This is the epitome of a cozy and heartwarming read ❤️‍🩹. Lia Louis’s books are such sweet and tender stories of self-discovery, friendship, recovering from grief and loss, and finding love. I really enjoyed Eight Perfect Hours last year, and I’m excited to get to Dear Emmie Blue!

This slow-burn, character-driven, closed-door romance is one that can be enjoyed all year round! I loved listening to this one on audio as well!

A beautifully written story of grief and learning how to move on.

Two and a half years ago, Natalie suddenly lost her husband, and she has been overwhelmed with grief since. Despite her friends meaning well, they constantly try to set her up with men and rush her to moving on. On one of these nights out, Natalie runs into Tom, a cheeky photographer who is sweet and charismatic.

There is also an underlying mystery to figure out who is leaving her sheet music in the piano bench where she plays.

I found the characters and their development so well done. The writing was witty and fun while also focusing on the hard topic of grief and moving on after a loss. Writing about this topic is not easy but I felt it was captured well in this novel. However, I did not love the romance aspect of it. I was not sold on the relationship and that they felt anything more than friendly. I was almost rooting for the other man in the story… whoops. Overall, it was very well done but I just wish the relationship was drawn out a bit more to show that they shared stronger feelings of love.

Over two years after her husband died, Natalie is still feeling lost. But when someone starts to leave sheet music for her at the train station piano she often plays at, she can’t help but feel it’s somehow a sign from her husband. She starts to come to life again as she investigates who could be behind these little gifts of music.

I’ve been a big fan of Lia’s writing ever since Dear Emmie Blue, and this book solidified that love. This book hit me in the emotions right away. The way she writes about Natalie’s grief, it feels so real and really hits you in all the feels. Because of that, Natalie’s healing journey is also so heartwarming. While this is a very slow burn, it worked and the element of mystery kept me fully engaged. If you are looking for a beautiful read that leaves you feeling hopeful, look no further.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Just ok. I loved Lia Louis last book but this left me a little disappointment in the end. I wish there was a little more to it.

I am a fan of Lia Louis, and this book did not disappoint. I love the magical quality of her writing and storytelling and this book definitely had that. The mystery of the sheet music left for Natalie and the coincidences of those in her life. This is a story of love, loss, and forgiveness. People grieve in different ways and at different paces/timelines. Natalie didn't feel like she was meeting her friends' expectation on hong long she 'should' grieve her husband, but in her own way, she was able to work through it. I loved Foxes and Buttons. #TheKeytoMyHeart #NetGalley

This book is so warm-hearted and lovely. Author Lia Louis does character development like no other author I have read. Her characters are lovable, relatable, and unique. This book beautifully portrays grief and the honor of truly knowing someone in a vulnerable way. I highly recommend it.

I absolutely adore Lia Louis, her characters and her writing in general. She builds the most beautiful stories with the most heart warming characters. The Key To My Heart is a book that discusses grief and how we navigate it, how to rebuild your life, and how to continue living and loving.

While this is my least favourite of Louis’ books so far, it was still beautiful. The first half was a bit slow, learning about the characters and their grief, but the second half the story really unfolded and destoryed my heart and put it all back together.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance reader's copy of this book.

This was a sweet but forgettable book. I read it a while back and have been behind on my reviews, and I honestly could not tell you a thing about it. I guess that means it didn't make much of an impression.

Natalie Fincher lost her husband two and a half years ago. Now it seems all her friends are pushing her to move on, trying to 'fix her', however, Natalie has no idea what it is that she wants in life. Does she want to sell the cottage that was her and Russ' dream project, or does she want to stay there? She can't bring herself to write music or sing any more, the only connection she has left to music is playing at the piano at the train station. However, then someone starts leaving her sheet music, songs that hold a special meaning to her, songs that she played for Russ at the hospital. Who could it be? All Natalie knows is that for the first time in a long time she feels a spark of something and sets out to investigate?

Another winner from Lia Louis, who certainly knows how to write contemporary romance. What I always like about Lia's books though is that there is always so much more to them than just a love story, and that is even more true of The Key to My Heart.

Lia Louis wrote this novel with equal parts grief and hope and it is wonderful. Natalie Fincher is still mourning the loss of her husband, 2 and a 1/2 years after his death. Barely meeting the minimum socially accepted amount of time out of her house with her friends, she simply has lost a love for everything. The only peace she gets is when she is playing the public piano at the local train station. When someone anonymously starts leaving sheet music for her, Natalie is determined to find out who her fellow music lover is.

The Key to My Heart is a beautiful work that allows the reader to feel all of the emotions of Natalie as she learns to navigate through her own sense of the "new normal". A romantic novel that slowly unfolds and keeps the audience's attention from start to finish. Lia Louis is easily becoming an automatic purchase author for me!

I am a Huge Lia Louis fan - Dear Emmie Blue was such a sweet, moving beautiful, book, I thought it would be almost impossible to top. But I think I loved The Key to My Heart even more. Natalie Fincher loses her husband in a car accident, and struggles to get through life after his death. She has close friends but hides her true feelings, because she thinks they are judging her. The only time she is open and honest is twice a week, when she plays at a public piano in a train station. But then she starts finding sheet music at the piano, songs that are personal to her. In her quest to solve the mystery, she meets two men who help her deal with and understand her grief, and gradually move through it. I loved the compassion and love the author shows towards Natalie, in the way that the other characters interact with her. It seems like a realistic reaction and storyline in response to your husbands death, and possibly finding the One after the One. And not to give anything away, but this was one of the most romantic conclusions of all time. Impossible not to cry! Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy, I really appreciate it.

