Rewrite

By: Stephanie Rose

Narrated by: Tristan Wright, Devra Woodward

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Rewrite gripped me from the start and never let me go." (Award-winning and best-selling author K.K. Allen)

Rewrite is a standalone novel.

Once upon a time, a girl loved a boy and he loved her back. They lived happily ever after. But our story was never that simple. I loved Josh with all I had, right until the day he left. Now, all these years later, he was back - and wanting me the way I'd always longed for him. Except now, I belonged to someone else. Someone who never left me the way Josh had. I figured that was the end of our story. I couldn't alter the past. I didn't want to rewrite my future.

Brianna was always more than my best friend. She was the shining light in my black hole of an existence, and I loved her with every cell and bone in my body. I wasn't good enough for her, though - more the villain than the hero in our fairy tale. When I had to leave, I vowed to come back a better man - for her. But when I finally did return, she wasn't waiting for me anymore. She had someone new, her very own Prince Charming. Did that mean our story was over? I couldn't change our past.

It was time to rewrite our ending.

©2017 Stephanie Rose (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

First Love and Second Chances

If you could sum up Rewrite in three words, what would they be?

Second Chance Romance

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved Josh and Brianna, but it's Reid who really stood out. He brought some much needed levity to the more emotional scenes and was the best friend we all hope for, providing clarity and support in the most critical of times. He was loyal, honest, and a wonderful addition to the story.

What about Tristan Wright and Devra Woodward ’s performance did you like?

Both Devra and Tristan gave such amazing performances! Some of the scenes were so emotional and heartbreaking, but the narration really took it to the next level. Every feeling - joy, anger, frustration, elation, etc - was so much more profound. This is my first time listening to Tristan Wright, but I was really impressed by his heartfelt and charismatic narration. My heart nearly exploded hearing him say "cupcake" for the first time! I've listened to Devra Woodward one time previously and have loved her both times. Her voice actually reminds me a lot of Julia Roberts! Both narrators did fantastic with male and female voices as well.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

It's Never Too Late to Rewrite Your Story

Any additional comments?

I initially read Rewrite and enjoyed it immensely, but listening to the audiobook really threw my emotions into overdrive. Everything about the story was magnified and more intense. This childhood friends to lovers second chance romance hooked me from the start. The connection between Josh and Brianna is undeniable and you will mourn right alongside them for the well intentioned, but heartbreaking decisions that kept them apart.Told in dual point of view, in both the past and present, listeners are slowly able to piece together Josh and Brianna's painful history. There will be times that you laugh at their easy going and playful banter, but also times when your heart will ache for all the missed moments and what ifs. The longing and yearning is palpable and you won't be able to stop yourself from rooting for these two to find their way back to each other. Even if you've read the book, you need to experience the audiobook!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I absolutely loved this friends to lovers romance!

I absolutely loved this friends to lovers romance! It begins with Brianna's best friend Josh leaving for boot camp because of some trouble. She was heartbroken when he told her to forget him and move on. Josh was her protector and best friend since kindergarten. How could she move on from the love of her life? They did keep in touch by writing letters and she was always so excited on the day a letter would arrive. Brianna continued living her life believing she would never see Josh again. Brianna met Scott in college and they have been dating for years. Now after ten long years, Josh is back to start a new life and to claim what should have always been his. I loved Brianna so much, she was strong, loyal and caring. She could see past the beautiful troubled boy to see who Josh truly was. Josh is so sexy, witty and determined. They were great together and their chemistry was so electric. But with so much wasted time, it wasn't an easy reunion. I am a huge fan of flashback storytelling and Ms Rose sinuously took us from past to present unraveling Josh and Bri's epic love story. I loved everything about this sweet, passionate, sexy romance.

Tristan Wright, and Devra Woodward were outstanding. Devra expertly brought out all the turmoil Bri felt over her happiness for Josh's return and the guilt over hurting either Scott or Josh. Her portrayal of young Josh and Bri were wonderful along with her male voices. Tristan's inflections, emotion, and his youthful voices were all spot on. I loved the chemistry between narrators as they brought this beautiful story to life.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Really great realistic love story!

Great narration! Good Story! Not cheesy and dumbed down like many of the cookie cutter romances out there.

Second Chance hit!

