Lia always knows how to give you the most heart warming story, but she also may make you shed a few tears along the way too.

Natalie feels like a real person. Her grief is real, her hesitancy to move on felt genuine, and honestly I just wanted to be her friend and sit and talk about all the things with her.

This story was typical of Lia and just a beautiful depiction of love, family, and even a little romance.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

All the hearts, all the stars. This was SO good! I loved the mystery of music sheets appearing, the whole range of emotions the reader experiences right there with Natalie.

I want to immediately start again at page 1 and watch it play it out now that I know the end. :)

The Key to My Heart follows Natalie, a young widow that is finding it very hard to move on from the loss of her husband over 2 years ago. A former music teacher that was on the brink of releasing a musical she was writing with her friend finds that she is now only able to play piano anonymously at the train station.

One day she starts to find sheet music to songs that were significant in her life and marriage. With this music, she starts to find happiness in life again.

This book is a truly touching journey of finding yourself again after feeling lost amongst the crowd and finding the strength to not forget, but to continue on.

Lia Louis did a fantastic job taking the reader on a journey from feeling lost to found.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Key to my Heart
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 12/6/22
Author: Lia Louis
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 352
GR: 4.43

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Atria Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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, she’s devastated. She only plays piano where she can be anonymous. When anonymous sheet music of 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.

My Thoughts: While there is romance in this novel, the first half focuses on Natalie and grieving her husband’s death, struggling to move forward. Louis has an uncanny ability to write about grief in a graceful, poetic way that just warms the heart. The last part of the story had me in complete tears, it was so touching, endearing, and just perfect. The characters were well fleshed out, had depth, were emotional, wonderful banter, chemistry, and were written in a creatively genius way. The author’s writing style was complex, graceful, connective, authentic, and brilliantly written. The tone of the story was perfectly set, you could feel the emotions Natalie was going through. The pacing and flow of the book was perfect, everything happened just at the right moment. This comes out in December and I would suggest preordering!

I really empathized with the heroine, Natalie Fincher. Having been widowed 2 years already, she simply cannot find inspiration or motivation in her life. The grief is still hanging over her, but her friends and family want her to be the old, fun Natalie again. She’s a musician and was well on her way to bringing that talent to the forefront before her husband died, but now she’s content enough to play public piano in a train station anonymously. However, sheet music starts mysteriously appearing and each time it is a piece that holds significance to her memories of her husband but she has no idea who is responsible for this. It begins to spark a bit of life into her trying to figure this out and she begins to make new friends, too, who didn’t know her from before so they don’t carry the same expectations of who she ought to be. Natalie isn’t looking for love, but her life is at a standstill, trying to decide if she can move on from the future she originally created with her husband or carve a new one for herself and leave him behind. Her struggle was palpable and her attention to detail could be selective given how wrapped up she was in her own world. I enjoyed her journey, how she found meaning again in music and how she could share that with others because music was also her therapy. Then there’s the topic of her spouse who she misses dearly but the new friend that she has now seems to be beyond helpful and supportive as she slowly discovers that she enjoys his company. This slow burn of friendship first was both sweet and funny, giving her exactly what she yearned for at the time and I loved how neither of them were even considering the other as a romantic prospect at first. The purpose behind the sheet music and who was responsible lends a tender note to the story in how people are often touched by artistic expression and need that shoulder to lean on in difficult times. Finally, I also appreciated how Natalie reconciled with her longtime friends because ultimately, they love her and want the best for her and she needed them. Even with the melancholy theme, there was still plenty of humor and entertaining dialogue mixed in with some life lessons.

This was a very sweet and comforting book to read. It was a relaxing and funny read, with a deep amount of heart. I loved the main character Natalie's humor and she was flawed but understandable. I'm not sure if I would consider this book a romance. There was romance but it felt more like a book about finding yourself after being incredibly lost. I highly recommend this book. It was one of those books that put you in a good mood after. Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read it.

