The Re-Write is a Black British/Nigerian second chance romance with plus size representation. I haven’t read many romances recently so when I had the chance to read this one, it sounded right up my street. As someone who is also a writer, I could sympathise with Temi especially when she kept getting rejected. It is heartbreaking when it keeps happening but I am glad she persisted with her writing. While the Black/Nigerian culture is something I am not the most knowledgeable about, I learnt a lot from the book and it has made me want to read more about it. This was such a cute, heartwarming and quick read.

I think that The Re-Write covered topics such as being a carer, fatphobia, classism, toxic masculinity, alcoholism and assault with such ease. It doesn't feel as if it was separate from the story, it flowed so well throughout the book. I haven’t seen much plus size representation in books so this is something I really appreciated. It was refreshing to read about a plus size character who embraces who she is and doesn’t focus on trying to lose weight or shrink herself down for others.

So, you know on reality shows (ones like Love Island) where from time to time a rumour is circulated that one of the contestants has a boyfriend/girlfriend back home? One where they’ve just happened to break up days before the contestant joins the show? Well, buckle up as this story is similar!

We start with Temi, a writer who had a bad break up with her boyfriend, Wale. Wale shortly afterwards enters Love Villa - the popular reality show to find love.

We follow both of them having to face some truths when Wale comes out of the Villa being labelled the bad boy/player trying to reform his reputation, and Temi struggling and desperate to get a book published.

As a method of trying to repair his reputation he’s agreed to publish an autobiography, which needs a ghost-writer for, cue Temi.

Temi has been struggling to get her book published for quite some time and is in desperate need of work and money. So this deal working with her ex-boyfriend who she still loves but also is deeply hurt by, is one she can’t refuse.

This was a very entertaining read. It almost felt like lovers to enemies to lovers but with a lot of communication issues thrown in. The story had humour as well as touching on other important subjects like masculinity and caring responsibilities. My only very small negative is that it may have tried to deal with too many sensitive topics in too brief of a time e.g. plus size discrimination, SA, alcoholism etc. However, that did not stop or slow me down from reading this book.

If you’re looking for a short, cute and romantic read, I’d highly recommend!

I’m curious to see if we’ll get a part two with the other relationship that forms 👀 (no spoilers).

Thank you to Penguin Random House UK for this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Temi finds herself snowed under with work, but can't turn down ghost writing a book for a celebrity, - her ex , Wale who dumped her to find fame and fortune on reality tv. Can she be professional enough to be able to work with him? a totally different theme, perfect cold weather reading.

I am familiar with L.D Blackburn’s work having read ‘Yinka Where Is Your Huzband?’ – which I really liked, but this I struggled with.

This is the story of Temi and Wale and how their breakup has affected both of their lives. Temi and Wale had briefly dated before Wale is approached by the producers of ‘The Villa’ to feature in their new series (think Love Island). Temi is mortified that Wale agrees to go on the show following a misunderstanding with her. She then spends 6 weeks watching him flit from woman to woman on the show while social media tears him to shreds for being a player.

Temi has her own worries. She is an aspiring author who has submitted a book to multiple publishers all of which turn her down. Then her agent is approached with an offer – Temi can ghost write the memoir of a celebrity. Desperate for work, Temi accepts…before finding out the celebrity is Wale looking to change the publics opinion of him. Temi and Wale are thrown together as he revisits the painful parts of his past. Can they move past their history?

I found the characters to be a bit two dimensional and I didn’t really see any believable character development. Many of the events felt forced and lacked credibility and there are a lot of mentions of black culture that went over my head and perhaps my lack of understanding here led to me not feeling as engaged with the novel. I am not really the target age group for this novel – I am sure that people who are fans of reality tv, Love Island, and social media will get more out of this than I did….I find that world to be shallow and one that I just don’t understand.

Others will love this – I did not.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a masterful follow up to Yinka, Where is your huzband? It's richly drawn, and very engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed every page.

This is a fun and modern book following what happens when Wale goes on a dating TV show and leaves his now ex girlfriend behind. The book is full of good moments with friendships put to the test in painful ways, and with work relationships also looked at in detail. Wale is slowly exposed as an emotional being and as that all come to light Temi has to decide if he is worth risking her heart for all over again.

