Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy of this book for review.

Okay, maybe I didn’t appreciate this book because I’m not from the right generation. I didn’t feel nostalgic for the music or the places or the way of living. But I don’t think this was the case at all.
I actually really enjoyed the past in the book: it was a vibrant and fleshed out grimey city, filled with the music of thousands of people. We, the reader, were fed glimpses of Sheffield in the 80s, between lives from Australia and Scotland 30 years later. It was this part of the story that I felt a connection to first. Sheffield in the past was filled with people good and bad, lives that were perfect and ones that were hidden.
The present was much less nuanced. (Admittedly, Australia was vibrant and descriptive, but it wasn’t nuanced.) Like any romance of missed opportunities, we are told to believe that where people are at the start is not their happy ending. They may be playing happy families in a marriage with children and a comfortable house, but we’re supposed to see the cracks. We’re meant to accept that half the couple is unhappy...
...and it doesn’t matter that the other half is happy.
I couldn’t get over the fact that we were meant to be okay that Ali and Dan broke up their happy relationships because they were “meant to be with each other”. It’s not the finding each other again that I had a problem with, it was the ruining everyone else’s happiness for the chance. Maybe I’m the romance grinch (in fact, I’m sure I’m the romance grinch), but I think one romance shouldn’t be at the cost of other people’s unhappiness.
I also couldn’t ignore the fact that we were being encouraged to forget the unhappiness because we were being told how not good the partners were. Michael (Ali’s husband) genuinely seemed good, just not good for Ali. He cares about her and their family, but he just does it a little forcefully. Yes, he’s stubborn at times and yes, he refuses to listen to her, but she also fails to communicate with him. Likewise with Katelin (Dan’s wife? partner?), she gets obsessive and doesn’t stop asking questions after Dan tells her he cheated on her, but that’s *because* he cheats on her; who wouldn’t be upset and want to know what they did wrong? And then we just gloss over their reactions, say, “yeah they won’t stop calling” and move on.
What I did like about this book were the relationships the characters had with others (that they weren’t married to). Or the relationships Ali had at least. They were rocky at times and filled with secrets and betrayal, but her relationships seemed genuine; I’m very glad she found her brother and met Dan’s father again at the end.
I also appreciated the music part of it. Whilst I didn’t feel nostalgia towards it, I could appreciate what it did and how it played a huge part in the identity of Ali and Dan. Maybe my listening experience would have been improved by listening to the songs whilst I read.

Ali ran away from her old life in Sheffield and in the process she ran away from Dan, her first love and the first person to make her a mix tape.
That was a lifetime ago, but then his name appears on her phone with a link to a song from their past, bringing with it old memories, old feelings and the question, what if what could have been is still to come?
I absolutely devoured this book! The main characters, Alison Connor and Daniel Lawrence were fab and felt realistic and I really felt like I was on their journey with them. I loved the way the story unfolded and the song choices that were sprinkled throughout the story were absolute class and they really enhanced the storyline.
A love story, a life story, a story of a generation. Well written and as a reader of a certain generation, the author took me back to my music roots which only added to the book’s flavour for me. I simply couldn’t put it down.
My thanks to Jane Sanderson, Bantam Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this book as I thought the storyline was great. Mix Tape tells the story of Alison and Daniel both as teenagers and then thirty-odd years later when they unexpectedly come back into each other's lives.

I loved how the book moved between 1978/9 and 2012/3 and between Sheffield, Edinburgh and Adelaide. Jane Sanderson manages to do this really well and with great clarity so it is straightforward for the reader. I also really loved the premise of the 'mix tape' itself and the modern version when in 2012/3.

I really enjoyed Mix Tape, but I thought it was a touch too long and I wasn't as invested in Alison and Daniel as I probably should have been.

I definitely enjoyed Mix Tape and I'm glad that I read it, but I'm not sure I would hurry to read it again.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mix Tape which is a wonderful love story with music intertwined throughout.

