“Get to know Hallie and Rio—first loves, best friends, and neighbors from childhood. and soulmates prepared for a second opportunity.”
“Liz Tomforde gives us the perfect girl-next-door meets sunshine-boy romance with a hockey twist in Rewind It Back.”
On deck tropes:
✔️ Best friends from childhood
✔️ Girl next door
✔️ Second chance at love
✔️ Forced proximity (hello, renovation project!)
Aww, And a man who was constantly fixated on her
💬 “Spoken or unspoken, I’ve always loved you.”
⋅⋅⋅👀 He’s admitting that love was always there, even when they were just kids.
💬 “My perfect fucking girl. She’s always been my perfect girl.”
⋅⋅⋅That’s Rio, unabashedly worshipping the only woman he’s ever loved.
⚙️ STORY VIBE:
Hallie reinvents her life by taking on Rio’s renovation project — his Chicago house (and heart) suddenly hers to revive.
Through flashbacks & dual POV, we relive their teen connection, heartbreak, and the slow burn of rediscovery.
🎵 And music is everything here — mixtapes, playlists, boombox memories — Rio uses music to remind Hallie (and us) how much he never forgot.
🔥 RIO’S OBSESSION MOMENT:
He wakes up every day remembering her birthday on his jersey, the tattoos, the rooftop whispers, the mixtape he still plays.
As one reviewer put it:
“His love for Hallie is steady, fierce, unwavering… the loyalty, the devotion… it’s overwhelming in the most beautiful way.”
✔️ Childhood friends ➞ Star-crossed lovers
✔️ Renovation = metaphor for repairing hearts
✔️ Honeyed nostalgia with messy, earned love