A review by piperhath
Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Tessa Bailey does it again! 

 

I really enjoyed this one! It was super fast-paced and I loved the relationship between Beat and Melody (despite them having really cliché names). Melody is such a witty and fun character and one I could probably relate heavily to if she had a bit more depth. This forced proximity and love-at-first-sight romance had me on the edge of my seat with just the perfect amount of spice. I really didn't want the story to end. It was so enjoyable, I had to force myself to slow down at times as I wanted to savour this one. I really liked the concept of a live-streamed reality show for 12 hours at a time and know in this day and age, people would lap this up just how it is described in the book. I also loved reading a festive love story with New Zealand just coming out of winter. It brought all those cozy vibes back! 

 

This one wasn't totally without flaws though... I felt like the characters didn't have a lot of depth. Like their whole personalities revolved around each other and we never really got to know them outside of their romance and interactions with each other. This was quite apparent with Beat. I couldn't understand why Melody kept justifying his actions until the end when it finally clicked for me. I felt like with a bit more character development I would have a little more sympathy for him and would have understood him better. I also didn't really vibe with how fast their relationship progressed but that might just be a me thing as I LOVE a good slow-to-moderate-burn romance. 

 

4 stars 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins NZ for sending me a copy of this one to review! I really enjoyed it!