Tessa Bailey can always be counted of for a well-written, spicy rom-com. Melody and Beat are the children off the former female punk rock duo Steel Birds (I'm picturing something like The Runaways). Since the band broke up their mothers have become mortal enemies. Beat and Melody (with a reality show in tow) are tasked with reuniting their mothers. Lots of love, spice, comedy, and momma drama, I highly recommend.

I am a sucker for a holiday romance, and Tessa Bailey is certainly the contemporary romance queen. Wreck the Halls is not my favorite of Bailey’s work, but it is compelling and fun with just the right amount of holiday cheer.

The premise of Wreck the Halls is so fun. Melody and Beat are given an impossible task – reunite their mothers who hate each other. Because it is a romance novel, I was pretty confident that the story would end happily, but I was certainly eager to find out if Melody and Beat would be able to bring their moms back together.

Melody and Beat have a fascinating relationship. They met once as teenagers and felt an instant connection. Beat immediately feels protective over Melody. Viewers of Wreck the Halls also quickly catch on to Melody’s crush on Beat. I would have prefered a slower build up to their relationship, but it is sweet how Melody and Beat feel so close so quickly.

Bailey also loves to dive into family relationships in her romances, and this is no exception. Melody has a complicated relationship with her mom, who she only sees once a year. Beat has a better relationship with his mom, but has been holding onto a secret that could destroy her reputation. It’s lovely to read about these relationships healing as Melody and Beat develop their relationship.

The Holiday season in New York is magical, and Bailey certainly captures that in Wreck the Halls. The whole story centers around a Christmas Eve concert at Rockefeller Center, which is the hub of the season in New York. I loved the image of the brawling santas when Beat and Melody visit Melody’s mom. It is clear throughout the story what time of year the story takes place, but it does not take away from the integrity of the story.

Bailey never disappoints with her romances. I will continue to read her books. I am already looking forward to reading her next one.

Tessa Bailey has another hit on her hands!

I'll be honest, not a huge holiday book fan but this one was perfect. Not a ton of holiday shenanigans with just the right amount of spice. I did feel the ending was rushed a wee bit but overall loved the book and the characters!

A great Bailey book to add to your permanent collection. Romance filled with hijinks, laughter, and the perfect spice to keep you turning the pages.

I have generally been a fan of Tessa Bailey's books in the past so I was excited to pick up this holiday one, but unfortunately this one was just fine.

In this story our two protagonists are the children of a former rock duo who broke up the band right around when they were born so they did not know each other growing up, they just knew of each other. We see a flashback of their only meeting growing up when they were teens in which they talk for no more than 10 minutes and exchanged phone numbers that they never ended up using. And now 14 years later they are meeting up to try and reunite their mothers for one more performance.

Mostly I just found it too insta lovey and I couldn't buy into their relationship at that point. And it felt like something that could have been so easily solved if Tessa Bailey had just like i don't know, had them text each other after that meeting for like a few years and then fall out of contact or something? Like I just needed there to have been more than 10 minutes of interaction ever before the present day because without that the speed at which they fell for each other just did not work and their declarations of being best friends and in love on like day 3 just did not come off as genuine at all.

I thought the concept of the book was fun though with them trying to reunite their mothers. I was interested in following that plot line and found the mothers to be more interesting characters than Beat and Melody.

Beat and Melody meet at the age of sixteen on the set of “Behind the Music” while being interviewed about the chick rock duo both their mothers fronted in the 90s. Fast forward to 14 years of no contact when a network offers them $1M to live stream their efforts to reunite the band for a Christmas Eve show. There’s no way it’s going to happen but the network gets a love story they hadn’t expected.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

Tropes:
Forced Proximity
Us Against the World
He Falls First

Triggers:
Blackmail
Infidelity (not MCs)

My Thoughts:
How in the world does Tessa Bailey make me laugh AND make me cry within the same chapter? Seriously, this story is so freaking cute and the reader gets to watch Beat and Melody fall deeply in love at the same time the viewers of their live stream reality show do. As these two children of rockstar royalty find themselves and navigate their role of instant fame, they can only turn to one another. I highly recommend this book that brings all the sugar, spice and everything nice.

I am a longtime fan of Tessa Bailey so I wasn't surprised for a moment when I thoroughly enjoyed Wreck the Halls. It is fun and fresh while still maintaining tropes I know and love. I adored Melody's wit, and Beat was a cute mmc. I can't wait to reread this one when it gets closer to the holidays.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for providing me with an ARC of Wreck the Halls

Wreck The Halls
By: Tessa Bailey

⭐4⭐

Wreck The Halls is a standalone holiday romance about the children of two famous rock stars who band together to make an impossible reunion happen on Christmas Eve at Rockefeller Center. To make this task even more complicated, they are being filmed and live streamed across social media.

