I enjoyed this romance with appealing characters and a Nashville country music setting. The initial antagonism between the two main characters develops into a rocky love relationship with a lot of ups and downs and for the most part, the previous traumatic experiences with dysfunctional family relationships ring true as a contributing factor. I did find that I wanted to slap Max by the time the last misunderstanding happened--he really wasn't a quick study when it came to learning not to jump to the worst conclusions about Sadie! It feels like maybe there were one too many instances of the same sort of thing occurring to derail their romance. On the whole, though, the villain of the piece is satisfyingly sleazy and underhanded, Sadie's realization of his duplicity is well handled, and the tension and passion of the love story between Max and Sadie are great.

Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. So much so that I also like to do a little celebrating for Christmas in July!

Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam gave me the gift of allowing me to read an ARC of Maggie Knox's "All I want for Christmas" due to be released October 4, 2022. This book combined two of my favorite things, Christmas and country music! The book read like a Hallmark Christmas movie and definitely put me in the mood for some holiday romance.

Sadie is a struggling artist from Wisconsin trying to make it big in Nashville. Max is the entitled son of a country music legend. Both are selected as contestants on the popular reality singing show 'Starmaker'. Each have their own reasons for wanting to win the big prize but when they are paired to sing a duet together, their chemistry is explosive. So explosive that the network demands that they fake a romance on and off the screen for the ratings or be kicked off the show. Saxie, as the duo is nicknamed, must then figure out how to give the public what they want, knowing they can't stand each other! Will they be able to pull it off and make their dreams come true? Or will their pride and stubbornness cost them everything they have worked so hard for?

There were times where I loved these characters and times where they infuriated me. I liked watching them grow and witness how they handled the many problems they were dealing with in their personal lives and together. It was a beautiful love story with what I can imagine would be a beautiful soundtrack. The perfect Christmas book to make you believe in love again.

I loved this book! Two country singers are forced to pair up and fake date on a reality singing show because they have undeniable chemistry. They go from enemies to lovers, a favorite trope of mine. Would definitely recommend you read this holiday!


Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Putnam Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love fake dating tropes and Christmas books, but the miscommunication was a bit much. Still a cute story though

Thank you to NetGalley, Maggie Knox, and Putnam Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was super excited to dive into this book, because I thought the storyline sounded so fun! However, I felt like at the end of the day this story suffered from too much drama. It just felt like the relationship between Max and Sadie never fully developed, because every few pages a new miscommunication or problem was being thrown at them that lead to one of them assuming the worst about the other. Then a few pages later we were back to love declarations after barely there apologies. I also felt like Sadie never fully accepted any responsibility for doing anything wrong, which was frustrating at times, because she would just kinda brush it to the side with a small apology without changing any actions. Also, Max was initially the person who warned Sadie about how creepy and predatory Cruz was (and Sadie completely ignored him) so for him to just suddenly forget this at the end of the book and act like it was news seemed strange to me and like a big plot hole. I felt like this story and the premise had such potential and I loved the first 30% or so (Honestly what ends up being the first December they know eachother), but after that the book just kind of fell apart for me and never fully recovered. The reconciliation fell flat to me and it was hard for me to be invested in the characters at that point.

Thank you to the Maggie Knox duo, Putnam Books, and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
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All I Want for Christmas is branded as an enemies-to-lovers between two contestants who are trying to make it big in Nashville and are forced to fake date. As someone whose playlist screams y’allternative, who guzzles fake dating fics and cheesy Hallmark movies like water, and whose trope she would kill for is enemies-to-lovers, I wanted to love this book. I wanted to sing it’s praises. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.
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I struggled to connect with Sadie and Max or anything they were going through. I’m not talking I struggled to identify with them. I’m talking they seemed like little robot people going through the rom-com motions and there was nothing for me to clamp onto. I desperately wanted to! But there was just zero spark for me. Or for them.
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I thought we’d spend time with them as they transitioned into a musical duo and were forced together. I thought we’d see Sadie and Max get to know each other and unwillingly fall head-over-boots for each other. That’s the best part about any enemies-to-lovers or fake dating storyline for me! Unfortunately, we don’t get that here. We miss out on all that potential competition drama and fake dating awkwardness due to time jumps. One minute they’re struggling to look at each other, next minute they’re professing their love.
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Another thing I simply couldn’t stand here was all the miscommunication. This book was a miscommunication extravaganza and not in a fun way. Sadie and Max have zero communication. They flip-flop more than a fish out of water and have zero faith in one another as people. It was so frustrating to read. I guarantee if they sat down for five minutes and actually talked to each other all of their problems would be solved.
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All I Want for Christmas simply wasn’t the yee for my haw this Christmas in July. I’m sure it’ll be someone else’s. Maybe I’ll give the other Maggie Knox book a stab in the future. For now I’m hanging up my boots and calling it a day.

I LOVED this book. While it wasn't anything earth-shatteringly new, it WAS a greatly enjoyable dynamic christmas book. It's not completely cheesy hallmark christmas movie, but it's heart-warming and perfect for around the holidays.

The book takes place over the course of two christmases, and I really loved the nashville/celebrity aspect, and I loved the complexity of the characters.

Realistically, I gave this a 4.5, but thought it deserved to be bumped up to 5 stars. It's wonderfully cute and complex, not just a basic love story, and I genuinely enjoyed my time reading it. The ONLY thing I didn't love about this book is sometimes the character's behavior didn't make sense to me, it was only 1-2 times, but still something I noticed.

Sadie and Max are contestants on " Star Maker " . They were told to fake a relationship for their fans even though they don't like each other.. They fall in love despite complications and misunderstandings. Will they have their " happily ever after " ?

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.

I liked the music woven throughout. The settings were lovely and lots of fun Christmassy touches woven in.

