I read All I Want For Christmas in 3 days as it was a light, quick, easy read.
The premise of the book is clever and has potential - our main characters, Max and Sadie are contestants on the reality singing show, Starmaker, based in Nashville, each hoping for their big break. In duet week, the two are paired up and the audience both in the studio and across the world are enraptured by their romantic chemistry on stage, penning the nickname #Saxie. The producers demand to keep #Saxie together for the rest of the show both on and off screen, meaning Max and Sadie must fake a relationship until their final performance in the Starmaker Holiday Special. The only problem is that Max and Sadie can't stand each other.
I didn't really get the backstory as to why they didn't like each other in the first place and felt the reasons were quite weak. It wasn't until I was about 60% through the book that I felt there was any real chemistry between Max and Sadie. The characters fell a bit flat for me and I just didn't connect with them. Max's character was quite unlikeable in places and given they were both meant to be in their late 20's, they acted like immature teenagers, lacking any communication skills which was infuriating to read. For me, All I Want For Christmas had real potential but unfortunately lacked something.

Well this was a lovely and cosy festive read! It’s like Nashville wrapped up in a Christmas present.

All I want for Christmas is you. This book is so joyful. It really got me in the Christmas spirit. If it wasn't so hot. I would have pulled out the cosy blankets, fluffy socks, steaming mugs of hot chocolates and cosied on down for a binge Christmas film watching. Sadly it is boiling hot. But now I can't wait for the cold weather to arrive. This book has such great characters, a joyful storyline and a lovely romantic element throughout. Don't miss it if you love a good Christmas book.

This read has me so excited for all the Christmas rom-coms ahead of the festive season and I couldn't help but want to take my time to prolong the experience and embrace the cosiness it embodies. I really liked the pacing of the story and fell hard for the characters. A super fun and quick read, perfect for the holiday season, promising snow, romance and your favourite romance tropes!

I always love books that have the fake dating/enemies to lovers trope and I did end up loving the story until the 35% mark. Sadie & Max are musicians who are roped in to participate in a singing show called Starmaker and it increase their popularity and the chances of winning, they are asked to perform together and start fake dating to keep the fans interested. I loved the tropes and the setting of the book but I couldn't connect with Max and Sadie at all tbh. Because I feel like I didn't know much about them at all. Sadie had so much going on with her like losing her grandmother and being sexually harrassed by a slimy producer through which she wanted Max to be by her side but he always disappeared when she needed him the most and that made me feel so angry. He was just so childish and immature and Sadie also made some irrational decisions which was so annoying. This book tried to deal with the issue of grief after losing a loved one but fell flat on it. So regardless of the writing and some cute moments, I couldn't enjoy the story as much as I thought I would. The miscommunication between Sadie & Max was really exasperating due to which I couldn't even sympathize with both of them. And Max didn't even grovel in the end, Sadie just accepted him and said that it was her mistake too when he constantly misunderstood her, ghosted her and barely apologized. The plot had a lot of potential but NGL, this book didn't work for me.

The ARC provided to me by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'All I Want for Christmas' by the duo Maggie Knox.

'All I Want for Christmas' by Maggie Knox is such a non Christmas Christmas book, I loved it. Takes place at Christmas with 2 singers singing on a Christmas TV show.

Other than that, it's your run of the mill enjoyable romance contemporary. The characters were fleshed out and special, which motives and weaknesses. This book is perfectly any time of the year but definitely buy it when it comes out.

Sadie is selected for the reality show Starmaker and sees it has her big chance to make it in Nashville. Then she discovers that Max is also a contestant but thinks he's got an advantage as his father is a legend there

This novel focuses on Sadie and Max, both country music singers competing on the TV talent show Starmakers. Sadie is a gifted crooner who has been trying to make it big in Nashville, is out of funds, and will have to return home to Wisconsin if she doesn’t win the grand prize. Max, the son of infamous singer Holden Brady, has already released one failed album and is trying to step out of his father’s shadow by proving that he has what it takes to be a hit artist.
Max and Sadie instantly dislike each other. She resents that he’s a contestant when he’s already had his shot at fame, and he doesn’t want to be distracted by her good looks and beautiful voice while he’s trying to reach his goals. When the two of them are paired up by the producers of Starmakers as a fake couple, they’re the only ones who don’t see their undeniable chemistry.

