This is a super sweet story that deals with grief (the main character, a wedding singer named Mel, loses her mother) and found family during the holiday season. Details of Mel and her mother’s strained relationship were woven throughout the book. I honestly wasn’t sure about the story at first, but I became hooked and was sad for it to end! I’d read a sequel, even if it focused on other characters in the book. It was set during December and the Christmas season, but it didn’t feel like there were too many holiday references to where you’d feel weird reading it at other times of the year; you could pick it up anytime during winter for the cozy vibes. There was one very small continuity issue I caught that I'm hoping was fixed in the final version. Thank you so much for the ARC!

Sometimes home is not a place but a person. Mel found her home when she lost the other one that she didn't know. Her mother was her first home. After her passing, Mel was forced to be on an exploratory trip down the memory lane to find her new home.

Her mother was an alcoholic and Mel had bit of a hard time accepting that. It didn't change the fact that how much they love each other and made the life better for each other. But I think she was annoyed that alcohol was going to come between at some point. She wasn't wrong to think that. At the end her mother died from cirrhosis. Her death brought her once upon a time time best friend to Mel's door.

I always wonder how much of our parents' past we know about. They are mom and dad and only that to most of us. Finding out that they were totally different individuals at some point in time reintroduce them to us. Mel got her reintroduction, revenge and new home all at once.

This was a sweet little kickoff to holiday reads for me this year. It has all the warm and cozy Christmas vibes with some deep themes as well. I think it will be a favorite this year.

🌿Read if you like:
✨Holiday romance
✨Warm and cozy Christmas vibes
✨Found family
✨Instalove
✨Musical celebrity centered stories
✨American Idol
✨Classic country music (but you don’t have to love country at all)
✨Grief narratives
✨Stories of healing

This was extremely well written & while sad, the exploration and excitement of new beginnings played a huge role in the book and in healing . I loved the characters so much, the storyline was a perfect combination of love, relationships, healing, moving forward and so much more. It truly was a feel good story!

Reading through someone exploring their complex grief and trauma can be very hard. However, Taylor Hahn handled the topics in this story with great care and wove it together as a truly beautiful story. This would be a perfect Hallmark adaptation, making you teary-eyed, but leaving you full of hope. Great holiday read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I fell in love with this adorable cover and story. This is the complicated story of Mel and her mom. Her mom passes away and her mom's old friend invites her to her house for the holidays. She learns so many things about her mom that she never knew.

In A Home for the Holidays (which could totally become a Hallmark movie, just saying), Hahn delivers a heartfelt exploration of grief, love, and the complexities of family. The story follows Mel, a young musician grappling with the recent loss of her mother, Connie, who passed away during the holidays. Mel’s emotional turmoil is palpable as she struggles with both her grief and the unresolved anger toward her mother, an alcoholic who had long distanced herself from Mel's life.

One of the story’s core tensions revolves around Mel’s relationship with Dan, her boyfriend. Dan is eager to take their career to the next level, urging Mel to leave their Chicago band and friends behind to tour with him as a backup singer. But Mel, still processing her mother’s death and tied to her friendships with Lizzie and Roland, faces a crucial decision between personal growth and professional ambition. As Mel poignantly states, “I’m talking about taking the next step in my life.”

Mel’s journey is further complicated when Barbara, her mother’s estranged best friend from 35 years ago, resurfaces with stories of Connie from before her addiction. As Mel grapples with the weight of guilt and grief (“Guilt follows grief like a hangover”), she is forced to reconcile the woman she knew with the vibrant person her mother once was.

Throw in a little meet-cute moment that blossoms and found family during the holidays, and I'm here for it.

With a perfect blend of heartache, humor, and hope, A Home for the Holidays explores the delicate dance between love, loss, and self-discovery, making it a beautiful holiday read for those seeking a deeper emotional connection.

What a sad little holiday story. I wasn't expected to be hit so hard. I know with losing my mom only a few years ago I should have expected the punch. I really enjoyed it and think it handled the grief one feels especially around the holidays was very realistic.

A Home for the Holidays was a charming yet heartbreaking story that is part study on grief, part romance. Mel Hart, who works as a wedding singer, not only loses her mother just before Christmas, with whom she had a difficult relationship, she also dumps her boyfriend when he leaves to join a band on the road. When a stranger claiming to be her mom’s former best friend shows up on the doorstep of her mother’s house, when Mel can’t face cleaning it out or staying there herself, Mel reluctantly accepts her invitation to stay with her and her family for the holidays and learn more about her mother’s life. While there, she not only learns all about her mother’s life before the alcoholism began to consume her, Mel begins to question her own goals and desires in light of all this new information about the woman she thought she knew. These new revelations include a potential romance with this woman’s in-the-midst-of-a-divorce doctor son, but only if she can come to terms with all the other conflicting emotions she’s feeling. When one more explosive secret comes to light, she’s forced to fight for what she wants, but only if she can move past everything holding her back. Charming and at times humorous, this heartfelt story is perfect for those who have complicated feelings about family and the holidays.

