Natalie is left feeling lost and alone when her husband suddenly passes away. She begins playing the piano at the train station. When someone starts leaving sheet music for her to play that seem to have ties back to her husband it sparks an excitement in her that she thought was lost forever.

This was a super sweet story. Lia Louis tugs at the heartstrings again! Natalie’s friends - both new and old - really made all the difference in her life. Her support system was able to help her see light in the darkest times. Thank you Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the egalley in exchange for my honest review.

Perfection. I will read everything Lia Louis writes & I know I will love it. She is definitely on my list of favorite authors, especially after finishing The Key to My Heart, the third book from her I've read. Some of my favorite novels recently have dealt with grief like The Key to My Heart. Natalie is a young widow & is grieving 2 and a half years after her husband's death. We follow her journey in healing and I felt a range of emotions as I read. Lia Louis writes real characters, dialogue that makes me swoon, snort, & cry, and stories that are raw & hopeful.

📚Book Review📚
The Key to My Heart
By Lia Louis
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5
▶️ Swipe: Book Description
👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏻 Friends to Lovers
🔺Love Triangle
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Set in London
🎵 Music Themed
🌪️Plot Twist
‼️TW: Death of husband

This was such a touching and heartfelt story. I didn’t expect to have tears reading this one, but I did. I really felt Natalie’s pain from the lose of her husband. So many raw feelings. On her journey to discover who’s leaving the sheet music a love triangle develops between her, Tom and Joe. It’s pretty obvious who she’s going to choose, but I still enjoyed reading this. I also enjoyed the unexpected plot twist at the end. I will say that the romance in this book wasn’t the main focus. I was more absorbed in the ‘who done it’ aspect than in the actually romance itself. This was more women’s fiction than romance so be aware of that if you decide to read this. Either way, it was well done an a very enjoyable read.

this was very generic to me. there was nothing special and nothing that made this book stand out from the others. I would pass.

Two and a half years following her husband’s death, Natalie Fincher is still grieving. She plays piano in the train station to help cope, and one day she finds sheet music to a song special to her and her late husband in the seat. When Natalie finds a second piece of sheet music, she begins to feel hope for the first time in a long time, and begins to investigate who could possibly be behind the mysterious music.

This was a sweet, heart-warming book about love, loss, and a second chance at romance. I enjoyed following Natalie’s journey, and her grieving and growth as she struggled between remembering her late husband, and moving on. I’d definitely recommend this to fans of sweet, G-rated romances and women’s fiction!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my gifted e-book!

Definitely a sweet and heartwarming read. I have a hard time getting into modern romance novels personally. I think there is something about modern voice that just doesn’t feel romantic to me. That being said, I think readers who do love modern romances will love this sad but heartwarming story about love and loss and music.

This book was quite good - it definitely broke my heart, but thankfully it put it back together by the end. There were some twists and turns for sure, but I love the way it ended. Natalie's story was sad, but then it was hopeful and I love how music intertwined through her healing. I really enjoyed it. And Tom was my favorite, so many giggles. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

A lovely contemporary romance from Lia Louis that examines the personal nature of grief. Gently written and a nice slow and naturally developing plot that follows heartbreak, friendship, and love. Heartwarming story that isn't full of fluff and contains a protagonist who feels unapologetically real.

There is a bit of P.S. I Love You flavor to the narrative, but with its very own style and creative exploration. There was a lot of heaviness to the plot, so don't expect to go into this one as a rom-com. There are moments of levity in the banter, but the narrative is more seriously centered and things move at a slow burn.

Lia Louis is great a character creation and her cast in this novel works together quite well. Even the majority of the secondary characters have a good amount of personality and individual flavor to them. It's easy in a book containing a friend group for the characters to blur together as a solid mass, but that doesn't happen here.

An enjoyable and contemplative read that I flew through in two days. Quite well constructed. Not your usual contemporary romance fare, but something special all on its own.

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.

THE KEY TO MY HEART
BY: Lia Louis

Lia Louis stole my heart in this sweet and heartwarming novel about grief, and a widow finding love again. In a magical story of how music helps with grief and healing, this novel was so well done that I really enjoyed the mental health representation and the lovely story that is both sad and also hopeful.

A beautiful heartwarming story. A story about moving forward, letting go, learning to love yourself and giving yourself a chance to love again. I love the mystery involved as Natalie tries to find the person behind living piano sheets on the piano by the train station. I love the support of all the charactes. Although I am not a fan of the love triangle created as Natalie built relationships with Joe and Tom, I really enjoy seeing Natalie grow and glow. The best part of the books was the last few chapters and I really fell in love with the man really meant for her and the grand gesture he did. Thank you Netgalley and Atria for the arc ebook of this book.

Louis once again takes the reader on a journey of grief and healing.
I like Natalie and her pain over losing her husband was well written and I could definitely feel her intense grief.

The supporting characters were also well written and all helped, in their own way, of helping Natalie travel through her grief. The letter Natalie wrote to her husband toward the end of the book really affected me emotionally.

I think I liked Eight Perfect Hours slightly more, but this was a solid story. Can’t wait for her next book!

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.

I really enjoy Lia Louis' books. This one was very sweet and enjoyable. It handles grief well and I loved the theme of music throughout the book. I felt like this was a very realistic portrayal of someone dealing with their grief. I found it to be heartwarming and hopeful and I just really loved it.

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.

Let me first say this is my first book by this author, this story left my heart heavy. The weight of loss and how someone grieves takes a toll on ones soul. They say you are never truly whole again, I felt that with the main character Natalie. She used her music to move through her pain. The author did such a great job with the writing I really felt like I could hear her play the piano at the train station.

I only recently heard about music therapy before reading this book, and how it has helped people. So thank you to Lia for bringing light to the gift of music. This book is a lot to unpack, it is sad and hopeful all in one.

Natalie thought she had it all, husband she loved and career in musical theater. But then everything comes crashing down when her husband dies suddenly. But that was two years ago and she can't move on, the only thing that makes her happy is playing the piano at a busy train station. Then one day music sheets she shared with her husband start to show up at the piano. It this one last thing her husband did for her before he died or is something bigger?? With the help of friends and new friends she discovers a part of herself she thought she had lost.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for copy of this book for my honest review.

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.

THIS BOOK. No one can make me cry like @lialouisauthor. I remember my online bookclub got to zoom with her and she told us a little about what she was currently working on. She threw out a short pitch for this novel and I knew in that moment I was going to fall in love with this story HARD. And I did.

What a breathtakingly beautiful story. I smiled, I cried (a lot), and I was filled with all the warm and fuzzy feelings. These characters left such an imprint on my heart. Another incredible story from Lia Louis!

Huge thank you to @atriabooks for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Sweet romance with a touching plot, this book is perfect for romance reads who aren't fans of a lot of spicy content. The characters are well-written and easy to identify with.

What an emotional rollercoaster! I absolutely adored this novel. The characters, the banter, the story! Everything was perfect. I officially will read anything Lia Louis touches! If you’re a fan of emotional romance novels I would highly recommend this one. I was laughing, I was crying, I was hoping the end would never come! Thank you netgalley for my free review copy. I highly recommend this one!