The premise is thus: Sara is dating a true treasure of a human, but is also not really a peach herself. Years of being in dysfunctional relationships has taught her to never really open up and to never really let anyone in. She's fine on her own, thank you very much, and so when she takes off on a long work trip and doesn't really bother to tell her live-in boyfriend or cover her half of the rent, he takes off. While she's on the trip, he donates her stuff to Goodwill and sublets the apartment to someone else. Now, that's a truly atrocious thing to do, but the way Valentin describes their relationship I can't say I'm super shocked he made that choice.

The someone else, for the record, is conscientious local church musician Andrew. When an exhausted Sara shows up on her/his doorstep late one night, he allows her to sleep on the couch for one night until she can find her own place. The twist comes when he hears her sing: she's incredible. He is desperate for a good voice in his church choir and so he proposes a deal. If she'll join his choir until Easter when there's a big service with the local bishop, then she can split the apartment with him.

Of course, opposites attract and Sara finds herself actually trusting someone for the first time in her life, allowing Andrew into her emotional nooks and crannies in ways that freak her out and give her comfort simultaneously.

An added bonus for me was the church aspect of the book. It doesn't deal with faith in an inspirational way, but in a way that would feel very normal to most folks. Church politics are a real part of the lives of anyone who works in churches and Valentin clearly knows her way around that arena. There were dynamics of the congregation that had me nodding and smiling along and as a former church professional, feeling real sympathy for what Andrew has to deal with! It was nice to read about religion in a way that I knew the author wasn't judging her characters - this is normal for them and therefore felt normal for readers.

Would definitely recommend KEY CHANGE to anyone looking for a sweet read about two people finding home in each other.

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