Member Reviews

I have have had Tessa Bailey books on by TBR for a long time but never seem to get to them. So this is my first Tessa Bailey book! I really enjoyed it. It is a light, cheesy, romance about two children of rockstars. I thought it would be very heavy on Christmas based on the cover but the holiday elements are actually very light. The focus is on the main characters and their goal of reuniting the band.

It's a really quick read. Easy to get into and the pace keeps things moving along. I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters. The FMC is very funny! The romance was a bit insta-love-y for me. They FMC and MMC had a connection before they even meet. The spicy scenes were interesting and I didn't expect to be intrigued by them... but the banter and chemistry was just so well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an eARC of this book.

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I loved this romance so much! I went into the book expecting a Christmas romance, but I was very surprised that the main premise of the book revolved around trying to reunite Melody and Beat's rockstar moms. And of course, what can go wrong with the whole effort being live streamed?? I was rooting for Melody and Beat the whole book. 5 stars!

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Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Beat and Melody are children of the most popular rock duo, The Steel Birds. After the band abruptly breaks up for seemingly no reason, the world wants a reunion. More than 20 years later their children, along with the help of reality tv must try to do the impossible, get The Steel Birds to reunite on Christmas eve.
This is a classic Tessa Bailey. There’s chemistry and angst between the characters that is palpable.
The names Beat and Melody were a little to on the nose for me. I understand that you can’t have a melody without a beat, but I found it to be a little cringe.
I enjoyed seeing them fall in love and the realistic portrayal of sudden stardom.
Overall this is a cute Christmas novel.

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5 -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Do you need me?"
"There isn't a single other person in the world I would ask."

Wreck the Halls is a festive standalone adult contemporary romance following Melody and Beat. See, their mothers were part of a dynamic singing duo that the world adored...until they broke up suddenly. Thirty years later the world is still itching for a reunion and when Beat finds himself in a bit of a money situation he finds himself offered a lot of money if he can make it happen but he needs Melody to help him... and fast with the aim for them to perform Christmas eve. Having met once as teenagers, Melody and Beat felt...something that never quite went away and, despite their vastly different lives, they are brought together again. Through all the rockstar shenanigans, steamy tension, and hours of live streaming the attraction is still there after all those years...if only secrets weren't in the way of wrecking everything.

This book was absolutely adorable and cheesy and I could not get enough. Melody is this sweet character who has spent her life trying to stay out of the limelight. She awkward but such fun down to her fascinating job as book restorer (honestly I wish we had more time with it) and her determination to play the sport bocce. Her adoration of Beat is not hidden at all and her inability to hide it made her so fresh as a character. Also the come backs she has!

Beat is the more serious of the two. He has a lot of pressure on his shoulder out of the situation and it weighs on him. At the same time he is drawn to Melody and even when he tries to create distance it fails utterly. I did want to shake him a few times but he is really unable to keep a facade against the wonder that is Melody.

The spice in this book is about a 2.5 spicy pepper out of 5 spice pepper. There is instant attraction between the characters and SO MUCH chemistry I was just a puddle. Their romance takes time to blossom further though and it was incredibly worth it and it's not just about the physical attraction but learning to trust and be comfortable and vulnerable with another. You'll start to see things really move around the 50% mark so I would say this a medium burn.

"Do you think I have a choice when I grow more obsessed with you by the fucking minute?"

The world building in this book is somewhat light, which is in the case of a lot of contemporary novels. There are still lores and mysteries to unravel that help contextualize the stardom of Melody and Beat's parents and the experiences they had as children growing up with famous parents. It helped cement the connection and draw between the characters and I was invested from the beginning.

The story itself was sweet, fast, and so much fun. The live streaming aspect, the hilarity of various encounters, and the banter kept things moving and I could not put this book down. From the one bed trope, intimacy struggles, second chance romance, friends to lovers, and more the story takes you through not just Melody and Beat finding their way but also unearthing 30 years of grudges and secrets. There is so much more to the story than just getting the band back together with engaging side characters and their mini arcs and the contrasts of worlds presented. I felt the balance of fun and serious was done well and I actually teared up with happiness at one point - any book that can make me cry is a 5 star read.

If you are looking for a sweet contemporary romance with holiday vibes, friends to lovers, delicious spice, and SUCH GOOD BANTER you need to pick this up.

