Review – Truly, Madly, Greekly by Mandy Baggot

Sun, sea and a sexy stranger – a whole lot of fun just got a whole lot more complicated… 

Capable, confident and career-driven, Ellen had her dream job and a marriage proposal from boyfriend Ross. Life was good, her future set. Until it wasn’t and everything fell apart… 

Whisked off to the beautiful island of Corfu to plan her sister Lacey’s big, fat, Greek wedding, Ellen is hoping some time out will help clear her head and heal her heart. But letting go of her past is not going to be easy. With Lacey in full on Bridezilla mode, Ellen is soon distracted from her own problems. And when the all-inclusive treats on offer at hotel Blue Vue include one gorgeous, brooding Adonis – Yan – Ellen finds him difficult to resist. 

But Ellen isn’t looking for love or lust, or anything involving too much ouzo…or is she?

I’ve been meaning to read one of Mandy Baggot’s books for quite a while – they’ve always sounded fun, and I had several on my Kindle already, just waiting for the right moment. Her latest book – Truly, Madly, Greekly, published on 22nd May by Bookouture in paperback and for Kindle – sounded quite perfect for me. Most of the holidays of my 20s and 30s were spent in the Greek islands and I’ve experienced more than my share of gorgeous, brooding… ah, memories, but enough about me!

This was a really lovely read. The Corfu setting leaps off the page in vivid detail, and you can feel the sunshine, taste the food and apricot coolers, and swim in the pool, even feel like you’re joining in with the after-hours limbo. We’ve all stayed in hotels like the Blue Vue with the energetic animation team who won’t let you lie in peace to read your book – sadly the teams at the hotels I’ve stayed at have usually consisted of ginger German students rather than the likes of Sergei and the delicious Yan.

Ellen is quite difficult to warm to at the start – a bit of a misery and party-pooper, but that’s wholly understandable as we learn her story. Lacey is wonderfully over-the-top, and very funny – I’m not a laugh out loud person normally, but I did several times over some of her antics. And Yan is simply gorgeous, every girl’s holiday dream, but with his own secrets and hidden depths. The book never becomes wholly serious – Lacey and the animation team make sure of that – but there’s enough light darkness to get your teeth into should you so wish. And the romance is really, really lovely.

It’s a bit of an obvious thing to say that this is the quite perfect read for your sun lounger this summer – but it really is! And as I write, it’s only 99p for your Kindle (check before clicking), so why wouldn’t you? I may not have read anything by Mandy Baggot before, but I’ll certainly be reading her again – she’ll be top of my list as soon as I get my next beach holiday booked. And congratulations to Bookouture for hooking yet another excellent writer. 

Mandy Baggot is an award-winning romantic fiction author, writing hot heroes and emotional reads. She is represented by Kate Nash of The Kate Nash Literary Agency. In 2012 she won the Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK’s Festival of Romance and has since scooped Top Ten Reads/Book of the Year places from a number of UK book bloggers.

Traditionally published by US publisher Sapphire Star, Harper Collins’ digital first romance imprint, Harper Impulse, and most recently, digital fiction specialists, Bookouture, a great story is never far from her fingertips! A contributor to writing blogs and short story anthologies, Mandy is also a regular speaker at literary festivals, events and women’s networking groups.

Mandy loves mashed potato, white wine, country music, World’s Strongest Man, travel and handbags. She has appeared on ITV1’s Who Dares Sings and auditioned for The X-Factor.

Mandy is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband, two daughters and cats, Kravitz and Springsteen.

To find out more about Mandy and her books, visit her website, follow her on Twitter or visit her author page on Facebook.