A review by crystalleighwrites
The Last Love Song by Kalie Holford

4.25

THE LAST LOVE SONG kicks into gear quickly and moves through its ~230 pages at an equal pace. The story follows Mia Peters as she graduates from high school and struggles to figure out what her next step in life is. Helping her on her journey is a scavenger hunt set up for her by her mother, a country singer who died tragically when Mia was only a year old. Through her life, she's struggled with her identity as they daughter of her small town's most famous resident, especially since no one, including her grandmothers, can bring themselves to talk about her mother with her. During her journey to learn more about her mother (and her own past) she carves out a path for her own future. 

This story punched me in the feelings in a big way. Debut writer Kalie Holford gets the emotions -- of abandonment, yearning, that summer after graduation when everything feels that it's changing -- all so right and so truthful that you can't help but be brought along the journey with Mia. A standout element of the writing is the song lyrics; it's incredibly difficult to write song lyrics for songs that within their universe are smash hits, but these lyrics sing right off the page (pun absolutely intended). 

THE LAST LOVE SONG might be for you if you love: 
- Taylor Swift, Mamma Mia, I KISSED SHARA WHEELER, Almost Famous
- Queer representation all over the place
- Complex mother/daughter dynamics
- Girl bands

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing an advanced review copy. This review is cross posted to other sites. 
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