Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves is a lovely book about personal growth and living your dreams.

Layla Hilding is a 35-year-old recently divorced music teacher in an elementary school. Her divorce left her lonely, but determined to re-capture her love of music, and playing music for herself. She transforms the basement of her home into a soundproof studio where she can play and sing to her heart’s content.

Her duties as a music teacher involve helping the students and parents in the morning to greet students and parents and direct the traffic in the drop-off zone. Here she meets Josh, also recently divorced and the father of one of Layla’s students. Every day, he walks his daughter to her classroom and stops to talk to Layla, his daughter’s favorite teacher.

Both Layla and Josh are still reeling from their divorces, and are hesitant to dip back into the dating pool. Josh got married right out of high school, and never had to do the typical dating that most men have had to do.

I enjoyed this book very much. It started a bit ordinary, but later in the book, we find out more about Layla’s past as a musician in an up-and-coming band in Rochester MN. I enjoyed the growth of her character from the wife of a domineering husband, to finding herself and reigniting her passion for music. I loved reading about Josh’s love for his daughter and his tentative start into the world of single people. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this book, despite it not falling into romance and more into women's fiction. Loved how they related to one another and the friends to lovers with more adult characters. The dual timelines were a bit confusing in moments, but didn't ruin my overall feeling about the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

***Some mild plot spoilers ahead.***


My first book with this author and a pretty decent introduction.
Admittedly, I'm a sucker for writers who make music a big part of their stories and to be honest, I heard the Marshall Tucker Band song in my head as soon as I read the title.
Layla and Josh are really solid characters - they’re trying to figure out who they are now that they’re no longer in their respective relationships. Navigating that while feeling the pull of something new is where the story is headed but I kind of struggled with the route we took to get there.
The timeline jumps around quite a bit - you spend a lot of time in each character’s head as they hash out things from their pasts in flashbacks. While it’s not something I wrestle with as a reader, it seemed to me that the larger part of this story is told in this form...which means the time together as a couple working on them being a couple or working towards being a couple just didn’t stand out. In fact, a lot of this book was about Layla reconnecting with her music - which I feel makes this more of a women;s fiction story than a romance. Nothing wrong with that at all, but it’s pretty clear that Layla working on herself is the main story.
Josh’s story is mostly told in the disintegration of his marriage to his teenage sweetheart - the about-face of Kim was kind of predictable, with the custody drama floated like a trial balloon that just...popped with no big effect. And the pseudo-drama with Layla’s ex Liam - after all the flashback build up - was anticlimactic. His behaviour indicated a “big bad” but he was a sheep in wolf’s clothing and there could have been a better payoff there on the page.
Ultimately, I did like HiiaLS - I guess I just like a more definitive HEA in my romance fiction - a relationship win, while the characters have their own individual wins too.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

This is a tough one to review. The characters were relatable, their backstories were believable as was their connection. So why didn't this work for me? One thing that bothered me is the lengthy looks back into the past. There were many flashbacks that really helped to illustrate what the characters have done and it was helpful but it was happening in most of the chapters and it took away from the relationship that was building in the present. I think that is the crux of it. I would have liked to have more conversation, more interaction, more sexy times with Layla and Josh. I think that would have solidified the love story element to this book.

Otherwise, like I said, the characters were likeable and relatable so still worth the time to read it. It would work as a beach read.

I am a huge Travey Garvis Graves fan! This book was different from her others. I enjoyed the journey of the Layla on discovering herself and her second change relationship with Josh. I felt like I needed a little more from these two together... but I enjoyed this book all the same.

I wanted to like <i> Heard It in a Love Song</i> but it just never hit right for me. The story follows two characters Layla, a recently divorced former rock star turned music teacher, and Josh, an electrician going through a divorce. The plot is pretty straightforward in terms of the romantic relationship and I think that's probably why it never landed for me. The flashbacks seem to be building toward something, but it turns out they really aren't. I've seen other reviewers describe it as a slow burn, but it felt more like a little puff of smoke that takes forever to get started and then fizzles out before it has a chance to catch.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book.

Since The Girl He Used to Know is one of my favorite top 10 of all time novels, I was super excited to get the chance to review TGG’s latest - Heard it in a Love Song. And, friends, she did not disappoint!

Love Song is the beautiful story of Layla and Josh. Layla an artist and elementary school music teacher, and Josh - the almost divorced parent of one of her students. The characters are deep and blemished - which makes their coming together so much more perfect. TGG weaves together present day with their histories, giving rich detail to their current day struggles.

Love Song will be the perfect book to cozy up to a fire this fall all while listening to its’ perfect soundtrack.

Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves is a beautifully written friends to lovers romance. I really loved this book and the dual timeline where we get the back-stories of Layla and Josh and what brought them to where they were in their lives now. I could almost hear Layla singing. It is that well written. I love how they both have learned what they want in their lives and they work to follow their dreams and be who you want to be. I highly recommend this book!

