When Natalie met Russ she had found her one, but then he was taken from her. She now finds solace in St Pancras Station playing to strangers on the public piano there. While she plays she keeps her bits and bobs in the piano stool, one day she opens it up to find sheet music of a song that meant a lot to her and Russ. Every now and again more sheet music is left but by who?

Grief is a tricky thing to write about as it is a very personal emotion. I have read books in the past where the characters have not felt genuine or realistic but with Natalie I felt like I was reading about a real person. From the internal dilemmas she faced to the way friends and family treated her in their own varying ways all seemed authentic. London is the backdrop for Natalie's character arc and not only could I picture every scene but also discovered a hidden gem in Camley Street Nature Reserve along from Kings Cross I had no idea was there! It took me a while to really connect with Natalie but the men who came into her life I warmed to straight away. Both Tom and Joe come into Natalie's life at the right time and you know she is going to end up with one of them but I was happy for it to be either as they both radiated kindness and understanding which is just what a grieving widow needs. The Key to My Heart is a delicately orchestrated story that plucks at the heartstrings.

BOOK REVIEW: The Key To My Heart by @lialouisauthor

5 Stars

Lia Louis does it again! I have definitely got a new favourite author for sweet romances that have a huge emotional impact.
The Key to my Heart is about Natalie, a young widow who 2 years after her husband's death is still struggling with crushing grief and guilt. It is such an emotional book but ultimately it is incredibly uplifting and focuses on grief, self care, the importance of friendship and of course, love. I don't want to spoil any of the storyline so no details here! It is a beautiful book that swept me away. I also had zero idea what would happen and loved all the twists and turns and mysteries within the story. It is just perfect!
The story is obviously amazing but it is the characters that make this book extra special. Natalie our lead female is such a realistic protagonist and I just wanted to give her the biggest hug. She had my heart from the beginning and I loved the journey Lia Louis took her on and her growth in the book.
There are so many amazing side characters but the two main male characters were also incredibly special in their own way. I adore Tom and his humour and how he was always there for Nat and just SO sweet and caring. Can I please have a Tom in my life?!
The other guy Joe was a little more mysterious and I really loved how he and Natalie connected through their grief and built a sweet supportive relationship from that.
Lia Louis is an incredible author. She had me hooked on every single word. I rarely give romance books 5 stars if there isn't smut involved (this is a clean book), but her writing and storytelling is just so captivating that there is no way I could rate it any less than perfect.

I really recommend this book and hope you all love it as much as I did!

Please note that I was #gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

It’s no secret that I adore all that Lia Louis writes! Her books steal my heart and leave me in a dreamy haze. Every. Single. Time. The Key to My Heart is of course no exception!⁣
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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’?⁣
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Things I loved:⁣
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• Natalie! She’d definitely a top favourite protagonist who I cared deeply for. Her strength is admirable and she has the best witty humour! ⁣
• The banter between Natalie and a certain swoony someone. OMG! Talk about electric! 🤐 is the ultimate book boyfriend, he’s so romantic, so tender, so loveable! I’ve already claimed him as mine. *sighs dreamily* ⁣
• The set of wonderful characters. All of them felt incredibly authentic and leapt off the page. But! Shauna needs an extra special mention because she is a sparkling gem! Sadly, I didn’t spot her staking out the piano at St Pancras, she must’ve been busy serving the regulars at Goode’s ☺️.
• The mysterious music sheets! I loved this aspect so much. It was masterfully crafted and how everything came together is beyond beautiful! Did I sob several tears and give my Kindle a tight hug at the end? Yes! Yes I did!⁣
• The way in which Lia Louis blends humour, swoony romance, emotional depth and unexpected twists is pure magic. I’m already excited for whatever she has lined up next! ⁣

Thank you heaps to Orion Books, NetGalley and Lia Louis for the eARC. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Oh my heart! My heart got broke.. taped up.. broke again.. more tape needed... then the end... my heart was so full!!

I truly loved Natalie and her story seeing her character develop through the Grief. It was so real and honest and raw. Grief lasts a lifetime in different forms and the author portrayed all of that within Natalie.

I enjoyed the secondary characters too I felt they played an important part for the story to really piece together.

The story was paced really well and I loved how it had everything.. heartache, love, romance, friendship, kinship, deceit, humour.. the works.

Love love loved it!!!

The slowest of burns romance wise but so beautifully handled grief and healing. I will certainly view the piano in St Pancras completely different. I loved the view of the world the characters individually had and the way that I can take all of that for granted when it’s at my fingertips. Lia Louis really has a way of making you want to dive into a book and finish it in one sitting

Loved alias last book and this one was just as beautiful and heart wrenching, she is easily becoming a fav of mine to read

Lia Louis has become a must-buy author for me!' JODI PICOULT
'Heartwarming, hope-filled and hilarious' LINDSEY KELK

Can you ever really find the one after 'the one'?

