A home for the holidays A novel

Review by Booklist Review

Melanie Hart has spent much of her life parenting her mother, who has a worsening alcohol abuse problem, and it hasn't left a lot of space to figure out her own life. Now in her early thirties, Mel has decided she can be happy enough singing lead vocals in her band, The More the Marry Her, while navigating Christmas--full of special and also difficult memories--with her mom. Then a phone call from the hospital on December 17 changes everything. Mel begins to discover the person her mom has really been all these years and wonders if it could inspire her own future. Only spanning two weeks in the present day but acknowledging decades of family and friendships, this book has a small cast of characters yet covers a lot of emotional territory. The descriptions of Chicago neighborhoods and holiday traditions add a welcome feeling of relatable coziness. Mixing elements of a fun romantic comedy with thoughtful conversations on regret and grief plus a dash of spicy revenge, the end result is a holiday story where each page becomes a present to unwrap. Great for Hallmark or rom-com movie fans as well as readers of Sarah Morgan, Jenny Colgan, or Abby Jimenez.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In the satisfying latest from Hahn (The Lifestyle), a singer contends with family secrets and a new romance. Mel Hart is content performing in a Chicago wedding band with her boyfriend, Dan. After Dan accepts a lucrative touring gig with another band, the two break up, leaving her with no place to live. She's also reeling from the unexpected death of her mother, Connie, whose alcoholism gravely impacted their relationship, and her grief swells when she moves back into Connie's house two weeks before Christmas. There, she has a surprise visit from Connie's old friend Barbara, who tells Mel about Connie's early career as a singer-songwriter and surprising connection to a now-prominent country star. In a charming subplot, Mel falls hard for Barbara's soon-to-be-divorced son Henry, a doctor. Hahn elicits sympathy for Mel and Connie in plaintive flashbacks to Christmases past and tense mother-daughter moments, like when a teenage Mel kept her dating life secret from Connie, who tried to protect her ("Between the two of us, hadn't I been the one making good decisions," Mel reflects). This feel-good holiday novel has just the right amount of grit. (Sept.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

Wedding singer Mel Hart has always had a mixed relationship with Christmas. When Mel was a child, her mother, divorcée Connie, did much to keep the myth of Santa alive for her. But as Mel grew older, she realized that her mother's creative impulses were fueled and complicated by her addiction to alcohol. As an adult, Mel loves her, but nothing has changed in regard to Connie's alcohol dependency, other than her mother seems to be getting sicker. As Christmas approaches Mel gets a call that Connie has died. As grief, guilt, anger, and regret take hold, Mel gets a surprise lifeline. A woman named Barb shows up on her doorstep, claiming to have once been her mother's best friend. She insists that Mel come home with her. Once at Barb's house, Mel learns of a different part of Connie's life. As she grapples with all that she learns, Mel finds new connections with her mother, a way to move forward in her own life, and a possible new love interest. VERDICT Hahn's second novel (after The Lifestyle) explores love and grief and the complexity that comes with both. Fans of Kristan Higgins and Mhairi McFarlane will find much to love here.--Jane Jorgenson

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