Joy Callaway’s *Sing Me Home to Carolina* is a sparkling, heartfelt romance brimming with Southern charm, small-town drama, and the universal tug-of-war between the past and the future. With its witty dialogue, vibrant cast of characters, and a love triangle that will leave readers torn, this delightful novel captures the essence of home, heritage, and finding where the heart truly belongs.

The story follows Hattie Norwood, a big-city event planner who reluctantly returns to her hometown of Mountain View, South Carolina, to help her parents deal with the troubling news that their peanut farm is no longer viable. What begins as a short visit turns into a whirlwind of unexpected events, from planning a musical benefit to stop the construction of a new stadium to navigating romantic tension between two very different men: her old flame, Lee Lockhardt, a former MLB star, and the enigmatic newcomer, Fox Ryan, who has big ideas for revitalizing her family’s farm.

Hattie is a delightfully complex protagonist—smart, ambitious, and occasionally exasperated by her quirky hometown, yet with a deep, undeniable love for it. Her journey is as much about rediscovering her roots as it is about untangling her feelings for the two men vying for her heart. Lee, with his history and charm, pulls her toward the familiarity of her past, while Fox’s mystery and vision challenge her to think about the possibilities of a different future.

Callaway excels at creating a vivid small-town setting that feels alive with charm and eccentricity. The locals are a quirky, endearing bunch, from meddling council members to colorful neighbors, each adding their own flavor to the story. The backdrop of Mountain View is equally engaging, with its rich traditions, bustling Founder’s Day celebration, and the drama surrounding the proposed stadium, all of which set the stage for a week that will change everything for Hattie.

What truly shines in *Sing Me Home to Carolina* is its balance of humor, romance, and emotional depth. Hattie’s professional conflict—supporting a project she believes in while helping her town fight against it—adds an intriguing layer of tension, while the love triangle keeps the reader guessing. Both Lee and Fox are compelling romantic leads, and Callaway’s deft storytelling ensures that choosing a side is no easy feat.

The pacing is lively, with just the right mix of introspection and action. Callaway’s prose captures the warmth and complexity of small-town life, from heartfelt moments on the Norwood farm to the buzz of community events. The music-infused plot adds a special touch, reinforcing the theme of connection—both to the past and to the possibilities ahead.

*Sing Me Home to Carolina* is a witty, effervescent novel that will appeal to fans of *Sweet Magnolias*, *Hart of Dixie*, and the works of Viola Shipman. Joy Callaway has crafted a love story that is as tender as it is entertaining, wrapped in the charm of a close-knit community and the enduring question of what—and who—makes a place feel like home. Whether you’re Team Lee or Team Fox, you’ll find yourself rooting for Hattie to follow her heart in this unforgettable Southern romance.

This book had it all, small town, romance, second chances, history, legacy.
Hattie returns home to help her parents with their failing farm, and she becomes the outsider in the towns petitions and protests to stop the new stadium from being built on their farms.
Hattie reunites with her high school boyfriend, she also has feelings for the new hardware store owner Fox, this goes back-and-forth for a while, and honestly, I liked both men for her.
This book was so much more than just romance, the town, the history , the people, it just draws you in and you are there!
This author has a unique style of drawing you in and making you such a part of every page!
This is my first book by this author, but will definitely not be my last.

Hattie, a big city event planner, is set to be made a partner in her company when she is called home to help her parents deal with the devastating news about their farm. once there she realizes that her small town is dying without new business coming in. A football stadium is planned to be built there, but the rest of the town is against it because it will change their town too much. This creates tension between Hattie and the rest of her community. On top of this framework, her old boyfriend, a former Baseball legion, has returned along with a new comer, mysterious Fox. Hence a love triangle is set up. How will Hattie navigate all of these?

This is a fun, light read full of warmth set in a small country side small community.

I want to thank Netgalley, the publisher and author for the complementary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Hattie goes back to her small hometown of Mountain View, North Carolina for a short visit. she is asked to help plan a music festival. small town romance.

I'm really torn on how I feel about this book, but I have settled on three stars. I enjoyed the overall story, and I especially enjoyed some of the places since I'm in South Carolina. I was never able to connect with any of the main characters and felt there was a little too many things which were forced and turned out too perfect. In short, it would make a great Hallmark movie - a cute story but one that doesn't have a lot of substance.

