The Key to My Heart is a beautiful fun and heartbreaking book. The main character Natalie has become a young widow and after two years she still struggles with grief and guilt unable to continue making music. It’s such an emotional book that really sheds light on grief and finding happiness while trying to move on. The characters in the book were so fun and likable, I found myself laughing at their lines and little jokes. I initially picked up this book thinking it was a rom com in the beginning but it was certainly not. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and will definitely recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this book was really sweet. I absolutely loved the character development of Natalie and Tom. Their friendship and turning into more seemed realistic and I really couldn't guess the whole Joe plotline. I really enjoyed seeing Natalie work through her grief and the difficult scenarios and situations she went through as she grew. It felt realistic and believable and I could really dig into the character. My only critique would be that the beginning and ending felt a little slow to me.

Such a fun and heartbreaking read all in one. I loved the story and how it wasn't just your average love story. It was about finding ones self after loss and how to move on. The character development was one that I absolutely fell in love with. I truly hope to read more from this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the complimentary copy of this book. All comments below are my own.

Natalie Fincher’s husband, Russ, unexpectedly died a couple of years ago, and she’s been standing still in her grief. An accomplished pianist, she only plays when no one watches at the train station. When someone begins leaving her music that was special to her and her husband, it leads her to find herself again.

Moving, emotional, and ultimately a love story as much as a self-love story.

I would recommend if you’re ready to be in your feelings with tissues.

CW: spousal death, ocean death, bike death, cheating

This was a really lovely book; very emotional and sad, but in a way that tugged on your heart strings and gave you hope. I loved Tom, and Shauna, and all of Nat’s friends, and Nat herself was a great character. Really enjoyed and would recommend but you have to be in the right mindset to read it!

4 music is the key stars

Love is a wonderful thing, but what about when your partner dies too young? That is what is facing Natalie Fincher. A widow in her early 30s, she doesn’t know what to do next with her life. Music used to fill her soul, but now she can only play at a community piano in the train station for strangers.

She’s still living in the fixer-upper cottage she bought with Russ, but it hasn’t had any fixing up as that was her husband’s dream and plans. She’s drifting along through life. She’s made a few new friends at the train station coffee shop, but she has pushed away her other friends.

And now someone is leaving sheet music for Natalie at the community piano. The musical choices seem to be connected to Russ, could it be he arranged it somehow as a gesture before he died?

This is definitely a romance but there is a lot of grief to process first. It’s interesting to think about the healing effects of music. Natalie explores this through a music therapy group. It’s also a story of friendship and family.

I really liked the character of Tom. Natalie first meets him at a local pub, pushed into talking to him by her friends. They keep running into each other and Tom has a lot of clever nicknames for her – I enjoy that sort of banter in my romances! I admit that I rooted for Natalie and Tom to get together. My very favorite part of the book was near the end and a few tears just happened to fall on my Kindle as my heart melted.

I loved the author's first two books. This one was another good read - don't be confused by the cover. It isn't a light hearted romance, but more an exploration of grief and love and loss and finding yourself again. I loved the characters for her messiness and flaws.

‘Happiness is something you wear, you know. Lights up every part of you. Inside and out.’

What a book! We absolutely loved it! Lia Louis has quickly become one of our favourite authors. Her ability to deal with the most painful of human experiences, with warmth, humour, sweetness, and love that never fails to leave us emotionally invested in her wonderful stories and characters. We find ourselves smiling one minute, in tears the next. We adore everything about her stories. If you’re a fan of Colleen Hoover you will LOVE this author, so be sure to add her to your TBR’s.

Lia Louis possesses a natural talent for scratching beneath the surface of human vulnerabilities with beauty and honesty. Her humour is spot on – effortless and so funny. Her skill for knowing exactly when to lift the mood is second to none. If you read this synopsis and think ‘I can’t read a book about grief’ think again. This book isn’t a downer, in fact, just the opposite, it’s uplifting.

“You’ll be surprised what you can see when you look. It’s always in the eyes.”

In The Key to My Heart, we meet 32-year-old Natalie Fincher, a young woman who has lost her way in her grief of losing her husband Russ nearly three years earlier. Finding very little fulfilment in her life, Natalie is caught in a cycle of emptiness. She’s walking and breathing but she’s not living.

Natalie and Russ were blissfully happy. Living in their dream home, deeply in love, and looking forward to their future together, and then it all ended. Natalie’s friends think she should have moved on by now. They want the ‘old ‘Natalie back. The fun, outgoing Natalie, not the sad grieving Natalie, and constantly try to pry her out of her house for nights on the town, but Natalie isn’t ready.

