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!

Thankyou to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this book! I fun read, very YA with Mamma Mia vibes. Loved the song lyrics throughout but my only gripe were the characters seemed very immature. I know it was YA but sometime it can just feel too young and I don’t think I was the right audience for this one. All in all a light and easy read that was a solid 3 star for me.

"**The Last Love Song**" by Kalie Holford is a heartfelt and moving novel that masterfully captures the complexities of love and loss. Holford’s emotionally resonant storytelling and well-crafted characters create a deeply engaging and poignant narrative. The book’s exploration of personal growth and romantic relationships is both touching and thought-provoking. Overall, it is a beautifully written and memorable read that leaves a lasting impact.

I just found this book to be boring. It was hard to get through, but I can see why people like like it. It was an easy read but I really didn't love the characters or the plot.

I found this book charming, even as an older reader. The mystery of the hunt and the connection to her mother’s music while trying to make her own way have the story and the MC so much depth. At times it felt a little repetitive but overall a cosy, easy read.

𝟑.𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 .𐦍༘⋆

A solid 3.5 stars. The premise of this book was so intriguing going into it. Unfortunately I feel like it set my expectations way too high.

𐙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙:
The writing in this book is really lovely and I really liked the addition of the lyrics scattered throughout the book. I love the idea of Mia going around her home town to learn more about her mom from her mom’s perspective in these letters. I think I would have liked the story more if the letters cleared up any misconceptions of her. Like if the media used to say one thing about her but her letters explained that that wasn’t who she was. I also really loved how real of a character, Mia felt. She had her own hopes and dreams but didn’t want to have regrets or burn bridges at home and I loved that she still wanted to make her family proud but not knowing what to do in order to make that happen.

𐙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
I’m a bit confused as to how Mia knows next to nothing about her mother even though her mom was a mega star and the entire town loved her. I feel like she would have grown up hearing up nothing but stories of her mom. I feel out of curiosity Mia also would have done a lot of online research especially before the hunt even began, just o know more about her. Idk. I didn’t understand why no one spoke of her dad, clearly she didn’t assume he had passed away so why hide his identity from her?

This book also just felt pretty long in most places, which is why it’s taken me a bit to read. I found myself reading one chapter at a time because it just started getting a bit boring to sit in longer periods to read. I really loved Tori’s chapters and everything that was talked about there.

As much as the hunt was a great way for Mia to get to know her mom in the way that she wanted I feel like it didn’t really have to be a hunt at all. She could have inherited the journal and still go around town to see all the sites but not necessarily in the form of a hunt.

Really loved this book! Such an original concept while still borrowing from familiar stories. Loved!

This was SOOO good. i unfortunately never got to read it until it was out and i wish i did, had i read it before i would have oushed it on my friends before the release. Thank you netgalley for the arc

Let me start by saying this book was a DNF for me. At about 35% in I gave up. So perhaps some of my issues with this book would have been resolved if I had continued, but I just couldn't connect with the characters.

Mia seemed very immature for a recent high school graduate. She breaks up with her boyfriend on the first page and he's never mentioned again.

The writing seemed choppy and disjointed. There were times when a question was asked and it wasn't until 4-5 chapters later that it was answered. At that point, I'd have to go back to figure out what they were even talking about.

The diary/treasure hunt part was weird also. How would her mother have known to create this whole thing and have it ready for Mia's graduation if she didn't know she was dying??? And what's with the grandmothers not telling Mia how her mom died. That is so weird.

Sweet coming of age story! I can tell the author really loves this book and I'm looking forward to seeing more from her in the future.

While reading The Last Love Song, I found myself dragging through the story. There were many parts that felt very slow and forced. The story felt really blocky and I just couldn’t get into it. I found some small parts sweet & enjoyable but unfortunately the bad parts outweighed the good. All of the song lyric parts felt so unnatural, they never flowed as a song actually would. I couldn’t seem to understand why so much was kept from Mia about her mother to the point where she didn’t even know basic things about her life or death. I wish I liked it more but I just couldn’t.