I just love Tessa Bailey's writing! A lot of romance novels don't dig as deep into the relationships between the couple, but Tessa really gave us a great love story between Beat and Melody! I loved the different layers she created. Not only were we rooting for Beat and Melody, but we were kept on the edges of of seats as to what happened between their mom's, The Steelbirds. Such a great read!

This story follows Beat and Melody (ironic I know 😭), the children of rockstar mothers and members of a legendary rock duo that had broken up decades ago. Beat and Melody have always been connected because they understand each other in a way no one else can. They both know what it’s like to never quite live up to their legacy, to hide pieces of themselves away from friends because you never know whether people like you for you or just for your connections. When a producer approached Bear and offers him a large sum of money that he desperately needs in exchange for his participation on a live reality show to reunite the rock duo for a Christmas Eve concert, Beat can’t imagine doing it without Melody. It’s up to them to defy all odds to patch up their mothers’ broken relationship and to find their own happiness along the way.

This had all of Tessa’s classic joy and chemistry. Both characters were charming and funny, the story was engaging and almost felt like a comedic hallmark take on Daisy jones and the six. With that said, something was missing. Much of the angst between this couple revolved around Beat’s kink and its roots in his psychological traumas. I felt like the issue was too smoothly resolved. On top of that, both characters suffered from a very YA-like inability to communicate their needs, which made sense in the beginning when they were 16 but not at all when they met again at 30. Then there’s the insta love. I’m not a hater of insta love but this was like insta infatuation with the power of 10000 suns. The story wasn’t a short one but instead of developing slowly it felt like it sped up a mountain and then couldn’t find its way down. Beat and Melody were at a fever pitch the whole time and ended up engaged in 2 weeks.

To sum up, I had a great time reading this but it wasn’t one of my favorites from this author.

This was such a captivating story! I loved the amazing chemistry and tension between the two main characters - it was so real it felt like something you could reach out and grasp. There were an amazing amount of emotions interwoven through the book and I really loved reading it. Some parts towards the end got a bit trite for me but overall I just so enjoyed reading this one.

I really wish this was based on a true story because I would follow along on this reality TV show journey! As well as listen to the music of the two lovebirds mothers. Tessa Bailey writes fun romcoms that I always easily get caught up in, and this was no exception. The added bonus of it being a holiday read made my heart even happier. Highly recommend picking it up if you are still reading Christmas books, or add it to your TBR for next year!

Tessa Bailey books are always a fun ride! Wreck the Halls was a cute story. It's perfect for those who want to immerse themselves in a quick holiday read that is heartwarming and funny.

I gave this one a 3.5 and would recommend for fans of Tessa Bailey and romcoms in general

I can’t believe it’s basically Christmas - wow, has time flown by! I’ve finished shopping, wrapped all my gifts and am ready for the big day! 🥰 I also have consumed myself with holiday reads and have made a serious dent in my holiday book stack!
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I just finished Wreck the Halls and I don’t want to be a Grinch, but it was… odd. The concept was really great, but the execution was… not. 😬

I've been so let down by Tessa Bailey recently. I think she's writing too much and too fast. I love her older works but this was just bad. The sex scenes were almost unbearable to read, the pacing was off, and the characterizations were add and forced.

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this one mostly, it was entertaining. Beat & Melody are the children of rock stars but their families had a falling out. It is up to Beat and Melody to get them to be friends again. Ends up being a a fun story. Liked both of their characters!

Melody and Beat are the children of the legendary rock duo, but after a falling out right before they were born, their mom’s broke up the band and haven’t spoken since. When Beat is offered a large amount of money (that he really needs) if he can get their moms to reunite on Christmas Eve on live TV, but he will only do it if Melody is also on board. Pretty soon livestream cameras are following the two of them, watching them attempt to reunite their moms, and fall in love with each other in the process.

While this wasn’t my favorite Tessa Bailey book, there was a lot I enjoyed. I thought the plot was fun and having the children of two rockstars team up was a lot of fun. The wild situations Beat and Melody found themselves in were a lot of fun and the livestreaming made for an extra twist of drama. This book also has the amazing spice I love from Tessa Bailey’s books. Although this is marketed as a holiday romance, it was very light on Christmas.

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Melody Gallard and Beat Dawkins are the adult children of the stars of the broken up rock group, Steel Birds. With their mothers not talking since the band broke up, Mel and Beat haven’t seen each other in 16 years. When a reality TV show producer reaches out to them to get the duo back together, the two must team up, on a reality TV show no less, and get the rock legends to perform live on a Christmas Eve special.

I loved the synopsis of this book when I read it, and thought the plot sounded so cute that I knew I needed to read it. I held off to read it until this month since it’s marketed as a Christmas romance. Would I consider this a Christmas book? Not really. Is it set around Christmas? Yes, but that’s pretty much all it has to do with the holiday. Did that stop me from enjoying it? Not at all!

I thought Mel was a great character. She started off sort of nerdy and introverted, and I loved how once she started working with Beat, she came out of her shell and gained confidence in herself. These characters had a way of bringing the best out in each other, and it was really sweet to see how protective Beat was with Mel. However, he seemed a bit possessive of her, and there were times I just wanted to yell at him to open up to her and let her figure things out for herself. She’s an adult and he should have treated her as an equal and not someone who always needed to be protected.

This book has a lot of spicy scenes in it so be forewarned that if you’re listening to it, like I did, this is not safe for work! 😂 I found the steamy scenes to be a bit cringy and would have liked a little more romance thrown into them. Without giving any spoilers, I did think Beat’s issues in the bedroom, for lack of a better word, were a bit odd and not completely realistic.

