Rewind It Black by Liz Tomforde

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is an emotional second-chance sports romance about childhood sweethearts, old heartbreak, unexpected proximity and the possibility that the love you thought you lost may have been waiting for you all along.

Hallie Hart and Rio DeLuca have a history that began long before either of them understood what love really meant.

When Hallie was eleven, her family moved next door to Rio’s.

At thirteen, he became her first crush.

At sixteen, they fell for each other.

And by nineteen, they had broken each other’s hearts.

Six years later, Hallie has moved to Chicago for an internship with a successful interior designer, determined to build a career and create a future that belongs to her.

There is just one inconvenient detail.

Chicago is also where Rio now plays professional hockey.

Hallie believes the city is large enough for both of them.

She can avoid him.

Move forward.

Focus on work.

Then she discovers that her new neighbor is Rio.

Again.

And the renovation project that could turn her internship into her dream full-time job?

It is Rio’s house.

Suddenly, the person she spent years trying to forget is everywhere.

Next door.

At work.

Inside memories she never completely escaped.

For Rio, the reunion is equally complicated.

His friends believe he has spent years unsuccessfully looking for the right person.

What they do not know is that he already found her.

Years ago.

Hallie was the first girl he truly loved.

Perhaps the only one.

Now she is back in his life, and Rio must confront the possibility that their story was never really finished.

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde combines sports romance, childhood sweethearts, second chances, forced proximity, neighbors-to-lovers energy, interior design and emotional family themes into a warm, funny and steamy finale to the Windy City series.

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde – Book Overview

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is the fifth and final novel in Liz Tomforde’s bestselling Windy City series.

Unlike a romance where two strangers meet for the first time, Rio and Hallie already know each other deeply.

They share:

Childhood memories.

Family history.

First love.

First heartbreak.

Years of emotional baggage.

That history creates a very different kind of tension.

The question is not:

Will they fall in love?

They already did.

The real question is:

Can they trust each other enough to try again?

Hallie Hart

Hallie arrives in Chicago at an important stage of her life.

She wants to establish herself professionally.

Her interior-design internship represents:

Independence.

Ambition.

A new beginning.

A future she has chosen.

She is not moving to Chicago because of Rio.

She is moving for herself.

That distinction matters.

Hallie may still carry memories of their past, but she does not want those memories to control her future.

A Career in Interior Design

Hallie’s work gives the novel an interesting contrast to the sports setting.

Rio’s world revolves around:

Hockey.

Training.

Games.

Teammates.

Fans.

Hallie’s world revolves around:

Design.

Homes.

Space.

Style.

Function.

Creating environments where people can actually live.

That career becomes especially meaningful when Hallie is assigned to renovate Rio’s home.

Renovating Rio’s House

The assignment creates one of the novel’s strongest romance setups.

Hallie needs the project professionally.

Rio needs his house transformed.

Unfortunately, working together means spending time in the same space.

They cannot simply ignore each other.

Every room creates another conversation.

Every design decision forces interaction.

And every interaction brings old memories back.

A Bachelor Pad Becoming a Home

The renovation also works symbolically.

Rio’s house needs to become more than a place where one person exists.

It needs warmth.

Purpose.

A sense of future.

That mirrors Rio’s emotional journey.

He has built a successful life.

But success is not necessarily the same as feeling at home.

Rio DeLuca

Rio is already familiar to readers of the Windy City series.

Across earlier books, he has been part of the close-knit Chicago sports friend group.

By Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde, many of his friends have found lasting relationships.

Rio is increasingly the one left wondering whether that kind of love exists for him.

The answer is complicated.

Because the person he has been looking for may be the person he already lost.

The Only Single Friend

Being the last single person in a close friend group can create strange emotions.

You may genuinely be happy for everyone else.

But their happiness can also make your own loneliness more obvious.

Rio begins questioning whether lasting love simply is not going to happen for him.

Then Hallie returns.

Childhood Sweethearts

The childhood-sweethearts trope gives Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde much of its emotional depth.

Rio and Hallie knew each other before:

Professional careers.

Adult responsibilities.

Public recognition.

Chicago.

They knew younger versions of one another.

That creates intimacy.

But it also creates vulnerability.

No one can expose your old wounds quite like someone who remembers exactly how they happened.

First Crush

Hallie’s feelings for Rio began when she was young.

That makes their connection more than a recent attraction.

He was connected with many of her earliest experiences of romantic love.

First crush.

First serious feelings.

First heartbreak.

Those experiences are difficult to erase completely.

First Love

First love often occupies a unique place in memory.

It happens before people fully understand:

Communication.

Boundaries.

Long-term compatibility.

Conflict.

Adult responsibility.

Sometimes people love deeply while still lacking the emotional tools required to maintain that love.

