The writing style of this book was so easy to sink your teeth into early on, and I wish the timeline of the book felt the same way. For such a short book that only spans over one week I found that the story felt it was going on for far longer than that. The lyrics written in the book should actually be made into real songs because they were simply stunning. Very impressed in the book regardless for a debut novel and can't wait to hear more from Katie Holford and her stunning writing style.

3,5 ⭐

What a cute debut 🥹

I know I say this a lot, but I really mean it this time. This book went beyond a romance book. This book was about self-discovery, discovering roots, and family.
The author introduces us to Mia, who always wanted to know what happened to her mum, a country star who eventually passed away. She always wanted to know who her father was. She lives with her two grandmothers and on the day she graduates from school, she discovers a little challenge that her mum left her. It's here that she discovers the truth about her parents. The truth about herself.
Of course, we also have romance. Our Mia is in love with Britt and they are just cute and wonderful 🫶🏼
This book ensures that the author's next books will be just as good!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing this copy 🩷

I really love stories with complicated mother + daughter relationships and music — so reading this was a no-brainer! This absolutely delivered the drama, heartfelt twists, and realistic characters that I was hoping for.

Mia lost her mother at a young age, her mother a famous county singer. Now that Mia is 18 her mother left a scavenger hunt to learn about who she was. Mia with her best-friend Britt follow the hunt to learn the mark her mother left on her hometown, and meets the people that influenced her.
Mia has to decide what path she wants to take! And follow her dream and heart.

I ended up giving this a solid 3 stars, though it was a bit of a mixed bag. The concept had a lot of potential—Mia searching for clues about her mother, Tori Rose, through a scavenger hunt-style journey was an engaging idea, and I loved the idea of Mia reconnecting with her past while navigating her present feelings, particularly toward Britt.

However, there were a few things that didn’t quite make sense. For one, I couldn't wrap my head around how Mia knew practically nothing about her mom, who was a famous country music star. Like, not even how she passed away? And her grandmothers not saying anything for 18 years? I mean, that just felt a bit too far-fetched for me. I also struggled to believe that no one else ever stumbled upon any of Tori’s journal entries or clues, especially since some of them seemed pretty obvious. These moments took me out of the story a bit.

Despite that, there were parts of the book that really connected with me emotionally. Mia's journey was heartfelt, and I could feel her frustration as she tried to make sense of her identity and her future. I also liked the chemistry between Mia and Britt, though I do wish the emotional payoff had been a bit stronger given the build-up.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read with a fun concept and a relatable main character. It didn’t quite have the depth I was hoping for, but if you're into light, emotional YA books with a dash of mystery and romance, it might be worth checking out.

Struggled to get into this one but I think revisiting it at a later time might change my mind. Recommend for YA lovers

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙔𝙤𝙪 for my complimentary copy!.

This book was pretty cute. I love ya romance books and this one one right in to what I like. I loved the friends to lovers / first love story, and the fun vibes.

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮:
• clues / scavenger hunt
• coming of age
• ya sapphic romance
• friend to lovers
• dual timelines
• multiple POVs

Hailed as "A queer YA Mamma Mia!" Say less! I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Love Song by Kalie Holford.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

it took me a long time to get through this book. Im not sure why, there was nothing wrong with it. But unfortunately I did struggle reading this which dampened my enjoyment.

This is an incredible debut. I really cared about the characters. I think I read this at a bad time, because i was very frustrated by Mia at times which isn't fair at all. She was a very realistic teenager reacting to things in a very realistic teenage way.

I might reread this in the future, but I will definitely read any future books by the author.

(sorry for the delay, I've been very unwell this year)

I really liked the dual timeline aspect of this novel. The way the past collided with the present to help Mia to be able to “meet” her mother like she never had the chance to before.

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.