Holden Parish survived his parents' horrific attempts to make him "the perfect son." After a year's stint in a Swiss sanitarium to recover, he has vowed to never let anything--or anyone--trap him again. Brilliant but broken, he seeks refuge behind alcohol, meaningless sex, and uses his wicked sense of humor to keep people away. He only has to ride out one year in the coastal town of Santa Cruz with his aunt and uncle before he inherits his billions and can make his escape. Disappear.

Falling in love is not in the plans.

River Whitmore. Star quarterback of the Central High football team, Prom King, Mr. Popular, ladies' man. He leads the perfect life...except it's all a lie. His father has River's future in the NFL all planned out, while River's dream is to run the family business in the town that he loves. But his mother's illness is tearing the family apart and River is becoming the glue that holds them together. How can he break his father's heart when it's already shattering?

River's carefully-crafted façade explodes when he meets Holden Parish. A guy who dresses in coats and scarves year-round, drinks expensive vodka, and spends his free time breaking into houses for the fun of it. They're complete opposites. River seeks a quiet life, away from the spotlight. Holden would rather have dental surgery than settle down.

Holden's demons and River's responsibilities threaten to keep them apart, while their undeniable attraction crashes them together again and again, growing into something deep and real no matter how they resist.

Until one terrible night changes everything.

Lost Boys is a new series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott, coming in 2020

I have been anxiously awaiting Holden and River's story since The Girl In The Love Song. And this one takes us back before that book starts, events during it in different points of view, and into the future. My heart will never be the same after going on this journey with Holden and River. These lost and broken boys burrowed themselves so deep in my heart. 

Holden Parish is trapped by his own mind and past trauma. He physically survived, but mentally is damaged, hurting, and has lost the ability to trust or feel. He makes questionable choices and uses poor coping mechanisms. Now he is living with his Aunt and Uncle in Santa Cruz and needs to finish high school to get his inheritance. He is lost, tortured, and scared of attachments. But his new friends, Miller and Ronan, and River decide to attach to him anyway. 

River Whitmore is trapped by family expectations and societal norms. He is scared of disappointing people or being judged. He has been raised to be the golden boy, football star and it is time to win scholarships to college and then the NFL. But it was his dad's dream and he is not sure what his is anymore. There are hard situations going on at home and River is just starting to realize why he has not had any real romantic relationships. 

Holden arriving on the scene is a shock to River's system. Holden seems to be able to see right through him and that adds another layer of fear. But as the two start to spend time together, River starts to realize even more about himself. They cannot seem to resist the pull despite the risk. These two are broken but can temporarily fill the void in the other, however their lives are polar opposites. And they are also both barely holding themselves together. 

A forbidden, secret affair. Internal and external pressure. An impossible situation. Two hearts and bodies that want nothing more than to be together but seem destined to be kept apart. Their personal struggles lock them down and at times cause them to spiral.  

This is an angsty, frustrating, heartbreaking, inspiring, first love, second-chance love story about finding self-worth, acceptance, trust, hope, and healing. It tore me up to see these two young men struggle so much within themselves and with the impossibility of being together. Holden was such a broken boy and was so afraid to dare to hope that he could ever find any kind of true happiness. And River lived under the pressure of such high expectations and responsibilities threatening to crack him. They both are forced to sacrifice so much of themselves. I really just wanted to wrap them both up in a hug, especially Holden. The way the author used cold and heat to parallel his inner turmoil just made it more intense.

I rarely cry in books...I am just not a big crier. But OMG! I swear I teared up  SO MANY TIMES in the last half of this book...from sadness, frustration, emotional overload, and pure happiness.  So many significant moments both big and small, bad and good that hit me in the feels. This book kept me full of tension and totally enthralled. These two touched me so deeply. I felt every emotion to the core. I needed to keep going to find out if they were ever going to truly be okay and what was going to happen.  I had a hard time getting them off my mind when done, and I was not ready to let them go. I am in a book hangover today. 

The Girl In The Love Song was one of my very favorite books of the year and this one is right up there next to it. Five stars are just not enough for it! This brings back Miller, Violet, Ronan, Shiloh, and others from the first book, but can be read as a standalone as the pertinent info is relayed. But I adore that story as well and they layer well together so highly recommend it. I cannot wait for Ronan's book.

PS: This cover is absolute freakin' perfection! That IS Holden! 

Holden Parrish is new in town. Haunted by demons of his parents’ making, he uses alcohol, biting humor, and winter clothes to keep everyone at arm's length and deal with his pain. He only needs to hold out for one year living in Santa Cruz with his aunt and uncle until he comes into his inheritance and can disappear. 

River Whitmore’s career path is planned, but the closer he gets to graduation the more River realizes he wants entirely different things for his life. Homecoming King, star quarterback, all-around good guy, River just wants a quiet life in his hometown in his future, not the NFL-gridlock fame his father has been planning. But his mother’s illness has him fighting to keep his family together, and that includes continuing to pretend that he wants the football dreams as well.

This 2 challenge each other perfectly. River is only now realizing why he has never had a real relationship but also struggles with the idea of disappointing those around him. Holden is only looking to disappear, he doesn’t expect to find anything in Santa Cruz worth sticking around for. A secret affair has them both questioning their plans as they give into the attraction building between them. But there are still forces that will work to keep them apart if they can’t find a way to heal their hurts. 

