I think all I wanted was Christmas to be over by the end of this book. Don't get me wrong, it was the delightful Hallmark romance I needed in my holiday book, but it was just oh-kay.

Maybe I wasn't attracted to Max? Don't get me wrong, a man with a cute dog who can knit sounds like a great gig to me, but I like men who play hockey & play video games & don't feed their dogs gluten-free snacks.

Not the point Dani, stay focused... Let's talk about what I enjoyed about the book. It was freakishly adorable. We love a cute moment for the holidays. It has swoon-worthy adventures with hot cocoa & Christmas shopping & holiday music. Truly, it's has all makings for the most perfect holiday story.

I'd love to hear a cd of all of Sadie & Maxes holiday music. I loved that the book was focused on country music. It was a nice change of pace to read a holiday romance intertwined with one of my favorite genres! The nods to classic country Christmas songs were nostalgic.

I feel I need to take a moment to really shout out the sole moment I was really rooting on any character. TASHA MONROE is a saint and a gem! I can't get over the scene where Tasha comes to the rescue and really pulls Sadie out of her darkest time in Nashville. It made my heart happier than when Max & Sadie sang their Christmas duet.

The only issue is that it felt like a Walmart version of Daisy Jones & The Six.

I thought it was a cool spin to focus on country music, but I didn't really like Max & Sadie. Max was insecure. Sadie was constantly having to prove herself. They fought about it. Faked it. Things were fine. Then it all started over again when I was confident that they were finally going to be mature & say they love one another. Nope. One fake out. And then another. And another.

It felt like they were trying to imitate Daisy & Billys sexual tensions with the constant fighting, but it just didn't work.

I wanted it to be done so badly that I turned my audiobook to 2x speed. I NEVER do that.

I don't think I liked the constant immature miscommunication between the two.

And holy, don't even get me started on how uncomfortable it was reading about the character named Cruz McNeil. This man comes close to being more disgusting than Dolores Umbridge.

Oof, if this is what it is like to be in the spotlight, I'll take my ramen every day paycheck in a heartbeat.

I felt for Sadie's character & that no one seemed to help her. I feel for all the women who have to deal with slimy people just to show that they have a talent in showbiz today.

To come full circle after word vomiting all my thoughts into this review, All I Want for Christmas wasn't my favorite holiday read I picked up this year, but it does have its great moments.

Read this book for a grandma who you would want to adopt into your life, a gluten-free canine companion, a free trip to Nashville during Christmas, and a genuine message of friendship and resilience.

Thank you, NetGalley, Maggie Knox, and Penguin Random House for the advanced reader copy of this book!

UghHhhHHHhhh... so let me start by saying I'm not a Hallmark movie girly, and maybe if I were, I would've been more into this? That's the best way I can describe what they're (I think?) going for here. The premises is definitely there, but it just doesn't work, especially with loooong periods of the story where nothing substantial really goes on.

I guess I’m one of the odd ones who enjoyed this book?? It wasn’t amazing, but I thought it was cute at times and very entertaining. I thought Max was great, but Sadie was a little over dramatic at times. And could their problems have been fixed if they didn’t walk away from each other each time a problem arose? Yes. But then there wouldn’t be a story!! Everything else besides the miscommunication parts I enjoyed and I liked the premise.

The Holiday Swap was definitely better, but I’m excited to read more from this duo!

This was a fun Christmas read- if you’re looking for something during the holidays that is cute and funny, then this book would be perfect for you!!!

DNF @ 47%. This book is way too Hallmark/Netflix Christmas movie-esque for my liking. Too syrupy sweet, too predictable, too country. One too many miscommunications for me. I liked Maggie Knox's other book, so this is disappointing.

If anyone knows how to write a huge hit, it's Maggie Knox!

I thoroughly devoured this book. It was a hit from page 1, I couldn't stop turning the pages..

Very American Idol like, Sadie and Max are chosen for a hit show in Nashville. There are huge demands for them both on and off the stage. They decide that they will fake their relationship until the end of the competition to keep up their "fan-game", it will be hard as they can't stand each other. Typical with enemies to lovers!

I just reviewed All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox. #AllIWantforChristmas #NetGalley

What marshmallow-y delicious goodness did I read? This book was so delightful and heartfelt, I gobbled it the heck up. Music, NASHVILLE, Reality TV? I loved this book so much. Keep them coming, Maggie Knox.

This book was a sweet and charming holiday romance. If you're a fan of country music, reality tv competition shows, or the fake dating trope then this would be a nice read to pick up. For the most part I enjoyed the story, and it moved along at a good pace. The thing that bugged me was the immaturity of the male main character, and how quickly he would jump to wild conclusions, and run away. He was very conflict avoidant, and had zero coping skills, or the ability to listen to the female main-character. I sort of felt like I got whiplash from them as they were on again, off again so much as a couple. So overall, it was a book that I liked and enjoyed, but didn't love.

I managed to largely binge this one even though I didn't love the competition aspect of it. I really enjoyed the portions of this novel that took place in Canada. But both the FMC and MMC were absolutely frustrating with their lack of communication/listening skills. This one was WAY too all over the place in trying to figure out which character was absolutely botching everything based on what nonsense they were assuming. I'd pretty well and truly over the miscommunication trope and would really love if adults in novels actually ACTED LIKE ADULTS. And I did appreciate when the FMC FINALLY realized how many true friends and confidants she actually had. I rated it higher just due to binge-ability but I didn't love it. I will keep reading more from this author in the future as I have enjoyed previous projects.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This tale of reality tv singers was okay. The romance was good but something felt rushed and not quite right with this story.

