Hattie is moving up the ranks as an event planner in Charlotte, but when she goes home to her small hometown of Mountain View for the weekend, she is confronted with the fact that the Panthers football team of the Carolinas is deciding whether to build their new stadium in Mountain View, or in the neighboring town of Cardinal River. Hattie realizes as much as she loves her hometown, it’s dying due to the farms failing, and feels that the stadium could bring in much-needed revenue. However, she’s the only one who feels this way, and she’s quickly ostracized from her own community for not “having a heart” and wanting to save their town, including her own parents’ farm.

With her job on the line in Charlotte, she agrees to stay through the Founders Day celebration, where events cause her to question her decision of where she belongs, and if the stadium really is the answer to the farms that no longer produce. And to complicate matters, her long-time love Lee, who went on to be a star baseball player with the Braves, has rolled back into time, and opens her heart to old wounds. Add in a new player in town - the mysterious Fox, who Hattie also has feelings for - and you have the perfect love triangle. Told with so much love for small towns - this is Joy’s debut into a true romance novel, and she nails it. This played out like a movie in my head - that’s when I know it’s one that really resonates with me. Preorder now!

Thank you Joy for sharing this will my book club and letting me be the first to read! It will be on its way tomorrow to MD as a part of the BTP traveling ARCs! Preorder now!

As a Carolina girl, I was very excited for this book. The plot is right up my alley- save the farm and fall in love! I loved seeing locations and book stores I live near and the references to musicians. I loved the quirky little community and family vibe. However, I found myself very frustrated with the main character. She felt immature to me and it was infuriating at times. She pinned away for her high school boyfriend and they finally got back together for most of the book, and then drops him so he can go live his dream? And suddenly she realizes she's in love with a new guy? There needed to be a whole lot more investment into the love triangle for it to make sense. It all happened way too fast in the second half of the book and no one seemed to blink an eye. I do LIKE the couple that ends up together, but it needed more support. I also felt like some of the writing details were lacking, like the truck that is a pivotal point for multiple conversations and moments....what did it even look like!? It was a fun read, but not fully satisfying.

I was also surprised to see the amount of cussing and sex (while still closed door) as I had seen Joy referred to in Christian groups for previous books.

I enjoyed the story. It is somewhat predictable but still worth a read. For those who have read this author before I think it’s definitely different than I expected or from her other books

How anyone can describe this book as “a page turner”, is beyond me. Ridiculous main character, Hattie, sophomoric and I’m being kind. She acts like a 16th year old rather than a successful 30 year old (sorry 16 year olds). She reconnects with her high school sweetheart, who broke her heart 11 years ago, and they are professing their love once again after a brief time together? Hattie is not very bright. I only finished the book because I was granted it to review but I could not wait for it to end and not because I even cared about the ending, I just wanted to finish it! Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #SingMeHomeToCarolina, #NetGalley, # Goodreads.

I absolutely loved and adored this new book by Joy Calloway - More romances please!!!!

This book was set in SC in a small town Mountain View which was one of the towns that was being considered for the Panthers Stadium. Hattie returns home to help out her parents and is right back in her quaint, small home town where everybody knows everybody and news gets out so fast. The town of Mountain View is protesting the new stadium but Hattie, very much in the minority, sees this as an opportunity to help the town. She reunites with an old love and also gets to know the new Hardware Store owner, Fox. Her focus is on helping her parents as their land is no longer producing so she comes up with a plan. Now will she be able to get back to Charlotte to her job, will she decided to stay in Mountain View, will Mountain View be chosen for the stadium or not? And does she rekindle her relationship with her old love? You must read to find out.

This one kept me turning the pages!!

Thank you Joy for this wonderful romance book!!!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read for a honest review.

Lost love, new love, commitment to family and job and some of the most fun and beloved characters I’ve read in awhile this book had me enraptured the entire time I was reading.

Joy knows how to research and write a gorgeous book and the little details in this book brought back so many memories of my younger days with church cookbooks and the beauty parlor where everyone hangs out. I can not recommend this book enough!!!

Thank you Joy and Netgalley for the honor to read and review this book!!!

