the premise of this book really drew me in and I was so excited to read it! strangely though, only about 1/3 of the book even takes place in the country music competition. this was super easy to read and I liked reading about the country music scene in Nashville! however, following the never-ending cycle of miscommunication that Sadie and Max experience got incredibly tiring so quickly. I wish we could’ve spent more time getting to know the main characters both individually and together, as opposed to dealing with the near constant issues they faced.

*thank you to netgalley & penguin group putnam for the eARC, in exchange for a review.

A Christmas novel, set in Nashville with a music contest to bring our love interests together is perfect for me. I enjoyed this book but I wasn't fond of the use of miscommunication that kept our lovers apart for much of the book.. It is a warm and cozy Christmas-themed novel that many people will enjoy.

I don’t care what time of year it is, cute Christmas stories are always fun to read. I loved The Holiday Swap so i was excited when this duo came out with another holiday story!

Who wouldn’t want to read about a music competition, fun holiday traditions, a cute puppy in sweaters and of course FAKE DATING! Sign me up please!!!

This story follows up and coming country singers Sadie Hunter and Max Brody. They are on a new season of a singing competition and forced to pair up. They never could have imagined the stage chemistry they had so they are willing to fake it to win the competition in the end.

I thought that the story was going to be more focused on the singing competition and growing their relationship through there but that part surprisingly wrapped up fast! What we got to see was the more complex sides of both Sadie and Max. They both have a lot they need to work through, experiences to experience… apart, and just find the path they truly belong on.

While there was great banter and fun silly moments in this story there truly was a lot of serious themes throughout this book too. Family relationship struggles, death, self doubt to name a few… but the authors did an amazing job of being sensitive while discussing these themes and making the characters stronger through their struggles. They found their support systems and in turn were able to be a support system for each other.

if you like books about music, especially country, fake dating, and found family… this book is for you!

Thank you netgalley, Putnam Group and Maggie Knox for providing me with this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was so excited to have the chance to read another holiday romance from Maggie Knox – I really enjoyed their previous release, The Holiday Swap, from last year. The premise for this one was instantly attractive – a holiday romance set around a reality tv, music competition? Definitely intriguing to me.

I thought the story overall was cute. As mentioned, I enjoyed the premise and I am always a sucker for the enemies to lovers and fake relationship tropes – so I was excited to see those present as well. I really loved Gran in the book, and the whole Nashville music scene angle. I also really enjoyed the cabin retreat. I wished for a bit more development of both Max and Sadie, and in particular in their relationship / time together. I really liked the parts with them together, I just wanted more of that.

While I liked this one, it did rely pretty heavily on a trope that is not my cup of tea – the lack of communication trope. I can handle that in small doses, but in this case it came up a lot, which took me out of the groove with reading. Still a cozy, fun holiday read, that I’m sure many will enjoy. I look forward to the next Maggie Knox book 😊

Thank you to NetGalley, Maggie Knox, and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A super cute romance set in Nashville around the country music stage. I enjoyed the festive magic that this story brought. I read in the middle of summer, but I was definitely getting in the holiday spirit. I loved the Holiday Swap last year, so I was super excited for this one and it did not disappoint. I cannot wait to read this one again during the holiday season!

This review will be posted to my Goodreads and Amazon accounts immediately and to my instagram account (@ginganinja333), and to my newly created bookstagram (@paulas.book.nook) upon publication on 10/4/2022.

NetGalley, thank you so much for the ARC of "All I Want For Christmas," the new holiday romance by Maggie Knox. It's easily as adorable as "The Holiday Swap."
Set in Nashville and around the stage of a music reality tv with sprinkled-in trips to a cabin in Canada and other places, the story of aspiring musician Sadie and legacy golden boy Max is very romantic and christmass-y. Like the previous novel, it creates these really idyllic and atmospheric worlds to enjoy the love story in. I hope the authors will create a playlist for pub day because I kept wondering what #Saxbie sounds like, and what their influences are!
Two quick things though, why doesn't Sadie have any friends? She has her gran, and she becomes friends with an older musician who's also her mentor, but there still was a bit of a mysterious void there. If she really doesn't have friends, it should be incorporated into her sense of loneliness and her questioning where she belongs. Also, there is so much snow in Nashville in this! With climate change advancing the way it is, that felt a bit off-key to me. For most of us, we need to adjust our expectations of where and when we can hope for a White Christmas. Other than that though, I totally would recommend. Sweet story and super seasonal!

