Release Review: Little Pieces of Light: Emma Scott
Little Pieces of Light
Emma Scott
Release date October 7, 2025
From USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author Emma Scott comes an all-new emotional, angsty coming-of-age love story perfect for fans of Jennifer Hartmann and Laura Nowlin.
At ten years old, they promised each other forever.
But his letters never came. And her heart never healed.
Seven years later, Xander Ford returns to Castle Hill Academy, broken by grief and hiding behind logic, rowing, and the weight of caring for his sick father. He never stopped thinking of Emery Wallace, the kind girl who once saw him when no one else did.
Emery looks perfect on the outside: wealthy, popular, untouchable. But behind the flawless mask is a girl unraveling under her father's ruthless expectations and her mother's drowning grief.
When fate pulls them back together, the connection they shared as kids flares into something undeniable and impossible to ignore. Emery shows Xander that people, like light, can be both shattered and whole. And Xander gives Emery a reason to believe in herself again.
But their love faces obstacles they can't control—family expectations, broken promises, and the cruel truth that not everyone wants them together.
Some loves are once-in-a-lifetime. The question is: can theirs keep them in the light?
Tropes to love:
Second-chance romance
Childhood sweethearts
Sports romance (rowing)
Slow burn
High emotion and angst
Grief and healing
This is a beautiful, heartfelt, emotional, angsty, coming-of-age, college love story about connections, true love, faith, second chances, and found family.
Two ten-year-olds meet and make a connection on each of their worst days that will alter their lives forever. Circumstances take them in different directions, but it seems fate has other plans, and now they’re back in each other‘s orbit.
Emery Wallace is the beautiful, popular, rich, personable girl who, on the surface, has it all. The wealthy family, the popular boyfriend, the clique of popular girlfriends. But she’s living in a cage of her family’s expectations and has no hope of getting out. Her plastic facade hides her big heart and personal pain, and the dreams she is afraid to even hope for.
Xander Ford is the boy from the other side of the tracks. He’s a genius, but has never really had much of a social life, real friends, and has never really fit in. He is often in his head and closed off. But he has protective instincts towards her. And although he is brilliant, he excels in rowing. So he finds himself in the middle of drama with the popular and sporty crowd.
They both have family issues going on and past pain. They both seem to only be able to be vulnerable with each other. And they inspire each other to be more and not to settle. But there are plenty of challenges and issues they are facing, and some could have dire consequences. No matter how hard it gets and how much they try to fight what they have, the connection can’t seem to be broken, and the protectiveness they have for each other doesn’t go away. Their lives have been entangled from the beginning, and they seem to both be destined to be overwhelmed with love and fear and sadness. And they will have to fight throughout: sometimes their own feelings, sometimes against circumstances, to be seen, and often against friends and family. But they also want to fight and inspire each other to follow their dreams and live a fulfilled life. They are the light in each other's lives, but the darkness around them threatens to dim it.
This book was pulling my heartstrings throughout. There is angst and pain. There are situations that made me mad or sad. And there are surprises I did not see coming. It hurt, but was also inspiring, hopeful, and healing. But his book was captivating, and the characters have so much depth. I was totally immersed in their story, and I am glad that it is going to be the start of a new series since there are plenty of side characters whom I am interested in.
Two ten-year-olds meet and make a connection on each of their worst days that will alter their lives forever. Circumstances take them in different directions, but it seems fate has other plans, and now they’re back in each other‘s orbit.
Emery Wallace is the beautiful, popular, rich, personable girl who, on the surface, has it all. The wealthy family, the popular boyfriend, the clique of popular girlfriends. But she’s living in a cage of her family’s expectations and has no hope of getting out. Her plastic facade hides her big heart and personal pain, and the dreams she is afraid to even hope for.
Xander Ford is the boy from the other side of the tracks. He’s a genius, but has never really had much of a social life, real friends, and has never really fit in. He is often in his head and closed off. But he has protective instincts towards her. And although he is brilliant, he excels in rowing. So he finds himself in the middle of drama with the popular and sporty crowd.
They both have family issues going on and past pain. They both seem to only be able to be vulnerable with each other. And they inspire each other to be more and not to settle. But there are plenty of challenges and issues they are facing, and some could have dire consequences. No matter how hard it gets and how much they try to fight what they have, the connection can’t seem to be broken, and the protectiveness they have for each other doesn’t go away. Their lives have been entangled from the beginning, and they seem to both be destined to be overwhelmed with love and fear and sadness. And they will have to fight throughout: sometimes their own feelings, sometimes against circumstances, to be seen, and often against friends and family. But they also want to fight and inspire each other to follow their dreams and live a fulfilled life. They are the light in each other's lives, but the darkness around them threatens to dim it.
This book was pulling my heartstrings throughout. There is angst and pain. There are situations that made me mad or sad. And there are surprises I did not see coming. It hurt, but was also inspiring, hopeful, and healing. But his book was captivating, and the characters have so much depth. I was totally immersed in their story, and I am glad that it is going to be the start of a new series since there are plenty of side characters whom I am interested in.
Emma Scott
Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in six languages and 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 kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels.
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