Title:   Heard It in a Love Song
Author:   Tracey Garvis Graves
Genre:   Fiction
Rating:  4.2 out of 5

Layla Hilding is thirty-five and recently divorced. Struggling to break free from the past—her glory days as the lead singer in a band and a ten-year marriage to a man who never put her first—Layla’s newly found independence feels a lot like loneliness.

 Then there’s Josh, the single dad whose daughter attends the elementary school where Layla teaches music. Recently separated, he’s still processing the end of his twenty-year marriage to his high school sweetheart. He chats with Layla every morning at school and finds himself thinking about her more and more.

 Equally cautious and confused about dating in a world that favors apps over meeting organically, Layla and Josh decide to be friends with the potential for something more. Sounds sensible and way too simple—but when two people are on the rebound, is it heartbreak or happiness that’s a love song away?

Both Layla and Josh’s stories were compelling and kept me fully invested in this story. I enjoyed seeing the glimpses of their pasts in the flashbacks, as it let me get to know them as individuals, and not just as two people who are potentially interested in each other.

Their attraction grew so slowly and so naturally, that it just felt right. Norman was an enjoyable addition to the story, too, as were the bits with Josh’s daughter. This was just a sweet read, full of hope for the future, as two people learn from the mistakes of their pasts.

Tracey Garvis Graves is a bestselling author. Heard It in a Love Song is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.)

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