If you're in your 30s, this book is so full of the early 2000s nostalgia! I recognized all of the soundtrack of this book with the exception of 2 songs. Erin La Rosa writes a fantastic book, full of music, comedy, romance, and of course drama. Had I not paused reading for life, I would have completed this book in 7 days. I didn't want to put it down. I loved this book so much. Can't wait to read more of her books. In fact, I've already pre ordered her next book!

3.5 ⭐️ thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

This was so cute! 1. his name is Damon!! immediately sold
2. he drives a motorcycle!!! SAY LESS
The way the music was intertwined with the time travel and it‘s overall importance in this story was so good. I enjoyed the characters and the journey they went on. Seeing your life happening in a different way because of one tiny decision sure does make you reflect on it. Not really a fan of the mmc having a girlfriend for a small part in this and the cheating plot in the "other life" but overall I really liked this!

Sam and Damon were best friends in high school. Feelings were there, but Sam had the ultimate goal of leaving town as soon as possible whereas Damon wanted the opposite. When Damon decides to make a move Sam awkwardly declines hoping to preserve the friendship. Unfortunately the friendship would never be the same.

9 years later Sam is a successful pilot who spends her time traveling the world. However, in order to help her grandmother Sam travels back to her hometown where she finds Damon, now a successful bar owner who has aged handsomely. It doesn’t take long for old feelings to come flooding back.

I adored the early 2000s references and found Sam’s high school experience to be somewhat relatable to my own. There were many mentions that hit me with a huge sense of nostalgia. I also appreciated the growth of Sam and Damon from angsty teens to adults.

The element of magical realism was something I had a hard time connecting with. For example Sam turning on her old Walkman and being transported back in time to revisit events that took place in high school, but seeing these events how they could have gone differently. Even though I personally struggled to connect with it, I know many readers will find it fascinating.

If you enjoy early 2000s nostalgia especially if you are an “elder emo” who also enjoys magical realism I would recommend this book to you.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Backtrack. All opinions shared are my own.

The Backtrack is a single-POV nostalgic romance. In it successful pilot Sam returns to the tiny beach town of Tybee GA that she fled as a teen to help her grandmother pack up her house. While there, she reconnects with her childhood best friend, Damon, who runs a local brewery. Even more shocking than finding herself with feelings for her former best friend, though, is that she also finds herself in possession of a magical CD player that gives her visions of what life could have been if she’d stayed.

This was so much fun! I love a good second-chance romance and throwing in a fun paranormal element just made it that much better! I wasn’t an emo kid (I was a weird mix of punk & debate nerd 😹) so the nostalgia of the soundtrack was lost on me, but the story itself held its own. Definitely worth a read

Read dates: 07/04/2024- 07/08/2024
Goodreads review: 07/08/2024
Instagram review: 07/08/2024
Blog review: 07/16/2024

Going up to 3.5. The premise of this novel was definitely up my alley, especially when described as an equivalent to 13 Going on 30 but with emo music (the core of my adolescence to be honest!) However what fell flat for me was the connection between the alternate universe versus how it bled into the present day. Present day felt to move in ways that seemed so easy whereas the grit and path taken from the "magical" Walkman I think I would have preferred to read and figured out just how they could survive something like that through adversity and all. I feel that the tone was definitely set and the author is very talented, I just wish this was executed better.

This story was utterly adorable! I really loved Sam as a main character. It's so nice when you can see what a high school character grows up to be--and in this case, Sam grew up to be a bad-ass pilot who loved to travel and loved her grandma. 

Were there some things that Sam needed to figure out, even in her adult era? Yes. But that was the fun of this book. We got to figure it out along with Sam. 

The magical realism part of the story is, admittedly, what hooked me. I love that Sam got to see an alternative version of herself via a portable CD player from her high school years. That was just all kinds of awesome. And the songs were from the early 2000s so that was fun to listen to those, while reading. 