Set across two timelines and three destinations this book is a lovely read that once you pick it up you just want to keep reading. Whilst reading this book you visit Adelaide, Edinburgh and Sheffield, the descriptions of the destinations are really visual and make you feel the vibe of each city that you are visiting. The characters are a balance of supportive and controlling with their own character quirks. I personally loved Ali's extended family in Australia and really connected with the relationship she had with them and how they made her feel.

The story focuses on Alison and Dan who knew each other in their teens and reconnect many years later through the power of social media. They are both passionate about music and communicate through the power of music and sending songs that both carry meaning to each other.

Throughout this book the song choices were superb and as the story progresses they create a new mix tape which conveys their feelings and things they want to say to each other. I absolutely loved this book and found listening to the songs they sent really helped to enforce the story being told.

This is the ultimate story about love, music and perfect timing, the power of music should never be under estimated and this spot lights the memories songs hold even in our subconscious and how the lyrics allow us to say things we can't always find the words for.

I really enjoyed this story, which flips between the UK and Australia and the late 1970s and 2012. Dan and Alison are the main characters and met when they were teenagers living in Sheffield and seeing one another. But life and circumstances split them up and they have just got back in contact again via Twitter, due to the fact that Alison has written a very popular novel and her name is popping up everywhere.

They initially contact one another just through sending each other songs, reminding them of their youth and bringing back lots of memories. But Alison was always the one that got away for Dan and things start to change as Dan takes matters into his own hands.

I thought this would be quite a light-hearted story, but there was a lot more involved, with some really horrible parts too around Alison. Her 'Mother' was a drunk and waste of space and not fit to be a mother to Alison or her brother, Peter, and things got out of hand for both Peter and Alison, culminating in Alison accepting Peter's escape fund that he'd been saving to help her get away and make a life for herself somewhere else. She didn't tell anyone, just disappeared, and so left poor Daniel distraught. She ended up travelling the world for a while, then met and married Michael (I didn't like him) on her travels and ended up living in Adelaide, now with two grown children, and had never returned to the UK or been in touch with her family (well Peter) at all.

Dan ended up in Edinburgh with his partner and their son and makes his living as a music journalist. The whole story is very music orientated and there are some really great stories throughout the book of the late 70s music scene in the UK.

The mix tapes made me feel very nostalgic! I suppose you have to be of a certain age to understand them, but I used to spend hours making mix tapes for myself, they were definitely a labour of love! There is also a sort of mix tape, well a playlist, on Spotify for the music mentioned in the book which was great to listen to ('Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson').

This is one of those 'what if' books - what if both Alison and Daniel had taken different paths, would they still have been together since they were teenagers? Were they 'the ones' for each other? And now they've met again how do they feel, and will they decide to upend their present lives and give their relationship another go, leaving their husband/partner behind? Well... you'll have to read the book to find out but it has a very satisfying ending.

One of those books that the more I got into it the more I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened in the end. Loved it!

Oh, I didn't know what I was letting myself in for with this book; it's one of those magical stories which leaves you feeling absolutely privileged to be let in to a secret!

Alison and Dan are first loves in their teenage years, but circumstances tear them apart. Dan was always into music, and made up a mix tape for Alison, the only thing she kept of his. Many years later, living separate lives on different continents Alison is contacted by Dan in the language he knows best - that of music. And all of a sudden, Alison is back in her teenage years - but can you ever really go back?

There is so much packed into this novel! It is a solid read from beginning to end with so much happening! A story told in two ways, both on paper and by song and both of them are touching. As we travel back and forwards between then and now, the lives of both Alison and Dan become very real and quite got under my skin. Delightfully crafted and beautifully written, this is one story which will stay with me for a very long time. Jane Sanderson has created an evocative and memorable tale, which I definitely recommend very highly. Totally worth all five sparkling stars!

My thanks to publisher Transworld Digital for my copy via NetGalley; this is, of course, my honest, original and unbiased review.

I have to say that I didn’t really enjoy this book. From the synopsis it seemed as though it was just the type of book I’d like to read. I found it quite slow, with lots of references to some obscure songs I hadn’t heard of from the 70’s & 80’s. I looked up most of them to see if they were song I knew, but didn’t recognise the artists or titles. Witch surprised me with being a child growing up during these two decades.

