Heard It In A Love Song Book Club Reporter Book Review

Heard It In A Love Song Book Club Reporter Book Review podcast episode. This is Season 3 - Episode 16

Heard It In A Love Song is a women’s fiction and contemporary romance novel, written by author, Tracey Garvis  Graves.  

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• 0:00 Tempo: 120.0

Transcript

Podcast Book Review Transcript – Heard-It-In-A-Love-Song

 00:01

Hello gentle readers. Welcome to Book Club Reporter Book Reviews Podcast. I’m your host and Book Club Reporter, Laura Jay. This is Season 3  Episode 16

00:19

Today I am sharing with you my Book Club Reporter book review of: Heard It In A Love Song, a women’s fiction, contemporary-romance story written by author, Tracey Garvis Graves. 

00:32

And before we get started be sure to read all my book reviews, book news, book club reading lists and more at bookclubreporter.com, and now you can find additional  book reviews by me on BookPraises.com.  And you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. 

00:57

Okay…what I would like to do first today is to share, with you, the publisher’s book description of Heard It In A Love Song. Usually, the publisher’s book description is first thing folks read when deciding upon reading a book. So I will be happy to go ahead and cover that step for you right here: 

01:18

From Tracey Garvis Graves, the bestselling author of The Girl He Used to Know comes a love song of a story about starting over and second chances in Heard It in a Love Song.

Love doesn’t always wait until you’re ready. 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, 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? Alright, that concludes the Publisher’s Book Description. 

02:48

Now, I invite you to relax and enjoy my Book Club Reporter book review of: 

Heard It In A Love Song.

 Heard It In A Love Song is a contemporary and thoughtful women’s romance novel.

 I very much enjoyed reading Heard It in a Love Song. Author, Tracey Garvis Graves, brings readers a beautifully written story about a woman who started out as a local venue, electric guitar-playing singer, named Layla.

Of course, the name Layla alone was enough to bring to mind the hard-rocking electric guitar of Eric Clapton in the initial version of the song Layla way back in the day. The Layla in this story, however, takes us through her relationship, marriage and divorce struggles as she looks back over the years. And to make another comparison to the song Layla…while the character of Layla in this story could rock her electric guitar with the best of them, her personality was more attuned to Clapton’s later “unplugged” version of Layla. And I for one, found that to be a good thing.

 I immensely enjoyed my first reading of a book written by Tracey Garvis Graves. And I believe Heard It In A Love Song is a wonderful women’s book club selection as the relationships in this novel could act to incentify the beginning of a fascinating book club discussion. 

 I found it completely refreshing to read this story as it is told with kindness and understanding. Layla is a good person. And much like in real life, sorting out relationships takes time. Sometimes what is right for a person may change as she and/or he move through the past and into present. 

 Layla is a thinker and I love that about her. She seems to be well-grounded. Layla is not some silly “willy-nilly” female character. Rather she’s a grown woman who has lived life and experienced the both the good and the bad. Layla has what I would describe as a soft personality, However, she can and does, express her feelings through what she loves most in life and that is…performing. When she is performing, Layla can let it all out while she is belting it all out. It makes me think of all those times I sang along listening to Aretha Franklin on my radio as she as she belted out the song Respect…as only the Queen of Soul could. 

 Now, I would say at this point in her life, Layla is ready for a good and satisfying relationship. And while she has waited a long time for something good and real, Layla seems to remain willing to hold back and wait for it. I found myself invested in hoping the right partner would reveal himself to Layla in a way she could recognize and know him as “the one.”

 I loved how the story weaved its way through Layla's life and relationships. Layla seems to have her head on straight. She has spent her life learning about herself…and how great is that? It seems to me that Layla has achieved a heightened conscious awareness. And that is quite an accomplishment. Layla asks herself questions and considers her answers. She contemplates the actions of the people around her…what they say…and what they do. Layla seems to have learned (or is still learning) how to embrace what is good…and how to move away from what is not right for her. She seems invested in determining motives and assessing situations. 

 And I guess it would be remiss of me not to mention I was a bit puzzled by the choice of the song title for to understand the title of this book…I will go with the knowledge that the lyrics of Heard It In A Love Song, are about a man who is always leaving (rather than staying and falling in love) and that is in stark contrast with Eric Clapton penning the lyrics about his overwhelming love for Pattie Boyd who was at that time, the wife of one of Clapton’s best friends Beatle, George Harrison. I just don’t know. Maybe the intent of the author was to draw a contrast between running out on someone (Heard It In a Love Song), as opposed to embracing powerful feelings of love (Layla). Be that as it may, this story made me think. And Heard It In a Love Song, also made me hope for a meaningful outcome for the characters in this story.

 Regardless of the book title, and/or its meaning,  for me…Heard It In A Love Song is just a really great story! I look forward to reading more from author, Tracey Garvis Graves.

 05:00

Thank you all for joining me today for this book club reporter book review. If you would like more info about today’s book review, or a copy of the book, check the show notes for this podcast episode, or simply visit BookClubReporter.com.

As always, I very much appreciate you all stopping by and listening to my feelings about the books I read. I hope you have enjoyed this book review podcast episode. And my book club reporter podcast show. And if you did, feel free to buy me a cup of coffee. Just click the Buy Me a Coffee link in the show notes of this podcast. 

 I would just like to say here that I don’t have a fancy podcast studio or any super expensive equipment. Me and my voice, are actually coming to you from a small clothes-closet in my home. I am always working toward being able to afford better equipment to improve the quality of this podcast show for my listeners. So, if you do decide to buy me a cup of coffee, via the link provided in the podcast notes, I thank you so much in advance for your kindness. You are very much appreciated. 

 06:18

Thanks again for listening. See you all next time.