Melody Gallard has hated to spotlight for as long as she can remember. During her childhood, she was endlessly tormented by the press, constantly made to feel inferior to anyone, especially to her badass rockstar mother. She doesn’t take the step back into the spotlight lightly, but if Beat Dawkins needs her to (and he does), she’s willing to do anything.

Beat Dawkins is in serious trouble. He’s been the victim of a blackmailer who is threatening to reveal something that could ruin not only Beat but his entire family as well. He’s managed to keep them at bay for the past five years, but the cost of keeping the secret buried has extended beyond his deep pockets and he’s not sure he can pay it this time. That is, until this reality show opportunity is presented to him and it just may be a way out.

Melody and Beat have only met once before. A meeting so electrifying that they both still remember it vividly. After both agreeing to participate in this impossible task of joining the mothers on stage, they are both forced to face their undeniable attraction to one another.

I really enjoyed this book! A very fun holiday read!



Below are my favorite quotes from the book!

“Not only that, but they’d also been named by their mothers as perfect complements to each other. Beat and Melody.”

“‘Victory isn’t always the point,’ her boss suggested. ‘It’s trying in the first place.’”

“Her eyelids dropped involuntarily, because she fit against him as well as he remembered. Like she was meant to be there all along. A star-crossed best friend.”

“And it didn’t make any sense, but as they rode downward in the elevator chewing on beignets and staring at each other, he wondered if he’d been missing Melody his entire life.”

“Protecting Melody Gallard was instinctive. Always had been.”

“Someone had written it into their story a long

Tessa Bailey has done it again and just in time for the holiday season!

The byproduct of the infamous female duo - Steel Birds, Beat & Melody get tasked with attempting to bring their moms 30 years after the band broke up on bad terms. Both children have a reason for wanting to bring the duo back.

Beat would never dream of doing something like this, but honestly, he needs the money and it's for something he can't go to his mom for. Melody and Beat have only met once when they were 16 but have this major connection. When Beat asks Melody to help him, she can't say no. They only have a few weeks and cameras are following them nonstop, but they set off to do the impossible. Together.

Tessa has a way of writing her characters that is so uniquely her own and I think that's what makes this story stand out so much, Melody and Beat are both incredible characters. Melody, however, stole the show. With her quirky personality and fun-loving attitude, you can't help but love her. She and Beat are both so gone for each other. It's adorable.

My only criticism would be that the ending felt rushed, I wish we would've been able to see more into their future together.

Thank you so much to Avon and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of Wreck the Halls! I’ve really enjoyed pretty much all of the Tessa Bailey books that I’ve read so far, so I’m not surprised that Wreck the Halls was one of my favorite reads of the year!
Wreck the Halls 5/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads: A sexy, hilarious standalone holiday rom-com about the adult children of two former rock stars who team up to convince their estranged mothers to play a Christmas Eve concert…

Melody Gallard may be the daughter of music royalty, but her world is far from glamorous. She spends her days restoring old books and avoiding the limelight (one awkward tabloid photo was enough, thanks). But when a producer offers her a lot of money to reunite her mother’s band on live tv, Mel begins to wonder if it’s time to rattle the cage, shake up her quiet life… and see him again. The only other person who could wrangle the rock and roll divas.

Beat Dawkins, the lead singer’s son, is Melody’s opposite—the camera loves him, he could charm the pants off anyone, and his mom is not a potential cult leader. Still, they might have been best friends if not for the legendary feud that broke up the band. When they met as teenagers, Mel felt an instant spark, but it’s nothing compared to the wild, intense attraction that builds as they embark on a madcap mission to convince their mothers to perform one last show.

While dealing with rock star shenanigans, a 24-hour film crew, brawling Santas, and mobs of adoring fans, Mel starts to step out of her comfort zone. With Beat by her side, cheering her on, she’s never felt so understood. But Christmas Eve is fast approaching, and a decades-old scandal is poised to wreck everything—the Steel Birds reunion, their relationships with their mothers, and their newfound love.

I really, really loved Wreck the Halls. Beat and Melody are two of my new favorite main characters. I loved how they interacted with each other and how much chemistry they had. The way that their childhoods and their mothers’ fame impacted the way they grew up was done really well, and I really enjoyed the whole reality show concept. I also even enjoyed the tiny side story with Danielle and Joseph and I kind of hope that we get a full length book about the two of them. The spicy scenes throughout this book were SO GOOD- like based on the cover, you would not have expected that, but mannn. Overall, I loved Wrecked the Halls, and I cannot wait for y’all to read it! Make sure y’all go out and grab it today!

