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beckyyreadss's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wanted to read this book because I love Christmas and I love Tessa Bailey, seems like the perfect book, right? I loved it but I think it could have been developed as a series.
This book has two points of view, the first is Melody Gallard. She might be the daughter of music royalty, but her life is far from glamourous. She spends her days restoring old books and avoiding the limelight (one awkward tabloid photo from her teenager years was enough). 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 duo. The second point of view is Beat Dawkins, the lead singer’s son, is Melody’s opposite, the cameras love him, he could charm anyone, and his mum is not a potential cult leader. Beat doesn’t care if their mothers reunite or not, he is after the cash, he has been blackmailed for five years and the blackmailer has given him two weeks to get him the cash otherwise he is going to tell the world his secret. 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 was nothing compared to the wild, intense attractions that builds as they embark on a mad mission to convince their mothers to perform one last show.
I liked the storyline and the characters had their individual personalities and their moments where they were the bright star of this story. It was a fun and easy read that also had characters with trauma and that made for an interesting read. The spice was entirely different, and I've never read anything like that. It was so kink-based but I loved it. I wanted to hug Melody, she just wanted to be able to live her life without the media being involved and not be asked about her mum. I loved her blind loyalty of Beat needs to this project so I'm in.
However, there was a few things that I was questioning during this novel. If you are looking for a fluffy Christmas novel, I’d say this isn’t for you. I kept forgetting it was based around Christmas, apart from the mentioning of the cold and the snow and that the reunion had to be done by Christmas Eve, I would have loved more Christmas vibes with this. I was more interested in the blackmailer aspect of it than the reunion and Melody and Beat’s relationship at times. I felt like the third-act conflict wasn’t really needed especially when there was less than 100 pages left.
Overall, I love Tessa Bailey’s work and always try to tell myself to pace myself when reading it and never do. So now I'm waiting for Fangirl down . . .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Alcohol, and Body shaming
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, and Drug use
kaitlinnoodles's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Pregnancy, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Vomit
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