I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this book. I enjoyed it but it also felt like right book, wrong time which is impacting my feelings.

The story started off pretty slow for me. I wanted to see a bit more and learn a bit more about Natalie. Things didn’t pick up until about 40% in (for me).

I really appreciated seeing a young woman deal with her grief and continue to struggle to move forward. I liked seeing the interactions Natalie has with both Joe and Tom.

Overall a sweet book but it just wasn’t quite if for me. (3.5)

Thank you NetGalley, Atria books, and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Can you find the one after the one? First time reading Lia Louis and already so impressed by her storytelling abilities. Natalie lost her husband two years ago and the only thing that keep the grief at bay is the twice a week piano sessions at the Kings Crossing. Everyone is waiting and expecting for her to move on, but she just can’t. I went in expecting a sweet romance, but what I got out of it is so much more.

This book also makes me want to book a flight to London ASAP!

This is the second novel I have read by Lia Louis, and AGAIN it is another 5-star read.

The Key to my Heart is a heartfelt story of one women's grief over losing her husband just as they were making their home. Since his death, Natalie has gone through the motions of living, feeling nothing. She finds therapy in playing the piano in the subway terminal she visits a couple days a week. To her surprise, sheet music appears on the stool with songs that evoke memories of her late husband. Is this a gift from her husband to help her find her happiness to move forward in life and love?

Slowly, Natalie begins to unravel the mystery of the music. Plus she finds a friend at the local coffee shop with its owner who introduces her to her son. a local photographer. Tom is also a handyman and convinces Natalie to let him help her with the many cottage repairs needed to keep her home standing. Together, they develop a friendship built on authentic conversations and a honest approach to healing. Tom's funny, sweet, handsome and everything Natalie needs to mend her broken heart.

The ending is love and hope perfection. The Key to my Heart is contemporary fiction with a romantic subplot.

Thank you Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the complimentary copy of this novel.

This story delves into moving on, rebuilding friendships, and rekindling joy. There was a lot of characters and story here to keep straight and at times I found it a little difficult to keep my interest on where the book was going. There were several chapters I had to skim to get through, because my heart just wasn’t in it. This was a decent romance read, but I wouldn’t add it to my list of must read recommendations.

This book was cute! I feel like it dealt with grief in a really good and realistic way. Super quick read!

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lia Louis has a calmness to her writing even when there's a whole lot of chaos. Through her characters, she reminds you to breathe, smile, and relax your shoulders. Life feels slower, better, calmer, okay, when reading a Lia Louis novel.

She tackles some difficult topics, but there's never a sense of rush and it's always an enjoyable read. In a world that's so busy, it's such a pleasure to escape into one of Louis' books. She writes about life, fictional of course, but it's not your run of the mill rom com, it's just life, and romance is a part of it, after all, she wrote a character as charming as Tom. But she also wrote loving and caring characters like Shauna, Joe, Jodie, Priya, and Nick. That being said, this book is definitely Brit-Lit so if that's not your cup of tea, you've been warned.

As a reader, Tom had my insides feeling gooey, "like I'm made of ice cream, standing in a giant sun ray that's melting me to mush". Tommy Button is the kind of friend everyone needs. Someone fun, but real. Someone safe. Someone that tells you like it is and has raw honest conversations with you even when you're at your worst or scared or don't want to hear it. But also the one that tries to make your birthday a little less tragic by offering to hang with you or buying you birthday tarts. I love that Nat and Tom hit it off very quickly, at first by accident when their friends tried to set them up, but then again on their own terms. I was going to say I wish I had a friend like that, but then I realized I do (so obviously I messaged him).

The book releases December 6 in the US and is already out in the UK! Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Lia Louis’s previous book, Eight Perfect Hours, was one of my top reads of last year. Her latest, Key to My Heart, is even better. I was expecting a cute rom com but what I got instead was a beautiful story about love, loss, and second chances that had me laughing and crying.

Three years later, Natalie is still grieving the sudden loss of her husband Russ. She dreads seeing her friends because they always try to fix her up. She finds comfort in playing a piano at the train station and is intrigued when someone starts leaving music that represents special moments with Russ. As she tries to discover who is leaving the music and how to slowly move on, we are introduced to a beautiful cast of supporting characters.

The Key to My Heart is a must read about one woman’s journey through grief and finding herself again after loss.

