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A review by pagesplotsandpints
The Backtrack by Erin La Rosa
2.75
<b>Read Completed 7/20/24 |</b> 2.75 stars
I was very excited for this book so the fact that I didn't connect is quite the letdown. I loved the 2000s nostalgia, the concept of this magical mix CD, and a second chance romance, but the writing here just really fell flat in a lot of ways.
Firstly, the things I did like. I really liked the concept of taking care of yourself first and fulfilling your dreams, and that some people can be meant to be together but need to find each other at the right time. I really liked that Sam & Damon met up again as adults and they were more mature and therefore better equipped to work on a relationship. I also really liked Sam's relationship with her grandma. For some reason I'm just a sucker for a cute grandparent relationship. The 2000s nostalgia was also fun, albeit overdone.
Sadly, I had a lot of issues with a lot of things, though, and that really overshadowed my reading experience. First and foremost, while Sam & Damon matured as they grew to be adults, most of Sam's growth within the timeline of the story was ONLY because of this magical CD. She gains perspective on why her mother left and never came back, but she doesn't ever really talk to her mom or grandmother about it until the very end, and it's very quick and not developed. She's only able to have this perspective because the CD shows her what her and Damon's relationship would have been like if she stayed and she kind of understands now why her mother had to leave. But I really, really wish that had been developed more and she could have come to a better realization, like on her own and the CD just helps. It basically hands it to her and she had to be slapped in the face with it.
I also had issues with the romance. I really didn't feel a lot of chemistry between Sam & Damon. I felt like both of them were kind of boring characters and I didn't really feel their personalities. Honestly, MOST of the plot takes place through the flashbacks and obviously there's some in the present as well, but there's not a lot of communication, flirting, dancing back and forth, working things out. The characters were pretty boring and relying on their teenage selves to tell most of the story didn't really tell me who they are as adults.
This also isn't really a romcom. The concept leads to believe it's going to be a 13 Going on 30 type vibe, or some other cute romcom movie, and the cartoon cover also implies romcom, but the book is fairly even-keeled with maybe 2-3 funny moments that might make you chuckle, mostly relating to silly 2000s trends, but it's kind of serious in a lot of ways. I'm not saying the author should have written it differently but I do feel like the marketing leads you to believe this is a little lighter than it is. It's not super heavy but I kind of felt dragged down the whole time.
I also felt like the parts that were lighter were too cheesy. The 2000s vibe was a little too overdone -- I don't need to know that a character was wearing Soffie shorts that were rolled three times. The mention of the clothing styles, trends, decor, and music was a little much. Sure, a lot of us looked like that in the 2000s and had all that crap in the 2000s, but it just felt like it was trying too hard. Some cute mentions are great, but it was all the time to make sure you really, really got the picture. The ending was SO CHEESY that it made me embarrassed for the characters and I really hated it. I also had really stupid things that I wanted to pick apart (like Damon's gonna go sell his beer internationally when he doesn't even sell nationally yet? -- At least, I'm assuming. There's no mention of his reach and his success outside of this small town. And do you know how wildly expensive it is to import beer? And can they even keep up with production? This is like, a small hometown local brewery. I hated the nickname "Sam Sam". I hated that Sam called her past self "Alt-Sam". Enough, just call her me or Sam. It's stupid, but things like that got on my nerves.)
THE BACKTRACK had some really good bones but the writing really left me wanting more. I just didn't connect with the characters and I feel like there was no plot because the backstory did all the hard work. Maybe Erin LaRosa just isn't for me. I've DNFed another one of her books and this was the second one I tried. I mostly felt like the scenes in the past took up way too much of the book and we never got to feel the characters as adults. Why were they so meant to be? Being best friends and having a missed opportunity as a teenager doesn't mean you're meant to be. We didn't really see much of them as adults and I just felt like the author wanted us to just know instead of really displaying how much chemistry they really had.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I also really, really didn't like this audiobook narrator. I just really didn't love her voice and I didn't like the tone it gave to the book. She wasn't bad but it just really wasn't my preference at all.