This was my first book by this author, but it will not be the last! I can’t wait to dive into her backlist! The Key to My Heart was a beautiful story about grief and love and the intimacy of knowing another person. I really loved how the author wrote about grief and all the ways it impacts a person and all the ups and downs of navigating a loss. Despite the serious topic of death of a loved one, the author was able to weave humor into the story. I often found myself laughing out loud about the interactions and banter between our main characters. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a honest review!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for my review copy.

I really enjoyed this novel from Lia Louis. I've only read Dear Emmie Blue from this author and I loved it so much, so I was very eager to pick this one up as well. It dealt with the heavy topic of losing a spouse and how everybody handles grief differently. I thought the topic was handled with grace and while it was heavy, I thought it was also quite hopeful while reading.

Main character Natalie had lost her husband a few years earlier and was having trouble figuring out what to do in her life without him. People in her life felt that she should "be over it already", but this book sought to prove that there is no right or wrong way to grieve and there certainly isn't a timeline on grief. I also love the way it included music as a way of healing.

It was a very touching story about the power of love and friendship, finding yourself and healing the heart. Loved!

A story of loss, grief, hope, and love. A very heartwarming novel.
Many thanks to Atria and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Natalie Fincher is perfectly fine being alone. Since her husband died two years ago, she’s dreaded the thought of moving on. So she goes to work, occasionally sees her friends, and every week she plays the public piano in the train station.

Then someone starts leaving sheet music there for her—songs that were special to her and her late husband.

As she tries to solve the mystery of who’s behind the music, she finds herself with two new men in her life. Tom, the strong supportive son of her good friend, and Joe, who understands her grief after suffering a loss of his own. But which one makes her heart sing?

Lia Louis is hit-or-miss for me. I loved Dear Emmie Blue, but DNF’d Eight Perfect Hours.

This one, though, HIT ALL THE RIGHT NOTES (sorry, I couldn’t resist). It was exactly what I was looking for after some heavy reads—a charming love story with flawed but likable characters.

The best part, for me, was that the story was equally about ALL kinds of love: familial love, friendship, romantic love, even self love. Natalie was equally invested in all of them, and it created a nuanced examination of different relationships.

Thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the eARC!

Check out this book if you want a good cry and a good read.

I absolutely loved this book about Natalie, a young widow unable to move on without the love of her life. They were only married for a short time and they had so much to look forward to in the future. They had just purchased a fixer upper cottage and she had an opportunity to tour with a musical she’s been writing.

But her husband was passes away suddenly and Russ’ life isn’t the only one that stopped that day. Natalie is unable to play music unless it’s at the London train station playing for passing strangers. She has lost everything she loves in her life.

But suddenly, someone is leaving all her husband’s favorite songs at the station’s piano. Trying to figure out who is doing this finally begins to get Natalie out of her depression.

My heart absolutely broke for Natalie! I can’t even imagine her grief as someone recently married myself. She doesn’t know what to do with the house that they were going to renovate together. Her friends are supportive, but they can’t know 100% how she feels and she begins to make new friends who don’t know Russ. It’s easier to be herself with them since they didn’t know her before. While this book is very sad, it’s very genuine and there are parts of humor and future romance. I really loved it.

Thank you so much to @atriabooks @bookclubfavorites and @lialouis for my gifted copy.

Natalie Fincher’s husband died two and a half years ago and she feels like her life is now empty. That’s why her friends are trying to set her up with someone but she’s not ready yet.

Natalie is a musician, but after her husband’s death, she hasn’t been able to play the piano like she used to, in front of her friends and family. The only place where she feels safe playing music is at a London train station’s public piano, where she starts playing twice a week.

She doesn’t tell anyone that she’s playing there, but one day she arrives and finds sheet music that someone had left, and it’s the first song she learned to play. Other day she finds another one, and this time it’s her husband’s favorite song. Natalie’s certain that someone is leaving them for her, so she starts feeling excited for the first time in years and decides to investigate.

Even though this is a romance, the book focuses more on her healing journey. It made me cry several times, just to imagine what she was going through. The story is also very cute and heartwarming. I really enjoyed the banter between the main characters; their relationship felt genuine and the romantic gesture at the end made me sob.

My favorite aspect of the book was the character development. There are several characters in this story, and I really appreciated how Lia Louis managed to create a different personality and a different kind of relationship with Natalie for each of them, and how at the end she learns how to include all of these people in her life again.

I adored this wonderful story about loss, grief, friendship, music, and love. It’s going to stay with me for a long time! I’m already looking forward to reading the author’s next book.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for the complimentary copy of this book. Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for the complimentary copy of this book.

I loved this — it was a very sweet story as so many books in this genre are, but there was more tension, more of a legitimate “will they / won’t they” love triangle that felt more authentic than they often do. Hard to put down but easy to read.

I really enjoyed this story. I thought the character development felt very natural. And I think the romance felt right, too! Very sweet story.

This was a sweet book that dealt with grief in a tender way. It was hard to read at times, and a little slow, but I enjoyed the ending.