But unfortunately there was endless miscommunication throughout and I couldn’t enjoy it.

Thanks all the same to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this advance copy.

First of all, I really enjoyed The Holiday Swap (book #1 by Maggie Knox). With that being said, this book was not what I was looking for. I hate hate hate the miscommunication trope and I feel like Max and Sadie were soooo dramatic for no reason. I also got zero christmas vibes from this one and that was disappointing. About 50% in, I just started skimming through a lot of the inner dialogue. I am sad I didn't like this one.

Thank you Netgalley for an early copy for a review with my honest thoughts.

I stopped reading this book at 50%.

I was not drawn to the characters and found the miscommunication trope throughout really disappointing. I didn't believe in the relationship between the two main characters and had a hard time with the time skip and them not talking to each other for almost a year while also fake dating? I wasn't interested in how the story played out and was disappointed by the lack of development almost halfway through the book.

I was super excited to get an eARC copy of this book from NetGalley! I absolutely love Christmas and a “Christmas in July” book made me so happy.

This book follows two aspiring country musicians as they are on a reality music show and then forced to be a “duo” and fake a romance that ends up with true feelings. It’s somewhat of an enemies to lovers story. I loved some of the settings in this book, especially the cabin in Canada. I enjoy all things holiday and this books spans over three Christmases. I did not really believe the romance between the main characters. The feelings between them seemed to have came out of nowhere and both of them have a lot of personal issues that need resolved and it felt like it never did. Without giving too much away, it was pretty predictable in a few scenarios.

Overall, it was a decent book. I probably would not turn away any Christmas book and this would be a cute book to read while you’re cozied up and it’s snowing outside. As far books from this author goes, I did enjoy The Holiday Swap quite a bit more.

I would be interested if the duo wrote a third!

2 things I love: Christmas and fake dating. Unfortunately this book was a bit of a miss for me. I really don’t like when characters cannot communicate and Max and Sadie’s issue was bad. The story/setting was cute and I am sure that will resonate with some readers. Unfortunately this just was not for me. 2.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review

A very cute Christmas fake dating love story! I do wish that there were more Christmas events mentioned in the book for it being a holiday storyline. Love the premise and it being in Nashville! The characters can be frustrating with their lack of communication, but that's the trope! Overall a cute read,

Thank you NetGalley and Maggie Knox!

If you enjoyed The Holiday Swap also by Maggie Knox, then you will also love All I Want For Christmas. This book was so cute and lovely. I even broke out some Christmas decor - in July - for this pic!

Sadie and Max can’t stand to be in each other presence unless they’re on stage together. When they are onstage they come together and form a wonderful beautifully lyrical union. They’re both contestants on a reality country singing show set in Nashville. When they’re approached with the idea of pretending to be dating in order to win, will they agree? Yes! But, will they be able to stand each other long enough when they aren’t singing to make it through their contractual obligations?

I wish it weren’t 100 degrees out while I read this so I could light a fire and sit by the fire with some hot coca. Alas, a nice cold ice tea and air conditioning will have to do! I actually think I will save this one so I can read it again this winter, when I can get all cozy. This truly heartwarming story is one you should definitely pick up. I gave it a strong 4/5 stars and a special thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC.

Maggie Knox’s best novel to date! Getting to ready this for Christmas in July was a total treat! This Christmas novel immediately brings you into the world of Sadie and Max two contestants on Starmaker with completely different backgrounds. Max the son of legendary artist and is set to win and just bring in ratings. While Sadie who comes from a normal life with a voice like a legend has set this as her last chance to break into stardom. Together they will become known as #saxie and you will follow their fake or real love story as they face real life tragedies, heart breaks and fame. While their chemistry and artistry is unmatched only time will tell what’s real and what’s fake. All you want for Christmas is this brilliantly written rom com!

I adored The Holiday Swap from this author duo and couldn’t wait to read this one and it did not disappoint.

A heartwarming enemies to lovers, fake relationship, and grumpy sunshine Christmas book that’ll have you swooning and smiling.

There was a lot of angst in this book and often times to characters kept going back and forth with their feelings but all in all I liked it!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC.

*ARC REVIEW*

I found the first half of All I Want For Christmas to be really monotone. For a book that is based on a friends to lovers trope, I found very little hate between the two main characters. They gave each other some side eye, but besides that there were no fireworks.

The story was flat and I never routed for the characters, which is sad... because they were literally on a singing competition show. I could not relate to the behind the scenes producing of the musicians life, and the love story did not make me swoon.

The story started to pick up a bit with about 20% of the book left to go. The ending was very sweet, but I wish the whole book had more oomph.

Two contestants on a reality show enter into a fake realtionship to win. I loved the Nashville setting and country music focus. I didn’t love that Max and Sadie never communicated and had zero trust. It is really hard to root for a couple when they assume the worst about each other every few pages and never really talk about any of it.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Max is well known as the son to Holden a country superstar. Sadie is a singer trying to make a name for herself is Nashville. Both are participating in a singing sow. After the first competition Sadie is set to choose someone to partner with and gets told to choose max to help boost ratings. After the first duet they are asked to become a couple and then to become engaged for a year until the shows next season. What they don’t anticipate is the actual real feelings they start to feel toward one another. Something devastating happens to Sadie and her and Max have a falling out. After not speaking for a year they reconnect but can’t seem to stay of good terms because of their own battles. But after a uncomfortable situation that Sadie is put in puts thoughts in Max head that make him question everything. Truly a beautiful love story of young adults figuring out life and best of all around Christmas time. If anyone knows me I’m a sucker for anything involving Christmas so reading #AllIWantForChristmas which was allowed to me thanks to #NetGalley was an absolute no brainer to me. This book releases October 4th, 2022. And let me tell you…. You don’t want to miss this one 📚