I have no words to describe how grateful and blessed I am to have experienced this series. Every single book in the Windy City universe has taken a permanent piece of my heart, making me cry, laugh, and smile like a teenager discovering true love for the first time.

Rewind It Back was incredible, beautiful, and utterly heartbreaking all at once. I loved the dual timelines and flashbacks watching little Rio and little Hallie grow up and fall in love. The nostalgic details made their story so special: the mixtapes and CDs, the songs tied to core memories, the little heart tattoo, and the fact that Rio bought a house simply because he hoped Hallie would find her way back to him one day. Knowing that every birthday and milestone was kept alive in his heart over six years of separation destroyed me in the best way.

It was so painful to see how external forces, specifically Rio’s father and Hallie’s mother, shattered the beautiful foundation their families had built. Both Rio and Hallie deserved so much better than six lost years driven by miscommunication, and my heart ached watching Rio and Hallie carry such heavy guilt over how things ended.

Saying goodbye to this series is genuinely bittersweet. While I am so sad that we won't see this exact group of friends again, the foundational theme of Windy City (found family, deep-rooted friendships, mutual protection, and genuine growth) makes it a series I will forever recommend to anyone stepping into romance novels.

(P.S. Inspired by Hallie and Rio, I started my own modern "mixtape" journey! I created a playlist where I add songs every month that remind me of a joyful moment from that day, intending to listen to the whole thing at year's end. It’s so easy to focus on the heavy things in life, so this is my little way of anchoring the positives and inviting more light in ❤️‍🩹)