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jazzsilvestri's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death
abbeyroad1410's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My dad has started a tradition of buying my sister, my cousin, and I a Christmas romance novel every year, so this was his choice for me. It was cute, fun, and enjoyable -the exact type of Christmas novel Ashley and I were seeking out before break.
For being such a cute Christmas enemies to lovers romance, it tackled extremely deep themes such as workplace sexual harassment and grief. This made the story more compelling as the characters were forced to deal with more complex emotions than you would expect, in say, a Hallmark movie. Additionally, these themes are not merely glossed over.
However, Max and Sadie can get on your last nerve. I actually started the novel while on vacation with my boyfriend and had to take breaks from reading time because they were so frustrating (which is shocking because I'm the reader in the relationship). Max and Sadie refuse to communicate for like half the book, instead choosing to run away or to ghost each other.
There are also a couple of shifts in tone because Maggie Knox is actually a writing duo. It is not as noticeable as when reading a Christina Lauren book, but it is there. This, coupled with the quick pacing in the first third of the novel, makes the writing style ever so slightly off.
Despite all of this, I would still recommend the book. The plot itself is enjoyable and fun; it has a cute the Voice esque twist to a Christmas novel; and there are not many strange Christmas themed names (looking at Josh Tannenbaum in particular from a prior read). Not to mention there is a very cute dog throughout the novel, and the male main character knits (a green flag as he is not ashamed). Overall, it is a great novel to add to your holiday reads list.
For being such a cute Christmas enemies to lovers romance, it tackled extremely deep themes such as workplace sexual harassment and grief. This made the story more compelling as the characters were forced to deal with more complex emotions than you would expect, in say, a Hallmark movie. Additionally, these themes are not merely glossed over.
However, Max and Sadie can get on your last nerve. I actually started the novel while on vacation with my boyfriend and had to take breaks from reading time because they were so frustrating (which is shocking because I'm the reader in the relationship). Max and Sadie refuse to communicate for like half the book, instead choosing to run away or to ghost each other.
There are also a couple of shifts in tone because Maggie Knox is actually a writing duo. It is not as noticeable as when reading a Christina Lauren book, but it is there. This, coupled with the quick pacing in the first third of the novel, makes the writing style ever so slightly off.
Despite all of this, I would still recommend the book. The plot itself is enjoyable and fun; it has a cute the Voice esque twist to a Christmas novel; and there are not many strange Christmas themed names (looking at Josh Tannenbaum in particular from a prior read). Not to mention there is a very cute dog throughout the novel, and the male main character knits (a green flag as he is not ashamed). Overall, it is a great novel to add to your holiday reads list.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Sexual harassment
readwithcaitlyn's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Sexual assault
oceanwriter's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’m always in the mood to pick up a romcom or two around Christmastime. I pick carefully as I’m finicky in the genre. Given I enjoyed The Holiday Swap, I figured another Maggie Knox book would be a safe bet. Sadly, I wasn’t invested this time around.
Both hoping to make their break into the Nashville music world, Sadie and Max fake a relationship for the sake of their fans after they get paired up for a duet on the reality show Starmaker. It’s a rouse neither are sure they can keep up given their distaste for one another. But is it possible that there could be more there after all?
I retained very little about this book if I’m being brutally honest. I didn’t care about the characters or the plot. The vibes were good but I wasn’t feeling it. I do remember chuckling at a couple of the lines, but I couldn’t tell you what they were. Nothing was memorable for me aside from a strange time jump I should have been expecting but wasn’t and an obnoxious amount of miscommunication. There were some cozy bits, but not enough to make up for the rest. I normally love fake dating, or maybe I used to and my taste is changing, because this is the second time in recent months that this trope has let me down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing and Sexual content
kmcn's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Sexual harassment
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
“Life doesn't always play out the way you imagine it will but that doesn't mean that what you do instead isn't worth anything.”
➽ All I Want for Christmas turned out to be a huge disappointment for me. I liked the author's previous holiday Romance The Holiday Swap, but this one didn't work out for me. The story follows Sadie and Max, two country musicians, who are on a casting show together. Technically, they're supposed to compete with each other, but it'll gain them more media attention if they become a duo and fake date. Sadie's a newcomer who hasn't been able to make it, so she needs the team up, even though she dislikes Max immediately. Max is the son of a famous musician, but he wants to come out of his father's shadow and build something for himself. The show is his opportunity to make an independent career!
