Thank you NetGalley, Erin La Rosa, and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Canary Street Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a fun, sweet and nostalgia millennial rom-com with a touch of magical realism!! Be prepared to be transported back to the early 2000's and reminiscing about the good old days with Emo & Punk Rock Music, lava lamps, body glitter, CD players, and crazy dyed hair colors! The Backtrack is a heartwarming best friends to lovers and second chance romance that is deeply emotional, totally hilarious, and extremely thought-provoking. Is it a love story? Yes. However, that's not the heart of this novel. It's a story about life's what ifs, how everything happens for a reason, and being with the right person at the wrong time. I found myself wholeheartedly rooting for the two main protagonists, cherishing every moment spent immersed in the pages of the story. I absolutely adored this delightful book andhighly recommend!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🧡🧡🧡🧡

If you're into nostalgia, early 200's emo music, 13 going on 30, and second chances this is definitely the book for you. Sam and Damon are childhood best friends, yet their love for each other was the worst kept secret. They were the right person at the wrong time. Sam was worried she'd be stuck in the small town forever just like the mom who suffered from depression and left her at a you age. Well, fast forward a decade later, Sam's grandma wants to sell her house so she returns to the small town, runs into Damon and starts having visions of what could have been?

The growth Sam had in this book was astounding. It was great to see the 3 women grow throughout the book and see how much it all affected Sam as a child. I also love how the music was included throughout the book that had to be my favorite part. I feel like we all have our what if? Moments and it goes to show that the path we're on is the best path for ourselves.

Thanks to the publisher, Erin LA Rosa & Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

This book definitely delivered on the nostalgia for me. I was a goth kid in high school and reading this definitely brought back memories especially when it came to fashion choices lol. So, it definitely had me smiling while I was reading it. But this book isn't only sweet nostalgia vibes there are really impactful moments when Sam has to consider what choices she has made in her life and what choices she has to make now. Choices where she has to wondering if she will lose herself or her opportunity at love with the one that got away if she doesn't make the right one. But that is what I really enjoyed about Sam the FMC as all these choices and decisions she had to make really made her real and relatable to me.

What I really enjoyed is that with this book with the one that got away trope if this book offered a fun way of seeing what could have happened to Sam and Damon if they had made different choices when they were younger and where their lives together and separately could have gone instead. It was a really fun way to answer the question of what could have been.

This book is about Sam who after escaping the small island she grew up on is back after 20 years. She swore she would never get stuck on the island and she succeeded as she is living in Paris and seeing the world as an international pilot. As much as she wishes she didn't have to go back home she wants to help her grandmother in her time of need as she is looking to sell the family home and needs to clear everything out. But stepping back into her childhood room filled with Fallout Boy posters, questionable fashion and makeup choice doesn't just bring back nostalgic memories but it also brings up the what if questions that have plagued her. Mostly surrounding her best friend Damon who could have been more if one night back in high school had gone a little differently. But while cleaning out her old room she finds an old cd player with the last CD made by Damon for her still in it and surprisingly it still works. But when she foes to listen to the CD she never got a chance to listed to her is transported back and is able to relive moments in her high school life with Damon and finally see what could have been. As she watches what could have been she starts to wonder if she made the right choices back then and if there is a way to correct the errors of the past now.

I received a free ARC copy from NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Former emo kid Sam returns to her childhood city to help clean out her grandmas home. She stubbles upon her CD player and the last mixtape her childhood best friend (or was he more…) made her. When she listens she’s transported back in time to relive the moment that changed her life.

Adorable concept and fun nostalgia, id made me think of my HS best friend and all the great mix tapes he used to make me (Thanks Kevin!), might have even brought up memories of that one walk where we almost kissed 😳, but aside from the nostalgia this didn’t really have much more to offer.

If you were an emo kid in the 2000s and want to be reminded of songs from your past you might like this. However I think that’s really the only way people are really going to enjoy this one.

I still don’t understand the point of the flashbacks and do not think it was done well, it does not add to the narrative in a meaningful way. Also I could absolutely do without the playlist recap after every song listen, we know what happened we just read it in the book.

Overall a very mid book. I finished it. I probably wouldn’t have finished it if it wasn’t an ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing (Canary Street Press) for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Sam and Damon were high school best friends, until one night Damon tried to kiss her. Even though Sam had a crush on Damon, she pushed him away.
“She was getting out, even if that meant she had to leave Damon behind”.
Years later, Sam is working as a pilot but has to travel back to her hometown to help move her Grandma to a senior living facility. The past finds a way back to her and nostalgia helps her find the answer to some of her biggest “whys” and “what ifs”.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It was a quick read with a little spice, a lot of romance and just the right amount of nostalgia for this former scene kid. It was fun hearing the old looks the characters had, while being able to compare their character growth.
And it has me turning to spotify to recreate some of my own high school playlists.

This was a cute read. I think we all wonder what it would be like if our life turned out differently. Often times though, it doesn't always pan out like we thought. This story made me cry and laugh. It's really a beautiful story. Sam and Damon compliment one another well and it's interesting to see how Sam's perspective changes as she listens to each track and sees a version where she and Damon did get together in high school. I love the nostalgia and the songs that were chosen.

