Sadie and Max were as sweet as southern sweet tea. I absolutely loved the insta-love which I usually am not a huge fan of. I also am a huge sucker for a main character who uses quintessential southern phrases. Knee high to a grasshopper will always get me to be partial towards a novel.

All I Want For Christmas was such a sweet holiday romance read that I can totally envision as a Hallmark or Netflix Christmas movie. It is the second holiday romance by writing duo Maggie Knox, who you may remember wrote last year's The Holiday Swap.

The book follows country singer's Sadie and Max who are both contestants on a reality singing competition show. Max is the son of Country Music royalty, meanwhile Sadie really needs to win this competition in order to make it in the music industry. The two are suddenly thrust together as a duo and are asked to fake a romance to increase ratings for the show. One thing they're not faking is their electric chemistry when they perform music together and that chemistry slowly becomes evident off the stage as they spend more and more time together.

A special thanks to @NetGalley and Penguin Group for my ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I just reviewed All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox. #AllIWantforChristmas #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL] I really liked the character development of the story and the chapters from the main characters point of view. Some of the story did drag on, but overall a really cute, fast Christmassy read!

This is the follow up to last years, The Holiday Swap and this year the authors have another holiday hit on their hands. A quick paced hard to put down fun and festive read that will have you grabbing the holiday cookies and hot chocolate while settling in for a great read.
When Nashville country singers Sadie and Max are paired together for a competition on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, they really don't like each other. Sadie's producer say's they must fake-date since they are a singing duo and it'll skyrocket their career. They only have to do this until their last televised show, it shouldn't be that hard to do, right?
If you like the fake dating trope/ enemies to lover's trope this one is for you.
Their first televised fake kiss feels so awkward so why is Sadie all of the sudden feeling so complete being in his arms? Why can't Max keep his mind on his music and not Sadie?
You've got to hand it to Max, he's a guy who knits dog sweaters in his spare time and has an adorable little dog that he totally pampers.
When Max catches Sadie in the arms of her slimy producer, there must be more to the story, but he storms off. I really disliked the producer's character, he's totally unprofessional and wants more from Sadie than a great song.
Max is trying so hard to prove he's not like his father who is a famous singer, made a lot of mistakes in his personal life and also a drinker. He tries to distance himself from him but does admit they need to have an important talk. I have to give his father credit for trying with Max.
After many starts and stops will Sadie and Max be able to stay together and make beautiful music together? With a few bumps along the way I enjoyed seeing how Sadie and Max's relationship progresses.

Pub Date 04 Oct 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

A few brushes with fame under her belt, songstress Sadie Hunter is beginning to wonder if her big break will ever come. Musician Max Brody is wondering the same thing, but for different reasons. Growing up in the shadow of his famous father, he longs to be taken seriously. So when they are both selected to be contestants on the popular singing competition, Starmaker, each hopes this will finally be their chance to make a name for themselves.

But when the two meet, it’s not exactly merry and bright. Although Max finds himself drawn to Sadie’s beauty, he’s put off by her frosty demeanor. Only Sadie recalls what Max does not- a chance meeting in the past that solidified Sadie’s seeing Max as a world class jerk. The tension thick, Sadie and Max get paired up as a duet, the world instantly enamored with their chemistry. Overnight #saxie are trending all over social media, being dubbed the next big thing, both on and off the stage. Yet one problem remains- Sadie and Max can’t stand each other. Can these singers put aside their differences for the sake of fulfilling their passions, or will they each be left singing a different tune?

I was today years old when I learned Maggie Knox was a conglomerate of popular authors Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley. While I have yet to read either author’s solo work, I felt something was missing from this book. A short and sweet read, I loved the premise- an enemies to lovers romance set against a musical backdrop at Christmas time!? Sign me up!!

While the execution grabbed my interest, as the story played out, their relationship became a bit of a broken record, steeped in one too many missteps and miscommunications. While you knew where everything was headed, and holiday reads aren’t exactly known for being deep in context, I still feel a bit more melody was needed to make this particular Christmas story ring true.

This couple shouldn’t be together. They couldn’t even talk to one another. This was such a disappointing book.

Such a cute, quick holiday read filled with love and missed romance. Two competitors on a singing show, are paired up when their chemistry is undeniable. They are not happy to be paired up, but it was that, or face elimination. As they are faking their romance, real feelings start to shine through. Lack of communication, forces them apart for a year, and maybe the romance wasn’t really there. Will they be able to set aside differences to appear on the reunion show before Christmas? Really enjoyed the characters and the flow of the story.

This was a cute holiday romance set in the world of country music. There was a fake dating trope and storylines of grief. Perfect for holiday reading.

