As someone who has struggled with a lot of loss lately, this book was something that I needed to pick up. I like that it wasn't too heavy on the romance. This was a book that was overall a good book for me to read that felt like it came at the perfect time in my life. I think that it is essential to see these kinds of relationships where there is someone to depend on and befriend instead of just falling head over heels for at first sight. It sends a good message and has a good theme.
Thank you for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book really wrung my heart out of so many emotions. It made my heart feel heavy with grief, but also light with its love story, in both romance and friendship. I felt it all.

But most of all— I felt so much love for our protagonist Natalie. Natalie’s life is led by the grief of the tragic loss of her husband, but bit by bit she finds her feet moving one in front of the other—seeing the life on the other side. At the heart of her journey is trying to unravel the mystery of who is leaving her sheets of music to play at a public piano. Music with great significance to her and her life with her deceased husband. The mystery was one my mind kept turning through a million theories and I quite liked its conclusion.

The romance was gentle and sweet— it took its time, leading by friendship and patience, which I’m so grateful for. It’s one that was wholeheartedly worth that wait. It was perfect.

If I have any complaint it is with the resolution between current and past friendships. I wish Nat had held her ground with boundaries, rather than being admonished for them. Sometimes we have to move on from certain friendships, forgiveness can be had but it doesn’t always have to tie up prettily like a bow. Perhaps I just felt overwhelmingly protective of Nat, but I thought she was in the right in needing her space, but more than that, for a story that rang so true to life I wish it would have reflected that in that not all friendships will last a lifetime. Only the true gems do. This is truly a minor qualm, and again, one brought up by how deeply I felt for our brave, wonderful protagonist.

Natalie deserves a happily ever after.

This one will stay in my heart for quite a while.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I knew I had to read this, eight perfect hours was my absolute favourite holiday read in 2021.

I loved the characters, the awe moments and everything in between throughout this jolly book!

Would 10/10 recommend!

Lia Louis sure knows how to write a story of human emotion and connection. The Key to My Heart also discusses the reverberations of grief in a sensitive and tender way that I very much related to as someone who has also recently lost a loved one.

Natalie is 32, a pianist, and a widow of 2.5 years. After losing her husband, she began playing the piano at a subway station. She has recently been finding sheet music in the piano bench there that hits too close to home to be a random coincidence. This sets her on a path of self-discovery that leads to new friendships, healing past wounds, and perhaps even love.

I loved the way this novel discussed the experience of grief and finding a new way to live and be after loss. Despite the sorrowful beginning, I found it highly enjoyable to spend some time in Natalie's world, and the secondary characters were great. I didn't find the red herring romance particularly believable. And while the sheet music mystery was a driving plot point, I felt that at times it detracted from the true story, oddly enough. Nonetheless, this was a lovely, cozy read that I highly recommend!

Big thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy to review! It was lovely.

First off, let me say that this is not a winter book 😆 I know with her last book people were disappointed as they thought it had a winter or Christmas feel to it. This is a book about Natalie who loses her husband suddenly and is still dealing with grief two and a half years later. Starting this book, I was like oh, so depressing, but then it took a turn. It’s about so much more than grief. I loved it! Gave me all the feels and loved the story and chemistry of some of the characters.

Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publish Date: December 6, 2022

I loved Eight Perfect Hours so I was extremely excited seeing a new novel by Lia!

The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis is a wonderful story.
It didn't take me long to fall in love with the story and the main character Natalie.
It is so easy to empathize with her and to will her on to happiness.
Her journey is emotional, beautiful and I couldn't help but cheer her on every step of the way.
A charming, endearing story with lovable characters.
The character development is absolutely brilliant.
The writing flowed easily and I could see the story playing in my head like a movie.
I enjoyed this story as much as I did the previous one and I so look forward to reading more.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Atria/Emily Bestler Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Lia Louis has a beautiful writing style. I've enjoyed two of her past books, Emmie Blue and Eight Perfect Hours. This one was a similar offering but explored themes of grief and hope after loss.

Natalie lost her husband, Russ, a couple of years ago and is now stuck in life. She no longer connects with her friends, has totally changed her job, and has no desire to put herself out there anymore. When a stranger begins leaving music sheets at a community piano that plays at a few times a week, Natalie's life gets shaken up in a good way.

This book has some heavy themes and if you are looking for a rom-com, this is not it. For about the first half of the book, the word that echoed through my mind was melancholy. But eventually there was a shift to a more hopeful note. Natalie was doing the hard work of healing. It was an inspirational read about how someone comes back from a catastrophic loss. I also loved the love story. They had great banter and friendship and the romantic relationship was perfectly paced. There are also some great friendships in this book, as well as some not so great ones. I loved her relationship with Shauna and her sister, Jodie. Some of the friends weren't as likable but they still pushed the story (and Natalie) along.

When you are in the mood for a heartfelt, moving read about loss, hope, and learning to live again, check this one out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-arc.
Wow. What a beautiful, and beautifully written, story. You would think from the description that it might be sad, but it really isn't. It's life affirming. It's hopeful. It's uplifting. It's romantic, even though I'm not sure I would classify is as romance. It shows the true essence of friendships. If you've haven''t read Lia Louis yet, grab this book. If you have read her other books, this is by far her best yet. You will finish it with a smile on your face.

This is so far my favorite Lia Louis book! It’s even better than Dear Emmie Blue! It’s so sentimental, genuine, heart warming with it’s realistic, lovely characterization, promising plot with honest approach to sensitive subjects. The author just played a magical symphony with the strings of our hearts. She knows how to touch the souls with her powerful words.

