A review by sienasummerrreads
Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey

lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

Tessa Bailey is my most-read author this year with this book being the seventh. Unfortunately, this was not it and my least favourite so far so let’s unpack. 

Starting with Beat and Melody. The names, I get that the mothers were part of a famous band but I think it’s ridiculous and cringe honestly. 
Beat and Melody’s relationship was Insta love and personally, it’s not a favourite trope of mine. 
I felt that I knew nothing about Beat until he started confiding in Melody so I didn’t connect to him or fall in love with his character. 
Beat and Melody as a couple are forgettable. 
Beat in the bedroom was frustrating as well as he has issues with commitment and getting off due to reasons. 
The whole story revolves around this reality TV show and trying to get their mother's band back together but following Beat and Melody. We finally meet one of the famous mothers 126 pages in. 
Beat and Melody met at a coffee shop early on in the book next to a gym. Beat went after coffee and asked Melody to come with him and she was not dressed for the gym. Beat started doing box jumps and then asked her to do it too. Why a box jump and not a bicep curl to show off? This gym section was off to me. 
Let’s talk about the cringe writing in terms of instead of saying “Holy crap” there was a line that was “Holy Hannah”… there was no Hannah in this book. Another weird line “Rotisserie chickens have nothing on me” which was after Beat’s mother was trying to put her in her place. Who says this honestly? There were a few weird cringy lines throughout the book. 
Lastly, it’s a holiday romantic comedy based around Christmas. Not once did I laugh in this book and I was 205 pages in when we got the first Christmas paragraph about a decorated tree other than the reality TV show called Wreck The Halls and a deadline to meet before Christmas being mentioned. 

Honesty I really didn’t care for the famous mother's backstory and band I wanted to know Beat and Melody and it overshadowed this book for me. 

The audiobook was good just I felt the male narrator didn’t fit Beat. 

I liked the idea just the execution wasn’t for me. 

If you love: 

🔹Holiday Romances 
🔹Christmas Vibes 
🔹Blackmail & Secrets 
🔹Reality TV Show 
🔹Insta Love 
🔹Good Spice 

Genre/Type: Holiday Romance 18+
APK: Physical & Audiobook 
Pages: 359
Audiobook Length: 10hrs 33mins 
Narrators: Brooke Bloomingdale & James Gloucester 
Rating: 🌟🌟
Spice: 🌶️.5
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone 
Tropes or Themes: Christmas, Romcom, Famous, Insta Love, Friends To Lovers, Forced Proximity, Blackmail, Reality Show, Family Drama, Gala, Violence, Sexual Content, Praise, Edging and Third Person. 
Check Triggers ⚠️ 💫

All Round Romance Reader 
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