This book really called to me with its enemies-to-lovers and fake dating trope. And it was cute. I just didn’t feel much chemistry between the two main characters. I mean the book was sweet, I just wanted more. I wanted to feel the heat between the two main characters, but it seemed most of their time was spent misunderstanding each other. I do realize that’s all part of the enemies-to-lovers theme. In my opinion there could have been more description of simmering want and need for each other. My favorite part was their time spent in Canada and I would’ve enjoyed reading more of that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. #AllIWantforChristmas #NetGalley

All I want for Christmas is a little more Christmas in this novel! The romance was sweet and I loved the setting of Nashville and the description of Max’s winter cabin in Canada. But overall this was just an average romance read that left me wanting a little more festive magic between the pages.

Thank you to Net galley and Viking for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I looooved The Holiday Swap last year so I was excited for another holiday story from this author duo. Unfortunately this one did not have the charm and cute holiday winks that I was hoping for.

All I Want for Christmas gives you Max and Sadie, two singers trying to make it on their own in Nashville. Their paths cross while on a singing compeition and the chemistry is undeniable. They both have some baggage that leads their relationship to see saw back and forth all year long. Finally, Christmas rolls around again and they have to figure out if they're going to make it big or not.

You had a smidge of enemies to lovers and fake dating but you didn't get to know the characters enough to root for me. Max was so back and forth on his feelings you couldn't keep track of what he was feeling page to page. Sadie, the heroine, I enjoyed more and maybe could have just done with only her point of view throughout the story. I wanted more holiday charm and to feel more Christmasy but with only some of it taking place in a snowy, cabin I didn't really feel that Christmas magic I wanted.

Overall, I'll still keep reading their holiday books but this one fell a little flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox ✨

All I want for Christmas is a contemporary romance with a little bit of Christmas sprinkled throughout. The story follows Sadie + Max who are competing in the televised singing competition, Starmaker, in Nashville. When they start competing on their own, the higher ups decide that they will be better together, but what happens when your enemy becomes your singing partner (and maybe more)??

For having Christmas in the title, I was expecting a lot of Christmas, but there wasn’t. So that was a disappointing. The Christmas vibes did pick up at the end though. If you’re expecting a full on hallmark Christmas movie reading experience, this is not it!

I liked Max and Sadie together a lot, but whew. There were lots of ups and downs. All at the same time, they were both grieving the losses of loved ones, trying to heal, figure out their careers together and apart, falling for each other, spending a week together in a cozy cabin, and ultimately, having lots of miscommunication. Oh, and a dirtbag producer harassed Sadie. It was A LOT to digest.

I did like how the book spanned the timeframe of three Christmas seasons. Then, now, next. That was a cute touch!

Ultimately, I’m giving it 3.5⭐️, because I enjoyed parts of it but overall was left underwhelmed.

bookish things:
🎤 fake dating
🎤 dual POV
🎤 enemies to lovers
🎤 Nashville
🎤 famous main characters
🎤 grief rep

I really wanted to give these authors a second shot but unfortunately i just couldn’t get into their writing. The Holiday Swap was a bit dull and this was more of the same, despite both books having a decent premise.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS
By Maggie Knox
4/5

Sadie and Max put me in the holiday spirit with their sweet story of two country musicians who get paired together for a duet on a reality singing show and up fake dating to try and win it all.

I went into the story with low expectations because I wasn’t super excited about the premise of musicians and a reality competition. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I felt pulled into the story from the very beginning!

I loved the settings of Nashville and Banff, the side characters (Bobbi!! Tasha!! Becca!!), and the added depth that was tied in to the conflict towards the end. (Definitely check those TW’s if you are sensitive to certain things!)

The miscommunication trope really doesn’t do much for me and tends to leave me feeling irritated with the characters. I went from heart eyes to WHYYYYY real fast when things started to really get out of hand near the end.

Overall, I recommend 🎄

Read this if you love:
♥️ fake dating
♥️ rivals
♥️ musicians
♥️ miscommunication trope

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie Knox's previous book was not a hit for me. But the premise of All I Want for Christmas reeled me in. And who can resist a Christmas book in July? There were definitely some issues here for me, but it was a step up from The Holiday Swap.

At the start of this book, Sadie and Max are competing in a country music reality competition. After some crazy chemistry during the duets round, they decide to team up to hopefully win the grand prize. The only problem is they can't stand each other. Can they come together to make country music gold?