The Key to my Heart by Lia Louis is a challenging and rewarding novel which involves a young happy married couple who are separated by a tragic cycling accident and her struggle to move on with her life. Her friends try to help her but all she wants to do is play the piano at the train station with a music left in the piano bench by a mystery stranger who seems to know her husband Russ’s favourite songs. She meets Joe and Tom along the way who try and help her heal and starts to have feelings for both of them. The author , Lia Louis gives us a wonderful story and keeps the reader guessing right until the end. This book is about forgiveness and how to move on and start your life again without your first love . Bravo Lia and I look forward to your next book and thank you to NetGalley for this early E-book arc copy and reading a delightful book.🙋‍♀️🇨🇦🥰📚🤗👏💐🥳

Thanks, NetGalley!

This book really picked up in the final chapters, but for about the first 15-20 chapters I was reading and felt like I was just waiting for something, literally anything to happen. When it finally does and things start moving, the book pulls you in more. I really did not find Natalie likable until the very end either.

Wow -- what to say about this book? Two words. Beautiful. Heart-wrenching.

I absolutely loved this book but don't know if I could read it again. It should be obvious given the synopsis but big content warning for grief. It is such a raw book and I loved Natalie and her journey towards healing.

Thankfully I read this book at home b/c I ugly cried at times. I also laughed. Thank you Lia Louis for writing such an amazing book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Atria Books!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an early copy of Lia Louis' The Key to My Heart. It was an emotional, lovely read that I very much enjoyed by an excellent writer.

Natalie is struggling with grief after the loss of her husband. She hasn’t been able to play music- until she finds sheet music of her favorite meaningful songs left at the train station piano. She wants to solve the mystery of the sheet music, and looks forward to playing piano at the train station. After a failed set up from friends, she meets Tom, and they form a sweet friendship. He helps her repair her cottage home and listens to her without judgement. She also joins a grief group and connects with Joe, who is also grieving a big loss. Tom, Joe, and music have helped Natalie begin to enjoy life again like she hasn’t in years, but is she ready for love?

This book was so raw, real, and heartwarming. I read it one day because I just couldn’t put it down. It was my first from this author but won’t be my last. Natalie is such a likable main character who has been through so much that you can’t help but root for her to find happiness. Tom is the sweetest, and their friendship and banter is perfection. This book deals with some heavy topics like loss and grief, but at the same time is hopeful and uplifting and funny. It reminded me of a lovely combination of the movies PS I Love You and The Holiday. I’d recommend it to anyone that enjoys a bittersweet but heartwarming romance.

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria books, and Lia Louis for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I think the cover was a little misleading to me. I thought it was going to be a nice sweet romance, but there were some heavy and sad moments
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was drawn by this cover and plot line and was excited to dive in. I started the story and enjoyed the British setting and story line. However I struggled with the pace of the story. I did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lia Louis consistently reminds me why I love reading. This one gets 4 stars for being sweet and interesting and thoughtful and WITTY and just a general great read.

📖 The details:
Two+ years after the death of her husband, Natalie is still mourning and a bit lost. Her well-meaning friends try to fix her and set her up and get back to normal, but Natalie doesn’t want to get there yet. In her own time and through a secret piano connection (is her dead husband leaving her sheet music?!), she meets some new people and finds her own roads to healing.

🙋‍♀️ My take:
This one was heavy and light in all the right ways. The MC Natalie was so easy to love and root for. I enjoyed seeing her make her OWN decisions and work through her grief and let go just enough to let someone else in. And I’m a sucker for stories with two genuinely nice guys (I was obviously hoping for one over the other 🤫). Lia Louis knows how to do witty and swoony dialogue to make me laugh and melt all in one page. Some parts were slow, but I pretty much devoured it. Recommend!

➰Fave quote: “What do we know? We don’t know do we, what’s on the other side, what’s out there. We think we know the rules of the universe, but we haven’t got a bloody clue.”

the key to my heart is and was just fantastic. Loved it and really enjoyed this story. I was hooked and loved it all.

