I received an eARC of Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
4 stars! I enjoyed reading about Layla and Josh. The story is told in both past and present, so you get to know the character's backstories. The cover is stunning as well. Highly recommend!

Sighhhhh, I love TGG’s books. She’s a master of slow building emotions and interesting, right in the feels, real stories.

Layla, recently divorced and a music teacher at an elementary school is reminiscing about her glory days in a band, right off of college. Shooting for stardom but mostly enjoying the live crowds. Her marriage didn’t turn out to be her fairy tale dream relationship, but instead a passive aggressive, might I add somewhat abusive emotionally, husband that just didn’t have the same wants as her.

Josh is a single, almost divorced dad to Sasha, a little girl in Layla’s music class. Sasha grows a little attached to Layla who makes her feel more at ease in the new environment, and the two adults begin a relationship as friends who just want someone to hang out with, a companion with no expectations.

It’s clear to all that expectations are slowly building, as is an attachment that basically transmits straight from the words on the page and into the readers heart, the unfulfilled tension between them. It’s slow building, it’s tender and it makes even a reader who’s not in a similar situation, identify emotionally with the feelings.

Exes and other factors are making things difficult, naturally. Close friends are helping with unconditional support. A plot that ties together in a splendid, heart-clenching way.

I always feel like I’m a part of a best friend’s life when I reading any of Garvis Graves’ books.

I already can’t wait for her next release.

Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Romance adjacent
Warnings: divorce, infidelity
Steam: 1/5
Tropes: second chance romance, friends to lovers, single parent

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Heard It in a Love Song will be published on November 2nd.

I have heard so many positive reviews of this book, I fall somewhere in the middle. I didn’t hate it or love it but I did like it. This was my first Tracey Garvis Graves book, I have a few of her others in my TBR so I was excited to get this ARC and can't wait to read her other books.

Here’s my hold up, I was about 75% in and wondering what was the actual plot, we got dragged down with flashbacks from the past (which were a lot) and I wish I had more time with the couple. This wasn’t a romance, this was a love story and a story about two people navigating life after divorce and figuring out their identity. So go into this with that in mind!

Things I loved: I genuinely liked the characters. I liked how their relationship evolved, it felt really natural and you could feel them making a connection. I did like how they were reflective on the past and were learning from those experiences, growing and figuring out who they wanted to be. They were in their mid-to-late 30s! I loved the morning drop off antidotes. The online dating was so relatable and funny to read about. We did get some Daisy Jones vibes will all the music and I loved seeing Layla do that for herself again.

Things I didn’t care for: Some of the mini conflicts with their former spouses in present day. Too many flashbacks for my liking and they didn’t always add value.

I really love Tracey Garvis Graves and when I found out that she had written another book, I was thrilled when I was able to receive an arc of it. On The Island and The Girl He Used To Know, both blew me away.

I really enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. It felt slow at times and I wanted to be more invested in each of the characters than I was. I kept waiting for something to happen, but it never really did.

Do I think this is a bad read? NO! It shows you how life can go so unexpected and how life can change in an instant. I also think this gives insight into life after divorce and how much of a struggle it can be to find yourself and move on from past relationships.

Good book, beautiful cover!

This was my first book by Tracy Graham Graves and I enjoyed my time reading it. I don’t typically reach for these type of contemporary fiction books simply because I love romance being the more prominent genre, but I actually enjoyed my time spent reading this.

I took my time reading Heard It In A Love Song which I think was for the best. It allowed me to space it out and really absorb the story rather than binge it in one sitting and quickly forget everything.

As a single, never before been married individual, I didn’t connect as deeply to the flashbacks, however they really allowed for me to discover a type of pain that I never really knew existed. Watching Layla put her dreams aside and have to rediscover herself after her divorce was eye opening. It really had me pause and consider relationship dynamics that I had never really given much thought to previously. I also enjoyed watching Josh and Layla grow into one another. I would have loved to have seen more of them, but I understand the focus was on them both rediscovering themselves and what they want in life post separation.

