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Young Love #1

The Songs We Sing

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He's older
He's taken
He's off limits
He's my best friend's brother
But when Damon asks me to help him with his songwriting I'm happy to give him a hand.
It might just be what I need to find my passion for music again.
I know he only sees me as his little sister's friend.
But something happens...the music and lyrics connect us
Could we share more than just a song?

Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2019

104 people are currently reading
233 people want to read

About the author

Kylie Key

42 books125 followers

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5 stars
79 (35%)
4 stars
60 (27%)
3 stars
51 (23%)
2 stars
27 (12%)
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4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
Profile Image for Evelyn (Ev’s Novel Delights).
92 reviews24 followers
December 10, 2025
(Clean YA Contemporary Romance)

🎶The Songs We Sing by Kylie Key🎶

Such a fun, short, and cute quick read!! And clean too!
I totally recommend you read if you want a short little read☺️🎶 (around 80 pages long)

[New thing I wanna try to do for my reviews! Comment if yall would like song recs for books that I’ll review]

Song Rec for the book-

💜 One Day by Tate McRae 💜

14+

No spice - non-descriptive kisses (only two in the actual book)
No foul language
No LGBTQ+ content

Other content: some drinking and underage drinking, witnessing people getting drunk

I don’t know if I’ll do a full review for this one but as of right now, no. :)
Profile Image for Genni Piatt.
123 reviews2 followers
February 20, 2019
This is a cute novella about a nerdy girl who likes music and her summer crush. Music brings the two together, but it's a little more complicated when her crush is her best friend's brother. It was a quick read and leaves you wanting to know more about Ella and Damon. I can't wait to see what comes next in The Path We Take!
Profile Image for Brittany Smith.
924 reviews15 followers
February 20, 2019
This novella was a very cute story that reminded me of To All the Boys....

It was a quick read as it was a novella but it also had me hooked from the start. I really look forward to reading more as this just made me happy.

I love the fact that music is the main thing that gets them together. And the awkward comedy is brilliant as I can see my younger self in a few scenarios like Ella!
10.9k reviews125 followers
March 2, 2019
This is the 1st book I've read written Kylie Key; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I will definitely be reading more of her books.

The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.

I loved the chemistry between the characters.

I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Barbara.
19.2k reviews8 followers
March 1, 2019
A good young adult/teen story that is a clean romance that has a good storyline, Ella and Damon come together to write music. Cute story. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
1,164 reviews
March 2, 2019
A sweet, clean romance about Ella and Damon. Entertaining young adult an with great characters. Totally enjoyable!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Leeann.
127 reviews2 followers
February 27, 2019
This was a cute teen romance. Ella is asked by her best friend's brother to help with his songwriting. She's a little bit nerdy and awkward and finds herself crushing on Damon, the hot older brother. Everything about this story was adorable and fun. A quick easy read with likeable characters.
Profile Image for Joyce Black.
1,053 reviews7 followers
April 6, 2019
A charming wee tale of young love: the shyness, the lack of confidence, self-doubts, still learning both intellectually and socially, and youthful angst due to immaturity. In other words, a foreign mass of feelings pulsating through their systems for the first time, with them not understanding what these feelings are nor what is going on with themselves. A good story that was realistic, as were the characters. This novella is part of a series, so, there will be cross-overs of some of the characters from this novella with the next novella in the series. The reader, however, is left not knowing more about whether or not a newly blossomed romance flourishes or withers and dies.

A quick read providing enjoyable, light, entertainment.

I voluntarily received an advance review copy of this novella via Voracious Readers Only and I am leaving an honest and unbiased review. I have no affiliation to this author.
Profile Image for Mary Rose.
73 reviews74 followers
April 1, 2019
I liked this book a lot. It's written first person in a very natural style so I felt caught up in the character's life. There is teen angst and first love, but nothing is over the top - it was refreshing to be immersed in the lives of ordinary people, with little awkward moments and excitement and discovery. I found it uplifting that the family bonds were fairly strong, there were no swear words, there were excellent themes such as not just looking at outward appearances, and the bond of music was very touching. My only dislike was that there was a lot of lying, especially by the heroine. Also the book ended too soon! ;) At least their story is said to continue in the next book, which is from the heroine's friend Domi's perspective. That's going on my TBB list. :D
Profile Image for Audrey Rich.
Author 25 books813 followers
April 16, 2019
Such a Cute Story!

Once I started the story I couldn't put it down and since it's a novella I read it in two sittings.

Loved how they bond over writing music together.

Damon is the guy I would love my daughter to meet and Ella is just a typical teenager with all the doubts and angst about the boy she likes.

Definitely want to read Dominque's story next.
Profile Image for Novera.
126 reviews4 followers
February 22, 2019
I really enjoyed reading a clean wholesome love story. It is a short story but keeps you wanting to read on and on. Just want to know about Damon pov...

