Deciding what to do with your life is never easy, let along when you’ve just graduated high school and spent the last 18 years in a town dedicated to your long-deceased mother. That’s exactly the case for Mia Peters in Kalie Holford’s debut novel, The Last Love Song. Mia has been raised by her grandmothers for as long as she can remember, ever since her mother, Tori Rose, died shortly after she was born.

Tori Rose was an artist and the biggest thing to ever come to the small town of Sunset Cove. As such, the entire town is an ode to her, filled with tribute montages and initials she herself engraved into the furniture. Mia is an artist in her own right, but given that touring killed her mother, she doesn’t know if it’s right for her to follow her own destiny.

The central conflict of the novel is that Mia’s best friend Britt—who she clearly wants to date and has hooked up with seven times previously—is heading to Music City after graduation. She wants Mia to come with her and join her band, but Mia is terrified. She doesn’t want to hurt her grandmothers the same way her own mother did. Then comes Mia’s quest. Tori Rose left notes to Mia, to be opened after her graduation, and it’s the first time Mia has gotten any information about her mother’s past.

This actual conceit is slightly confusing and is why I only gave this book 4.5 stars instead of 5. While it kept my attention the entire time and I deeply enjoyed reading it, it doesn’t really make sense to me why Mia can’t figure out anything about her mother’s life. Everyone in town knew her, and it sounds like she was decently famous. Still, Mia doesn’t even know how the woman died. It takes some suspension of disbelief to get around this, but the rest of the book makes it well worth it.

Mia is such a fascinating character because while she’s graduating from high school and considering leaving home forever, she still very much longs for her mother and knowledge about her family. It’s nice to see a young adult who thinks of the people she’ll leave behind just as much as the person she could become if she leaves. That’s rare to see in YA but felt more honest to my experience (and perhaps many other readers) than the alternative. Plus, Mia’s grandparents are gay! Getting to read about adult lesbians was so fun and most definitely added to my experience.

For those into tropes, this book checks the Slow Burn and Friends to Lovers boxes, but it’s much more about both Mia and Britt finding themselves than it is them finding each other. By striking that balance, Holford makes the romance feel that much more deserved.

Thank you to Libro.fm for providing me with a free ALC of this book.

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