Wreck the Halls

This book was just what I needed after a November of somber reads. A Holiday Read I grabbed off the end cap at Target- and it was such fun. Not my usual fare in any way shape or form- imagine a steamy Hallmark Movie in book form with two famous moms thrown in for comic relief and star power. I liked the ingenuity of this story line- the children of a famous female rock duo attempting to reunite their mothers- CLEVER PLOT. Then add in two main characters both likable with their own interesting internal narratives and now we have a STORY!

This was my first Tessa Bailey so I was not prepared for her steamy sex scenes- so ya know- here's your heads on that front. The female lead- Melody is particularly well written and has some great, funny dialogue and one-liners. And again -the aging rock moms are cool too- solid snappy dialogue between them. The reality tv-streaming show concept worked well here -probably because unlike other similar plot lines it wasn't scripted or edited. It didn't get in the way of the story.

If you enjoy second chance romances, set during the Holidays this one is for you. And of course, you can't beat the NYC setting at Christmas.

Wreck the Halls is my local book club's pick for this month. If it hadn't been, I probably would not have read it, as I remember glancing at the blurb on the back when the book came out and not being interested enough in the story to buy it.

The book is about the adult children of a famous rock duo that split up decades ago. A reality TV producer conscripts them into convincing their mothers to agree to a Christmas Eve reunion performance with the promise of a good chunk of money for each of them if they succeed. Enter the internal and external antagonists that exist for subplot purposes and you have an entirely predictable, lighthearted, yet too-spicy-for-Hallmark romance.

Personally, I felt like the book alternated between being amusing and being a little too easy to put down. Though the characters were decently developed (though not without their inconsistencies), I found myself rolling my eyes at them at times, and the plot left me feeling bored more than once. There were a few scenes that came across as utterly ridiculous or unrealistic, and that left me feeling like the story itself wasn't believable. If I hadn't wanted to finish reading it before my book club meeting tomorrow, I likely would have DNF'd the book.

Overall, it just ended up not being a good fit for me. As my first Tessa Bailey book, it didn't leave me wanting to try any of her others.

Typos / editing errors: multiple
Language: heavy (79 uses of the f-word / its variations; 230+ uses of other obscenities)
Spice: explicit

The banter kept me smiling throughout this entire book. The lusting was pretty fantastic too, but the natural flirting between Beat and Melody had me tearing through. I love when book characters are around my age and I can catch all of the cultural references. Mr. Belding being the third in the love triangle was fantastic. This book got 5 stars from page 153 after my two favorite words in any language were uttered by Beat. Lol I loved the way Trina and Octavia came together at the end. I loved the Melody of the first half of the book. Her quips and the weird things she said. She was more in her feelings for the latter half and it felt like I was being told that she was great, but she wasn't doing anything anymore except being all moony over Beat. Still a 5 star read for me.

DNF @ 42%

I've read a lot of Tessa Bailey's books and loved most of them, but this is absolutely the worst I've read from her. It doesn't even seem like it's written by the same person.

The characters are insufferable, their relationship and dialogue insanely cringe worthy and the story is nonsense.

It's also barely about Christmas so the title and cover are a stretch.

Disclaimer: I won this in a Goodreads giveaway, but my book never showed up. Shout out to my local library for this review!

This is a funny, steamy, instalove-y Christmas rom com. The premise of a 24/7 reality TV show was very entertaining, the jokes were my type of humor, and with the whole thing taking place over a two week span there really isn't time for the story to drag.

Melody is an absolute dork, which I found charming. Think Jessica Day from New Girl. If that's not appealing to you this might not be your book.

Beat felt a little less developed as a character, but the core of his personality is his protective nature and I'm a complete sucker for that. Did it get repetitive? Probably. I didn't care.

I don't know that this is a “five star book”, but it's definitely five stars for me. One of my favorites from Tessa Bailey. It absolutely nails the Christmas rom com spirit. Would recommend.