Thank you Alcove Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I heard that this book was like Hart of Dixie and Schitt's Creek which are two of my favorite shows. It did not disappoint. I loved watching the main character, Hattie's transformation from being annoyed at being home to falling back in love with her small town. This is very realistic because this is what happened to me too. I loved the romance and fell in love with both Lee and Fox (but mostly Fox, just being real). This book also made me laugh a lot. The first wedding, all of the old casseroles, and the ramp dinner were my favorite funny scenes. I'm sad this book is over and wish I could somehow live in Mountain View.

Sing Me Home to Carolina excels in describing the beauty and charm of North Carolina. Unfortunately, the same care wasn't taken with the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

This is my first book by Joy Callaway. I really enjoyed the small town story, but Hattie was really annoying. She seemed to think she was better than her small town since she works in the big city of Charlotte and thinks the town is beneath her. Then, when she finds out her high school love is back in town because of a career ending injury from baseball, but he's seen hanging with the same girl that he was kissing on as soon as they broke up many years ago, she still believes him when he says he lives her and never stopped. They both seem too immature. Not to mention, when you throw in the mysterious hardware store owner Fox who no one really knows a lot about. Hattie starts having feelings for him as well even a she is telling Lee she still loves him. It was good but just didn't like how she played with both guys feelings.

I was excited for this book. I’m a big fan of Hart of Dixie and Sweet Magnolias and enjoy those stories. I can definitley see the connection in this book. However, I think this was a miss. The set up and premise were good: small town fighting against new NFL stadium taking farms and local gal back from big city job gets stuck hosting events protesting the build AND reconnects with first love. I had a couple of issues. First, I didn’t like Hattie. She didn’t really have a redemption arc and just went with things while complaining. Second, the love story didn’t work. 90% of the story was about how much she loves one of the guys, and then flips. There was not much romantic build up for the other guy and it felt out of place in the story. I ended up wanting her to not have either, which isn’t great for a romance. I think this is a pass or at best, a library rental.

Thank you Alcove Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a book that cost me to read mainly because of my personal tastes, a love triangle and a second chance in the same book are difficult for me especially when they do not stay with the character that I like, thank God that did not happen in this book.

The book tells us the story of Hattie who returns to the town where she grew up for a while to visit her parents due to problems with her farm, there we meet Hattie's childhood friends who I believe never matured and reunites with her ex-boyfriend from high school Lee who had returned to the town after having suffered an injury as a baseball player, we also know Fox who is new to the town and has a rather mysterious past.

Overall a great book to pass the time, easy to read and of course quite entertaining, great choice to read it with country music in the background.

This was like a hug of comfort. I enjoyed the nod to country music and small towns. It was a comfort read that I could not put down!

Many thanks to #joycallaway @alcovepress @crookedlanebooks and @netgalley for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 6/10/25.

I love realistic small-town romance books with a good cast of characters, and I'm so happy I got that with this book. Think Gilmore Girls vs. Hart of Dixie vs. Schitts Creek, my three favorite shows all wrapped up in this small town.

Hattie, an event planner, returns back to her hometown in Mountain View, South Carolina, to help her parents with their farm. She was only supposed to be there for the weekend, but she was asked to help plan a music festival, and she meets the new guy in town Fox Ryan. Hattie was not expecting to run into her ex boyfriend a MLB baseball player, but he had a career ending injury and is now back home. If you love small town romances, beautiful scenery, second chances, music, a love triangle, and a heartfelt story, this is definitely the book for you.

Hattie had her dream job as an event planner but when her parents needed her she flew home. Hattie's ex boyfriend, Lee, injured himself and no longer could play professional baseball. He was back home in Mountain View as well. Lee had a band and became quite successful. Mountain View is dying and there is a possibility that an NFL stadium will be built in their town. Hattie thinks it would save the town but everyone else is against it and any changes that would occur. Hattie is faced with a lot of issues; can she trust Lee to love her and not leave her again, should she stay in Mountain View and start an event center in the old barn on her parent's farm, and is there anything to the pull she seems to have with Fox? This is a good demonstration of dying small towns and trying to hang on to the community that is there. There is a lot of love in Mountain View. Great characters with surprises along the way.