That becomes important to Rio and Hallie’s story.

They Broke Each Other’s Hearts

The breakup matters because Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is not a story where one character casually forgot to call the other.

The pain lasted.

Both characters carry their own understanding of what happened.

Years of separation have allowed those interpretations to harden.

Reconnecting means revisiting the past honestly.

Second-Chance Romance

Second-chance romance works best when the characters have actually changed.

Otherwise, they simply repeat the same relationship.

Hallie and Rio are older now.

They have:

Careers.

Experience.

Different expectations.

New emotional awareness.

The central question is whether those changes are enough.

Can Love Work the Second Time?

Love alone may not have been enough the first time.

That does not necessarily mean the love was false.

Sometimes timing matters.

Maturity matters.

Communication matters.

A second chance becomes meaningful only if both people understand why the first relationship failed.

Rewriting the Past

The title Rewind It Back perfectly matches the novel’s themes.

Rio and Hallie cannot literally return to childhood.

They cannot undo their breakup.

They cannot erase six years apart.

But they can revisit those memories with adult understanding.

Sometimes looking backward helps someone move forward.

Memory

Rio has kept memories of Hallie that his friends do not fully understand.

Those memories reveal that his attempts to find connection elsewhere were shaped by someone he never truly stopped loving.

This gives the romance a strong sense of emotional continuity.

The Girl He Never Forgot

One of the most romantic aspects of Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is Rio’s realization that the connection he has searched for already existed.

That does not mean Hallie simply owes him another chance.

Her feelings matter equally.

But it explains why Rio has struggled to replace what they had.

Hallie Is Not the Same Girl

Hallie makes it clear that she has changed.

This is important.

Rio cannot simply expect the nineteen-year-old Hallie to reappear.

She has grown independently.

She has goals.

A career.

A life beyond him.

If they build something new, Rio must love the woman she is now rather than only the girl he remembers.

Loving Someone’s Present Self

Nostalgia can be dangerous in second-chance romance.

It is easy to love a memory.

Harder to love the person standing in front of you.

The stronger question is:

Would you choose this person now?

That distinction gives the romance more emotional depth.

Neighbors Again

Hallie unknowingly moves next door to Rio.

The coincidence immediately recreates part of their childhood dynamic.

They were neighbors then.

They are neighbors now.

But everything between those two points has changed.

Forced Proximity

Being neighbors already creates proximity.

The renovation project makes it even stronger.

Avoidance becomes nearly impossible.

Hallie and Rio have to communicate.

That creates opportunities for:

Arguments.

Banter.

Honesty.

Awkwardness.

Attraction.

Healing.

Hockey Romance

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is also a sports romance, with Rio playing professional hockey in Chicago.

The sports setting connects the novel naturally with the broader Windy City world.

Readers who enjoy hockey romance get:

Professional athlete lifestyle.

Team friendships.

Games and training culture.

A close sporting community.

But the romance remains the emotional center.

Rio Beyond Hockey

Rio’s profession matters, but the book is interested in more than his athletic identity.

Who is he when he is not playing?

What does he want outside sports?

What does home mean?

What kind of future does he imagine?

These questions become increasingly important.

Found Family

One of the strongest features of the Windy City series is its interconnected group of friends.

By the final novel, readers have spent multiple books watching relationships develop across:

Hockey.

Basketball.

Baseball.

Friendships.

Families.

That creates a strong found-family atmosphere.

Returning Characters

Readers familiar with earlier books can enjoy seeing characters and couples they already know.

Because Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde concludes the series, it also functions as an emotional goodbye to the wider Windy City friend group.

This gives longtime readers an additional layer of satisfaction.

Can You Read It as a Standalone?

Yes.

The official publisher specifically states that the book can still be enjoyed as a standalone even though it is the fifth and final Windy City novel.

The central Rio-Hallie romance can be understood without reading every previous couple’s story.

However, the emotional impact is stronger if you already know Rio and his friends.

Recommended Windy City Reading Order

For the fullest experience, read the series in this order:

1. Mile High
2. The Right Move
3. Caught Up
4. Play Along
5. Rewind It Back

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is the final installment.

Do You Need to Read Mile High First?

Not strictly.

But if you enjoy interconnected romance series, beginning with Mile High will allow you to experience:

Friendship development.

Previous couples.

Rio’s earlier appearances.

Inside jokes.

The evolution of the group.

That makes the finale more emotionally meaningful.

Sports Romance With Emotional Depth

Sports romance can sometimes focus heavily on:

Fame.

Physical attraction.

Games.

But Liz Tomforde’s Windy City books also emphasize:

Friendships.

Family.

Career ambitions.

Emotional vulnerability.

Long-term commitment.

