Review: All I Want for Christmas

It pains me so very much to say this but…All I Want for Christmas was not a winner for me. It hurts because I love authors Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley who, together, make up Maggie Knox, the author of the holiday rom com in question. I know you can’t win ‘em all but this one? Not liking this one really hurt.

Here’s the book’s description:

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?

My biggest problem with this book was I just could not buy Sadie and Max as a couple. At all. They didn’t have any chemistry and just kept being so incredibly awful to one another. I couldn’t buy Max’s “excuse” and he never did win me over as a suitable rom com hero. Enemies to lovers is a tricky trope for me so that may have been part of my aggravation, but I really couldn’t see why the two of them would have worked as a couple – even for the short term.

I also hated that Sadie kept details from Max. There was no reason for her to keep the info to herself, even allowing for other strong emotions. (I’m trying to be vague here so I don’t ruin a plot point so bear with me.) It was like she just couldn’t be bothered sharing any part of herself with Max and how does that make for a good relationship?

The story really did start off strong and I hoped I was in for a delightfully festive and cheesy read. The pacing quickly threw me off and things went downhill from there. I don’t think I loved the time jump from when the show wrapped up to a year later when we met back up with the characters. There had to be a lot of explaining about what went on during that year and I got a bit bored and lost. Not to mention, again, that there was no connection that I could see between the main characters.

I’m sure there are readers who will love All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox. I hope there are. It’s hard when you have really high hopes for a book and so many things let you down. Ah well. Onto the next read, right?

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, via Edelweiss in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*