Oh my gosh. What a great story!
First of all, I listened to this in audio. Andi Arndt can never do any wrong so it was outstanding as usual.
Secondly, I love the way this story was strategically told with flashbacks to Layla and Josh's demise of their marriages.
I think this story is such a good reminder of several things.
-- Sometimes, marriages can fail and that is okay. People can move on and stay amicable. People grow and change and sometimes people don't go in the same direction. How you handle yourself during that time speaks volumes about your character.
-- You only owe anything to yourself. You have to learn who you are and remain true to yourself and sometimes that means that things have to change.
Layla and Josh were just good people. I really enjoyed their characters.
Also, this was told in third person and I hardly even noticed it. I usually can't continue on when I find books are in third, but gifted writers can get me not to realize it.
Lastly, if you are looking for some erotic romance, you will NOT get it here. It didn't take away from the story, but just know that going in that it is very fade to black.

Layla Hilding is a 35 year old divorced woman who is a music teacher at the local elementary school. She is trying to find herself and get back to playing and singing, the one thing she loved growing up, and the thing she gave up when she married ten years earlier. Josh is a single dad whose daughter attends the school where Layla teaches music. He is recently separated, after twenty years of marriage, and he is still processing all the changes. When he drops his daughter off at school each day, he chats with Layla and they become friends. Both are hesitant to start a relationship, but they are attracted to one another. When two people are on the rebound, is it heartbreak or happiness that’s a love song away?

This is the first book I have read by Tracey Garvis Graves, but I will be checking out her backlist. I really enjoyed this low-key, slow burn romance, but it is more than just a romance. I enjoyed getting to know Layla, Josh, Sasha and their dog, Norton. This isn’t a story with a lot of angst, although there is a bit, but a story of finding your way when your life changes, drastically. I loved that Layla and Josh were mature characters (emotionally not age wise). They were not into the dating scene, the apps, the drama, but quietly went about their lives getting to know each other and figuring out the next steps. I loved how supportive he was towards Layla's musical dreams, very different from her ex. Josh's family was somewhat disappointed in his choice of career, but he was not going to be bullied into doing something he didn't want to do. He was great at his job and made a great living for himself and Sasha when she was with him. The story is told from both POVs with some past memories, but I was able to follow along with no problems. I was hooked on their lives and seeing what was next for them. A beautifully written story with deep meanings and decisions, but it wasn't a heavy read. I enjoyed reading about their journey to self fulfillment and building a relationship together. If you enjoy a book that will make you think while you read about lives that are undergoing change, then pick this one up. I had trouble deciding what genre this fits. I agree that there are elements of Women's Fiction and Romance, but it is also about life, relationships and self-discover. I did a read/listen with this book. I loved Andi Arndt's narration. She does a beautiful job of performing this lyrical story. I found I enjoyed both formats, but did gravitate to the ebook as it enabled me to read a bit quicker than the audiobook. I recommend both formats depending on your preference.

DNF at 15%. I’m bummed because I wanted to love this book but I’m just bored. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free advance reading copy.

I enjoyed this and especially some of the music and nostalgia bits, but I wasn't blown away. I like this author's writing style and I was entertained, but I'm not sure that it's memorable.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another great book by this author! I really enjoyed it. I liked the dynamics between the characters a lot.

Heard it in a Love Song is the second book I have read by Tracey Garvis Graves. The Girl He Used to Know was one of my favorites a few years ago.

As I always do, I went in blind to this book. Based on the cover I was thinking it would be more 70s, Dailey Jones vibes. So I was shocked when it was more of a present day, love story.

Duel POV and timelines are always my favorite. So I loved the split between both Layla and Josh, and then both their present lives as well as their pasts. Josh, an electrician and single dad to a daughter and Layla, an elementary music teacher, paths crossed daily at the carpool line drop off. Soon one small conversation led to dog setting, which led to a friendship based on common situations. The past focused on their marriages and the years leading up to where they both were now, single (separated/divorced).

This book was slow to build. But it felt realistic, given what both Layla and Josh had been/were going through. I will say I feel like the title/cover is a little bit of a disconnect with the story, so that is what I initially threw me off. But I still enjoyed read it and cannot wait to see what Graves writes next.

“… it occurred to him that maybe you had to go through some big things in life in order to appreciate the smaller stuff, like a glass of wine or two of good red wine on a cold night and the pretty woman sitting across from you who was concentrating on finding her next puzzle piece.”

