I read this book in almost one sitting (had to make dinner), but did finish this in one day. Sadie and Max are part of a reality singing competition show in Nashville. Sadie is trying to make it big and Max is trying to escape his famous last name thanks to his father. After an initial pairing, Sadie and Max end up becoming a duo and in a fake relationship. When real life starts to intervene, these two realize they have a history together. What happens when you develop feelings in a fake relationship? Of course, you throw yourself into work - but Sadie and Max have different ways to doing this. What happens when you have to perform as that duo a year later? I loved all but one character (and you'll know who when you get there). This would be a perfect holiday movie. It's the perfect mix of reality competition and romance. Thanks to NetGalley, the authors and publisher for the advanced reader copy.

I truly wanted to like this book! I thought the premise of country music royalty, Max Brody, and Wisconsin-bred starlet-to-be, Sadie Hunter, meeting via a reality singing show was cute. However, I found the main characters too difficult to like. The continuous hot and cold love story became redundant and a tad tiring after the third or fourth scenario. I’m all for a slow burn, but it was less of a slow burn and more of a light-switch love story.

I truly appreciate the opportunity to read an e-ARC. Thanks, NetGalley.

Sadie and Max are both contestants on a reality singing competition show. The showrunners decide to get viewership up by partnering Sadie and Max together and creating a fake romance between the two. They will need to navigate their fake relationship on the show and in real life.

For a holiday romance, it was lacking in the Christmas spirit. Other than mentioning Christmas eve gifts and a few tree decorations at the competition set, Christmas was kind of an after thought as was the actual singing competition. I had a hard time seeing the chemistry between Sadie and Max. The amount of drama causing them to be apart far surpassed the amount of time they spent together. I enjoyed Sadie's Grandmother. She brought a warmth to the story that it really needed.

This was the first book I've read from Maggie Knox. I don't know that I would try another of their novels. The formatting and weird hyphenations in the kindle edition drove me bonkers. I'm hoping those issues get worked out in the final edition. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Christmas romance can be a fun read any time of the year. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. Despite the cute cover, the book isn't really about Christmas. More importantly, I didn't engage enough with the protagonists to understand what they saw in each other until very late in the book. The premise of their meeting on a TV reality singing competition was promising, but it wasn't fleshed out and almost disappeared from the narrative. Also, there were too many tropes and stereotypes in the plot and the dialogue.

The author duo does, however, demonstrate their talent in the family dynamics sections and in the last chapter and epilogue. Sadly, it wasn't enough for me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

A merry Christmas romcom set to country music. Writing duo Maggie Knox’s sophomore tale takes place in Nashville, Tennessee - the Music City - and winter wonderland Banff, Alberta, Canada, and features a singing competition reminiscent of NBC’s The Voice. For my taste, the drama in this rivals to lovers story is considerably overdone, particularly for a holiday read, and at times derails the flow of the story and detracts from or confuses the character development. I found I mostly didn’t mind all that, however, as overall, to borrow a line from the novel, “The vibe was warm and festive.” Protagonist Sadie’s grandmother deserves special mention as she was a delight and inspirational. The country music references were great fun. In between dramatic scenes, the book includes an abundance of Christmas decor, peppermint tea, candy canes and the like. Also, for any readers not previously familiar with the Danish / Wisconsin pastry Kringle enjoyed by its characters, I can attest it is as delish as Sadie claims. Many thanks to NetGalley and Viking for the complimentary e-ARC. This review reflects my honest opinion.

All I want for Christmas
By Maggie Know

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publishing date:10/4/2022

Sadie and Max are both chosen to be contestants on a reality show music completion called Starmaker. Even though Max comes from a well known country music family, thanks to his  father- it seems both Max and Sadie may be on their way to finally getting their big break in Nashville! After a successful duet together in an early competition round, their agents realize.....what would make this PERFECT?! you guessed it...FAKE DATING!!!! If they can win the hearts of the fans as #saxie, this will surely lead to career stardom, right? All they have to do is get through 1 year of fake dating, before they cut it off.....if only it was that simple though.

So has anyone called the hallmark chanel, because this would be the PERFECT addition to their holiday movie lineup!

I loved the setting- Nashville, holiday lights, country snowy cabins...all things I love about Christmas! I probably would have loved it MORE if I read it at Christmas however.

For the first 50% of the book, I was dead set on giving this 3 stars. But the last 30%, really did win me over! The ending wrapped up beautifully! As the story began,  I had a hard time seeing the chemistry between Sadie and Max, but it progressed and I was definitely feeling those lifetime movie moments by the end.

