(Not So) Simple Lyrics

Heartbreak Mixtapes, Book 1

De: Claudia Burgoa

Narrado por: Erin Mallon, Jason Clarke

He was my first love. My first heartbreak.

The boy who made the one mistake I’ll never forgive.

Roderick Wilder and I grew up side by side—two kids tangled up in music, mixtapes, and lyrics that felt like they belonged only to us. Then he destroyed everything we had and disappeared, chasing a future without me.

Twelve years later, he’s back.

Not the rising star I remember, but a man who’s broken, scarred, and desperate to rewrite his story.

The problem? I’ve already started falling for someone else—an anonymous stranger I trade late-night messages with, sharing lyrics and reliving the bands that shaped us. He feels safe. He feels new. He feels like everything Roderick isn’t.

But soon I might need to choose between the stranger who makes me believe again . . .and the boy who once destroyed me.

From USA Today bestselling author Claudia Burgoa comes a nostalgic second-chance romance of mixtapes, dial-up confessions, and the one boy who broke her heart before the world ever knew his name.

(Not So) Simple Lyrics is an emotional, nostalgic second chance which features your favorite tropes:

Slowburn

Rockstar

Bad boy

First love, childhood crush, it’s always been you

Wounded/Damaged/Tortured Hero

Epistolary novel

Redemption

©2025 Cyburg Ink LLC (P)2025 Claudia Burgoa

How hard addiction is

The story line was a little slow for me but Jason, Clark & Erin Mallon helped me through it

A fun musically nostalgic love story!

This book was a fun, nostalgic flashback for anyone who grew up in the ’80s or ’90s—not just because of the endless classic music references, but also because it captures a simpler time before technology fully took over our lives in the post-’90s era.

The first 40% of the book felt almost like reading a diary: deeply internal, reflective thoughts from musicians, from someone fighting for sobriety, and from characters who examine the reasoning behind nearly every emotion and decision. As a reader, you’re also a fly on the wall for a budding relationship that unfolds through message boards and chat rooms—back when dial-up internet was brand new and chat rooms were everything.

At times, especially during the first half of the book, some chapters felt long-winded. If the audiobook had been about two hours shorter, this would have been a five-star read for me. That said, I still really enjoyed it. The narration by Jason Clarke and Erin Mallon was an absolute 10/10, and I’m crossing my fingers that book two is Cleo’s story. 🙏