Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey Published by Avon on October 3, 2023
Pages: 358 •Format: E-Book •Source: Spotify
Goodreads
Melody Gallard may be the daughter of music royalty, but her world is far from glamorous. She spends her days restoring old books and avoiding the limelight (one awkward tabloid photo was enough, thanks). But when a producer offers hera lot of money to reunite her mother’s band on live tv, Mel begins to wonder if it’s time to rattle the cage, shake up her quiet life… and see him again. The only other person who could wrangle the rock and roll divas.
Beat Dawkins, the lead singer’s son, is Melody’s opposite—the camera loves him, he could charm the pants off anyone, and his mom is not a potential cult leader. Still, they might have been best friends if not for the legendary feud that broke up the band. When they met as teenagers, Mel felt an instant spark, but it’s nothing compared to the wild, intense attraction that builds as they embark on a madcap mission to convince their mothers to perform one last show.
While dealing with rock star shenanigans, a 24-hour film crew, brawling Santas, and mobs of adoring fans, Mel starts to step out of her comfort zone. With Beat by her side, cheering her on, she’s never felt so understood. But Christmas Eve is fast approaching, and a decades-old scandal is poised to wreck everything—the Steel Birds reunion, their relationships with their mothers, and their newfound love.
When I found out that my Spotify premium account now came with a free number of audiobook listening hours per month, I instantly pursued their romance selection and decided it would be a great chance to try my first Tessa Bailey novel. I’d heard her name floating around often online, and I was trying to make a conscious effort to read more holiday novels in December (always a challenge for me, as the month feels like it flies by so fast!) I didn’t know much about this one except it sounded seasonally appropriate and since it was “free,” I decided why not give it a try?
I ended up having a fun time with this one! It became my go-to audiobook when I was doing chores around the house/prepping the house for the holidays and was honestly quite cute. The story follows protagonists Beat and Melody (yes, musical names given on purpose) who were the children of two former band members of a major rock band back in the day (it gave me Fleetwood Mac vibes). They had a falling out and though Beat and Melody’s mothers were pregnant at the same time and they should have been built in friends once they were both born, they never got to meet until one fateful day when they were both being interviewed as teenagers (I think for a talk show), a moment that has stuck with Melody ever since.
The book takes place several years later when they’re both adults, Melody a reclusive book historian who tries to stay out of the public eye, and Beat, a media golden boy who runs a charity funded by his family. When they are both approached to do a reality show aimed at them joining forces to get their mother’s band back together, they end up back in each other’s orbit.
The premise of this book is honestly ridiculous (agreeing to go on a reality show to get your parents to stop feuding? Said parents hating each other but still consenting to being filmed? Romance, blackmail, and extortion?) but as long as you can suspend your disbelief it’s actually pretty fun. Beat and Melody’s growing attraction feels natural (and her unrequited crush is so sweet and painful to read about) and I loved seeing the unique bond they both had with both having ex-rock stars for mothers. I really loved Melody in particular- while she was thoughtful and introverted, she was also low-key hilarious and pretty darn capable. (I also loved the gal who did her narration).
It was also an interesting twist that the reality show was an online show that was being live-streamed. Therefore, there was no editing, retakes, etc. available, and there were a lot of people developing parasocial relationships with Beat and Melody (and realizing they were in love with each other before they both realized it). Usually I find books that focus too much on technology to be sort of cringy, because it can feel outdated so quickly, but the use of it really worked for the context of this story.
I also loved Octavia and Trina’s fraught relationship. There scenes together were hilarious and it was funny to see how each had such vitriol (but also clear love) for each other, and how they both recognized what was going on between their kids. Also, seeing them team up together at the end of the book against a bigger bad was pretty satisfying.
Overall: A fun holiday story with a unique musical and social media twist.
Tropes: holiday
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