. As a rising photojournalist in Chicago, she enjoyed how different city life was from her own. But when her loving grandmother gets sick and asks Sophie to take care of their family photo studio, which has been in the family for hundreds of years, she unwillingly drives back to the tranquil riverside town she promised to leave behind. Sophie doesn’t expect to run across Luke Turner, her teenage best friend who has become a reclusive artist. Luke’s presence still makes her chest constrict.

Eight years ago, Luke and Sophie shared dreams under the umbrella of the Old Mill Café. He would sketch her portrait between classes, and she would make him laugh after hard days in his father’s boatyard. Then a terrible disaster took Sophie’s carefree energy and turned Luke’s sadness into self-imposed exile. Their friendship fell apart, leaving each of them with questions they were too afraid to ask.

Sophie must now work with Luke to put together the town’s hidden history, following her grandmother’s last wish to create a retrospective called “Things We Hide from the Light” that will show local stories through old photos. As they go through old negatives, sepia-toned postcards, and handwritten journals hidden behind frames, each find makes them remember the town’s shared heartbreak: a flood that destroyed half a neighborhood, a famous fire that burned down Main Street, and family scandals that have been hidden for generations under makeshift repairs. This exploration of their past will reveal the deep connections and secrets tied to the theme of Things We Hide from the Light.

Their work together brings back old feelings and opens Sophie’s heart again. Luke teaches her how to get pictures out of latent embossments in the studio’s darkroom late at night. These teachings become personal lessons in trust. Sophie’s pointed, penetrating questions break through Luke’s guarded silence and show that his lonely work wasn’t avoidance but tribute: each charcoal sketch was a memory he thought Sophie had forgotten.

Sophie, on the other hand, is dealing with her own problems. She became indifferent to suffering after working on high-profile projects in war zones, and she can’t stop seeing “blink shots,” which are images that haunt her. With Luke’s help, she faces the toll of being a witness and remembers how therapeutic stories that come from compassion can be. The Willow Creek Heritage Festival is the end of their cooperative project. The opening night of the exhibit compels the town, Sophie, and Luke to face the facts they’ve been avoiding for a long time.

There are moments of quiet grace, like when Sophie reads her grandmother’s last letter aloud by the riverbank or when they take an impromptu boat ride under lantern-draped willows. But there is also the tension of emotional reckoning: Sophie is afraid that going back will break her spirit again, and Luke is afraid that letting Sophie in could bring back his deepest wounds. They express the love they buried with the past in a dramatic confession under a projected display of their childhood memories together.

Things We Hide from the Light is Lucy Score’s most powerful work. It mixes the beautiful ambiance of a tiny village with high emotional stakes. It shows that throwing a caring light into our darkest places may show us not only grief, but also the incredible strength of people and the healing power of love.

About the Author

Lucy Score is a USA Today bestselling author known for her emotionally resonant small‑town romances. Her heartfelt storytelling and richly drawn characters explore themes of redemption, community, and the courage to heal. She lives in Ohio with her family and rescue dogs.

Product Details

• Title: Things We Hide from the Light
• Author: Lucy Score
• ISBN‑13: 9781399713795
• Publisher: Montlake
• Published: January 15, 2024
• Pages: 352
• Binding: Paperpack