If your first love just slid into your DM's what would you do?
I loved that this story was all about the past, but connected two people from across the world so simply. And with the addition of music. I found myself judging the songs chosen by both Daniel and Ali.

This book is a great romance novel that isnt obvious but kinda is. You root for the characters and their happiness, you want Daniel to understand why Ali disappeared, and maybe you ll even look at pigeons differently after reading this book

Loved this book! It completely took me back to my youth with the memories coming flooding back of that era of music! A great story which features some powerful subjects but at the end of the day, the right outcome (in my opinion)! I thought the book flowed along at a lovely pace and showed exactly what music can do. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

A great easy to read story about two people who rediscover each other after many years through the power of social media. In amongst it there is bullying, and violence - not unsurprising but there. Ultimately it is about two people who were childhood sweethearts.
I really enjoyed reading the book, it was well written and flowed. I recommend this book if you want something that many of us can recognise. It is full of great musical links which re-kindle the relationship between the two of them. The fact that they are on either side of the world as they rediscover only ads to the concept.

Music is so evocative, brings back all sorts of memories and plays a big part in our lives.
This book demonstrates that so well. Absolutely loved it.
Strong likeable main characters, well written. Highly recommended

I was so excited to read this book. The blurb convinced me that this would be right up my street!

The story itself is fantastic, two childhood sweethearts find each other decades later and rekindle their love for each other. However, the writing is painfully descriptive, I found myself skim reading parts to get the gist of the sentence/paragraph. I very nearly gave up on this book several times, but persevered in the hope that it would pick up. Unfortunately, the book didn’t get much better. At 80% I started enjoying it and felt invested enough to finish it. I usually find this pull to a book at the 20-30% point.

The story is very deep and pretty dark emotionally. It’s not a feel-good love story, but rather a sad, quite depressing look at life and adultery. The book contains many dark subjects: alcoholism, abuse, rape, death...to name a few!

I would recommend this to someone looking for an interesting read; but if you’re after a happy love story this is not the book for you.

Trigger Warnings in the book: Rape, Alcohol Abuse

I just finished reading this love story and it was a romance quite unlike anything I’ve read before. However, it did remind me of a movie that was made in India a long time ago, which was thrashed by the public and critiques because it seemed like the movie supported adultery, which is considered immoral in so many societies, no matter what the reason be.

This is the story of Daniel and Alison, who were deeply in love when they were teenagers. But then Alison had a secret that she was keeping from Dan, and then tragedy strikes her in a terrible way. And she disappears from his life. Now, nearly 30 years later, Dan comes across Alison on twitter. And that brings back a flood of memories. But what had connected them back then, and what connects them 30 years later as well, is their shared love for music. So Daniel starts sending her a song, and she responds with a song of her own. And that is how their relationship and feelings are rekindled across continents.

Each of the protagonists have beautiful families and faithful, loving, intelligent, well meaning partners. But in the book, the author shows that we end up realising the faults in our current relationships, no matter how perfect or stable, when we find our true soulmate. There’s this line in the book, which neatly sums up what a lot of couples go through, or why they falter or go astray:

She had loved him. She did love him. Yes, she’d lost something of herself over the years, but perhaps he had too, perhaps it was a condition of a long marriage that part of one’s spirit must be sacrificed, in exchange for material comfort, children, companionship.

I know the premise of this story may not be digestible to many readers, since it doesn’t take the easy way out for this couple’s re-union all these years later. They don’t really have abusive relationships, or their partners have not died, or anything serious of the sorts. They just realise what is missing in their current relationship, when they find their soulmate. I don’t believe in the concept of soulmates, but well, this is a story, one with a different background, and I enjoyed reading it.

I am a huge fan of music and that was something that was particularly appealing to me in this storyline. The part about the mix tape, brought me back to my own courtship period with the men I have dated. We always had a common bond of music. The man I’m married to now, used to make mix tapes on CDs for me. Sometimes he wouldn’t tell me what songs were on it. Sometimes he would quiz me on the songs, to see if I got them, or remembered them as well as he did. That was his test and I passed with flying colours. Music is something that still connects us. There are no fights that haven’t been resolved over a few drinks and listening to that one song that touches both of us.

I also appreciated all the supporting characters in the book. I could see this book being made into a series or a movie with such a vast array of characters. And each of the characters had their bits of story too. The families and friendships were amazing, real, loving and supportive, with the exception of Alison’s mother, who is an alcoholic. All the stories get a neat ending and it is as good as a happy ending one could hope for, at least for our lead couple.

