All I Want for Christmas - Softcover

Knox, Maggie

 
9780593328668: All I Want for Christmas
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0593328663 ISBN 13: 9780593328668
Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2022

Inhaltsangabe

A pitch-perfect holiday rom com about two oil-and-water reality-star country singers who must fake a relationship in order to win the opportunity of a lifetime, perfect for fans of Sally Thorne's The Hating Game and Christina Lauren's In a Holidaze.

Will they hit the right notes this holiday season?

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 might their phony connection turn real by the Christmas finale?

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Maggie Knox is the pen name for bestselling Canadian writing duo Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley. Brown is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author of five novels, including the #1 national bestseller Recipe for a Perfect Wife, as well as the non-fiction bestseller The 4% Fix: How one hour can change your life. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Self, Redbook, Today’s Parent, and Chatelaine. She lives just outside Toronto with her family and a labradoodle named Fred. Stapley is a former magazine editor and New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Lucky, as well as international bestsellers Mating for Life, Things to Do When It’s Raining, and The Last Resort. Many of her novels have been optioned for television and her journalism has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Elle, Today’s Parent, and Reader’s Digest. She lives in Toronto with her family and a pre­cocious black cat named Oscar. The Holiday Swap was their first novel writing together as Maggie Knox and is a Canadian bestseller.

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1

Max

Nashville, Tennessee
December 1
 
What am I doing?
 
The question had been nagging at Max Brody all day. Actually, ever since he'd agreed to join Starmaker's country music reality show, making him one of twenty contestants vying for that coveted first place.
 
Most people would think Max didn't need any of what a Starmaker win could mean-not the money, nor the fame. He had grown up in the Nashville celebrity spotlight, thanks to his father, Holden Brody, who was an iconic country music singer. And yet, here Max was: on a soundstage, trying to decide between a rock-hard blueberry muffin or a days-old custard pastry from the craft-services table. He chose neither and turned back to watch the other contestants warming up on the stage.
 
The room was decked out in preparation for the upcoming holiday-themed shows, and it did look festive. But everything was fake-from the plastic evergreen boughs, to the cotton swaths of "snow"-which left Max feeling less than merry.
 
He didn't want to be here but Starmaker was Max's last kick at the can to make music on his own terms, in his own way-something he had so far been unable to do. Sure, he had released an album (who hadn't, in his music-royalty boots?), but the record hadn't done well. There had been no real splash, low sales... certainly nothing to warrant a second album.
 
Since then, he had been knocking around Nashville, being featured in entertainment magazines ("Who Is Max Brody, Son of the Great Holden Brody, Dating Now?" and "How Does Max Brody Keep That Stunning Six-Pack Looking So Fine?") and waiting for his next great thing so he could prove he had "it," just like his dad. No... to prove he was nothing like his dad. To show everyone he could be a star, too, but not the way his dad had done it-which, in Max's view, had meant trading fame for his soul. Holden Brody was as well-known for his addictions and philandering as he was for his Hall of Fame country music songs.
 
So, Max knew it was nearly time-past time-to leave Nashville, with its suffocating expectations and musical heartbreaks, behind.
 
"We don't need this, that's for sure," he whispered to his dog (and best confidante), tucking her squirming body deeper under his arm.
 
Patsy Canine, Max's rescue pup, was a papillon mix and ten pounds (if that) soaking wet. Her tiny body had a light coverage of hair, but her ears, which were twice the size they should have been based on her body, had waterfalls of blond hair cascading from them. Patsy continued wiggling inside the lavender-hued cable-knit sweater she wore, trying to get closer to the sugary pastries.
 
"Hey there! No dogs near craft services." Max turned at the familiar voice.
 
"Why must you always be breaking some rule, Max Brody?" Tasha Munroe added, before pulling Max into a hug, making Patsy squeal at the sudden crush.
 
"Oh, sorry there, Patsy Canine," Tasha said, giving the dog a chin scratch. Max had known Tasha since they were kids, and she was one of his closest friends. Though she had started out singing in her church choir, Tasha Munroe had fallen in love with country music and the world had fallen in love with her. With multiple platinum albums under her rhinestone belt, and at only thirty-two, she was the artist that most up-and-coming musicians wished to emulate. A superstar now, Tasha was better at deflecting the negative aspects of celebrity than Max was. She never apologized for her ambition and knew precisely who she was.
 
