I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide me review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Lia Louis will always be a favorite author but recently, I feel like her books are just trying too hard. Too much comedy and distractors and not enough of the story. Not enough realness. That's what I loved about Emmie Blue but now I'm almost unable to read her books...

4.5 stars
Lia Louis has a way of really pulling you into a story, with fantastic emotion.
We see Natalie go on a real journey, in a heartfelt yet believable way.
The way in which this is written is truly beautiful and I looked forward to picking this story up each evening.
The characters were great (they were so loveable), as was the romance.
It also dealt with grief and trying to move on in an emotional and engaging way.
This is the second book that I've read by Lia Louis and I will certainly be keeping an eye out for what she does next.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie is a young widow who’s husband died suddenly two years ago everyone thinks she should be over it by now they are bored with her grief when Natalie is still trying to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. She comes across a piano in the tube station and plays for commuters when she feels like it but then someone starts leaving music for her that just so happen to be connected to her dead husband. Who is leaving the music? How do they know what pieces to leave? Could it be Russ somehow? This was my first Lia Lewis book and I really enjoyed it, books about grief always get me right in the feelings box because I’m a black hearted little emo nerd and this was no different, it totally pulled all my emotional strings and I was here for it. It is ultimately heart warming which is also nice. It was nice. I liked it.

I have mixed opinions on this one, there is a huge part of me that loved it and a huge part of me that didn't. I loved the overarching plot and the character development, but really didn't feel the romance. Lia always pulls at my heartstrings, especially with the male characters but this just fell a little flat for me.

With the plot centring around the main character’s love of music it was almost guaranteed that I was going to love The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis and guess what..? I did!

This is such a sweet book. Natalie goes on a real emotional journey, and it’s wonderful how all the supporting characters help her to start to move on with her life after Russ’s death.

There’s mystery in here as we are left wondering who left the sheet music for Natalie. And I was also willing her to get on board with a bit of romance as the book progressed. Let’s just say the ending left me feeling all warm and fuzzy, exactly what I wanted!

I have read and loved Dear Emmy Blue and Eight Perfect Hours by this author, and though this isn’t my favourite of the three, I really enjoyed it nonetheless. I turned to YouTube on a number of occasions to play some of the full on nostalgia mentioned (does anyone remember Rooster??!) and there MAY have been a few cheeky additions to my playlist.

With thanks to Orion for gifting me a digital copy to review.

Lia Louis has done it again. A tale of love that had left me in a lavender haze ever since. The story follows Natalie Fincher, a widowed musician who after two years of losing her husband Russ, is still trying to piece back together her broken heart. Natalie’s only real solace is secretly playing the piano at St Pancras station. However, when she discovers sheets of music that only Russ knew left inside the piano stool, she starts to realise that maybe life still holds some magic. But will Natalie ever find true love again after losing ‘the one’?⁣

Natalie is such a beautiful character, she’s trying to get over losing Russ. “The Key To My Heart” is a story about love, yes but it’s also a story of reclaiming your power and life after a loss. I love the way Lia Louis writes, and I always enjoy her books. I was hooked from the get go. A beautiful book - and a must read!

It's hard to straddle the line between realistically representing grief in contemporary fiction/romance and keeping the story uplifting enough to get through it. For me, this one took a long time to feel the hope. I didn't love this book from an author I've previously loved but it was a worthy story and situation.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
This story introduces a lovely set of characters that Natalie meets along her journey to move on from the death of her husband, Russ. She has a group of supportive close friends but doesn't always appreciate the truth of their wisdom about how she is living her life. This is especially true of her relationship with Edie - there's a hint of Edie's 'big lie' and selfish behaviour although what this could be is not revealed until a long way into the book. The mystery of the sheet music that appears at the public piano provides an unusual theme through this lovely story of relationships, and there are twists aplenty as people do things with good intentions but inevitably actions and thoughts are misunderstood.
I have now found a new author I enjoy and have signed up to follow her, and I fully recommend you read this unusual book.

Warm and heartfelt, like all Lia’s books! She has a way of writing that sparkles with funny moments and characters you want to follow through the pages.

Another great read!

Lia Louis is an auto-buy/auto-request author that I love. I have now read 3 out of the 4 books she has written and loved every single one of them.

The Key To My Heart is a beautiful, heartwarming and at times an emotional story about grief and hope for the future. Like in her other books, Louis has written realistic and relatable characters who feel like they're a part of your life. The banter between these characters is just amazing!

I also really liked the premise of this one, the way music played such a key role in this made me so happy! I also loved that whilst this is a romance novel, it's also a story of friendships, loss and finding yourself.

