This story was very cute. I am not the BIGGESTTTT fan of a friends-to-lovers romance, which I did not realize going into this story, otherwise I would not have requested it. However, I DO enjoy magical realism. Overall I felt like the writing and the pacing was well done. The characters were relatable, the story was nostalgic, and the idea of time travel behind the songs was genius. Will definitely be recommending it to those who love a friends-to-lovers/second chance romance trope.

Loved this story!! A classic back in time romance but with a twist. I love how she could jump on and out of time, when they’re usually stuck. I enjoyed all of the 90’s references. And the characters were not fluffy at all. They had a realism about them. Would recommend to a friend.

This was so fun! I love a good dual timeline story, especially when it's mixed with a dash of magical realism. Add to that the way certain songs can bring back such vivid memories that you feel like you are reliving it, and I am ALL IN!!!!! I love that the characters didn't take themselves too seriously at the same time coming across as actual adults, even though they may not have their whole lives figured. While there were some heavy topics in this book, they didn't take over the whole story.

Only giving 4 strs because I felt it could have used a content warning for miscarriage and a parental issues

✅ friends since childhood Sam & Damon, friends to lovers, second chance romance
✅ Now adults, Sam returns to her small hometown of Tybee Island, GA. As she reminisces about her childhood, she finds an old CD that Damon created for her back then. As she listens to the songs, she sees an alternate version of what could have happened if she had given her feelings for Damon a chance
✅ your mid-aughts pop punk playlist is the perfect accompaniment
🌶️: mostly off page (which surprised me because the author’s last book was on page if I recall correctly)

I'm a sucker for a time travel(ish) type of book when a character gets to revisit a time in their life and see what could've been. I read just about everyone of them that I come across to varying levels of enjoyment. This one was a good one. I really liked the story and thought it was well done.

There’s just something about this that didn’t work for me. I wanted to love the references but even they felt forced at times just in their flashback conversations, verging on nostalgia bait maybe? To be clear I highly recommend this author’s other romances, for butter or worse especially, this one just wasn’t a hit for me.

Friends to lovers is my favorite trope but that doesn’t mean if a book has it I love it automatically. I really didn’t feel the chemistry between them and it had me wondering if they really were better as friends.

I will read this author again, this one just wasn’t a hit. Thank you to Harlequin for the try/eARC.

The concept was cute. Music, but with a Midnight Library vibe. I just wasn't invested enough in the story or the characters. 2.75 stars.

This was my first Erin La Rosa book and the minute I saw what it was about, I had to read it.

Sam Leto left her small town and best friend 20 years ago and when her grandmother calls her because she’s selling the family home, Sam reluctantly returns. Once she’s home, she finds an old CD player that shows Sam what her life would have been like if she made a different choice regarding her best friend Damon.

The early 2000 nostalgia was so fun and if you’re a fan of emo/punk music, friends to lovers, second chance, small town and magic realism, you’ll love this one!

To be honest I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this book at first. But the more I kept reading the more I didn’t want to put it down. The nostalgia was everything to me, especially since these were the songs I used to listen to when I was younger. I appreciated the mental health representation. Sometimes the writing fell flat especially in the beginning. Overall I enjoyed this one!

Thank you to Canary Street Press and Netgalley for this e-arc. Also thank you to Dani and Erin La Rosa for letting me participate in the traveling arc! All thoughts are my own.

This book is a nostalgia bomb for those of us that are emo kids at heart and for that, I truly appreciated it. However, I'm not sure if this book will be memorable after a little while.

The Backtrack follows Sam, who is back in her hometown after leaving in a hurry to explore the world ten years ago. But when she left town, she also left behind her best friend Damon. Damon has always been a "what if" in her life: what if she kissed him way back when? what if she stayed behind? While cleaning her room, she finds a old mixtape from Damon and discovers that when she listens to the songs, she's transported to a timeline where these questions are answered.

While I appreciated the absolute banger playlist and the concept of this book, I struggled to truly connect with it. I didn't really find a lot of chemistry between Damon and Sam in the present day and it was a bit hard to truly root for them. But I absolutely loved this time travel idea and it was fun to listen along to some of the song's Erin picked! The visions Sam got were so interesting to imagine and I was on the edge of my seat especially towards the end.

If you were a pop punk kid that remembers when Warped Tour was on concrete parking lots, I think you'll enjoy this one. It's not my favorite, but I still enjoyed myself while reading.