Some people spend their whole lives trying to find the one. But Natalie had found him - and married him. And then Russ died.

Two years ago, her whole world was shattered. Still now, she feels like she's trying to piece her broken heart back together, one day at a time.

But then she finds a sheet of music - one that only Russ would know - in the piano stool in King's Cross station where she's secretly been playing for the last few months.

For the first time, Natalie realizes that maybe life does still hold a little magic. And with every note she plays, she feels as if she's unlocking another fragment of her heart...

But will she ever truly find love again after she'd already found forever?

Another deft rom com from Lia Louis - I love how these books give me such an insight into the quirky thoughts of people younger than me, people who are more emotionally available and able to articulate themselves than I ever was at the same age.
What I also like about Lia's books is that they cover massive life events that have huge impact on people, and the characters come from a place of recovery - not just from a nasty break up but from something worse, in this case widowhood. So her books feel like they are there with you as you tackle 'life' rather than just being a fun way to spend a couple of hours to read a bit of romance.
So, in short, the book is about a widowed musician who is at the stage where her friends don't understand she is still grieving and cannot face the dating set ups they want for her. Their attitude sums up that awful pov that some people have that they are not complete unless they are in a relationship and cannot exist as a single. She also has to try and work out what she wants to do with their house in the country, which they bought to do up and it's still something of a mess. Her solace comes from playing piano in St Pancras and her friendship with a coffee shop owner there.
The book does feel quite provincial despite being set in London, and gives you the feeling that the metropolis is indeed the series of villages that urban myth speaks of. All in all, this is a romance for grown ups, millennials who are working through their angst on the outside. Love it.

I devoured this one in 24 hours and found a new favourite author. I loved the characters, storyline and premise. I didn't want this book to end.

Another Lia Louis hit right here! There's just something so special about how this author blends romance with really poignant and emotional topics and makes you as a reader feel so invested so quickly.

Great storytelling and woven together really well. Sharp, quick witted and fun along the way too.

I have just finished reading this and I read the last page with a huge smile on my face.
This book has everything you want. Love, loss, friendships, fall outs as well as being absolutely hilarious. Lia has a great way with words and had me laughing out loud in many parts.
I love how we get to really know the main characters and there is obviously the air of mystery surrounding who's leaving the music sheets as well as a 'will they, won't they' with the two men who have come into her life. It was great how it all came together and I was very happy with the ending.

This is the first Lia Louis book I’ve read and I think I just became an instant super fan!

I loved this book so much. The musical aspect really sang to me (no pun intended) as a musician myself and I loved that there was a thread of sadness throughout, surrounding grief. It gave the story more depth which is always a good thing.

I was really rooting for the MC all the way through and of course came up with a million different possibilities / suspects for the music gifter.

I absolutely adored Tom. What a wonder of a man. So patient and gentle and never needing more than the MC could give. It was lovely!

Now to go and binge read LL other books!

Thank you publishers & Net Galley for allowing me an advanced E-book copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!!

Easy to read, good in big chunks or small & relatable moments all the way through. The characters are likeable and have their own strengths within the main storyline.

The plot is exciting, sweet and clever. It’s thoughtful narrative throughout the books means the reader wants to keep going to the end.

I can safely say, this is a 4 Star read for me and one i’d happily recommended!

The Key to my Heart is what I would refer to as a ‘cry book’.

We’re first introduced to Natalie and her friends Lucy, Roxanne and Priya as they’re sitting in a nightclub. Priya is very newly married and pregnant while Lucy and Roxanne seem to be determined to fix an uninterested Natalie up with someone in the bar.

Natalie is good-natured but it’s easy to sense that she’s not happy about the proceedings, going along with their plans reluctantly. And this is how she meets Tom.

Able to escape from her friends’ not-so-subtle set-up, Natalie goes home to her quiet run-down countryside home and it’s there we finally get the truth, she’s mourning for her husband. Her friends can’t seem to understand that grief is a slow process for some. Russ, her husband, was young, taken suddenly and that isn’t something that you can just bounce back from. Her friends have good intentions, but right now they’re misguided, Natalie’s not ready.

I love the way that this story introduces us to all the characters who will slowly come to mean a lot. Natalie is struggling, but she is strong, a factor that some can see and others overlook. She has a supportive older sister, Jodie, a great secondary mother figure in Shauna and the man she met briefly in a bar ends up being a really good friend.

So, what makes this book so readable I picked it up at the start of a bank holiday weekend and finished it before I went to bed that night?