I absolutely adored “Yinka, where is your Husband?” So when I saw that the author was releasing a new book I was keen to read it.

I liked how it followed a different sort of thread. The MC’s were well developed but the secondary characters still slotted in nicely to enhance the story. I completely relate to Temi in getting her feelings out on the page. I also enjoyed the fact that Wale was not a perfect man and had some complex reasons to do what he did.

I really enjoyed layinka where is your husband? So I was really excited to read this one.
This book is about loyalty, friendship and trust. Teme is a wana be author and Wale is a new reality tv celebrity.
Teme learns a big lesson in choosing what is right over wrong and Wale finds an opportunity to be vunerable. As their worlds collide, then so do their feelings. This is a feel good book addressing serious issues. It is well written and very easy to read and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters.

Thank you for the arc

I was expecting this to be a more 'fun' read than it turned out to be. It had a very slow start and I nearly gave up on it a few times but I realise that I'm not the target age-group. It gives interesting insights into black culture although some of the language baffled me. The topics of toxic masculinity and 'fat-shaming' were sensitively touched upon.

We all need a little more kindness. That’s for sure. Lived this book! I loved the celebrity ghostwriters g aspect I thought the characters had great chemistry and I loved the banter and heat that developed over the course of the novel.

"Maybe I was in love with the idea of being in love."

"He goes to hold my hand and then stops himself, his eyes and expression an apology letter."

I'm a girl who has a slight addiction to Love Island, so OF COURSE as soon as I read the blurb of this book I was going to be all in. I can confirm, I had a great old time.

Let me tell you, I started off this book DESPISING Wale. During their first zoom interview I had a genuine physical reaction to my hatred for him and what he had done to Temi. I think it's probably because the premise of this story is so realistic. I cannot imagine over the years how many people have left their relationships so that they could pursue fame on a reality dating TV show.

That being said, throughout this book I really found myself falling in love with both Temi and Wale and I was desperate for them both to get a happy ending. This isn't to say that I didn't want to shake them both multiple times because oh my goodness, sometimes they just needed to get their shit together. And I don't want to give too much away but Wales explanation in the final chapter for some of his behaviour didn't quite cut it for me.

One of the amazing things about this book was that it didn't shy away from incredibly difficult topics from racism, racial stereotypes, sexual assault, alcoholism, toxic masculinity, caring, etc etc.

This is such a fun, thought provoking read. If you are a fan of second chance romances, and love island (oh I'm sorry The Villa * yikes * ) then I cannot recommend this book enough. Strap in and enjoy the ride.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC ❤️

Wow what a book. This author is becoming one of my must read authors. I just love her writing style. This book follows the story of Wale and Temi. Really enjoyed the love island vibes it was giving off too. Also a sucker for a love story with a happy ending and the banter that came with it. Couldn’t put this book down.

This is the second book I have read by Lizzie and I fell in love with her writing all over again! I absolutely loved this book, especially the development of Temi and Wale’s characters and relationship. I feel that all of the characters are very relatable, especially how much Temi apologises (something a lot of people can relate too).

There were some really important topics covered in this book such as alcoholism, toxic masculinity and the importance of therapy, all of which were covered with just enough detail.

Overall, this is a book I definitely recommend! Publishing in February 2025, this book is one to keep an eye out for.

A well written book which I mostly enjoyed and I certainly liked learning more about young black culture and ways. Set in London the main character, Temi, is an aspiring writer and gets herself somewhat in a mess basically through lack of communication on so many levels revolving around her ex Wale, a not particularly successful TV reality show contestant. Some of the book admittedly went over my head, being of more mature years and not being into the whole shallow 'celebrity' culture, but there was. in amongst glam, some more meaningful issues. Quite a bit of humour throughout with believable characters although I did get exasperated .by Temi's overthinking and non communication at times