There are a lot of description about different places in Scotland, UK and Adelaide in South Australia. The author seems to have done a lot of research and work, and overall I found this book to be thought provoking and quite an emotional ride. Even though the lead pair commit adultery, I was rooting for them. I anyway don’t have strict rules about monogamy and I have a different take on monogamy and human nature. Honesty is more important to me in a relationship, as well as freedom of choice and respecting each other. And the lead couple are shown to have that for each other, which is why I was completely with them and wanted a happy ending for them. I’m so glad the author ended the story the way it did.

I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a clean romance, music, bonding over soulmates, lots of supporting characters.

Don’t pick this if subjects on rape and alcohol abuse are triggers for you, or finding love outside a happily married life is something that doesn’t sit well with you 🙂

**Thank you Netgalley and the publishers of the book for sharing this ARC digital copy with me in exchange of an honest review. All reviews and opinions are purely my own and not biased in any way**

Fantastic. This story was well written and the description of Sheffield in the late 70s/early 80s was spot on. Both of the main characters, Dan and Ali were very well described and believable. I don’t normally read this type of novel but definitely recommend it and read it again. The actual playlist of songs was pretty good too!

Really mixed opinion on this book.
It was nothing like I thought it would be I was expecting an easy chic lit read but it was much deeper than than, the ending however totally ruined it for me.

Reading the blurb I knew I had to read this story. Anyone who has received a mix tape will understand the thought and emotion gone into its creation. I loved the musical references that provoked memories and raw feelings.

I have to admit I was expecting a lighter story but this had depth, dealing with serious issues.
The book doesn't shy away from the fact that going back to find the one that got away, has consequences and I felt Jane Sanderson delved into the pain and heartbreak well.

A will they, wont they love story that spans decades, Mix Tape drew me in and had me reading it over a couple of days.

My problem was that I expected a different kind of story. The story that was told was quite a raw story, and the hurt of the people in it, people who had not committed any crime themselves left me feeling a bit depressed, and took the shine off the relationship between the two main characters. Don’t get me wrong, this was a well written story and I devoured the first half of the book, but after the main characters have been messaging songs back and forth i felt the story lost something. When the main characters actually met, it felt a little unbelievable and flat. I did really love the music though!

Mix Tape is a love letter to music, and to love. I thoroughly enjoyed the time hopping writing style though it was a little hard to follow in ebook format at times. But watching Alison and Daniel during their first relationship alongside their new lives and loves lent the eventual coming together more meaning. As we learn more about who they were, we understand better who they are, and the choices that they're making.

I definitely need the playlist for this book and I will re-read it and enjoy it all over again. Some how Alison and Daniel managed to fall for two people who don't love music the way they do, who don't live it and breathe it. So it seems only natural that they would find their way back to one another, to where it all began.

I've never been one for the "I didn't realise my life was miserable until *insert whirlwind romance here* came along" stories. They so often cause someone else pain but we're not supposed to care because our main character is happy - looking at you Letters to Juliet and Leap Year. But Jane Sanderson doesn't shy away from their current lives, doesn't let them get off easy. And that makes it so much more believable, and heart felt.

Also I loved that Alison said "you can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness" and I've got ten Australian dollars that says her husband doesn't recognise those lyrics. I wonder how many more I missed though.

Although the subjects are only touched on Sanderson deals with topics such as alcoholism, and to a lesser extent dementia, with a very graceful hand in my opinion.

OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5 STARS

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS-AS NON-SPOILER AS POSSIBLE*

FAVOURITE CHARACTER: Dan. He was such a sweetheart throughout the book. He definitely had some ups and downs in terms of character, but his honesty was refreshing. Allison. She grew on me as the book went along, her journey of self-discovery was genuinely something that I enjoyed and it was interesting to see a romance novel in which the choice of the relationship is solely based on the female rather than the male.

LEAST FAVOURITE CHARACTER: Micheal. I really hated Micheal; Jane Sanderson did a wonderful job in making me want Dan and Allison to end up together, mostly because of how oppressive and judgmental Micheal was towards Allison.

OVERALL OPINIONS:

This book was a great take on a contemporary romance; it had all the components of nostalgia, love, mixed with the thread of good music. It was heartfelt and as a reader, I enjoyed the plot as well as the characters.

The formatting of the book did feel slightly difficult; there were large paragraphs that seemed to never end which was a bit daunting to have to go through. It felt a bit like I was getting lots of information too quickly, but none of it was resonating, which slowed down the story. It got better as I went along though!

The story had elements that felt a bit fantastical and unrealistic but at the end of the read, it was simply a good, funny, heartwarming romance novel. I wouldn't go in expecting a gritty realistic depiction of love and cheating; while it doesn't glorify cheating, it also glosses over the aspects of the relationship between Dan and Allison which could have caused issues.

