This book captured me heart and soul. I felt so much with Natalie and what she was going through. Putting one foot in front of the other just to keep going can definitely lead to the unexpected. But sometimes life knows what you need before you do.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley

In The Key to my Heart by Lia Louis, Natalie Fincher’s husband died suddenly two and a half years ago and she is lost in grief. Prior to his death, she loved to play music, but now she can only bring herself to play for people too busy to listen at a London train station. One day, someone starts to mysteriously leave sheet music of songs that are meaningful to her at the piano. Now, she is filled with excitement and wonder of who could be doing this.
I really enjoyed this unique book. I felt for Natalie as she found her way through her grief and enjoyed the characters along the way. It has a lot of heart and contains a sweet romance and some mystery, both of which I enjoy. I recommend reading it.
Thank you so much to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book has been sitting on my shelf for months. For some unknown reason I never felt inspired to pick it up. Strange, since I loved the two previous books by this author.

So when I had the opportunity to try the audio I figured it would give me the push I needed to get started.

I quickly realized why I kept pushing this one off. In one word, I would best describe it as…sad.😔. I understand the author was going for heartwarming, and for many readers I’m sure that’s how it came off. But to me it was so utterly sad and depressing I kept having to stop and shake it off so I didn’t slide down that rabbit hole.

Natalie Fincher has been a widow for two and a half years. Only in her 30’s and of course, never expecting to find herself in this position. But here she is…still grieving for her lost husband, unable to find a way out of her darkness..

When Natalie finds sheet music in the public piano she frequents, she believes it to be a sign from her late husband. It must be true! The music is every song that had meaning to the two of them! So who could be leaving these sheets of music for her? A heavenly message from above? Or maybe someone more local!😉

I think I was just the wrong reader/bad timing for this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books

I thought this book just lovely to read in the cold winter. It wasn’t a Christmas book, but it still had that Hallmark feel. Natalie is a young widow who is still struggling with her grief every day. She plays a piano in a busy London train station and someone has been leaving music for her to play. She is a trained professional musician but has lost the motivation to play anywhere but the station. She meets two men, one in grief counseling and one at a bar, and is trying to figure out how these men fit into her new life and if one of them is leaving her the music. It’s perfectly cozy for cold, dark winter evenings.

I really wanted to love this book because I think it has a beautiful message about grief, healing, friendship, found family and more. I liked the book, but didn't quite love it in part because of how sad it was, as well as pretty slow-paced, and I went into it in the mood for a romance and this book reads more as women's fiction, which isn't inherently bad, but just wasn't what I was looking for.

On the sadness and grieving aspect, I will say that I felt this really rang true for me. In the book, the FMC, Natalie, is grieving the loss of her husband about two years before the beginning of the book and the book follows her journey of healing from this tragedy and finding her way forward in life.

Though I haven't lost a partner, I did lose my father at a young age, as well as a good friend when I was in my early 20s, I have an understanding and appreciation for how deep and long-lasting grief can be, the destabilizing and paralyzing effect it can have on life, even years after the person who has died. It can be all consuming at times, but other times, the grief can sneak up and surprise you out of nowhere. It's hard. It's painful. And it can be challenging for friends and family who haven't been through the same experience and perhaps don't know how to deal with it. Honestly, as a grieving person, the worse thing someone could say to me was "just get over it. It's time to move on."
There is no right way to grieve and heal, no timeline that lays out the milestones in logical order. It takes patience, and empathy, and love, and compassion.
I felt that this book really hit on all of those notes, while also holding the FMC accountable for her actions (or sometimes lack thereof). Grieving and healing cannot and should not be used as a way to inflict hurt onto others, which Natalie sometimes done, even unintentionally.

I felt that the love story with the MMC, was a sub-plot in this book, and not the main driver of the story (which is why I say this is more women's fiction than a romance), but was beautifully done, in my opinion. It had highs and lows, conflict, forgiveness, etc.