"You and me on the piano stool
Making music that's lyrical
Wish we were both
In
vis
ible"
Profile Image for ErinTurnsPages.
610 reviews6 followers
March 8, 2019
I really liked it. It was a quick and sweet read. I don’t understand the rule of not dating your friends brother but have never come across the issue. So I’m not a huge fan of them feeling the need to hide their budding friendship (and more) from Domi. In my opinion any book that melds music into it as a core piece is a winner.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Tina Layner.
397 reviews3 followers
July 4, 2019
I loved the way this book ended. Such a sweet story.
Profile Image for Cath.
950 reviews17 followers
July 7, 2019
This is book one of the Young Love series and is a short novella which introduces you to a group of teens about to go into their final year of high school and their relationships. This novella focuses on Ella and her growing crush on Damon, her best friend Domi’s brother. He is a little older and due to finish high school that summer, but off limits due to him being her besties brother! Ella can play violin and piano and her parents, especially her mother, insist she practice every day, which she resents, especially as the summer is coming.

Damon knows that she can play well and comes to ask her for a favour. He is supposed to be going to college to study IT, but also seems to have a hidden away talent. He has been writing lyrics for songs, but as he can’t play anything other than a guitar nor the ability to read music, he wants to ask her to write the music to his lyrics. She is quite shocked at this, never having expected it from him, having never heard him sing or play. Domi has never said anything either.

When she reads some of his lyrics, she feels his raw emotions coming through in his words. It starts off a resurgence of her own love for music, which had been more of a punishment lately. She writes some of her own lyrics, believing he will never see her as a person of interest to him. Especially not in the girlfriend role. The lyrics they both share and the music she helps him with, starts to form a link between them and they begin to get close. The presence of his on and off girlfriend, makes Ella somewhat jealous and feel lied to.

The usual tale of teen angst occurs as first kiss and first crush are taken too deeply and teen emotions have their first dealings with feelings of love and jealousy. A great, cute little tale of teen romance, in a very clean manner and with tender consideration to emotions. Well told, using modern terms and the use of social media. Loved the song lyrics and the telling of the story with each of their own personal thoughts and insight. I received an ARC copy of this novella from Book Cave and I have freely given my own opinion of the story above.
Profile Image for Britt.
481 reviews44 followers
July 17, 2019
Do you enjoy tooth-rotting fluff? If you enjoy cutesy, high school crush-y type romance, this little novella is definitely for you!

I‘ll be honest, I’m not usually one for cutesy, fluffy romance. I can appreciate a good, cute romance as a subplot, usually, but I’m not the type of person that usually picks up John Green or Nicholas Sparks at the bookstore. However, I think this was a cute, quick little read, and I can definitely see the appeal. The plot is very simple, but very cute and I think it was a fun read!

Aside from the eventual romance, I think I really liked how Damon and Ella’s relationship — though not necessarily romance, at first — evolved gradually as they bonded through song. Though simple, the idea is fun and I appreciate how the theme of music remained consistent throughout the whole read. The entire book kind of gave me a Taylor Swift-esque feel (I was specifically getting vibes from her Debut and Fearless eras), so I definitely think a lot of people who like Swift’s old music and style, or music/songs similar to her first couple albums, might especially connect with this little story.

This book, though mostly light and fun, *does* take a more serious turn involving Damon and his ex-girlfriend that I was not at all expecting, but overall really appreciated. I don’t really see a whole lot of abusive relationships where the girl is the abuser portrayed in fiction (and especially YA), and I really liked how this book kind of explored that more serious subject a little. I do think it could have been wrapped up a little more smoothly, I feel like that whole situation never really concluded properly, but overall I do like the awareness, and I really appreciate how that was used as a subplot.

Overall, I think this was a fun summer read, and I think anyone who enjoys a quick, fluffy romance will definitely enjoy this book!
Profile Image for Brandy Woods Snow.
Author 5 books59 followers
March 13, 2019
If you like sweet, non-overly-sexualized YA romance, then this book is for you! As a piano player myself (and a person who regrets not learning the violin), I really loved the fact that the MC Ella played both. Her love of music and her friend Domi's cute older brother Damon's new-found love of writing deep emotional lyrics combines perfectly for a sweet romance that you really root for. There are times when you're so frustrated with Damon's actions and then you realize that there's something much heavier going on in his life and it all makes sense. I won't include spoilers but the way they finally confess their feelings is just one of those "aw!" moments to make you swoon. On a side note, there is a little mystery surrounding Domi (the friend) and what she's up, too, so tell me if I'm wrong, but I think I'm smelling another book cooking with her :) !! Overall, this was a quick read with quality writing. My only negative critique is that it could have been longer, and honestly that's because I'm a sucker for all the gushy love stories. LOL. Great book!

