Oooh, this was such a fun read.

Perfect for us elder millennials who need a dose of emo nostalgia mixed with a touch of 13 Going on 30 vibes!

THE BACKTRACK is the story of pilot Sam Leto who determinedly left her small town in Georgia behind, along with the complicated family relationship and painful memories. But when her grandmother Pearl decides its time to sell the family home, she reluctantly returns to help pack up the house. There, she must confront her estranged mother, the life choices that led her out of Tybee, and the boy that used to be her best friend -- who is, of course, all grown up and VERY handsome.

When among her teenage detritus, she finds a mixtape from her former best friend Damon, she discovers that the CD player she listens to it on transports her alternate versions of her life. Song by song, Sam receives flashbacks from her past—senior prom, graduation, leaving home. But the memories aren’t as she remembers them; they show what could have been. Suddenly, Sam knows exactly what would have happened if she’d taken a chance with Damon—and she can’t help feeling she made a terrible mistake leaving Tybee all those years ago.

I love a second chance romance, and I love nostalgia, so this was a really tender and enjoyable read that kept me gripped from start to finish. I was invested in Sam and Damon and their journeys and ultimate romance. I also love the "what if it had been different" elements that make me, as a reader, think about the trajectories of my own life choices. It was magical with the right amount of depth, heart, and humor.

Millennials! (Especially those who wore out Fall Out Boy CDs and had roll-on body glitter.) Read this one!

Thank you to Canary Street Press and Netgalley for the e-ARC, and to Erin for the physical ARC, in exchange for my honest, unbiased reivew. THE BACKTRACK is out now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced copy!

This was a really solid read!! I loved the aspect, I am a big 13 going on 30 fan and the elements thrown in from that really worked for me. I loved how music played a central role in it and it all surrounded this CD that was given from her in high school. The playlist for this book was incredible!! The setting was really cool since I live in Georgia too. Overall, a little good read with some great elements in it!

Thanks again to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced copy!!

Have you ever wondered what if your life had taken a different path? Follow a main character as she views that path through a mixed CD from her teenage years.

While this book had some cool ideas, it lacked the character development I wanted.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC!

The Backtrack is a romance book that touches on being at the right place just at the wrong time with a bunch of emo nostalgia. I have to say I was smitten right away. Sam is a pilot who goes back to her small hometown to help her grandma move. She goes back and is reunited with Damon, her old best friend who attempted to kiss Sam years ago. Sam declines the kiss because her Mom always told her "don't end up stuck in this place." before her Mom abandoned her. She wants to leave her small town behind. However, when arriving at her grandma's house she discovers her old walkman and the CD Damon made for her years ago. Each song transports her to a vision of what life would have been like if Damon and Sam kissed that night. Sam starts to rethink what her life could have been.

First off, this book would have been such a staple in my childhood. There are just so many references to things from when I was a teen. All the music mentioned are bands I adore. There are even references to childhood snacks and even items from the past. I mean when was the last time you thought about Smackers lipbalm. So I was definitely on a nostalgic kick reading this.

Secondly, I love a bit of magical realism in my stories. I enjoyed the little flashbacks Sam would have when listening to her old walkman. This is what her life could have been if her and Damon kissed all those years ago. Things would have been so different. It was wild reading about them in the past and then also in the present. Clearly you could tell something was always there but Sam just shut it down. It does a nice take on second chance romances and what if what you've been looking for has been right in front of you the whole time.

I think the only thing in this story I was iffy on was the parts about Sam and her Mom. Throughout the book Sam brings up her Mom. You know she left her when she was a teenager and told her not to end up stuck in this place. Later in the story she ends up seeing her Mom again. This is where the story gets a bit dark. I think this is something that it's important to talk about and clearly this is something that's stuck with Sam. It's shaped her in where she is in life today. I just wanted more from this. Yes, it was touched upon than wrapped up quickly and went back to the main story.