The story isn’t predictable. Are there moments when you just know something is going to happen that’s going to have you crying? Absolutely. Could I predict what was going to happen at the end? Not at all. There were a few points where I was sure I could call it, where I wanted something to occur, but it didn’t play out that way at all.

Every single character in this book - from the friends who thought they knew best, to the notebook guy, Joe, whom Natalie spotted several times in her regular cafe - had a role to play in her story. They were her friends, her support network, her cheerleaders and her confidantes.

I loved the moments where serendipity had a role to play - it feels as though it was a character in its own right and is a recurring theme in Louis’ books (if the last one I read is anything to go by). However, none of it is over-used or feels in any way contrived.

This book made me cry, it made me laugh and it made me glad that I picked up Eight Perfect Hours and read that so I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Lia Louis’ books tug at the heartstrings and make you feel a lot.

May include spoilers below.

Firstly thank you so much for allowing me to read this ARC.

The Key to My Heart was beautifully written, I found it quite slow to really get hooked on the story as I expected full on romance. However, the direction of the book was so much more powerful and touched on a journey of grief. Natalie finds herself widowed and understandably this has a huge impact on her life.

I loved the structure of the book and how actually I couldn’t predict whether it would be Tom or Joe that Natalie ended up with. The book pulled on my heart strings and I desperately wanted to wrap Natalie and Shauna in a big bear hug to soothe away their upset!

I loved the ending!

I loved 8 Perfect Hours SO MUCH so was thrilled to be given an advanced copy of The Key to My Heart. It did not disappoint!

Straight away, I was hooked. I was immediately drawn in to Natalie's story and rooting for Tom from the very first chapter. The story of the music was a great plot alongside the potential love interests and the grief from the loss of her husband.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. I will definitely be recommending it to everyone I know!

What a beautiful story, I absolutely loved this 💕 couldn’t put it down once I’d started, I was totally invested in all the characters and loved the relationships between all them. Such a wonderful ending, I can’t recommend this book enough xx

huge thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc (slight spoiler below)

4.5 stars & two words: absolutely beautiful. this book was written incredibly well, centred around the death of loved ones and finding that spark within music and friendships to get yourself back out into the world.

i was completely attached to natalie’s story, and witnessing her character development throughout the pages felt like watching a friend slowly find her light at the end of the tunnel. lia louis does a fantastic job at humanising her characters, allowing us to connect and truly empathise with the emotions they each feel.

i adored how natural and genuine natalie’s friendship with tom was - their lighthearted banter and trust in one another was a delight to read and watch blossom into something more.

normally, i prefer a more romance-centred book, but with the pacing of this and how real each page felt - i can’t bring myself to be too bothered about there only being a hint of romance that we see at the end. as though it’s almost more than enough to know that nat and tom end up happy, together, and nothing else needs to be said, and it doesn’t need to be drawn out.

overall, i absolutely adored this book; it tugs on your heart strings and touches on various problems in such a compassionate way, leaving you feeling like you’re enclosed in a warm hug.

Can you ever really find the one after 'the one'?
Some people spend their whole lives trying to find the one. But Natalie had found him - and married him. And then Russ died.
Two years ago, her whole world was shattered. Still now, she feels like she's trying to piece her broken heart back together, one day at a time.
But then she finds a sheet of music - one that only Russ would know - in the piano stool in King's Cross station where she's secretly been playing for the last few months.

Everything about this story give me the shivers! READ THIS!!… Once you start, you will not want to put this book down.
For the first time, Natalie realizes that maybe life does still hold a little magic. And with every note she plays, she feels as if she's unlocking another fragment of her heart...gorgeous

As a big fan of Lia I was very excited to get my hands on this book and boy, it does not disappoint!

I was totally committed to the story and wonderful characters from the very first chapter and had to pace myself so as not to rush through it too fast.

The writing is beautiful, heartfelt and totally believable. I loved the characters and cared deeply for their happiness.

I went on a rollercoaster of emotions, up, down and up again and due to the exquisite descriptions of emotions and feelings it was so easy to feel genuine empathy for our heroine, Natalie, and her slow recovery from the devastating sudden death of her beloved husband, following an accident.

There are some cracking lines in the book, one of my favourites being "life is far too short to stay in any situation that doesn't light you up from the inside out".

This story tugs at the old heartstrings but is also uplifting and positive, all dealt with in a sensitive and compassionate way.

Lia has a fantastic way with words and I can't wait for her next book.

Richard Curtis needs to snap up the film rights sharpish!

Highly recommended and I think this deserves my book of the year award.

Thank you!

Loved this book by @lialouisauthor

Was so excited to get an early copy of this book by lia louis from net gallery! This is a book about grief, loss, new friendships and relationships!! The characters were likeable and it was an emotional read! Don't want to say to much too early but defo 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and wild recommend it!!