‘This is what happens every single time I try to move forward. It’s like treacle. Like vines, wrapping around my ankles dragging me back.’

The highlight of Natalie’s week is playing an old piano at a London train station, gabbing with the vendors at the station, and it is here that a spark is awakened in her when someone starts mysteriously leaving sheet music at the piano. Music is a huge part of Natalie’s life, and the music all relates to important moments for her.

And so, the hunt begins to find out who is leaving the music. Along the way, Natalie meets some wonderful people, who, in their own ways, all take a part in filling her empty heart. Whilst each character plays their part, it was Tom who stole our hearts. THIS MAN! He was funny, sweet, handsome, and everything we knew Natalie needed. In Natalie’s words ‘You look positively dashing. Very Mr. Darcy. Or maybe – Mr. Darcy’s rough and rugged young brother.‘ Oh, yummy!

The ending of this story was perfection! Talk about leaving you on a high! Lia Louis has once again delivered a winner. In a story about loss, grief, and self-discovery, she brought us hope and love, reminding us to never take a day, a minute, or a moment for granted. Life is too short. Live it and love freely! We will now (im)patiently await her next book with eager hearts.

The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis

This is another sentimental story about Natalie Fincher, a young widow, who is stuck in a house she planned to rebuild with her husband but she can't bear to sell it because of her guilt feelings and emotional investment. One day she finds sheet music left in a piano bench which was her husband's favorite song. She continues to find other songs that relate to her husband and her marriage.

This is a story of her grief, the support network she has from others, with a little mystery, and there is a romance aspect. I loved seeing Natalie's journey, her struggles, the hope she has to start to rebuild her life, and her journey towards healing. The incorporation of music and music therapy is a strong aspect of the book and done in such a sweet, restorative way. I would classify as women's fiction, but there is a romance element. Lia Louis writes about compassion and grief in such a realistic way.

The Key to My Heart needs to be made into a movie. ASAP. I loved the characters, the struggles they dealt with, their families, friends and the setting(s). Its a story about loss, grief and loneliness and the people who help one get through it all. Some sad parts, some laugh out loud, and the final scenes felt like a warm hug. Recommended to fans of Rom/Com novels.

This one was a bit difficult for me to get started on. I feelblike that is a reader/me issue as I don't do well with death and sadness. As always, Lia Louis has created a wonderful, warming story. It definitely picked up for me and I am glad to have read about Natalie and Tom.

“CAN YOU REALLY EVER FIND THE ONE, AFTER “THE ONE”?

Natalie Fincher was in love with her husband, Russ and in love with their life together and then an accident took him away from her.

Two years later she has fixed up nothing in their “fixer upper” cottage, and her friends haven’t succeeded in fixing her up with any handsome strangers in Pubs, either.

The only thing that brings her any pleasure is playing the piano in the train station and her Tuesday and Thursday coffee chats, with the train station’s coffee shop manager, Shauna.

Then, someone begins leaving sheet music for her under the piano bench, and mysteriously, all of the songs were her husband’s favorites. Is this something that her husband orchestrated before his death?

This is a G rated romance story of hope after loss.

Everyone knows that romance stories are about the journey, and this one was a bit of a bumpy ride for me.

There are MANY conversations about loss and grief, and the humor especially about the about noisy, mating foxes, didn’t hit with me. Of the three Lia Louis books that I have read, this one took the longest to find its WHIMSY!

Would Natalie finally open her heart to “notebook guy”-a guy who frequents the coffee shop and is a member of the same “music therapy” group because he knows grief of his own?

Or, would it be Tom, a photographer who “played along” with her when her friends tried to set her up with him at one of the Pubs, and who ended up becoming a new friend that she could count on?

I was team “Tom”….ooh la la!

And, this 3.5 star read got rounded up after I attended his Photography exhibit.
In Fact, it was one of my FAVORITE romantic gestures, EVER!!

Find out why on December 6th, 2022.

Thank You to Atria/Emily Bestler Books for inviting me to read an early copy. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

The author's previous book Eight Perfect Hours was one I loved and recommended to everyone. This book follows in its footsteps. I was completely captivated by the mysterious sheet music (and did not guess correctly who was behind it- all I will say is I am glad it wasn't a ghost- that would have destroyed the story) There is friendship, romance, betrayal and how to move on after heartbreaking grief. A perfect read I devoured in one night. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I haven’t read anything by this author before and I was very excited to get this advanced copy from Netgalley! I really did enjoy the book overall and I’d rate it a solid 3.5 stars.