I love Tessa Bailey! This book was wonderful and I loved it!! It was a unique book and I adored the characters and the fabulous banter they had. I love Tessa and this is just an example of how she can do no wrong.

Tessa can do no wrong for me! I devour every book she writes and a Christmas romance from her yes please! This book was like a hallmark movie but better cause it was from Tessa Bailey!

🌟New ARC Book Review🌟

Title: Wreck the Halls
Author: Tessa Bailey
Rating: 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD:

I just finished Wreck the Halls and I’m wrecked! This book has spoiled me for all future holiday books, I think it’s one of the best books of the year. It’s an honest to god love story inside a delightful plot.

Beat and Melody are the children of two former rock stars. They disbanded under mysterious circumstances, and their fans have been waiting for a reunion. They’re approached by a reality TV producer who wants to follow them around, leading up to a possible NYE reunion between their mothers.

Although Beat and Melody have only met once, that meeting left an impression on them both. They had similar upbringings, and some of the things they experienced could only be understood by the other.

Beat needs the money, so they agree to the show. Without any spoilers, they fall for each other as the show goes on.

You’ll have to read the book to find out the rest, but I promise it’s worth it. 5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

3 stars | 2 spice

I really hate to say this but this was not one of my favorite Bailey books. I had high hopes for a Christmasy book from Bailey and with a fun plot of reuniting a band - I couldn't resist. It's insta love, it's majorly cheesey (dare I say more than a Hallmark movie) and it's not even that Christmasy. The only Christmas part about this was that it took place in December.

Beat and Melody (which btw EW on these names) are the children of two major rock stars who's band broke up before they were born.... so now 30 years later they are attempting to reunite them. The band drama, intriguing, as well as their moms, Octavia and Trina. I could have read a full book just about those two - they were HILARIOUS. But Beat and Melody were just too much. It was so back and forth and everything could have been solved just by a conversation about their feelings and why Beat needed the money.

There is some spice in this book - nothing too crazy. Beat has a particular kink (iykyk) and it's a pretty big part of the story. Which without giving it away - I've never read a book about a man with this particular one only when it's been focused on the woman's side and I think that just threw me off with the spicy scenes because they took out my favorite part (IF YOU KNOW THEN I'M SORRY YOU HAD TO READ THAT).

Overall, it was decent. I didn't fly through it like I usually do with Bailey books. But the moms definitely made this a 3-star read. I now need a book about them pls and thank you. If you love a good cheesy story then this one might be for you!


Big thanks to Avon, Tessa Bailey & NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

I love a fun holiday book so I was excited about this one but it just fell a little flat for me. I didn’t feel connected to the characters and overall it seemed to just drag on. I loved the NYC setting and the idea of the book but it just wasn’t enough for me to love it.

Tessa Bailey is Romance Royalty
I’m just going to tell it like it is – Tessa Bailey can do no wrong in my eyes.

“Wreck the Halls” is the latest from Queen TB, and it’s one of the most enjoyable books I’ve had the pleasure to read. Tessa Bailey has the ability to take an idea that seems outlandish and turn it on it’s head, writing her characters into such relatable and well developed people that you can’t help but invest your heart and soul into their journey. Let’s look at her backlist.

Murder mystery at the beach? Check.

Secret Admirer leaving love letter through a vineyard? Check.

Businessman falls in love with an ex-con in NYC? Check.

Party Princess gets cut off and ends up a small business owner in love with a fishing boat Captain? Check.

A ‘Why Choose’ where four strangers find love in a cable car? Check.

“Wreck the Halls” is another perfect example of such an experience for me. Two children of celebrities take on the task of reuniting their feuding mothers to get the band back together. They’ve only met once in their lives prior to this, but they share a unique experience that no one else in the world would understand, one that brings them closer to each other than any other person on the planet.

Beat and Melody are Dynamic Characters
Novels are beautiful and complicated. You need to have the right amount of plot and forward momentum to keep interest and anticipation, and the right character motivations to keep a reader invested. I find myself falling in love with characters before anything else. The plot is great and all, but if you don’t have the right characters to take you on that adventure, it’s gonna fizzle out. Beat and Melody, our “Wreck the Halls” main characters, are absolutely dynamic.

Melody Gallard is down to Earth and far more relatable than any child of a rock start should be. She craves to be independent from her mother’s reputation and stardom, and does what she can to live her own life and be her own person. Much like what Four says to Tris in Divergent, fear doesn’t shut Melody down, it wakes her up. I love how Melody acknowledges her anxiety and fear and nerves but chooses to make choices in spite of them. She’s strong and smart, and I admire her character.

“You believed in me enough to bring me on this journey with you. Brought me along to fight the monsters. You might have made choices to keep me out of the battles. And I understand why, I understand that protecting me is how you show your love, but we fought the war together. We won, because we get to love each other. We won because there is no one you trust more than me and no one i trust more than you. I believe in that.”

