Another festive romance for you today. This time set in the heady world of country music and Nashville. Similar to X Factor and American Idol but this time they are looking for the next big Country star. Max is Nashville royalty, the son of Holden Brady, but no matter what he does he is never taken seriously as an artist. Sadie has been trying to make it in Nashville but is just about to run out of money. This contest is her last chance before she has to admit defeat and return to Wisconsin.

In theory it sounds just like the kind of book that I would really enjoy. Set in the Music Industry. Tick. A complicated hero with a penchant for knitting and dogs (and knitting dog jumpers). Tick. A cute little dog called Patsy Canine. Tick. But I don't care about what happened to any of them, apart from Patsy Canine. I just couldn't bring myself to like either Max or Sadie and had no real interest in whether they got together or not.

I've had a couple of days to dissect why I couldn't connect with this one. It may be that there are just too many tropes fighting to come out on top. It's the whole enemies to lovers thing with added fake relationship for extra spice and a topping of Me Too abuse by people in positions of power. I suspect that with the slightly out dated talent show format there were just too many stereotypes fighting to be top dog in this one. The fun festive romance didn't really stand a chance.

Supplied by Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review.

UK Publication date: Oct 13 2022. 353 pages.

This was such a great read. I love a Christmas romance and I love a country music romance so the two combined was perfect for me. I loved both main characters and the little misunderstandings we saw between them throughout the book. Their chemistry was so powerful and really came off the page.
The exploration of grief in this book was really well done and I found it really emotional at times. The scenes in the winter cabin were some of my favourites, as we saw Max and Sadie truly bond away from all the Nashville drama. It was a really enjoyable Christmas read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I've read a few books from Maggie now and love them. This was such a sweet and cute read. Loved the characters and the story

Where I liked Maggie Knox's other Christmas book, this one fell flat. It didn't have any of the Christmas sparkle I look for in Christmas reads. The story in itself was okay, the characters were okay, but it just was nothing special.

3.5⭐️ A fun and fast paced festive romcom, but at times a little too rushed

I liked the premise for this book: singing competition rivals, fake dating and, if you squint, second chance romance!

The dual pov was good and I got the sense of two distinct voices however, I sometimes felt a little bit like I struggled to empathise with and feel like what was happening hit the mark for me. Sometimes things didnt feel ‘real’ or like they were happening at an appropriate time, I think this was because things happened quickly and were sometimes a little bit rushed.

If you enjoy fake dating and enemies to lovers wrapped in Christmas spirit, then this book is for you. It just wasn't for me. The pace was sluggish, at times, and the narrative was often not enthralling. I stopped reading several times. I didn’t believe in Sadie and Max’s relationship or the narrative at times. There were many miscommunications- too many in my opinion- and moments within the plot that I felt were unnecessary and significantly decelerated the pace.

This book was fine but I think for me, not being interested in country music or singing competition tv shows made me less engaged from the get go as I didn't care about that aspect. I didn't like Sadie or Max all that much either so just didn't care about their relationship.

All I want for Christmas is a fake dating troupe set in Nashville within the music industry. It follows Max who’s famed is already because of his big time star father and Sadie who would do anything to make her dream of being a star come true. This book first of all doesn’t seem at all Christmassy and I feel it’s only described that way becausof the time of year it’s set.

I felt this book was a bit too long and a bit of a slog to get through which was disappointing. A lot of the plot was based on miscommunication which either works or it doesn’t with me, unfortunately it didn’t work with the plot, especially with the fake dating and by the end of the book I got quite annoyed with it.

This was a cute and lighthearted read based on the relationship of Sadie and Max; two contestants on the country music version of X Factor in Nashville. They can’t stand each other but are forced to work together for the show, and we get a great set of popular tropes; fake dating, enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine.

I was a little disappointed as I expected this to be full on festive from the title but surprisingly it wasn’t at all! There were a few mentions of Christmas including in song titles and it was set at Christmas but that was about it. For the majority of the book it felt like it could have been any time of year.

Overall this was a nice easy cozy read, with likeable characters (with the exception of Cruz! 🐍) it was a little predictable but a cute story nevertheless.

A lovely, easy read book.