✨ARC Review✨

⭐⭐⭐ for The Backtrack by Erin La Rosa

I loved the premise of this book, and all the nostalgia it evoked in me while reading it; the mentions of Twilight, mood rings, lava lamps, lip smackers and cd players definitely brought me back!

I would've liked a bigger focus on Damon and Sam's present-day relationship, as it felt we were being told about their feelings more than shown them; the alternate versions of them had a lot of story time, and their current relationship wasn't so much the focus of the story.

It was still enjoyable, and the mental health and difficult family relationships aspects were well done, though some readers should proceed with caution because there are mentions of depression and miscarriage.

It was a quick read, and while I didn't absolutely love it, I'll still check out her other books and give them a chance.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins Publishing for a copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

I thought this concept was fun, unique and had me tearing up when I didn’t expect to. La Rosa really knows how to captivate her audience and make you feel things while also making you laugh. growing up in the 2000’s, this book was very nostalgic.

The Backtrack is a second-chance romance with a magical twist. It has Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist vibes with the mixtape element and the whole book is a major throwback in the best way.

There's a lot to unpack with this story. Along with the expected romance, the plot also follows along with the goings on in Sam's family and issues with her upbringing. Themes of depression are also dealt with here. Much of the ending of the book focuses on tying up all these loose ends with the family drama and I think I could've used a little more couple time at the end instead. Damon and Sam do these fun date-like things earlier on in the book with ice cream and kites, but I wanted more of them just having fun together like that as the book progressed. The spice level was a lot lower than expected too - about a 1/5 (I expected a 3/5).


Overall, the best parts of this book are all the nostalgic things:

“Having nostalgia is romantic,” Damon insisted. “It’s the ability to never forget something you love.”

This hits SO HARD. While the music in particular is the most nostalgic part of the book, there's also references to Lisa Frank notebooks and Twilight and lava lamps. The flashbacks themselves feel like stepping into an old photograph or opening up a time capsule. The book as a whole feels like a love letter to those of us who grew up in the early aughts. (Also Fall Out Troy is a great coverband name).

I enjoyed a lot of aspects of this story, but I think it might be my least favorite Erin la Rosa so far (but ya know the others are 5 stars and I gave this one a 4 so that's definitely not to say this book is even remotely bad). I do think maybe an extra chapter or 2 with more Damon and Sam would've given me what I was looking for. Still, I definitely recommend reading this book especially if you too were an emo kid who's biggest childhood dreams were going to Warped Tour.

I’m loving the nostalgia I got from reading this. Having to relive your young adult life through Sam’s eyes was a fun experience that started with just a cd player and an almost kiss that answers Sam’s What If question she had ever since she denied that kiss in high school . I will definitely buy a physical copy just to relive this book again.

What can I even say about this book?! I’ll start with I loved to SO MUCH! It was a fun and refreshing read! The 2000s emo throwbacks made my former emo girl heart so happy, and made me feel so nostalgic. Damon is what dreams are made of, and Dam was so relatable. Plus, the magical realism and alternate timeline with the CD player kept me completely sucked in! I also loved following along on Sam’s path of navigating the feeling from her past and family struggles alongside her reunion with Damon when she returned to Tybee. I really just cannot recommend this book enough! It was the cutest!

Thank you to @netgalley and @erinlarosalit for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

Cute!!! It was fun & flirty but also had a lot of depth which I personally appreciated. The plot was unique & something I hadn’t read before, but it felt nostalgic (especially for teens in the early 2000s!) & hit close to home. I couldn't help but relate to Sam and the need to find herself before pursuing other things in her life.
I also thought that Erin did a beautiful job describing depression & the urge to fight or flight. Some characters did rub me the wrong way and I found it difficult to empathize with them, but I feel like that is sometimes how life goes. We don't always forgive and forget or completely understand someone's actions.
Rated 4 stars. I thought it was new and exciting. Will be recommending to follow readers and followers!

I absolutely loved this story! In a small village, a long-ago romance between best friends became lovers is given a second chance, in addition with a dash of magical time travel.

Sam returns home after a long absence to help her grandmother Pearl with housecleaning before she moves into a retirement community. In addition, she hopes to get back in touch with Damon, her former best friend. She finds her old CD player and the last mix tape Damon prepared for her—which she has never listened to—while tidying her room. Every song immerses her in a different world, showing what may have happened if she had returned Damon's kiss when they were fifteen.

Although it sounds like a really sweet rom-com from the book synopsis, I believe there are also some deeper themes included. The idea of finding your own self before sharing your life with someone else, no matter how much you love them, is also explored in the book, as is the idea of being with the right person at the wrong moment.

The main characters were fantastic! They were very lovely and relatable, and, omg, Grandma Pearl was seriously hilarious!
The way that each song tied to a plot aspect in both the other universe and the present was such a amazing idea. Fantastic selections of music!