One thing I didn’t love was that at some points the chapters felt as though they ended rather abruptly. The chapters were set up in a way where you would have present day dialogue, then a switch to a scene in the past like a flashback and then a flip back to present day. At times I would have loved to have seen more of that dialogue developed rather than end so quickly after a flashback ended.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. I think people who are going through a big transitional period in their lives, especially if that involves a breakup or separation, might really enjoy this or find it cathartic. Music lovers might also be fans, as there are larger themes of music wrapped up in the story. While this isn’t going to be a new all time favourite, I’m happy I gave it a shot because I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it!

I was so excited to be granted an ARC of Tracey Garvis Graves' newest release, Heard It In a Love Song. Her previous book, The Girl I Used to Know, was one of my favorite reads of 2019.

First, the cover of this book is so eye-catching. Perfectly Stunning.

Layla is recently divorced and starting over in her life. Recovering from a bad marriage from a jerk, Layla is working on finding herself once again.

Josh, a single dad whose daughter just happens to be a student of Layla's, is separated and trying to find his footing after being married to his high school sweetheart for half of his life.

This is a touching story about finding oneself, second chances and friendship. Tracey Garvis Graves has delivered another solid book.

I received an ARC of this book from St Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

3.5-4 stars. Layla Hilding is putting her life back together after a divorce. Working as a music teacher, she is enjoying the simplicity of life where she is in charge. Before, she had been a musician and singer with hopes of more in the spotlight, but that dream was killed by her ex-husband with all of his manipulation and financial ups and downs to keep up and outdo the Joneses. Josh is in the midst of a divorce after 20 years with his soon-to-be ex Kimberly and they share a daughter, whom Josh drops off at school every morning. This is where he meets Layla and while they are friendly, nothing transpires initially. Josh is a hard worker and dependable guy, he and his wife began drifting apart over the years due to the differences in their personal life choices where it eventually could not be salvaged anymore. I did like how this novel explored both characters' navigation of uncharted territory where they are figuring out how to date after a divorce/separation. There's a lot of feelings and issues explored that differ from someone who hasn't gone through a legal separation after a decade or more. The backstory of both Layla and Josh are revealed throughout the chapters to discover how they first fell in love with their spouses and where things began to fall apart as the years went by. Their initial reluctance with each other is understandable, why the easy chemistry as friends developed first and how that camaraderie blossomed into more. While the story was interesting in showing how everything transpired, it was all told very passively as though I was a distant observer while I was reading rather than in the thick of it with them, which made it harder to really invest in either of their storylines even though I truly wanted both Layla and Josh to find happiness. I did empathize with their experiences and hesitations, which made them relatable and realistic, but not as memorable as some other characters I've read by this same author.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me this ARC opportunity

Tracy Garvis Graves is one of my go-to authors! I absolutely love the way she's able to infuse a real-life feel into her fiction.

Unfortunately, Heard It in a Love Song wasn't the huge hit I was expecting. It took quite some time for this story to capture my attention. I wished there had been fewer flashbacks to the characters' past relationships. I felt these moments slowed the flow of the story as the pace was beginning to pick up. But, I didn't want to give up because I was sure eventually the plot would grab me. I'm glad I kept reading because I did come to enjoy the story. It was a cozy read - more contemporary fiction than romance. It was interesting to see how the characters would grow and once I settled into the flashbacks, I was able to see their relevance to the story.

Overall, not my favorite book, but I will be eager to read more by Tracy Garvis Graves in the future!

This book begins with a slow burn. I kept coming back to the story because Tracey Garvis Graves books have all satisfied my longing for complex yet, enjoyable contemporary romance. I am glad I did not give up on this story and I look forward to recommending this book to my friends and family.

I thoroughly enjoyed Heard It in a Love Song!

Layla was once married to the man she thought she would be with forever. When she had finally had enough of Liam Cook, she up and left him. Turns out, that would be the best decision in her life. A kind, gentle soul by nature with an extreme passion for music, Layla becomes comfortable with being a solo act for a while, not really interested in finding romance again. Until Josh shows up…

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting this novel to be. Romantic, sure. But I felt it was a little too light on the romance to be deemed a romance novel. I felt it was more just general adult fiction with a few nuggets of semi-romance. I understand though- the main characters were coming out the other side of a divorce and were in no real mood to be romantic in the traditional sense. It was a bit of a letdown.

