Sing Me Home to Carolina
by: Joy Callaway
Alcove Press
General Fiction (Adult), Romance, Women's Fiction
Pub Date: June 10, 2025

With a small town setting of Mountain View, South Carolina, a quirky cast of locals, Calloway's novel is full of Southern charm, humor, and romance. Main character Hattie, an event planner in Charlotte, North Carolina, returns to her roots in South Carolina to help her parents through a crisis.
The plot also centers around conflict surrounding the building of a sports stadium in the community.

Callaway really created the atmosphere of a little town in her fictional setting, and the descriptions of the businesses and natural environment of river and farmland bring it to life. The book is an enjoyable, cozy read that delivers lightheartedness and laughter along with a romantic triangle, family heritage, and community spirit.

I received an advance reader's copy from Net Galley and Alcove Press. My review is my own.

#SingMeHometoCarolina #NetGalley #JoyCallaway

Hattie has gone home to her tiny, dying town for what was to be a short visit. The town is under consideration for a new, very much unwanted stadium. Her high school love is home. He'd been a star major league baseball player. But an injury ended his career. The town is being supported by the new guy in town - the hardware store owner. He's always jumping in to help, both manually and financially. Serious family issues force Hattie into decisions she didn't want to make. Life makes other decisions mandatory.

The story is full of quirky individuals, a second chance romance, perhaps a new romance, a tiny town on the precipice of change. It's also full of angst. This is a great read.

I have the e-book and the audio book. The narrator is great.

5/5 ⭐️

This was my first book by Joy and adored every word. Hattie has to return to her hometown to help save the family farm. While there, they receive news that the Panthers are looking to relocate their stadium. Running into an old flame and one of the new men in town, the love triangle begins.

This small-town romance will give you one of the biggest hugs you'll ever have! Pick this up for one of your Summer reads!

A heartfelt that will have you swaying to the music and screaming for joy.
I thought it was very unfair the entire town guilt tripped Hattie just because she had a different view.
I thought Lee was always the wrong choice because he was weak. Plus he was never around when Hattie needed him.
Fox was fiiiine! Fox showed up every single time! I was ready to toss Hattie in the river as she was torn between two men. Nope! No contest whatsoever.
I laughed at the perfectly awful and ghastly casserole concoctions from old cookbooks!
Mountain View could be any small town that’s struggling but the people made it special.
Can I take a ride in the hot dog mobile with Rocky and Dolly??!

"Southern Small-Town Charm with Hallmark Movie Vibes! Fans of Virgin River, Schitt's Creek, and Chesapeake Shores will delight."

Joy Callaway, (favorite author), known for her captivating historical fiction, introduces SING ME HOME TO CAROLINA —the author's smashing foray into the romcom, family, Southern, feel-good small-town fiction genre with a cast of cozy characters that draw you in, characters you'll feel like you've known your entire life.

About...

Hattie Norwood is a small-town gal from Mountain View, SC, who is now a businesswoman and event planner in the larger Southern city of Charlotte and returns home to help her parents with their struggling family business.

However, she finds there are challenges with a new Carolina Panthers stadium up for bid in Mountain View as a possible location site, and the town urges her to utilize her skills as an event planner to help host a musical benefit to stop the construction (even though she thinks it could benefit the town).

So she agrees to the extended stay until the town's upcoming Founder's Day celebration a week later. She must come up with a plan.

To complicate things even further, she runs into her former boyfriend, MLB Lee Lockhardt (baseball player), after he moved back due to his injury that ended his career.

While working on the event, she meets the hot new, mysterious owner of Fox's Hardware, Fox Ryan, who suggests they move the celebration to the Norwoods' barn to also help with her parents' failing business as a music and event venue.

Two guys, her parents' business, her real job, a fight for a new project possibly coming to town, and an upcoming important event to plan. Will the event save the town, her family's business, and perhaps a chance at love?

My thoughts...

Being that I am from the Carolinas and a massive fan of the author, I was delighted to read her latest, SING ME HOME TO CAROLINA!

With a perfect mix of small-town romance, second chances, wit, history, charm, quirky, compelling characters, a love triangle, family bonds, a quaint Southern town, music, and love, this one has it all for a heartwarming and uplifting summer beach read. Ideal for book clubs.

If you are from the South, you will appreciate the church cookbooks and the beauty parlor gossip, among all the other charms, where everyone knows everyone's business with Joy's creative Southern storytelling.

The red barn reminded me of past events at the Tanglewood Park Red Barn, Clemmons, NC, and WinMock at Kinderton, Bermuda Run, NC.

Heartwarming, nostalgic, and big-hearted, with an adorable storyline where a town comes together, fostering a sense of community. I enjoyed the inspiration behind the book! I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Recs...

SING ME HOME TO CAROLINA is for fans of the author and small town romances and those who enjoy works by Viola Shipman, Robyn Carr, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Katherine Center, and Sherryl Woods.

Special thanks to Alcove Press for a gifted advanced reading copy via NetGalley for my honest thoughts.