The only thing I wish is that we'd gotten a little more of Damon in the story. He was really only featured here and there a little bit. I don't feel as if I got to know his character very well. 

All-in-all a great story with some time-travel, magical elements that took a contemporary romance and elevated it to something I won't forget.

Thank you to NetGalley for this fantastic ARC!

Sam left her hometown of Tybee, GA almost 20 years ago with dreams of becoming a pilot. Now, her dream fully realized as an international pilot living in Paris, she is brought back to her hometown to help her grandmother sell her home.
Sam's childhood bedroom is an ode to the early 2000s, complete with a lava lamp and dolphin bedsheets. When Sam finds an old CD player with a CD in it that her childhood friend Damon made for her, she's shocked that it even works. She decides to give it a listen.
With the first song, Sam is transported--literally--to a turning point in her life. As Sam listens to the CD, the memories are similar, but different, showing her an alternative lifetime of what would have happened if she had kissed Damon on that fateful day.

This story was so fun! I'm the same age as the main characters and the songs were so nostalgic. I still listen to most of the music mentioned in the book. 😂
If you like:
-2000s nostalgia
-Pop punk/emo music
-Alternate timelines
-Men who brew beer
-Women who are pilots
-Sassy grandmas
and
-Hurricane parties with mystery punch ingredients
Then give this book a try!

💿💿💿💿/5
🌶️🌶️/5

Deep diving into the feels with time traveling and answering those questions of “what if” this happened or “what if” it was different. We have all been there and thought about it. Those second chance moments and romance, this book calls and bring that to life.

If you’re into romance and second chances, this is for you! It’ll fill your heart in so many ways. People are right when saying it’s giving 13 going on to 30 vibes.

I didn’t go to school during the character years, but it has 90s vibes from what I gather. The characters were well developed and have loving personalities that make you want to root for them!

Overall I’ll be recommending this book.

I'm surprised that no one's discussed the prose--which was all tell, no show, to the point that the writing is choppy and exhausting. Readers are talked down to, unnecessary details are repeated over and over (like the playlist recaps, as if there's anything in those notes we didn't see for ourselves), and there's no emotion behind character interactions. That lack of emotion makes it difficult to see any chemistry between the two main characters, and any friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance should be BRIMMING with the type of chemistry that makes us DESPERATE for the two leads to make a move. The premise was intriguing but the execution was a major disappointment. I could barely get through the first chapter, and after forcing myself forward, it only got worse.

🎧 Friends to Lovers / Second Chance Romance
🎧 It's Always Been You
🎧 Magical Realism
🎧 2000s Emo Music Nostalgia
🎧 Small Town Romance

I really enjoyed this book. The description immediately made me think of 13 Going On 30 and I was excited to read it. We all have a few moments of regret/what if from our past and this book takes you down one of those paths. I think what I liked most about this book was that the "what could have been" life had its own twists and turns.
I found myself opening Spotify for each of the CD tracks and listening to some of the songs I had forgotten about. I was in college in the early 2000's and enjoyed the trip down memory lane with all the references to the trends and fashions.
I think the balance Sam and Damon tried to find was relatable, as was her relationships with her grandmother and mother.
This was such a quick and fun read, like Sam wanting to listen to another track on the CD, I kept wanting to read another chapter. I'm glad I came across the book and thankful to NetGalley for the ARC!

Time travel, second chance romance, and a wonderful feminist twist. We’ve all had those “what if” moments and this book dives straight into the deep end of that rabbit hole. It starts slow, but man did it end strong!

Sam needs to get out of her small town and she’ll do anything to achieve her goal - including turning down her high school crush. But years later when she has to return to her small hometown, she starts to wonder if maybe she made a mistake. What would have happened if she took that leap? What would have happened if she stayed?

This one hit home in so many ways. I loved the magic of seeing the past in a different perspective as well as the fantastic supporting characters. Like 13 Going on 30 (but in reverse), this book is a love letter to our younger selves.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin, HarperCollins, and The Hive for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

So so good! A 4 star rating for me that is a fun read wrapped in a nostalgic bow! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Canary Street Press for this arc!