Thank you Harper Voyager for the e-ARC.

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Anything written by Tessa Bailey is always given automatically high stars. She could write a historic fiction and I’d read it! This book such an easy read that I absolutely loved! I can’t wait for this book to go on shelves so I can convince people to read it.

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What a fun and entertaining holiday romance from Tessa Bailey! This one definitely feels different than her other works, giving it a fresh plot and interesting main characters. Beat and Melody are children of legendary rock duo, Steel Birds. The band broke up in 1993 and no one knows why...except the band and their kids. The pair are approached to make a reality streaming show to with the hopes of getting their mothers to do a reunion concert on Christmas Eve.

With mutual pining and Parent Trap vibes, Beat and Melody have chemistry from their very first meeting, yet they both choose to fight it for their own respective reasons. Wreck the Halls also gives us only one bed, which is always fun. I had a blast trying to figure out the reason behind the band's break up, which gave me Daisy Jones vibes, however, I wasn't as invested in the relationship between Beat and Melody. The book is a quick read with lots of steam.

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Tessa Bailey does it again with her new book “Wreck the Halls”. This book is a great rom-com that hooks you in on the very first page. You can’t help but root for the main characters.
Melody and Beat have famous parents. However, they have only met once when they were teens. As adults they meet again to do the impossible. As Melody and Beat try to accomplish their mission sparks begin to fly.
This is an amazing story that you just can’t put down. 11/10 would recommend.

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Wreck the halls looks at the lives of the offspring of two rock legends. As the adult children work hard to bring off a concert with the warring women, they begin to fall for each other.

There is comedy (including fighting Santas,) romance and holiday magic.

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Tessa Bailey knows how to write a man who is so down bad for the FMC! I eat it up every time. Beat loves Melody so hard and will do anything to protect her.

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“She fit against him as well as he remembered. Like she was meant to be there all along. A star-crossed best friend.”

Tessa Bailey’s Wreck the Halls just might be my new favorite of her books, and that is high, high praise. Melody and Beat’s story is nothing short of enthralling, and I wholeheartedly enjoyed the unique premise coupled with Bailey’s signature charm and wit.

It is super difficult to convey an insta-connection on page, and Bailey does that beautifully here. From the very beginning of the book, readers are drawn in, feeling the palpable pull between the protagonists. Their story is slow to unravel and perfectly paced. It makes the payoff in the third act all the more worth it.

Beat is perhaps a bit more of a cinnamon roll than some of Bailey’s other male protagonists, but don’t let that softness fool you… he still knows how to dirty talk. And Melody’s quiet strength and sense of self is a joy to read. These two together are utterly captivating… and their family histories (and famous mothers) only add more intrigue and awesomeness to the mix.

I loved this story with my whole chest and cannot wait until it’s out in the world.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I am such a Tessa Bailey fan, so I jumped on the opportunity to read her new Christmas themed book. As a huge Christmas fan, I knew this book would be adorable. I loved Mel & Beat’s relationship and the whole will they won’t they vibe. The whole insta love trope is a hit or miss for me, and I feel Tessa did a solid job. However, this isn’t really one of my fave Tessa books. I felt some of it was too insta love for my taste

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I realllllllly wanted to give this book 5 stars. I was so absolutely hooked on the entire story until the first spicy scene. But, let me say first that I adored Mel and mostly adored Beat. It still comes back to that spicy scene though. It was the way that he talked to her in each spicy scene that seemed so fake and so unnatural. It kinda made me uncomfortable at time. But honestly? That’s my only complaint as far as the story goes. Also, kinda bummed there was no epilogue to give an update on them.

4/5 on the spicy scale though.

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In Tessa Bailey’s latest novel Beat and Melody are the children of the women who once made up the band Steel Birds. They meet once as teens and fate intervenes and they meet again years later when they are 30. For me this story was too insta-love and a bit unbelievable.

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While I think the whole idea of their story being recorded and broadcaster, I just didn't see how it was feasible. Surely there's some kind of safety issue with how they're ALWAYS live and anyone can just track them down. They also get no privacy and I just had a lot of qualms with how things were broadcasted for everyone to see. For a majority of the book, they don't even acknowledge their own feelings/don't act upon it yet but they have the whole world telling them they look at each other with heart eyes. I just felt a bit awkward and pressured imagining it all.