I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to read more books from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest, it took me awhile to get into this book. I started, and kept stopping to focus on other books/projects. Finally, I picked it back up again, and I'm so glad I did.
I was hoping from the very beginning that the 2000s, millennial, elder emo nostalgia would scratch an itch, and like I said, eventually it did, but not at first. The first 25% felt kind of flat to me, but I did binge the last 50%

I would've loved to Damon's POV and a more in depth look at Sam and his relationship as adults.

Overall, a very cute book that I enjoyed.

This is my first book from Erin La Rosa. If you are a Millennial who loved 13 going on 30, then this one is for you. This is about a girl who is trying to outrun the small town life she was afraid to get stuck in. When her Grandmother calls saying she wants to sell her childhood home but is currently injured and needs help cleaning up and cleaning out, she has no choice but to return home. On her first night there, she finds an old CD player that had a mixtape that her best friend made while they were in high school. Every time she plays a track she is taken back to see a different outcome had she chose to stay. The playlist is full of emo/punk rock that brought me back to the mid 2000s. This was a fun read.

The Backtrack by Erin La Rosa is a nostalgic love story that resonates with those who have remained loyal to their high school music tastes. This novel serves as a heartfelt tribute to both pop punk music and the relationships we often outgrow. Set against a picturesque seaside backdrop, The Backtrack offers a whimsical exploration of the question "what if." A charming and eccentric cast of characters brings the story to life, making it an irresistible read for anyone seeking a blend of romance and nostalgia.

THE BACKTRACK is a funny and charming romance set in the quaint tybee island, georgia. it's all about sam, who left her hometown as quickly as she could so she could travel the world as a pilot. but when her grandma pearl asks her to come back home so she can help her pack up her childhood home to be sold, sam finds her old CD player with a mixtape by her best friend, damon. when the nostalgia hits and sam puts her headphones on to listen, she finds herself transported back in time to 2005, where she watches what she thinks is a memory of her teenage self about to kiss damon. except, she remembers things a little differently... turns out, each track on the CD shows her a different vision of what her life might have turned out if she had kissed actually kissed him that day. as she grapples with what these visions mean, along with reconnecting with damon as adults, and unpacking her childhood home and the memories it brings (both physically and psychologically), sam wonders whether she missed her chance with damon all those years ago.

this romance had some of my favorite tropes: childhood friends to lovers, second chance, small town romance... all with a side of millennial nostalgia that had me reminiscing for the mid to late 2000s. i found sam and damon's relationship (both past and present) to be so sweet. there's just something so special about being known so deeply and for so long. along with that, i absolutely loved grandma pearl, her best friend jessie, and all the other side characters, and i found the whole family story to be really touching.

read if you like:
- emo millennials
- sassy octogenarians
- a touch of magical realism

thanks to netgalley and canary press for the advanced copy! THE BACKTRACK comes out july 16.

I was immediately grabbed by the premise for this one. I’m a sucker for magical realism and a good alternative time element - so a cd player that links to an alternative version of the early 00s? Count me in. I was also excited by the whole nostalgia factor. I wasn’t an emo kid, but the 00s were my high school years so I knew all the musical references.

While I think the premise was a great one and I enjoyed the nostalgia factor (of the 00s references to style, music, etc.), the story itself left me wanting. The premise was solid, but the first half of the story felt very slow. I didn’t really get a feel of connection between our mains, which made it hard to root for them too. It felt like a lot of telling rather than showing.

Overall, a quick read that could be read in a day. I did enjoy the references, I wish the premise had come together more. The story and characters had promise, but didn’t quite come together for me.

Thank you @netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really wanted to like this book. The premise in intriguing and I’m in the right age group to love reminiscing about the early 200s. The nostalgia factor is fabulous but unfortunately it’s exactly that nostalgia that has me a bit unfulfilled. This book is an ode to pop punk, but then falls short in a couple of other key elements. The relationship between the main characters felt a bit lackluster, the spice scenes were short and a bit flat, the plot line regarding Sam and her mom felt shallow and a little too easily resolved. I’d recommend this book for anyone who does want an easy-to-speed-read walk down memory lane, complete with Hot Topic spiked belts and lots of body glitter, but it didn’t pack much of a punch besides that.

One of the less common going back in time tropes, as it's less of a stuck in a different time and more of brief flashes. In The Backtrack, we've got a possessed CD player that takes Sam Leto back in time to high school for the length of each song. With each song, she see's not her memories, but memories that could've happened, if she had kissed and then dated her best friend. However, she did not kiss him, instead she left Tybee as soon as she could and literally has never come back, until her grandmother needs her help, and her high school almost-boyfriend, well he's still there...

I really enjoyed the musical flashbacks, actually reminded me a lot of Signal to Noise which also has magical music. There is a heavy focus on relationships and life choices and paths, and lots of sappy cheesy moments, also some NSFW scenes. Occasionally the sappy scenes were a bit much and didn't seem to fit with the rest of the characters' actions, but for the most part it was a highly enjoyable read.

I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.