Now she gave Max a once-over. "Damn, how are you always so freaking effortless?"
 
Max not only had the musical pedigree, he had also inherited his father's impossibly good looks: dark hair that settled back into perfect waves when he ran a hand through it; a five-o'clock shadow that worked so well on him you'd wonder why he'd ever shave; cheekbones for days, and long eyelashes that framed deep brown eyes.
 
"You're one to talk," Max replied, to which Tasha waved a hand, dismissing the compliment.
 
"Smoke and mirrors. You know show business."
 
Tasha took a muffin from the craft-services table and then grimaced at its obvious staleness.
 
"That's what you get for agreeing to be a judge on a B-level show," Max said, looking pointedly at the sad muffin.
 
Starmaker had once been the hottest ticket in Nashville, garnering millions of viewers. Tasha Munroe had been discovered in the first season-chosen by the great country music producer Cruz McNeil, who was one of the show's creators-and was now back as a guest judge. But recent seasons were lagging. Perhaps the show's predictable format was tiresome to viewers, especially in a sea of reality show options, but there had been much talk and anticipation that this year was going to get it back on top of the Nielsen ratings. And from the producers' perspective, Max Brody was a big part of the strategy.
 
"Now, come on," Tasha replied. "Didn't you hear we have the Max Brody joining this season?"
 
They both laughed, and Tasha broke off a piece of the stale muffin for Patsy.
 
"Tash!" Max twisted away, but not before Patsy got the treat. "You know she can't have gluten."
 
Tasha rolled her eyes, her fake eyelashes so long they hit above her eyebrows. "Max, you know she can. Look how happy she is. Aren't you, girl? Aren't you?" Tasha cooed, giving her another small bit of muffin despite Max's annoyed glare. "Nice sweater, by the way."
 
"Oh, thanks." Max ran his hand over Patsy's sweater and felt a wave of pride.
 
On the stage in front of them, a dozen or so of the other contestants were warming up. Max had no clue who the contestants were, or what their stories were, because he hadn't met any of them yet-he hadn't bothered to.
 
It was probably time to pay closer attention because these contestants were his competition. But the white noise of the mingling voices made it tough for anyone to rise above the rest.
 
Until one did.
 
The voice that reached him belonged to a woman at the edge of the stage, closest to where Max and Tasha stood. It wasn't just that she was closest to Max. It was that her voice had that rare quality to it you didn't often hear-even in Nashville.
 
Tasha heard it, too, and nodded at the woman-whose long dark hair was in a braid over her shoulder, a baggy sweatshirt worn over plain black tights.
 
"That's Sadie Hunter," Tasha said. "Sort of a Brandi Carlile thing going on, right?"
 
Max frowned, watching Sadie Hunter pace in a slow circle near the edge of the stage. Then she turned toward them, and Max got a complete picture: she wasn't just talented, she was gorgeous, too. A gentle pink hue to her cheeks, and those eyes. Blue as a bluebird.
 
Tasha nudged Max's shoulder with her own. "Pretty as a peach."
 
"In that vanilla popstar sort of way, I guess." Max shrugged. "Bit sweet for me."
 
"Hmm," Tasha replied, giving him a wry smile. "I don't know, she sort of seems just your type."
 
"Hush up." Max raised his eyebrow at his friend.
 
Just then Cruz McNeil sidled up to them, a young guy with movie-star hair and a huge smile following a step behind him.
 
"Tasha, love, I want you to meet someone," Cruz said, completely ignoring Max. His silver hair was immaculately styled, but he still ran a hand over it to ensure there were no strands out of place.
 
Max was more than familiar with Cruz McNeil. Not only was he the producer and top judge on Starmaker, Cruz was the starmaker in town. At only forty-five, he had produced some of the highest-earning albums in...

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Verlag
Penguin Publishing Group
Erscheinungsdatum
2022
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0593328663
ISBN 13 
9780593328668
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
352
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Buchpark GmbH
gpsr@buchpark.de

Krügerweg 1
Trebbin
Brandenburg
14959
Deutschland

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