Synopsis
At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys…
The Girl in the Love Song, book one in the Lost Boys, an interconnected coming-of-age series of standalones, from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott, is live!
Miller Stratton is a survivor. After a harrowing childhood of poverty, he will do anything it takes to find security for himself and his mom. He’s putting all his hopes and dreams in the fragile frame of his guitar and the beauty he creates with its strings and his soulful voice.
Until Violet.
No one expects to meet the love of their life at age thirteen. But the spunky rich girl steals Miller’s heart and refuses to give it back.
Violet McNamara’s life hasn’t been as simple as it looks. Her picture-perfect family is not so perfect after all. Her best friend Miller is her one constant and she is determined not to ruin their friendship with romantic complications.
But the heart wants what it wants. As Miller’s star begins to rise to stratospheric heights, what will it take for Violet to realize that she’s the girl in all of his love songs?
The Girl in the Love Song features two original songs written by Emma herself.
Review
4,5 cute and swoon stars
“The urge to protect one’s heart is the strongest urge of all. But it’s also impossible if you want to live a rich, full life.”
The Girl in the Love Song is the first book of a series of interconnected standalones where Emma focuses on the youth of her characters before allowing us to see their growth.
I confess that after having read this, I literally can’t wait for Holden’s story! But I digress.
Violet and Miller is a bittersweet coming of age story. Uber cute, romantic sometimes sad and a little bit angsty. You will fall hard for these two young people, so adorable and worthy! Serious topics paint the background of their tale but I won’t speak about them here as I don’t want to spoil your fun!
Violet and Miller meet when they are 13 and that’s literally my favorite part in this story with the epilogue and some scenes at the fisher shack.
That first meet was just perfect in its tone, in their interaction, in everything! I SWOONED! In just a few sentences, Emma made us see Miller, poor, desperate and a little bit wild, whereas Violet was rich, outspoken, caring but also living a very sad moment of her life. I could BE with them, see how Violet’s good heart made Miller open up. How Vi saw that he was famished and used her birthday cake as a pretext to feed him, to care for him. How Miller was so lost that he wanted to share his burden with someone. He just needed someone to listen to him, to care for him, to offer him shelter. Even with his pride, he opened up to Vi and truly welcomed her friendship.
Both were lost and sad because of their parents. Violet because they began to fight all the time.
“They used to love each other and now they hate each other. I feel like I was in a simulation of the perfect family, but there’s a glitch in the programming.”
Miller because his dad left him and his mom, plunging both in the depth of a poverty so big that his mom had to work two jobs and sell her body to have them fed.
When he meets Vi, he was living in a car in the woods as they had no money for an apartment.
Vi has been so traumatized by her parents that she believes love inevitably turns to hate. She is determined to keep Miller in the friend zone for fear of losing him.
From that beginning, we will follow their journey to adulthood while their love blossoms but Violet does her best to ignore it event at the risk of losing Miller to another.
Miller also had very serious “problems” that he struggled with throughout the whole book. Again I won’t go into details but Emma did an amazing job (and probably lots of research) writing about that topic. It added a tension to the book that never left.
I confess that at one point, Emma made a choice that I hate in love stories and created added angst that had me furious with her. Lucky for me, she did not prolong my suffering and the story was back on a track more to my liking. Pfew!
This is the first book in a series of standalones centering around “The Lost Boys”. Said boys are Miller, Holden and Ronan.
When they meet, they are totally different except that they don’t fit in the crowd. They all hide wounds and this will bond them, creating a deep friendship. I loved reading about all of them. The way they bonded, that scene where they will find peace together was magical!
In fact, Emma spoiled us as we not only have a romance but we also have friendships and amazing, wounded, touching characters that I know will love reading more about!
And that epilogue was also simply perfect! I cried reading it.
You have love, pain, friendship, hope, despair ….this is the book of life! You will swoon, sigh, cry, smile, despair, rage and want to protect these exceptional characters. Now I need more Emma!
Download today or read for free in Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UdV79C
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TheGirlintheLoveSongES
Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2MLnYhU
About Emma:
Emma Scott is an internationally bestselling author whose books have been featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and heroes with a heart of gold, you will enjoy her novels.
Connect with Emma: Amazon author link: https://amzn.to/2yUnFKJ
Webpage: emmascottwrites.com
Facebook: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottFB
Reader group: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottEntourage
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottBB
Instagram: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottIG
Twitter: http://bit.ly/EmmaScottTW
Stay up to date with Emma by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2nTGLf6
I adore books that focus on childhood sweethearts and/or friends to lovers and I have no doubt that Emma does it well (like she does everything else!).
I know!!! LOL
I love that there’s friendship and serious topics in the background! Definitely sounds like a good one! Great review, Sophie! 🙂
Thank you Lashaan!
Fab review!
Thank you!!
I love books built around friendship, and I love the sound of this one. I always read Scott, when I am in the mood to shed some tears.
It’s a very good YA/NA Sam!
I like the cover!