I enjoyed this book from beginning to end! It was such a warm, heartfelt and well written story. It had me rushing through the last half to see how it would resolve itself but at the same time not wanting it to end.

The pace was a little slow in the beginning but the tension was always building. Although I would totally recommend this title, one thing that didn't sit well with me was how quickly we jumped from one character's head to the next. I would have liked to stay with the thoughts and actions of a character for at least a chapter rather than bouncing around from paragraph to paragraph. Made me dizzy but I was still able to follow the narrative.

I'd read more from this author!

3.5-4 stars for me

This one was a slowburn with a lovely nostalgic feel to it. Do you ever forget your first love? What happened to them? Are they happy? These questions are answered with a phone message and a song link. The way the story was written with the musical references was a nice change of pace. I did have some issues with the flow of the book and enjoyed the "then" moments more than the "now". Overall it was a great read.

This is a fantastic book that tells the story of Dan and Alison who meet as teenagers and embark on an intense relationship. Dan can offer Alison the stability and love she’s never found at home from her parents and despite their love for each other, they part ways.
They reconnect again when they are both in their forties through their mutual love of music, and their passion is quickly reignited. Unfortunately, as we all know, the path of true love is not a straightforward one.
This novel reminded me of David Nichols style of writing, and used music in an incredibly creative way to connect the main characters. The passion and love Dan and Alison share is evident throughout the novel but the story is grounded in Alison’s tragic backstory. Highly recommended!

3.5 stars
A second chance at love for two first love characters after almost 30 years living apart and building a new life.
At 18 they fall in love and as the first love never forgets, their unique bound was a mixtape with songs that were showing their feelings more than saying them.
Years after their breakup, there's a chance to reunite and again music and old songs link them and reignite that lost spark of love.
The romance element is very well done in the book and the writing is what kept me reading without stopping. Unfortunately, overall, the story lacked for me in many departments. Not sure if the characters or the overall story, the fact that they were both married with children and always thinking what if ... but i can't get over some of my beliefs and accept them in this story especially as this isn't the kind of story where their marriage is falling apart or they are about to divorce.


Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy.

You never forget the one that got away...but what if you got another chance??

This is the story of Alison and Dan told over a dual timeline - two kids from Sheffield in 1978 at age 18 and again at age 48. As each others first love they never forgot each other over the years and often wondered where that other ended up. When Alison's best selling novel becomes a sensation worldwide Dan comes across her name on Twitter. He decides to send her a message, a link to a song from their past. This is how they begin communicating - through songs and music that has special meaning for them. Going back to their past, we learn the why and how Alison emigrated to Adelaide, and became Ali, got married and had a family. Dan, living in Edinburgh is also married with a son in University. When fate throws them a chance to rekindle their love, should they take that chance and go for it?

This is a fairly realistic story of how life gets in the way and the times when we wonder what could have been. It weaves the story with the benefit of music and lyrics (primarily from the late 70's, most of which was lost on me bar a few, being an 80's child myself), as Ali and Dan reminisce over links to music from their youth. It is a story of love, loss, passion and betrayal. Ultimately I liked the romance part of it, but at various times it got lost on me as I became more aware of the devastation that both Ali and Dan left in their wake, in their wanting and needing to be together, two families were left reeling. It is very heavy on description and non essential script, a lot of the time there is just far too much information, and the book could have done with scaling back on it by at least 25%, as I found myself skimming pages of information that really didn't benefit the story and caused it to drag for me and not flow freely.

Music is so emotive and this book just has the nostalgia and memories flowing over me.

i'm not too sure how I felt about parts of it though. Would you go back to your childhood sweetheart and ruin the lives of two families on a whim?

Wanted to enjoy this more than I did. All the ingredients are there but I felt some of the modern day scenes were a bit like filler, especially in the middle and I found myself speed reading through these to get to the reunion

A touching story, but some careful editing of this could make it an amazing story.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

A wonderful nostalgic experience of love, loss, fear and acceptance.

Dan and Alice's story is a difficult one. Separated in two timelines over 30 years apart we first meet them in the beautiful rock'n roll haze of the late 70's. In the basement of Kev's house the impossibility beautiful and mysterious Alice captivates the cool and popular Dan. Their connection is undeniable, and this is written with such a gentle and carefull style that it's impossible not to feel like a spectator to their rebel youth and young love.

However, life has other plans for the couple. Alice comes from the other side of the tracks and the harsh realities of her life caught up with her eventually. It's heartbreaking and infuriating, sad and appalling, but in order to be free, Alice must run away.

We first catch up with them when they are both married and fully established in their careers. Dan works with new talents, Alice is a renowned author living in Australia. Through Twitter they find eachother again and begin communicating in the best form that they know: sharing links to songs and building together a carefully composed playlist.

Their journey to be together again is painful. They both are married, they both have families, but sometimes, love is love...

