🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧

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I want to thank NetGalley for approving me for an ARC of this book.

When Temi's first book is struggling to be picked up her agent presents another opportunity. She could ghost for the memoirs of a celebrity whilst she works on her next book. The only problem is the celebrity she'd be working with is her ex-boyfriend.

Lots of past and present feelings get stirred and there's no denying that emotion and heart are at the centre of this story.

Despite his reputation Wale was a very likeable and misunderstood character, I liked the people he surrounded himself with and learning more about his past. The excerpts of the memoir were great too.

Overall an entertaining, quick and heartfelt story.

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There are some books that remind you why you love a genre, and for me The Rewrite is that book for romance reads.

This is the first of two books I’ve read recently that includes a Love Island-style reality show, and I have to say I am not sad about it! We meet Temi, who is hired to ghost write the autobiography of Wale, a reality TV star. The catch? Temi and Wale used to date, and things did not end well between their break up and Wale’s appearance on a tv dating show.

Blackburn is such a fabulous writer - I also loved her debut novel - and I was completely sucked in to this read. Temi’s life as a writer trying to match up to the expectations of her parents was so well written. Her experience of writing both of her novels and navigating the publishing world with its extreme pressure was also fascinating to me and was clearly written by someone who is passionate about their craft. Wale’s work with the charity sector and his passion for using his fame to support important causes also felt more genuine and authentic than similar plotlines I’ve read previously.

The Rewrite does not give Temi (or Wale!) an easy journey but at every single section of this book I was rooting for her and for their relationship. It had been a while since I read a romance novel that made me feel like cheering out loud for the main characters or like I might cry when things aren’t going their way. I absolutely loved Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? and The Rewrite just cements Blackburn as an auto-buy author for me going forwards

Loved this! It's an enemies to lovers, I really love this! Two enemies have to work together after a history together ... cue tension!

The Re-Write is a fantastic second chance romance. I love reality TV and I'm always looking for stories that offer a little behind-the-scenes insight; it's also great to read stories about writers too - so this one really ticked a lot of boxes. Recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

This book was interesting enough to hold my attention while I was reading but I didn’t immediately want to keep picking it up!

Overall it was a good read

I had so much fun with this book, the premise was really enjoyable and the characters were great to follow. I loved the relationship between Whale and Temi, the history between them really helped build up the tension of then having to work together and reconnect. The only issue I did have was that Temi was terrible at communicating, she spread far too many lies that wasn't worth the extra stress and many situations could have been resolved if she had just been open and honest. Nevertheless this was a really great read with a lot of deep and sensitive topics discussed between all the fun moments and I loved every second.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy to review.

I loved Lizzie's debut novel so I was thrilled to be approved to read The Re-Write. I really enjoy second chance romance stories and really liked this book. I loved Temi immediately but wasn't keen on Wale and thought Temi deserved better. But as the story unfolded I changed my mind. I thought their communication skills could be better but I was pleased with the ending. I liked that serious topics like alcoholism, being a carer, sexual assault, mental health and racism were discussed in the book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4/5)
A clever, contemporary story about reinvention, self-worth, and second chances. Lizzie Damilola Blackburn writes with warmth and insight, especially when capturing the pressure of expectations—cultural, romantic, and professional. Sharp, funny, and empowering, The Re-Write is a fresh spin on the modern woman’s journey.

I am sorry, but I just didnt connect with the characters nor did I managed to get into the story. I guess Im just not the target audience for this book.

Still I am grateful for being given the chance to read it in exchange for my honest opinion.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a fun and surprisingly emotional story that treads a lot of familiar romance beats but is none the worse for it. The characters are fairly well drawn and I enjoyed following it all along, and though there were definitely times when I just wanted to yell 'TALK TO EACH OTHER!' at them, they did have some very good and healthy conversations and I really like the place they ended in.

A fun, feel-good story! Wale, a reality star with a bad-boy reputation, wants to change his image by writing a memoir, but he needs a ghostwriter. Enter Temi, his ex, a struggling author who happens to ghostwrite.

Plenty of sweet moments between the characters, with a slowwwww burn (I usually prefer more heat). The miscommunication trope is in full effect, and surprisingly, it worked for me.

This is the 2nd book from Lizzie and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This book is about Tami, a writer who has had her first book published and is struggling with the next one, due to the recent breakup of her relationship with Wale. To deal with this she pens a revenge novel, in which she pours out her anger, feelings and how she is dealing with the break up! Not well, it seems, whilst Wale has casually joined the reality TV show, The Villa. Well, he seems to be moving on, no problem!!

It appears this made Wale a reality star, and Tami is hired to write is memoir; how can she not say NO, when she needs the work and she still has feelings for him??

What follows is Tami learning about the real Wale and not the TV personality, which deepens her feelings for him. The memoir is coming along well but her publisher is pushing for her 2nd book!!

This book is romantic, funny and a learning experience about carers, perseverance, and forgiveness, but really a terrific read!