Likely my favorite book of the year. Loved the characters especially and will miss them dearly. The romance was perfect. I needed to laugh and this book certainly made me laugh. Reminded me of Hart of Dixie, one of my favorite shows. Looking forward to telling all of my friends about it and excited to hear about them falling in love with Hattie, Fox, Lee, and Mountain View like I have.

I wanted to love this book. I think the premise sounded so good but I just could not get into this book. I am sorry, I thought that the main character was whiny. I thought she was unrealistic. I'm tired of these books talking about a small town and having absolutely no clue what a small town really is. I grew up in a small town. With 300 people literally a small town, and these people have no clue what a small town is. I would like to see the small town of four stores and one of them being able to exist being a hardware store.I would love to see that. Anyway, hattie is home visiting her parents because the family farm is a bust and her high school boyfriend also happens to move back home and it's a will they or.wont they cat and mouse game with these two- and is he with the same girl he ended up with 2 minutes after they broke up right before college.- who also happened to move back home-And that poor girl has zero self-respect or self-esteem. I'm not sure which, but she was insufferable. I'm sorry. I can't even continue with this review-- it was awful and I'm sorry I wasted my time finishing it. It should have been DNF

“Sing Me Home to Carolina” is by Joy Callaway. I think the idea of this book is a good one, but - for me - it didn’t work. The pacing was a bit slow - possibly intentional, but for me it was too slow in places. I never felt sympathy for Hattie, the main character. She loved her life in the big city, but finds herself torn between her job there and family obligation back home. I understand dropping everything for family and wanting to help family - but Hattie’s indecisiveness drove me to distraction. Does she stay, how does she help (can she help), and, in the romance part of the book, which guy does she choose? There were some minor points of the story that I didn’t like (why did Hattie have to sign the petition - if she’d been visiting for one day would it have been needed?) and, for the life of me, I couldn’t ever get an idea of Mr. Robinson’s truck - did it still have windows, had the truck had upkeep done on it after being exposed to the elements for over 60 years? I did find some of the minor characters interesting, but the reader gets introduced to them, with a line about backstory, and then the person became part of the quirky town background. This wasn’t the book for me - but I have to admit the ideas Hattie had were interesting (though why a PR person would forget to call the media was puzzling!) for the barn and in the end I think she made the correct choice for a partner, but this wasn’t - for me - a warm fuzzy cozy romance I hoped it would be. However, I’m in the minority so take this review as an outlier.

This lovely small town is on an economic downslide when the state wants to build a stadium for the Carolina Panthers. Hattie, a big-time event planner, has come home to help her parents on the farm. The farm is failing due to soil, so Hattie helps them start an event business in their barn. Meanwhile, the company Hattie works for is planning a big event which could make her a partner. Her father has had a heart attack, and she is forced to stay in town longer.
The townspeople are desperate to keep their small-town status while Hattie supports the stadium to keep the town alive.
She rekindles a relationship with high school sweetheart but there is a new, mysterious man in town who took over the hardware store. Will Hattie stay with Lee? Is the mysterious Fox worth pursuing? What will happen in the town and more importantly, Hattie’s parents’ farm and event venue?
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a slow burn for me getting into it but once I did, I could not put the book down. It did seem to have a lot of characters that were not the main characters but some of them did add to the storyline. I will definitely read more by this author!

This talented author has written a page turner. Realistic characters keep the story moving quickly. Family and friends…I was intrigued by the title. Small town romance and second chances…will love win out this time? A fun book. Thanks Netgalley

We love a good small-town romance where the heroine comes back to her hometown from the big city.

Hattie comes back to her hometown of Mountain View, South Carolina to support her parents when she finds out that her family's farm turns infertile. It's an interesting story to start because I was intrigued by the love triangle aspect featuring her old flame Lee Lockhardt, as well as the new mysterious guy Fox Ryan. The whole plot and storyline left me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. The back and forth of whether or not she was going to stay or go had me guessing what she was going to decide in the end.

Overall the book was interesting, so I highly recommend it if you enjoy a light, fun read!