My only issue with Mix Tape was the pacing, I'm aware this is an ARC and some might be fixed in the final version, but I felt like the book needed more editing. The middle gets a bit convoluted and it dragged a bit.

But the overall experience is a lovely trip down memory lane, a nostalgia fest of good music, good vibes and a heartfelt romance that stood the test of time.

Ps: I would love to see the complete list of songs at the end of the book.

Brilliant book. I really enjoyed it, was a lot of fun! Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for a review.

Loved this book. Music is an important and emotional tool to tell a story and I loved how the author used it. It was heart breaking and uplifting at the same time with realistic and likeable characters.
I enjoyed my time a lot reading this book and would definitely reach out to the writer's other books in the future.

Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love how music can bring you memories, take you straight back to a point in your life or a feeling. This book celebrates this kind of attachment with music and is as successful as music in making me happy, emotional and I will be making a mixtape (on my iPhone but still the same minus pencil and tape!) full of great relatable and adorable characters, a wonderful story and great writing , it’s a very emotional read, I loved the tension and gripping nature of the read with this. Highly recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I desperately wanted to love this book. Everything about it spoke to me, I enjoyed the backstory - but I just couldn’t get into the main, current day story, so much so that I skipped through a lot of Ali’s story to try to find out what happened. Too slow for me - I just couldn’t get into it. A real shame as I had high hopes.

Thank you NetGalley and Roundhouse for this advance copy.
A general all round great book which I would recommend

I absolutely loved it from start to finish., Believable characters who could have been my friends coupled with realistic scenarios with a musical backdrop that was brilliantly woven and resonated so well. Such an enjoyable read, this book flew by! I’ve been recommending it to everyone but it’s not published til January! 5* a musical odyssey

I had big expectations from this book as 'This Much Is True' is one if my favourites but it just didnt hit the mark with me.

The storyline was great, full of nostalgia and music references from childhood but it was just really slow going and because of that it just didnt engage me at all. I always find if it doesn't grab you within the first 20% then it's not going to work out!

I did enjoy the plot and the characters are likeable, funny and warming but I cant say I liked Dan and Alison as a twosome and felt rather sad for the other characters involved!

I found the really long paragraphs a bit much at times, so much information all at once can feel a bit daunting, younfind yourself skipping ahead counting how far it goes.

I really enjoy Jand Sandersons style of writing and will always read what she has written, it's just this one didnt grip me as I'd hoped it would.

A great storyline with an added childhood romance.

3*

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

My goodness I absolutely adored this book and it wasn’t just the storyline but the songs that took me back to my youth and had me getting You Tube up to watch them again.
I felt the book was very cleverly written in regards to the past and future being written seamlessly into the book and the way that the relationships were explored between Alison and her Husband and Daniel and his wife and the friendships, as well as the relationship between Alison and Daniel and how their love was put on the back burner but never extinguished.
The relationship between Alison and her Mum and the scenes related to her family life pulled at my heartstrings and felt that they were so well written at times they brought a tear to my eye.
I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review, which is completely my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I did think the ending slightly inevitable and predictable but the way the author took us there was very well written and engaging.
I loved the musical nuances even though I wasnt actually familiar with the music in general.
I will be looking out for more from this author in the future.

I found this book compelling and easy to read. It starts off with a dysfunctional family of three. Alison mixes with a boy from a better area of Sheffield and realises how difficult her life is. Circumstances change her life and she leaves all she knows for a new life but does not know where this will take her. The book then concentrates on her new life and the life of the “boy she left behind”. The story drifts from Daniel and Alison in their teenage years and their lives as they are, Daniel in Scotland and Alison in Australia. Their paths cross in an unexpected way and then their lives intertwine in a very sweet way. The other characters in the story were memorable and written that so that I would easier visualise them especially Sheila and Dora who themselves did not have an easy transition to the lives they lead now. The meeting of brother and sister was a great part albeit small part in the story as Peter was her saving grace in her teens. I really enjoyed this book and would easily recommend it

An enjoyable read, the best part at the beginning where Alison's early life is a great comparison to that of Daniel's. I also liked the way the author sent Alison to a different land and life before Daniel was able to track her down.

This is one for lovers of One Day and the genre of thwarted early love. In order for it not to be sugar sweet the characters show flaws, which is realistic, but I wasn't entirely happy with the way both Alison and Daniel treated their partners who got in the way of their 'true love.'

Well-drawn characters and good music tracks make this an entertaining read but one small thing really irritated me: The way Daniel kept referring to Alison by her full name and not just Alison. I'm sure Mix Tape will be successful. Thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouseUK/Transworld/BamtamPress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A beautiful, heartfelt, often brutal, love story, set in the past and to the back drop of an amazing sound track. It took a while to read because I had to keep stopping to search out the songs. I really cared about these characters, felt their pain and was transported back to much younger days. Throughly recommend.