I just finished reading and I'm feeling so many emotions that I still need to process. I picked up this book thinking it was a Rom Com, but it certainly is not. This book is sad, deeply emotional, complex, and heartfelt. It's about Natalie, who tragically became a widow at a young age, and how she is still managing her grief. This book is about relationships, family dynamics, friendships, meeting new people, and all of the dramatics that ensue after the tragic loss of a loved one. This was not a neatly packaged sitcom or romance novel where everything magically falls into place. This novel has very real emotions and showed all of the complicated ways relationships can falter after an unexpected death.

Like I previously stated, I began this book thinking it was a light romance, and after a few chapters I considered setting it down because it was just too sad. But, I was very interested in the piano music story line, and I hoped that the book might start getting more hopeful and cheerful as it went. It really didn't. Most of the characters had messy, sticky, and sad stories. Even the love triangle that I predicted would be fun and uplifting, didn't pan out like I expected. But, I was invested in all the characters and curious about their fates, so luckily I kept reading, because the end did fill me with hope and happiness.

Overall, I thought this book was beautifully expressed. The characters were complex, engaging, likable and memorable. Not a summer beach read, but I really did enjoy this novel and have enjoyed Lia Louis's other novels "Dear Emmie Blue" and "Eight Prefect Hours". I will definitely be reading everything she writes. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I rate this book a solid 3.5.

Our narrator, Natalie, in her early 30s, lost her husband two years ago. Her friends and those around her are constantly trying to cheer her up and encouraging her to move on. Unfortunately, it's not so easy. Nat feels stuck in her grief, fantasizing on what could have been with her husband, Russ. This story captures the ebbs and flows of grief and no matter how badly others may want you to move on, it has to be on your own timeline. To cope with her loss, Nat has been playing piano at St. Pancras train station in London. One day, Nat discovers someone left her sheet music. Not just any sheet music, but it was a song that meant so much to her and Russ. Someone continues to leave Nat sheet music that feels personal to her life. She is on a mission to discover who could be responsible. Along the way, she meets two amazing characters that help Natalie feel alive and excited about life.

This story demonstrates the complexity of grief and I loved watching Natalie resolve some of the guilt and shame she has felt surrounding her husband's tragic death. She deserves a happily ever after and the ending gives the reader EXACTLY what they want. The author's writing style invokes so much emotion and I appreciate its unique genre, like a romance, yet not completely. Friendship is a key theme to the storyline.

Thank you to NetGally and the publisher for allowing me to read this story ahead of publication.

Call me a sucker for cheesy romcom. books because that is exactly what I am. I loved 8 Perfect hours by. Lia Louis so when The Key. to my Heart popped up on NetGalley it was a MUST read for me! And it did not disappoint!!

Natalie, a widow of 2 years, feels lost, her life feels empty and all she can focus on is playing the piano at the train station (where she can remain anonymous). But then one day she receives sheet music left behind by a stranger, and it happens to be her husbands favorite song...and it keeps on happening. This sparks a joy n Natalie that she hasn't felt in some time. This book was touching, emotional & vulnerable. I enjoyed Natalies journey of self discovery and finding her way back to life through music. But the love interest....that was the real winner. Loved this book and would highly recommend it

Thank you to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC

I love the way Lia Louis weaves her beautiful stories. Nat, a young widow, is wading through her grief and trying to figure out how to go on. She’s really stuck until a secret someone starts leaving sheet music for her at a piano she uses. Who is it and why?

I loved Nat. You just root for her as she slowly comes through her pain. New friends are made along the way and maybe one will help her find love again. “It’s you, for me too. Of course it’s you.”

Notes: a bit more bad language than I’m comfortable with.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am so grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book is absolutely amazing. I thought, at first, it was going to be a sad read just based on the fact that Natalie was made a widow at such a young age and she was clearly still grieving. But this story made me laugh and cry (both happy and sad tears) and if I could hug Natalie in real life I definitely would.
The Key to my Heart does a fantastic job of showing how people grieve differently and how sometimes letting yourself feel the pain and accepting it can help you through the unimaginable loss that can happen in our lives. I love the idea of music therapy and I wish there was a soundtrack that went with this book so I could hear all the songs mentioned as well as the songs Natalie wrote.
This was my first time reading this author and now I have to read all her books. I would give this more than 5 stars if I could!