#HeardItInALoveSong:

Like I previously said, Layla is just wonderful and I’m loved the rediscovery of life from her. It’s a slow burn that you really just sit and soak in while reading.

The musical references were spot on. I wanted to go be an indie singer with pink hair and a fringe jacket. I blared Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty.

What I think is so amazing about Tracey Garvis Graves is that she takes such a simple concept (two people learning to love again after heartbreak) and just composes this lyrical wonder that take a bit of your heart when the last page has finally turned.

Overall, this book is the slow burn I needed. It was beautiful and so satisfying. Gives me all the Almost Famous with a side of heartbreak vibes. Tracey, ya wrecked me again.

Thank you Macmillan for the copy!

Heard It In a Love Song follows two divorcees as they try to navigate dating while carrying around some significant baggage. Layla is an elementary music teacher who feels lonely in her newfound freedom. Josh, a single dad, is still trying to process his twenty-year marriage ending. Together, they are cautious but optimistic, trying to figure out if what they have is love or just a meaningless rebound.

This book did a great job of showing two people that are both divorced, yet have had vastly different experiences in it, proving one size doesn't fit all. I was captivated by Josh's daughter and enjoyed the layering of his ex wife's will she, won't she try to get back together with him.

I had very high hopes for this book, but it fell a little flat for me. One thing I don't enjoy in books are multiple flashbacks and almost every chapter featured flashbacks in both POV's. Many times, I felt like I was living more of the characters' pasts than their present circumstances. Because I this, I didn't really see a connection between Josh and Layla, making their relationship feel shallow and forced. Unfortunately, this did not live up to expectations for me.

Thank you @smpromance @netgalley for a copy of this romance. This was a great book showing two adults that had attraction for each other and developed their friendship before jumping into a relationship.

I really liked how they were supportive of each other and the growth of them as individuals in the story. There were a lot of flash backs to their histories with their exes. Some of these got a little winded and slowed the book down way too much for me.

Overall, a great romance that felt so real and not instant love.

Tracey Garvis Graves Heard It in a Love Song is an emotional story about going through the hard things to get to a beautiful second chance. There is no doubt you will feel a range of emotions while read this well written story.

Layla is thirty-five and she's gone through a very difficult divorce. Her dream has always been to be a professional singer, but it was not a dream that her ex-husband supported. Now that she's making decisions for herself, she makes changes to the basement in her home to create a studio for herself where she can create her music without any judgement.

Josh has also just recently separated from his high school sweetheart. They have a daughter who is just starting kindergarten and Josh is still figuring out how to balance his job as an electrician with being a single dad. He really liked being part of a couple, so he'd love to have someone to spend his free time with.

Given that Layla is the music teacher at the elementary school, she encounters Josh and his daughter when he brings her each day for drop-off. They begin interacting and over time, a friendship develops. Since both Josh and Layla have been through so much in the past, will they be able to overcome those past hurts to try something together?

While there is romance in this story, it really centers more on finding the person you're meant to be and making sure to go for the dreams you may have put on hold. It's also about learning to move forward after experiencing loss and challenges. I enjoyed the story and it really made me think about how going for things important to you and that mean something to you can be life changing
if you just take a chance on yourself.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

A wholesome romance about two vulnerable characters both fresh off their long-term marriages and learning to find themselves again, but end up finding each other along the way. Layla, a former rockstar freshly divorced from her money-grubbing ex, is the music teacher for Josh’s daughter. Josh is in the process of divorcing his high school sweetheart and mother of their daughter, and the two grow a strong “friends-with-potential” bond while navigating the single life. It’s a slow read, but a lovely one to take your time with in the chilly days to come.

Layla and Josh are both coming out of marriages that lasted a little longer than they should have. What starts as a friendship due to a common experience quickly becomes a stronger bond, and they both need to decide if they're ready to take the next step.

Heard It in a Love Song is light and sweet and while it didn't live up to The Girl He Used to Know, it's still worth the read. It was a lovely and honest story about moving on, trusting your instincts, and not settling for less than you deserve.

I'm not sure if this is a signature style for the author but I loved the flashbacks that jumped back to the early days of each relationship. The only other book I've read by Tracey Garvis Graves was The Girl He Used to Know and she also told that story through two different timelines, and she's just really great at moving back and forth in a natural way.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the review copy!

In Tracey Garvis Graves’s Heard It in a Love Song is a lovely tribute to second chances.

Layla and Josh are recovering from failed marriages. Layla left her ex after years of mental games, financial conflict, and adultery. Josh and his wife have separated because they’ve just grown in different directions, united only in their love for their young daughter.

The two meet when Josh is doing the daily school drop-off at Layla’s school, where she’s the music teacher. She took the job out of necessity, after the realities of her marriage made her dream of being a musician an unsustainable choice.

Now, she’s slowly finding her love of playing, singing, and performing again, finding her confidence again, just when she’s meeting Josh.