Sweet, small town southern romance set in Mountain View, SC. Hattie is in town visiting her parents over the weekend (commuted in from Charlotte, NC) where she runs into her first love Lee for the first time in years. The town is in trouble and a NFL stadium is looking to build there. Hattie works for an event planner and thinks that her families barn would be a great event place after the only other venue shut down because they didn’t like music or dancing (very much giving Footloose) and her parents agree. With the help of newcomer Fox the barn is transformed into an event space suitable for everyone. Hattie and Lee get close again but Hattie also gets close to Fox, semi love triangle? Who will she end up with? What will happen to the town? Who is hiding something? And you have to read about the hilarious redneck wedding.

Every now and then you need a palate cleanser when you read a lot of thrillers/mysteries. This is a very sweet, relatively low angst home town romance. While I would have loved to see some things fleshed out a bit better (it seems our female character pretty easily changed direction from Lee to Fox), it was just what I needed to allow my heart to recharge.

A family and a town, on the brink of financial ruin, pull residents into a cohesive group when a major football team is interested in building their new stadium in the town. It will destroy existing farms and, although it could bring prosperity back, the cost is too high. The problem is one solitary person refuses to sign a petition against the stadium which causes friction and problems. Her former love, returning to town after a career ending injury in baseball, wants to reunite as he never stopped loving her. It all sounds disjointed but everything wonderfully comes together in the story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This heartwarming, small-town, closed-door romance will feel instantly familiar to readers. With beautiful descriptions and endless music references, the author masterfully brings to life a town filled with quirky, loyal, and lovable characters that will have you laughing and crying. Those who know small-town life will feel right at home, while others will long for the charm of a stroll down Main Street, barn dances, a hardware store stocked with everything you’d ever need, and neighbors who serve up casseroles alongside tough love and quirky, hilarious shenanigans.

Hattie returns to her hometown Mountain View, SC, from her current life in Charlotte, only to face ostracism for her differing views on the town’s soon to be forced growth. Things get even more complicated when the one man she’s never gotten over comes back to town, retired from baseball and with a guitar in hand. As Hattie battles the town’s resistance to building a stadium that would lead to lost farms and major changes, she also wrestles with her own fear of change and forgiveness.

This sweet love story is as much about falling in love with a place as it is about finding unexpected romance. Who doesn’t enjoy a love triangle? . The story is rich with nostalgia and country music, family, history and celebration of the discovery that the path you’ve been on might not be the one that you’re meant to follow.

Every small town should have a barn venue, like the one created to help save Hattie’s parent’s farm, for Friday night parties and live music.

Oh words fail me. What a truly beautiful novel. Pure and simple but full of absolute joy. More, more, more please! A heartwarming love story set amongst a special group of townsfolk.

It started off a tad cheesy. Suuuper small town. Like I can't relate it's so small. I wasn't sure if I would like it or want to keep reading. I have to say it grew on me quickly and I'm glad I kept going. I started getting into the quirky town characters and story. And I feel like it's always good if I'm left wanting a sequel with more of the characters and story...like a vacation I don't want to leave. I love a book with character growth and I feel this book had some nice moments there. I would have like to see more from Hattie other than just managing the chaos around her. But hey sometimes that all you can do in life...ride the wave. This wasn't a 5 star read but a solid 3.5-4. Just an enjoyable book to read!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Mark your calendars....Available June 10, 2025!!

#SingMeHometoCarolina #NetGalley

Hattie, a small town girl, turned into a big city business woman, or so she thought! She is a successful event planner who thought she was just going back home to help her parents for a few days, until she realizies how much the town is going through.

She too is faced with a problem of her own. An old flame, Lee Lockhardt was back in town after his MLB career came to an end. Just as Hattie thought ahe had everything figured out, the mysterious hunk and now owner of Fox's Hardware, agrees to help her fix up her family's barn to give her parents something to keep going after they get the news that their peanut farm is infertile.

This small town romance will have you asking are you be Team Lee or Team Fox?!

I was chosen to read this ARC from Netgalley. They author has a great writing style that made it hard to put the book down!