All in all, a lovely book, but definitely one that you need to be in the appropriate mood to read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, Atria, and the author for the eARC.

The Key To My Heart is a beautiful read. Lia Louis always knows how to pull heartstrings for sure. This book does have a lot of emotions involved with overcoming grief being at the forefront.

The romance was not really connecting but I was fine with that. I feel like this was a lot about Natalie healing.

I really loved this book and recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria, and Lia Louis for the e-ARC. This review is my own opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙬 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.

📍 Read if you like:
• Emotional Reads
• Beautiful Stories
• Overcoming Grief
• Witty Banter

Thankfully I knew beforehand after reading Eight Perfect Hours last year that Lia Louis writes these emotional reads. At first glance, you’ll think this is a fun holiday romance, but you are completely wrong. There’s so much more to the story!

Overcoming grief is a major theme in this book and dealing with love and loss. The number of emotions this book brought was super high. It was a beautiful story with such a wonderful writing style.

Despite the mention of grief, some humorous moments lifted the mood. The romance side of the story isn’t the major focus, but I still thought it was so beautiful and these characters were so wholesome and real.

This book was slow-paced, but it didn’t feel that way with the way it was written. I also loved the friendships and how character-driven this book is.

This closed-door romance was so heartwarming. I loved how Natalie overcame her grief with music and loved ones by her side. She felt so relatable at times.

Don’t expect this book to be a lighthearted holiday romance… while there is a romance, the majority of the book is focused on various themes: grief being one of those. I’ll still recommend this book because it’s just a beautiful story, but know beforehand it’s an emotional one!

I absolutely loved Louis' last novel, Eight Perfect Hours, and I expected this one to destroy me too.

Natalie Fincher's husband dies suddenly and her life is completely turned upside down. Two and a half years later she still can't find joy in the things she used to like, and she feels pressured to have 'moved on' and be 'ok' by now. She starts playing music at a train station's public piano and one day someone starts leaving her sheet music. It's not just any music either, it's her late husband's favorites and songs they shared.

The mystery of it all gives her something to focus on, and look forward to and she starts to open up to the world again.

The grief felt very real to me, and found myself hurting alongside Natalie as I read. The romance angle of the book felt a little disconnected to me though, and I thought it almost could have done without it, and been focused solely on friendship and healing. I just didn't feel the spark between the two of them, and that part of the story felt underdeveloped compared to the rest of the book.

First off, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, for letting me read an advance copy of Lia Louis's latest novel, The Key to My Heart.

This book perfectly hit that sweet spot of comfort romance while also leaving me guessing throughout about the mystery of the music sheets being left for Natalie. We get to join Natalie on her journey with grief, but we also get to see other character's journeys with grief and processing different losses (I can't get into more without spoiling things). As someone who has dealt with different types of loss (my own and in my family and friend groups) the uneven path and (sometimes) morbid use of humor felt natural as people were processing their experiences.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance and some mystery, but also enjoys characters navigating emotions and morals and questioning themselves and their life.

#TheKeytoMyHeart #NetGalley

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

I had to put this one down at 43%. I was intrigued by who was leaving the music, but I wasn’t emotional invested in the characters. I didn’t “hate” this book but any means. I just wasn’t super excited to pick it up and keep reading so I knew it was them to choose something else.

A friend did end up telling me the full story and it sounds beautiful, so it’s very possible this is a “me” problem.

This is a sweet romance about a widow finding love again.
Natalie is a musician who doesn’t play much or do much of anything since her husband died. The only place she performs is at a public train station, where she’s made friends with some of the shop owners.

One day, she finds sheet music on the piano, and the song was significant to Natalie and her husband. She gets more music as time goes by, and it feels like she’s communicating with her deceased husband.

