Left behind and stuck in the rubble, Ryder Owens has become a lost soul. He’s lost the only thing that’s ever mattered to him. Haunted by a ghost, he’s become vacant to the world around him. Only one person can bring him back to the light.After narrowly escaping death, Lydia Benson took her secrets and ran, leaving destruction in her wake. Two years have passed and her story demands to be heard. … be heard. She finds herself back where it all started.
She’s back.
And she’s coming for him.
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The sequel to When Darkness Consumes, we see how Lydia has put her life together following her escape from captivity. She’s across the country, and has built a new life with a small twist. Ryder it seems has succumbed to his demons with the lost of Lydia, who seemingly has dropped off his radar after leaving the hospital. With the help of Griffin, Lydia finally decides to face her past and reveal some truths which will change Ryder’s life forever. Of course no reunion is complete without remembering that the person who caused all of the chaos is still out there and has his own agenda. I love CM’s use of characters in this story. While this is a second chance at love, so is it also a chance for vengeance. My favorite character to hate makes an appearance and lives up to his truly horrid nature. I loved the pacing of this story better than the first one. I of course am enamored with both Lydia and Ryder. One of my favorite series from 2018.
Holy cow. This book was out of this world good. This is the 2nd book in the series and I am absolutely speechless. What a beautiful ending. I finished this book in one sitting.
I devoured this book in one sitting so I could find out how Ryder and Lydia’s story ended. This book had me on the edge of my seat anticipating what would happen next. Such a great ending. I can’t wait to read more from this author!!
Gah! This book has killed me! You can only know true joy after knowing true pain and this book was the perfect example of this! I can’t believe I waited so long to read this story. This is the conclusion of Ryder and Lydia’s story and I already miss them. Everything about this book was perfect! I loved how all the loose ends were tied up. And I was glad to see how CM Radcliff dealt with Jared. I would have loved to see Scarlet get some of her own medicine, but that’s my mean coming out. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author!
Whereas When Darkness Consumes gutted me, Returned to the Light put me back together. I fell in love with Ryder in the first book…and if you’ve read it, you know how much Lydia was put through. It was horrific to read so I was relieved when this one, while full of angst, didn’t have that deep dark feel to it. RTTL picks up two years later – Lydia has returned, with a secret in tow, and Ryder is a complete and utter drunken mess. His pain was palpable and I felt awful for him…but at the same time wanted both him and Lydia to get their heads out of their a$$’s so they could finally have their HEA…and they did, thank the good lord. They both deserved it! Griffin played a much bigger role in this book – he’s definitely grown on me, as I wasn’t 100% sold on him in the first book. I’m looking forward to learning about his relationship with Rowena (Ghost) and how they came to be in the next duet…and hoping for little pieces of Lydia and Ryder within those books 🙂
This is the sequel to When Darkness Consumes, and you MUST read that first, so if you haven’t drop whatever your’e doing and go read it.
Now, about the story.
First, Radcliff left us hanging after WDC with where Ryder and Lydia were relationship wise, and my heart needed their HEA, but like everything with these two, it’s not going to be easy. It’s FULL of the angst and will torture you. (Not like the torture in the first book, thank GOD because my soul could NOT handle watching these beloved characters go through that again). No, it’s our reader torture and angst. This book had me all over the place emotionally. It would take me from happy on one page to heartbroken on the next. At one point I had to put the kindle down and walk away because OMFG Ryder and Lydia were LITERALLY killing me. I wanted to reach through the pages of this novel and shake these two and tell them to stop running from each other. I’m not gonna tell you what happens, I’m just gonna say you need to strap yourself in for the emotional rollercoaster and hold on tight.
Second, I was left in the first book torn on Griffin and how I felt about him. Griffin plays a bigger role in this story, and I definitely warmed up to him. He’s still a bit of an enigma, but I consider him one of the good guys. I have a feeling we’ll be getting more of him in Ghost Girl’s upcoming story…so I’ll wait (not very patiently) for that one.
Lastly, I NEEDED to see Jared served the vengeance he deserved. Well, I’m not going to tell you because SPOILERS. You’ll just have to read for yourself.
Well done.