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

A modern love story, we meet Layla, an elementary music teacher and Josh, a single dad; both trying to move on with their lives after separation and divorce. As we get the story of their budding relationship, the chapters are also riddled with flashbacks of their relationship with their exes and what impact that has on their present.


I appear to be in the minority of reviewers but I didn't really like this "second chance romance" and I felt the author took way too long to bring these two people REALLY together. When they did get together, I felt they were a bit boring as a couple. Much more interesting as individuals though especially Layla.

So a hit and miss for me!

Goodreads review published 04/12/21
Publication Date 09/11/21

An author that gets better with every single book even if you think it’s not possible because you loved the last book so much. That’s Tracey Gracie Graves. I highly recommend this slap you in the feels book.

I Heard it In A Love Song
By Tracey Garvis Graves

i enjoyed this story about a second chance at love between two people whose personal relationships are taking for a turn, in the backdrop of dating in the modern world. I loved the way the characters' stories were told through flashbacks and music. The story was realistic, sentimental, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. I really enjoyed this women's fiction tale of two people that deserve the love no matter the circumstance.

I will admit that I mainly chose to review this book because of the cover. It reminded me of Daisy Jones and The Six. I didn’t even read the blurb (which isn’t like me). I clicked on the link and downloaded the book. Again, not like me. Then I read the blurb and thought, “Well, I think I’ll like the book?” Guess what, I did!!

Heard It in a Love Song is a story about second chances. Layla is fresh off a divorce from a man who didn’t appreciate her and put her last. Enjoying her newfound independence, Layla isn’t quite ready to date again. But there is one man who has caught her eye. Josh, one of her student’s father. Josh is separated from his wife of almost 20 years, and he is still trying to figure out where his marriage went wrong. Layla and Josh strike up an unlikely friendship which slowly morphs into a friendship with potential. But both Layla and Josh are reexamining their lives, and that includes their relationship. What will happen? Is their relationship a rebound? Or is it the real thing?

Heard It in a Love Song started slow and maintained a medium pace throughout the book. I enjoyed it because if the book had gone any faster, then the whole vibe would have been ruined. There was no lag in the book. Overall, it was an excellent smooth read.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Layla and Josh’s storyline being interrupted being either Layla or Josh’s memories. It annoyed me at first, but I understood why the author did it as the story went on. She wanted to show the mistakes that Layla and Josh made in their previous relationships and show their progress in the relationship with each other.

One of my favorite things about this book is that the author didn’t force Layla and Josh’s relationship. It progressed from friendship to lovers naturally. I loved the phrase “friends with potential.” That perfectly summed up what their relationship was.

I also liked that the author included the bad with the good. So, you got a good feel for Josh and Layla’s exes. I wasn’t a big fan of Liam (I called what happened right from the start), but I liked Kimmy. She seemed like a nice person who grew apart from her husband. I do give her some credit, she did try at the end, but at that point, Josh was like, “Sorry, but no.”

I enjoyed reading about Layla’s musical past. I knew all the songs she was singing at the risk of dating myself. I also enjoyed the lyrics for the song she sang with Brian towards the end of the book. I wish that I could hear someone sing it in real life.

The end of Heard It in a Love Song was what I expected it to be. I loved that everyone (except for Liam) got their HEA.

I would recommend Heard It in a Love Song for anyone over 21. There is sex (not graphic) and mild language.

This book is laughably bad. Poorly written and badly developed. I appreciate the free copy but I didn’t like it at all!

This story is about Layla and Josh two people who are movinf along in life. They are both dealing with decisions they made when thye were younger and the effects it has on their lives now. They meet as Layla is Josh's daughters teacher. THey are both searching for something but they have to go through many emotions to see where they end up.
THis was a great story it relly made me feel like I can change the path of my life. It was a fast read. I would defineatly read other books by this author.


** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review**

Two recently divorced individuals rediscover themselves and find one another in the process.

Layla is a music teacher. She used to perform with a band. She likes singing and playing the guitar. Her ex-husband was a jerk. Josh works in construction. He loves his daughter but has fallen out of love with his wife and is going through the process of filing for a divorce. These two meet. They play with the idea of dating and falling in love for about 200 pages. Not much else happens...

This is the epitome of a beach or vacation read. It's light, it's fluffy, it's sentimental. There's not a lot of substance or plot to it so it's difficult for me to review...It was fine, but even for a romance novel there wasn't much tension to it.

This book was kind of a let down for me. I wanted to love it, but I just didn’t, I waited for something amazing or monumental to happen, but it didn’t. I really thought I would be able to connect with the characters more than I did. I also felt the ending was missing something. It almost felt rushed. This wasn’t a horrible book, but wasn’t great either.

HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG BOOK REVIEW

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Drink rec: Red Blend🍷

Ahhh this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year because I LOVED the authors other book, The Girl He Used to Know. However, this one fell kinda flat for me😥 I didn’t feel connected to Layla or Josh and it took me a while to get through this one because I wasn’t too motivated to pick it up.

I enjoyed how the author wove in Layla and Josh’s backstories with their current situation, but I just wasn’t as obsessed with this one as I was with the authors other book! I think the main reason this one wasn’t my fav was because I felt like the plot was moving so slowly and I went into it expecting it to be a bit more focused on the romance side of things rather than self discovery.

If you’re looking for a story about finding yourself after going through a divorce and all the personal growth that comes with that process, then this one might be for you!

This is a sweet romance without a lot of drama. The main characters, Layla and Josh, are really nice people, and it is very satisfying to watch them trying to figure out new directions for their lives after failed marriages. Graves uses flashbacks to fill in the back story while staying in the present, and except for Layla’s nasty ex-husband, all the characters are people you might know or would like to know. Just normal people doing normal things, but we get pulled into their story and enjoy watching it play out. Graves has a very pleasing writing style, and I have enjoyed all her books.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Still waiting for something to happen over here :(

I love TGGs books. They're always so sweet, and fun, and you fall in love with the love, and you adore every character, and you cry, and you smile, and well... this just didn't feel the same.

I kept waiting to fall in love with the characters. I kept waiting to get past their pasts. For a great new love to happen. For me to fall in love with love all over again.

But I just felt like it was the history of two characters and then they meet and well, nothing really happens.

She's obviously a fantastic writer and excels in character development. But I kept waiting for an epic love song or a devastating power ballad - and unfortunately, all I got was some easy listening background notes.

This was a passable read, but finished it feeling meh. Not a good connection to the stories or characters. Love the title and cover though.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

What a sweet, musical, down-to-earth story of Lila and Josh .. and Liam and Kimmy and Sasha and a dog names Norton. Simple and true, this story takes through the emotions and courage it takes one to decide who they want to be after a lifetime of people telling them what they should and shouldn't do. Appreciate the way the love story builds, in a conscious, well-thought out fashion allow even the bad guys to have real feelings and perspective to consider. Well done!

Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves is a beautiful story about finding love again after having your heart broken. What I loved about this story is that although it focuses on two characters who are coming out of toxic relationships and trying to start over, there isn’t a lot of heavy drama filling the pages. Instead, the story focuses more on each character’s inner journey to find themselves again. There’s a lot of looking back and reflecting on what went wrong with their previous relationships, but it’s looking back so as to be able to move forward and I really enjoyed that angle.

Heard It in a Love Song follows Layla Hilding, a 35-year old elementary school music teacher. Layla is recently divorced after her 10-year marriage to Liam ended. When we first meet Layla, we learn that although she has a passion for music, her dream was not to become a music teacher. Instead, her dream was actually to be a professional musician and, prior to getting married, she was actually the lead singer in a band. Although Liam was initially enamored by watching Layla perform, once they were in a relationship, he became quite toxic, often belittling her performances and her musical skills. He basically sucked the life right out of her dream. One of the first things Layla purchases once she is on her own again is a guitar, and it’s with that guitar that her journey to self-rediscovery begins.

Although being a music teacher wasn’t her first choice, it is at her elementary school that Layla first meets Josh Summers, a 35 year old electrician with a 5 year old daughter who is in Layla’s class. Josh is coming out of a failed relationship. He had married his high school sweetheart, but after 20 years together, it was like living with a stranger and so they had separated. Like Layla, Josh is trying to move forward and figure out what’s next for him. When Layla and Josh meet, it’s obvious that they have major chemistry, but they’re both still reeling from their previous relationships and hesitant to start a new one.

I had tremendous sympathy for both Layla and Josh, who are both very likable and vulnerable characters. It was easy to understand why they were both so cautious about getting involved with someone new, but at the same time, it was also obvious that they would be so great together so I was definitely rooting for them to open their hearts to each other.

I also loved how Graves chose to present Layla and Josh’s journey. Although the story mostly stays focused on their paths forward, Graves gives her readers several flashbacks as Layla and Josh reflect on the highs and lows of their previous relationships. Seeing some of the more painful moments from their pasts had me rooting for these two all the more because they both deserve so much better than what they had.

Heard It in a Love Song is a poignant story about love, second chances, and about finding yourself.