Mix tape, I am mixed about my review.

I loved the writing style and the premise for the story. I loved how music was used to help tell their story but I just didn't like the two main characters together. Dan and Alison separately their stories were compelling and sad at times. I just didn't sympathise with them for their early love and I felt for their respective partners in this story. I appreciate that life is not always clear cut however their actions just didn't sit right with me. Hence why I am mixed about my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

I have mixed (excuse the pun...) feelings about this. It was a good read with a well considered storyline. However, without giving too much away, two of the secondary characters were conveniently flawed in a way that Makes two of them, at least, something of a stereotype. And I found myself conflicted because, while I was rooting for our two main protagonists, I often thought I didn’t want to be. That said, a lot of the reactions were believable and in this way the writer did a good job of not just having flat good and bad guys. I also didn’t know many of the songs listed and this meant perhaps some of the meanings shared were lost on me. I googled one or two and felt vaguely disappointed and it made it clear how dependent on time and place songs can be. Worth a read though, particularly if you like a romantic story where you kind of know where you’re heading but enjoy the scenery along the way.

I felt this would make a great movie with a solid soundtrack; I was entertained throughout and liked the unusual settings *Adelaide and Sheffield rather than London and Sydney,for instance).
I wasn't entirely sold on Alison - there was a bit too much focus on her being pretty as justification; can't average-looking people be worthy of a great love affair too? There was almost no corresponding emphasis on Dan's looks. That said, I loved Sheila, Dora, the canalboat couple, Cass, McCulloch; there was plenty here to enjoy and I would read another by this author. It was One Day-esque without being another rip off.

What a delicious read. I loved how the two main characters communicated using songs. I often stopped reading to listen to the tracks, and I wish now that I had made a playlist, so I could listen again.
I was actually expecting chick-lit, but was pleasantly surprised, as there was much more depth to the characters and the plot. I would definitely recommend

This is the first book I have read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Alison and Daniel were teenage sweethearts in Sheffield in 1978, they were brought together by their love of music. When circumstances forced Alison to disappear, Daniel was left heartbroken.

Fast forward 30 years and Daniel discovers Alison is now a best selling novelist living in Australia. Through a series of twitter messages of old songs, they reconnect.

A love story from the past into the present which was a great read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and I really liked it. Reminiscing over music living there past and present and hoping for a future together I was. Worth a read

The story switches between Sheffield in 1979, when Alison and Daniel are eighteen-years-olds, to three decades later in Scotland and Australia. Revealing the plot would be to deny any other reader the sheer unadulterated delight of immersing themselves in the lives of these two wonderful characters; their families and friends.

Thirty years elapse and they begin to communicate with each other again but through carefully selected song choices. These musical love letter add another delightful layer of depth both to the story and their relationship. The ‘mixtape’ of song choices which Alison and Daniel send to each other via Twitter links are in place of conversation add another wonderful, original layer of meaning to their relationship. As a reader, I was swimming in a delightful sea of nostalgia. I googled the full song lyrics and even found myself watching a Dusty Springfield performance on YouTube.

At frequent points during the denouement, I was reading with tears rolling down my cheeks. It is moving, tender, humourous, and in parts almost unbearably poignant as the story of these wonderful believable, edgy and thoroughly engaging characters is revealed.

Suffice to say Jane Sanderson has achieved that rare feat of writing a wonderfully enjoyable story which fully immerses the reader in the lives of the characters - making this particular reader’s heart beat faster, often feeling my chest tighten with tension and making my eyes fills with tears. This is a spectacular book which like all the finest will my linger long and large in my memory and I’m going to buy multiple copies for friends and families to spread the joy that is: Alison Connor and Daniel Lawrence.

For me, Dan and Ali join the ranks of Dexter and Emma; Louisa and Will as one of the unforgettably wonderful and enthralling contemporary fictional romances. I am thoroughly envious of everyone who has yet to read this utterly charming book and felt bereft as I read the last page. Thank you, Jane Sanderson!

I kept hoping this book would get more interesting, so I persisted with it. But it didn't get much better. There was a good twist that I didn't expect, but it still didn't grip me.

I love the concept of soul mates being drawn back together after many years apart, but I didn't really believe their relationship or understand what exactly drew them back together - their love for music supposedly...

My dislike is also probably a little biased. How can two people, particularly the man who had a happy marriage, just up and leave to be with someone the other side of the world who he hasn't seen or spoke to for 20 years? If their younger story line was more convincing I may have liked it more, I was left however disliking both characters and not seeing any spark between them which made it even more frustrating to read.