Beat is a simp for Melody from day one and I am here for it. From the beginning, Beat shows impressive character when he calls for out the paparazzi and media for the different ways they treat him from Melody. He is praised and desired while she is critiqued and dissected, taking away her humanity almost altogether. He spends his time and energy doing everything that he can to protect Melody, and keeping her safe. That’s how he shows his love.

“No matter what, though, Beat, we’re best friends. I think maybe we have been this whole time without even seeing each other. If we can still be best friends after one crazy night, I think that means we’re in it for the long haul.” She wet her lips, searching for the right words. “Maybe we just needed to get it out of our systems?”

He huffed a sound. “You’ll never leave my system, Mel. You’re one-half of it.”

Final Thoughts
“Wreck the Halls” had me firmly in it’s grip from the first page. I laughed out loud and caught myself smiling so hard my cheeks hurt, especially the fights with the Santas. Despite the title, “Wreck the Halls” doesn’t lean too heavily into the holiday spirit, so it’s totally okay to read this any time of year. That being said, I did catch myself yearning for a trip to the city in the winter when the snow is falling and the Rockerfeller Christmas Tree is up and lit. The city is magical in the winter.

Beat and Melody are captivating as a couple. Absolutely enchanting when they’re together. Octavia and Trina’s feud felt straight off the pages of a tabloid or the behind-the-scenes of a Bravo show. I could picture their antics and dramatics perfectly.

When you pick up a Tessa Bailey, you know what to expect. Witty banter, zesty 3-d characters, and palpable sexual tension. You can’t go wrong with whichever title you choose, and “Wreck the Halls” is up there as one of my favorites by Queen TB.

This was one of my favorite Tessa Baileys. It follows Beat and Melody, the two children of estranged rock duo Trina and Octavia of Steel Birds. As teens, the press followed both Beat and Melody relentlessly and is far kinder to Beat than they are to Melody. Beat and Melody meet at age 16 and have an instant connection but don't meet again until they are 30 and approached by a TV network to do a reality show about reuniting the Steel Birds. Beat desperately needs the money because he is being blackmailed by someone threatening to air out a dark family secret and Melody wants to help Beat.

Things I liked: the chemistry, the main characters, the side characters, the rock and roll storyline, the coziness of the season, the spice.

Things I didn't like: the main characters names were a bit too twee for me.

Definitely would recommend to any romance fan!

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Melody is just an ordinary girl, whos mother is a famous rockstar. Beat Dawkins is the quintessential golden boy: handsome, cool, confident, and knows how to command the spotlight, who just so happens to also be the son of a famous rockstar. This is because their parents were the famous singing group Steel Birds, broken up 30 years prior. These two adult children of two former rock stars team up to convince their estranged mothers to play a Christmas Eve concert. The banter between their mothers, Octavia and Trina, had me laughing out loud. Don't let the cover of the book fool you. The story is more serious than the cover intends, and the only "Christmas" feel this book has is that the concert takes place on Christmas Eve. Still, I just love Tessa Bailey and this book has all of the hallmarks of a great book: instant connection between the two main characters, second chance (kind of - they met once and she pined for him for years), friends to lovers (the best!), forced proximity (all the angst), and most importantly, a HEA.

I just like her books. What can I say? I go into them knowing they will be well written, and just a fun quick read. This fit that bill perfectly. Add into it a holiday theme and that just kicks it up a notch. Can read in a day or two, even when tired and don't want to think too much. Think chic lit/rom com a touch spicier than your average Hallmark movie= maybe a Lifetime or Passionflix version instead.

Beat and Melody (yep, those are their names) are the now-grown children of legendary rocker mothers who split under circumstances that left their massive fan base wanting more. Now, a new generation has discovered one of the hit songs by Steel Birds and public interest is renewed. Beat and Melody agree to take part in a live-streamed reality show that follows them as they try to reunite their mothers for one more show. Obviously, Beat and Melody feel some things and are forced to spend a lot of time together for this new reality show.

Wreck the Halls was fun and spicy, but kept the plot at the center. Some of the tropes were a bit tropey, but it was all in good fun and gave the audience exactly what they wanted. I will say that the story got a bit more sappy than I expected, but I still enjoyed it overall. If you like Tessa Bailey’s other books, you’ll love Wreck the Halls.

This holiday romance is the perfect prescription for lonely souls, depressed individuals who carry clouds beneath their heads, and anyone in need of a great laugh and heartwarming moments. It revolves around a captivating friends-to-lovers trope with a Parent Trap twist, featuring two rock legend parents who happen to be arch-nemeses.