Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey: My Review of a Christmas Romance that Rocks

Wreck the Halls is Tessa Bailey’s latest romance book release that will have you smiling from ear to ear. While a Christmas romance, this can be read any time of year if you love rock stars, forced proximity, and a bit of kink.

Check out my book review of Wreck the Halls to see why you should add this to your TBR list.

*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Wreck the Halls Summary:

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 her a 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.

Wreck the Halls: My Review

Thank you Tessa Bailey for a book that totally hit the spot. I’d been in a bit of a book rut lately but Wreck the Halls was such a welcomed surprise that I couldn’t help but stay up late into the night to finish it in one sitting.

Wreck the Halls has a catchy title for a Christmas romance but don’t let that stop you from reading this any time of year. Yes, the book culminates on Christmas Eve but there honestly isn’t much holiday-ness to the book at all if that’s what you are or aren’t looking for.

What you will find is a sweet, instalove story that totally works between the adult children of two rock stars who broke up their band before their kids were even born.

Their names alone proved that Beat and Melody were meant to be together but their instant chemistry sold it too – from their first meeting at age 16 and again at 30.

“I feel like I already know you.”

In this romance, Beat and Melody decide to join forces to reunite their mothers, the famed duo of the popular group, Steel Birds, that broke up over thirty years ago with neither woman speaking to each other since. And they are going to document their attempt to orchestrate a reunion while live-streaming their day-to-day activities over the two weeks leading up to Christmas Eve.

Beat has some serious reasons for why he’s willing to sign on to the live-stream reality TV show and he convinces Melody to join in.

While the side story about the two moms is pretty fun to follow and unique in its own right, the true story of the live-stream TV show really became about Beat and Melody and their instant attraction to one another.

Tessa Bailey created two fun and unique characters that you were routing for the entire book. I loved Beat and his protection of Melody and I thought his kink was a neat addition to the story that wasn’t just something to add in but really made sense to his character. He joined my list of best book boyfriends of 2023.

Melody was a surprise. I was afraid she would take a back seat to Beat and be a slight doormat but she was snarky and funny and someone I would absolutely hang out with.

I loved when they riffed off each other – they were the best moments of the book. And even though this is quite the instalove story (they fell for each other in less than two weeks) it totally worked in my mind.

It’s always fun to read a romance that doesn’t follow a typical plotline. Bailey crafted such a fun story and that’s what keeps me coming back to her books over and over again.

I would have loved to have given this five stars but the ending wasn’t as spectacular as I hoped it would be which was kind of a bummer but it didn’t diminish the book in any way. I just wanted something amazing to bring the show to an end and their relationship on solid ground. It’s still a must-read of the year!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Related Book Lists:

• New Christmas Romance Books Coming in 2023
• New Romance Book Releases for October 2023
• Best Rock Star Romance Books
• Best Reality TV Romance Books
• Best Christmas Romance Books
• Tessa Bailey Books in Order

More Tessa Bailey Books:

• It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
• Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
• Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey
• The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey

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