Review: The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

Synopsis (Goodreads):

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…

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?

My Review:

“Our eyes met. In that instance—the length of a heartbeat—a lifetime passed between us. An understanding that he and I were inevitable. Fated. The boy with diabetes and the girl who was going to be a doctor. The girl with the romantic heart and the boy who wrote love songs.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

This review is pretty long but it’s worth it so please bear with me. The Girl in the Love Song is the first book in Emma Scott’s The Lost Boys trilogy which is a series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones. This is literally my favorite book ever. The main characters are Miller and Violet; Miller’s a musician, it’s the one thing he’s always had since he was a kid and he’s amazing and full of potential (Also, 2 songs that are really relevant and written by Miller in the book are real songs that Emma Scott wrote for this book and they are hands-down 2 of my favorite songs so check them out, I’ll post a link to them below) but doesn’t get noticed until he’s older while Violet is a rich girl living in a huge mansion where unfortunately her family is completely broken.

“He was mine. He’d always been mine since the day we met and maybe even before that.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

Violet and Miller meet when they’re 13 years old. I absolutely loved their first scene together, Violet’s the one girl who always abides by the rules and yet when she’s sitting alone on her birthday while her parents fight, she breaks the rules for the first time and brings Miller in. Their friendship starts from there although Miller doesn’t tell Violet about his home life because he fears she’ll “look at him differently”. I have to say, Emma Scott is a phenomenal writer because you could feel like you’re actually with Miller and Vi in pretty much every scene. You could see how after everything Miller went through, he closed himself off from people and yet when he meets Vi, all that comes down and her good heart makes him open his own heart to her and they form a beautiful friendship. He lets her care for him and she does.

“Since Mom and I were left to fend for ourselves, I’d pulled my hate for my dad around me like a suit of armor, building strength out of the helplessness and fear. I’d promised myself I would always be the one who left before anyone could leave me. Always. But watching Violet drive away, I didn’t feel strong. Watching her go was like waking up from a dream that fades away before you can catch it. You’re running out of chances to make things right.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

Both Miller and Vi have been through things that impacted them drastically. Vi’s parents fight all the time which makes her believe, since she was 13, that love always inevitably turns into hate which is what causes her to deny her feelings for Miller and always keep him a length away despite their friendship. Miller on the other hand has a lasting fear that anything can be taken away at any time because his father left him and his mom and took everything with him which caused him to be homeless, poor and barely get by and for a while, he even had to live out of a car.

“I’ve spent years doing exactly what he accused me of, holding him at arm’s length for the sheer, simple fact I love him too much. I love him so much my heart feels like it’ll burst. I love him so much I’d rather keep him in my life as a friend than ruin us. I know that sounds crazy, but good and precious things like Miller Stratton only come along once in a lifetime. To have him and lose him…? I can’t even write it. It nearly happened four years ago, and that night scarred me for life. But he kissed me and now everything’s different. I feel different. And angry. He shouldn’t have done it. But he did, and now, I can’t go back. And the worst part is, I don’t want to.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

An important aspect of the book which I think Emma dealt very well with was the fact that we find out Miller had Type 1 diabetes at the age of 13. This is also where Vi starts taking care of Miller because she wants to be a doctor and also the part where Vi and Miller know they love each other but nothing happens due to both of their fears. The book dealt with Miller’s diabetes so well and we get a glimpse into what the daily life must be like for people who might have a condition like that. The highs, the lows, controlling what you do and what to eat, waking up in the middle of the night because you need to get an insulin.

“But Holden seemed perfectly happy with Miller and Ronan. That morning, the three were watching the performance, talking and laughing. An odd trio: a grungy musician, a tattooed bad boy, and a billionaire genius who dressed like he was walking the winter runways in Milan every day. None of whom gave a crap what anyone thought of them.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

I’ve already said I loved every aspect of this book but I’ll say it again, I also loved most of the supporting characters. Ronan, Holden, Shiloh and River too, to be honest. I can’t wait for Ronan’s book to come out and I loved Holden’s book but that’s a story for another time. They were great supporting characters and I loved how they were always there for each other. Ronan, Holden and Miller had an amazing friendship when they were the most unlikely group and The Lost Boys. Miller, the sick kid and grungy musician, Ronan, your typical image of a bad boy and Holden, the billionaire who could be friends with anyone and everyone expected him to want back into the “popular” group and yet they were so happy with each other and always had each others back.

“Part of me felt like the universe was playing a tremendous prank on me, dumping riches in my lap while taking away my greatest treasure.”