The parts of the book that I did enjoy the most were of Alison’s life as a teenager growing up in Sheffield. Even though she had a very bad home life, you could really imagine what life was like during this time when Sheffield still had it’s steel works.


Alison Connor lives with her brother Peter and their alcoholic and sometimes abusive mother Catherine. Peter and Alison took it in turns to watch out for their mother when she was at home. Making sure that she didn’t burn the house down or hurt herself while drunk. Alison never let anyone know what her family life or lack of it was like, she kept that to herself.

Alison escaped from her unhappy home life by spending time Daniel Lawrence. He was 18 years old and she was 16. He lived in a better part of Sheffield to where she lived. In fact she never told Daniel where she lived and she never ever let him accompany her home on the night bus.

In fact Alison spent as much time as she could around at Daniel’s house, even though they didn’t go to the same school. She would go around after school and do her homework there. She got on really well with Daniel’s siblings and his father treated her as though she was one of his own children. His mother though was a different matter. She was worried what troubles and heartache she would bring her youngest son.

Alison and Daniel have a strong connection with each other, which is only enhanced by their love and passion for music. The only difference between them when it comes to music is that Daniel listens to songs randomly. Where Alison will only listen to the music in the order of the album that the artists put the songs. So one day he gave her a mix tape of the first and last song from some of his favourite albums.

One day something happens within Alison’s family, which changed her life forever. Her brother had already told her to leave the family home and go anywhere she wanted as long as it wasn’t Sheffield. He’d already made her get her passport a few years before, without her realising why. Plus he’d been secretly saving up runaway money for her. Alison said that she wouldn’t leave but after the events of the day when things changed. She knew her brother was right. She had no other option but to leave, so she packed a small bag of essentials and left a note telling her brother that she loved him.

Alison went travelling around parts of Europe when she met her now husband Michael McCormack. He is Australian and comes from North Adelaide which is where they both settled down and raised their two daughters Thea and Stella. Michael comes from a well to do family who own a sheep station that has been in the family for generations. Instead of going in to the family business though Michael had become a Paediatrician, and Alison now called Ali by everyone as her husband shortened her name. Has become an international best selling author.

All these years later Daniel finds out that Ali Connor is an international best selling author after his mother bought her book (Tell the Story, Sing the Song), as a Christmas present for his partner Katelin. This sets Daniel on an internet search trying to find out all he can on Ali, when he comes across her on social media, and where he started to follow her. He wanted to send her a message but couldn’t find the words, so instead he sends a link to a song that told her what he couldn’t say in his own words.

Over the course of a few months Ali and Daniel keep sending each other links to song that have meaning to both of them. Which is bringing back old memories and feelings.

Daniel goes to China for work and he decides to go on to Adelaide to see Ali to see if there really is something more between them than just the music. Will Daniel or Alison break up there families so they can finally be together? Or will it end up in heartbreak again?

The love story of Alison Connor and Daniel Lawrence is a story of the one that got away, but never truly left your heart. The novel bounces back and forth between the late 1970s, when Daniel and Alison first started dating, and 2012, when they are living very different lives on opposite sides of the world - Dan in Edinburgh, Ali in Adelaide, Australia. They haven't spoken for years, until Dan comes across Ali's Twitter account...

What I loved most about this book was it's focus on music. Both Ali and Dan are music lovers, yes, but the way they communicate through music makes for a very unique plot and a beautiful writing style. It was a bit slow going at times, but had some really satisfying character progression and was ultimately a really enjoyable read. I definitely recommend - and make a playlist as you go

Thank you so much to the author and publisher for providing me a review copy via NetGalley!

Mix Tape came at the perfect time for me after a spell of thriller and crime reads so it was such a pleasure to be taken down a musical memory lane along with Daniel and Alison, teenage sweethearts with a mutual passion for music until one day Alison suddenly disappeared.