I received a free ARC of this book through an online forum and am leaving a review.
Profile Image for Lindsy.
698 reviews16 followers
July 5, 2019
This story is a cute and clean YA romance. It's a novella so it doesn't really go in depth with the characters but still deals with tough topics for high school/almost college students.
I love that music brought these two together in more ways than one. I really enjoyed the characters and the chemistry between them. I liked Ella and I was glad that she was relatable in that awkward way people were back in high school. She was confident but still shy and awkward in a way.
This story gets a little complicated though since Ella is crushing on her best friend's brother and they thought they needed to lie to everyone. I understand why Damon wanted to lie and not tell anyone about his free time but I didn't really understand why they thought they needed to lie to everyone about hanging out and them developing a friendship or it turning into more. I liked the song change at the ending but I definitely wanted more. I kinda wish this had ended a little differently then it did but it was an expected ending at the same time.
I'm excited to see what happens in the second one and where Ella and Damon end up!
Profile Image for Abby Olson.
35 reviews
January 4, 2026
3.5 ⭐️
This was only 85 pages, so it’s a novella (I think) so I’m only rating it up to 4 stars.

This was so cute!! I love Ella and Damon and the best friends older brother trope. I’m now obsessed with it. Ngl, when she found Damon and Lauren like that, I was kinda really annoyed. And that kiss was LONG AWAITED. I know this is only 85 pages total, but that kiss felt like it took 800 pages just to get too (in a good way). It happened in the very last two pages of the book. I want more!!

I will say though, that this book did have grammar issues here and there. At the end of a paragraph after someone said something, there was a missing period. I know sometimes authors do that on purpose, but when they do do it on purpose it is clear that they mean to do that. In this case though, it was just the one random time. At another point, there was a word, space, and then a comma, instead of a word, comma, and then space. (Ex. blah ,blah instead of blah, blah.) It just really messed me up when I saw it 🤣.

Other than that, this was a very cute book, and was super easy to read. I really really enjoyed this a lot.
Profile Image for Chicken.
446 reviews6 followers
January 3, 2021
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This story was an incredible one. It was gripping and kept my attention throughout. I loved the involvement of music. The two characters were wonderful. While there were a couple of questions I wish to be answered, I believe they will be in the books ahead. Such as what is Dominique going through or are Ainsley and Trieste really as shallow as they seem.

The story follows Ella. She’s had a crush on her friend’s older brother, Damon, for quite some time. But he’s taken and off-limits according to the girl code. Then he approaches her to help him out in writing music. Turns out he has a secret hobby and wants to create something out of this. Will Ella be able to keep her feelings on hold?

I wrote this voluntary review in exchange for an ARC copy.
Profile Image for Pauline .
558 reviews2 followers
August 26, 2020
Cute short read focussing on a group of friends who are different from each other with their own particular interests. Here Ella, our protagonist,is an accomplished musician whereas Damon , her crush,is just starting out. Music brings them together but there are two major obstacles: Damon 's Ella's best friend's older brother on his way to college and more importantly, he is already in a relationship. Interesting to see what happens. Gives food for thought regarding teen relationships and parenting.
Has the makings of a great series. Will definitely resd the next one.


Profile Image for Will Decker.
Author 23 books17 followers
May 24, 2019
This is the cleanest romance I have ever read. Young love, isn't it sweet? Surprisingly, I was actually entertained by the story. The writing style is clear and easy to read. The characters were developed and extremely believable. The editing could use some work, but nothing serious. Good story. Definitely belongs in the YA genre.
Profile Image for Vicky Ott.
85 reviews
May 19, 2021
I'm not used to reading such tame books, however this story was so sweet and well written that I was hooked immediately. Music is what drawn me to this book and by the end the author had me wanting more even though I knew it was the end. The characters were great and I can't wait to read the next one in this series.
Profile Image for Mesh.
29 reviews1 follower
September 5, 2022
Pretty mid. Read it in maybe 3 hours? The plot was struggling, as was the character development. There wasn't really any chemistry. I know that some people have a thing for short books but this one was entirely too short.
WARNING: There are descriptions of teens drinking and getting drunk, with no obvious or apparent negative consequences.
Profile Image for Jennifer Richey.
1,992 reviews
March 8, 2019
This is a sweet YA romance about Ella and Damon! Really loved the storyline and the characters chemistry looking forward to reading more from this author!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Deanna.
1,084 reviews19 followers
March 13, 2019
A very enjoyable sweet YA read. Covered many different issues that affect teenagers and was very well written. The chemistry between Ella and Damon is quite obvious except they never talk about it, silly teenagers.
I received this as an arc and I am giving my honest review voluntarily
Profile Image for Pat Timberlake-Turk.
26 reviews1 follower
August 6, 2019
Misses song

It was a fun book to read about first love for one and a troubled romance for another. The growing crush Ela had, I wanted to hurry up and read to see what would happen between them.
333 reviews1 follower
April 6, 2020
Just ok

I didn't like the way Damon treated Ella. And I didn't like the way Ella just jumped when he said jump. He was definitely going through something, but that's no excuse.

And the ending was just too abrupt for my liking.
Profile Image for Misty.
286 reviews2 followers
June 21, 2021
Needed more

I really liked this story. My only problem was it was to short and left a lot of unanswered questions. Why didn't he get the song when she sent it the first time. If Lauren was so much of a problem why did she just decide to go to school. This needed more chapters.
113 reviews
April 26, 2022
Loved it!

What a sweet romance! The songs were the icing on the cake too! This reminded me of my first crush. So sweet and yes I was invisible to him. Can't wait to read the next book! Just found this author and I'm glad!
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