Another thing I struggled with was how quickly, yet slowly, Melody and Beat's relationship moved. Personally, I felt there wasn't much that showed why they liked each other but they went very quickly from being friends, to best friends, to soulmates. Their relationship progression didn't feel natural; it almost too insta-love. I wasn't the biggest fan of how Beat and Melody handled things at the end and I didn't think they had enough level of understanding between each other to acknowledge them as "soulmates". Also, while I did think the "crush" they had on each other was cute at first, Beat grew too obsessive for my liking. It started to become too much. Despite all this, there were some things I did enjoy. The banter between them was very entertaining and cute and I wish there was more of Beat and Melody's relationship in this way. I wanted to see more of their (emotional) connection. The plot itself was pretty creative but I think the logistics of it all could be improved upon.

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4.5/5!

This very well could be a favorite TB for me!

Beat Dawkins and Melody Gallard share the overwhelming attention that is brought on by their ultra famous rockstar mothers. Even after the band breaks up. And when Beat finds himself in a really sticky situation, needing money, he fears he may have to give in to a televised attempt to bring them back together. Unfortunately, that means dragging Melody along for the ride..

Beat and Melody were so much fun together. While I am not crazy about the names.. they were funny and sweet together. The chemistry was well done and the spice was lovely! This was pleasantly holiday themed without cramming wreaths and cookies down your throat. Overall, it was a quick, fun read. Definitely a top three Tessa Bailey for me!

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This is a little different then what I normally read but it was still enjoyable. I loved that Mel was able to stand up to her mom. Beat's confession threw me for a minute and I found that part of the story to be a little eye-roll worthy. I love Trina and Octavia and wished we had more interaction between them and their kids, especially Trina. As mentioned, romances like these are not usually my cup of tea but it was a cute story.

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This was so great! I loved both Melody and Beat and the weird streaming reality show premise. Tessa Bailey holiday novels are always a fun read.

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*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: October 3, 2023

I usually love Tessa Bailey’s books—unabashed open door romcoms with a lot of steam. I loved the premise for this one but the execution didn’t do it for me. Beat’s continuously cagey mentions of his “complicated” sexual interests on nearly every other page for the first third of the book without just telling us was annoying enough that I almost stopped reading. This was very instant-love and OTT dramatic at every turn. Beat and Melody were infuriating at times. His desperate need to go to therapy while being in constant alpha-protect mode was a major ick. The manufactured conflict at the end was an eyeroll, mostly because it wasn’t even dramatic enough to warrant the extra pages it took up. Also…where was Christmas in this? Misleading cover.

One star for steam and one star because both mom characters were the true stars of this one!

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Steel Birds was the most unstoppable female duo of the nineties... until the night their band, and their friendship, went up in flames...

Decades later, Melody Gallard and Beat Dawkins are tasked with the impossible... reunite their mothers for one night only, in front of the entire world...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wreck the Halls was a magnificent Christmas themed read that I would devour again, any time of the year! Melody and Beat were both born after their mothers had a major falling out, but the moment they meet, they discover that they were always meant to be the other half of each other...

I absolutely loved this hilarious and heartwarming read! Melody and Beat embark on a live streaming reality show where the world falls in love with them, as they're falling in love with each other. All while they try to convince their mothers to do the impossible... settle their decades-long feud, just in time for Christmas...

Melody was such an amazing character, and I absolutely loved the way she comes into her own throughout this book. She not only reconnects with Beat, but she shows the world her authentic, and truly hilarious, self. She enters into the mayhem of a live streaming reality show to change the things that have been plaguing her for her entire life, and boy, does she succeed.

Beat has always been the golden boy in the media, but he is also a sweet, and genuinely nice guy. His protectiveness over Melody begins the second he meets her, and only gets stronger with each and every moment they share.

This book had it all. An epic love story, seriously entertaining antics, sizzling chemistry, and an immediate connection between two people who were made for each other. I loved Melody and Beat's quest to reunite Steel Birds, and the outcome of all of their hard work. This story was hilarious and sweet, and although set during the holidays, a year-round reading, treat!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review.

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Another great romance from Tessa Bailey!

Basically, if you’re looking for a Hallmark rom-com with spice, this is the book for you! It basically felt like I was in a Christmas movie while reading this. Make sure to pick this up during the Holiday season!

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