I was very excited for this book so the fact that I didn't connect is quite the letdown. I loved the 2000s nostalgia, the concept of this magical mix CD, and a second chance romance, but the writing here just really fell flat in a lot of ways.
Firstly, the things I did like. I really liked the concept of taking care of yourself first and fulfilling your dreams, and that some people can be meant to be together but need to find each other at the right time. I really liked that Sam & Damon met up again as adults and they were more mature and therefore better equipped to work on a relationship. I also really liked Sam's relationship with her grandma. For some reason I'm just a sucker for a cute grandparent relationship. The 2000s nostalgia was also fun, albeit overdone.
Sadly, I had a lot of issues with a lot of things, though, and that really overshadowed my reading experience. First and foremost, while Sam & Damon matured as they grew to be adults, most of Sam's growth within the timeline of the story was ONLY because of this magical CD. She gains perspective on why her mother left and never came back, but she doesn't ever really talk to her mom or grandmother about it until the very end, and it's very quick and not developed. She's only able to have this perspective because the CD shows her what her and Damon's relationship would have been like if she stayed and she kind of understands now why her mother had to leave. But I really, really wish that had been developed more and she could have come to a better realization, like on her own and the CD just helps. It basically hands it to her and she had to be slapped in the face with it.
I also had issues with the romance. I really didn't feel a lot of chemistry between Sam & Damon. I felt like both of them were kind of boring characters and I didn't really feel their personalities. Honestly, MOST of the plot takes place through the flashbacks and obviously there's some in the present as well, but there's not a lot of communication, flirting, dancing back and forth, working things out. The characters were pretty boring and relying on their teenage selves to tell most of the story didn't really tell me who they are as adults.
This also isn't really a romcom. The concept leads to believe it's going to be a 13 Going on 30 type vibe, or some other cute romcom movie, and the cartoon cover also implies romcom, but the book is fairly even-keeled with maybe 2-3 funny moments that might make you chuckle, mostly relating to silly 2000s trends, but it's kind of serious in a lot of ways. I'm not saying the author should have written it differently but I do feel like the marketing leads you to believe this is a little lighter than it is. It's not super heavy but I kind of felt dragged down the whole time.
I also felt like the parts that were lighter were too cheesy. The 2000s vibe was a little too overdone -- I don't need to know that a character was wearing Soffie shorts that were rolled three times. The mention of the clothing styles, trends, decor, and music was a little much. Sure, a lot of us looked like that in the 2000s and had all that crap in the 2000s, but it just felt like it was trying too hard. Some cute mentions are great, but it was all the time to make sure you really, really got the picture. The ending was SO CHEESY that it made me embarrassed for the characters and I really hated it. I also had really stupid things that I wanted to pick apart (like Damon's gonna go sell his beer internationally when he doesn't even sell nationally yet? -- At least, I'm assuming. There's no mention of his reach and his success outside of this small town. And do you know how wildly expensive it is to import beer? And can they even keep up with production? This is like, a small hometown local brewery. I hated the nickname "Sam Sam". I hated that Sam called her past self "Alt-Sam". Enough, just call her me or Sam. It's stupid, but things like that got on my nerves.)
THE BACKTRACK had some really good bones but the writing really left me wanting more. I just didn't connect with the characters and I feel like there was no plot because the backstory did all the hard work. Maybe Erin LaRosa just isn't for me. I've DNFed another one of her books and this was the second one I tried. I mostly felt like the scenes in the past took up way too much of the book and we never got to feel the characters as adults. Why were they so meant to be? Being best friends and having a missed opportunity as a teenager doesn't mean you're meant to be. We didn't really see much of them as adults and I just felt like the author wanted us to just know instead of really displaying how much chemistry they really had.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I also really, really didn't like this audiobook narrator. I just really didn't love her voice and I didn't like the tone it gave to the book. She wasn't bad but it just really wasn't my preference at all.