Things I liked:
- I will always love a good Kenny and Dolly themed duet.
- The Christmas theming/backdrop gave the book a great festive feel
- We get the double-whammy of enemies to lovers AND fake relationship tropes, two of my faves

Things I didn’t like:
- The TV talent show setting felt dated
- To me, the witty banter between Max and Sadie was severely lacking. Maybe that was why I never really felt the heat when it came to their connection.

With that said, this is a cute story and a nice way to get that Hallmark Christmas movie cozy feeling.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It's hard for me to start my review by saying that I didn't quite connect with the book or the characters. I had very high expectations, I mean, who doesn't enjoy a book that contains fake dating and rivals to lovers?

I feel like the characters don't quite have that chemistry that their audience talks so much about, that connection that makes everyone in Nashville go crazy for them. I think the communication between them was essential and that's what the couple lacks. I think at times they were adults acting like teenagers, without a lot of character development and that has caused me to be unmoved by their relationship.

However, the book does make you have a good time, laugh, cry and I think the music does manage to help establish and grow that bond between the two. There are clear reflections of books like Daisy Jones and The Six and films like The Thing Called Loved (1993) and I loved that.

My review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4915684986

Thank you to NetGalley and Maggie Know for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely Christmas cosy fast read. Was very snowy, romantic and cute.
This was a very lovely romance book, I liked the family involvement. This would be a great film on hallmark.
Sadie was a starlet who had come to Nashville to
See if she could make it in the music business. She sings like an angel.
Max was already famous as the son of a star. They get thrown together at a tv talent show and find they have real singing chemistry even if they despise each other.
This book was fun and fast.

3.75 stars
So...I know it is a little too early to be reading a Christmas romance, but having just been reading fantasy books lately, I wanted something completely different. All I Want for Christmas turned out to be the perfect way to unwind from all those heavy fantasy stories. For the most part, this seemed like a pretty fun story, at least from the premise. Two country singers team up in a reality tv singing contest and are forced to fake date because of their chemistry? Sign me up. I am a sucker for stories like this. It was a pretty fun, light-hearted story and I enjoyed it for the most part.

Unfortunately, I could not see the chemistry between Max and Sadie. It felt like their romance was almost forced and lacked any sort of believable buildup. While individually, they were such great characters, together, they just fell short of being a good couple. I felt we could have seen more of them being friends before going into their romance. It would have easily elevated the book.

While I may not have enjoyed the romance that much, I think other people may like All I Want for Christmas more than me.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read/review this book. I love entertainment themed books and especially with a holiday theme is another nice twist. Full review to follow both here and on the blog. I can’t wait to see the chemistry develop between Sadie & Max. I really enjoyed similar books in this genre so I’m sure this will be no exception. Also will make a great movie.

Will they hit the right notes this holiday season?

When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show STARMAKER's special festive season, Sadie thinks she's finally gotten her big break - and Max sees a chance to step out of his megastar father's shadow. But then they're paired up for duet week and stun the world with their onstage chemistry...

With fans going wild for #Saxie, the judges demand they remain a duo - on and offstage - or exit the competition. Faking a relationship shouldn't be too hard, except for one small problem: Sadie and Max can't stand each other.

But with their dreams just within reach, they agree to the ruse. Will their relationship lie be exposed before they can win? Or might their fake connection turn real by the Christmas finale?

A pitch-perfect festive rom com, perfect for fans of Sally Thorne's The Hating Game and Beach Read by Emily Henry.