The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis was one of those books that starts off pretty slow but gradually picks up pace. The storyline hit a little close to home for me and maybe that’s why the beginning dragged on a bit. It could be a personal thing.

Natalie lost her husband her husband two and a half years ago and just wasn’t as ready to move on as her friends would’ve liked. They meant well but I was on Natalie’s side with this one. I don’t think anyone really has the right to say when the appropriate time is to move on or even really bring it up at all. That said, I do understand that her loved ones just try to look out for her.

The second half of the book really amped up and I ended up loving it so much more than the first half. I would recommend this as a cute romance read to anyone looking for something cozy.

Lia Louis is known for her sweet and heartwarming romances that also deal with some heavier topics and The Key To My Heart is no exception. In this we are following a young widow named Natalie who two years after the death of her husband she struggles with moving on. While all her friends are telling her she needs to move on Natalie is isn't sure she is ready or wants too. I really loved the writing in this story and it made me very emotional at times, not only with her loss but also with how Natalie dealt with her family and friends. Grief is such a unique experience for every individual and I really liked how Lia talks about that in this book. Sadness was not the only emotion that I felt while reading this, their was a lot of happiness as well as anger towards some of the characters and how they constantly pushed Natalie but the ending was great. If you are looking for a romance that will make you feel something then I would recommend checking this one out! If you need content warnings then you might want to look into that for this one as it does deal with heavier topics. Thank you Atria for my gifted copy for review! All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book is out 12/06/22.

I really enjoyed all of Lia Louis' previous books so I knew I was going to like this one, too, and I was not disappointed!

This is the story of Natalie who lost her husband two and a half years ago and she's still mourning him and is stuck in a house that is falling apart and a job that she doesn't love. She gave up her musician past but now she regularly plays the piano in a subway station where no one knows her. Until someone starts leaving her the notes for songs that are meaningful between her and her dead husband.

There aren't a lot of characters in this story so the "mystery" isn't hard to guess. But of course this story is not about the mystery. It's about moving on, about friendship, betrayal, about living others' lives. About friendship and honesty and beautiful characters that will stay with you long after you're done reading.

Loved this story.

with gratitude to Atria Books and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I so loved this story! The main character, Natalie, is so quirky! Her husband died three years ago andit was then that Natalie lost her self. Her friends mean well, but keep talking about ‘moving on’ and going out but Natalie has not yet finished mourning. A friend at a coffee shop, Shauna, is one of the few people who truly understands her. She finds it difficult to make decisions, does not know if she wants to move house or what to do. Natalie may be quirky, but she is honest, loving and just plain scared to move forward. I loved the story and especially the ending!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC. It has been two years since Natalie lost her husband to a biking accident but she is still grieving. Her friends, not understanding her pain, sets her up once again. Natalie convinces Tom to be the bad guy and walk out on the date but soon form a friendship that helps her heal. The first couple of chapters were slow but soon turned into a beautiful story of healing, friendship and a little mystery thrown in. #TheKeyToMyHeart #LiaLouis #AtriaBooks #Dec2022

I loved this authors previous novels, gave both of them 5 stars. But unfortunately for me, The Key to My Heart was just too slow moving for me. I kept putting the book down and taking a break to the point that I just didn’t want to pick it up again and read more.

I had just finished up an intense nonfiction book when I was presented with the opportunity to read this contemporary romance. I am not a regular romance reader by any stretch, but this one appealed to me, especially since it was written by an author I had read before and enjoyed.

The Key to My Heart is a wonderful story about Natalie who is attempting to recover from a devastating loss that occurred 2 1/2 years previous. Her friends are worried about her and try to get her re-engaged into a happy life, but that is not going well at all. Natalie has no idea how to come to terms with the curveball life has thrown her and is basically just treading water. She is racked with all sorts of mixed emotions, especially guilt, which throw her into a state of ambivalence about her direction in life. The story has an engaging cast, especially Natalie’s coffeehouse boss Shauna, Notebook Guy, and the bar guy. There is a little mystery to think about plus several major decisions facing Natalie that really pulled me in. The writing is very good, the pace is brisk, and the “depthy” plot easily held my interest. I loved the ending though I wished it had been just a bit more drawn out (that’s a personal preference I often have with the books I read).

I enjoyed my little detour into contemporary romance and rom-com land. So much that I signed up for another ARC in this genre. I recommend The Key to My Heart to anyone looking for a warm, heartfelt, poignant story. As for myself, I will be trying another Lia Louis book sometime soon.

I would like to thank Net Galley, Atria books (Katelyn Phillips), and Ms. Lia Louis for the ARC. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.