I wanted so bad to love this book. The premise had so much potential! The idea of listening to old songs from your youth, and seeing flashbacks of how things could have turned out differently.

Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me. I wasn’t feeling very nostalgic and I found that I didn’t really care for the characters. As a music lover, this one had so much potential to be a five star read for me.

To put it very simply, this book is like the poem "The Road Not Taken", just an extended version. When FMC Sam returns to her hometown and begins pondering her life decisions, she listens to an old CD which makes her see flashbacks from her past, if she made a different decision. The concept is quite wonderful, but that's all I have to say for this book. The characters were very basic and had barely any chemistry. The writing wasn't all that engaging either, The book's also supposed to be nostalgic, with it's references and flashbacks and I was not the intended audience. If you don't have similar experiences as these characters either due to a different age or culture, you may struggle to connect.

I love everything Erin writes! This is another spectacular read that will give you allllll the nostalgia and delivering on the 13 going on 30 movie vibes! This sweet rom-com is not to be missed!

This was a fun and easy read. A perfect cleanser from my typical read. Very fleshed out. Highly recommend!

This is an easy reading romance for music lovers, particularly those of us who vividly remember the "emo" and pop-punk hey day of early aughts. I would have liked a little more "current time" development of the characters' connection and relationship, but this was nicely done for the short length.

(e-galley via Netgalley. Library copy read and reviewed)

It was so easy to enjoy this narrative, the characters have personality in a way that captures you since page one. Really cute in a way that my heart felt all the good parts and loved every advance.

As a huge 13 Going on 30 fan, I was super excited to read this book. The magic cd player/mixed cd was a fun and unique vessel for telling the flashback/what if storyline. I got excited to see what happened with each new track. I liked both Sam and Damon and enjoyed watching them traverse their relationship and figure out how to fit into each other's lives as adults. I also appreciated that the alternate version flashbacks gave Sam insight not just into her relationship with Damon, but also with her mother. Pearl and her friend, Jessie, were a trip! Overall, this was a unique and satisfying story.

True rating: 3.5

Great for fans of:
- 13 Going on 30
- What if scenarios and flashbacks
- friends to lovers and second chance romance
- self-reflection and growth
- funny grandmothers with no filter

Huge thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Backtrack is a love letter to millennial girls.

If you liked Fall Out Boy, Evanescence, Death Cab for Cutie and so many more emo bands of the 2000s, you'll enjoy the nostalgia that La Rosa perfectly captures. As a teen in the mid 2000s, Sam is ME, I am Sam. However, I don't think there was enough tension for me to be fully invested into the story. Maybe it was the looking glass premise that made this story feel more reminiscent than a progressive story line.

I really loved La Rosa's two other books, but there was something about this one that ... just didn't hit.

Erin La Rosa is one of my favorite authors, and people in general, and I absolutely adored this book.

This book is truly meant for those who have ever questioned their decisions, who have ever thought, 'what if I did this one thing in the past differently?' At some point or another, we wonder if we're on the right path, if we're living the best life we can possibly live, and this book makes it clear that everything happens for a reason and that we're exactly where we're meant to be.

Sam and Damon are strong characters who complement each other so beautifully. Distance may have pushed them apart, but the moment they were together again it was like no time had passed at all. I think a friendship like that is so rare and pure magic when you experience it, and it's made even better when you fall in love with each other.

I love that Sam did what was best for her, even if it meant leaving the one person who truly knew her. She had a dream and she chased it, and I'll never fault anyone for doing that. But I also know her leaving was rooted in this deeper pain of being left by her mom and not wanting to feel 'stuck' like she did, and watching her repair her relationship with her mom was HUGE.

I also love the idea of always being meant to be together, but needing to be apart to forge their own paths and become their own people in order to come back stronger. If they had gotten together when they were younger, they wouldn't have made it, and so everything happened exactly as it was supposed to.

The emo kid nostalgia was the cherry on top of this book. Catch me listening to all the songs featured in this book on repeat for the foreseeable future!

Thank you to NetGalley & Canary Street Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars!

This book was so nostalgic & truly transportable to the early 2000s. I didn’t think I would enjoy the magical realism components as much as I did, but some of the concepts felt far-reaching, and we didn’t see much character development or background from the MMC.

Erin LaRosa’s writing is still so much fun, and playful in a way that few other authors can capture. Thank you to NetGalley for the copy!