We meet Natalie Fincher as she sits at a table with her best friends at a cheesy Mexican restaurant, knowing that at some point they are going to pick out a perfect (tall, dark, handsome, built) stranger that they think she should introduce herself to. They want her to get back on the proverbial horse. It’s been two years since the love of her life, Russ, died after being in an accident. It’s time, they’ve decided. But Natalie isn’t ready. She does meet the man, begs him to play along with her so that her friends believe that she’s given it every attempt. And then she goes home to her house and cat. On some mornings, she plays piano in a subway station. And then someone begins leaving her sheet music to Russ’ favorite songs and Natalie begins to hope that something magical is happening in Lia Louis’ The Key to My Heart.

Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down and did finish it in one night. The Key to My Heart is comprised of some of my favorite elements: humorous and swoony banter, quirky characters, characters who express realistic emotions and reactions, music, forgiveness, and love, both platonic and romantic.

Like Noelle in the last book Lia Louis book I read, Eight Perfect Hours (my review), Natalie is kind and a little lost, which is to be expected after losing the love of her life. I also like that Louis kept the memory of Russ in tact. She didn’t suddenly make Russ become an ogre so that any romance occurring in the book could be better or purer.

I loved that Shauna, the manager of the coffee shop, is like a surrogate mother to Natalie despite the fact that Natalie’s mother is alive and kicking, but just not the kind of mother who connects easily to her daughter. I loved how Jodie (Natalie’s big sister) is both a little obsessive over her clothes shop yet always welcoming to her sister as is her husband and son. And, I loved how Priya looks out for Natalie without trying to control her life. Oh, and I love Tom, because who wouldn’t?

For me, this is the perfect book: heartwarming, funny, sad, maddening, complicated, a little mysterious, and romantic.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's not often that I find a romantic comedy that is fun and heartwarming, but also hits on harder topics like loss and grief and does them in a such a wonderful way. The Key to My Heart was so wonderfully done, and Lia Louis has now won me over entirely!

A slow burn romance that hit the mark for me. I had high expectations for this one since I loved Emmie Blue but I felt this one a tad bit too slow for my liking and found it repetitive at times. Heavy topics were discussed such as the loss of a loved one and grief. Overall, it was okay

This is my second Lia Louis book and she is now an auto-buy author! Don't let the cute cover fool you, this is not a light & fluffy read. It's about losing the love of your life and slowly finding your way back from that grief and eventually opening yourself back up. I loved the progression of the story and the depth of emotion. It was sad, tender and ultimately heartwarming. I definitely recommend it !

I was so excited to read this one after reading her previous book Eight Perfect Hours and really enjoying it!

Thankfully, this one did not disappoint! Just a warning, while the cover does look a little festive and snowy, this is not a Christmas book! I'm not sure why I assumed it was!

I loved that this felt like a realistic romance with an actual adult with real life problems while still having a little bit of wonder and magic. The main character has been widowed and is struggling to move on after the loss of her husband.

She finds comfort playing the piano in downtown London by the train station and starts noticing someone leaving sheet music....and not just any sheet music but her late husband's favorite songs. She's determined to find out who the mysterious person could be and the reveal is wonderful!

I'm definitely going to add anything Lia Louis writes to my list in the future!

*This is a clean romance, does have some strong language though*

Thank you so much to Atria books for the chance to read and review this book prior to release. It will be available for purchase on December 20th!

I would ultimately give this a 3.25 - the story is lovely and I absolutely loved Tom (!!) but I found it to be a bit slow going and I found myself losing interest at times.

I unfortunately had to DNF this one at 25%. I did not connect to the character, plot, or writing style. While it was not for me, I do encourage others to try it for themselves!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

(PUB date 12.06) Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the early copy of 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐄𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓.

What I love about Lia Louis’s books is that they are a blend of oomph and ah. Contemplative elements paired with lighter, jovial moments. Her characters are often dealing with hefty, emotional issues. Yet I trust her to take me on a journey that will ultimately make me feel all warm inside. This novel did all those things.

Two years after the loss of her husband, Natalie is still grieving and finds solace in playing the piano in a London train station where she can go unnoticed. Until someone starts leaving sheet music that could only be meant for her as it is inexplicably linked to her husband.

𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄:
Stellar secondary characters
Characters navigating grief, self-awareness and growth
Captivating writing.
Any screenwriters out there? I'd love to see this play out on screen.
I'd consider this contemporary fiction with a bit of romance.
Depth: Don't let the cover fool you- there is heft.

This was a heartwarming, sentimental, and loving book!

It was about loss, grief, and hope. There is alway hope after a big loss. Natalie lost the love her life and still is able to find hope when a mysterious person leaves her sheet music under the piano bench that she plays in the train station.

I loved the mysteriousness of it because it was just heartwarming. This has to be my favorite book of hers.

Highly recommend.

Seriously good! This book was a fantastic romantic comedy, made even better with the holiday spin. I loved it!

It’s always a happy day when I get the chance to review a book by Lia Louis. “The Key to My Heart” is her latest effort.

What I love about Lia Louis’s novels is that even if you’re feeling negative or depressed when you start one, you feel that cold-heartedness start to melt away as you get deeper into the characters’ woes and by the end, you’re wrapped up in a blanket of warm-fuzzies.

Natalie thought she had it all, but then she lost her husband. She lives in a fixer-upper that she planned to rebuild, but now in limbo, she cannot bear to let it go. Waiting for the train one day, she spots a piano just sitting there. Because music was one way she connected with her husband, she starts to play. Soon, playing that piano becomes a ritual.

As anyone knows who has experienced a loss of this magnitude, it is difficult to find the strength to move on. I liked the originality in Natalie moving through her grief because of her connection to the piano. Because of the title, I was convinced this book was going to be a rom com and though there is a romantic aspect, the main focus of this story is on Natalie’s journey. As someone who loved Lia Louis’s earlier novels, you’re not going to find any surprises. Yet, the author is quite skilled at creating a heart-warming tale that might bring on the tissues.

My thanks to the publisher, Lia Louis and Net Galley for this whimsical book.

My heart is recovering. I liked it, I loved it, I smiled, I cried, my heart soared with warm fuzzies. I’ve loved Lia Louis’ previous books and this is no exception. It’s another touching, lovely romance that handles love, loss and grief so delicately and sincerely. I’ll be recommending this one with the highest praise. Just lovely 🥰

I’ll be posting my full review to Goodreads and on Instagram @on_a_sandbar soon

With this book, Lia Louis has cemented her stories as “must read” for me.

Natalie is a young widow of two years who can’t seem to restart her life. She’s overwhelmed by sadness and guilt. Each day is a repeat of the one before until she begins finding sheet music by the piano in the Tube station. Someone is leaving random sheets of music pertaining to her life with her late husband, Russ. She looks forward to these finds, hoping they are a message sent to her by Russ.

This is a poignant story of love, loss and finding the courage to live and love again. Tom and Joe were such amazing characters, both as friends and love interests. Natalie was lucky to have so many loving friends and family to help her navigate her grief. And of course, the end was all worth it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

Lia Louis’ books always feel like the best kind of comfort read to me and this one did not disappoint! She continues to be a favorite. Fell in love with these characters and was sad when the book ended. The book does involve grief but I felt the author handled it in a way that you could feel what the character was going through without feeling overly heavy. 4.5 stars rounded up. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Key to My Heart was wonderfully done, spinning grief and loss with growth and hope in such a masterful way. It felt heavy and light at the same time. I appreciated Lia Louis' ability to sprinkle humour throughout.

Two years after now 33-year-old Natalie unexpectedly loses her husband in a tragic accident, she's struggling to figure out who she is and what she wants in this stage of life. She's unsure of how to connect to her friends in the same way and hesitant to find love again. Trying not to give too much away, but Louis' did a wonderful job of letting us connect and see Natalie's growth and change. It didn't feel rushed or forced, but very real and genuine.

I am definitely a Lia Louis fan after this book, and will be digging into her backlist ASAP!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, for the advance eARC in exchange for the honest review.

Two and half years ago, Natalie’s husband died, and she’s still grieving while living in the cottage they purchased to fit together. During her commute, she stops at a public piano, and one day, she finds music that she played for her husband while he was in the hospital. Finding who left the music begins a journey for her to heal her heart.

