As a big fan of anything Christmas, I always love doing a little Christmas in July. So I watched some Christmas movies and read a few Christmas themed books. After loving Maggie Knox’s book, The Holiday Swap, I was really excited about All I Want for Christmas. I finally sat down and read this book and want to tell you all about the book and my thoughts today! So keep on reading to find out more!

A big thank you to Netgalley and Viking for providing me an eARC to read and review. This didn’t influence my opinion in any way.

True love wasn’t on their holiday wish list.

When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, each thinks they’ve finally gotten their big Nashville break. But then they’re paired up for duet week and stun the world with their romantic onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie the network demands that they remain a duo on and offstage, or exit the competition. Faking a relationship until their final performance in the Starmaker holiday special 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 fake relationship be exposed before they can win? Or will an unexpected trip to Banff spark real feelings by the Christmas finale?

Review

I really enjoyed The Holiday Swap by this author duo, so I was very excited about All I Want for Christmas. Besides it being a holiday themed book (which will make me pick up a book immediately), it has one of my favorite tropes: fake dating. Also adding a little rivalry to the mix? Yes, please! That’s everything I ask for in a book.

Sadie and Max both want to win Starmaker for different reasons, but because of that they’re willing to do anything to win. So when the chemistry between the two attracts a lot of fan attention, they’re offered a guaranteed spot in the finale if they pretend to date. This is one of my favorite tropes and I loved seeing them have to work together while not really liking the other. The little moments where they started showing each other something about themselves were so sweet and put a smile on my face. Besides the developing romance, I loved the side stories with Sadie’s family and Max’s as well. Both of the have different things to work through and I even shed a few tears during some of these moments.

That being said, I expected to love this one more than I did. Miscommunication is one of my least favorite tropes and so many things would’ve been resolved if Max and Sadie just sat down and talked. It frustrated me so much! Also, I was expecting this book to be more festive with Christmas in the title. The only aspects that fit this were the decorations during the show and when Max and Sadie were at the cabin together.

All in all, I did enjoy my time with these characters, but I was expecting to love it a lot more.

Even though I didn’t love this one as much as I expected, I still had a good time. I don’t think I could ever participate on a reality show of any form. Do you think you could? If so, what kind of show do you see yourself in? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.