The Key to my Heart by Lia Louis is a challenging and rewarding novel which involves a young happy married couple who are separated by a tragic cycling accident and her struggle to move on with her life. Her friends try to help her but all she wants to do is play the piano at the train station with a music left in the piano bench by a mystery stranger who seems to know her husband Russ’s favourite songs. She meets Joe and Tom along the way who try and help her heal and starts to have feelings for both of them. The author , Lia Louis gives us a wonderful story and keeps the reader guessing right until the end. This book is about forgiveness and how to move on and start your life again without your first love . Bravo Lia and I look forward to your next book and thank you to NetGalley for this early E-book arc copy and reading a delightful book.🙋‍♀️🇨🇦🥰📚🤗👏💐🥳

Thanks, NetGalley!

This book really picked up in the final chapters, but for about the first 15-20 chapters I was reading and felt like I was just waiting for something, literally anything to happen. When it finally does and things start moving, the book pulls you in more. I really did not find Natalie likable until the very end either.

Wow -- what to say about this book? Two words. Beautiful. Heart-wrenching.

I absolutely loved this book but don't know if I could read it again. It should be obvious given the synopsis but big content warning for grief. It is such a raw book and I loved Natalie and her journey towards healing.

Thankfully I read this book at home b/c I ugly cried at times. I also laughed. Thank you Lia Louis for writing such an amazing book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Atria Books!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an early copy of Lia Louis' The Key to My Heart. It was an emotional, lovely read that I very much enjoyed by an excellent writer.

Natalie is struggling with grief after the loss of her husband. She hasn’t been able to play music- until she finds sheet music of her favorite meaningful songs left at the train station piano. She wants to solve the mystery of the sheet music, and looks forward to playing piano at the train station. After a failed set up from friends, she meets Tom, and they form a sweet friendship. He helps her repair her cottage home and listens to her without judgement. She also joins a grief group and connects with Joe, who is also grieving a big loss. Tom, Joe, and music have helped Natalie begin to enjoy life again like she hasn’t in years, but is she ready for love?

This book was so raw, real, and heartwarming. I read it one day because I just couldn’t put it down. It was my first from this author but won’t be my last. Natalie is such a likable main character who has been through so much that you can’t help but root for her to find happiness. Tom is the sweetest, and their friendship and banter is perfection. This book deals with some heavy topics like loss and grief, but at the same time is hopeful and uplifting and funny. It reminded me of a lovely combination of the movies PS I Love You and The Holiday. I’d recommend it to anyone that enjoys a bittersweet but heartwarming romance.

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria books, and Lia Louis for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I think the cover was a little misleading to me. I thought it was going to be a nice sweet romance, but there were some heavy and sad moments
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was drawn by this cover and plot line and was excited to dive in. I started the story and enjoyed the British setting and story line. However I struggled with the pace of the story. I did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lia Louis consistently reminds me why I love reading. This one gets 4 stars for being sweet and interesting and thoughtful and WITTY and just a general great read.

📖 The details:
Two+ years after the death of her husband, Natalie is still mourning and a bit lost. Her well-meaning friends try to fix her and set her up and get back to normal, but Natalie doesn’t want to get there yet. In her own time and through a secret piano connection (is her dead husband leaving her sheet music?!), she meets some new people and finds her own roads to healing.

🙋‍♀️ My take:
This one was heavy and light in all the right ways. The MC Natalie was so easy to love and root for. I enjoyed seeing her make her OWN decisions and work through her grief and let go just enough to let someone else in. And I’m a sucker for stories with two genuinely nice guys (I was obviously hoping for one over the other 🤫). Lia Louis knows how to do witty and swoony dialogue to make me laugh and melt all in one page. Some parts were slow, but I pretty much devoured it. Recommend!

➰Fave quote: “What do we know? We don’t know do we, what’s on the other side, what’s out there. We think we know the rules of the universe, but we haven’t got a bloody clue.”

the key to my heart is and was just fantastic. Loved it and really enjoyed this story. I was hooked and loved it all.