All I Want for Christmas was the first book I have read by Maggie Knox. It had so much potential … set at the holidays in Nashville, a singing competition, the troupes (enemies to forced proximity to fake dating). But for me, it fell a little short.

There was SO much repetition of lack of communication and just running away. Like so much … I found myself says “ugh again” more than once. It just seemed so childish, there was so many other ways things could have gone down. But lack of communication is always one storyline I have a hard time with.

I did however want to know how it would end so it was not enough to completely put down the book. I have the Holiday Swap too, so I am interested in going back to read that one and see how it compares.

DNF @50%

THE MINUTE SADIE ARRIVED AT THE CABIN TO FIND MAX AND EVERYTHING WAS GOOD BETWEEN THEM AGAIN, I JUST LOST COMPLETE INTEREST TO KEEP READING. I KNEW THAT SOMETHING BAD WOULD HAPPEN AGAIN THAT WOULD JUST TEAR THEM APART AND THEN THEY WOULD HAVE TO RECONCILE AGAIN. SINCE THIS HAD ALREADY HAPPENED QUITE A FEW TIMES ALREADY, I WAS JUST NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THAT ANYMORE. I ALSO KIND OF DISLIKED ALL OF THE CHARACTERS AND HATED THE MANAGER, ESPECIALLY. OVERALL, THIS WAS NOT MY CUP OF TEA.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THIS ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for sending me a copy of this eARC! Unfortunately, I am very behind in reviewing it, but it’s still the “holiday” season so it fits.

Last year, I was introduced to Maggie Knox through Book of the Month and selected The Holiday Swap as my choice. I really loved the lighthearted romance that the story provided and was so excited to be given this book in advance.

As a disclaimer, I am not a fan of Hallmark movies. Unfortunately, this book fell short for me because it felt like I was reading a Hallmark movie. The story line jumped all over the place, the characters seemed underdeveloped, and overall, I just didn’t love it. Believe me, I wanted to. The setting was one of my favorite places ever, Nashville, and incorporating the idea of two country singers falling in love and trying to make their dreams come true really had me hooked, but again, the execution of it fell short. I think the only reason that I finished this book was because the setting was Nashville at Christmas time, involved country music, and the final place in the novel was the Grand Ole Opry, one of the coolest places I have ever been.

I would strongly encourage anyone who loves Hallmark movies to give this one a try because I think you will enjoy it. As for me, my first completed read of 2023 is getting ⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars.

Thanks for the opportunity to give an honest opinion. I don’t find myself usually in to country music but this book made me want to turn on some Kenny Chesney. The characters were adorable and I miss them already. Prefect winter rom com!

I thought that this second chance romance with the reality show mixed in was cute. I enjoyed the element of Max and Sadie competing against each other in the singing competition. "Saxie" were so cute together and I could really imagine the scenes of them singing together. I did not enjoy how terrible they were at communication and it ruined the sweet moments for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I feel like this book was trying to do too much but also most of it felt super dragged out? Like part of me wishes it would’ve just been during the show when they were faking their relationship and not the year after or the opposite? Also there was so much miscommunication that it got exhausting and I was just over them before I even got half way through the book. I would’ve given it 2.5 stars but I did really like the end so I bumped it up to 3 stars. I’m honestly just glad I finally finished it!

This was such a charming winter romance! It has Christmas in the title, but it has perfect winter feels! I love this charming story that had a unique story line. It is told from two perspectives and this keeps the story fresh and moving. I’d definitely recommend this fun rom com.

All I Want For Christmas is a cute holiday romcom. It’s very much like a Hallmark Christmas movie and is pretty light and fluffy. Ultimately, it felt a bit flat for me. While I liked the characters individually, I felt their relationship was rushed. They went from coexisting to being deeply in love. Additionally, I felt there was a lot of extra fluff that wasn’t necessary. It was a bit too long for me.

I thought it was ok. Seemed like the plot was alllll over the place and it felt rushed. Lots of miscommunications — one would be resolved only for another to immediately follow. I loved the original music competition part — wish there was more of that but that was only like a third of the book! Will make you want to Christmas karaoke. Could this just be a movie instead?

Sadie and Max are both competing on a tv singing competition. They got paired up for a team challenge and their chemistry was so impressive that the powers that he decided to pretty much force them to compete as a duo. The audience is wild for Saxie and their odds of winning together are practically a guarantee.

The competition means different things to each of them.
Max has a father who is a legendary country singer and Max wants to earn his career without an strings pulled by his father. He wants to prove that he’s not the kind of guy his dad is.
Sadie is taking her last stab at accomplishing her dream. She moved to Nashville and put all her hopes on this competition. If it doesn’t work this time, she’ll probably go back home.

They each have a lot to lose and they agree to sing as a duo. They also agree to fake date. Pretending they are a couple will definitely bring in votes.

It’s hard at first but it becomes much easier when real feelings develop between them. But lines start to blur between what’s real and what fake. And because of this already fragile situation, Sadie and Max get into some huge fights very quickly.

They are contractually obligated to sing a Christmas song together a year from now. Neither one of them can predict where they’ll be a year from now. Will they be a fake couple? Will they be in love? Will they hate each other? Any of these options seem possible.

And as Sadie’s career success finally hits its stride, she faces a devastating loss in her personal life.

I liked Sadie and Max. I’ll admit to getting very frustrated with Max a couple of times in this book but I won’t elaborate so I can avoid spoilers. This book was sad at times due to Sadie’s loss and very happy at others. It really covered all the emotions.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thank you!