I loved loved this book! Erin knocked it outta the park once again with this fantastic book that took me right back to my middle school feels. Ah; the angst, the twilight, the mood. Childhood friends to lovers with the literal best soundtrack to boot? A five star win all around for me!

This is absolutely my favorite Erin La Rosa book - I loved the nostalgia, I loved the characters, I loved the magical realism.

I love the idea of creating a playlist about my life and every single song invoking a memory - but I also love even more the idea of a song showing me how life could have been different. And I loved that as Sam got through the playlist created by Damon, it showed her that life truly worked out for the best even though she wondered if she should have done things differently.

I realized that I want to read more books that bring about the nostalgia of the 90s and early 2000s. (Even though I will make a correction that Taylor Swift was not pop in the early 2000s but actually considered country/pop music 😆, especially compared to the other singers mentioned). It was such a fun trip down memory lane and such an enjoyable book to read!

Thank you to Canary Street Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book had the feel good nostalgia with a touch of magical realism that I really enjoyed. Lisa Frank notebooks, lip smacker chapstick, glitter eyeshadow? Loved it. Unfortunately the romantic aspect fell flat for me. I had no connection to our FMC Sam which made it hard to truly root for her and Damon. Grandma Pearl was fun and sassy which added something fun to the story- otherwise this one was just ok for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this one. Three and a half stars rounded up.

This was such a fun read! I’ve never read a book like this so I loved it! It was definitely different from anything I’ve read before

A second chance romance between two best friends and a small town setting all adorned with a touch of magic? Sign me up. This book felt like it was written for me.
Delightful and relatable characters and a beautiful nostalgic romance made for a great read. I really liked the themes the book touched and i highly recommend

The Backtrack is a nostalgia packed, friends to lovers, second chance dream set the idyllic beaches of Georgia. Erin La Rosa weaves an intricate plot that will resonate with the former emo kids of the early 2000s who grew up listening to Fall Out Boy and watched 13 Going on 30 as a teen.

Sam and Damon are a dreamy couple - who were inseparable as high schoolers but lost contact when Sam flew (quite literally) away after flight school. Now that she’s back in town helping her grandmother downsize, their friendship and feelings for each other rekindle. But with the help of an unheard playlist and a slightly magical cd player, Sam and Damon will have to learn to confront and recognize their past in order to move forward.

This story also revolves around the complexities of mental illness and family - and Erin La Rosa does a beautiful job capturing Sam’s feelings of abandonment and betrayal as this plot line unfolds. I think it’s so well handled and well done, giving what could otherwise have been a fun and fluffy book a depth that was unexpected but very poignant to read.

I’ve always loved Erin’s books, so I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

What a fun nostalgic read. Full of Emosongs , bad clothing and references to the Twilight movie brought back fond memories. Always off to the next destination, Sam realizes you can come home again. Happy reunions, harsh misunderstandings resolved and some funny old ladies made for an entertaining story. Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy. I’m leaving this review voluntarily

The Backtrack was an incredibly sweet addition to the "magic" romance canon that I finished in one sitting! I loved the explorations of the 'what ifs' and I thought it was unique how both of the MCs were in on the magic aspect. I will definitely be buying a finished copy of this for myself and recommending it to others!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted eARC!

Have you ever wondered what would have happened in high school if you had just gone for it? Well, now is your chance in a roundabout way if you want to live vicariously through Sam.

I enjoyed the book but did feel it was a bit juvenile at times, but I guess that makes sense because half of it was flashbacks from high school. Overall enjoyable and I’m glad Sam and Damon had excellent music tastes.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

This book was great! Erin does not miss and I loved the nostalgia vibes of this one!!!! My entire middle school fantasies played out in this so perfectly!!! Excellent addition to her book discography

Okay this book was awesome! There was enough "magic" to just seem perfect. Also loving Tybee Island- I felt right at hom.e! But in addition to the sweet fluffy romance, there were some good underlying themes of loving yourself before you let someone else and the mental health representation in general! Also, Grandma Pearl had me ROLLING laughing! The main characters were perfect and so relatable. I mean Sam's music choices are top tier! There was a perfect amount of spice to compliment the story. I will def be reading more from this author!

