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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Alcoholism
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book is everything I hoped it would be. Introspective, devastating, laugh out loud funny, and heartwarming. I loved the depictions of friendship, love, grief, and acceptance. It was perfect. I will think about it for a long time.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Even before I knew the title of Lia Louis’ latest book, I was anxious to read it. My third book by the author, The Key to My Heart is everything I knew and hoped it would be. Heartfelt, tear-inducing, and swoon-y. If life would have allowed, I would have read this one in one sitting. For me, Lia Louis can do no wrong!
We meet Natalie at a very low point in her life. It’s been almost three years since her husband Russ died and she can’t seem to move on. She’s stuck in the cottage they bought together to restore, something Russ wanted more than she did. She hasn’t been able to make any decisions, still dealing with bad pipes and loud critters. But she hides her sorrow well from her friends, still joining them on nights-out so they won’t worry about her, covering her pain with humor each time they try to fix her up with someone new.
Her music career has come to a screeching halt since she’s had a falling out with her best friend and writing partner. She’s been unable to write anything new. Her only musical outlet is playing a public piano at a London train station. When sheet music connected to her past starts to show up in the piano bench, a journey to discover the source takes her down new paths and in surprising directions. I loved all the mentions of music and artists throughout the book, as well, which always makes my music-loving heart happy.
Louis does a great job of weaving her stories, making surprising connections while treating her readers with intelligence. She’s a queen at showing instead of telling. I’m always so impressed by her ability to make that happen. Instead of filling early chapters with backstory, she jumps right in, letting her characters reveal their own pasts through their interactions and experiences.
The Key to My Heart is packed with wonderfully well-rounded characters. From Natalie’s old friends, who she feels are obsessed with seeing her happy again, to the new friends she makes on her search for answers. I loved every minute of this romance, cheering Natalie on as she struggled to find her new path, finally opening her heart to a new love.
It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite Lia Louis book. I’m impressed by each one, from Dear Emmie Blue to Eight Perfect Hours, which is a rare thing. I know The Key to My Heart will stick with me and make my list of favorite books for the year!
Thank you to the publisher, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
Check out my reviews and playlists at A Book Wanderer
We meet Natalie at a very low point in her life. It’s been almost three years since her husband Russ died and she can’t seem to move on. She’s stuck in the cottage they bought together to restore, something Russ wanted more than she did. She hasn’t been able to make any decisions, still dealing with bad pipes and loud critters. But she hides her sorrow well from her friends, still joining them on nights-out so they won’t worry about her, covering her pain with humor each time they try to fix her up with someone new.
Her music career has come to a screeching halt since she’s had a falling out with her best friend and writing partner. She’s been unable to write anything new. Her only musical outlet is playing a public piano at a London train station. When sheet music connected to her past starts to show up in the piano bench, a journey to discover the source takes her down new paths and in surprising directions. I loved all the mentions of music and artists throughout the book, as well, which always makes my music-loving heart happy.
Louis does a great job of weaving her stories, making surprising connections while treating her readers with intelligence. She’s a queen at showing instead of telling. I’m always so impressed by her ability to make that happen. Instead of filling early chapters with backstory, she jumps right in, letting her characters reveal their own pasts through their interactions and experiences.
The Key to My Heart is packed with wonderfully well-rounded characters. From Natalie’s old friends, who she feels are obsessed with seeing her happy again, to the new friends she makes on her search for answers. I loved every minute of this romance, cheering Natalie on as she struggled to find her new path, finally opening her heart to a new love.
It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite Lia Louis book. I’m impressed by each one, from Dear Emmie Blue to Eight Perfect Hours, which is a rare thing. I know The Key to My Heart will stick with me and make my list of favorite books for the year!
Thank you to the publisher, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
Check out my reviews and playlists at A Book Wanderer
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
slow-paced
Thank you to Book Club Favorites and Simon & Schuster for the gifted copy.
MY HEART.