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde continues that approach.

Healthy Relationships

Liz Tomforde’s publisher describes her books as sports romances centered on realistic and healthy relationships, witty banter, chemistry and spice.

That does not mean the characters never make mistakes.

Rio and Hallie have significant emotional history.

But the story emphasizes growth rather than presenting unresolved pain as romantic simply because the chemistry is strong.

Communication

Their relationship cannot succeed if both continue relying on assumptions.

Second chances require difficult conversations.

What happened?

Why did it happen?

What did you believe?

What did I believe?

What would be different now?

Honesty becomes more important than simply admitting attraction.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is also complicated.

Forgiving someone does not mean pretending nothing happened.

It means deciding what place the past will have in the future.

Some wounds require:

Acknowledgment.

Apology.

Changed behavior.

Time.

Timing

Two people can genuinely love each other and still meet at the wrong stage of life.

That does not guarantee they will succeed later.

But maturity can change what becomes possible.

Rio and Hallie’s story strongly explores this idea.

Career Ambition

Hallie’s career deserves attention because her professional success is not treated as secondary to romance.

She wants the internship to become a full-time opportunity.

The renovation project matters independently of Rio.

This gives her a goal beyond:

Win the man.

A satisfying romance allows both characters to retain individual ambitions.

Home

Home becomes one of the novel’s most meaningful ideas.

Hallie designs physical spaces.

Rio owns a house.

But a house is not automatically a home.

A home can represent:

Safety.

Belonging.

Family.

Memory.

Future.

The renovation becomes emotionally connected with these ideas.

Family

Because Hallie and Rio knew each other from childhood, family history naturally surrounds their relationship.

They did not meet as independent adults with no shared past.

Their families were already connected through proximity and years of familiarity.

That adds another layer to their reunion.

Growing Up

One of the strongest elements in Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is the contrast between who they were and who they are.

Teenage love is powerful.

Adult love requires additional skills.

Responsibility.

Communication.

Patience.

Compromise.

The novel asks whether first love can evolve into something sustainable.

Humor and Banter

Despite the emotional history, the story is not relentlessly heavy.

Liz Tomforde is known for balancing emotional romance with:

Banter.

Friend-group humor.

Awkward moments.

Chemistry.

This keeps the book warm and entertaining.

Chemistry

Rio and Hallie already know that attraction existed between them.

The problem is not discovering chemistry.

The problem is deciding whether chemistry should be trusted after heartbreak.

That creates strong romantic tension.

Adult Romance and Spice

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is an adult contemporary sports romance with explicit sexual content and open-door intimacy.

Readers looking for a completely clean or closed-door romance should be aware of this.

The publisher itself describes Tomforde’s books as including a healthy amount of “spice.”

Emotional Vulnerability

Physical attraction may return quickly.

Emotional trust takes longer.

Rio and Hallie must expose the parts of themselves they protected after the breakup.

That vulnerability is what ultimately makes a second chance meaningful.

Friendship

Rio’s friend group gives the novel a strong community feeling.

He is not an isolated romantic hero.

Readers see him in:

Friendship.

Team dynamics.

Group conversations.

Previous characters’ lives.

This makes the world feel connected beyond the central couple.

Is Rewind It Back a Hockey Romance?

Yes.

Rio DeLuca plays professional hockey in Chicago, making the novel a genuine hockey romance.

However, the story also focuses heavily on:

Second chances.

Interior design.

Childhood history.

Friendship.

Family.

Home.

So hockey is important without being the only element.

Is Rewind It Back Enemies to Lovers?

Not exactly in the traditional sense.

Rio and Hallie have tension and resentment when they reunite, but they are better described as:

Childhood sweethearts + second-chance romance + forced proximity + neighbors.

Their conflict comes from a painful shared past rather than two strangers who genuinely hate one another.

Is It Friends to Lovers?

Their history includes growing up together and developing romantic feelings over time, so there are childhood-friends/first-love elements.

But the primary present-day romance trope is second chance.

Is It a Workplace Romance?

Partly.

Hallie’s professional renovation assignment requires her to work on Rio’s house.

That gives the relationship a workplace-adjacent forced-proximity element even though Rio is not her coworker.

Is It the Last Windy City Book?

Yes.

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is officially described as the fifth and final Windy City novel.

For longtime readers, that makes the book both Rio’s romance and the conclusion of the wider series.

Liz Tomforde

Liz Tomforde is a New York Times bestselling author known for sports romance with strong friendships, emotional relationships, banter and open-door chemistry.

Her Windy City series helped establish her as a major contemporary sports-romance author.

Edition Details

Your inventory lists:

Title: Rewind It Back
Author: Liz Tomforde
ISBN: 9781399746427

Google Books confirms this ISBN for the Hodder & Stoughton edition and lists it at 480 pages.

