Perfectly structured romance where everything aligns just right for the HEA. I love that about this celeb normie second chance romance. Definite comfort type read.

Thank you to Ylva Publishing and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

DNF. I thought the book was fine, but it did not captivate my interest so I did not continue to read it. Thank you.

I’m a sucker for both small town and celebrity/singer stories, and this novel nailed both of them.

Told through a dual-perspective and dual-timeline narrative, we jump back and forth between the two lead characters - Bridget, a pop star, and Alex, who owns several establishments in their hometown - and watch them reunite several years after breaking up, while simultaneously watching them break up through glimpses into the past.

At times, I wanted to scream at both lead characters for being oblivious, but a fun cast of supporting characters were there to help them see the light.

I’d recommend this book to anyone looking to get swept away with high levels of emotion - grief, angst, and joy.

I asked for a copy of this book not realizing I had read it before. It was originally published in June 2019 and I read it from my local library in Feb 2021. I’m updating my review from the few lines I wrote at the time. And I did reread it as it had been a while.

Pop star Bridget Callahan returns home to Philadelphia after a broken engagement. She has been gone for five years. She runs into Alex Marlow who runs a local bar. They grew up together and Alex was her first love. They were together until she left town to focus on her career. Alex was stuck in place after losing her father. And Bridget is surprised to learn that her mom and family have continued to be close to Alex.

This is told jumping back and forth from present to the past. I’ve seen this done in other books including the one I read right after this one. For some reason it feels a little choppy here, like some of the sections were just a brief interruption to the storyline. When this works well it should leave the reader waiting with anticipation for that part of the story to continue.

I liked the story but didn’t always connect emotionally. And I was happy with where the story ends. (3.5 Stars)

I'm a fan of unusual narrative structures, so this dual timeline / dual viewpoint book was enticing. But structure isn't enough, the characters and the story have to work. This does.

Bridget is coming back to her hometown for a break from her very successful music career. But Alex is still there, and the two of them broke up five years ago, with lots of unresolved feelings. The story alternates between "now" and five years ago "then", with the past story moving forwards to the breakup and the current story resolving broken bits, slowly and not always on the first try. Both the hurt and the desire to somehow get through it feel very real.

Either Ylva Publishing is being very selective or they are excellent at developing authors. Maybe both. Whatever, every book from them has been excellent.

Ylva Publishing was kind enough to provide me with an advanced reading copy via Netgalley for an honest review.

This was a cute quick read, nothing too crazy but it was a really well-written second-chance romance. Second-chance romances can be a bit hit or miss since the cause of the break-up is usually something super dumb, but this one felt extremely realistic. Two young people who loved each other a lot, but had dreams pulling them in different directions and the additional complication of grief.

The way they reconnected felt super natural and made you root for them to give it another go. I had no major complaints though I did expect there to be more to the plot with her called off engagement, because it was pretty glossed over.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ylva Publishing for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I kept having déjà vu when I read through this book, it felt erringly similar to another book I had read and loved <The art of us>, from the second chance romance, to how they have met and felt in love when they were both baby gay, to the struggle of how they tried to navigate the young adult working life post college, barely scrapping by and felt weight down by the harsh realities, to the reason that the distance and proximities nailed the final coffin of their relationship, even one of main character have the same name-Alex, so you can imagine how I kept comparing the similarities and differences between the two book.

I won't go into details but I do have some trouble connect with Alex's personalities, it's fine for introspection and needing to process it through in her own headspace first but communications is a must when trying to maintain a healthy relationships and if she can't improve it I fear the second time won't be a HEA ending either, she could probably work it best with a therapist.

All in all, I am happy to conclude this book held very close to the standard <The art of us> had, only few issues irked me but beyond that it was a enjoyable if a little emotional read, though it's often expected when reading second chance romance, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn this is a debut by the author.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

Bridget Callahan was going home... she had spent 5 years away establishing her career but she needed a break, she also had demons to lay....

Alex Marlow had spent the last five years trying to get over her broken heart....she knew bridget was coming home she just didnt know how to deal with it...

as alex and bridget tried to manoeuvre around their feeling and their past....it was never going to be easy especially as bridget life was so much in the spot light

if only bridget could get alex to see they had a future together.... but they would have to work past their past....

a nice quick read... kept me entertained right to the end

Having read Clarkes later book I found Always a Love Song wasn’t quite as fluid or the characters as well developed. Yes it was a nice enough story, however Clarke has certainly improved since this one. It was an entertaining story.

This is a second chance/ coming home novel.
Each chapter begins with the “then” timeline, this timeline is mostly short and left me questioning a lot.
The “now” timeline kinda spoils the “then” line for me, I guess I would have made Forrest storytelling choices.

One of our mains is holding so much anger, grief, pain and a whole bunch of other negative emotions I find it difficult when she changes her mind from one day to the next. Also, pretty unbelievable within the rest of the story.
Our other main is some kind of popstar. How this character isn’t hounded by press and fans is baffling to me. And her persistence/ determination to preserve to get what she wants is simultaneously admirable and annoying.