This is a lovely, patient romance, and Graves develops Layla and Josh vividly as individuals and friends before their romance truly emerges. It’s a fabulous choice, one that makes each character vivid and that lets the reader understand the way they’ll work together before it happens.

The novel alternates between Layla’s and Josh’s points of view, and that structure works well to let us see their different perspectives on life, love, and friendship, and to watch as their perspectives begin to move toward the other’s.

I was so excited to finally dive into this book and I did enjoy my time getting to know Layla and Josh.

HIIALS is told in an alternating pov between these two and we get to see them view their past marriages now that they are over. Layla now sees that Liam never put her first in anything and he was always just looking for the next big pay day to make him look good. Josh starts to see that a marriage started at eighteen has run its course and he needs more than just a live in companion. While discovering themselves they also start to discover that they may become more than just friends.

While classed as a romance it's more about self discovery and finally putting yourself first.

This was a well written solid read just a little one dimensional. It was a really long slow burn and if you're looking for steamy, hot burn then this isn't for you.

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed **

This is a tough review for me to write. Overall, I liked the characters of Josh and Layla very much. They are good people who simply deserve to find love again despite their failings in their first marriages. They fit together well and are considerate and supportive of the lifestyles and choices each has made thus far. But therein lies the main problem for me: they are almost too good and don't exhibit the intensity I needed to see. There is an even keel with Graves's writing style. Nothing to rock the boat. Nothing to tip anyone over the edge. But this lack of emotion made this reading experience a bit too dry for me, I wanted to feel their trepidation at getting involved again so soon after each of their individual separations. I wanted them to show their frustration and anger when things got a bit confusing and/or hard to grasp. It's as if each was just a regular lovely person who may or may not get the love they most definitely needed. Which is fine but I want passion. I want angst. And it was simply missing throughout.

There is also the back and forth between past and present as the author gives us the beginnings of each of Layla and Josh's prior relationships with their spouses, memories arising when they both least expected it. That style was a bit off-putting at first but after a bit, I enjoyed getting the whole story and the way it was told. Each has had a rollercoaster of a life before they met and perhaps their easy-going style is what they should now have with each other.

Sasha and Norton were great additions as were Josh's brothers and Layla's besties and friends. I haven't touched up the fact that Layla used to be an up-and-coming rocker in her former life and is now a music teacher. Yes, that is a big part of the story and I enjoyed the performances with her old band and with her new partner, Brian. But to me, it's she and Josh's desire to find their perfect other that drives this book. However, I will say her acceptance of his life as a master electrician and his acceptance of her need to still perform was very nice to witness. Upping their soulmate connection big time.

In the end, it's all presented well and I'm sure that Graves's devoted readers will love this book and how it was crafted. Sadly, I just didn't and perhaps that's on me.

3 stars.

Different type of book. It tells the story from Josh Summers perspective of what went wrong in his marriage and Layla Hilding. Josh Summers is an electrician. He has his own business and shares custody of Sash with her mother. Sasha is starting kindergarten and dad drops her off in the morning and mom picks her up. Layla Hilding is a musician. She plays electric guitar and she sings. While she is a music teacher, she has also divorced her husband. Back and forth analyzing what went wrong and who was to blame. In between they starting doing things together. They decided to be friends. They didn't want to be each other's rebound. The were not serial daters. It turned out that the second time around can be so much better. Layla got her groove back. Playing and singing in front of live audiences. Josh and friend were just happy to be there to listen and support her.

Side note. I kept hearing "Heard It In A Love Song" the whole time I was reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tracey Garvis Graves and St. Martin's Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I was worried to hear this compared to Daisy Jones and all the talk about music, but I found this very different and unique. I loved the past memories and how they connected to what was going on in the present so well. I really enjoyed how different this was than I thought it was going to be and how the music is brought about. The love story in this novel seemed perfect to me and so real. Genuine connections are hard to come by and giving each other space to figure out their respective lives to be better for each other was an amazing idea and something that doesn't happen in novels very often. Definitely recommend!

Heard It In A Love Song
by: Tracey Garvis Graves
St. Martin's Press

As a music lover, I enjoyed the premise of the lead character, Layla, a female musician and teacher. Graves' story is a narrative of Layla's life through a divorce and how she moves on in her life, including a friendship with Josh, who is recently separated. The story includes the dual timeline of both Layla and Josh's previous relationships before their break-ups and then the present as they move forward. Although Graves writing is good overall, I personally found the pacing of the story to be a little slow at times.
Thank you to Net Galley and for the advance reader's copy and the opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#NetGalley #Hearditinalovesong

I liked Layla and Josh's story. It was more than a romance. It's a story of two people coming into their own after prior relationships--personal growth. Layla is divorced and Josh is in the process of getting a divorce after a twenty year marriage. They meet at his daughter's elementary school, where she is the music teacher.