Overall I highly recommend this book if emo music & romance is your thing. However, I feel if you're in the generation that didn't listen to bands like Fall Out Boy, Sum 41, Paramore, Blink-182 and other bands like that you might not enjoy this as much. Those references are a huge part of the story and are constantly brought up. However, I say give it a try because I liked the theme of second chances. I definitely can't wait to read more from Erin La Rosa.

*Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.*

Sam put Tybee in her rearview mirror with no expectations of returning. The only person she's remained in contact with is her grandmother and her desire to move the only incentive to going back.
I'm currently in my magical realism era so just prepare yourself to see a lot with me at the helm! Erin's twist with music as the catalyst made for a happy reading experience. You can bet most of the songs have been listened to ever since (and not just once). There was a lot for me to relate to with family dynamics and the flashbacks make the WHAT IF question something for both MCs to get their answers. Sam and Damon are great compliments to each other and Sam's grandmother had me laughing with her sly comments multiple times.
Thank you to HTP Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

I love an alternative reality/magical elements type book! I love learning about Sam and Damon. Seeing all their feelings rebloom and them establish a new beginning for their new start was so great, but knowing that they got their happy ending after seeing how they ended up in the alternate reality was perfect, it made the ending so much more satisfying. Also, this book has by far the best music out of any book I’ve read, 10/10 for Sam and Damon, the song choices and Erin La Rosa

I thought the concept of this book was cute. As a millenial it definitely brought back a lot of memories with the toys, bands, fashion choices and songs that we all used to love. Heck I still listen to all of the songs mentioned to this day. This book is a mash up with second chance and a what/if scenario. Essentially Sam returns to her small town, a town she never thought she would step foot in again. While in her childhood bedroom she finds an old mixed CD that magically shows her an alternative version of her past. A past where Sam and Damon end up together as teenagers.

I liked the main characters Sam and Damon but the way they were written felt off. I didn’t feel a connection between them. Which is really unfortunate because I love when friends become lovers but it just felt awkward. I noticed that they didn’t seem to get to know the now versions of themselves but stayed in the nostalgia of the past. I would have loved to have seen them really get to know these new versions of themselves. There were parts of the story that were repetitive and I did skip over a bunch of pages because of this.

At the end of the day it was a cute, quick read and this was my first read of Erin La Rosa. I definitely plan to read more of her books in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley, Erin La Rosa, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Canary Street Press for the gifted copy!

This was such an interesting and different story and I loved how flawed and real all the characters were. The whole story was a wonderful exploration of how relationships change and evolve over time and how our choices help shape who we are and guide us down the path we were meant to take. I also really loved all the side characters, especially Sam’s grandma Pearl. The chemistry and banter between Sam and Damon was fantastic and I loved their second chance romance!

A very nostalgic second chance romance! I love the twist on magical realism to show an alternate reality flashback—especially how this was coupled with alternative songs that I enjoyed when I was younger (and still do!!). I loved that this was set in Tybee Island, GA, which is a gorgeous backdrop for the story. The book was bingeable, but there were a couple places were the story felt a little slow because I personally didn’t relate much to the characters. That being said, I think a lot of the plot elements made up for that in the second half of the book. Overall, this story is an entertaining and quick, easy read.

3.75/5⭐️ (rounded up to 4)
0.5/5🌶️

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m reading another arc right now, Primetime Romance by Kate Robb, that has very similar feels. 90s love, shifting timelines or worlds, friends to lovers,

I’m a huge music fan so this pseudo Groundhog Day finds High Fidelity was right up my alley. The second chance love for Sam and Damon as told by the mixtape she never listened to was such a delightful plot device.

🎶 The Backtrack 🎶

What a delightful, nostalgia filled romcom adventure! I’ve adored Erin La Rosa’s books since for Butter or Worse and her latest was no exception!