For me this book felt a little forced and a bit repetitive. I would have made other storytelling choices, for instance not spoiling what happens in the then timeline in the now timeline.

This book is about the second chances of Bridget and Alex. They were together during college and broke up all the usual hurt feelings and resentment still simmering away five years later when Bridget rolls back into town now a popular singer after a break up they meet again.
Alex her ex from college is attempting to get on with her life however still holding on to the hurt.
Its a journey about people growing up realizing their is two sides to the split that they endured. A sweet story. Thankyou for the advanced copy.

Alex and Bridget were in love, but now years later Bridget is a music star and Alex is still in their hometown running a bar. But after a very public breakup Bridget is coming home to try to fix things with Alex.

Nitpick: I really do not like the alternating chapters with flashbacks and modern day. It hurts the flow of each part of the story and messes with the reader following each plot line.

Also, it's annoying not knowing how things got messed up between the heroines.

Finished, was decent. Once I knew the backstory, I was still scratching my head at several interactions.

3 out of 5, it's okay, no huge errors but....

Charley Clarke’s *Always a Love Song* beautifully explores the themes of music, forgiveness, and the transformative power of second chances. The story follows pop star Bridget Callahan, who returns to her hometown after a public breakup to focus on her music and confront her unresolved feelings for Alex Marlow, the woman she left behind. Clarke masterfully captures the emotional depth of Bridget’s journey as she grapples with her past decisions and the lingering impact they’ve had on her and Alex’s lives.

As Bridget and Alex reconnect, old wounds are reopened and long-buried emotions come to the forefront. Clarke's portrayal of their rekindled relationship is both tender and raw, showcasing their struggle to reconcile their past mistakes with their current desires. *Always a Love Song* is a heartfelt romance that weaves together the healing power of music and the courage required to face one's past. It’s a moving testament to the idea that, despite the passage of time, love has the power to heal and offer new beginnings.

I enjoyed reading this book, but it did get a little too angsty for me. It felt like Alex kept saying the same thing internally after every meeting she had with Bridget, so it felt repetitive and unnecessarily angsty at times. I was expecting more growth as they kept spending time together, but even right up until the end, Alex kept saying the same thing over and over again. The flashback to the past were also nice, but I think there could have been less or they could have been combined into bigger chapters. Their breakup, for example, felt a little drawn out in the past.

I also found it a bit unrealistic that Bridget is this big pop star and she posts on social media where she is, but not one fan encounter? Only from the small town and they all are well behaved?

I'd realistically give it 3.5 stars, but i'll give it 4 stars because I enjoyed the writing and it was a shorter book. Still would have liked to see more character development.

This wonderful second chance romance jumps between the past and the present in the story, but in a very pleasant way.
The sections fit together very nicely and none of the jumps into the past disturbed or hindered the events of the present!
I love second chance romances and was absolutely thrilled after just five or six sentences.
It goes straight into the story of Bridget and Alex at a point in life that makes it clear that neither of them are happy with the way their lives have developed without each other.
Bridget, portrayed as the "guilty" one, is actually a really sweet and very loving character and it quickly becomes clear that it was more than just simply leaving the love of her life.
Pain, depression, fear of the future, loss and mistakes from the past and youth, play an immense role in how everything came about.
The attraction is still there and so is the anger and rage in Alex. She left her and that’s something she tried to forget for five years now! Not very successful with all the music und the songs of the famous Bridget Callahan!
Will Bridget manage to find a way through the anger and fear that still rages in Alex and back to her heart, after five years?
Thanks to Ylva Publishing and NetGalley for this beautiful love story!

Amazing first love story
I wasn't into this story right away. Near the beginning of the book there was a scene containing many characters, their relationships to one another unclear, that had me confused and wondering why they had to all be introduced at that moment and in this way; it's a personal preference I suppose but that mass entrance of characters took me out of the story and left me hoping it wasn't going to set a trend for the rest of the book. Past that point though I was hooked and emotionally invested if the sniffles and tears generated while reading were any indication.
The story alternates between past and present so the story of Alex and Bridget, their friends and families unfolds slowly, gradually and is so beautifully written that before even finishing the book I was wanting to read more by this author. Always a Love Song accurately captures first love and breakup with all the mistakes made, unrealistic expectations, insecurities, what ifs that linger for days or decades after the relationship ends; how life goes on or stagnates, how people change or remain the same in certain respects and not others, how to know what you want and ask for it. Secondary characters are all supportive of Alex and Bridget's relationship in the past and offer up their biased advise (for better or worse) in the present. The story is realistic in the way Alex and Bridget's relationship shifts and meanders in the past and present when Bridget returns to town after a long absence, and the past threatens to overshadow the present and possible future for both of them.
If you want to read a wrenching and hopeful story about love and second chances, moving beyond the chains of the past, this is the book to read. It will pull you in so have tissues handy. This story will get under your skin and pull you in deep, then keep you there until the end, maybe even have you taking sides. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.