First, this book was almost too plot heavy. There was too much going on and not enough character development. Toward the end, I had trouble keeping track of who was where and what was happening. I liked the premise of the country music competition and I wish the book would have leaned into that more. It wraps up pretty fast and then there is a huge time jump. Next, Sadie and Max were terrible at communication. HORRIBLE. Poor communication is one of my least favorite tropes and I just wanted these two to sit down and talk to each other. They are both way too quick to stomp off angry. Over. And. Over. And. Over. I tried to root for them as a couple but honestly, they both seemed to think the worst of each other at every turn.

Things I did like: 1) the Christmassy atmosphere. Take me to a cabin in Banff now. 2) the Nashville music scene. I don't think I've read a book about country music stars and I think the authors did a great job at creating that scene. 3) the fake dating trope. It really was believable here and I could have used even more fake dates.

If you are in the mood for a fluffy, escapist Christmas read, give this one a shot. While it was not a hit for me, I know it has an audience that will love it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam Publishing for the advanced e-book in exchange for for my honest review.

Two country singers, Sadie and Max, are paired up for a reality show, vying for the top performing spot. A scripted reality tv move turns into on-screen and actual chemistry. Can Sadie and Max open themselves up and get out of their own way to make themselves happy?

A cute Christmas Romance with a lot of classic tropes. If you are a fan of fake dating & enemies to lovers - you will enjoy this book! A quick read for the holiday season!

Thank you to Netgalley & Putnam for the advance copy!

I enjoyed this romance with appealing characters and a Nashville country music setting. The initial antagonism between the two main characters develops into a rocky love relationship with a lot of ups and downs and for the most part, the previous traumatic experiences with dysfunctional family relationships ring true as a contributing factor. I did find that I wanted to slap Max by the time the last misunderstanding happened--he really wasn't a quick study when it came to learning not to jump to the worst conclusions about Sadie! It feels like maybe there were one too many instances of the same sort of thing occurring to derail their romance. On the whole, though, the villain of the piece is satisfyingly sleazy and underhanded, Sadie's realization of his duplicity is well handled, and the tension and passion of the love story between Max and Sadie are great.

Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. So much so that I also like to do a little celebrating for Christmas in July!

Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam gave me the gift of allowing me to read an ARC of Maggie Knox's "All I want for Christmas" due to be released October 4, 2022. This book combined two of my favorite things, Christmas and country music! The book read like a Hallmark Christmas movie and definitely put me in the mood for some holiday romance.

Sadie is a struggling artist from Wisconsin trying to make it big in Nashville. Max is the entitled son of a country music legend. Both are selected as contestants on the popular reality singing show 'Starmaker'. Each have their own reasons for wanting to win the big prize but when they are paired to sing a duet together, their chemistry is explosive. So explosive that the network demands that they fake a romance on and off the screen for the ratings or be kicked off the show. Saxie, as the duo is nicknamed, must then figure out how to give the public what they want, knowing they can't stand each other! Will they be able to pull it off and make their dreams come true? Or will their pride and stubbornness cost them everything they have worked so hard for?

There were times where I loved these characters and times where they infuriated me. I liked watching them grow and witness how they handled the many problems they were dealing with in their personal lives and together. It was a beautiful love story with what I can imagine would be a beautiful soundtrack. The perfect Christmas book to make you believe in love again.

I loved this book! Two country singers are forced to pair up and fake date on a reality singing show because they have undeniable chemistry. They go from enemies to lovers, a favorite trope of mine. Would definitely recommend you read this holiday!


Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Putnam Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love fake dating tropes and Christmas books, but the miscommunication was a bit much. Still a cute story though

Thank you to NetGalley, Maggie Knox, and Putnam Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was super excited to dive into this book, because I thought the storyline sounded so fun! However, I felt like at the end of the day this story suffered from too much drama. It just felt like the relationship between Max and Sadie never fully developed, because every few pages a new miscommunication or problem was being thrown at them that lead to one of them assuming the worst about the other. Then a few pages later we were back to love declarations after barely there apologies. I also felt like Sadie never fully accepted any responsibility for doing anything wrong, which was frustrating at times, because she would just kinda brush it to the side with a small apology without changing any actions. Also, Max was initially the person who warned Sadie about how creepy and predatory Cruz was (and Sadie completely ignored him) so for him to just suddenly forget this at the end of the book and act like it was news seemed strange to me and like a big plot hole. I felt like this story and the premise had such potential and I loved the first 30% or so (Honestly what ends up being the first December they know eachother), but after that the book just kind of fell apart for me and never fully recovered. The reconciliation fell flat to me and it was hard for me to be invested in the characters at that point.