The Key To My Heart by Lia Louis

 

The Key to my Heart by Lia Louis.

Published 7th July 2022 by Orion.

From the cover of the book:

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 St. Pancras 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?

***********

Two years ago, Natalie's life fell apart when her husband Russ died, and she has not been able to move past her overwhelming grief. Living in the tiny cottage that was Russ' dream, with the renovation jobs they were going to do together still undone, Natalie is stuck in limbo and feels numb inside. She finds herself going through the motions with her friends and family just to please them, but has no idea how to move on when she has lost the love of her life.

Once a talented pianist and music teacher, Natalie's musical career is dead in the water after Russ' death, and the betrayal of her former best friend. The only musical comfort she allows herself is secretly playing the public piano at the concourse of St. Pancras station for strangers. But then something odd happens... someone starts leaving sheet music for her in the stool of the piano for songs that were special to her. Who could possibly know about these songs, other than Russ?

Natalie tries to solve the mystery with the help of the employees at the station's coffee shop to no avail, but magically, with each song she feels a little bit of herself coming back to her. She doesn't know if she will ever be ready to love again, but perhaps it is time to at least allow herself to try to feel once more...

I love it when a new Lia Louis book hits the shelves as she is one of my absolute favourite romance authors. True to form, this is a book stuffed to the gills with fabulous characters who simply walk off the page and lead you through a charming story about love, friendship, and new beginnings. I felt myself right at Natalie's side with every little step forward that she takes, urging her to let herself find happiness again, and loved the witty sense of humour that has staunchly stayed with her despite her sorrow - and which also allows for some fabulous banter with a certain someone who becomes her 'stand-in' date... but no spoilers here!

As in all the best stories, the supporting cast have their own trials and tribulations to work through too with lots of really clever cross-over threads around grief, betrayal, and being unable to move forward, which fills out the action nicely alongside Natalie's central tale. I laughed and cried with them all, building up to a full on sob session as the final moments of this beautiful book played out. Everyone needs a little coffee shop like Goode's, the gentle advice of a Shauna, and even the well meaning, if misguided, interference of over-sharing friends and family like Natalie's.

There's such an enchanting air of mystery about this book too, as Natalie tries to fathom out who could possibly be leaving the music for her at St Pancras station, with lots of red herrings as she works through the list of subjects, and a cracking double twist that melted my heart. 

Lia always hits that sweet spot of  elements to tick every heart-warming, humorous, and tear-jerking box on my list of rom-com desires, packing in the perfect amount of emotional depth and satisfying swoonable romance. The Key to my Heart is thoroughly gorgeous on every level, and I think this might just be my favourite Lia Louis book yet!

The Key to my Heart is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Orion for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and so Compulsive Readers Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour. I have also purchased a paperback copy.

About the author:

Lia Louis is a writer from Hertfordshire where she lives with her partner and three young children. In 2015, she won ELLE magazine's annual talent competition with her contemporary love letter, #RelationshipGoals. Lia's fascination with letters doesn't stop with her writing: she also has a varied collection of old letters which are a source of inspiration to her. SOMEWHERE CLOSE TO HAPPY is her first novel.