Major Hallmark movie vibes from this one, I finished it even more convinced that I belong in small town America surrounded by Dolly’s and Billy Jo’s, good old country folks, music and barn dances!

Really lovely easy, feel good listen/read that didn’t require loads of attention to detail. I suppose there’s nothing startlingly fresh or new in the title but sometimes comfort is what you need from a book and this provided it in spades. A fantastic “soundtrack” is always going to win my heart too.

Great fun. Great narration Alexandra Ryan. Absolutely no complaints.

Huge thanks to Spotify Audiobooks and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook which is available now 🎧

This was an entertaining and well written story. I enjoyed the small town setting, great sense of community, and the second chance romance. I’m not a big fan of love triangles, but this one worked for me, and I loved who Hattie ended up with.

Thanks to NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for the ALC.

Review of Sing Me Home to Carolina by Joy Callaway

Sing Me Home to Carolina delivers a heartfelt, small-town romance imbued with Southern charm, second-chance love, and meaningful community stakes. Joy Callaway crafts an engaging story that’s perfect for fans of Sweet Magnolias, Hart of Dixie, and Viola Shipman's feel-good sagas.

Those seeking high-octane scenes or unpredictable plot twists might find the formula comforting but conventional .

Sing Me Home to Carolina is a warm, character-driven romance that soothes the soul while delivering emotional resonance. Its well-drawn setting, heartfelt crossroads of love, and community-centered conflict make it a satisfying summer read. Ideal for fans of cozy, small-town romantic fiction.

This is a perfect summer read....it had a little bit of everything...romance, family issues, funny moments, and a happy ending. The author did a fantastic job in getting the reader to feel the small town vibes....as a person from a small town, I really enjoyed this. I loved Hattie and just wanted her to have her hapoy ending. Her rekindled romance with Lee and her growing feelings for Fox was great and I didn't know which way I wanted the story to go. I also loved the music element in the book. I also LOVED the cover...in fact, it was the cover that caught my eye and made me read the synopsis to the story first. I love feel good books in the summer and this one delivered!

This book was not at all what I expected…and yet, I loved it!

🛑 I’m giving an OUTLINE here, not giving the book away… but, fair warning… 🛑

Hattie has moved away from home and is really beginning to make a name for herself! As a matter of fact, her boss told her that if their next event goes as well as planned, she hopes to make her a partner in the business!

But, at the same time, she gets some bad news from her parents…and decides she must go home for the weekend…
And you know that saying? When it rains, it pours….

Well, Hattie gets a very unexpected surprise when her HS boyfriend happens to be home too. The same one she loved with all her heart. The same one who totally broke her heart. But, that’s ok…because she’s grown up now.

It seems like surprises keep coming her way too. And not so much in a good way.
Her hometown is now fighting to keep a huge stadium from being built there, but, Hattie thinks this just might be what the town needs. If they can get it built there, and not in a neighboring town, maybe it would help supply the town with some much needed foot traffic…and business! But it seems that no one agrees with her. No one….

While she’s home she also discovers the new guy who took over a local shop. He seems to be reclusive,in a way. But yet, he’s always the first one to lend a hand to help out ANYONE in need. And not only that, he seems to always want to help with money too! But… where is he getting all this money from? How much could the local store possibly be making??

And in the way of small towns, it goes on and on… and so does all the gossip!
Personally I LOVED the hair salon with the home made donuts! 😊

This one will HOOK its claws into you right from the beginning, and not release its grip until the very last page! 😮

And I have to tell you, the whole time I was reading I wanted to reach into the book and knock some sense into a few people! Don’t they see 👀 what’s going on??? I mean, really??!!

And yet i plodded along…fingers crossed…hoping…crying..laughing…

And in the end the small town antics won! Community banded together and overcame. And, love was in the air! ❤️

And yes, I guess that makes me a sucker for romance.🥰 But, that’s ok with me!!

4 1/2 country, cowboy, lovesick, heartfelt 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 for me, happily rounded up to 5!!

#SingMeHomeToCarolina by @JoyCalloway. Narrated beautifully by @AlexandraRyan.


***RELEASED IN JUNE, SO IF ITS SOMETHING THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO YOU, LOOK 👀 FOR IT ON SHELVES NOW!!***

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #SpotifyAudio for an ARC of the audiobook, in exchange for an honest review.

You can find my reviews on: Goodreads,
Insta @BookReviews_with_emsr and/or
My Facebook Book Club: Book Reviews With Elaine

Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

Fun writing by Joy Callaway, I could really imagine so many characters with her descriptive writing. There aren't a lot of books with a South Carolina setting.