A time-traveling adventure, we start with Sam and Damon, high-school age on the precipice of do we friends become lovers? Sam said no to that kiss and spent the rest of her life wondering, “what if?” Until her Grandma Pearl called her home to their small beach town to help clean out her old bedroom. Sam returns, runs into Damon again, and finds her old CD player, filled with the mixtape Damon made her on that fateful didn’t kiss night. What she didn’t expect is to listen to the CD and see glimpses of what could have been if she’d said yes to the kiss so many years ago.

I absolutely loved the “dual timeline” of the present and the flashbacks to a different life. Damon was such a gem, and I loved the journey Sam went through to find herself and the way they fit together.

Check this one out if you love:
🎶 90s nostalgia
🎶 Friends to lovers
🎶 Small beach town vibes
🎶 Alternate timeline

Thank you to Canary Street Press and Netgalley for this ARC!

This was a great nostalgic tribute to emo music of the early 2000s.

Sam reluctantly returns to her childhood home for the first time since leaving high school. Sam comes face to face with her best friend, Damon, and the mix CD he made for her in their senior year. Sam never listened to the mix CD then, but her lingering feelings for Damon resurface and the CD starts to show her an alternative timeline where the two started dating.

I really enjoyed how this book utilized the second chance trope, and seeing the relationship develop between Sam and Damon.

After seeing reviews mentioning the nostalgia within this book, I knew it was going to be right up my alley and quickly went to see if this book was still on NetGalley to request (despite this being released on 7.16). I was approved right away and finished this in one sitting!!

Sam and Damon were best friends in high school, but after Sam rejected Damon's advances to be something more, she moved away and fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming an international pilot. Now twenty years later, she returns to her hometown and finds a burned CD that Damon made her during their teenage years that she could never bring herself to listen to--until now. As Sam listens to each song, she is taken back to an alternate version of how her life could've played out during those years had she made a different choice. As Sam is confronted with the alternate version of her past with Damon, she must come to terms with her past choices, confront her still present feelings for Damon, and make new choices about if she wants a future with him after all these years.

This book was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. I think being the exact same age as the main characters made this an extra special reading experience as I understood every song and pop culture reference. I saw so much of my own high school experience reflected back to me in this book and just enjoyed this so so much. I wish I could go through song by song and talk about each one and why I thought it was perfect for this story, but in an effort to avoid spoilers, I won't--you'll just have to to trust me and read this. If you graduated high school around the 2010s--this book is especially made for you and I can assure you that you will likely find yourself smiling at the nostalgia as well.

I've already purchased a physical copy for my shelf and will absolutely be listening to a playlist of all of these songs on repeat (there's already playlist on Spotify btw!). Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Atypical Tale In So Many Ways Yet Everything Works Well. I'm actually listening to the playlist that plays such heavy role in this book as I sit down to write this review, and while not *everything* is to my own tastes, either back in 2005 or 20 yrs later in 2024 as I write this, the songs are not *so far* out there as to not be enjoyable, particularly given the characters in this story and where they are from. (Says the fellow native Georgian who is less than a decade older than the characters here. :D) As an example, Fall Out Boy and The Offspring? Yes please. :)

But that actually does get into parts of what La Rosa does so well with this tale - the interesting spin she puts on the now-classic "flashback" sequences absolutely work, and work to allow effectively a romance version of a "Frequency" type story. Meaning, for those unfamiliar with that particular movie (to be clear, I never saw the TV show reboot), this storytelling device basically allows La Rosa to tell a dual timeline romance... where *both* timelines are the same couple *yet*... multiverse theory. (Which, to be clear, La Rosa never mentions.)

While we do get some dramatics in the third act, they actually serve more of a women's fiction purpose that also helps to flesh out both our female lead and some of those around her a bit, and even with limited "screentime" in some instances, La Rosa manages to pack quite a bit in here in a short space. Indeed, given the book's overall just-over-300-page length, it is actually rather remarkable just how much story La Rosa manages to pack in here, particularly given how other authors even within the romance space can spend seemingly 100 pages describing the landscape around the characters.

