Review of "Rewind It Back"

"I don't want it to be over, Hallie."

New favorite book boyfriend alert!!! Buckle up and put on some music because this is going to be a long one. Let's get started!

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is the final installment of the Windy City series, and the second book of the series that I've read, followed of course by Mile High, as we infamously remember was not my favorite. This book, however?? Worlds above!!!! Absolutely without a doubt one of my favorites. The tension, the romance, the spice, THE SECRETS!!! I can't even begin to explain how much I loved this book, but I shall give it a try.

The last of the series follows Rio DeLuca, a defensemen for the Chicago Raptors hockey team, and Hallie Hart, the interior designer who moves in next door to him and unknowningly, is assigned to be the interior designer for his home. The catch? They have a long history with one another and haven't seen each other in six years. AND? They can't stand each other. Well...we'll get into that with my criticisms. 

Hallie and Rio were neighbors back in Boston when Hallie and her family moved in next door to his around the ages of 11 and 12. From that first meeting, Rio knew it was love at first sight, and even for Hallie, she felt the pull to him. They spent every single one of her birthdays together, sharing songs on Hallie's mixtapes, we see the origin of the iconic boombox Rio brings everywhere with him, and we realize it's because of HER that he's kept the same old one for years. Ugh, my heart. 

The storyline switches between when they were younger and to present time, and usually I have a hard time following with it (like with Unbound, which I'm so stuck on right now), but this wasn't super difficult. The tone and writing slightly changed and it felt like we were reading thoughts of a thirteen-year-old rather than a twenty-seven year old, I loved that. Plus, getting to see their backstory and why there was so much animosity to begin with. We learn they had to keep their relationship secret because Hallie's brother would have gotten upset (and he did...which we see after Hallie's senior prom night). Most of the cuts were on her birthday, which really drove home the idea that her birthday was so special for both of them and a huge part of their love story.

On another note, can we talk about how DOWN BAD THIS MAN IS??? He's gone six years without sleeping with another person, and even goes as far as to say that he is unable to sleep with someone he's not committed to, and I feel like that's so rare for MMC's in romance books these days. Hallie is the same, though, both of them unable to sleep with or date anyone else because they both hung onto this chance that maybe, just maybe, the universe would line things up and they'd somehow meet. And of course, they do. Multiple times this man has proven he'd do anything for her, and how gone he is for her and only her. I mean, almost orgasming from her just saying his name??? Holy shit. That was something.

Not to mention he got her SIGNATURE TATTOOED ON HER three years after they last saw one another because he knew deep down that they were soulmates and made for each other. Like. Oh. My. God??? Evan Zanders would never. Well, he might. And we see in this book what he does for Stevie with the shelter moving to a new space. So maybe not to that extent, but you know.

Now, while I usually am annoyed with things in books being so predictable, I didn't mind it in this case so much. I mean, I wrote down in my notes app all my thoughts, and multiple times, I could see the foreshadowing of something that was going to happen, and I was right every single time. I realized he changed his number to be her birthday very early on, right after it was mentioned her birthday is in March. I expected him to fly out to Minnesota for her when he couldn't get ahold of her and Wren ended up telling him what was going on, and the big finale...I absolutely CALLED the fact that Hallie's mother is the one Rio's dad was having an affair with. I will say, I didn't think that was going to happen the more I read, but I loved the tension it brought, especially with Rio's mom feeling so betrayed by her and Hallie's mom basically blackmailing her to keep quiet. Everything of course worked out in the end, and it was so perfect.

As much as I loved this book, you know I always have some downsides. even with how much I've gushed about it so far. The one thing I felt was missing was the angst. The tension between Rio and Hallie wasn't really there. I really wish that sort of relationship was explored more, because we understand that they don't want to see one another and Rio goes as far to tell her she can't work on his house, but then it's...resolved so quickly and they immediately fall back into the way they were. While I loved that they were so in love, they just fell back into normalcy after so long, I was really hoping for more angst and butting heads between them. Maybe even get a heated confession. But that's just me. I feel like I needed more, especially with a second chance romance.

A couple other small things, for me, it was hard to believe this was the same Rio from the first book. He seems like such a ladies man and someone who can get any girl he wants. But as the book went on, it became clear that he was putting on some sort of facade, and that's a bit more believable. And...towards the end of the book, the fact that they hadn't seen one another in six years was so repetitive. It seemed like it was every few sentences we were reminded it's been six years since they saw each other. It made the book drag on a little for me.

Overall, however, I can really look past these and keep my rating that you will see below. In fact, if I could give this six stars, I so would! That's how much I loved it. I loved their history, the moments from when they first started falling in love and how it mirrored the progressing of their relationship in present time, to all the sweet moments with the others, especially Rio and Indy's friendship, it's one of my favorites! Rio is just the softest and most lovable guy out there, from the way he loves his friends to the way he loves Hallie. Did I mention the fact that he kept all of her mixtapes?? AND THE FRIENDSHIP BRACELET SHE MADE???? That's real love right there, something I will never get tired of seeing, a sentimental man who keeps things that are important to him.

I swear I could go on and on and on, but it's late and I feel like I've gone way overboard with this post far more than I have any others. But I can't help it, this book has truly left a huge mark on my heart and I won't be getting over it anytime soon. Below is my overall rating.