Also, check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries QA with Joy and The Star of Camp Greene (where she talks about Sing Me Home to Carolina) as well.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: June 10, 2025
My Rating: 5 Stars
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For me the plot and characters were ok. I really liked Fox and didn’t care for playboy Lee. I often felt frustrated with Hattie’s indecision to pick a guy. I was satisfied when she finally chose the best man for her at the end. This book is filled with drama as well as tender moments. The songs mentioned throughout the story were fun to listen to and added to the ambience of the storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Umm… why did this sweet, small-town Hallmark-style story suddenly turn into a "why choose" romance at around 80%? It felt completely out of left field. Honestly, the plot was already all over the place, and that twist was the final straw. I would’ve DNFed right then, but I was too close to the end—so I just skimmed the rest. Disappointing and confusing.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove for the eARC!
I enjoyed this! It was a little heavy on saying what songs were playing and I was annoyed by that, but other than that, I liked it. I kinda had a feeling of who Hattie was going to end up with, because I don’t feel like her and Lee really had a connection and she didn’t know what she wanted, and made it quite obvious she wasn’t sure she wanted to be with Lee or not.
The setting was perfect. I adore small town romances, especially old style ones on farms. I’m all for small towns, everyone knows everyone type of things, so i absolutely loved that aspect of it.
There wasn’t really anything I didn’t like, but I wish there was a little more action or drama than what there was.
Overall, it was pretty good.

Sing Me Home to Carolina is the second chance romance meets small town drama that will hook you from page one.

As her hometown is on the brink of insolvency, Hattie Norwood returns to Mountain View, South Carolina for the weekend to comfort her parents and their failing peanut farm. But emotions fly high when she returns home to find her childhood sweetheart, who broke her heart a decade ago, is back in town and still holds a flame for her. Divided between her successful city career, her love for her hometown, the one that got away, and a new mysterious resident, Hattie’s life gets upended in unexpected ways.

I loved the characters, small town drama and community feel of this book. I easily became invested in saving the town and reuniting Hattie and her first love. This was an easy and enjoyable read with a Hallmark Rom-com feel.

The one part that may have needed more development was the Hattie & Fox relationship. It was less believable for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alcove Press and the author for an advanced digital copy.

P.S. Happy publication day! This one is a winner!

Excuse me one minute, this is Joy's first contemporary romance!? Love her as a HF author and now THIS beauty!? Sign me up for everything Joy writes forever and always!

When Hattie comes home to visit her home town of Mountain View, she is welcomed with open arms by family and friends who never left and an ex that was never supposed to come back. Cue: Instant Drama!

The family farm and founder's land is in peril. An athletic stadium is going to be built in one of two places and, of course, the farm land is being considered as an option. The people of Mountain View come together to sign petitions and stand united against this "progressive move" that they fear will ruin everything in their quiet little town.

Joy's roots and attention to detail shine through as this book has everything: spam (not the kind that shows up in your inbox,) ramps (not the kind that slope up and down,) streaking (not on snapchat,) and anything in between - including a triangle (not the one that rings you in to dinner.)

The romance(s) woven throughout this story are so rich and touching. I still find myself thinking about the characters, hoping they're doing well - they felt that real!!!

What an exceptional entry into the contemporary romance scene! Brava, Joy!!

Such a great story! I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing style, and how she presented the story.
Joy Callaway did such a good job of bringing characters and their setting to life.
An excellent read that kept me captivated from the very start.

I love books set here in the Carolinas. Sing Me Home to Carolina by Joy Calloway is set in the fictional town of Mountain View, SC.

"Hattie is an event planner in the middle of her biggest project. She heads back to her home town of Mountain View from Charlotte to support her parents, who just found out their farm is dead. Mountain View is a potential site for the new Panthers stadium and Hattie seems to be the only one not opposed to the stadium coming in. The mayor asks Hattie to put on a musical benefit in her parents' barn for Founder's Day, just as Hattie's old flame, Lee Lockhardt, shows up. Hattie wants to go back to her life in Charlotte - pick back up with Lee - and get to know the new Fox running the Hardware store. But life has other plans for Hattie this time."

Callaway has an easygoing writing style. There's easy banter between characters. There are lots of hilarious moments (the first wedding in the 'event barn' with the couple leaving in an '87 Kia covered in Earnhardt stickers) These feel like real people and a real place. If you've ever driven through a small town with a boarded-up Main Street you'll understand. Hattie is not looking for romance and Calloway will surprise you. This book is about finding something that's bigger than yourself. The more I read, the more I found myself drawn to the story and the characters. I got a little teary at the ending Calloway gives us. I hope we'll see more from these characters.

Great story from Calloway.

Hattie and Lee are high school sweethearts. Lee is a retired up Atlanta Braves player and Hattie is an up-and-coming event planner in Charlotte. It’s about their high school love but also about new love and how the heart changes. This is a great story for southern readers. Set in the heart of the South, it was a great, fun to read romance. Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Books for the advanced copy.

Hattie has to follow her heart!