My review shared on IG:

4.5 ☆

Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of "Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?", is back with another banger! If you're looking for a fast paced, juicy, second chance romance with depth and relatable characters, this one's for you.

Temi is an aspiring romance author, working hard to get her big break. After many rejections, she's offered the chance to ghostwrite a memoir for a British-Nigerian celebrity. But lo and behold, that celebrity turns out to be Temi's ex, Wale - their relationship ending not too long before he shot to fame by going on a Love Island inspired reality TV dating show. What happens on their journey from here was great to watch ....

I really enjoyed Temi and Wale's love story. Their banter is great and it was so nice to see them finding out new things about each other that they didn't know whilst they were together. And getting to see flashbacks of these times in their relationship showed they really didn't know each other at all.

As individuals, they're both really interesting characters. Temi, particularly because of the lengths she will go to try and fix situations when she's feeling the pressure. And Wale, because of what we get to learn about him when we look past the surface level, "this man looks like he will ruin your life" character he is first painted as.

It's not only about the romance, the book shines a light on some deeper and important topics. You'll just need to pick it up and get into it 👍🏾.

I've read this book twice now, the second time on audiobook (really good narration) and it's definitely a book I'd consider one of my comfort reads. If time allowed I could've easily read it in one sitting.

What a wholesome book! I absolutely loved this read. The reference to the dating reality show was such a fun touch—love it, love it, love it!
This romcom is packed with humor and heart.
Lizzie Damilola Blackburn is definitely on my radar now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK – Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, and Penguin Business for the ARC.

A really solid romance reminiscent of Beth O'Leary! Initially I was sceptical of the set up (boyfriend dumps girlfriend and then goes on the equivalent of Love Island) but Wale and Temi definitely won me over. I felt like the author did a good job of quickly making it clear there was more to Wale than first appeared, otherwise I would have struggled to root for him. Temi's publishing story was very interesting to read about, and though I got frustrated with her for not being honest with literally anyone I couldn't hand on heart say I would have been able to be any different in her shoes. I listened to a good chunk of this on audio through Libro.fm and I loved the narration.

4.5 stars. I love a story that has a strong character arc for the hero, ultimately redeeming him and this absolutely delivers that along with acute observations about toxic masculinity and more than a few insights into the publishing industry too. The fact that it was a Black British romance as well was the icing on the cake and I will be looking out for more from this author.

Temi and Wale are interesting characters and have a lot of backstory, which means you really get into them. They both decide to go onto the reality show, Love Villa (I think we can all guess what that's inspired by, right? And that's quite clever). It gives quite an insight into reality tv and the goings on, even to the point where the characters do split.

There's thought to what's being talked about in the bookish world when Temi wants to write her autobiography, but its passed over so many times, showing it isn't just as easy to have your name out there. It also talks a bit about what else is discussed in the bookish world, ghost-writers. That aside, there is also a love story and life's struggles throughout it.

The Re-Write has heart, humour, romance and challenges to overcome with relatable characters and situations. It's a terrific second book, making this author's writing one to catch onto, if you haven't discovered her already or to continue with, if you have already done so.

thank you so much for the arc of the re-write, i was thrilled to receive the copy!!

this was such a fun, witty romance on second chances, and i am becoming a lover of a second chance romance for sure!! lizzie definitely helped here.

after temi was dumped by her boyfriend wale, as he goes on a reality dating show, she channels heartbreak the only way she can...writing. an opportunity arises to ghost write for a celebrity...and as you guess, yes, that is none other than her ex wale!!! of course they begin to reconnect, and they re-write their own stories together...my heart!!

such a fun read that you could probably devour within a day or two!!

I absolutely loved Blackburn's first novel, "Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?" so was very excited to be offered her new novel by the publisher. This one is about Temi and Wale, who meet and fall for one another, then Wale gets the opportunity to go on a reality show, "Love Villa", breaking Temi's heart. Oh, and her novel has been rejected again and she's probably just lost her dead-end job ... Just when her agent's getting twitchy, she's offered a ghostwriting job and ... well you can guess who the celebrity is. But it's not as predictable as that looks. Wale is genuinely trying to defuse the impression people have gained of him and is putting on a charity gala for the love of the carers' charity he used to work for, not just for show, and as they meet and talk, they begin to see how things went wrong the first time ... But then Temi faces a dilemma: does she release the revenge novel she wrote that skewers him mercilessly and win a publishing deal or keep it to herself? Their best friends, Shona and Fonzo, are great characters, and I loved Fonzo's mum who runs a Black bookshop in South London; I also loved that Temi is a happy plus-size woman with a penchant for wearing a different pair of glasses every day, and there are solid themes around caring and toxic masculinity lifting this out of "just" a romcom. The details about ghostwriting are done well, although Temi apparently uses an app to transcribe her interviews, which I can tell you wouldn't have worked that well! I did personally prefer "Yinka" for the variety of characters, but this was a charming and engaging read, too.

My blog review published 24 February: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2025/02/24/two-reviews-lizzie-damilola-blackburns-the-re-write-and-nnedi-okorafors-death-of-the-author/