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC of The Re-Write by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn.
I loved the multi-generational humour in Blackburn’s debut Yinka Where Is Your Huzband. I was delighted to be asked to review The Re-Write, but as an old White person who has never watched Love Island I am not the novel’s ideal audience. Temi is not over her ex-boyfriend Wale, and her writing career is flagging. I sympathised with Temi’s emotions when her agent fails to sell her debut novel. I related to her feelings of guilt about her privileged upbringing and education. I understood why she wove a tissue of lies about her work in progress. But when the action moved to the world of reality television I began to lose the drift. How does a person get dragged on social media? Why does everyone take Wale’s flirtations with his TV castmates Taleesha and Kelechi so seriously? What are the differences between a bad boy, an F-boy and a party boy? I could have done with a glossary. However, I was gradually drawn in by Blackburn’s very clever plot. When Temi accepts a commission to ghost-write Wale’s memoir of his experiences on Love Villa, she becomes entangled in a double bluff. She and Wale are growing close again – but if she wants to fulfil her dream of being a published author, she must write a negative and hurtful exposé of his personality. Temi is faced with a nightmare decision. Should she break her heart, or destroy her career? I was shocked by Temi’s behaviour, described in first person, but she certainly made me laugh and gave me plenty to think about.

Another genuinely original, as well as a sweet, book from Lizzie Damilola Blackburn. OK, some of the plot points are a little obvious, and of course Temi's 'revenge book' about her ex Wale is going to be the one that potentially lands her a big publishing deal - but, as with her first book, 'Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?' this novel provides some genuine insights into a world that often isn't catered for by today's book market.

While Blackburn's first novel dealt with Black Christian life in London and issues like colourism in a way that white, Western books simply don't, this one focuses on plus-size representation (taking a no-nonsense, non-sensationalised approach) and Black masculinity.

All very broad-brush, but beautifully written, enjoyable and continues the first book's trajectory of creating characters that feel like real people, and not one-dimensional stereotypes. If you love films like The Best Man, you're going to thoroughly enjoy this bad boy.

The Re-Write by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Temi is a writer, living in London. When her relationship with Wale breaks down and he goes on a TV show called Love Villa, Temi writes all her hurt and upset into a revenge novel. But when Wale becomes a celebrity and wants to write a memoir, Temi gets the job as his ghost writer and starts to see that maybe things weren't as clear cut as she thought.

Oh my.... what a brilliant book! Loved the author's first novel and this one is just as fabulous. Characters, themes, story... all fabulous. I can't wait to read what she writes next! Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Temi has a boyfriend, Wale, who she feels is “the one”. She is a frustrated author trying to get a book published and Wale is the person keeping her happy. Wale, before Temi, had applied to go onto a reality show. Temi feels this is not what a person who is in a good relationship should do. It is a show called Love Villa and having watched shows like this, she is not happy. Things disintegrate between Temi and Wali due to this and eventually he goes into the show. This is where the story begins. The book essentially tries to give insight to the black community, plus size people, women in particular and does this very well, sensitive and thought provoking. I became embedded in the story completely. Due to being let down by her person (Wale) she write a scathing book about the relationship to heal her broken heart. In the meantime she is asked to ghost write a book for a minor celebrity and guess who, Wale. In the meantime she is supposed to be writing a new novel. Missing deadlines she sends in her healing book and this is when it all gets interesting and you become invested in the two of them. Will they get together or won’t they – read this great book to find out

Thank you so much for my review copy .
All I can say is WOW , what a book , I felt every emotional going.
I loved the concept of the dating show that was involved in the book . I was so invested in this book and the characters, the plot line had me loving the characters one minute then hating them . When a book can mess your head like that you know it’s a good book .
I cannot wait to read more of this authors work.
I am not a big romance reader but this book has converted me, so thank you for that.

Absolutely loved this book. I was really rooting for the main characters, and I enjoyed reading about Black culture (and food!). The struggles Wale goes through as a young Black man in the spotlight are not something I thought I would care about, I do not really follow celebrities or watch reality tv, but I felt for him and I really hoped for the best. I have always supported Black women, but I had not fully considered the men's struggles, until now.
Love that the author touches on plus size issues too! That's my sweet spot!
I hope to read much more from this author!