Heartfelt, meaningful, and uplifting. I absolutely loved it.

I downloaded this book during the open weekend for this title.

Although this book wasn’t all believable at times, it was a very enjoyable story about loss and grief. Witnessing Mel come to terms with her the death of her mom and what is next for her was a highlight for me. I personally could not handle the antics of Barb and even though I know she meant well, were too much for me to get over. Towards the end of the book, it just felt like there was too much lying involved. Even still, it was still a middle tier and enjoyable story.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the e-ARC

This book pulled me in emotionally in many ways. This book deals with a complicated mother/daughter relationship, especially when the parent passes away.

The main character, Mel, goes through all the emotions when her mom passes away. But it takes an old friend of her mom’s to truly get to know the mom Mel never truly knew and try to heal

This story has found family, repairing relationships and learning to live.

Check TW. This story deals with alcoholism and death of a parent.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Not the usual Christmas romance, but full of holiday spirit and love. Mel has always loved Christmas because of the shenanigans her mother pulled to keep her believing in Santa Clause as a child. But her mother was an alcoholic, so their relationship was off-kilter the rest of the year and gradually deteriorated to distance and phone calls. Then a few weeks before Christmas, she is informed that her mother has died, and their complicated relationship comes to the forefront with her grief. Soon after, an old friend of her mother's appears she never knew about and she soon discovers there was a great deal about her mother she never knew about either. Revelations and grief, a break-up and new possibilities, new friends and old, with the magic of the holidays makes for a heartwarming, satisfying story.

This book felt like a warm hug. I felt like the characters were perfectly imperfect and easy to relate to. I am not always a holiday book person, but the references to traditions, songs, and movies felt so cozy to me even in the summer heat of July. The way Mel felt about her mom was something I could also identify with. She wanted better for her mom, but also wanted to keep the peace. She recognized all the good that existed. As my therapist says, “let the good, be the good.” It didn’t feel like it all wrapped up in too neat of a bow. Though, not a long book I felt like a got a full story without any questions. I am so thankful I reviewed an ARC of A Home for the Holidays. This is my second Taylor Hahn read and I am a big fan of her writing!

I wanted to love this book so much, but it just felt so unrealistic to me. Mel, a wedding singer, lost her mother suddenly, her bf broke up with her and she inherited a home. The first night at her mom's house a woman (Barb) shows up at the door and claims to be her mom's best friend from the 70s. Barb sweeps her up and before you know it, Mel is eating lasagna at her house and spending the night. I enjoyed the story and was rooting for Mel, but the whole Barb thing + seeing her mom's ghost ... just didn't all add up.

Mel Hart, is a wedding singer, happy with her lot in life and content with her home, her boyfriend and her friends. All of this comes to a speedy end when her mother dies and her boyfriend is less than supportive. Mel provides plenty of flashbacks to the life she had with her alcoholic mother which can be hard to read. Mel is struggling as the holidays approach when a stranger knocks on the door.

Barb is amazing, a Mary Poppins sort of stranger who claims to be Mel's mother's best friend from years ago. Barb has the answer to many many things - maybe some things that Mel might not even know she wants to know.

Join Mel on this wonderful journey! It's funny and emotional and just perfect for the Fall.
#knopfpantheonvintage #homefortheholidays #taylorhahn

This one will pull at your heartstrings. This feel very much a la vein of the Blake Shelton Make it home for Christmas Hallmark movies, a lot of heart and a lot of music. This would be great as a movie as i wanted to hear these songs play out. It was also quite deep and engaging for a Christmas book, Lots of heart, family drama, story and tears. Again this is more in the vein of Hallmark Movies and Mystery Christmas movie and not A Hallmark Channel, more drama than cute romance, even though there is plenty of that to go around too.

Grief can be complicated. This is a heartfelt story of intense sorrow when Melanie answered a shocking phone call with news that her mother, Connie, had died.

Mel should have expected this to happen. Her mother was an alcoholic trying to cover up the pain that was deep in her heart. After getting a call about her sudden death, the unexpected occurred. A strange woman showed up at her house. She was Mel’s mother’s best friend from when they were in their 20s singing on stage together. Barb gave 33-year-old Mel exactly what she needed: empathy, comfort food and a place to stay through the initial stages of grief.

Beautifully written, this is also a charming love story full of a dreamy world of possibilities. Some parts wrapped around sweet coincidences. And then, something out of the blue happened towards the end that I didn’t expect.

What surprised me the most was how quickly I read this book. I got lost in the pages that almost put me in a trance visualizing each scene with just a few strong likeable characters: Mel, Barb and her two adult children along with Mel’s best friend Lizzy. And then there were a few unlikeable good-for-nothings that made the story more believable.

The plot felt relevant to those that are suffering from grief and need words of comfort. However, there’s so much more to the story with music, romance and lines that made me laugh. Book clubs may want to put this on their list.

My thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this advanced book with an expected release date of September 24, 2024.

4.25 stars

Taylor Hahn's A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: A NOVEL really surprised me...in a good way! I expected a sweet Christmas read (that I'm reading in the sweaty depths of summer), but I got much more than that.

