Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I had really high hopes for 'the last love song' as both a sapphic book lover and a mamma mia fan but unfortunately was left a little underwhelmed. The story was sweet, fast and had an interesting enough dual perspective narrative but overall it still left me feeling like it was just okay. I have no real reason why, the story was okay, the writing okay and the characters interesting enough but nothing in this story truly excelled for me which I'm super sad about. Not a bad book at all and still one I enjoyed my time with! I think this was just a case of too high expectations being difficult to match.

I listened to the audiobook for this one, and though pretty emotional and cute during some parts, overall "The Last Love Song" couldn't capture my interest. I wasn't as invested in the story as I had hoped to be. Sadly. I'm sure this will be a great read for many young adult readers, but it just seems that young adult loses its magic to me. I can appreciate the author's writing style and story idea, that was really great. Some decisions that were made by the characters, I just couldn't understand - and also Mia's grandparents for being the way they were, treating the subject of their daughter and her past with silence. I'm glad the length of the book wasn't dragged and it ended when it did, but unfortunately, it wasn't something I'd pick up again or will think about for a long time.

The teen angst was well written in this novel. You hope and really root for Mia to find the answers she needs from her late mom, Tori. Following her through the scavenger hunt, it's beautiful to see that Mia is still connected to her mom and hopes to find out more about her. Mia finding others who knew her mom is bittersweet. It does feel a bit like everyone held a secret from her all these years. But she finds herself just as her mom did.

The author made you feel that you were part of Sunset Cove, the small town with all the quirks and places to find yourself. Growing up in a small town, I could see myself finding each clue with Mia. I did hope there was more about Tori, but it is about Mia's life so I enjoyed it.

This book was the most wholesome, soft small town dreamy YA romance I've read in a while. It's like if you took elements of Mama Mia and mashed them with the Hannah Montana movie. It captured the glitz and glam of a country girl yearning to be a star but struggling to leave behind the girl she loves and the lively town that made her! It was sweet and silly at times but ultimately a beautiful, moving story about a daughter craving to get closer to her late mother. I love how this book wove their two story lines together and how songwriting was such a steady thread throughout!

One of my most-expected reads of the year and it didn't disappoint!

A very solid start and ending, which I LOVED, but the inbetween kinda lacked action for me-- I don't think there was that much to go on because of the plot, but still enjoyed it a lot. And the author's writing was GREAT, would love to read something else by her in the future.

This was such a super cute read! I loved it! Can't wait for more from this author. The characters were definitely the highlight, and I really enjoyed her journey throughout the novel.

“Maybe you should look back sometimes when you’re running away, and think about why you’re really leaving.”

I’m sorry… but this is a DEBUT?!

I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Kalie as she prepped for her debut young adult contemporary release and she is an absolute SWEETHEART, which only made me love her book that much more.

I listened to this beauty, and the narrators Taylor Meskimen and Amanda Dolan did a phenomenal job capturing the innocence and daring personalities as they intertwined with love, loss, and longing through the story. I will say that this is NOT a book to multitask while listening to! It’s an incredibly quick read with SO many details peppered throughout that you will most definitely miss something if it does not have your full attention (I rewound multiple times to catch small details before learning my lesson).

“You can outgrow places and people and still love them.”

Kalie writes with such a poetic and lyrical voice that you can’t help but be entranced by her words. By Mia and Tori. By their tension-filled history despite never really knowing one another. And by their scavenger hunt, where Mia not only gets to know her mother, but also herself each step of the way.

“To love the music is to never grow up.”

This beautiful book is a love story to friendship, first loves, friends, dreams, music, and mothers and daughters everywhere. It’s filled with life lessons, hopes and dreams, and every form of love imaginable.

For example, just because someone is gone, does not mean they’ve disappeared…their story isn’t over yet, because it lives on in you and all the people who knew them.

This is truly the love story songs are written about.

Tropes:
- LGBTQ+
- Queer Mamma Mia!
- Friends to lovers
- Chasing dreams
- Scavenger hunt
- Young adult

i’m finding it tough to describe this book

i think it had a really good premise but the execution just felt a little off, it’s like daisy jones and the six but without the feels

both mia & tori’s chatacters just weren’t fleshed out enough at the start for me to fully feel for them before we went into the plot, idk i just found it really hard to understand them??

the actual writing style was nice, but there was sort of a disconnect when it comes to the music, it feels like the author doesn’t actually play bcos the descriptions just didn’t feel correct??

the plot was a bit slow and repetitive, and while i really liked tori’s chapters, it felt really clunky to suddenly find out in past tense instead of in mia’s pov? and the ending felt really open & also so sudden but so so slow at the same time, it just wasn’t very satisfying

but her grandmas are adorable they make this book 😭😭

it was enjoyable overall but definitely left me wanting

lovely, loving, happy story with a lot of fun innate within. worth a read or even a re-read. tysm for the arc.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I ended up with some mixed feelings. I thought this was a very charming story, heartfelt and cinematic, and I loved that we got to read chapters from Mia's mother's perspective as well, which really added to the atmosphere of the story. That said, the story did fall a little flat for me.