“Miller,” she said brokenly, her hand in my hair, our foreheads pressed together. “It feels like the other half of my heart is being ripped away.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

I think to be honest the book was really realistic and although Miller and Vi both made some choices that made me want to strangle them, it’s what I think someone might’ve done in real life because we all makes mistakes and things we regret doing but sometimes can’t take back. I was glad though that like most love stories, Miller and Vi didn’t get together only right at the end because that’s what most books do, make characters go through a world of drama and betrayal and god knows what else and then get them together with I-love-yous in the end (but then again, that isn’t Emma’s style), nope this book was more a journey through their lives even after they knew they loved each other because let’s be honest, real life isn’t that perfect. It’s just life and circumstances and everything else.

“For years, I’d been singing to her since we were kids, cherishing her with every breath I took. When I finally had her, we’d been torn apart, leaving me wanting her from across so many miles and continents. My heart had pined and ached and loved. And now she was here for good, and my heart and soul could finally relax.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

Another thing that made me cry, at this point that was like everything, was how Miller was so determined to give back to the community. The homeless shelter and the fund for kids like him. And how all he wanted and exerted himself for was the fact that he wanted to take care of his mom and Vi. Every time he said that to Vi, I was a puddle on the floor. And he did take care of them and deserved everything and so much more.

“I wanted that. I wanted to be the girl in the love song. I thought if I stuck around long enough, if I were there for him, I would be. That was my goal, and I never lose.” “Jesus, Evelyn.” “But I did lose. Hard. No, that’s not true. To lose would mean he’d been playing the game, and he wasn’t.” She turned to face me. “There’s no one else in his universe but you. Not me or a thousand other screaming girls could ever change that. God knows, I’ve seen women try and fail to get his attention, but he looks right through them.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

The story takes us not only through meeting Miller and Vi at the age of 13 but all through high school and even after because that’s life and circumstances sometimes take us away from the people we love so much. I didn’t get why the title of the book was so relevant at first (because I’m slow and stupid that way) but it makes perfect sense because we’ve seen so many times how every girl wanted to be the girl in the love song, the one guys wrote beautiful songs for like Miller did for Vi. I can hands down say that I cried over this book more than I’ve cried over any book, and I’m a habitual book-crier, not because it was sad though necessarily but because it was that beautiful. I swear, for a week or more after I read this book, I thought about it so often and every time I thought about it, I cried. That’s how in love with I am, with this book.

“He is talking to you. Every night. This was two nights ago. Right before he collapsed.” A video played, taken from someone just offstage. Miller sat on a stool alone in the center of the stage, a single light bathing him. He played his “acoustic guitar solo and sang a song I’d never heard before. “Wait for Me,” a thrumming song of desperation, his rich voice calling out into the dark void of the crowd, over and over again. He was saturated with emotion and longing in a way that only came out in his music. Every word sank into my heart. “That’s for you,” Evelyn said quietly. “There is no one else.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

The epilogue by the way, won’t spoil it but, was AMAZING. I was so happy at that point, it’s unreal. I cried then too, because of course I did. Miller and Vi’s love story was perfect. Their journey wasn’t and they went through so many obstacles and stupid decisions and basically, life but it was perfect because it was them and they loved each other and Vi always took care of him, waking up in the middle of the night because of his diabetes and everything, it was all adorable.

“For you, Violet. You are the reason this happened for me.” I shook my head. “It was Evelyn. Her vlog—” “No,” he said fiercely, holding my face in his hands. “You believed in me first. You didn’t wait for a thousand views or a hundred comments. You’ve known who I was from the beginning. You accepted me, dirt poor and stinking of the station wagon.” He moved in closer, his gaze boring intently into mine. “I’m going to make this album, and every song is going to be for you. Every one.”

The Girl in the Love Song by Emma Scott

The book has hope, love, friendship, happiness, anguish and so much more and you’ll smile, cry, laugh, want to chuck the book at a wall because something upset you or someone made a stupid decision which is what I did when Vi made a stupid decision. What you don’t do though, is regret reading this book. Like, ever. It is that good. I swear I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve re-read this book 4 and a half times by now because every time I finish I want to go back to some scenes of something and I end up reading the whole thing again.

Ever since I read this, I’ve been begging people I know to read it because I absolutely loved it, as I’m sure you can tell, and want more, SO MUCH MORE. I keep hoping Emma would bring out another Miller and Vi book just for the sake of it because I need more🥺 Anyway so, you should definitely read this but you should also read When You Come Back To Me (Holden’s book) and The Last Piece of His Heart (Ronan’s Book) which hasn’t released yet after you read this. It is so worth it.

My rating: I’d rate it infinity if I could but since I can’t, it gets a total 5/5. This book has ruined all other love stories for me. I’ll want everyone to be Vi and Miller now.

Original “The Girl in the Love Song” songs written by Emma:

Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/album/5myOO3Nayo8AwTSoFfgthx

Apple Music- https://music.apple.com/au/album/the-girl-in-the-love-song-single/id1515828918