I wanted to give hugs to Natalie and tell her everything is gonna be all right at each chapter.
Here’s the recap of the plot;

Natalie Fincher is having a problem to move on with her life, living in a wrecked cottage needs a lot of restorations as the horny foxes outside giving her sleepless nights.

Two and half years ago, her husband had an accident. She kept playing piano in the hospital to connect with him when he was in coma. It worked! He came back. But then…she lost him forever.

Now she’s stuck in a house she’s planned to rebuild with her husband and she cannot sell the place because guilt feelings to say goodbye to a place she bottled up memories are eating her inside.

Her plans to create a musical with her best friend has failed after they fell apart.

One day when she waits for the train at St. Pancras station, she sees a piano. Suddenly she gathers her courage to play it without thinking any further. And it turns into her routine to play the piano on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and heading to coffee shop close to the station to chat with lovely owner Shauna.

One day she finds sheet music left for her next to the piano. That is not regular sheet, that is her husband’s favorite song. As the days go by she finds more sheets related with their marriage and their happy times. Could her husband try to connect with her? Could someone close to the couple be involved in this?

As Natalie conducts her own investigation about the mysterious person who is leaving the sheets, she finds herself bumping into charming photographer Tom she’s met in the bar and befriending the Notebook Guy she’s seen at Shauna’s coffee shop.

She slowly realizes the life is full of surprises but if she wants to embrace them, she has to learn how to let go and give herself time to heal!

I loved the revelation about the big mystery and the romance parts! Especially the last gesture at the end made me cry so hard!

It absolutely deserves my musical, poetic, photographic five stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this incredible digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

A slow burn with a sweet romance. This is a heart warming and comforting book and I absolutely loved it

A heartwarming and comforting read. The Key to My Heart is a sweet slow-burn romance. It is also a moving story of a young widow learning to love life again.

Natalie’s husband died two and a half years ago and she is still struggling. One thing that seems to cheer her up slightly is playing piano though she only seems able to play the public one near St. Pancras station. Soon, Natalie discovers sheet music at the piano seemingly left for her—ones that have special meaning to her and her husband. This sparks some hope and happiness in her. As she searches for the mystery person leaving music for her she begins to open up, reconnects with her friends, and makes new ones along the way.

This is a beautiful story and features one of the most thoughtful and romantic “grand gestures” I’ve ever read. If you are already a fan of Lia Louis’s work, you will not be disappointed. And if you haven’t read her work yet—what are you waiting for?! I loved Dear Emmie Blue and think The Key to My Heart is her most charming story yet. A must-read if you are a fan of (British) romance novels, slow-burn relationships, and stories of resilience and renewed hope. 4.5 stars.

Thank you very much to Atria Books for the opportunity to read an ARC via NetGalley. This is my voluntary and honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.
Isn’t it a Lia Louis book if I don’t cry and cry I did. This book broke my heart and put it back together in the best way. Is not a romantic story but is a love story with a dash of romance. It’s about Natalie finding herself after the unexpected loss of her husband and is absolutely beautiful. Lia Louis truly have a gift with words.

Slow burn with a sweet romance that left a song in my heart.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a great romance! Loved the slow build up, cute banter, and felt myself rooting for the characters. First but not my last from this author- would recommend to all romance lovers!

This book is a perfect snuggle under a blanket read. There were tears and laughter and I really enjoy the way Lia Louis writes. This is the story of Natalie, who lost her husband two years ago in a tragic accident. Natalie is stuck with her grief and spends time visiting him frequently and stopping to play piano in a train station. Mysteriously, sheet music is being left for her and the songs are important to her relationship with her husband, Russ. Natalie has to figure out how to keep moving in her life and the mystery of the music is a catalyst to her moving forward. I loved her "old" friendships and I adored her new friendship with Tom, right from their first meeting. Louis covers a variety of issues and emotions with this story. An enjoyable read Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

A story about a young woman pianist, Natalie, who lost her husband, Ross,, in a tragic bike accident, and is still coping with the loss 2 years after his death.. With the help of 2 new friends, Joe and Tom, her love of piano, and her music therapy, Natalie is finally ready to try to fall in love again and begin a new life..

The Key to My Heart is like a big warm hug on a chilly day. All of Louis's books feel like the perfect winter book to curl up by the fire, watch the snow fall, and cozy up with each page. In my eyes, Lia Louis can do no wrong! Ever since I read the very first page of Dear Emmie Blue I have been a fan work. Her follow up Eight Perfect Hours was amazing and this book definitely follows suit. Louis's books pack a punch with so much heart, emotion, and love. & personally, I love love! The characters always feel realistic, not at all cheesy, and leave you feeling hopeful and happy by the end.

The Key to My Heart introduces us to Natalie Fincher. Natalie experiences extreme loss after her husband is in a tragic accident. She slowly begins to rebuild her life but everything is a reminder of him and she is stalled out and unable to move on. Everyone in her life is worried about her and trying their best to help but music seems to be the only outlet where she is able to find peace. Each Tuesday and Thursday Natalie plays piano at the train station as a form of therapy for herself and truly thinks nobody else is even paying attention. That is until music pages begin showing up in the piano bench. & not just any music, songs that are significant and specific to her deceased husband, Russ. Natalie sets out to find who is leaving the music sheets and why. In doing so opens herself up to the thoughts of a new life, new love, and also the possibly of heartbreak when she finds out the truth.

This story was definitely a slow burn and is not all sunshine and rainbows, but the author is able to write about tough subjects with such hope. I loved all the supporting characters, full of quick wit, sarcasm, and genuine care for Natalie.

Thank you to Atria/ Emily Bestler Books & NetGalley for an ARC of The Key to My Heart in exchange for my honest review. 4.5 stars