Take Me Home

By: Melanie Sweeney

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Zachary Webber

AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER

Road Trip Rules: No bad music. No detours. No falling in love.

Hazel Elliot never looks back. If a door closes, she burns the whole house down. But when she’s invited to her father's Christmas Eve wedding, she’s forced to return to Lockett Prairie, Texas, for the first time since she fled for college.

Ash Campbell has been in love with Hazel since she dated his best friend in high school. Now, Ash and Hazel’s relationship is limited to playful feuding over the best chair in their favorite coffee shop, but his attraction to the prickly girl from home has only grown stronger.

When Ash’s car breaks down just as family obligations and the holidays pull him home, only one person can get him there on time. But Hazel has a condition: Everything between them must stay the same. And if it doesn’t? She gets the coffee shop. So the frenemies endure bad music, inclement weather, and B&Bs with only one bed—and that’s just the drive across Texas. When they finally arrive, Hazel must face that, in a small town, there’s nowhere to run . . . and maybe, for the first time, she's found a reason to stay.

good story, annoying fmc

I really liked this story. it's a super slow burn with a satisfying ending. I understand why Hazel is the way she is but damn, it was annoying. This is definitely one of those stories where you're like, just communicate! Just tell her or tell him. it's frustrating when you're a person who can communicate listening to people or a person who refuses to. again, i know why she is like that, but it seems pretty extreme. I don't think Ash deserved all the crap he got but I think he ultimately did the right thing. he really did know her but again, just freaking communicate. it's not even so much a miscommunication issue, it's literally a refusal to communicate issue. Hazel came across to me as somewhat of a narcissist. I don't think that's what the author was going for but I think that's a big issue of Hazel's. she isn't malicious, so don't be expecting that. I wasn't a fan of Hazel. she didn't come across as a likeable character. not even so much as a pathetic character either. just more of a neglected, self sabotaging narcissist who has to learn to be less that.
The story is good, just expect some annoying tropes like the communication issue. obviously the narrators were incredible. this is in the 3rd person which took me a min to get used to. Can't go wrong with Zachary Webber. he honestly could have narrated this whole book and it would have been excellent. the female narrator was good too though. I like her work but she definitely made me like Hazel less, which was a good call on casting to be honest. I do recommend, just be prepared to like Ash way more than Hazel and probably think he could do a lot better while hoping he can really help her.

Sweet Road Trip

This was my first Melanie Sweeney book and what a sweet story it was, it brought me back to MY college days, road trips back home with friends that are still special to me to this day. Zachary Webber and @britpressley narrate Take Me Home in dual along with a 3rd person POV giving Hazel and Ash both the perfect voice to start the hard conversations, to be open with one another, and to grow a bond along the way. Living in the same small town when they were younger, now at the same college, Hazel and Ash didn’t have the best of relationship, Hazel dating Ash’s best friend and Ash pinning after her from a far, it was beautiful to see these two jump in a car together, road trip it back home for the holidays and let all their emotions and long awaited talks out in the open, as the hard moments of home life became more of a reality the way these two opened up and shared their worries was beautiful to hear. I love a story of deep connection and letting someone you least expect be there for you when you do everything to push them away, leaving you with all the feels and this was it.

A sweet holiday story!

The narrators brought this sweet holiday story to life. I loved the book but the narrators made it much more enjoyable!

I cried 3 times 🥹

Lovely. Some parts hit too close to home, but I loved the characters and all their flaws.

Loved!

This is probably my favorite book so far. The story is so cute, the narration is on point, and it's a fun, easy read. I'm glad I found it