You never forget the one that got away. But what if ‘what could have been’ is yet to come?
Daniel was the first boy to make Alison a mix tape.
But that was years ago and Ali hasn’t thought about him in a very long time. Even if she had, she might not have called him ‘the one that got away’; after all, she’d been the one to run.
Then Dan’s name pops up on her phone, with a link to a song from their shared past.
For two blissful minutes, Alison is no longer an adult in Adelaide with temperamental daughters; she is sixteen in Sheffield, dancing in her skin-tight jeans. She cannot help but respond in kind.
And so begins a new mix tape.
Ali and Dan exchange songs – some new, some old – across oceans and time zones, across a lifetime of different experiences, until one of them breaks the rules and sends a message that will change everything…
Because what if ‘what could have been’ is yet to come?
A Heart-touching, Magical Read! 
Oh, I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for with this book; it’s one of those magical stories which leaves you feeling absolutely privileged to be let in to a secret!
Alison and Dan are first loves in their teenage years, but circumstances tear them apart. Dan was always into music, and made up a mix tape for Alison, the only thing she kept of his. Many years later, living separate lives on different continents Alison is contacted by Dan in the language he knows best – that of music. And all of a sudden, Alison is back in her teenage years – but can you ever really go back?
There is so much packed into this novel! It is a solid read from beginning to end with so much happening! A story told in two ways, both on paper and by song and both of them are touching. As we travel back and forwards between then and now, the lives of both Alison and Dan become very real and quite got under my skin. Delightfully crafted and beautifully written, this is one story which will stay with me for a very long time. Jane Sanderson has created an evocative and memorable tale, which I definitely recommend very highly. Totally worth all five sparkling stars!
My thanks to publisher Transworld Digital for my copy via NetGalley; this is, of course, my honest, original and unbiased review.
Tags: romance
- Format: ebook, paperback, hardcover, audio
- Size: 411 pages
- Publisher: Transworld Digital
- Publication Date: 23 January 2020
- Links: Goodreads
- Google Play
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- W. H. Smith
- Waterstones
- amazon
Author Bio
A former BBC Radio 4 producer, Jane Sanderson’s first novel – Netherwood – was published in 2011. She drew on much of her family’s background for this historical novel, which is set in a fictional mining town in the coalfields of Yorkshire. Ravenscliffe and Eden Falls followed in the two subsequent years, then in the early summer of 2017, This Much Is True was published, marking a change in direction for the author. This book is a contemporary tale of dog walks and dark secrets and the lengths a mother will go to protect her family.
Jane lives in Herefordshire with her husband, the journalist and author Brian Viner. They have three children.
Social Media
Website: janesanderson.com
Twitter: @JaneSAnderson15
Grace J Reviewerlady 