There is so much pain in this book. Some of it was expected, due to the overlapping storyline with The Girl in the Love Song, but from this perspective the pain is so different. We also get the insight into Holden’s mind, and though he shares with Miller and Ronan a bit of where his demons came from, the constant reminders he lives with are so much starker here. 

I loved the depth of emotion this book made me feel. Though only Holden is officially one of the Lost Boys, both he and River are lost in their own ways. As they do the work to find themselves, they face so many challenges that ripped my heart out. But it is also filled with messages of hope and acceptance (even as the characters struggle to accept themselves. I loved the way this entire story pulls together and pieces that seemed to be single moments come back to find closure later. There are glimpses of Ronan’s story (which is still to come) in the background, and I cannot wait to learn the truth of the final Lost Boy’s story!

Wow. Wow. Wow.

When You Come Back to Me stole my heart. This duo's journey owned every little piece of my being. Holden and River were so authentic, so raw, so tangible, so concrete. Their love story an exquisite, delicate, and torturous exploration. One I would gladly take repeatedly.

With that said, the rating had nothing to do with the characters themselves. Holden and River were 6+ stars. But more to do with the pacing, time apart, and the amount of obstacles and angst thrown at them. Although, I do totally get the reasons behind the separation, it still stung. Also, the obstacles, after a bit, became overkill. It felt like one too many stumbling blocks and not enough "fairy tale" moments. The balance of the romance versus the hardships felt unbalanced.

Then why the 5 stars you ask? Because Holden and River were the whole shebang.

Emma Scott, once again, wrote her ass off. She sucked me in and she held me there through the wee hours of the morning. She made me feel. She made me ugly cry. She made me cray cray with their hot and cold, on and off again relationship. She made me yearn for their happiness. She irked the hell out of me. She made me swoon. She made me so fucking angry. She made me giggle. She made me forget everything else in the world but these two men who were so damn in love with each other it cascaded off the pages.

All of these reasons and many more are why I gave this book 5 stars. They outweighed the few monkey wrenches that otherwise would have left me crabby and unfulfilled.

If you are looking for a read that will make you feel a crazy train of emotions, make you step outside of your comfort zone, I HIGHLY recommend Emma Scott's books.

On the stage, Miller spoke into the mic in a low, almost shy voice. “Hey, my name is

Miller Stratton. I’m going to play a song by Coldplay. It’s called ‘Fix You.’”

I let my gaze slide to Holden, studying the contours of his profile—his chiseled jaw and

cheekbones, strong nose, full lips. He swallowed, and I watched the movement of his Adam’s

apple. Thoroughly masculine. Nothing feminine about it.

“Can I help you?” he whispered, eyes forward.

“It sucks not talking to you,” I said, as Miller strummed the first chords of the song. “I

don’t know why. You’re arrogant as fuck.”

“Fair. You’re a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I snorted. “A what?”

“Shh,” Holden said. “Listen. This is our song.”

Our song. Nothing was ours. There was no us. But Miller sang that if you never try you’ll

never know, and the words pierced me like arrows.

I took my hand out of my pocket and let it hang by my side again. Again, my skin

brushed Holden’s, sending shards of heat dancing up my arm while Miller sang about lights that

ignite your bones.

I looked at Holden and he looked at me.

Without letting myself think, I slipped my fingers around the side of his hand and slid my

palm against his. He gasped slightly—a small intake of breath only I heard in the darkened

auditorium. Then he let his hand settle into mine. Another heartbeat, and our fingers laced

together.

“And I will try,” Miller sang, his rich voice hovering in the air in that silent auditorium.

“To fix you.”

A short silence fell before the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers, unlike anything I’ve

ever heard. Miller’s version of the song was unlike anything I’d ever heard either, as if he were

singing directly to me. To us.

Because it’s our song.

Under the cover of applause, I let go of Holden’s hand and tugged the cuff of his coat.

“Let’s go.”

I left without looking back but heard Holden’s footfalls following. Warning bells clanged

in my head but were drowned in the thrashing beat of my heart that felt as it were trying to break

free of its prison like it had at the pool. Only this time I was stone cold sober. No excuses.

I pushed open the door next to the auditorium—the back area of the band room that was

for instrument storage. Huge basses loomed in dimness, and drums of all sizes and styles lined

the walls.

Holden followed me in and shut the door behind him. “Hello, friend.”

“I put in my college applications,” I said as he approached me in the darkness. “I’m going

away to Texas or maybe Alabama this summer.”

“Establishing the rules, are you?” he drawled, though his voice was thick and tinged with

nerves.

I swallowed hard. “Nothing’s changed. Nothing can change.”

“I told you,” Holden said, in front of me now. “I’ll never ask you for anything. I don’t

have anything to give. Except this.”

I wanted to tell him that wasn’t true, that I was the one who had nothing to offer. I

shouldn’t have led us here. I should walk out, but his goddamn voice, the scent of him, his

presence was overwhelming. My hands itched to touch him, to grab him and

…Kiss him?

My first kiss with a guy. It seemed as if I’d been waiting a lifetime for it and yet the

moment was rushing at me like a speeding train.

“Stop thinking, River,” Holden whispered. “We’re here. Right now.” He leaned in.

“What are you going to do?”

A new YA/NA series of interconnected standalones.

"At Santa Cruz Central High, we called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys."

 

The Girl In The Love Song
(Lost Boys #1)
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Our 6 star reviews

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.

 The Last Piece of His Heart
(Lost Boys #3)

Emma Scott

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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.

 

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