Natalie had it all until her husband suddenly died. Two and a half years later, she is still lost. Then, someone starts leaving music in the bench of the piano she plays in a London train station, music that has a lot of meaning to her and her husband. Who could be leaving the music? And why? Trying to solve this mystery has her opening up to more people than the had in a long time.
This was the first book I read by this author, and definitely not my last! It was cute, heartwarming and heartbreaking, it had me smiling as much as crying. The writing was really good, and I loved the characters. I also liked the whole mystery aspect of it. Totally recommend!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the third book I have absolutely loved by this author and also the third that made me cry. This book was tender, raw, emtoional, and delightful. I absolutely loved the "great reveal" and all of the side characters in this beautiful story. Lia Louis certainly knows how to pull at the heart strings while also making you smile and feel hugged at the same time.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

DNF @ 37%

TW: This review contains discussion of death of a spouse

I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, but unfortunately it was not for me. I was interested in the premise and the idea of a little bit of ~magic~ but where this book lost me was the insistence that our main character, Natalie, 'get over' the death of her husband and 'get back out there'. I obviously understand a book that deals with the loss of a spouse and that person finding love again has to have some impetus for that action. For me though, the way her family and friends went about it was incredibly callous and hurtful. Telling a widow she should 'move on' is a terrible thing say, and when it comes from that person's closest friends and family it makes it even harder for me to get past. I really did try to like this book, but that was something I couldn't move past, and unfortunately that means it's a DNF from me.

If that isn't something that would impact your reading experience, I actually think you might like this book! It's fluffy and it has moments that are downright funny and relatable. It also has moments that will tug on your heartstrings.

Natalie is lost after her husband died more than two years ago. She can’t seem to find joy in the things she was passionate about in her life “before”. She takes to playing piano a few days a week at a London train station when she begins to find sheet music to songs that are significant to her. With the help of old friends and new, Natalie sets out to discover who is leaving her the music, as she discovers that life can be meaningful again in the “after.”

Lia Louis knows how to write a story that really punches you in the gut of your feelings. While reading this, you can feel Natalie’s grief pouring off the pages. I felt very invested in Natalie’s journey, as well as some of the side characters. And the ending left me both crying and smiling!

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy for review. The Key to My Heart is out December 6, 2022.

The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis

Official rating: 3.5 stars
Page turner rating: 3 stars

Two years since Natalie's husband passed away, her friends are ready to help her 'get back out there', but shes still not quite on board with all of their antics, preferring instead to spend time playing piano at a train station to bring back memories of her past.

This one was cute, but it just wasn't quite there for me like Eight Perfect Hours was. I still enjoyed reading it and think that others may enjoy it! This is also another looks-like-winter cover, but it isnt at all. Happy reading!

Read if you:
Play (or played!) the piano
Want to feel like you are in England
Like a small mystery element in contemporary romances

Natalie is a 30 year old widow; although her husband died 2.5 years ago, she’s still wallowing in grief, while her friends try to cheer her up and encourage her to date again. Someone starts leaving sheet music for her husband’s favorite songs in a public piano bench at the train station, and this is what the book description cites as the central plot – but it’s actually kind of a minor point in a meandering book about how Natalie heals from her loss. I found this fairly slow moving; while books / TV / movies usually introduce everything intentionally (unlike real life, there are seemingly no coincidences / unrelated scenes in well-edited fiction), this wandered all over and took a while to form a cohesive storyline. Things finally started coming together about two-thirds of the way through, so I enjoyed the ending, but most of the read was not my favorite and it took me a while to get through.

The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis

Well Lia Louis does it again. This book was full of feel good moments while also taking a deep dive into grief. This author has such an incredible ability to tap into emotions and explain them so thoughtfully. The story is basically about grief, about finding yourself again after your life gets flipped around on you and you don’t know which way is up. It also has such an amazing slow burn romance with one of my favourite male characters ever.

My only tiny critique is that some moments that I waited and waited for, that could have been spectacular, seemed to be rushed through. While other moments (dates with Joe 🙄) seemed to go on a bit too long. But overall I really loved the character arc of Natalie. All the supporting characters were fantastic, I’d love to see a spin off with one of Tom’s brothers, just so we can have more of Shauna.

I really love the cover, so many little items that were so special in the book (the crocodile!).