I loved Maggie Knox’s last holiday read but this one felt a little too cheesy and forced for me. This follows two country singers, both trying to make it big on a tv show. One who is trying to make her big break and the other coming from a line of famous singers with celeb status already. He knits, has a dog, and is a bit of an arrogant jerk before changing his ways. An enemies to lovers trope unfolds but just never feels authentic and the heavy aspects of the plot just didn’t work for me.

One of those books that has a lot of potential, but for me it fell flat. The plot was all over the place. The character development isn’t the best but it isn’t bad either. I didn’t love it but I also didn’t hate it. It was the perfect read to kick off the holiday weekend chaos that is about to ensue. It’s very light hearted and honestly predictable. Grab a hot cocoa, a comfy reading spot and dive in, it’ll be a quick read.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:
▫️Fake dating
▫️Holiday stories
▫️Reality TV
▫️Miscommunication trope

It’s cute but the reason I gave it 3 stars is because it included things that I am uncomfortable with. Plus, once you think a conflict is over, another one occurs. There were too many conflicts in my opinion.

I loved this book and enjoyed every minute of it. I wanted to read some winter tales for the Christmas season and this one started me off just right. The whole time I was cheering Sadie and Max on wanting it to work out. I loved the twists that happened during the story telling and made me want to read more by this author.

Thank you #netgalley for the advance copy

This was a cute story. Fake dating meets The Voice (which has currently become my whole personality). I did like the characters and the way the story touched on deeper topics such as loss and sunshine after the storm. I did, however, struggle with the miscommunication trope. While it is life, I just wanted to lock them in a room and MAKE them talk to each other. The love story was sweet - but I would only recommend to certain readers.

Sadie and Max are two struggling country singers just looking to make a name for themselves. They join a reality singing competition called the Starmaker in hopes of making all their Nashville dreams come true. What they don’t expect is for the crowd to love their on stage chemistry when they unexpectedly get paired together for a duet. They agree to go on as the infamous #Saxie but it doesn’t help that they can’t stand each other. Will these two defeat all odds and be able to fake this relationship on and off stage to win the competition? Or will their dreams of being country music royalty be crushed forever?

This one was peak Hallmark Christmas movie for me! It’s a classic fake dating/grumpy sunshine trope. It has cozy Christmas vibes, lots of snow, and all the drama of a reality tv show! Make sure you all check this one out!

This one was released on October 4th, 2022. A big thank you to Netgalley, the two lovely ladies who make up Maggie Knox, and the publishers for granting me access to this ARC!

So, I loved Sadie and Max…most of the time, I was slightly annoyed about how many times they miscommunicated and at times it did feel repetitive, but overall I really liked them together. I would have loved more of the sweet moments as I felt there was a lot of anger sprinkled throughout. I know many people say they didn’t feel it was a Christmas book, but I disagree. Maggie Knox used so many common holiday themes- love, cozy vibes, them importance of family and friends, etc. I love how it touched on the stages of grief and how people do handle it differently. I think Max and Sadie’s support system really made this book. My biggest complaint would be how there seemed to be such a big loss of information between last Christmas and this Christmas, but I suppose looking back it made more sense than when in the depths of the novel. Finally- I loved the inclusion and detail of the Opryland Resort as it very well might be one of my favorite places I have been and love seeing it in books. Overall, I loved this more than the Holiday Swap and hope Maggie brings us an even better read next holiday season!

This book could have been 10 chapters shorter had the characters just spoken with each other. I really disliked this one. I didn't care for either character, and I really loathed the fake country accent that was on every other word. It was overkill. After really enjoying last year's Maggie Knox release, I was excited for this one. I was disappointed.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book. I requested to read All I Want For Christmas as I loved this author duos last book.
The Holiday Swap has become one of my all time favorite romance books and I recommend it frequently. Unfortunately this book just didn’t work as well for me personally.
I think the setting of a reality tv show and being singing based had a lot to do with that as they are not my personal interests. I would definitely read another book by this duo as their writing style is just so fun and readable.

This book was adorable. I love the fake-dating trope, but the miscommunication portion of the book was tiring.
It was an overall sweet holiday read, even if did feel the male main character Max should have groveled or apologized a little bit more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This worked for me on audio. It was cute and I enjoyed the reality TV show. It was a quick read and second chance romance which I really liked. The timelines sometimes felt a little choppy and it threw me off at times.

Max and Sadie are two very different people with the same goal- become country music stars. So when they are paired up on the show star maker and their chemistry is off the charts, can they make their dreams come true and stick together?

Overall, the book was ok. This was cute, but man were the leads frustrating. I’m not a fan of the miscommunication trope and you can see some of the character arcs coming a mile away. I also struggled with the massive time jump. But overall it was a cute Christmas romcom.