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 📚

Thanks to NetGalley and Viking for the e-arc.
Cute premise that just didn't work for me. Immature, non-communicative main characters with little chemistry. They mostly behaved like toddlers who didn't get their way, storming off instead of having a conversation. And the time jump really didn't work - what was the purpose? The whole story was rather disjointed. Kept waiting for it to get better.

I really, really wanted to love this one but, alas, I did not. I liked it but there was nothing that really grabbed my attention and made me want to keep reading it. It’s not bad, it’s just not my favorite.

First, I was really hoping for a Christmas story. There really isn’t a whole lot of Christmas involved other than the fact it takes place over a few Christmas seasons. I did like that there’s mention of Christmas traditions, shopping, and Christmas songs but ultimately wanted more.

Second, can we stop with the miscommunication in romance novels? We all know it’s not my favorite trope but I can get over it if it’s a very minor part of the plot. When it’s the whole premise of our two MC’s relationship, though, that I cannot do. I couldn’t really connect with either MC. They both seemed very immature and selfish with hardly any growth between them. You could tell they had the best chemistry and I was rooting for them the whole time but I really wanted to see more growth from them. They weren’t the best at communicating and they definitely made a lot of assumptions about each other which caused a lot of stress for me😂

Overall, I liked the idea of the story. I thought it was fun and I loved getting to know both Sadie’s and Max’s backgrounds and see their relationships with their families. It really helps you to get to know the reason they are the way they are.

2.75 out of 5. i wanted to like this so much. I just didn't . This is tending to the Lifetime movie and out of the Hallmark movie category altogether (if you know your Xmas movies you know what I mean). The premise was so good (even though there are plenty of Christmas movies with the exact one), the title is perfect I wanted to really like it but there was just a lot wrong with this. I was hate reading a little bit. First of all the characters are insufferable there is absolutely no communication and all their fights are so dumb, its one of my biggest book pet peeves. The characters were just not that engaging to me. Also I wanted more backstory on both, and there was too little to late. There was also a little of a disconnect between the two narrations and that lost me somewhat. Also Side note, the whole #saxie name makes no sense, who thought of that. Based on common occurrences it should be #maxie or #Sadix or #sadax, but that one tiny quirk in a book that I just could not get into. A cute but not fulfilling romance.

How much christmas: There is a bit of Christmas, but it is pretty Christmas light in general. a 3.5 out of 5 in terms of Christmas.

If you like romances featuring musicians, reality shows, warm and cozy Christmas holiday romances then this book is going to be right up your alley. Knox delivers a swoony and steamy fake-dating romance with complex characters learning to deal with their own issues before they can fully be with each other. And can I say that Max’s dog, Patsy Canine (best spin on a dog name ever), steals every scene she’s in. So get your cuddliest blanket and hot cocoa ready, this book is going to make your holiday dreams come true.

What a bummer! I enjoyed last year’s The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox (did you know this is a pseudonym for a writing duo?!) but this one didn’t do it for me. The characters are very one dimensional, miscommunication is rampant, and it’s over the top cheesy.
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The setting was swoony and kept me more engaged than I would have been. We’re talking Nashville at Christmas and a snowy cottage in Banff, Canada. ❄️☃️🛷 Dreamyyyy! ♥️🎄♥️ I also did enjoy the country music competition aspect. 🪕🎤
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I am so appreciative for the chance to read this early! Thank you So much to the author, NetGalley, and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this advanced copy!

Loved the settings (Milwaukee, Nashville and Banff)...such a nice change from the settings usually in books.
The content felt like a very tame Hallmark movie. The cover felt like contemporary fiction. So (to me) there is a disconnect.
And the book felt extremely long.

1.5 stars

When I read the synopsis for Maggie Knox's sophomore novel, I thought that a enemies-to-lovers story about two country singers forced to fake a relationship for a singing competition holiday special sounded absolutely fantastic. I really enjoyed how much Christmas Knox had infused into her first novel about twin sisters having to switch places at the holiday season and I was looking forward to another book full of Christmas feels.

Welp.

This book really did not work for me at all. Structuring the book around three separate Christmas does not necessarily allow for the authors to plum the depths of the characters' emotional arc and it forced the pacing to become incredibly erratic. I honestly thought that we were missing scenes in this copy because of how much we were skipping around. In addition, I did not believe in the main couple's relationship whatsoever. It felt like I was being told that they were falling for each other rather than being shown and I got increasingly annoyed by the not one, not two, but six major miscommunications that occur to provide conflict in their relationship. I could have forgiven some of these issues if we had gotten some great Christmas moments; however, we barely get any holiday cheer outside of a few references to red and green and several scenes set in Canada.