Their story is told through a dual timeline; Sheffield in 1979 when as teenagers they met and fell in love despite going to different schools and having different backgrounds, and in the present day in 2012 where we see the direction their lives have taken them. But old wounds are about to be reopened when Dan is sent a link to a Twitter profile for a best selling author who just happens to be Ali. Can you ever truly forget your first love?

For a few brief moments Dan reminisces about their first date and before he can regret it, he sends Ali a link to a song from their first date. This sets in motion a chain of messages to each other with links to other songs that have a significance to their past. For those few moments they are able to forget about their current day lives and remember the good times that they shared together. And over time a new mix tape is created of songs, some old as well as a few new. But what happens when the past and present collide?

This was a story that had me conflicted, I was definitely more invested in the past element of their relationship and wanted to know what had happened to make Alison leave so abruptly without saying goodbye and why she never made contact again. And the more that was uncovered, the more I understood her need to get away but also anger at what she had endured. I had a lot of 'what if' questions wondering how everything would have played out differently if others hadn't interfered.

As for the present timeline I was torn whilst reading this aspect as I knew that if Dan and Ali were to reconnect with one another again then others would be hurt in the process so it was a lose/lose situation all around. However, there was one special moment when Ali returned to Sheffield that did bring a lump to my throat but again it was bittersweet as why did it take her so long to try and make contact with the only other person from her past that ever truly cared for her?

The musical playlist that developed throughout the book brought back so many memories to me as being a child of the 70s and 80s a few of these were songs or artists that I used to enjoy listening to myself, and some I had not listened to for years, so I might have found myself playing one or two of them shortly after they were mentioned in the book.

Overall Mix Tape was a nostalgic read, full of romance, regret as well as tackling a few hard hitting topics that I wasn't expecting.

A must read for music lovers! This is Daniel and Alison’s story of how they met when they were teenagers and then again 30 years later, when they were living different lives with different people in different countries. I loved it when it was about the songs, not so much Dan’s job nor the middle section which seemed to drag on a bit. There were great descriptions of Sheffield, Edinburgh and Adelaide/surrounding areas plus the characters were very realistic and easy to relate to although not too sure about their treatment of their present partners. It’s a pity that the plot had to resort to that same old chestnut about not receiving something, which then goes on to change everything. Apart from that I loved this novel!

Although I'm a big fan of romances and I found this book really easy to read, it was often a bit too cheesy and love-at-first-sight-ish for my cynical tastes. I also found their relationship development a bit unconvincing at times. But Mix Tape is well-written on the whole, and I enjoyed its message of love reuniting after a long period apart, and the way snapshots of 1970s Sheffield were interspersed with the main story. My favourite thing about this book was the music, though!

I really wanted to love this book as I had heard so many good things about it however I found myself really struggling to emotionally connect with the story and the main characters.

I ended up having to dnf the book. This just sadly wasn't for me, which honestly I'm gutted about.

In 1978, teenagers Daniel and Alison fall in love. But Alison’s home life is complicated and one day, when it all gets too much, she disappears from Daniel’s life, fast forward over 30 years and Daniel, happily in a relationship with a teenage son of his own, discovers that Alison is now a world renowned author, living in Australia. They start messaging song titles from their time together, but will this lead to more?

Mix Tape is a slow paced story, alternating between Sheffield in 1978, and Australia and Edinburgh in 2012. At times it dragged a little, going into great detail about small events, but overall I enjoyed it. I liked the idea of Twitter messaging being used to send song links, rather than words, to reconnect to their younger selves. The dilemma of how to start a conversation, not trying to look like a stalker, leading to the inspirational idea.