I loved this story! Stephanie really went all out for the heart strings on this one, the story is unique enough where it doesn't feel like I've heard this story 100 times. The narration was on point, definitely worth the credit.

absolutely incredible!

Such an amazingly beautiful story . And a phenomenal narration! I absolutely love second chance romances and this was a perfect one. Both of these incredible talented narrators brought this story to life perfectly 😍

Such a Pleasant Surprise!

4.5 Stars
Rewrite is a perfect example of why I blog. Stephanie Rose is a completely new-to-me author, and I just want to help more people find this gem of a childhood friends to lovers/second chance romance. While Rewrite isn’t the most unique premise, Stephanie Rose’s writing made it a pretty epic read that I enjoyed every emotional moment of.
“I met the love of my life when I was five years old.”

Josh protected Brianna from some bullies in kindergarten, and from that day on, they were best friends. Due to problems at home, Josh started getting in trouble at a young age, and when he had to make money to eat, he found himself in a bad crowd, doing bad things for bad people. Brianna tried to help, tried to hold on, but he didn’t want to drag her into his world. When his only choice was military or jail, he left her and enlisted.
“Just move on. Go to prom, go to college, have a good life without me around to ruin it for you. Forget about me Cupcake."

10 years later, Josh finally has his life together, and he is back for his girl. The only thing is, she is in a committed relationship with someone else.
"He’d cleaned up his life but still looked every inch the bad boy. Tattoos covered his arms from his biceps to his wrists. His hair was buzzed short with a couple of days stubble covering his cheeks. But he had the same twinkling eyes and crooked smile as the five-year-old boy who stole my heart."

Josh isn’t going to let that stop him. If he could only have her friendship, he would take that, but he worked for 10 years to be worthy of her. He wasn’t giving up easily.
"She was my girl long before she was anyone else’s. Too bad I never told her."

The pace of the story was beautifully done, and I love that the reconnection wasn’t instant. But you know from page one, it has to happen. They belong together, no doubt about it.
"You can't run from your heart and soul - because it always comes with you.

There is a small mystery throughout the first part of the book. It’s just hinted at a few times, but you know it will come into play. When it does, holy moly, it was hard, but then OMG, another twist! Eek! Can they survive it? Should they?

Likes:

•Well written and well paced.
•Characters were real, everyday people that felt very relatable.
•She wasn’t afraid to write something a little controversial.
•Took place over years; we really went back and saw the friendship develop, not just heard about it.
•Some of the emotion was broken up by some giggles.
•Despite the angst, Rewrite is a feel-good story.
•So many meaningful quotes.
•Loved the epilogue.

Dislikes:

•One twist was enough, but the two was heartbreaking.

Note: There is a part that some may find unnecessary, and it’s not usually something I like in my books, but it worked here and made the characters even more real to me.

The Narration:
I loved both narrators. They both sounded very familiar, but in looking through their other books, it looks like I may have heard her once a few years ago, unless they both use other names. Either way, I think that the narration was excellent and may have even added to how good the story was.

The Down & Dirty:
Rewrite by Stephanie Rose was such a pleasant surprise for me! I wasn’t familiar with her books at all and had no idea what to expect, but I can tell you, I wasn’t expecting it to be this good, because why didn’t I see everyone recommending it? Well I am. This is one BIG FAT recommendation for a beautiful, life-long romance with so many feels, from laughter to heartbreak and everything in between. Go grab this one now, you won’t regret it.

"There was never a single second I didn’t belong to you. All I ever wanted was you."

Rating: 4.5 Stars, 4 Heat, 5 Narration

Rewrite

Brianna and Josh start the story when they are little kids meeting for the first time. To set the scene, she is bullied and he comes to her rescue, later at lunch she realizes he has no food so she shares her lunch. She has the cupcake and he the sandwich. From that day on they are best friends and he calls her cupcake (which is so sweet)! This couple of friends goes through the good and bad times. Including Josh’s rebellion in his teenage years, and getting himself sent to the military. Fast forward and it’s been 10 years since high school. And he’s finally back, and neither can forget how they once felt. Their is just one problem she has a boyfriend. Oh and a few other surprises pop up. Fun story great narration!

Beautiful and effortless second chance romance with incredible narration. Worth two credits!

“From the beginning, it was love.”