I just finished reading and I'm feeling so many emotions that I still need to process. I picked up this book thinking it was a Rom Com, but it certainly is not. This book is sad, deeply emotional, complex, and heartfelt. It's about Natalie, who tragically became a widow at a young age, and how she is still managing her grief. This book is about relationships, family dynamics, friendships, meeting new people, and all of the dramatics that ensue after the tragic loss of a loved one. This was not a neatly packaged sitcom or romance novel where everything magically falls into place. This novel has very real emotions and showed all of the complicated ways relationships can falter after an unexpected death.

Like I previously stated, I began this book thinking it was a light romance, and after a few chapters I considered setting it down because it was just too sad. But, I was very interested in the piano music story line, and I hoped that the book might start getting more hopeful and cheerful as it went. It really didn't. Most of the characters had messy, sticky, and sad stories. Even the love triangle that I predicted would be fun and uplifting, didn't pan out like I expected. But, I was invested in all the characters and curious about their fates, so luckily I kept reading, because the end did fill me with hope and happiness.

Overall, I thought this book was beautifully expressed. The characters were complex, engaging, likable and memorable. Not a summer beach read, but I really did enjoy this novel and have enjoyed Lia Louis's other novels "Dear Emmie Blue" and "Eight Prefect Hours". I will definitely be reading everything she writes. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I rate this book a solid 3.5.

Our narrator, Natalie, in her early 30s, lost her husband two years ago. Her friends and those around her are constantly trying to cheer her up and encouraging her to move on. Unfortunately, it's not so easy. Nat feels stuck in her grief, fantasizing on what could have been with her husband, Russ. This story captures the ebbs and flows of grief and no matter how badly others may want you to move on, it has to be on your own timeline. To cope with her loss, Nat has been playing piano at St. Pancras train station in London. One day, Nat discovers someone left her sheet music. Not just any sheet music, but it was a song that meant so much to her and Russ. Someone continues to leave Nat sheet music that feels personal to her life. She is on a mission to discover who could be responsible. Along the way, she meets two amazing characters that help Natalie feel alive and excited about life.

This story demonstrates the complexity of grief and I loved watching Natalie resolve some of the guilt and shame she has felt surrounding her husband's tragic death. She deserves a happily ever after and the ending gives the reader EXACTLY what they want. The author's writing style invokes so much emotion and I appreciate its unique genre, like a romance, yet not completely. Friendship is a key theme to the storyline.

Thank you to NetGally and the publisher for allowing me to read this story ahead of publication.

Call me a sucker for cheesy romcom. books because that is exactly what I am. I loved 8 Perfect hours by. Lia Louis so when The Key. to my Heart popped up on NetGalley it was a MUST read for me! And it did not disappoint!!

Natalie, a widow of 2 years, feels lost, her life feels empty and all she can focus on is playing the piano at the train station (where she can remain anonymous). But then one day she receives sheet music left behind by a stranger, and it happens to be her husbands favorite song...and it keeps on happening. This sparks a joy n Natalie that she hasn't felt in some time. This book was touching, emotional & vulnerable. I enjoyed Natalies journey of self discovery and finding her way back to life through music. But the love interest....that was the real winner. Loved this book and would highly recommend it

Thank you to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC

I love the way Lia Louis weaves her beautiful stories. Nat, a young widow, is wading through her grief and trying to figure out how to go on. She’s really stuck until a secret someone starts leaving sheet music for her at a piano she uses. Who is it and why?

I loved Nat. You just root for her as she slowly comes through her pain. New friends are made along the way and maybe one will help her find love again. “It’s you, for me too. Of course it’s you.”

Notes: a bit more bad language than I’m comfortable with.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am so grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book is absolutely amazing. I thought, at first, it was going to be a sad read just based on the fact that Natalie was made a widow at such a young age and she was clearly still grieving. But this story made me laugh and cry (both happy and sad tears) and if I could hug Natalie in real life I definitely would.
The Key to my Heart does a fantastic job of showing how people grieve differently and how sometimes letting yourself feel the pain and accepting it can help you through the unimaginable loss that can happen in our lives. I love the idea of music therapy and I wish there was a soundtrack that went with this book so I could hear all the songs mentioned as well as the songs Natalie wrote.
This was my first time reading this author and now I have to read all her books. I would give this more than 5 stars if I could!

