Erin La Rose takes readers on a journey of What if a person
made a decision to go one way instead of another?
Wonder if you had done something different at a point in
time, what your life would be like? Sam left her small hometown of Tybee
Island, Georgia to not only pursue her dream of becoming a pilot, but taking
her mom's words to heart not to get stuck there. When Sam arrives at her
grandma's place her bedroom has not changed from when she was in high school.
Walls covered in 2000s nostalgia including mix CDs. When she finds her old
Walkman, with a CD she never played she decides to take a listen. The song
transports her back to one moment in her life where she has always wondered
What if? What if she would have kissed Damon, what if they would have become
more than friends? With her magical Walkman Sam is about to find out.
This is the second book that I have read by La Rosa and I
like that she keeps it real (I mean as real as one can with a time travelling Walkman)
both the people and the relationships that she portrays in her books just feel
real. I would not call this a romcom, this book will take a reader through a
lot of emotions and not just happy ones, there are quite a few low points in
the book, that you can’t help but feel for the characters. For Sam returning
home, brings up the all the memories and questions of what could have been.
I'm not sure if I cheered for Sam and Damon in their
relationship, in either timeline.
I honestly didn't feel the chemistry between them at all, I
really just felt the friendship between them and nothing more. I understand
that they love each other but not the same type as a more serious relationship. I
like that La Rosa didn’t make it all rainbows and unicorns for the choices Sam
and Damon did/didn’t make, there were tough times ahead in both timelines I don’t
know if I even liked Sam or Damon in either timeline either as they both made
some choices that I see as red flags for their relationship, from only caring
about oneself, their own wants/needs to cheating, just added to not liking them
or their relationship.
I will admit that I struggled with this book to being with,
as it was slower than I thought it would be. However, the farther I got into
the book I really wanted to know how each timeline would end up.
This book is a complete trip of nostalgia with all the song
choices, the fashion and what was cool in the 2000. I question the song choices
as it was supposed to be this big mixed CD that showed how much Damon wanted to
be with Sam but a few songs in there were questionable for what Damon wanted to
achieve.
Although I struggled at time with this book, overall, I
enjoyed it. I may not have been a fan of the relationship between Sam and Damon
I love the rawness and realness that La Rosa put in the book, not all
relationships are easy.
Enjoy!!!