Sam and Damon were best friends on Tybee Island all through school with playlists and music/songs as a way they connected as friends (and crushed on eachother,too)! Think Fallout Boy, Blink 182, Evanescence, etc.

The Backtrack follows Sam returning to Tybee Island after working as an international pilot for 10 years. The anticipation of going back home and seeing Damon who she hasn’t spoken to since she left, seeing the familiar faces and places she used to be and go, and helping her grandma pack up her childhood home to move into a retirement home fills these pages with emotions I think everyone can connect with. Sadness, happiness, anger, frustration… all of these and then some. Sprinkle in the emotions you feel during nostalgic moments, complicated family dynamics, and the what ifs in life.

Reading The Backtrack took me back in all the best ways- I’m so glad I got to read this book. If you love romance/second chance stories and nostalgia this is definitely the story/read for you!

I don’t usually read romance books, but I’ll make an exception if there is a ‘hook’ I find interesting - in this case, a magical backtracking CD player. I enjoyed the brook a lot. I liked the ghost-of-Christmas-past premise and found Sam and Damon to be likable protagonists. I loved that the ending, while predictable (it is a romance, after all!), wasn’t too saccharin. One problem for me (and its clearly a personal problem, nothing to do with the merits of the book itself), is that I’m about 30 years too old for the pop references to really resonate with me.

The premise for this story would be an amazing movie- a magical CD player that shows you an alternate life all to a soundtrack of your favorite pop-punk music?Amazing! Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. The biggest issue for me was I didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between the two main characters and it left me not particularly caring what happened. The story itself also felt a little too immature for my taste (I was going to scream if I had to read about a grown man calling a grown woman “Sam Sam” one more time). I did really love the nostalgia in this book and it was fun to walk down my own memory lane of the pop culture of my teenage years. Erin La Rosa has great ideas for contemporary romance but since this is the second book by her that left me feeling underwhelmed I’m thinking maybe she just isn’t for me. The writing wasn’t bad by any means- just not something that I personally enjoy. Overall this was a cute, quick read for someone who wants a rom com in book form with some amazing music.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Canary Street Press. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction, Magical Realism
Spice Level: sex on the page
Language: Smattering of swearing
Representation: Side characters who are gay, and one character who talks about experimentation with the same sex

In this best friends to lovers romance, we meet the friends decades after Sam left her small town. This is really the story of Sam figuring out how she is so that she can accept love—as in love of family (the women's fiction portion of the book). I was worried through the whole thing that Sam and Damon had no chance of things working out. And now, you get to worry too because I'm not going to tell you.

This book is full of 90's emo nostalgia. I think anyone who went through high school at that time is going to love the music references.

Overall, I thought this book was a lot of fun. Damon is a cinnamon roll type of romantic lead, and I felt like he needed to be for this story to work. This is a spicy book with an open door and other references to sexual escapades from the grandmother (yep, that's what I said).

Happy reading!

I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did!

Sam Leto returns to her hometown of Tybee Island, Georgia, after she’s been away for 20 years. She’s now an international pilot, it she’s returning to “see after” her grandmother Pearl, who has expressed interest in making a change and selling the house that Sam grew up in.

But her grandmother isn’t the only one that Sam left behind on the island. Damon, her best friend ( and unadmitted crush) from high school still lives there, and the CD player and mixtape/playlist he made for her all those years ago mysteriously shows her “visions” of what might have happened if she had made different choices back then.

This one was really a delight! 4 glittering stars and highly recommend.

The Backtrack, by Erin La Rosa is a romance with a really interesting and unique premise. Sam, a pilot, left her small town and best friend (and maybe love) Damon to pursue her dreams of flight school. When she returns home to Tybee Island, GA, to help her grandmother get ready to move she gets back in touch with Damon and immediately begins to question her decisions to leave him even though she loves her life as an international pilot.

