Tracey Garvis Graves has such a gift when it comes to writing a love story. I have enjoyed every book of hers that I have read. She evokes such emotion and you really feel like you know the characters. I really enjoyed this book about two characters embarking on new beginnings. They were relatable and their struggles felt very authentic and real. I loved the backstories of the characters - it really made me feel like I "knew" them by the end of the book. I do think there were almost *too* many flashbacks though and I would have loved to have a little bit more of them in the present. But,I think that helped differentiate this book with so many of the other romance novels! Overall I really enjoyed this book - it wasn't too heavy on the romance, but there wasn't a ton of drama involved either. I still think The Girl He Used to Know is my favorite from her though!

𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙄𝙩 𝙄𝙣 𝘼 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙞 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 🌹

This is our January 🎶 #ourweekendisbooked book club pick!

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙:
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The simplicity of this story is actually refreshing! This is a very easy read that crosses some romance and some contemporary fiction.
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Rarely is there a romance novel that isn’t just another over the top rom-com - that relies on drama, steam and miscommunication. However, this novel actually doesn’t have any of the above - it is a simple story of two people who find each other while in a transitional period (both characters are in their 30s - also nice to see). The story shows how they make room for each other in their lives - as they both have already gone through so much. They both learn to navigate: divorce, children, careers and growing up - even if it is in their 30s.
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If you want a fast paced, light romance novel, look no further!

Terribly boring and with absolutely none of the charm of The Girl He Used to Know. I can’t recommend this one.

—h e a r d i t i n a l o v e s o n g—⁣
What’s your go-to music genre? I gravitate towards pop and folky stuff.⁣
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Heard it in a Love Song is the recent-ish release from Tracey Garcia Graves (she of The Girl He Used to Know fame, which is a favorite of mine). Like that book, this one is a contemporary romance with heart.⁣
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It follows former rocker and current music teacher Layla and sensitive cutie and doting dad Josh as they navigate their recent divorces/separations from their spouses and budding romance with each other. ⁣
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The characters are likeable and the take on post-divorce dating feels authentic. The dog was a bright spot for me, lol. The connections to music were fun. What sets this one apart is the structure which flips between Layla’s and Josh’s perspectives including in depth flashbacks of their failed marriages. Knowing how those marriages ultimately ended was like watching a train crash in slow motion. I appreciated the back story but it also made me a little squeamish. ⁣
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The last thing I will say is the cover of this book- totally gorgeous but maybe a little misleading? I didn’t know much about this book going in but the cover gave serious Daisy Jones vibes. I couldn’t help but feel a little confused.⁣
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In all, an enjoyable romance.⁣
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Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my ecopy. This one is available now.⁣
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Really enjoyed this book! Such a fun read with great character development! Such a fun one and great to grab!

I really like Tracy's writing but unfortunately this book didn't work for me. I didn' t know if it is because I went with too much expectation or because of the excess of flashbacks but the story didn't flow. I tried to finish it like three times and I always found myself skipping parts. when the focus was on the couple in the present, I got excited but then It went back to the flashback.

I have, almost by chance, read three titles from Tracey Garvis Graves in the last year, and each of them has delighted me in different ways. Heard It in a Love Song was a perfect blend of light and fun, while also giving its stories and characters just enough emotional depth to keep me invested in the story. Graves is on my must-read list now, and I have recommended this title to several friends already.

Heard it in A Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves is a realistic, well-told, “friends to romance” story, which deals with much more than just romance. I have loved many of Tracey Garvis Graves’ books, especially her last one, “The Girl He Used To Know”, so I was eagerly anticipating this one. The story deals with two people who have recently ended relationships, either through divorce or separation, and are trying to navigate how they want their future lives to look like. As most of this author’s novels, the story focuses more on the heroine, and her search and discovery of the things that bring her joy (in Layla’s case this is her passion for music and performing).