Event planner Hattie Norwood had no problem building the Carolina Panthers new stadium in her home town of Mountain View, South Carolina after finding out that her parent’s peanut farm was usable for crops. Her plans changed when the Founder’s Day was moved to her parent’s barn because it was the original home of Ronald Robinson, the founder of Mountain View.

Hattie’s only intended to stay a week changed when she found out that her high school boyfriend was back in town and he had retired from baseball was starting to be a country music star and her biggest help was Fox Ryan who had bought the hardware store.

Usually in a romance you have a good idea who the two main characters are going to be but in Sing Me Home to Carolina there will a choice that Hattie has to make about following her heart and finding out is the best part about the reading the book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A heartwarming, cozy, small-town, romance with Star's Hollow and Sweet Magnolia vibes. Wonderfully colorful characters that keep you entertained reading, laughing and completely engaged page after page. This is a wonderful feel good story with the perfect southern backdrop. So well written, filled with thought, compassion, humor, heartache, joy and romance., anyone who picks up this book is going to love it! I definitely did! An amazing read!

Reading this book feels like a warm summer night on the front porch with your favorite country music playlist on the radio. It's the feeling of comfort and home. Fans of Southern small towns, sweet love stories, and country music will enjoy this book!

The town of Mountain View, South Carolina only has one stoplight, is surrounded by farms, and the only nightlife happens at the hardware store on Fridays. But the Carolina Panthers are targeting land in the town for a new stadium, threatening its very existence. Hattie Norwood, content with her life as an event planner in Charlotte, on a visit home to visit with her parents on their failing farm is faced with not only her ex-boyfriend Lee Lockhart but the question of whether saving Mountain View is worth giving up everything she's worked for.

I enjoyed the cast of characters in this story, and the history of the town was very endearing. I also thought the love story was sweet, but would have liked to see Hattie's feelings explored more. Parts of the story were predictable but that didn't take away from my enjoyment.

Hattie came home to her parents home to help them figure out what to do when their fields quit producing the peanuts they have grown for years She was very surprised to see Lee back home, as he had been playing baseball. They had been in love once, but had broken up when they went their separate ways. Did they still love each other or is it time for someone else.? The story had lots of twists and turns but it kept me entertained all the way through.

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

This was 10000% a case of judging a book by its cover. I mean, how gorgeous is it!?

Unfortunately for me, the book went downhill from there. I love the small town story, a little stars hallow or hart of dixie, that is absolutely my jam. And when Hattie comes back from the big city to her small home town to help her parents when they learn the family farm is failing and runs straight into the one that got away, the story had all the makings of my favorite rom com.

The story was hard to get into, hattie spent the whole book woe is me related to her job and having to be in her hometown, all the while fighting her undeiniable attraction to Lee for about 90% of the book before running across statelined in the the arms of another man who she's actually apparently in love with from very minimal interactions? Like I'm sorry, but her and Fox came quite literally out of absolute nowhere.

There wasn't resolution for Lee's story line, there wasn't chemistry that we got to see or root for with Fox, and Hattie's attitude got more insufferable as the book went on.


I have a couple other books from this author's backlist on my TBR and I absolutely want to try another one of hers, but this one just didn't work for me.



Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Sing me home to Carolina is the story about Hattie, a girl who comes home to help fight for her hometown, help her parents keep their farm alive - all the while blundering her way through old friendships, and juggling her resurfacing emotions for her old highschool boyfriend and her growing attraction to the new guy in town.

I really enjoyed this book, but there were a few things keeping it from getting a higher rating from me.

- Hattie. The MC of this book (told solely from her POV) seemed to be very selfish and self-centered. She treated her so called friends like garbage, consistently put her life and her work above her family (even admid a health crisis), and she strung guys along like they were there to worship her.

- The ex-boyfriend. While there were major red flags with him and this relationship, she keep up this ridiculous push/pull that was just cruel. The whole thing was just toxic on so many levels. This part of the story was dragged on. Way. Too. Long. To the detriment of the rest of the story.

- Name dropping. Everyone in the book seemed to be or know a ton of famous people. Which is fine, but for a whole town to know so many, and yet the town to not be in any map just felt a bit of a stretch.

With all that said, I did love the Hart of Dixie/Stars Hallow town vibes this gave off. Growing up in a tiny town, the week long festivities leading up to Founders Day definitely had me thinking of all the memories. It's definitely worth a read, and I will definitely check out future works if the author.

**Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.**

Sing Me Home to Carolina is like a warm summer breeze wrapping you in a hug. A small town story of love, family, and redemption. Sometimes it's all about finding your "home".

A love triangle between Hattie and Lee (high school sweethearts) and Fox (the new hardware store owner). Throw in some good old western twang, and every country fan will fall in love with these characters. Hattie is fighting to save her family home and the town from being taken over by a huge development, while she is caught between her current life in Nashville and where love will lead her.

I loved this story. It had quirky characters, aging parents, high school friends and that overall small town feel.

"He taught me how to love, but I love you."

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for this advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Pub Date: 10 June 2025