BLOG || INSTAGRAM
I knew going in this book was going to hurt. Widow plots are some of the hardest for me to read about. I truly enjoyed this one though and all the truth and love and pain it held. Another beautiful book by Lia Louis!
I loved the overall theme of how grief creates its own path. And that it’s OKAY to have a different path than someone else’s. The side characters provided a lot of different angles to how people approach those experiencing grief too. It became multi-faceted and complex and had all of my heart strings pulled.
The romance was so dang sweet. I loved the slow steps into it and how a friendship grew first. There’s a tiny dash of a love triangle (it’s good, I promise!) and I loved how it worked out in the end.
One particular chapter at the end had me tearing up and wanting to hug Natalie. A fantastic and poignant read that I’d easily recommend!
Overall audience notes:
- Women’s Fiction / Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a spouse (theme), loss of loved ones, grief, depression
MY HEART.
BLOG || INSTAGRAM
I knew going in this book was going to hurt. Widow plots are some of the hardest for me to read about. I truly enjoyed this one though and all the truth and love and pain it held. Another beautiful book by Lia Louis!
I loved the overall theme of how grief creates its own path. And that it’s OKAY to have a different path than someone else’s. The side characters provided a lot of different angles to how people approach those experiencing grief too. It became multi-faceted and complex and had all of my heart strings pulled.
The romance was so dang sweet. I loved the slow steps into it and how a friendship grew first. There’s a tiny dash of a love triangle (it’s good, I promise!) and I loved how it worked out in the end.
One particular chapter at the end had me tearing up and wanting to hug Natalie. A fantastic and poignant read that I’d easily recommend!
Overall audience notes:
- Women’s Fiction / Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a spouse (theme), loss of loved ones, grief, depression
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is my second book by this author, and the second time I wonder about classification. On NetGalley, this is labeled as Romance. And while there are plenty of romantic elements to this story, it’s not (in my opinion) the book’s central theme. To me, this is a story about love, loss, hope, despair, and a woman going through all of these emotions and trying to find her way out the other side. So yes, there is romance, past and present. There is even a HEA. I just don’t find that to be the overall theme of this story.
I found Natalie’s journey to be quite touching and even confusing. Not as in I was confused by the writing or the story, but I could feel Natalie’s confusion and frustration. Two steps forward and one step back in processing the death of her husband and how things played out in the days after his death. She lost some friends, pushed some friends away, and eventually made new friends in unlikely places. Most notably the coffee shop she started to frequent a few months after becoming a widow. Little by little, she got to know the workers and the other regulars and they became her “after” people. They hadn’t known her husband or her with her husband so they came into any relationship with her with a clean slate, and no preconceived ideas. She always felt as though she was on display or had to act a certain way with her other close friends, like they were expecting her to break down and wanted her to move on when she wasn’t ready. Her new friends were a place she could be; be herself, be sad, be angry.
While relationships were all over the place with Natalie’s friends, I loved the support she received from her sister and her sister’s family. They were so amazing with her and gave her space to grieve and multiple shoulders to cry on. Having sisters myself, I loved seeing the connections she had with hers.
As for the mysterious music Natalie started receiving, I found myself fully invested in figuring out who was leaving things for her. In my mind, everyone was a suspect. While I found this story to be a bit of a slow starter, I also was all in quite early on so it didn’t matter how slow it was moving, I kept turning the pages.
There isn’t a lot I can say about the (new) romance element in Natalie’s life without including spoilers, so I’m not going to get into that part of the story. Just know that the reawakening of Natalie’s heart to finding love again is a multi-step process and it takes some stumbling around for her to find her path. I appreciate the author giving great care to this part of the story and not negating the deep love Natalie had with her husband.
This story is quite beautiful, but it had some annoying timeline inconsistencies for me. As usual, this sort of thing may be something others won’t even notice. I’m a stickler for continuity and there was more than one issue so that took some of my enjoyment away. But overall, I enjoyed the book and will surely be recommending it to others.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief
There are elements of cheating in this story