Review – One Wish In Manhattan by Mandy Baggot

Christmas: it’s the most wonderful time of the year…to fall in love

The temperature is dropping, snow is on its way and Hayley Walker is heading for New York with one wish… to start over. 

With her daughter Angel, Hayley is ready for adventure. But there’s more to New York than twinkly lights and breathtaking skyscrapers. Angel has her own Christmas wish – to find her real dad. 

While Hayley tries to fulfil her daughter’s wish, she crosses paths with billionaire Oliver Drummond. Restless and bored with fast living, there’s something intriguing about him that has Hayley hooked. 

Can Hayley dare to think her own dreams might turn come true – could A New York Christmas turn into a New York Forever? 

I’m a total pushover for books with a Christmas theme – my kindle is already filling up fast with this year’s new releases! I wouldn’t normally be reading them in September, but One Wish In Manhattan is released today (for kindle, by Bookouture) and I just had to tell you about it before Being Anne takes a break for a holiday. 

I’m still slightly horrified by the fact that some of Mandy’s earlier books are still languishing unread on my kindle. I so loved Truly Madly Greekly (here’s my review), and honestly think this one’s even better. From the opening pages, as a newly unemployed Hayley debates with daughter Angel what New York has to offer for Christmas, this book had me totally hooked, dishes unwashed, house un-hoovered – right through to when I set it aside, with a sob, at its perfect end. 

It’s a wonderful story – New York at Christmas, a gorgeous billionaire in Oliver (who you’ll grow to love despite the fact that he bounces from one one-night-stand to the next), the wise-cracking and wonderful Hayley, young daughter Angel with wisdom (and a vocabulary) way beyond her years (nine, going on thirty-five…). All the characters are so wonderfully drawn – from gay brother Dean and partner Vernon (with his useful background in hairdressing, and – of course – dog Randy) to some of the less central ones like Italian stallion Tony, Oliver’s socialite mother and even the lady who runs the cleaning company. 

The key moments in the story turn on coincidences so preposterous that you should be shouting “no way” – but I guarantee you won’t care one bit, you’ll be so swept up by the sparkly world this lovely author creates. There are so many laugh-out-loud moments – Oliver and Hayley’s crackling repartee, Oliver’s exchanges with long-suffering PA Clara (another fantastic character), the wonderful Angel and her many words of wisdom, and some images that will have you laughing at the memory long after you’ve put the book down. But it’s not just a romantic comedy – Hayley’s efforts to find Angel’s father are agonising, and there are quite a few other moments that really had me reaching for the tissues. 

The New York backdrop is wonderful – all the places you’ll recognise, perfectly described, covered in snow and peopled by Santas and fairies with a soundtrack of bells and carols. Then there’s also the Asian Dawn Chinese restaurant, Vipers nightclub and Tony’s family-run italian restaurant. I could talk about this book for hours…

If you love Christmas, and are looking for a book that will fit with absolute perfection, this is the book for you. I really loved it. Too early to be putting the tree up, do you think? 

My thanks to netgalley and publishers Bookouture for my advance reading copy.  

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.