You can't keep any secrets in a small town.

Alexandra Ryan did a great job with narrating the audiobook.

Hattie Norwood goes back home to Mountain View, SC where her hometown might be the location for a new stadium. Everyone (except her) doesn't want the stadium in their back yard. They are hoping that Hattie's recent successes with promotions and public relations can help the town.

And in addition her first love from high school (who crushed her heart) is back in town and the new guy in town is also smoking hot (and super nice to everyone).

So many cute nuances to small town, country living in this book. I really enjoyed it. Rounding up to 5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Spotify Audio (the publisher) for approving my request to listen to the advance listen of Sing Me Home to Carolina: A Novel by Joy Calloway in exchange for an honest review. Approx 11 hr, 41 min, release date is June 10, 2025.

Rating: 4 ⭐️
Pub Date: June 10, 2025
How I Read It: 🎧

Synopsis
Event planner Hattie Norwood goes back home to Mountain View, South Carolina to support her parents and their failing farm and finds herself in the middle of a town battle because they don’t want their small town to become home to a new Carolina Panthers stadium, but Hattie is actually in favor of it. While home, she can’t believe her eyes when she sees her old flame, former MLB standout Lee Lockhardt, who’s returned home after career-ending injury.
But there’s also the hunky and mysterious new owner of Fox’s Hardware, Fox. Are you Team Lee or Team Fox?

My Thoughts
The second I started reading this book, I got Sweet Home Alabama vibes! It’s one of my favorite movies, and I picked this up because I love a good book set in the south. This book did not disappoint. It’s got small town southern charm, high school love, a mysterious handsome new man in town that has that rugged charm with his beard, country music, farms, and barns all mixed in. It was a cute Hallmark-type romance and the characters were the fun neighborly rural small town kind. If you listen to the audio version of the book, the narrator is wonderful! Do you like Heart of Dixie or Sweet Magnolias? If yes, you’ll love this book!

Themes
Family
Old Love
Love Triangle

Ratings
Characters: 5 ⭐️
Pace: 4 ⭐️
Enjoyability: 4 ⭐️

Thank you Spotify Audiobooks, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I love @joywcal’s historical fiction novels, so when I saw Sing Me Home To Carolina, I just automatically requested the audiobook without reading the synopsis. I’m glad I did because while I tend to stay away from the romance genre, I really enjoyed this audiobook! It’s a cute southern romance. If you like rom coms such as Sweet Home Alabama, then this audiobook is right up your alley.

I loved the rural South Carolina small town setting, the villain being the Carolina Panthers organization, the repurposed barn, and the theme of finding the true wealth in life.

This is an easy YES for me!
As you read you’ll fall in love with the small town & the cast of characters.
It has love, regret, optimism, surrender & nostalgia.
I read it in the hopes of diving into a cute romance. I was greeted with so much more and I was here for it!
Grown up, moved away and following her dreams. Parents are aging and she feels the obligation that we all face. She’s navigating that fiasco. A mixed up migraine of a love life. & trying to talk a town into something with the most honest of intentions & then living with the results.
Read it! It’s not going to end the way you think!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Joy Callaway for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 STARS

This small-town romance was a quick read featuring likable characters.
Narrated by Alexandra Ryan!

Such a great audiobook. I loved every minute of this story. Thank you for letting me listen in advance. Can't wait to see what else this author has to offfer. Loved the narrator.

The narrator of Sing Me Home to Carolina is absolutely fabulous. The story is compelling until about three quarters of the way through the book when it seems to go off course and never really finds its way back.

If you enjoy a story set in a small town with people who are down to earth, care about each other and will fight for what is right - this is your book to read. It is a sweet read with a closed door romance ( which I really like ).

Hattie is a strong woman who knows her mind and is willing to go after what she wants. She is also a loving daughter and loves her home town.

This was an enjoyable read. I will now be looking for other things Joy Callaway wrote and for what she writes next.