This is a slow-burn, second chance at love story, but it is not your usual boy meets girl, where manufactured obstacles keep them apart. I love the fact that in this novel there was no over the top drama or gimmicks. The story is told in Layla’s and Josh’s dual points of view. It is also told through flashbacks where both of their backstories are revealed along with how their marriages had failed. The strength of this novel is in the authentic, likeable, vulnerable and complex characters that Ms. Graves is known for creating. Layla and Josh were so relatable and easy to empathize with. I loved them both, was invested in their happiness, and was always rooting for them. The story was quietly told, moved along slowly, and I enjoyed getting to know Layla and Josh, and how their characters and relationship grew as they gradually took a second chance at happiness. This was more contemporary fiction than a romance novel. I thought of it as a coming-of-age story for two adults as they try to navigate their lives after divorce. The author is so skilled with integrating a real-life feel into her stories. The depiction of the disintegration of two marriages, and the pain of divorce were extremely realistic in terms of how the emotional baggage can impact moving forward. The story deals with themes of self-growth, pursuing your dreams, lost opportunities, trust, resilience, the healing power of music, and the emergence of hope.

There were a lot of flashbacks in this book that appear randomly in many of the chapters slightly slowed down the flow of the story. At times, I wished that the story had fewer flashbacks, and focused more on the present day. I understood and appreciated why the author spent so much time on the backstory, in order to show how the characters’ pasts tied into, and affected their actions in the present. The parts of the novel that dealt with Layla’s passion for music and performing were great. The original music and references to bands and musicians were a nice touch. By the way, the cover of this book was spectacular!

This book did not deal with as many complex issues as the author’s last book, but the simplicity, honesty, and down to earth feel of this story was refreshing. I think anyone who has ever ended a relationship and has wondered how to forge ahead will appreciate and relate to the story and characters. Tracey Garvis Graves will always be a “go to” author for me.

3.5

While this did have romance I’d classify this more as womens fiction. I enjoyed seeing Layla’s journey and was rooting for her. However, I didn’t enjoyed all the flashbacks. I was super excited for this one and in this case I think I over hueles it on my head. This isn’t to say it didn’t enjoy it but I wish it would have captivated me the same way as her previous stories did. I enjoyed the slow burn and felt like it was realistic but I guess I wanted more angst?

Layla Hilding gave up her dream of singing for a rock band to teach music at an elementary school so that her income was more consistent. Josh Summers is dealing with a broken 19 year marriage to his HS sweetheart and comes to drop his 5 year old daughter off at school. You can surely see where this is going...

We get these two characters going back and forth as they sort through the baggage of their lives and figure out how to move forward. Both are going through marriages ending and realizing what is most important to them moving forward.

I loved Graves' novel On the Island and just keep searching for that same tension in her newer novels. This started strong, but quickly lost steam for me. It was a long diatribe for a very specific section in these two lives and revisiting their past. For some reason, I never connected deep enough about either Layla or Josh to care. This was good, just not as great as I wanted it to be. My very favorite part of this one was Norton - the 13 year old dog.

For some, your 30s are a time of growing as a family, buying your first home, and furthering your career, while others discover during this time that the person they thought they were going to happily spend their rest of their life with is virtually a stranger. Tracey Garvis Graves’ new novel, Heard It In a Love Song, is for anyone nursing a broken heart after finding themselves unexpectedly single after their relationship has crashed and burned.

This novel tells the story of Layla and Josh, two Millennials in their 30s, who are at the end of their marriages. Layla is a former musician on the local scene who now teaches music at the school where Josh’s daughter is in Kindergarten. When these two newly singles meet in the school carpool line, they form a relationship that is first based around Josh’s daughter, but later grows into something more.

I will be the first to admit that Heard It In a Love Song was not what I expected. About half of this novel takes place in the past, detailing the start and end of both Layla and Josh’s former relationships turned marriages. These flashbacks are interspersed with the present day narrative, gradually giving us a glimpse into what happened in the characters’ previous relationships.

As you can tell, this strategy makes for a novel that is much more introspective and reflective than you might assume from the synopsis. So much of the book is spent on moving past the heartbreak of losing a former love and finding yourself again after loss. I found Graves’ writing to be very true-to-life and I thought that she captured the intricacies and intimate entanglements of relationships quite well, showing how people become attached and fall apart, yet stay together for longer than they should because of what they had.