All in all, I think that there was a lot of potential in this novel that just never had the chance to be fully realized. I would consider reading another Knox novel to see if this was just a fluke, but I might go into it with a little wariness.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

🎄✨ all i want for christmas review ✨🎄

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❤️✨ SYNOPSIS ✨❤️

after their duet for the reality singing show, starmaker, breaks the internet, sadie & max find themselves in a fake relationship until their final performance in the starmaker holiday special. the only problem? they can’t stand each other. but with their dreams just within reach, they agree to the ruse. will their fake relationship be exposed before they can win? or might their phony connection turn real by the christmas finale?

🎄✨ MY THOUGHTS ✨🎄

⚠️ CW: DEATH OF A LOVED ONE, GRIEF, & SEXUAL HARASSMENT ⚠️

if you love dual povs, country music, american idol, fake dating, christmas hallmark movies, and cute doggos this book might be for you!!

alexa play christmases when you were mine by taylor swift 🎶

🌟 RATING: ★★★★☆
🌶️🥵 RATING: ★★☆☆☆

RELEASE DATE: October 2022 ✨🎄

christmas in july? sign me up!! as many of you know, christmas is my favorite holiday. so was very excited to receive this arc!! thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks ❤️🎄

max & sadie had amazing chemistry. the tension was just *chef's kiss* i'm a sucker for anything that remotely resembles a hallmark holiday movie so this was amazing. i could've done without the miscommunication & sleezy producer. but, i had a fun time reading this book so if you're a fan of fake dating romantic comedies with lots of feels and swoon worthy moments mark your calendar for this read!! 🥰❤️🎄

#sarcasticbrunettereads #christmasinjuly #arcreview
#alliwantforchristmas #maggieknox #bookstagram

I enjoyed The Holiday Swap and was excited to give Maggie Knox's latest pub a read!
All I Want for Christmas is a perfectly cozy holiday read- light, sweet, and full of charm. I enjoyed both of the MCs and the plot was refreshing. Bonus points for a book set in Nashville!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

After devouring Maggie Knox's "The Holiday Swap," I was automatically intrigued by what their latest novel would be out and was very pleasantly surprised to learn it'd be about two enemy musician/reality TV contestants forced to fake date and set around the holly, jolly holidays. Told from dual points of view across multiple timelines during the holiday season, this book features cute and compelling language that just drew me in and read quite quickly. All in all, it's light and fun and indulgent to create a truly sweet holiday romantic comedy.

Trigger Warning: Assault

Christmas, country music and enemies to lovers…. 3 of my favorite things.

This was cute but, where was the Christmas? It hinted at Christmas but, was. I picturing a full Hallmark Christmas setting, nope. Also, I really didn’t enjoy Max or Sadie. I was frustrated with them both throughout the entire book which really made them unlikeable.

The real star of the show here, Gran.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishing team for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a great Christmas story to read year-round! Like a Hallmark movie - with a happily ever after ending - in book form. I really enjoyed the setup of All I Want for Christmas, as well as the characters

Max and Sadie are competing in a reality TV singing competition in Nashville, and through some production finagling, are convinced to pose as a couple in order to go farther in the competition. Max is son of Nashville country music royalty, but Sadie is a unknown gem from Milwaukee, WI with an amazing voice.

Being a Wisconsin girl myself, the author did a great job of including accurate WI details to Sadie's backstory (including drinking Old Fashioneds and eating Kringle pastry!!). Max is more than what he seems too, and I loved the "knitting as his stress relief" thread.

The dual POV gives readers glimpses into both main characters motivations and thoughts, which is always good for romance books, especially when the story and plot are primarily based on miscommunication or misunderstandings.

The character of Cruz, the sleazy predatory music producer was fairly predictable, but every story needs a good villain.

I would definitely recommend this to any reader who enjoys contemporary romance, fake dating, holiday stories, and reality TV.

This book made me laugh, and it made me cry. I frequently wanted to slap the main characters so they would see what was in front of them. It’s a nice, lighthearted read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Let me start by saying I loved The Holiday Swap and was so excited for this book. However this was a real miss for me. There was no flow to this book. It felt very random and jumped around way to much to believe Max and Sadie had any sort of feelings for one another. You never get a chance to see Sadie and Max growing together. For the thirst half of the book every time they are near each other the chapter ends and jumps several days ahead and you have no idea why they would start having feelings for each other when all they do is argue and fail to communicate with one another. And then with barely any character or relationship development, the book jumps a year! The relationship between these two wasn’t even remotely believable because you never get a chance to see it. Most of the time this book felt like a bunch of random thoughts.
My next issue is the cringey dialog. The southern accents were a bit much in this one and was borderline distracting.
Anyway, the book gets two stars because of Patsy Canine and Max’s knitting skills. I was really looking forward to this one and was super bummed if felt so disjointed.

This was a light hearted, quick read, that was filled with wonderful details and events! All I Want For Christmas follows Sadie and Max, two country singers on a reality tv shows whose fake onscreen chemistry turns into something real the more they get to know each other!

Thank you NetGalley, Maggie Knox, and Penguin Group Putnam for my copy of All I Want for Christmas.