While I liked their story, in the present, what I did not like was that there was so much story told in the past. Way too much. I found myself skimming over those parts as some were extremely long. It's a personal preference, but that didn't work for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 New Starts Stars
This is a sweet story of second chances for adults with pasts. It takes us on a journey of what it could be like to find yourself, finally, to see what is possible during this time in your life.

Heard It In A Lovesong by Tracey Garvis Graves is a slow-paced, tender exploration of love after divorce. Her writing sucks you in, and her characters steal your heart.

Layla and Josh have both experienced the death of a marriage and come to their “friendship with potential” with years of baggage. And yet, Graves unpacks it all without rejecting the hope of a new beginning. She paints a hopeful yet realistic picture of a couple’s second chance at love.

And the musician in me connected deeply with Layla’s passion for music and performing. I wish the book came with a soundtrack. I want to hear Layla’s song.

(Add in a faithful, geriatric dog and I’m sold. 100%)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advance review copy.

Recent Release
I had the wrong week in my head and completely missed the release for Heard it in a Love Song. #dissertationlife
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This is a slow burn romance told in the present and through flashbacks, reminiscent of ‘The girl he used to know’. The story centers on Layla a former musician turned music teacher and Josh. Both are recently divorced and learning who they are and what it means to fall in love as a late 30’s adult, especially Josh who met his wife in high school.
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I loved the music references woven into the story, and how they could trigger a memory.
I liked this one but I thought the flashbacks dragged the story rather than enhance it. For me this is a solid 2.5 - 3 stars.
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If you haven’t read Tracey’s earlier books - I highly recommend them all, my favorite is ‘On the Island’.
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Thank you to @smpromance and @netgalley for an ARC and an honest review.

Tracey Garvis Graves was a new to me author this year. I absolutely LOVED her On the island and The girl he used to know. So to say I was excited about her newest book would be an understatement.

Unfortunately for me this one was more women’s fiction/deep dive into the breakdown of two people’s marriages than an actual swoon worthy second chance at love romance the book was marketed as.

Told in alternating timelines between the past and the present as Josh and Layla are trying to move on and start over after their respective marriages end.

Layla is a music teacher at Josh’s daughter’s school which is where the two meet. However I really struggled to buy into their budding romance. What I did enjoy about the book was the realistic depiction of the challenges of marriage and partnership.

Overall this one just wasn’t for me. Much thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy.

Heard It In A Love Song is a second chance at love romance wherein the two leads have both gone through respective divorces and are kind of in the well what now stage of life.

Josh; an electrician (and now single father) who recently separated from his high school sweetheart is left lost after divorcing the woman who’d been with him from childhood to adulthood. His ex wife Kimberly and he grew up into adults together.. learning everything that comes with adulthood from bills to parenthood so drifting apart to the point of divorce leaves Josh lost as to what to do.

Layla; a music school teacher and former rock band lead didn’t have it quite as easy as Josh in the mostly amicable divorce route. After leaving the biggest jerk and gaslighter in the planet, Layla wants nothing more than to finally be on her own two feet without having to financially depend on someone who really shouldn’t have had access to a joint account. Layla is left angry and confused as to how she allowed herself to lose her dreams in favor of a marriage that never truly made her happy.

How these two come together after their divorces is nothing short of a miracle. Both were two hurt people who were totally disillusioned with marriage and relationships but with the help of a sweet dog, these two were able to give each other a second chance at love.

This book not only shows the reader all the ugly sides of marriage and divorce but it also shows you that not all has to be lost & that second chances do happen.

I've yet to read a book by Tracey Garvis Graves that hasn't drawn me into the story and kept my attention. "Heard It in a Love Song" is no exception! This story focuses on the lives of Layla Hilding and Josh Summers who are both at a crossroad in their individual lives. Layla is a divorced woman who is trying to find a way to be true to herself after losing so much of her identity in her marriage. She is currently a music teacher and although she loves her job teaching young children, she is ready to start rediscovering her own joy of singing and playing the guitar. Josh who married very young is in the midst of a divorce from his wife who seems to have outgrown their relationship. Josh's daughter is in Layla's class. This isn't a romance filled with unrealistic angst. It's more the story of two people who are drawn to each other trying to forge a new relationship that has the potential to be "more" while discovering who they are individually and what their priorities in life are. This was an enjoyable read!

3.5 STARS
This is a mature romance and a more simple take on romance than the usual.
Layla and Josh are both leaving previous relationships and finding their footing.
I like that the characters were relatable, they were taking a practical approach to their relationship.
I like that there weren’t outrageous misunderstandings or obstacles.
In some ways it made the story refreshing and I do have to admit it didn’t excite me. A real double edge sword here.
I like the musical references, I like the characters. It wasn’t exciting, it was kind of a “life story “
If you want relatable, realistic characters and a low drama romance, this is definitely the book for you.