Natalie wants to find out who’s leaving music for her, and her journey helps her open up again. 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

I was really interested by the premise of this book - someone leaves meaningful sheet music for Natalie Fincher, who is a widow working through losing her young husband. I thought this book showed such a realistic side to grief and the non-linear journey that people often take after the loss of a loved one. I think this one feels more like realistic fiction and not as much romance. There is some romance in it but it felt like it was more the sideline to the grief journey. The friend group in this book did not pass my vibe check! It was a pretty quick and easy read but it did feel a bit slow and slightly repetitive at times. I really enjoyed Dear Emmie Blue and absolutely did not like Eight Perfect Hours so this one feel right in the middle for me.

oh geesh, i really wanted to enjoy this book. but alas, i did not. that doesn't mean it's not for you! i still hope you try it and that YOU love it! because that's what matters when you read! :)

Russ was a victim of a hit and run on his bike and ended up in the hospital. Though he appeared to be on the mend, an infection quickly ended his recovery and his life. Two years later, his wife Natalie is trying to get on with her life per her friends' support but she can't seem to get over Russ. Her grief is still very much alive. She keeps getting music left at the piano at the train station where she sometimes plays. She thinks it's some kind of sign from Russ and doesn't dare tell her friends for fear that they might think she's crazy. Through chance, Natalie meets Tom and her life starts changing. She discovers how and why the music ends up at the piano and eventually is able to move on and continue with her life. It's a heartfelt read.

Sometimes when I read a book that I love it is hard to put into words exactly how I feel about it. This amazing book is one of those. I read this book over a month ago and I have been struggling writing the review because I want to get it just right. The bottom line is this book is full of emotion, grief, friendship, love and healing and it is an extra special book.
Natalie is a young widow that has closed the door on living after her husband passed away. She tries to find her joy through music but even that has not healed her heart like it once could. But when she starts mysteriously receiving music from an anonymous person she finds a reason to start to deal with the grief weighing her down. This opens up doors to new relationships in her life.
Lia Louis is a truly gifted writer in her ability to put the perfect words on the page to convey the feelings of the moment. She does not disappoint with this book!
I am very grateful to Atria Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a digital copy of this heartwarming book in exchange for an honest review.

Bittersweet and nostalgia evoking. I'm not usually into music-inspired books but this hit 'the note!'

This story was heartbreakingly sweet. I really felt for Natalie as she navigated her way through her grief. Grief isn’t the same for everyone and watching the ups and downs of that was really powerful. I also enjoyed the light romance with trusty photographer Tom. So sweet and so sensitive, I could melt!
I’m really glad I picked this book up and will remember it every holiday season!

Thanks Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the ARC!

This was such a beautiful story about grief, love, family, and friendship. I loved the growth from Natalie throughout the book as she handled her grief from losing her husband and began to move on. When her friends try and set her up with Tom, she is not interested. But after small coincidences and running into him several times, they strike up a friendship. I loved the little mystery about who was leaving music in the piano for Natalie and I was not expecting the outcome to that. The ending was absolutely wonderful and had me smiling. This isn't a light and fluffy read, but a genuine story about love, life and feelings.

I tried to love this one and I just couldn’t. It was very boring and mundane to me. It made me so sad.

This was a cute read! I do feel like the cover is a little misleading because it looks like a cute lighthearted romance that takes place in winter when in fact the story follows a widow who is still picking up the pieces of her life. There is a romance in the story but I wouldn’t say it's the main plot.

I thought the grief was very well written in this book and I liked that Louis showed how Natalie was flawed. I do wish she would have had Natalie get some real therapy along with the music therapy. I feel like Natalie's grief was very relatable even though I’ve never lost a partner.

I loved seeing Tom and Natalies evolving relationship throughout the book. I thought they had great banter! I really loved the slow realization of feelings Natalie had. I loved Tom’s character and I loved that he was Shauna’s son. I thought that added a fun aspect! I loved Shanua’s character!

I do think the pacing of the story could have been a little better. I struggled a little bit at the beginning to get into it but really enjoyed it by the end. I hope to check out more of Louis’s works in the future. Overall, this was a solid four stars for me.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.