Having entered a long-term relationship myself in high school like the character Josh, Heard It In a Love Song hit a little too close to home for me at times and triggered all sorts of emotions and memories, but if a book can make you feel tremendous things, isn’t that an indicator of good writing and character development?

This novel is much more a story of moving on after loss and reclaiming one’s power than it is a romance. If you like books that go deep into the matters of the heart, then this one is for you.

This was my first by Tracey Garvis Graves and I can say that I am immediate fan and will be heading to her backlist. Layla and Josh were both incredibly relatable and likable characters that I was invested in from the beginning. I loved how real their romance felt and that both of them waited until they were ready to move on to pursue a new relationship. I also really enjoyed the side characters especially Kimmy and Sasha. I really appreciated that Kimmy wasn't made out to be a crazy ex-wife and that her and Josh were able to remain amicable throughout their divorce. I will definitely be widely recommending this to friends and followers.

I received this book "Heard It in a Love Song" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. I absolutely love this author and was thrilled to be able to read this one. I love the friendship developing into love.

Don't let the odd cover prevent you from picking up this wonderful love story. I'm a fan of Tracey Garvis Graves and this is a very well written love story. The only this I didn't truly love is the flashbacks from both Layla and Josh into their past marriages. All the flashbacks were written in a different font so it wasn't as confusing as it could have been. Layla teaches music after divorcing her husband and dissolving their band. Josh drops his kindergartner off at school each morning and thinks his daughter's music teacher is very nice. As the two start to know each other problems from the past do threaten to derail their love story but with the help of Norton the dog and Sasha the daughter they find their way. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Don’t you love it when a book is relatable? I was a bit of a disaster after going through a divorce and facing the idea of dating again. In this novel, Layla and Josh are both in that situation and I felt it with them, especially Josh as a single parent, and thoroughly enjoyed this story.
Have you read it yet? What did you think?
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I loved Graves' The Girl He Used to Know so I was excited for this book. Plus, that retro cover is gorgeous! Sadly, the slower pace of the book took me awhile to get into the story and feel invested.

Layla and Josh were likable characters but I often found myself confused with the frequent "mental jumps" to their past when we were in the present. You will feel for these characters and the marriages that didn't work out as they'd hoped. They are both emotionally vulnerable and wary of taking a second chance at happiness, especially since they are still going through their divorces. I wasn't a fan of that aspect. Even though we see that their marriages are over, it never sits right with me to see characters fall for others so quickly, especially while still technically married. But, that's my personal opinion.

If you've suffered a break up or the end of a marriage this one will definitely resonate with you. I wasn't as emotionally touched by this one as I was with The Girl He Used to Know.

Layla (not named after the song), has to rebuild her life after divorcing her now ex-husband. Josh is a soon to be single dad after his marriage fell apart. These two 30 somethings forge a friendship that eventually leads to a fulfilling romance. What I found solid in the story is the way author Garvis Graves demonstrated each character's growth from who they were before they were married, through the relationship, and then once ended, as they picked up their lives and moved forward.

The story incorporates flashbacks throughout, which could make listening a little more difficult than reading (in the book the past content is italicized). Layla is a musician, and there are numerous musical references throughout the book too. Both of the main characters have supportive friends and family who round out the story well. Though not too many surprises, there were a few unexpected moments, especially toward the end, which elevated the book and made it more credible.

I thought this story was kind of a downer. It follows two couples in their decades plus relationships, only to have them end. I understand that this is often the reality of things, but I personally expected more of an uplifting storyline with this title.

This story, unfortunately, just never grabbed me. I found it redundant and boring and just hard to stay focused. Whether or not I'd classify this as a romance is also questionable. There were some definite bright spots I found in both Layla and Josh but there were also some things that exasperated me too much. Overall, it took me a long time to get through it and the story just wasn't for me.

Absolutely loved this book! Highly recommend. My book club will be reading this in February, and I cannot wait to hear their thoughts. Everyone should read this one!