I enjoyed the family aspect of the story as well. It wasn't all romance. It explored family relationships, grief and even sexual assault from power figures.

I enjoyed the book! I definitely think you should ass it to you holiday tbr pile!!

I received an ARC of, All I Want for Christmas, by Maggie Knox. Such a sweet Christmas story, Sadie and Max are good characters. I liked the chemistry between them.

I think the premise and the idea behind this book was great, but I just don’t think it was executed the best. I just couldn’t connect with the characters and eventually had to DNF the book!
I was so sad because I loved the other works I have read from this author!

I was so excited to receive this ARC--I had greatly enjoyed the author's previous book but I must say this one was a disappointment. I could not get invested in the characters. They seemed very superficially fleshed out and the tropes weren't feeling fresh in this story--a lot felt cliched and some of the dialogue and descriptions were formulaic and tired. None of the secondary characters were at all memorable, simply stand ins to move the story along.
Gran was probably the most interesting character but she was not in the story long enough to make it all work.
There was a lot of telling rather than showing, exposition on how the characters were feeling or what they were thinking and that made it feel very detached. I was not invested in the characters success or in their romance. It didn't feel believable to me.
Overall a disappointment. I would have DNF but the author's previous book gave me the impetus to press on,
Did not spark joy.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

CW: death, grief. I honestly wasn’t expecting so much death/working through grief in what I expected to be a fun holiday romp.

This book really wasn’t for me. I enjoyed this writing duo’s last book so I was disappointed that I didn’t love this one. The plot really lacked depth. The “reality show” setting was not fleshed out the way it was in their previous novel. I had a hard time connecting to the characters. Romance usually involves a certain level of suspension of disbelief but this went beyond that for me and I found it impossibly to think these characters actually had time or enough scenes together to fall for each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the premise of this book, and I liked what I read of the plot and the characters, but I couldn't fully get into it-- the voice felt a bit too distant for a romance, so I couldn't really sink into it as much as I needed to in order to truly care about the characters. If it had been another genre, the voice (very exposition-y and very tell-y) might have worked for me, but as it was, I couldn't get close enough to the characters to really immerse myself in them or their story.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this!

omg I can't wait to scream from the rooftops when this comes out for everyone to buy. this is going to be the perfect book to get in the reading holiday spirit

A great Christmas read! I loved seeing some of the behind the scenes of a reality show. I enjoyed the characters, the development of who they were and who they became and of course, the second chances. A great summer holiday read!

This was pretty cute! There was a lot of conflict and less relationship development comparatively, but it was well-written, and I liked the characters.

I couldn’t really get into this book. I tried and tried, but ended up skimming most of the book. Couldn’t really connect with the characters.

Maggie Knox is a Christmas romcom genius.

Christmas, fake relationship and country music you have me hooked.

Max Brody is trying to build a name for himself outside of his legendary father Holden Brody. Sadie is trying to make a name for herself out of nothing.

The story follows their ups and downs and separations to see if their relationship can even be real. Max has to find himself to know that he can be worthy of Sadie's love. A touching story. Love it.

Thank you to Penguin Group-Putnam and Netgalley for an ARC of this book! I’ve willingly read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS is definitely not your typical light-hearted, Hallmark-esque Christmas novel. Instead, the writing duo of Maggie Knox treats their readers to a rollercoaster ride of emotions that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from.

Sadie Hunter and Max Brody are both competing on an American Idol-type show for country musicians. However, after going viral when they’re partnered up for a duet week, they’re soon presented with a plan to compete as duo. Not only will this raise the falling ratings of the show, but it will also be beneficial to their own careers which haven’t taken off as quickly as either had ever imagined. Spanning three Christmases, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS weaves a story of heartbreak, mistrust, and love.

Though there was a huge lack of communication between these characters, and I typically get frustrated by that sort of thing, it mostly felt imperative to the story. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS was so enjoyable and I absolutely loved the dynamic between Sadie and Max. This will be the perfect palate cleanser in between everyone’s favorite (and lovingly predictable) holiday movies come December…or November…or October.

A cute, fun book! I enjoyed the sweet story and the characters in the book. A new author for me. Look forward to reading more!

I can't decide if this is a 3 or 3.5 star read for me. Overall this is a cute, holiday read. The multiple conflicts between main characters was a little too much for me. I also would have liked a little more character development. It's a good romance book for readers who don't like very steamy books, like myself.

I received this from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Christmas in summertime feeling. This quick read did not disappoint Max and Sadie fake date for a singing competition, only problem, they cannot stand each other. I absolutely afore these books if you enjoy hallmark movies and enemies to lovers this sweet Christmas read is sure to be a great read.