Because later UK/Commonwealth reissues have updated packaging and bonus material, check the exact physical copy before copying edition-specific extras into WooCommerce. Hachette notes that newer reissues have revised spine designs, character art and other bonus features.

Content Considerations

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is an adult romance and includes mature content such as:

• Explicit sexual content
• Strong romantic attraction
• Past heartbreak
• Emotional conflict
• Family and relationship tension
• Adult language
• Professional and career stress

Readers particularly sensitive to second-chance relationship themes or emotionally intense romantic conflict may want to keep these elements in mind.

Important Themes

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde explores:

• Second-chance romance
• Childhood sweethearts
• First love
• Hockey romance
• Forced proximity
• Neighbors
• Interior design
• Heartbreak
• Forgiveness
• Trust
• Career ambition
• Home
• Family
• Friendship
• Found family
• Communication
• Growth
• Memory
• Healing
• Choosing love again

7 Powerful Reasons to Read Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde

1. Rio and Hallie already have years of history. Their romance begins with childhood friendship, first love and heartbreak, giving every reunion scene emotional weight.
2. The second-chance setup feels genuinely complicated. They cannot simply pretend six years apart never happened. Both have changed, and rebuilding trust requires confronting why they broke apart.
3. The renovation storyline creates excellent forced proximity. Hallie needs to renovate Rio’s house for her career, making avoidance nearly impossible while connecting the idea of creating a home with their emotional journey.
4. Rio finally gets his own love story. Longtime Windy City readers have already seen him as part of the friend group, making his realization that Hallie was always the person he was searching for particularly satisfying.
5. Hallie has ambitions outside the romance. Her interior-design career gives her a meaningful independent goal and prevents the story from revolving entirely around Rio.
6. The wider Windy City found family returns. Readers invested in the earlier couples get another opportunity to spend time with the connected group while watching Rio become the final friend to find lasting love.
7. It closes the Windy City series. Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is the fifth and final installment, making it an emotional conclusion for readers who began with Mile High.

Why Read Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde?

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde is an excellent choice for readers who enjoy:

• Liz Tomforde
• Windy City series
• Sports romance
• Hockey romance
• Second-chance romance
• Childhood sweethearts
• First love
• Forced proximity
• Neighbors to lovers
• Interior-designer heroines
• Professional athletes
• Found family
• Emotional romance
• Steamy romance
• Contemporary romance
• BookTok romance
• Interconnected romance series
• Strong friend groups
• Career-focused heroines
• Happy romantic endings

The book is especially satisfying for readers who love stories about two people realizing that growing apart does not always mean the connection disappeared.

Who Should Read This Book?

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde may especially appeal to adult romance readers, hockey-romance fans, Windy City readers, fans of childhood-sweetheart stories, readers who enjoy second chances and readers who love emotionally supportive found-family dynamics.

New readers can enjoy Rio and Hallie’s story on its own, but existing Windy City fans will gain more from the returning characters and the significance of this being the final installment.

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde – Sometimes the Way Forward Begins by Looking Back

Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde begins with two people who already know what loving each other feels like.

That should make things easier.

It does not.

Because they also know what losing each other feels like.

Hallie remembers the boy next door.

The first crush.

The first love.

The heartbreak.

Rio remembers the same years from his own perspective.

Six years later, neither is the teenager they used to be.

Hallie is trying to build a career.

Rio has built a successful professional hockey life.

They have moved forward.

At least, they believed they had.

Then Hallie moves next door again.

And suddenly the past is standing only a few metres away.

The renovation gives them a reason to communicate.

But the real reconstruction happening throughout the story is not simply Rio’s house.

It is trust.

They have to take apart old assumptions.

Examine what caused the damage.

Decide what should be preserved.

And ask whether there is enough left to build something new.

That is why the interior-design storyline works so well with the romance.

Hallie knows that a house can change.

Walls can move.

Rooms can be redesigned.

A space built for one stage of life can be adapted for another.

Relationships can sometimes work the same way.

Not every broken relationship should be repaired.

But when two people have genuinely grown, sometimes the second version can be stronger because they understand what the first version lacked.

Rio cannot simply ask for the girl he loved at sixteen.

Hallie cannot simply rewind time and pretend the heartbreak never happened.

They have to choose each other in the present.

As adults.

With everything they now know.

For readers who love hockey romance, childhood sweethearts, forced proximity, second chances and emotionally satisfying series finales, Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde offers a warm, funny and steamy conclusion to the Windy City world.

Learn more about Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde on the official Liz Tomforde website.

Explore more sports romance books at Bargain Books.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Tomforde (Author page – book may not have a dedicated page yet)