Country Road, take me home....(isn't that a song?) Hhaha you know it was a collab with a bunch of country music artist..either way I love that song and that was playing through my mind. But..either way in this book Joy Callaway pretty much hits on every single Hallmark Troupe you can think of.
-Big city event planner -CHECK
-Returns home to her small home town-CHECK
-Old flame resurfaces- CHECK
-Parent;s health in jeopardy- Forced to stay home- CHECK
-Unrealistic work obsessed boss -CHECK

But sadly in addition to all the troupy troupes, there was some serious cheese that came long with this book. I have enjoyed many of Joy's books in the past, but this one did not pass the mustard for me. I felt like the story dragged at times and I just was not invested in the plot. I really didn't care that much for Patty either, she was so quick to jump back into bed with her former flame....come on girl. Don't you know the saying why buy the cow when you can have the milk? Your momma shoulda taught you better. Plus I thought her former flame was a tool. So the plot wasn't my favorite and the characters were not spectacular....I just didn't love it. Not to mention I just don't like books where music is a thing--I love music, I just don't want to read about it. I know weird...
Okay, Neils, please learn something, you do not like books with musicians.

I guess this book was dissapointing compared to the usual book. It just fell flat for me.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to review and read this advanced copy of Sing Me Home Carolina by Joy Callaway . I was not influenced or paid in exchange for this honest review.

Sing Me Home to Carolina
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A totally darling feel good fun story. Lots of small town charm, love triangles & twists. Super cute book! The Audio was really good. Joy has done it again!
Thank you NetGalley!

Joy Callaway is fast becoming an auto buy author for me! I have read several of her books recently and have fallen in love with her writing. This book is definitely no exception. "Sing Me Home to Carolina" is a quaint step into country life in North Carolina. You will love/hate all the side characters in this book, as well as the main characters. You will find yourself rooting for certain characters in this love triangle. The mention of certain country singers had me giggling, I thoroughly enjoyed this super comfy cozy read.

Although, I wasn't as happy with the audiobook. Chapters 10 and 24 cut off mid-sentence, and the male portions of the audio could have used a male narrator. I did enjoy the female parts.

Thank you, Spotify audiobooks and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to the ALC.

Hattie is returning home to her small town in SC to help her parents. She is excited to hear that an NFL team wants to build a stadium there. This will be a great boost to this small little town. But the locals are not excited about their town changing from what they love. In the midst of the angst of this tumultuous situation, Hattie finds her old love from high school and vacillates on being attracted to him again and being angry for him being with another girl who is still there. With her old love and an interesting new man in town, Hattie is torn. Who will she choose if either? Will the stadium be built there, forever changing this little town?

A bit like a Hallmark movie. Southern romance. I have enjoyed Joy Callaway's previous historical fiction books, but I am not as interested in romance fiction. But if you like this, you will enjoy this book.

This is definitely my favorite @joywcal novel so far! I will just be over here packing my bag to go live in this little fictional town of Mountain View! Thank you @alcovepress for my early listening and reading copies of SING ME HOME TO CAROLINA, out now!

I loved Hattie’s storyline: living her life in the big city even though she’s from a small town. The struggle she has is still being “in love” with her HS sweetheart, even though he did the unthinkable breaking up with her as he headed off to college, eventually becoming a big baseball star.

What I loved even more? The small town of Mountain View, its slower pace of life, and the love everyone in the town had for their way of life. I can see both Hattie’s perspective on the town, and I can also see the town’s perspective,

What I didn’t bargain for? Lee Lockhardt the baseball star (washed up and injured) coming home, wrecking Hattie’s life and then somehow becoming a great musician and going on a world tour with his band. *eye roll* He strikes me as a man of convenience, if you know what I mean.

Now, let’s talk about Fox Ryan, the mysterious hardware store owner. Now HE was a solid individual. And given that he bails Hattie out of a couple predicaments with his strong singing and helps her build a wedding/music venue that brings so many visitors to the town. Win-win in my book.

Well done, Joy, well done, I loved it!

What a charming, small-town read. This was my first book by Joy Callaway and I truly enjoyed it! It was a delightful and relaxing listen for me as I drove home to see my parents passing through some rural areas. I sat in front of my parents’s home trying to finish it.

I was enchanted with this story and could COMPLETELY relate to Hattie the main character. I understood her dilemmas about aging parents, finally establishing herself professionally in the big city and being torn by circumstances pulling her back home. I was anxious to see how it all ended and the decisions she’d make considering the scenarios that emerged around her.

While I enjoyed the audio, it would’ve been SO MUCH BETTER if the songs were actually sung opposed to just verbalized. With music being a central theme of the book, I do think it would’ve taken the audio to the next level.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.The characters were believable for the most part. The storyline was original and sweet. And, I loved the authors writing style. It was very clear and decipherable. Thank you NetGalley and Spotify for the e-ALC!!

Loved this new venture/genre that Joy explored with her readers. I feel good book great for the summer. Narration was excellent.