While cleaning her room, she finds her old portable CD player with a mix CD Damon gave her and each song on the CD magically transports her to snippets of an alternate reality with each song. In the alternate reality, she decided to stay in Tybee Island with Damon instead of leaving for flight school. As Sam goes through each song and imagines what life would have been like if she had stayed, she also starts a journey of emotional growth and sorting through long time family issues. Will Sam continue to follow her career dreams or decide to stay in Tybee and explore the what ifs?

This is a fun read, but isn't the fluff you might expect- it explores family dynamics and examines the roll of mental health in them. My favorite characters are Sam's grandmother Pearl and Pearl's quirky friends. They add levity to a plot that is deeper than the premise would make it seem. This is a very plot driven novel, and I would have loved some deeper character growth, but did really enjoy this read. The premise alone makes this an easy suggestion to fellow romance lovers.

This novel is my introduction to Erin La Rosa, and I'm really impressed with the imaginative idea behind The Backtrack, as really enjoyed the way the story wrapped up. Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC of The Backtrack.

This is for fans of the "what if" novel- the ones where the heroine re-examines her life and imagines where she would be if only one thing had been different. In this case, Sam, who hasn't been home in 30 years is sent down memory lane by the mix tape Damon made for her when they were teens. Oh the music! Each song prompts a different response. Meanwhile, can Damon and Sam find one another again? Sam's only home to care for her grandma Pearl (and clean out here house). Pearl, btw, is a hoot. These are well written characters in a story that while it might feel familiar around the edges is differentiated by the songs. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Good summer reading.

Erin La Rosa has become a romance author to keep your eye on. Her characters always have great chemistry and motivations that don't revolve around their romance.

Sam is a successful international pilot, running all around the world. When her grandmother announces that she's selling her home, Sam returns to her little city of Tysbee to see if everything is okay. She finds that nothing has changed. She even has a CD player from the 2000s that still works--even without batteries. The magical CD player shows her an alternate reality where she kisses her best friend, Damon, and how their lives would've gone differently.

Our protagonist grapples with her past in a fun, unique way with the magical CD player. This trend of romance novels pulling fantasy and scifi elements has been so much fun. It is a breath of fresh air in the genre. La Rosa will make millennials nostalgic for their Emo days with the fashion, music, and movie references in "The Backtrack."

The Backtrack is a book about how the choices we make affect the trajectory of our lives and dealing with the idea of "the one who got away." It partially takes place in the modern day as well as in the early 00s and is set to the emo soundtrack that played in the background of my own new adult years. The story focuses on Sam and Damon, two high school best friends with a will they/won't they that never quite happened. After graduation, Sam leaves her hometown only to return after almost 20 years to help her grandmother pack up the house she grew up in and runs into the grown man version of the boy she knew and has not seen since she left.

This book is part 13 Going on 30 and part Sliding Doors. The nostalgia, not just of the soundtrack, but of all of the stuff Sam comes across in the house and in the flashbacks brought back such strong memories. I love the relationship between Sam and Damon and seeing how it changed over time. There are also a couple of classmates of theirs you see bouncing around and it was really fun to see how they changed as well. I love how this story played out. It was a lot of fun, but the point the author is trying to make is one that really resonates with me, and I appreciate the way she told it.

As someone who was in high school during this exact period and moved away immediately, cutting ties with a vast majority of the people who made up my daily life for almost 18 years, this book really hit home. Only to hit harder as this summer was not only my 20 year high school reunion, but also the summer I needed to clear my parent's basement of all my childhood possessions. The book is a lot of fun, while maintaining a good story and keeping with the balance of emotional depth that we have come to expect from Erin La Rosa. I highly recommend this book, especially for anyone to whom 2005 feels like both yesterday and also 20 years ago.

Thank you to Erin La Rosa, Canary Street Press, and NetGalley for this advanced copy!