It’s all about Max & Sadie who are contestants in a tv singing show. They’re paired together because as a singing duo they become an overnight hit #Saxie! However, although there is chemistry whilst singing they actually dislike each other off stage. The producers off the show encourage them to fake a relationship for big ratings, will the audience realise?

A great Christmas read

Sadie and Max are on a reality TV signing show. They start out pitted against each other, but now the producers want them to work together. Will they be together off stage too, or will his issues with his family keep them apart?

It starts with a fake relationship but is it really true love?

Sadie moved to Nashville to follow her dream of being a singer while Max is the son of a famous countrysinger...yet they are both competing on a tv show to get signed by a record company.

They sing together for the show and become #saxie.

The relationship between Sadie and Max is quite complicated and plagued with miscommunication that prevents them from being together.

The relationship between both of them and their own families is strained but for different reasons. They both don't tell eachother completely about this issues and sadness. Sadie's Gran is her biggest supporter.

This book takes place over a year as it starts and ends with Christmas but there is a time jump to get back to Christmas.

Cruz is a creep.

The end is very sweet. And I got through this one very quickly. It's not quite a Christmas read but it's still festive.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me this one✨

What a lovely romcom Christmas read. The characters were really interesting and made for a good story. Didn't want it to come to an end. 4 stars


Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

I feel meh about this book, it had good potential but it was ruined by all of the miscommunication and the way the male main characted acted. Max acted so entitled to Sadie's life and acted like she owned him things while never letting her explain and always rushing to conclusion. He didn't even sulked or apologized for what he did. He annoyed me a lot. Sadie was okay.

DNF at 30%. I hate not finishing arcs but this was not enjoyable at all, for me. Immediately both characters are unlikeable and annoying. For nothing to really happen, it felt so rushed. But then there’s like three pages explaining the fmc’s grandmothers music career in her youth. I can’t bear just reading an info dump like that, make it part of the conversation or something. I wanted to continue but i could feel it sending me into a slump and it was just not worth it.

All I Want For Christmas is a wonderful, feel good read with many emotions throughout it. It has a few tropes within it too, enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine and fake dating and i honestly loved them all.

Sadie and Max are great characters and are thrown together while competing in a country music competition.

There’s quite a lot that happens throughout this story with a nice mix of characters too.

Full of fun, festivities and romance, this was a wonderful read and i absolutely love, love, loved the ending - perfect…..

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read All I Want For Christmas early!

Ahhh, another book on my list that I wanted to love but ended up being disappointed with. This was my first end-of-the-year "winter" read (I say this because I read some Christmas books mid-year as well, haha), so I was really excited about Sadie and Max's story. The setting of All I Want For Christmas was literally the cutest thing ever - but the plot holes took away from its amazingness. I don't dislike the "miscommunication" trope like a lot of other readers do, because it happens a lot in real life. However, the lack of communication between Sadie and Max frustrated me so much. I like to see characters develop feelings for each other throughout the book, but in AIWFC, the development of romance was, in my opinion, off-track. Basically, the pacing felt off to me. The main characters started caring for each other out of nowhere, even though they couldn't stand each other just a few pages ago. And I am aware that enemies-to-lovers romances normally progress in that manner, but Sadie and Max's romance felt like fleeting moments of affection plus a big show of saying things but never getting them done. I couldn't feel the chemistry between them at all.

I am honestly so sad that I didn't like this one. Hopefully, I'll like Maggie Knox's other books better. *fingers crossed*

This was such a fun and festive book to get into the Christmas season. I waited until I had my tree up so that I could really enjoy the experience!

This is the story of Sadie and Max who are contestants on a singing show called Starmaker. Sadie is sure she has her big break but when she is paired with Max for a duet they are an instant hit with the audience, but not as solo stars! The judges want them to continue as a duo but the problem is Max and Sadie dislike each other!
So we get a fake relationship and a whole lot of fun to read!

highly recommend if you are looking for a fun festive cosy read. Would also make the perfect Hallmark movie!

Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
My biggest bug bear is when a Christmas book isn't at all Christmassy in the slightest and this is how I felt with this one.

On paper I should have loved it as fake dating and reality shows are two big ticks for me but this just didn't work, it felt unfinished and the characters were so bland, roll in the fact the whole story seems to rely on miscommunication and its a no from me.

A very fun and cosy Christmassy book that has me so excited for the Christmas season. This was a quick read with great pacing and lovable characters.