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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Back in 1978 Daniel Lawrence and Alison Connor go on their first date, to Kev Carter's Christmas party. It's first love in Sheffield to the accompaniment of a fantastic soundtrack of music (Elvis Costello, Blondie, Jilted John).
Switch to present day 2012, Daniel is now Dan, living in Edinburgh with his partner Katelin, son Alex and dog, Dan is a music writer. Alison is now Ali, a writer, married with two daughters and living in Adelaide, Australia. Then Kev Carter sends Dan a tweet about Ali and all the memories come flooding back. But how do you reach out to your first true love after over 30 years? When words seem too trite why not send a link to a musical memory from your shared past, in this case Elvis Costello and The Attractions' 'Pump It Up'. Dan and Ali continue to send each other links to music that resonates with them, music from their shared past and music from a time when they were no longer together.
Told in two alternating timelines we see Daniel and Alison fall in love despite their differences in class: Alison and her older brother struggling to cope with an alcoholic mother while Daniel leads a charmed life with a cosy loving middle-class family. In the present day Dan deals with his partner's contempt for his profession and his best friend's infidelity, Ali deals with her youngest daughter's surprise pregnancy and her husband's arrogant belief that the family will do whatever he decrees.
What happens when Twitter gives two people a chance to reconnect, to look back at their past and to think about what might have been? Is the grass always greener on the other side? What caused them to separate so completely 30 years ago?
After reading this book all I really wanted was to download this playlist and play it over and over again, that's how invested I got into the characters and their musical love letters to each other across the world. I just loved taking this journey with Daniel/Dan and Alison/Ali, reliving the agony and ecstasy of first love and seeing the adults they became.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Bumped for release.
Switch to present day 2012, Daniel is now Dan, living in Edinburgh with his partner Katelin, son Alex and dog, Dan is a music writer. Alison is now Ali, a writer, married with two daughters and living in Adelaide, Australia. Then Kev Carter sends Dan a tweet about Ali and all the memories come flooding back. But how do you reach out to your first true love after over 30 years? When words seem too trite why not send a link to a musical memory from your shared past, in this case Elvis Costello and The Attractions' 'Pump It Up'. Dan and Ali continue to send each other links to music that resonates with them, music from their shared past and music from a time when they were no longer together.
Told in two alternating timelines we see Daniel and Alison fall in love despite their differences in class: Alison and her older brother struggling to cope with an alcoholic mother while Daniel leads a charmed life with a cosy loving middle-class family. In the present day Dan deals with his partner's contempt for his profession and his best friend's infidelity, Ali deals with her youngest daughter's surprise pregnancy and her husband's arrogant belief that the family will do whatever he decrees.
What happens when Twitter gives two people a chance to reconnect, to look back at their past and to think about what might have been? Is the grass always greener on the other side? What caused them to separate so completely 30 years ago?
After reading this book all I really wanted was to download this playlist and play it over and over again, that's how invested I got into the characters and their musical love letters to each other across the world. I just loved taking this journey with Daniel/Dan and Alison/Ali, reliving the agony and ecstasy of first love and seeing the adults they became.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Bumped for release.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My friends will tell you that I am not a massive reader of women’s fiction, especially when it leans towards romance. Books from this genre have to have that little something different about them to catch my eye, and with Mix Tape it was my own love of music that made me want to read on. I come from the generation who would spend Sunday nights waiting patiently for their favourite song to come up in the Top 40, fingers poised on the record button on the stereo, so growing up, I was all about the mix tape. Imagine my excitement when I discovered that Mix Tape comes with its very own Spotify playlist (which then led me on a voyage of discovery of other books with their own playlists).
I loved the combination of changes in point of view and flashbacks that make up Mix Tape, with Dan and Ali each having a distinctive voice that you can see change throughout their experiences. The carefully selected songs that they send each other are a mixture of both shared memories and of where their lives are currently at, and this simple, yet heartfelt, communication is beautifully curated by the author.
As the story unfolded and long held secrets were revealed, I found I was really rooting for Dan and Ali to have their happily ever after together, and this led to a really strong dislike for both Katelin and Michael, even though they had really done nothing wrong apart from getting in the way of what I wanted to happen.
I fell in love with the entire premise of this book, and I will be keeping an eye out for more from Jane Sanderson in the future.
I loved the combination of changes in point of view and flashbacks that make up Mix Tape, with Dan and Ali each having a distinctive voice that you can see change throughout their experiences. The carefully selected songs that they send each other are a mixture of both shared memories and of where their lives are currently at, and this simple, yet heartfelt, communication is beautifully curated by the author.
As the story unfolded and long held secrets were revealed, I found I was really rooting for Dan and Ali to have their happily ever after together, and this led to a really strong dislike for both Katelin and Michael, even though they had really done nothing wrong apart from getting in the way of what I wanted to happen.
I fell in love with the entire premise of this book, and I will be keeping an eye out for more from Jane Sanderson in the future.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Firstly I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. This book was very different to most books I have read, I enjoyed the time it was set in as I was only a year or two younger than the main characters in the book so could relate to some of it, I also like the way the songs were set out and I did download them all as a playlist so I will be able to listen to the songs again even though the book has ended.
Beautiful and brutal. An emotional rollercoaster. Brilliant characters and written with depth.
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Hooked by the title and the tag line and the premise but this was ultimately a bit of a disappointment.
Lovely read - not a light and fluffy as I imagined. Dan and Alison met as teenagers but lost touch - will they ever see each other again? They both have families, Dan now in Scotland and Alison in Adelaide.
This is a great look back at teenage love and how music was such an important part of our lives (mainly because Netflix didn’t exist then!)
This is a great look back at teenage love and how music was such an important part of our lives (mainly because Netflix didn’t exist then!)
I found this book quite enjoyable. It was well written and the characters were engaging. I really liked Dan and Ali. I also thought the use of songs was very clever. However the central premise left me a little cold and I felt that the author was left defending the direction she had taken the book in. It also went on for a bit too long.