As an emo kid in a normal adult disguise, I absolutely ADORED The Backtrack. I knew almost every music reference and the vibes hit just right. I always love a good, angsty romance, and this was the perfect combo of angst and wholesome character growth. I love that the message was if something is meant to be, it’ll be, regardless of the passage of time or long periods of separation. I really appreciated that the two main characters advanced their relationship from friends to lovers at the perfect time - rather than Sam messed up and lost her chance. I think this is a great read and I can’t wait for more from Erin La Rosa!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collin’s, and the author for sending me an early copy!

Okay so I read this in two days! It was a short, sweet romp of a story, playing with the notion of “what ifs” and the road not taken. I found myself rooting for Sam and Damon as people, regardless of whether they ended up together or not, and that’s a unique ability in a romance novel, to care enough about the characters to not just want them to be in a relationship and get their happily ever after together, but to truly just want them to be happy.

I think the novel does a good job of showing the aftermath of trauma, and the way it burrows into our beings and how we view the world. I did think the latter resolution of how Sam patched things up with her mother/grandmother trauma felt a little rushed and slightly too easy, but that didn’t bother me too much.

Overall, the book was fun and enjoyable the constant homages to the emo music of the 2010s was special, as someone who listened to all that music obsessively, just like our main characters. This one gets 3.75⭐, rounded to 4 on Goodreads.

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I'm a huge fan of anything nostalgic and Y2K-themed, so this story absolutely scratched that itch for me. I felt like the target audience for this book all the way through; like all millennial girls, my CD player provided the soundtrack to every teenage love story, making its role in this book felt extra special. I'm also a sucker for a second chance romance and love how this story carried that trope all the way through, giving Sam not only a second chance at love but also another look at her whole life. Bonus points for magical realism, one of my favorites of late! I definitely recommend this!

This was my favorite by La Rosa so far! I love the magical realism/time travel element in a romance novel and think that The Backtrack used it so well. As someone who had a brief emo phase in middle and early high school, I felt very seen by the nostalgia here. I loved the small town romance elements and the relationship between Sam and Damon felt genuine and earned. I loved this!

“The BackTrack” is the perfect homage to “13 Going on 30” with a little mix of “Julie and the Phantoms.” This was a thoughtful story about following your dreams while holding on to the people you love. I thought Erin La Rosa’s depiction of stuck in a small town angst and depression were relevant and relatable. I appreciated the fact that while the story was based on songs (which I normally hate.) The music wasn’t the basic Taylor Swift and TikTok inspired songs that so many authors cling to, to stay relevant. I know this was specifically a grunge/emo playlist but if I could wrap this book into a song it would definitely be “You’re Gonna Go Far” by Noah Kahan. Another great read from La Rosa! #netgalleyreads

HOLY NOSTALGIA! Erin can do no wrong in my opinion and this is just simply another winner from her!

My bestie (in my head) @erinlarosalit has a brand new book out in the world today!!!! I obviously loved it (because Erin can do no wrong by me or my book taste) and felt all the nostalgia!!! 5⭐️

Special thanks to @canarystreetpress @htpbooks and @htp_hive for the review copy!

Sam Leto grew up in a small town in Georgia, she was mostly raised by her grandmother Pearl. She grew up with an absent mother and as an emo/goth kid with her best friend Damon. From a young age she was determined to get out of her small town as soon as possible, and ended up becoming a pilot and living in Paris.

Now 20 years later she is back in her hometown for the first time since she left to help Pearl pack up her house. Being home means reuniting with Damon, she seeing what she walked away from all those years ago. Going through her childhood things she find a mixed CD Damon made her, and when she listens to the first song she is transported back to their time as teenagers and sees how her life could have played out had she dated Damon and stayed in town.

This book was such a fun time, I always enjoy a book that have a sprinkle of magical realism in it. The what if idea, although not original in nature really made this romance interesting. The nostalgia this book brought up was also an element I loved. It was also refreshing to see postpartum depression, and depression in general explored and normalized. Overall the book was a fun time, and I enjoyed the characters, and the romance.

This one was so fun. It is about Sam and Damon, high school best friends who never got their chance to be more. Sam returns home after 20 years to help her injured grandma. While there she come back in contact with her high school best friend who she has seen in just as long.

Sam finds her old CD player and mixed CD Damon made for her of all of their songs. As she listens to the songs, each one transforms her into an alternate reality event where she and Sam did end up together.

This was such a great story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This was a cute rom com with a fun premise. I found I liked the time travel scenes the best, seeing the choices Sam made and didn’t make added a unique layer to the story. Characters were fine if a little flat; and the story was slow at times.