As someone who has struggled with a lot of loss lately, this book was something that I needed to pick up. I like that it wasn't too heavy on the romance. This was a book that was overall a good book for me to read that felt like it came at the perfect time in my life. I think that it is essential to see these kinds of relationships where there is someone to depend on and befriend instead of just falling head over heels for at first sight. It sends a good message and has a good theme.
Thank you for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book really wrung my heart out of so many emotions. It made my heart feel heavy with grief, but also light with its love story, in both romance and friendship. I felt it all.

But most of all— I felt so much love for our protagonist Natalie. Natalie’s life is led by the grief of the tragic loss of her husband, but bit by bit she finds her feet moving one in front of the other—seeing the life on the other side. At the heart of her journey is trying to unravel the mystery of who is leaving her sheets of music to play at a public piano. Music with great significance to her and her life with her deceased husband. The mystery was one my mind kept turning through a million theories and I quite liked its conclusion.

The romance was gentle and sweet— it took its time, leading by friendship and patience, which I’m so grateful for. It’s one that was wholeheartedly worth that wait. It was perfect.

If I have any complaint it is with the resolution between current and past friendships. I wish Nat had held her ground with boundaries, rather than being admonished for them. Sometimes we have to move on from certain friendships, forgiveness can be had but it doesn’t always have to tie up prettily like a bow. Perhaps I just felt overwhelmingly protective of Nat, but I thought she was in the right in needing her space, but more than that, for a story that rang so true to life I wish it would have reflected that in that not all friendships will last a lifetime. Only the true gems do. This is truly a minor qualm, and again, one brought up by how deeply I felt for our brave, wonderful protagonist.

Natalie deserves a happily ever after.

This one will stay in my heart for quite a while.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I knew I had to read this, eight perfect hours was my absolute favourite holiday read in 2021.

I loved the characters, the awe moments and everything in between throughout this jolly book!

Would 10/10 recommend!

Lia Louis sure knows how to write a story of human emotion and connection. The Key to My Heart also discusses the reverberations of grief in a sensitive and tender way that I very much related to as someone who has also recently lost a loved one.

Natalie is 32, a pianist, and a widow of 2.5 years. After losing her husband, she began playing the piano at a subway station. She has recently been finding sheet music in the piano bench there that hits too close to home to be a random coincidence. This sets her on a path of self-discovery that leads to new friendships, healing past wounds, and perhaps even love.

I loved the way this novel discussed the experience of grief and finding a new way to live and be after loss. Despite the sorrowful beginning, I found it highly enjoyable to spend some time in Natalie's world, and the secondary characters were great. I didn't find the red herring romance particularly believable. And while the sheet music mystery was a driving plot point, I felt that at times it detracted from the true story, oddly enough. Nonetheless, this was a lovely, cozy read that I highly recommend!

Big thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy to review! It was lovely.

First off, let me say that this is not a winter book 😆 I know with her last book people were disappointed as they thought it had a winter or Christmas feel to it. This is a book about Natalie who loses her husband suddenly and is still dealing with grief two and a half years later. Starting this book, I was like oh, so depressing, but then it took a turn. It’s about so much more than grief. I loved it! Gave me all the feels and loved the story and chemistry of some of the characters.

Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publish Date: December 6, 2022

I loved Eight Perfect Hours so I was extremely excited seeing a new novel by Lia!

The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis is a wonderful story.
It didn't take me long to fall in love with the story and the main character Natalie.
It is so easy to empathize with her and to will her on to happiness.
Her journey is emotional, beautiful and I couldn't help but cheer her on every step of the way.
A charming, endearing story with lovable characters.
The character development is absolutely brilliant.
The writing flowed easily and I could see the story playing in my head like a movie.
I enjoyed this story as much as I did the previous one and I so look forward to reading more.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Atria/Emily Bestler Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.