I’ve never read this author before, but after this book, I’ll read her others eventually.

I love Natalie. She’s intelligent, funny and realistic with her emotions. The balance between dealing with her grief and developing feelings for Tom is beautiful. The side characters and world were well crafted, and there were twists that Natalie excelled at dealing with.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

This was my first Lia Louis book and now I want to go read her backlist. So cute. I always love books set in Britain but the plot here was really heartfelt and honestly much deeper than I expected. Natalie is a widow in her early 30s and this is about the difficulty of moving on after the death of a loved one and the author does such a good job describing the complexity of emotions around it.

When I first read the synopsis about the music being left at the train station I was actually a little worried I wouldn’t like this but that particular storyline doesn’t dominate, it just adds to the overall plot.

This book has great characters and some very funny parts (love that British humor). I definitely recommend this.

This protagonist of this book is Natalie, a young widow who is still heartbroken and stuck 2.5 years later. She is not able to bring herself to resume her career (musician) and is just drifting through life. She is also overwhelmed by the money pit of a cottage, which she purchased with her husband as their dream home.

She is working at her parents clothing store to pass the time, and feels compelled to play on the public piano on St Pancras station twice weekly. Then she starts finding sheets of music in the St Pancras station piano bench. The odd thing, is that these were songs that Natalie played for her husband while he was in the hospital.

What I really enjoyed about this book, was that even though it dealt with grief there was also lots of humor, and hope. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I plan to read more.

Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler books and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.

4.25/5⭐️

This is my third book from Louis, and I’ve loved them all (but this one not quite as much as the two previous). What I love most about her books are the unique and interesting storylines (and her characters aren’t too shabby either).

Natalie is a widow (early 30s) who is having trouble moving forward and finding her “old” self (if there’s one to get back to). As an accomplished pianist, she begins playing an old public piano at a London train
station as music has always been her salvation. One day she accidentally discovers a single sheet of music inside the bench…a favorite song that she played for her husband in hospital. Then more appear, each with a special memory attached. Could it somehow be from Russ, her deceased husband?

Meanwhile, her friends are trying to set her up and have her talk to an anonymous guy (Tom) at a bar. He turns out to be the son of a sweet friend that she’s made at the train station. They hit it off and become friends. As she gradually begins to heal, she joins a grief musical therapy group and then begins volunteering there. She makes a new friend there who may become possibly more. She makes up with her estranged best friend. But frustratingly she’s not able to discover who’s leaving her the music that has given her the spark to look forward to life again…until she does.

This is a story about love and loss, grief and hope, and ultimately finding a new you following major upheavals in life. My only complaint was a good bit of unnecessary bad language (which was distracting at times). But a sweet (though at times sad) story (also lots of great humor) that ultimately left me happy and cheering on Natalie.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for providing the free early arc of The Key to My Heart for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

4.5 stars! I have been lucky enough to receive ARCs of every Lia Louis novel from Dear Emmie Blue to this one. They have all been wonderful, and The Key to My Heart did not disappoint! Lia writes lovely novels full of wonderful characters. Even the supporting cast is well-defined. Natalie is such a superb protagonist. I don't want to say too much - you need to experience the book for yourself. I will say that you will definitely want kleenex handy for the last few chapters!

"Sparkly and charming Natalie Fincher has it all—a handsome new husband, a fixer-upper cottage of her dreams, and the opportunity to tour with the musical she’s spent years writing. But when her husband suddenly dies, all her hopes and dreams instantly disappear.

Two and a half years later, Natalie is still lost. She works, sleeps (well, as much as the sexually frustrated village foxes will allow), and sees friends just often enough to allay their worries, but her life is empty. And she can only bring herself to play music at a London train station’s public piano where she can be anonymous. She’s lost motivation, faith in love, in happiness…in everything.

But when someone begins to mysteriously leave the sheet music for her husband’s favorite songs at the station’s piano, Natalie begins to feel a sense of hope and excitement for the first time. As she investigates just who could be doing this, Natalie finds herself on an unexpected journey toward newfound love for herself, for life, and maybe, for a special someone."

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.