A lovely story, worth a read.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Mix tape is a bittersweet love story that will make your heart sing and possibly reminisce too.
Incredibly easy to read, Mix tape follows the lives of Dan and Ali in the present day, with the narrative switching back to Sheffield in the 1970’s when Daniel and Alison first discovered their mutual love of music and love for each other. First loves can be hard to forget and whilst their fledging love never had the chance to blossom into something more, this novel questions whether the invisible threads binding two soulmates together can ever truly be broken? It also proves how music can bring people together, whatever their background and in this instance Dan and Ali have had very different starts in life. Daniel comes from a loving family whereas Alison has no one except her brother Peter to look out for her, since their mother Catherine is an alcoholic and sorry excuse for a parent.
Fast forward to the present day and Dan is living in Edinburgh with partner Katelin and son Alex whilst Ali’s life is thousands of miles away in Australia with husband Michael and two daughters. However, life is full of unexpected twists and turns so when a chance encounter via Twitter reconnects this pair, could this be a love story that finally has its happy ending??
I loved how this romance is told through a shared love of music. You don’t need to be as well versed in song titles or lyrics to appreciate that music can represent memories, good or bad. We all can listen to music that will conjure up the past , friendships, lovers, tracks that will take us back to our younger selves. Mix tape is a nostalgic, wistful love story with a bit of an edge, with two characters that reel you into their lives easily and I felt completely invested in hearing and sharing in their story. For me, Alison is an amazingly strong and resilient character who has made her own luck in life despite her tough beginnings. I loved how her relationship with Daniel’s dad Bill is portrayed. Their bond over his love of his homing pigeons warms your heart and puts a smile on your face. Daniel and his home was always a safe haven for Alison and I think a piece of her heart has always belonged there which I feel the author has conveyed well. Those first love feelings have been perfectly captured as has the meaning of love in the wider sense, making you feel cherished, safe and in the right place.
Sending each other tracks to best reflect their feelings for one another is a dangerous game that once started is going to have wider consequences for all parties involved which poses quite a dilemma; how can something so right be so wrong?? In a lighthearted way, the author is questioning morality here but because this is a feel good read you can’t help hoping for a happy ending for these two.
Did I like the ending? I’m still in two minds yet acknowledge there’s probably only one outcome that readers will want and expect!
Perfect reading for escaping reality and for those of us who would like to believe true love really does exist as well as the music aficionados amongst us. Exuding warmth and love and nostalgia, what’s there not to like?!???
My thanks as always to the author and publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

Mixed Tape was a great read! I really enjoyed it and felt deeply the connection she was able to bring between the characters. It’s a story of reconnection, second chances and complications, intermingled with music.

Daniel Lawrence and was her first love when she used to be Alison Connor. 30 years ago, she was his Sheffield girl when they were both growing up in Sheffield, UK. These days she’s Ali Connor, a best selling author living in Australia with an Australian accent, an Australian husband and children. And these days Dan is living in Edinburgh working as a music journalist, who also has a family. A tenuous reconnection over social media 30 years later while continents apart shows them that they still have a connection that won’t go away. Over the years she lost something of herself in becoming this new version of herself, and this includes shame that has diminished but never completely gone away. Learning to forget about each other wasn’t enough then, and it’s not about to happen now. Some people leave an imprint on your soul, and there’s just something inevitable about Dan and Alison...

I loved the premise of this book, late 70’s/early 80’s and mix tapes ( you had to be there ) and Daniel and Alison ‘refinding’ each other after many years

In practice it was long, drawn out, repetitive and indulgent of their previous lives and I felt sorry for their now ( pretty decent, non horrifying ) life partners and families who suddenly are thrown into this pairs revisited teenage love!

I DID love the retro parts, the feel and atmosphere of that era was brilliantly voiced and the fact that Daniel built a career in music meant this carried on into his present life but anchored back to the days of Echo and The Bunnymen and their ( to me ) wonderful co decade groups/singers

Pair of them though were unlikeable
in the main, Alison now a world famous author who regrets her success ( sigh ) and wants to give all her money away to those in need ( you get the picture ) and Daniel was wishy washy and child like throughout, neither had any allure
to me as a reader and found them selfish

I could go on but little point, wasn’t for me at all but lots will probably love it ( great descriptions of Australia and Sheffield give the book an extra point )

4/10
2 Stars

I had been looking forward to reading Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson for a while before it finally came up in my schedule. I am of an age when mix tapes were common. I’d be listening to the radio on my boom box on a Sunday evening, a blank tape in the cassette deck, waiting for the Top 40 to start, with my fingers on the ‘play’ and ‘record’ buttons, poised to catch the opening bars of the whatever song I was hoping to record. We played mix tapes at parties, traded them among friends, and shyly gifted them to our boyfriend/girlfriend. I still have two or three of those tapes, though I no longer have anything to play them on.