I really wanted more with their mothers as I thought they brought the comedy to this romcom, and I loved when the two of them were together. There should be another book just about them (hint hint)!

I enjoyed the reality TV show aspect of the story, and how all of Beat and Melody’s friends could see what was happening between them even when they couldn’t. The ending felt a bit rushed and not entirely realistic since these two really only knew each other for two weeks, but overall I really enjoyed this story. After not loving the last book I read by this author, I was happy that this one felt back up to the writing I’ve expected from her after reading It Happened One Summer.

I listened along to the audiobook while reading the DRC and really enjoyed both narrators, Brooke Bloomingdale and James Gloucester. The dual point of views worked perfectly, and they did a great job of bringing these characters to life. I highly recommend listening to this one if you can!

Beat & Melody are what Christmas & Hallmark romcom dreams are made of!

They are the children of rock legends (who had a major falling out) & now they are tasked with getting them to agree to a reunion, alllll while being filmed for a live stream reality show! What could possibly go wrong there 🙃

Seriously though, loved these characters, their development, their chemistry, & their story! Was a great book end to my holiday reads this year & highly recommend!

I had heard mixed things about Wreck the Halls so I went it with low expectations and it was a super cute read! The children of a rock duo that broke up over 30 years ago try to get them back together for a reunion while being live on the internet? For sure a good time! This has easily been my favorite Christmas read of the season. Melody and Beat (yes the names are cheesy but cheesy is def the name of the game in this novel) both have their own trauma from growing up as the children of infamous rock stars and deal with it in totally different ways. It was fun to watch the sparks fly and see them both grow throughout the book.

So steamy and fun! Melody and Beat are the children of famous rock duo, Steel Birds. They decide to team together to get their mothers to reunite, while live streaming their adventures along the way. While the show starts about their moms, fans quickly see the connection between Melody and Beat.

As always, Tessa Bailey is steamy but this was one of my favorite books from her, the lead characters I was invested in and I liked them as well.

I will never hate on a Tessa Bailey book, but I found it so hard to get past the main characters' names -- Melody is fine, but Beat is just so difficult to take seriously as a real person's name, and it kind of got in the way of my ability to enjoy the book.

That said - Tessa Bailey always knows how to show us a good time. While there wasn't as much Christmas in this Christmas book as I'd expected, fans of Tessa's will enjoy this one.

I always enjoy Tessa Bailey's books, but this might just be one of my favorites of hers.

To be perfectly honest, I was't sure what to think at first — especially with the cheesy, yet cute, names of the main characters: Melody + Beat. But the story that captures these two together is one that was fun and enjoyable, especially for the holiday season.

These two characters grow up as rivals purely because their mothers had once been best friends and bandmates and then had a major falling out. But because of that, the two kids had always found themselves in the limelight whether they wanted to or not.

They also had a connection no one could truly understand besides the other.

In a fun and unique play on the Parent Trap concept, these two have to get their mothers (and their band) back together to avoid the downfall of something much worse. Can they do it? Is it worth it?

Tropes:
- rivals to lovers
- blackmail
- parent trap
- forced proximity
- rock star
- second chance romance

Really enjoyed this forced proximity, spicy novel.
Beat and Melody, where I have seen reviews where they thought the romance when too quickly, to me, it made sense. Being brought up in the with star parents where very few truly understand what you are going through, I could see the instant attraction and comfort. Especially with the prologue. I enjoyed falling with them and wondered if everything would actually work the way that I wanted it to.
Beat has a bizarre fetish and blackmail issue... not related to each other. If I had to give this book a dig, it would be the unnecessary miscommunication trope and the very sudden ending. I don't think it was a strong enough story to end like it did. It definitely needed an epilogue.

Definitely thought this book would be more Christmas-sy than it was. The romance seemed rushed, with a predictable plot. I hadn't read anything from Bailey before, but will likely check out another title from her in the future.

I find Tessa Bailey's romcoms to be super fun and I love that they're so light hearted. The plot of this book was I think the best part! A parent trap-esque situation where the main characters, Beat and Melody, agree to star on a real time reality TV show to reunite their mothers and their infamous band. The secret of the band's original break up and the live stream scenario really added to drama to the story, which I really liked.

Unfortunately, the romance in this book was not my favorite. Beat and Melody's romance felt way too insta-love and that is definitely my least favorite trope. One interaction they had when they were both sixteen years old was the basis of their entire relationship, and while I don't read romance for the realistic plot, even I found this hard to believe. The miscommunication between the two of them kept coming up and it was a little hard to get past at times. The producer, Danielle, and cameraman, Joseph's backstory was at times more interesting and I wanted to know what was going on there too. The ending felt a bit rushed, but at the same time i was rooting for Beat and Melody to work out their issues. As individuals, I mostly liked both Beat and Melody and I thought that Melody was really funny at times.

Overall, while I didn't love the romance and the tropes, Beat and Melody themselves were good characters. I thought the plot of this one was super fun and I did enjoy the holiday setting. I'll definitely keep reading Tessa Bailey's romances!

Wreck the Halls is a romance set around the holidays, but is not so holiday centered that it wouldn’t work for the reader at any time of year. Beat and Melody are the children of the famous rock duo Steel Birds. When a television network approaches them to try to reunite the band, they sign on to be live streamed in their efforts to get their moms back together. And they develop a romance along the way.

Wreck the Halls is heavy on the spice and a lot of the dialogue around that felt forced and didn’t work for me. Sex scenes aside, I thought it was a cute romance story.