‘The love song began its life, not with a fanfare or a crash of cymbals, but instead with a knock at a door.’

A love song is written, is lost, is rediscovered. It crosses lives and continents, and it brings people together.
In Australia, Arie Johnson waits for classical pianist Diana Clare to return from a world tour. He’s hoping that after seven years together, Diana will finally agree to marry him. While she’s travelling, Diana starts composing a song for him. One night, Diana’s song is overheard and begins its own journey.

Evie Greenlees, drifting in Scotland, hears a love song. As one journey ends for her and she returns to Australia, another journey is about to begin.

Music, in any of its varied forms, is important to most of us. There are songs (or pieces of music) which define various stages of our lives, bring back happy memories, or signal major events. Music is special. And so is this novel.

Diana does not complete her love song. Someone else does, and its journey continues. Eventually it will find its way to Arie. The journey of the song, told by way of a series of interludes, is a delightful story of serendipity. The journey of the people involved is heart-warming (although once or twice I did want to shake a couple of them).

This is Ms Darke’s second novel, and I enjoyed it every bit as much as her first: ‘Star-Crossed’.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Random House (UK), Transworld Publishers for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

In lockdown, I sought elegant romantic fluff and in "The Lost Love Song," by Tasmanian author Minnie Darke, I stumbled on just what I needed. The novel's plot conceit is revealed in its title: a famous pianist composes a love song that then begins a life independent of her, across oceans and cultures and times. If that sounds twee, the author transcends the genre through strong writing with a robust authorial voice, through a revolving set of vibrant characters, and through a plot that might seem destined for a romantic climax but twists and turns. This is delectable writing to be devoured in one lockdown-conquering sitting.

Arie and Diana fall in love and Diana writes a love song but it is lost before she can give it to Arie. In the interludes other characters come across the love song and all different aspects of love are explored. Finally Arie is able to rediscover love too. There are some lovely poems in this book too. A lovely way of reading about love and loss. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

An utterly delightful read. The Lost Love Song is one of those rare novels that manages to be light and dark at the same time. Easy to read yet covering the deep stuff of life - grief, loss and the healing power of art, especially music.

I absolutely loved it. It's beautifully written, clever and deeply evocative and moving. Highly recommended if you're stuck inside right now (aren't we all) and need a wonderful book to lose yourself in.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

I am so grateful to have been able to read this book from #netgalley. It such a beautiful fulfilling novel and for me close to the best of the year so far. The book is filled with music and love, all kinds of love. It is also about coping with loss and how different people cope with it in different ways. In many ways it is a joyful book with richly drawn wonderful characters. It is a joy to read. I would recommend this highly. Well done Minnie Darke.

Thank you Random House UK and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

This was a wonderful story and my second book by the author. It revolves around grief and second chances but Drake's portray of these imperfect characters and the witty dialogues gave made it stand out. I finished it in one go and was left with a beautiful story that definitely left its mark. It's totally for the fans of JoJo Moyes and Marian Keyes. If you loved story by these authors than you will love Minnie Drake's 'The last Love Song'. It was definitely better than 'Starcrossed' and absolutely worth a read.
Thank you and happy reading!

“For Diana, Arie had learned, music was an all-purpose medication. She used rousing music to stir herself to action, maudlin music to soothe herself in distress, violent music if she needed to vent, and bittersweet music if she felt like crying.”

The Lost Love Song is the second novel by Australian author, Minnie Darke (aka Danielle Wood). Celebrated pianist Diana Clare had composed the song for her lover, Arie Johnson. They had been together for seven amazing years, and it was going to be her way of telling him what he so wanted to hear. But soon after the composing was completed, that song, the one Arie had heard her tinkering with before she departed on tour, was lost. Diana couldn’t bring Arie her beautiful gift.

But the song wasn’t altogether lost. It took a long journey, was overheard, inspiring action and further creation. Bene Romero heard it, was fascinated and took it home; flautist Beatrix Romero played it with her lover; it made Evie Greenlees understand she deserved more; it helped distant brothers connect; it motivated a fiddler to a long-overdue proposal; it moved a jaded DJ to tears; a crusty old banjo player felt closer to his dear departed wife hearing it. Would it one day find Arie?

The path that Diana’s love song follows, through different players and diverse instruments and multiple iterations, is easily believable: described by a certain banjo player as “jumping around from ear to ear and heart to heart, which is how all the best songs make their way across the world.” Its effects might have the reader wishing they, too, could listen to it.

It’s easy to fall in love with Darke’s characters, who are by no means perfect but are definitely the sort of people you want to know. Their dialogue is natural: at times clever and amusing, often wise. The challenges these people face are from every-day life and how they deal with them is completely credible. Darke portrays grief, and reactions of others to those grieving, exceptionally well. A warm and wonderful story, beautifully told.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by