This line perfectly sums up this book. It’s love story through and through, it’s love as a reader for these wonderful characters, and it’s my new found love for Stephanie Rose’s writing. I don’t know where she’s been all my life, but I sure am glad I’ve found her now.

It truly was love from the very beginning for Josh and Brianna. The book opens up with their first meeting as kindergarten students. Even then their connection and friendships was instant and solid. When Josh is forced to leave her Brianna is forced to move on with her life. But just as she’s found comfort with someone else Josh comes back.

I loved these characters from the very first minute. I adored their strength, bond, friendship, banter, and the depth in which they both knew their hearts and felt their feelings. The everlasting friendship between Brianna and Josh is the stuff of contemporary romance magic! Stephanie Rose’s writing is effortlessly captivating and beautiful in its simplicity. The interweaving of past and present is almost masterful in its ease and gives the reader/listener a front row seat to the fiercest of friendships and the longevity of true love.

Narration was done by Tristan Wright and Devra Woodward. But this was more than a simple narration. These two actors give life to Rewrite and Josh and Brianna. I was quite simply blown away why Ms. Woodward’s performance. The vulnerability and simultaneous strength she infused into Brianna is just beautiful. Mr. Wright was just as fantastic bringing Josh’s strength and determination to the forefront while giving life to his undeniable love for Brianna. Together their chemistry is nothing short of effortless, magical and completely fitting the caliber of which Stephenie Rose’s deserves. 10 stars.

No need for a Rewrite!

“At the end of every dark and terrible day, she was my bright spot. All these years later, that’s how I still thought of her. My light out of the darkness.”

This beautifully written love story captivated me. Josh and Brianna were meant to be from the very beginning, but life had a way of coming between them. This is the story of a beautifully broken boy who wanted nothing more than to love and protect his girl and the girl who loved him more than anything. They fell in love as children, but circumstances beyond their control and the decisions made in response created a barrier that seemed unbreakable. Would their love ever be enough to overcome all the obstacles in their way, or were they destined for a friendship that could never amount to more?

I loved Josh and Bri from the very beginning. I am a sucker for a well written second chance love story. However, I have pretty high expectations when it comes to these. You can’t send me a character who has made major mistakes in the past and expect all to be forgiven with a simple, “I’m sorry, but I’m here now.” No, there needs to be some real character development and realistic redemption. Rewrite had all that and more! It was beautifully written, and I found myself believing each and every word.

This book is told mostly in the present with easy to follow flashbacks, so we get both Josh and Bri’s original story as well as their second chance. This offered such a deep understanding of their situation and made my emotions work overtime. Because I was so deeply invested in their beginning, I understood their choices (both then and now) and connected with both of them throughout the whole story. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, I would come across another twist and my emotions would go into overdrive all over again. I wanted so badly for things to work out for these two. They both deserved to be happy. Even if I was upset with their choices from time to time, I wanted to see their happy ending. While they faced so many struggles, they also made my heart so happy. The love they shared was evident in everything they did.

The narration of this book was incredibly well done. Rewrite is one of my favorites, and that sometimes makes it hard for me to listen to the audio version. I already have a voice in my head for the characters that is hard to compete with. However, this was incredibly well done!

Tristan Wright as Josh Falco...be still my heart. He was absolutely perfect for this book. Devra Woodward did an amazing job as well. They matched the emotion of the characters so well. I felt connected to the story from the very beginning. It wasn't like they were telling me Josh and Bri's story, but rather they truly became Josh and Bri!

I definitely recommend this book in both print and audio forms. If you already fell in love with the print version, you aren't going to want to miss this! If you are new to the story, you will fall in love!

Wonderful from start to finish

This one grabbed me from the first sentence. This is my first Stephanie Rose. She has a way of capturing the turmoil and emotions of her characters in such a real and relatable way. So well done. And, the situations she puts them in with all the layers is so well and honestly done. Even when the characters aren't at their best, they are hard to dislike or even be angry with. You feel their inner struggles, pains, and even joys. Even with the push and pull of a love triangle and it's complications, it's never over the top or drama for drama sake. Can't say how much I enjoyed this book.

And, the narration was a wonderful compliment. Both narrators did a great job, but I must say I was blown away by Devra Woodward's performance. This was my first listen to both narrators as well. Definitely time well spent.