The way the past and the present molded in the writing was seamless. It was a clever way of explaining the backstory of Josh and Layla without having boring, long-winded dialogue and I immensely appreciated it!

I LOVED Layla when she was in her element- performing on stage in front of a crowd, having a solo jam session, and doing what great elementary school music teachers do. When she wasn’t doing that, I found her to be bland and dry. There was nothing special about her, which I guess is kind of the point, outside the fact that she had incredible musical talent. The way she interacted with her friends and even Josh at some points came across as standoffish and bored. I wanted a little more free spirit out of Layla- the clipped dialogue with her friends really didn’t make sense with her creative soul in my opinion.

Heard It in a Love Song was a quick entreating read and I enjoyed it very much. Definitely recommend to anyone!

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! This book is set to be published on November 2nd, 2021.

*Thanks to St. Martin's Press + NetGalley for the ARC!*

I loved the cover of this book!

The character's relationship buildup felt authentic, but nothing about them ever connected enough for me to feel invested in their story. There isn't anything specific I can point to, just a general apathy. The writing was lovely, as are all of Tracey's books, and I'll definitely pick up her next one!

This is my 2nd book by Tracey Garvis Graves. The cover is what first made me want to read this book. It’s just gorgeous!! Now that Layla is single and meets Josh who is also starting to date again, they start to hang out. The story went back and forth and I found myself getting lost a few times. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

This was the first time reading this author and I enjoyed it. this was an emotional, touching love story about getting a second chance at love.

I simply could not put this book down after I picked it up. Layla and Josh's story was so sweet and as a music lover, I really enjoyed all the music references.

This is my second Tracey Garvis Graves' book and I know that I will read everything that she publishes in the future (and I will also start reading her previous work ASAP).

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a different kind of love story.

Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and author for providing a free copy of this book.

Heard It In A Love Song is slow and gentle romance about two broken people who both need a gentle and slow romance. Layla and Josh are amazing I literally loved both of them and I was completely rooting for them. Both of them were very unlucky in the pervious marriages. I feel that the tone of this book is like a slow burn, we get dual prospectives to really connect you to Layla and Josh and make you see how gentle their new love has to be.

This is a story about love after heartache. It took me awhile to get into this book, but once I did, I fell in love with Tracy Garvis Graves writing. This dual perspective book was different from others in that it really delved into the love story, history, and consequences of the previous relationships of the two main characters. I would argue that more time is spent developing the history of the characters than the current plot line that occurs between Josh and Layla. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this spin. I loved seeing how two recently heartbroken people arrived at such a similar place in such a different way. I liked the pace at which the author developed her characters and their love story. This book focuses on the development of self-love before the romantic love. This is a great twist on a love story. Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-Reader version of this ARC.

This book was provided to me compliments of #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

The story of two divorced people struggling with their own issues.

Layla is recovering from a divorce from her scumbag husband; Josh is a single dad going through a divorce from his wife. They meet when Josh drops off his daughter at school where Layla is a teacher.

This is not a crazy, passionate love story. It's a quiet romance between two people who are not sure they are ready to take the plunge into love again. I really enjoyed this book. The characters and their situations were so true to life!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Josh and Layla are both coming out of divorce. Layla has had a little more time to heal, but Josh has a young daughter he needs to be there for. I loved how this story told each of their stories while creating the story of them. So, so sweet!!!

This is my first novel by Tracey Garvis Graves. The cover is beautiful and really drew me to the novel initially. Layla and Josh are two divorced people who are lamenting their life choices. They find each other through a connection to Josh's daughter as Layla is his daughter's music teacher. They start out as friends but eventually find themselves with feelings as more than friends. However, the book is painfully slow. Most of the story is spent rehashing their relationships with the now exes. Very little time is actually spent developing the relationship between Layla and Josh. There is no snappy dialog, no real character development. It reads more like a step-by-step accounting of how they met, all the things they do together, and mostly about their prior relationships.. There is no real dialog between the two MCs and I did not feel invested in their relationship.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.