Ultimately this was a fun book that had a lot of nostalgia and several interesting spins on now-classic concepts and it used all of this well in service of the story it was trying to tell. In the end, using the elements you bring in well in service of the story you're trying to tell is really all I ask of *any* book.

Very much recommended.

#TheBacktrack:⁣
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Thank you so much @htpbooks @canarystreetpress @htp_hive for my gifted copy!!⁣
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“Emo is a state of mind just as much as it is a style.”⁣
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If you also listen to Panic at The Disco and Something Corporate on your commute to your corporate job, boy do I have a nostalgic book for you.⁣
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The Backtrack follows Sam as she goes back to Tybee to pack up her childhood room. While she’s there it’s basically 2008 all over again. She starts to get in the memories and also lives a somewhat alt-Sam reality thanks for her mix tape and CD player. (and no, it’s the not the battery acid from it being old) She sees what could have been with her bestie Damon (not a vampire) and gives hilarious commentary as she watches the scenes unfold. ⁣
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This book was made for me (and I was made for you like Jewel) if anything, it brings out my random lyrics and pop culture nostalgia to a tee. I love magical realism, especially when it’s “what could have been” and this was perfection. I loved how we got to really meet and understand Sam and Damon before we got to know the “then” them as well. It flowed so well and I did a little squeal a time or two.⁣
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Feet kicked in the air happiness engaged swoon. This is the perfect 2000s reliving romcom with second chance romance, childhood besties, and a hilarious grandma to boot.⁣
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Out now, I’m so in love.⁣
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QOTD: What’s a song that you still love after a few years?

While I love a good time twist novel, sadly this one fell flat for me. I did really enjoy the nostalgic 90s music references but I just felt the chemistry between the two MCs wasn't there. Okay on audio, this definitely wasn't my favorite by Erin La Rosa. Not a memorable read unfortunately and one you would be completely fine skipping. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

i don’t know what it was about this one— maybe just the formatting of the ARC being so bad threw me off, but i ended up dnfing it. i couldn’t connect with the characters, and just didn’t really enjoy it, even though the premise was so promising.

This was a very sweet, fairly bland love story. I enjoyed the music and nostalgia. The soundtrack was definitely the highlight here for me.

The concept - a CD that let the main character relive her past - was a lot of fun. I feel like the execution could've been better though. It ended up being a skim read because the plot/characters never really clicked for me. It was a cute story though and I recommend it if you're in the mood for one of those.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

I love Erin's books and this one was so fun! All the music nostalgia was so spot on and I loved how the songs tied into what the characters were experiencing. This is a perfect beach read!

I really enjoyed Erin La Rosa’s FOR BUTTER OR WORSE, so I was excited to read her new friends-to-lovers romance with magical realism!

For all of us who had that “one” in high school where we wondered, what if, this is the book! It’s full of amazing 2000s Nostalgia: great music, playlists, the emo scene, and with such great characters — it's just plain fun!

Samantha (Sam) and Damon are childhood best friends, but when Sam dodges a chance to take their relationship to the next level, things never quite feel the same again.

Jump ahead years and Sam is returning to her hometown to help her Grandma Pearl (what a gem) move. Of course, she runs into Damon, who is now a hot brewery owner. Have the what-ifs plagued her over the years? You bet!

Then Sam finds the old mixed CD Damon had burned for her years ago. And call it magic, fate, destiny… but, with each song, Sam is transported back to high school. She is able to see an alternate reality of herself and Damon - could this be the possible answer to her what-ifs?

This one is all about the 2000’s Nostalgia! Although I would not want to go back to my high school days, it was a blast traveling back to Sam and Damon’s alternative high school days. This time-traveling romance was breezy, funny, spicy, and a great time.

Thank you, @harpercollins and @htpbooks, for the gifted ebook via NetGalley.