I will always recommend Lia Louis and this one hasn't changed that. Go pick it up!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for giving me the opprtunity to read the advanced copy of this book.

Natalie is a widow and her loss is still raw two years after her husband passes away. Her emptiness is heavy and she can just about bring herself to do one thing which brings some solace to her life - play the piano at the train station. But then someone begins to mysteriously leave a sheet of music for her husband’s favourite songs at the piano, Natalie begins to feel a shred of excitement and for the first time, hope sparks within her.

This was heartfelt, emotional and honest story of loss. A lovely read and it got me thinking about how I would cope in the same situation as Natalie.

Natalie's self discovery journey and her relationship with music was a lovely thing to read. I enjoyed this book and would read more of Lia's books.

The Key to my Heart is a lovely, sad Romance about Natalie, who lost her husband Russ in an accident.

Natalie’s friends think she should be over her grief by now. They want her to meet someone new, party, date and have fun. But Natalie isn’t ready. Instead, she goes to St Pancras Station in London twice a week, to play the piano to the strangers walking past, and drink coffee in Goode’s cafe.

At St Pancras she finds a little bit of magic, as someone is leaving sheet music for her in the piano stool, and each song brings back a special moment of her life. Natalie is bewitched by the idea of who might be leaving the music, and why. It is as though Russ is coming down to the station to let her know he is still there, but surely that can’t be right?

On a night out, Natalie’s friends push her to chat to an attractive man at the bar, and she gives in to shut them up. She doesn’t want to get involved, and neither does Tom. So they agree to pretend, to get their friends off their backs, and by doing so, they each find a new friend who sees them for who they are in that moment.

I loved this book. There was a lot of sadness in it, but also joy and excitement. There is a slow build of feeling as Natalie gradually allows herself to heal and let new people into her life. The book is full of a sense of gentle releasing, and of being true to yourself and the way you can change through the disruptions life brings. But overall, there is a sense of rebirth, of discovering that there can be life after grief and trauma, and that it can be better than you ever thought possible.

I loved watching the main character develop and discover who she is following the loss of Russ 💔. I liked how she had varied friendships too - some that were problematic, some that were reassuring and some who just didn't really understand her anymore. Tom was a dream though and the best character in the book I think!

This is the second Lia Louis book I've ever read, and I have to say she did not disappoint. I loved her writing style, I loved the characters, I loved how we were talked through the different stages of grief, love and friendship. I think all of us will have fallen in love with Tom a little bit. He was just everything you look for in a man, and more.

This was such a quick and easy read, and I was gutted when it finished! I could have read more and more about Natalie's life.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. I love Lia Louis's writing. Her books are funny and romantic, but with real warmth and emotional intelligence. I also loved the London setting of this one. Just gorgeous.

This one was a lovely read. I really enjoyed reading this one. I just love this kind of books.
4 stars read for me

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Orion for approving me for an ARC of this book. I have read and adored Lia Louis’s previous books and when I learnt that this one was about piano music I was super excited.

The story follows Natalie who is a widow at the age of 32 and is struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband two years ago. Her friends keep trying to help her ‘move on’ and she feels like she is drowning in the endless questions of what comes next for her. The only thing that seems to help is music so when someone starts leaving her sheet music, that means something to her, at the tube station piano she can’t help but see it as a sign.

From the start I felt like Lia Louis had seen into my soul and beautifully described what it is like to play an instrument. I have played the piano for 24 years and now teach others how to play so could completely relate to Natalie and how healing the piano can be. It’s the thing I turn to when I’m feeling overwhelmed or stressed and it is also the thing that can ignite emotion in me but the greatest joy is seeing what it does to other people. Lia Louis captures this to perfection and delivers a powerful message between the pages.

I was so intrigued to see who was leaving the sheet music and felt myself playing detective along the way. I’m pleased to say I never guessed which was a pleasant surprise to me. Seeing how Natalie changed throughout the story and coped with making the big decisions felt not only believable but completely natural. You wanted to see Natalie find her own way and emerge from the cocoon she’d been hiding in and with the help of a few lovely friends she does.

The supporting characters were brilliant too and brought a light heartedness to the story. From Priya with her sleepgasms to Natalie’s adorable sister Jodie there were plenty of characters to remember and treasure. Obviously I loved Joe and Tom and whilst I was team Tom the whole way I liked the friendship she had built with both of them.

All I can say is wow what a book! I seriously can not put into words how much I love this book. It was everything I hoped it would be, emotional, hopeful and full of so much love. It explores grief in it’s many forms and reduced me to tears, especially at the end.

Two words: Sublime. Perfection.

‘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 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 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.