This book is such a delightful romantic novel. This is the story of Layla, recently divorced elementary school music teacher who used to be a lead singer in the local band, and Josh, recently separated dad and electrician, finding their way to each other. I loved the way Layla and Josh narrate and review their pasts throughout the book to identify how they ended up where they were and what corrections would they make in the present. This story of thirty something lead characters leaving their past behind, becoming wiser, getting to know each other, finding love will make you believe in second chances and do-overs all over again. The romance is sweet, the characters are relatable.

Apart from the writing, I loved the cover of this book so much and also the gamut of songs that Layla mentions throughout the book whenever she talks about her previous concerts or current sets helped me create a cool new playlist to rejig my current one. Overall this is a lovely read and I would recommend this book to fiction lover looking for a charming love story.

[thank you to the publisher for the free book]

“From the bestselling author of The Girl He Used to Know comes a love song of a story about starting over and second chances.”

This book shows the realistic, messy, and cautious way two characters navigate divorce, grow and find each other. Someone close to me went through a divorce this year and I found a lot of the things the characters went through to be similar, even though the characters had two different experiences and situations in the novel. I was glad this book had hope, growth and healing. The slow burn fit and blossoming friendship between the two characters was done well and fit perfectly with this type of story. Tracy Garvis Graves is such a unique storyteller and all of her books have stood out to me in different ways. The only thing I thought was a little off was the cover; it looks like it takes place in the 60’s/70’s but it is present day.

I LOVE TRACEY GARVIS GRAVES!!! I can still remember details of my first TGG novel and that is very rare for me. However, I did not enjoy this formulaic book. It was predictable from the first page and didn't get any better. I feel bad saying this, but I wanted to give honest feedback. This won't keep me from reading her future novels and sharing them with my patrons. I'm giving it two stars because the writing is still well done, just not the predictability of the story.

Overall I liked the story, but the characters lacked a little depth.. Could have used a little more character building especially when it comes to the relationship between the main characters. It just left me wanting more. It just seemed rushed and I would have liked a little more romance.

Heard It In A Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves is a book about life, love, and living out our dreams.

Layla, a school music teacher, was once a fierce rocker chick, but gave up her dreams to marry her douchebag boyfriend whom she recently divorced. On the first day of school, Layla meets single dad Josh, who is currently going through a divorce from his high school sweetheart. Layla and Josh form a friendship which slowly leads to more. While the book is about their budding relationship, it also focuses on how two people pick up the pieces of their lives in the present while reconciling their past lives after a divorce.

There was nothing gimmicky or dramatic about this book. Everyone dealt with their shit in normal, adult ways. The characters felt very real and could be any of us or our friends. I particularly liked how Josh’s soon-to-be ex wife was not demonized or pitted against Layla, which is a common trope in romance books. This book could also be titled “We Are All Adults Here” and it would suffice. Overall, if you are looking for a less smutty, well-told, quiet, love story this is the book for you.

Heard it in a Love Song is a grown-up story. It doesn't have the sheen of a clean romance with naive hopes and dreams. It has realistic hopes and dreams, but that are a little worn, but still shine in the right light. I enjoyed it.

Heard it in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves is about a young woman who wanted to be a rock star, but life had other plans. Layla Hilding is now a thirty-five-year-old divorcee starting to deal with past mistakes, making amends with desires, and dealing with loneliness. Layla now a music teacher at her local grammar school. Every morning she greets her students and their parents at drop-off.

Josh separated from his wife Kimmy; they share a daughter Sahsa, and she is starting school this year. Josh does the drop-offs in the morning when he notices Layla's bright smile and warm eyes.

Heard it in a Love Song is a tale about music and true love; it's well written and will keep you entertained.

I can not believe this book is from Tracey Garvis Graves. On the Island and The Girl He Used to Know are two of my favorite books. I've read On the Island many many times.
I loved the cover of Heard It in a Love Song. It's very artsy and different from contemporary romance covers lately.
The language used missed the mark. There was no reason to use a more formal vocabulary in a story so simple. It made the story even more boring and a slower read.
The characters had no chemistry, was fade to black and slow burn. It was a real challenge to get to the 50% mark. This was a DNF for me, unfortunately. I appreciate the chance to read it and hope the next one is a masterpiece like On the Island. I'm not giving up on this author.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A journey of self discovery that candidly shows life's ups and downs and how they form us into the people we want to be if we're smart enough to learn the lesson.

Perfect low stress, high return read. Heard it in a Love Song is about two adults looking for second chances. The story centers on their relationship but it is really about their individual growth as people. I appreciated a relationship story that put the characters own development first.
My favorite part of this book is how realistic the relationship is between Layla and Josh. And their character flaws are so relatable!
I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. It will be published on November 2, 2021.

Such a beautiful story. This author always makes me fall In love with the characters. It’s refreshing to read about characters in this stage of life and in this age group. This is such a lovely spin on this part of life and even thought their life wasn’t perfect, I wanted to be right there with them experiencing all of this. Beautiful book.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinions. I've read an earlier book by this author and was excited to get the chance to read this as well. Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves is a lovely story of love finding its way through heartache. If you haven't read anything buy Tracey do it now as you will be so glad you did! Can't wait for her next book to be released!