Moving between the past and the present, this is the story of Daniel and Alison, who meet as teens in Sheffield, England in 1978. Their romantic relationship is brief, but intense, ending abruptly when Alison is compelled to flee her harrowing home life. Alison’s journey eventually leads her to Australia, and in 2012 she is a bestselling novelist, married with two near-adult daughters, when Dan, a music journalist whose home base is in Scotland with his wife and college bound son, receives a tweet from an old friend directing him to the profile of @AliConnorWriter. When Dan finally reaches out to the woman who has haunted his dreams for decades, he does so with a music video that speaks to a seminal moment in their relationship, ‘Pump It Up’ - Elvis Costello and the Attractions, 1978.

“No words, no message. Only the song, speaking for itself.”

Mix Tape is unapologetically a love story, a tale of soulmates forcibly parted, and then reunited after a separation of thirty years.

Sanderson wonderfully captures the intensity of Daniel and Alison’s connection as teenagers. Dan, sweet and steady, is infatuated with the beautiful and enigmatic Alison. Alison, whose home life is chaotic and neglectful, basks in Dan’s admiration and returns his desire. When she leaves they are both devastated, aware they have lost something special.

When Dan and Ali reconnect decades later, they initially communicate only by trading songs via Twitter that remind them of their relationship, and then songs whose lyrics speak to their growing desires. I’m in my mid forties so I wasn’t particularly familiar with a fair amount of the music referenced in Mix Tape, and I found myself having to stop and search through YouTube on occasion to listen to the song to understand its significance. It’s a delightful idea though, a modern take on those not so subtle cassette mix tapes declaring love

Without sharing a word, despite all the time that has passed, the physical distance between them, and being married to other people, Dan and Alison rekindle the flame. Here is where Sanderson lost me a little, because while the idea of a love that cannot be denied is romantic, that it comes at the expense of others, even if neither of their spouses are particularly likeable, is uncomfortable for me. Still the inevitable reunion is epic, and to the author’s credit I wanted it to happen.

Mix Tape is unapologetically a love story, but it’s also about heartache, nostalgia, loss, forgiveness, and the music. While my feelings about it remain a little mixed, it has its charms.

Well I have very mixed feelings about Mixtape, on the one hand it is a sweet novel about first love and soul mates and how certain people should be together, but at what cost? There lies my issue.
This book is basically about 2 people having an affair, at what point this starts is down to the individual reading, is it at the first exchange of songs or is it later on?

The book itself is written well and flows, with songs and lyrics peppered throughout, not having lived in the 70's when part of the dual narrative is set was a slight detriment to me, with the music choices being somewhat unknown. Although I did have fun researching on Spotify to see if I would actually like them.

The characters although older than me for the majority of the book felt real with emotions written in such a way that you could feel the tension and the build up.

There are however trigger warnings for domestic abuse, alcoholism and rape, all I felt were written with sensitivity.

So over all I enjoyed this read, I just found the affair aspect slightly hard to swallow.
My thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Allison and Dan. It starts in the 1970s when they are teenagers. They lose contact and then they reconnect via Twitter 30 years later. This is a love story with musical influences throughout.

The book is well written. There are some serious topics in this book - rape, alcohol addiction and homosexuality. These are handled so sensitively by the author. I loved the characters. They were all likeable and down to earth normal people. The pace of this book was slow in the first half but sped up in the second half.
Well worth a read.

I really enjoyed this book, it started a little slow, but then as the characters started rediscovering each other it started taking pace and by the end I couldn’t put it down as I needed to know what would happen to them.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a lot of the music references as they weren’t my time or scene, and I think for the right music buff they would have really completed the book. I still really enjoyed the read though.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for letting me review this lovely book.