I love all of Tracey Garvis Graves' books and Heard It in a Love Song was no different! While this one leans a bit more Women's Fiction than her past books (more traditional romance), the writing and the story was every bit as amazing as I've come to expect from this author and I can't wait to keep reading more from her.

This was a solid love story with two likable people. My biggest pet peeve is the amount of times when we'd flashback to the past during random points throughout the story, like in the middle of conversation. It felt like the author had a lot to say about these characters but wasn't really sure where it all fit.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was such an interesting read. I love musical historical fiction and knowing this one was based on a real life love story made it even more compelling.

I read The Girl He Used To Know was one of my favorite books ever, so I was Uber excited when I received a copy of this. Let me tell you, it didn’t disappoint. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

✨Book Review✨
Heard it in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This book was a high three or a very low four for me. It was light, and enjoyable and I did want to keep reading. It felt weirdly familiar and I'm not sure why. I did appreciate that there was not a lot of drama in the main relationship, and the characters handled the "conflict" in a very mature way. I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone, unless they are looking for a very light and sort of forgettable romance.
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I think my expectations were high after I fell in love with The Girl He Used to Know, so maybe this was a case of my expectations being set too high.

Was it OMG amazing, can't put it down, best book of the year? No. But it was perfectly pleasant and a good read between commitment books.

I liked this book soo much I had to own it on my physical bookshelf in hardcover.

Author Tracey Garvis Graves delivers a soul grabbing, emotional story written well.
Great characters, intriguing story, had me tearing up and left with a stack of happy tissues.
Grab this must read book!

Heard it in a Love Song is a slow burn romance between two people trying to heal from their pasts. Layla is a former musician turned kindergarten music teacher who is trying to build her life back after a divorce and a controlling relationship. She is happy with her small life and playing music just for herself in her basement. Then she meets Josh, the father of one of her young students. Josh is also trying to rebuild after divorcing his high school sweetheart. They start a "friendship with potential" and the book gives us each person's perspective, jumping back in time to give us their stories.

While it was an enjoyable story, and I appreciated that it wasn't love at first sight, I do think the plot lacked some excitement. The book opens with a scene and then flashes back. When we get to that opening scene again, it is really quite anticlimactic. I did prefer The Girl He Used to Know.

I really enjoyed this book. I did however find myself yelling at both Layla and Josh though. Ugh! I would love a soundtrack to go with this book, so I can hear the songs while reading the lyrics.

Highly recommend this book.

I

loved this book and all it was for. I am fan of her stories and will read more of them. This hit all of my buttons and didn't want it to end. Thanks Netgalley for letting me read this.

My only experience with Tracey Garvis Graves has been "On the Island," so I think I expected a less traditional setup going in to another of her books. This is a fine romance, if a little slow. Layla and Josh offer each other a sweet second chance at happiness after their respective divorces. The focus on their pasts and their growth is important to their character development, but don't expect the format of most contemporary romances.

I loved this book and I love the author. What a great story. All her books are well written and meaningful. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

A lovely, soft story about people who undergo things that aren't necessarily nice and soft, but they don't let that make them hard and unfeeling. That hope and positivity is a strong thread through this story. Very enjoyable story.

A lovely romance between two heartbroken individuals that's as much about personal growth and falling in love. Layla has spent a decade with a man who never prioritized her, living in a marriage that exacted the sacrifice of the things that matter to her. Josh is separated from a 20-year marriage from his high school sweetheart. His daughter attends the school where Layla teaches music. They meet, becoming friends and learn to make room for each other in their lives. It's a very mild, straightforward romance, no unnecessary angst or drama, just two people learning about themselves and transitioning to a life that is very different from the one they led before. The characters are well-drawn and their emotional burdens are clearly laid out. There are several time-shifts and flashbacks which might be confusing if the reader isn't paying attention but overall, a calm, lovely story that will appeal to those who enjoy the musical aspect of a novel as well.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

Layla is recently divorced and living on her own for the first time in years. Having previously given up her dreams of singing in order to appease her husband and do her part in the marriage, she's trying to get back to who she was before. In the meantime, she's teaching music to grade school children and refurbishing her new home with a place to play music.

Josh is recently separated from his wife whom he married when they were still teenagers. They share a young daughter. It's been so long since Josh has been single that he doesn't really know what it is he wants out of his changed life. The main thing is that his daughter is well cared for by both her parents.