I thought it was really well written and very poetic, but I just could never get into it. I think I just couldn't relate to any of the characters.

On her graduation day Mia Peters is handed a gift left to her by her late mother, the famous country singer Tori Rose. The gift contains a journal and several envelopes that lead her on a scavenger hunt around town, revealing more and more about who Tori was. Stuck between a desire to follow in her mother’s songwriting footsteps and the fear that threatens to keep her in her small town, Mia believes the end of this hunt will lead her to the future she should choose.

Overall I thought this was a great whirlwind adventure as we follow Mia trying to overcome her fears and learn how to stop running from the future. Mia was a great fleshed out character who I really empathized with. I enjoyed seeing her growth. I also liked the romance between Britt and Mia. I found their push and pull relationship intriguing. The obstacles they faced were really realistic and added to the turmoil Mia was facing.

The entire concept of Mia barely having any knowledge of her very famous mother was a little far fetched. I can understand her grandmothers’ grief making it difficult for them to talk about her, but the rest of the town hiding information from her too was weird. Especially to the extent where she didn’t even know how her mother died. It was a really shaky reality to base the entire story around.

I loved the scavenger hunt plot line, but I wish the letters held more substance. The flashbacks were only of Tori’s early days in Nashville, and it would have made readers more invested if they were spread out amongst her entire career. That way we could actually see her mistakes and regrets, and the lead up to her having Mia. Instead, hearing the end of Tori’s story told by other people just made it come off as… sad. It felt very tragic, which didn’t align with how the ending wanted the story’s take away to be.

This was well written with a lot of emotion, but left me with questions and a bittersweet feeling rather than the hopeful send off I think it tried to aim for.

I had high hopes for this book, especially with it being “Mamma Mia” inspired, but it was a bit of a let down. I personally did get the Mamma Mia connection AT All, and the main bit of the story DRAGGED which made it hard to get through. It definitely had it emotional moments, which I love, but I generally found it hard to get through.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley and Blackstone publishing. All opinions are my own.

This was such an unexpected surprise. It takes a minute to get going, but once Mel is actually on the scavenger hunt, this book takes so many twists and turns and felt like a real adventure. I think the way Holford embedded songwriting into the story was much cleaner and integral than other song-based books have done in the past. We also love sapphic representation in a YA read. Romance is not the primary driving force of this novel, but this is one of the better coming of age stories that I've read recently.

This was a cute and fun book. It wasn't my favorite but i had a good time reading it. I gave this a 3 star rating. Thank you for the opportunity!

4/5 stars
"go show the world your galaxy."

a lovely debut that has mama mia vibes, is queer and read quite quickly.
the writing is beautiful and it was very lyric-like. I am not a person to read every song text that was written in the book, but the ones I did end up reading were lovely.

I liked the little search that Mia had to do, to learn more about her mother, who sadly passed away when she was younger. through the search, Mia got to know herself more and started to make choices that we more for her and her happiness. the romance wasn't that memorable, to be honest, but it was cute and added something small to the story.

this was the perfect book to read when I was stuck on a plane ride for 9 hours. quick, easy to follow and fun to read.

<i>Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review

The Last Love Song is giving Mamma Mia! meets Taylor Swift, but make it queer and way more emotional. Mia’s post-grad summer isn’t about chilling—it’s about unraveling family secrets, deciding if she’s ready to ditch her small-town life, and figuring out her feels for her kinda-sorta girlfriend, Britt.

It’s like a Taylor Swift album but in book form: packed with hidden clues, emotional highs, and all the drama. Perfect for anyone who’s ready to decode life and love.

I will always be a huge supporter of queer romance and this was no exception!

The balance of the dual POV kept things interesting and provided insight into the perspectives of two very different girls falling in love. I loved Mia;'s anxiety rep. As someone with anxiety, I felt it was done really well! It felt realistic and grounded.

The inclusion of the diary entries was a lively mixed media moment that brought back a nostalgic feeling for me like reading Dork Diaries. It gave a lot in insight into her character and a peek into her mindset as she rose to fame.

Overall, this was an absolutely fantastic debut! There was an inherent addictive quality to the story that is hard to describe. I definitely recommend it!