Mel gets devastating news two weeks before Christmas. Her mother Connie, who suffered from alcoholism, passes away. Her clunker of a boyfriend becomes even more of a clunker of a boyfriend, and Mel breaks up with him. But that now means she has nowhere to live except her mom's place that is full of uncomfortable memories of her mother. Her mother's old friend Barbara finds out that Connie has died, and she is persistent in mothering Mel during this time of upheaval. Barbara's children are the same age as Mel, and both Henry and Summer take to Mel as well. Barbara is a very cool and interesting character, and I wanted to hear more about Barbara and Connie's hijinks as young adults!

My father suffered from alcoholism and low self-esteem, and I think the author explored the undercurrents of when you have a parent suffering from alcoholism SO WELL! It's not about the kid. It's about the adult who feels so much despair about their situation that they can't find their way out. Even if they love the kid so much, there's something in the alcohol (or drugs) that's keeping the parent from "getting it together." The opening chapter was so exquisite, and I have a few memories of my father that are so like Mel's memories of her mother.

Why only 4.25 stars? There are some small problems in this one that might be resolved before the final copy, but most of those are story-related (some plot points not explained like why did persistent Barbara never try to contact Connie, the romance in this story didn't feel "earned" and instead like two broken people in the same location) or character-related, so I'm thinking not. This novel did bring all the feels and unexpectedly had me reflect on my own time with my father before he passed away,

This novel publishes September 24, 2024.

Heartbreaking and heartwarming! Mel believes in Santa way longer than most kids do, because her mom goes all out with Christmas magic. The rest of the year is very unmagical though, because Mel’s mom is an alcoholic. When Mel’s mom dies two weeks before Christmas, then Barb, Mel’s mom’s estranged best friend shows up, and Mel learns about her mother’s past. This is such a wonderful story about relationships (mother/daughter, friendship, romantic, familial), grief, and finding yourself!

It is a funny, heartwarming story about challenging mother/daughter relationships and coming to terms with grief. It takes place at Christmas and ticks all the boxes - witty, emotional, and uplifting! It was a quick read for me and I will reread it with my book club, the discussion will be lively. Some readers may be bothered by the non-ending (not tied up with a bow) but I find that book style is easy to re-read and maybe you will find a new ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for an ARC of "A Home For the Holidays" in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6628387945

The last time I read a Christmas novel was 4 years ago, if I'm not mistaken. For no particular reason I just stopped reading them. Now, I decided to try one of them again, and this one seemed interesting enough.
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I though I would.
Honestly, I cannot say that there is anything essentially wrong with this book. It just didn't speak to me.
Maybe I'm not in the right vibe for such a story.
Everything seemed lovely and cozy, but I didn't feel invested in the story or engaged with the characters.
I'm sure this book will please the target audience.
I might even give this book a second chance when it it officially published and I get a copy in the audio format.

Really enjoyed this story about Mel and how she adapted to living with her alcoholic mother. Her mother always made Christmas special for her .
In this story Mel gets a call from the hospital that her mother is in the ER .she continues with her plan and doesn't go to see her. A little later she gets a call telling her she has passed away. Mel starts to feel bad about not going to see her and about their life. Several days after Barb, Connie's estranged friend comes to see her and takes her back to her house to spend the holidays and to show her just how the old Connie was. Mel learns a lot about herself and the mother she never knew. A VERY GOOD READ.

This book was a warm, comforting, emotional hug that I didn’t know I needed (read during a 90 degree heat wave in the luxury of air conditioning as I simultaneously chased my toddler around). But I couldn’t put this down as I was immediately consumed my Mel and her strength to navigate her complicated grief. Barb is an icon and I would happily live in her basement. Grief is a part of life and it’s something few are willing to share their experiences, I was honored to be a part of this journey.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for access to an early download. But I can’t wait to get my hard copy in September!

A lovely story about grief and discovery. Mel loses her mom and then through a connection with her long ago best friend, gets the chance to know her in a totally different way .I enjoyed these characters, the story and well paced discoveries. Really nice.

A sweet and heartwarming read about grief, found family, and finding joy when you least expect it. I loved it!
Mel is pretty content with her job as a wedding singer despite her boyfriend and best friend encouraging her to think bigger. When her mother unexpectedly passes, Mel reflects on the complicated relationship she had with her mother and when she meets her mother’s former best friend, she learns so much more about the woman who raised her. With this new knowledge, Mel tries to figure out what she wants from her life.

The story unfolds over a couple of weeks in December and has a warm and cozy holiday feel. The dialogue sparkles (Henry is wonderful!) and Mel is easy to love and empathize with. I was cheering her on as she grapples with feeling sad yet hopeful about her future.

Thank you very much to Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

A Home for the Holidays is a short and sweet novel telling the story of Mel and her recently deceased mom, Connie.

I love a good found family and country music Christmas trope and this one hit all of the markers!

Giving it a 3 because I felt it ended a little abruptly and left me wanting a bit more.

Overall, a super sweet read, full of inclusivity of all people. I’m glad I read it 🫶🏼

A Home for the Holidays was a beautifully woven story about the relationship between Mel and her mom. This was one of the most touching, heartfelt stories I’ve ever read.

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 received a free copy of, A Home for the Holidays, by Taylor Hahn, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Mel Hart is a wedding singer, who had a good but not healthy relationship with her alcoholic mother. After her mom passed away a stranger named Connie said, she was allegedly her mothers best friend. I really enjoyed the ending of this book! A really good read.