Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Every second, every minute, makes both of us better. You feel that too, don’t you?”

My final holiday read of the year *sob* but what a book to end on! Had so much fun with Wreck the Halls, and even though is wasn’t as Christmassy as I’d expected, it still gave off the warm, uplifting vibe I wanted to end the year on. It’s a solid romcom with such a great plot – so happy to be sharing my review of my first Tessa Bailey book! 🎄

About the book

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. 

The beginning

I don’t know what it was, but by the end of the prologue I’d completely and utterly fallen in love with Tessa Bailey’s writing. It’s so frustrating when you read your first book by an author who is quite literally everywhere, and it turns out to be an instant hit with you. I’ve been missing out for how long?! Beat and Melody, the kids of rock star parents, captured my heart from that first meeting, and now, fourteen years later, they’d done a lot of growing up. However, things aren’t as rosy as you’d expect. Beat finds himself in a sticky situation involving a blackmailer, and he needs help. And who did he think of? Melody. Despite the one chance meeting all those years ago, he still thinks of her. And up comes an opportunity for them to meet again… and to make a hell of a lot of money. The catch? To get their parent’s legendary rock group back together. Not an easy task. The storyline was already fun, exciting and so original – completely different to anything I had in mind!

“Trina love-bombed her daughter once a year and once a year only. Like a one-night sold-out show at the Garden that left her with a hangover and really expensive merch she never wore again.”

Beat and Melody begin to spend more time together as filming begins for live TV. Their humour and way with the cameras was so entertaining, how they know they haven’t a chance in hell of reuniting Steel Birds but they’re trying their best anyway. Their chemistry is so clear, and I’m sure the cameras would pick up on this too. Would this be a positive or a negative in what they were setting out to do? We get a little more information about Beat’s blackmailer and more of his situation began to make sense. I wondered if he’d ever feel comfortable enough to share this information with Melody. I loved meeting Octavia, Beat’s mother – what a character! She was so vibrant, filled with attitude (as you’d expect from a rock star) and weirdly enchanting. And when crowds of people become eager for a Steel Birds reunion, things get really tense. The story was heating up (in more ways than one) and even though I found Beat and Melody a little too clingy, I didn’t mind it too much. It felt like a different, exciting and adventurous relationship, and I was intrigued by how it was developing!

The middle

I loved how the author digs deeper into Beat’s life, giving us a taste of how having a famous mother affected him growing up, what he had to put up with from his peers, how this all affected him in his present life. And the detail was just as great with Melody’s side of the story. But I had a feeling that sharing some of this vulnerability with each other would be a catalyst in their relationship. And oh my god, the spice that came next! Things are complicated from Beat’s POV but there was just something about this pair that made me think they’d be okay. They’d always have each other’s backs. They’d always protect one another. And I knew after that night things would shift between them. Thank god their mics were turned off and filming had taken a break… It makes a change to read sex scenes that don’t completely make you cringe, although at times, I forgot Beat and Melody were now in their 30’s and not teenagers. It was a little off-putting, but I was going with it anyway!

“Beat couldn’t help but remember the look on Trina’s face last night when Melody was singing. Even before that, when Melody stood up to her, she’d been almost… transfixed. Thoughtful. Like she’d been trapped in a time capsule and someone had finally opened the hatch.”

Meeting Trina, Melody’s mother, was wild. Not just because we’re introduced to the care-free life she’s now living, but because there’s drama, and lots of it. Yes, there are a few weird scenes, but it all added to the entertainment, and it certainly made for great live TV. Beat and Melody’s relationship also gets a lot more complicated around this point in the book as they let each other in, and it was surprisingly deep. But I was constantly reminding myself that these two characters were now fully grown adults and not kids, one of which has a really weird kink. The more I read, the more I realised I didn’t really like Beat all that much just because of how much he annoyed me, but it was the storyline that really kept my interest. I still really liked how everyone watching their livestream became obsessed with their lives, hope still hanging in the air for that reunion. Whether we’d get it or not, I still wasn’t sure, but the stars of the show for fans certainly seemed to be Beat and Melody right now!

The end

Melody was definitely the character with the most growth, and I thought how she developed from beginning to end was written so well. As the book headed towards the finale, you can really feel the love Beat and Melody have for one another (that’s if, for some strange reason, you didn’t feel it before now) and even though the spice is still pretty damn spicy, we actually get more loving and gentle scenes between the two. At this point, they really don’t care what the cameras see, or what the world sees. And I thought this was the most beautiful part of the book. Even though they “agreed” on being best friends, I knew straight away that that wouldn’t cut it for them. Beat finally sharing the truth with Melody, about the whole blackmailing fiasco felt like such a huge step, and I actually felt so proud of Beat for letting her in (because goddamn, he was such a complex character.) I knew the ending chapters would be everything we’d been craving!

“They were big feelings, big declarations. Big things happening under the title of friendship that she wasn’t sure belonged there.”

I mean, this book isn’t Christmassy at all really, but with brief mentions of snow, December and Santas, it still felt oddly festive and warm, especially as we get closer to the ending. I wanted to SHAKE these characters for some of their actions (or lack of) and wished Beat would just come clean to save all the stress, but at the same time, I understood his need to protect his parents. However, the ending chapters were SO bloody good! They were so fun and watching everything come together was really satisfying. The way the characters are brought together, especially Octavia and Trina, the way they get revenge filled me with such joy that I couldn’t help but smile as I closed the book. Despite a few elements that just weren’t for me, I really did enjoy this book and the ending is such an uplifting one. I can really see the appeal with Tessa Bailey books, and this one certainly won’t be my last. Would love to see another book following these quirky characters in future!

Overall thoughts

Wreck the Halls is a fun, festive romcom with strong characters who will really stick in your head! I loved the idea of two kids born to rock star parents trying to get a band reunion, all through a livestreamed show. It was completely unique and had me laughing and smiling all the way to the end. It’s an easy read that just fills you with joy. Yes, there are some daft scenes, scenes that might have been a bit unnecessary and spicy scenes which had my eyes opening wide, but it all added to the quirkiness, and to me, it was pretty damn good. Character development is strong and despite Beat and Melody’s clingy relationship making me cringe in parts, I ended the book feeling super happy for them in their relationship and everything that was to come in their future. Lovely! Definitely recommend if you like a good solid romcom with spice!

Thanks so much to the author, Tessa Bailey, and Emily at BrandHive for my beautiful copy of the book! You can grab your copy of Wreck the Halls right now over on Amazon or wherever you buy your books. Make sure you’re following the author over on Twitter/X and Instagram for more book updates!

Looking for book reviews?

If you’re in need of reviews for your own book, do get in touch to get on my submissions list! All the information you need is on my book reviews page. If you enjoyed this review and would like to support my blog, you can buy me a coffee 😊