So fun to buddy read this with @thebookybird, I think we had very similar feelings throughout the book, basically that Tom was dreamy 😍. I have been so sick for the past week or so and this book was a lovely little escape. Lia Louis continues to be one of my favourite authors, she just knows how to make my heart burst with feeling.

Thank you to @atriabooks for my advanced copy! This one is out on December 6th.

TW: grief, loss of a spouse, infidelity

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When I read the blurb for The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis, I immediately added it to my TBR. A woman finding music scores with emotional significance left for her on the piano where she plays after the loss of her husband, sounded like a story with the right mix of mystery and depth to suck me in. And I was right! The Key to My Heart skillfully weaves together the complexities of fate and loss in a wonderfully engaging way. In telling Natalie’s story, Louis explores life with all its complexities and messiness, particularly after losing a loved one. While this book does have a fair amount of swearing (it’s very British), it is a wonderful novel filled with hope and healing that I really enjoyed.

*Thank you to Lia Louis, Atria, and Netgalley for an e-arc. All opinions are my own.

This one warmed my heart!

I truly felt for Natalie, a young widow who still feels lost two-plus years after losing her husband. She's flawed and conflicted, really just trying to get through life when she begins receiving music that has a special connection to her, reigniting a part that ultimately helps her heal.

I loved the journey, the characters and how Lia Louis approached the grieving process. It was touching and authentic without being overly sad.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for this sweet, soulful arc.

This is my second Lia Louis book and they are so heartfelt. They aren’t just about romance, but about growth and moving on. I know when I read her books I will feel all the emotions.

Natalie is struggling. It’s been two years since her husband died and she had a falling out with one of her best friends and writing partner. I liked that she had a supportive friend group but there were definitely times when I felt like they couldn’t understand her grief.

I loved how finding new friendships helped her a lot. Especially with Shauna and Tom.

Tom 🥹

There is kind of a love triangle in this but I feel like it’s obvious who she gets with. I loved the natural progression of her relationships. You could tell who she felt comfortable with.

A plot point that I absolutely loved was her going to music therapy. Love that mental health rep. And how it’s okay to find something that works for you!

This is more a women’s fiction than a romance just in case that’s what you’re looking for.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5)
Steam Level: 🔥🔥 (kissing and mentions of closed door sex scenes)
Trigger Warning: death of a spouse, cheating (side characters)

It's been two years since Natalie Fincher lost her husband Russ, and she still feels like she can't move forward. One day, when playing piano at the train station she finds a piece of sheet music left for her: Russ's favorite song. Over time she finds more music left behind, and she begins to hope that maybe it's a sign from Russ. As she tries to solve the sheet music mystery, she slowly begins to build a friendship with Tom Madden- the son of her dear friend- who her friends initially tried to set her up with at a restaurant. She also attends music therapy and befriends Notebook Joe- a man who has experienced a tragic loss of his own. With the help of these two men, maybe Natalie can overcome her grief, find love again, and solve the beautiful mystery that has given her a spark of hope.

This was my first book by Lia Louis, and it was such a beautiful story. Since Natalie's grief journey is the main focus, it does lean much more towards women's fiction. And you'll want to have tissues ready when you get to the end! The romance doesn't come into play much until the second half of the story, but that made sense considering Natalie must first get to a place where she can even consider having feelings for someone new. This does have a love triangle, but I feel like it's obvious who she'll end up choosing. And I loved how it played out in the end- gosh, the grand gestures were beautiful. There were also some wonderful friendships and some healed relationships along the way that I adored. And I can't forget to mention the sheet music mystery! I had my guesses from the start, but there was still a twist that I never saw coming. I loved how it was woven throughout the story and connected to so many characters and events. Definitely give this one a try if you want an emotional and heartfelt story!

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute book, but not really for me. The main character is struggling with grief and finding love after a loss. I just felt like I couldn't connect to it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria, and Lia Louis for a ARC in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed this newest book by @lialouisauthor! It was sweet, charming, a quick heart-felt read. This is exactly the speed of a book I need right now and have DNF a few books lately at 50% - which if you know me is weird because I actually try to follow through. But enjoyed this one!

I will say, however, the book isn’t available yet until December 6th but the perfect kind of British Rom com you need!

Thanks for @netgalley and @atriabooks for letting me have an early copy ♥️