This book was not what I expected at all. I loved the detail and care Callaway put into the town and the group's dynamics, but the romance and relationships fell completely flat for me. The ending felt very abrupt - I didn't want Hattie to end up with Lee (why on earth were they saying I love you after one kiss?!) but I didn't care about her relationship with Fox either. Hattie came across as naive and unlikeable, the portrayal of her parents felt unfair and I just didn't connect with this the way I wanted to.

That being said, Callaway really knows how to make you feel a part of something! The descriptions were gorgeous.

Sing me home to Carolina is what I would call a real feel good book!
Hattie Norwood event planner returns home to help her parents deal with the family farm that is in a crisis with the land and they need help deciding what they should do to support themselves financially. Hattie also discovers after coming home that the town is possibly going to be taken over to build a stadium and basically destroy everything that the town people have built and stood for even though the town is basically dying.
Hattie didn’t know that the long lost love of her life has an injury and has also returned to town. Will she finally end up with her long lost love….
Thank you to NetGalley for ARC of this book.

4.5 stars!
As a girl who has spent lots of time in South Carolina with my family over the years, Sing Me Home to Carolina immediately grabbed my attention. The title and beautiful sunset on the cover led me to read the synopsis of which only drew me in further.

Welcome to small town Mountain View, South Carolina. Hattie Norwood has returned to her hometown to help her parents after she moved to the big city to work as an event planner. Big builders are threatening to build a stadium for the Panthers in town and almost all the Mountain View residents are against it. Hattie must help the town and her parents who are at risk of losing their farm, which is no longer producing enough to make ends meet. Hattie plays a major role in planning and fundraising for Founder’s Day and she is one of the only people in town in favor of having the stadium built.

After just a few chapters, the author had hooked me on the future of Mountain View, Hattie’s love life, and Hattie’s parents. This is very small town; think Gilmore Girls meets Hart of Dixie. I loved the small town elements! There’s even someone who rides his horse into town! While home, Hattie also has to face her high-school ex, Lee, who returned to Mountain View after an injury ended his baseball career. Hattie ends up finding herself in a love triangle and I loved this plot line! I was a bit frustrated with how firmly Hattie was holding her opinion about the stadium when she wouldn’t even be living in Mountain View in the long term but I liked the turn of events at the end!

This was such a feel good read. There were some challenges and points of conflict throughout but I really enjoyed visiting the town of Mountain View, and I felt as though I was there with the characters, at their Friday night events in the barn. I loved the character Fox and how his story is uncovered in the second half of the book. I was really proud of Hattie for the journey she takes throughout the story, she has many decisions to make throughout related to her family, her career and her love life. I feel like the end she really finds her way and it was beautiful to travel along the journey with her. This was so wholesome and I loved reading it! The small town vibes were excellent. I enjoyed all of the side characters that were included as well because they helped paint a clearer picture of life in Mountain View. Initially I was worried about keeping them straight but I didn’t have to and they just added to the story!

Thank you to Alcove Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

#singmehometocarolina #netgalley #arc

Anytime a novel has "Carolina" in the title, I expect a sweet romance and family story. This one doesn't disappoint.

When your heart is torn between family and career, between romance past and present, where do you land? In helping her family find their way, Hattie uses her skills and experience to create an unexpected path that opens up relationships and possibilities that she doesn't expect.

A good story, a satisfying twist of the heart, and a happy ending.

Thank you to Joy Callaway, Alcove Press, Crooked Lane Books, and Netgalley for allowing me an ARC of this novel. I was drawn in by the Hallmark hook, it was an easy read, and I'm a sucker for it. I would try another of Joy's novels. The lead character in the novel tended to make me a bit twitchy, but overall I would read it again.

This is an okay book about small town life however I don't feel that some of the characters were fully developed. Hattie the main character was wishy washy and not real likable. I did enjoy the barn events and the small town atmosphere and the quirky little surprises along the way. If you enjoy a quick light read this one is for you.

I was glad to read this book thru NetGalley and had not read anything by this author before. It is a sweet story of a small town woman who finds that coming home sometimes is the right thing. The story includes the threat of a stadium being built in her town and she evolves as she spends time with old and new friends. Its a nice easy read !

I loved this story. I loved the characters and the small town vibe that it gave me. It reminded me of a lifetime or hallmark movie. I definitely recommend. The main character also reminded me of well..me

Thank you Publisher and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else