In this poignant holiday novel, Taylor Hahn crafts a story that deftly balances the warmth of Christmas with the complex reality of family secrets and generational trauma. Far from a typical festive romance, "A Home for the Holidays" explores how grief can unexpectedly open doors to understanding and healing.
Mel Hart, a wedding singer whose childhood memories of Christmas magic helped offset her mother's struggles with alcoholism, finds herself adrift when her mother Connie's death coincides with the holiday season. Hahn expertly uses this premise to unravel a compelling narrative about how well we truly know our parents, and how their untold stories shape our own.
The arrival of Barb, her mother's estranged best friend, serves as a catalyst for both plot and character development. Through Barb's revelations about Connie's almost-realized country music career, Hahn examines how one person's choices ripple through generations. The romantic subplot involving Barb's divorcing son adds complexity rather than distraction, mirroring Mel's journey of questioning predetermined paths.
What sets this novel apart is its refusal to either completely villainize or sanctify the dead. Connie emerges as a fully realized character through others' memories - both the mother who created Christmas magic and the woman who let alcohol derail her dreams. Hahn handles these dual realities with remarkable sensitivity and nuance.
While some plot points verge on convenience, the emotional authenticity of Mel's journey - from anger to understanding to acceptance - anchors the story. "A Home for the Holidays" reminds us that sometimes the greatest gift is seeing our parents as the complex, flawed humans they were.

At its heart, this is a story about the loving and very complicated relationship between a mother and her daughter. Mel learned to "adult" as a young child due to her mothers alcoholism. When her mother passes away she is contacted by a woman who claims to be her mothers best friend. She spends time with her to learn more about her mother and through their time together she not only learns about her mother, but also learns to let go of some of the feelings she was holding on to and truly mourn and process her grief.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i didnt think a story centered around a mother's death would make for a happy/good holiday story but i was pleasantly proved wrong. it's a layered story about grief and love. i dont know who i would rec this to but i'll find some of my friends so we can talk about it in depth

It was a short and cute read. It reminded me of a typical, sweet Hallmark Christmas movie. It wasn’t anything extraordinary but if you like a quick, feel-good romance, this book is for you.

Thank you Knopf, the author and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was cute! It took me a little bit to get into but I am a lover for holiday themed books. Thank you for letting me have a copy of this ARC!

Really enjoyed this. Heartwarming found family story. The ending could have been a bit more complex and left some questions open but it worked out ok. Glad the pages weren’t filled with revenge and the author showed quite a bit of character development. Would be happy to read books about the other band members, Summer and such.

A Home for the Holidays by Taylor Hahn is a heartwarming, touching story about the relationship between Mel and her mom. I absolutely loved this book.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Plot
This holiday fiction looks at grief, addiction, and motherhood. Mel loses her mother two weeks before Christmas, a special time of year for the two of them. When her mom’s estranged best friend, Barb, shows up on her doorstep, Mel learns about a side of her mother she never knew.

As Mel spends time with Barb and her family, she examines her complicated grief about her mother’s passing, begins to evaluate her own dreams of being a singer, and tries to get justice for a wrong done to her mother. All this comes with a side of Christmas spirit and a dash of romance as well.

Trigger Warnings
Loss of a Parent, Alchololism

Why Kirsten loves it
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this gritty Christmas novel, but I loved that it focused on complex grief. It’s important to acknowledge that sometimes the holidays aren’t merry & bright, parents aren’t always the best role models, and you can still change your life and right past wrongs at any age. This would be a great one for book clubs to discuss.

I have been seeing this book all over my IG. I was luck enough to be able to read A Home for the Holidays and I loved it.

This is the holiday book to pick up if you don't really like holiday books. While set at Christmas time and referencing the holiday frequently, it's a bittersweet story of an adult child grieving and learning about a parent they had a complicated relationship with, and growing from that experience. It's heartwarming at times, and a really satisfying book overall.

Thank you to NetGalley, PRH Audio, and Knopf
for providing me with an advanced copy of this book and audiobook for free in exchange for my review! @prhaudio #PRHAudio #PRHAudioInfluencer
All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this fun and emotional holiday romance. This book is much more than just a cutesy holiday romance. It is a story that actually has a lot of depth and emotion to it. I enjoyed the difference in this book compared to your traditional holiday rom-com.

On the audiobook front, I enjoyed the narration by Anna Caputo. I don't believe that I have listened to books narrated by her before, but with that being said, I would like to listen to more books by her in the future


Thank you again to PRH Audio and NetGalley for providing an ARC/ALC in exchange for my honest review!