Josh and Layla meet in the drop-off line at his daughter's school. Turns out, Layla will be her music teacher. There's an attraction that comes with meeting another single 30-year-old. But neither Josh nor Layla knows what they would want out of a new relationship. Starting out as friends with the potential for something more, it quickly dawns on both of them that there's more here than just friendship. But are they building something that will last, or only rebounding?

The story itself moves at a languid pace. Honestly, I started this book months ago, set it down, then only recently picked it back up to finish it. It's not that I didn't like the story or wasn't pulled in, but it's certainly the type of story that you can take your time on reading and, like me, even set aside for a bit, but still come back to and pick up right where you left off with no problems. You cannot do this with all books.

I feel like the romantic elements of the story are just the tip of the iceberg. What I really think this book deals with is two people finding their sense of self after the breakdown of a marriage. How marriage comes to define us, but what happens to who we are when that marriage doesn't work?

I like that both Josh and Layla are in similar circumstances although not everything about their marriages is the same. The story switches between past and present oftentimes abruptly, but ultimately I felt like Tracey Garvis Graves handles this relatively well giving a pause before either Layla or Josh begins to reminisce. It's through these times that we see the build-up of how both Layla and Josh's relationships ended.

I don't know that the slow build was necessary. There weren't really any huge revelations. Instead, it's a story of two people who want to find themselves again after the dissolution of their marriages. Whether or not their include each other in that quest is to be found.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I think I enjoyed Graves's previous book A Girl He Used to Know a little bit more.

Reminded me of my childhood!
Loved this story!

Description
From Tracey Garvis Graves, the bestselling author of The Girl He Used to Know comes a love song of a story about starting over and second chances in Heard It in a Love Song.

Love doesn’t always wait until you’re ready.

Layla Hilding is thirty-five and recently divorced. Struggling to break free from the past—her glory days as the lead singer in a band and a ten-year marriage to a man who never put her first—Layla’s newly found independence feels a lot like loneliness.

Then there's Josh, the single dad whose daughter attends the elementary school where Layla teaches music. Recently separated, he's still processing the end of his twenty-year marriage to his high school sweetheart. He chats with Layla every morning at school and finds himself thinking about her more and more.

Equally cautious and confused about dating in a world that favors apps over meeting organically, Layla and Josh decide to be friends with the potential for something more. Sounds sensible and way too simple—but when two people are on the rebound, is it heartbreak or happiness that’s a love song away?

Heard it in A Love Song is about two people who are both recently divorced trying to find their new selves again.

Layla used to be the lead singer of band but now she's the music teacher at an telemetry school where newly divorced dad Josh's daughter goes to school. After somehow getting roped into dog-sitting Josh and his daughters new dog, Josh and Layla start spending more time together as they both begin having feelings for each other and learn what it means to be in a good relationship

I really enjoyed this book. I especially loved Layla's character and her personality. The writing was done very well, I could picture Layla in her basement shredding on her guitar and letting everything go and finding herself again.

I liked Josh's character as well because he's a good dad and person in general. I feel like his emotions were expressed really well in the writing and he seemed like a sweet guy.

This is my first time reading anything by this author, nut after reading this book I will checking out her other books.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The cover attracted me first and foremost. What a cool retro cover this book has. I loved The Girl He Used to Know, also by Tracey Garvis Graves and so reading this book was a no brainer. And what a lovely read it turned into.

Layla and Josh are each trying to finalize their divorces in their respective long term relationships. Layla's marriage was a sham from day one, and Josh and his wife, Kimberly, grew apart and wanted different things in life.
The story takes us through Layla and Josh's journey away from their spouses and towards each other. This wasn't a quick love at first sight story. The author took time with the characters and their love journey. Layla and Josh become friends, then something more, as they each overcome the emotional baggage they both carry.

This is a beautiful, heartbreaking story about two were well-written characters. The story does have many time jumps and flashbacks which was a little disconcerting until you settle in and wrap your head around it.

Overall I enjoyed this story. It was so much more than just a regular romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending an digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tracey Garvis Graves is such an amazing author! I knew I was going to love her newest book just as much as the last one I read. I was so excited to read this one. I couldn’t put it down once I started it! I loved how the story was told through music and flashbacks from the characters. It was such a great and realistic story. I highly recommend checking it out!

I wanted to love this book but it didn't work for me. Half of the book was about the main characters' previous marriages and why they didn't work. I didn't want to read about their exes. I just wanted the romance between the main characters and when we got it, it was lackluster.