➽ This was a mess of miscommunication, angst and drama! The reviews were mixed and they were right about the utter lack of communication between Sadie and Max. They keep withholding information from each other at crucial moments which in turn creates unnecessary drama. It didn't help that there's a one-year time skip in the middle of the book and that the actual casting show is barely utilized. We're often told about the outcome of the votes and don't end up seeing much of the competition. It's clear to me that Max and Sadie aren't well-matched, as they keep misunderstanding each other and withdrawing from each other. Even worse is Max's behavior when it comes to one of the producers of the show. He knows that he's sketchy, but keeps being jealous of his relationship with Sadie. It's so uncomfortable to read about when he's clearly harassing Sadie and taking advantage of her in vulnerable moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Grief, and Sexual harassment
atamano's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing and Injury/Injury detail
nicole_zx's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy
mammas21's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Characters became frustrating at times with the constant miscommunication and just straight up believing their own narratives but overall it’s an easy read and something lighthearted for before Christmas
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Pregnancy
lauren_shilling's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I am so disappointed that I didn't love this book! I absolutely adored this author duo's other book, The Holiday Swap, so I was so excited for this! Not only is it by an author duo I've loved before, but it was about a singing competition! Needless to say, I had high hopes for this book. Maybe that was why I was so let down by it, but I don't think so. I'm going to start with things that I did like, though. I really liked the relationship Sadie had with her grandmother. I thought it was super cute, and I really liked that part of the story. That being said, I saw exactly where that was going almost immediately, so there was no shock there at all. I also thought the book started off pretty good. At the beginning, I was very hopeful that this might be another five star from this author duo. However, it became clear that this would not be the case by the end of the first 70 pages, probably. I also enjoyed the dog, but that is mostly because I love dogs, and dogs that wear sweaters are some of my favorite things ever. I wish we saw more of the dog, honestly, but I also understand why we didn't. Those were my two biggest positives about the book. Other than those things, there wasn't much I liked. I found the characters to be very flat, or even downright unlikeable. Sadie was a fine character, and I really liked her at first, but as the story progressed, I just didn't feel like she was ever particularly fleshed out, and ended up falling flat for me. This made me really sad because, like I said, I really liked her and where her character appeared to be going at first. I really did not like Max, though. In the first part of the book, I thought he was cute and I didn't dislike him. He just wasn't my favorite love interest, which is fine. I usually don't mind not absolutely falling in love with characters in romance novels as long as I can see the chemistry between the characters. However, as the book progressed, I began to find that I actually just do not like him at all. He just continuously ran away from his problems and expected the pieces to just fall right into place for him later, with little regard to how it would impact and hurt others around him. He was really privileged, and while he would say he acknowledged that privilege and didn't want it to define him or to always rely on it, in my opinion, he never acted like any of that was true. If he had only done this once or twice and then showed some real character development, this would not be an issue for me and I would have liked him a lot more, but he acted this way constantly throughout the book. Sadie, or anyone else, did not deserve to be treated the way he treated her over and over again. Then there was also the issue that the ending felt rushed, and we were expected to believe that all of those pieces would just fall into place the way they did so quickly. It bothered me a lot. I also found none of the side characters to be particularly interesting either. I was also annoyed at how little the singing competition was actually in the book. The premise made it sound like the book was going to be entirely based around the competition, but the competition itself ends about 150 pages into the book. This really disappointed me, because it felt really rushed, and honestly, it felt unnecessary to the plot, or their developing relationship. I was hoping the stakes of the competition would feel higher and that it would be more prevalent in the story. I'm gonna get into some spoilers now to talk about something else I didn't like about the book. One of the things going on in this book is that a producer has taken interest in Sadie, and not really for her musical talent. He does a lot of creepy things, and harasses her quite a bit. I feel like this was not handled with much care, and it was treated as a plot device to create drama in the relationship. Not only am I disappointed that this topic was handled like that, but it made me dislike Max more for the way he reacted when faced with something he should have thought about more than he did. Instead, he made assumptions, and it came off as really insensitive./spoiler>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism