It takes real skill to portray a character with a disability so realistically and well-rounded that the character’s personality becomes foremost and the disability part of that character, not the thing that defines them. Mandy did this fantastically with Hannah in One Christmas Kiss in Notting Hill, and she has done it again with Mack. We feel for Mack, empathise with him, root for him but we don’t pity him despite the loss of his lower leg. And neither does Harri. She loves Mack for the person he is, the person she fell in love with years ago, who pushed her away rather than share the trauma he had been through with her. Mack loves Harri too, but he is so desperate not to have her pity, terrified of tying her to him out of sympathy that he still pushes her away. Mix this with the loss of a beloved grandmother, a long-held family feud, Christmas tradition, a love triangle and a beautiful setting and you’ve got a winner. There’s a lot of humour in this story – as always with Mandy – but a lot of depth, tenderness and nostalgia too. This is such a heart-warming Christmas read and well deserves five stars.

Love Love Love!
Wonderfully warm and festive, beautifully written and well crafted characters. This has to be on your winter reading list for sure.

Christmas by the Coast is a second chance romance which included a grieving granddaughter, who heads to the Hamptons for her nana's funeral and to support her grandfather; and an injured war veteran.

I loved watching Harriet and Mack's relationship, both past and current untwist, with them both coming to terms with what they mean to each other in the here and now. I also loved the townspeople in the Hampton's including Scarlet, Ruby, Joe and Lester. They all added to the charm of the small town story. If there is one thing I didn't like, it was that Harriet and Iain were entwined in their own complicated relationship for much of the book. You knew from the beginning that he was not for her, and I felt like he didn't add anything important to the book.

I enjoyed the humour in this book and how Harriet and Mack come around and talk to each other. This book was focused on the love and care they had for each other, rather than sexual chemistry, which really added to the book. Throw in some Christmas celebrations and this makes for a fun, cozy, read this holiday season.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Aria publishing for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Harriet (aka Joanna) has a great boyfriend, a great job, and an apartment she loves, but the happy bubble she thinks she’s living in suddenly pops when she learns of her grandmothers passing. Deciding to head to America and spend time with her grieving grandpa, Harriet doesn’t expect to run into a blast from the past, her ex pen pal Mack (aka the one who got away). Time spent away from the bubble she created back in the UK, Harriet realizes she isn’t truly happy and finds herself having feelings for Mack.

This was probably the cutest second chance romance I’ve read in a long time, and I loved depth and richness of the story and it’s characters. Plus it’s holiday themed!

Absolutely loved this book, we follow Harriet aka Joanne who is plodding along in life as a property developer with her partner in business and in life, all the while mourning the loss of her army pen pal, sad news arrives in the form of her grandmother sadly passing so Harriet decides to travel to new York to help her grandfather with the funeral arrangements and be the support he needs
Life and fate intervene for Harriet who finds she is not happy with how she has been living and also reunites with her old army pen pal, emotions run high along with an old family fued to fix can Harriet ever have a happier life?
This book has me in tears towards the end, loved the characters and the storyline and the description of harriets time with her grandfather in long island, would have rated higher if I could
Loved it!

CHRISTMAS BY THE COAST
Mandy Baggot
An Absolute Winner
Mandy has done it again, writing an absolute winner that her fans will devour over the Christmas period and beyond. It takes skill as a writer to handle and juggle a whole boxful of characters such as these, but Mandy has lovingly created and developed an array of different ones, and kept them all in order, giving them their turn in the spotlight when necessary. And how original to set the scene in The Hamptons in the USA!
As well as the usual humour one expects from a Mandy Baggot novel, one soon realises that this is a substantial story of relationships, with the usual regrets and misunderstandings often found in families, and one is soon rooting for Harriet, wanting a great outcome for her by the end of the story.
There’s humour, there’s a winter seasonal story, there’s travel and of course a healthy dash of romance. What else could you wish for at Christmas?

5 lovely sparklers from me!
Julie Houston author

What a fun story. This is not your average Christmas romance. It is about the one that got away and making your way back to each other.

4 solid stars!
“Christmas by the Coast”, by Mandy Baggot (Aria), is an amazing and romantic story with wonderful characters, including a wounded hero who doesn’t take himself too seriously.
It was such a pleasure to watch the unraveling of Mack and Harriet’s relationship and shared past; I loved the fact it’s a very slow burn romance and the story is more about reconnecting and healing than sexual interaction (almost absent).
Mack is a delightful hero, with a refreshing sense of humor (and an endearing vulnerability) about his missing part and a funny tendency to lose the replacements.
He’s a man’s man, rugged and outdoorsy, but also very caring and attentive with everyone and devoted to the heroine.
I don't really like Harriet and Iain being a couple for most of the story; Iain was such a obnoxious, insensitive character, but by the end I was a bit curious about his emotional incompetence and personality.
The characters are very emotional and not afraid of showing affection, there are sweet and sappy moments, a group of quirky characters, a lovely costal town with a very special appeal and an interesting epistolary dimension that sheds light on many secrets.

This is a heartwarming Holiday story. I enjoyed reading Harriot’s story and the ending was satisfying. I will be reading more from this author in the future.

Mack and Johanna find each other in a little town on Long Island. They were pin pals during his time in Afganistian. You will love this book. Like being in the perfect Christmas movie. Well done!

I couldn't quite connect to this one. The story is rich and detailed, but there is so much going on, and so many secondary characters, that it's difficult to connect and prioritize attention. Additionally, the obviously wrong relationship took a long, long time to be dispensed with and, for all the heat alluded to in their letters, the main relationship was so slow-burn that it fizzled for me. There's plenty of heart and meditations on family and loss of connection, but I just couldn't get invested.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Harriet has the worst news ever. Her nana has died. She gets the first flight she can from England to New York to support her grandpa Joe. Harriet is in a relationship with Iain, he saved her after her heart was broken, and has travelled with her.
Her grandparents (her dad’s parents) run The Rum Coconut, a tiki bar on the beach in Montauk in The Hamptons.
Harriet (aka Joanna…read it, you’ll see why) spent her summers there when she was a kid. She loved the laid back life there, and the lighthouse. She’d never visited in the winter and it was a lot different, it was less about the holidaymakers and more about the community. And a lot quieter too. Her grandparents and her dad had a broken relationship, and she didn’t know why.
Letters written by Harriet, Mack and Nana are so very touching and are the making of this story. You can say so much in the written form that is lacking in conversation, and of course you can read it over and over digesting every word and meaning.
The book had quite a serious undercurrent with issues of trust and misunderstandings, and characters doing what they thought was the right thing when in fact they should just ‘go with their heart’.
It shows the good in people, the community aspect and it made me warm to the characters including Jude, Ruby and Madame Scarlett. I loved Mack and the way the author wrote about the psychological and physical problems that a veteran has to deal with.
A real treat of a book. Funny, entertaining and emotional in equal measure, just what I’d expect from Mandy Baggot. I love her writing.
Thanks to Mandy Baggot, Aria, Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the early review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

This book was provided to me compliments of #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Delightful little romance novel. Characters are charming from the first word to the last letter.

“Their love story had played out in words on paper.”

This was such a sweet, heart-warming story about love, family, and finding yourself.

When Mack was deployed in Afghanistan, he would get letters from Joanna, aka Harriett. Over several years of letters and one video call, they fell in love only to have it destroyed when Mack lost is his leg. A few years later, they run into each other at The Rum Coconut tiki bar in Montauk.

Harriett has come from England to her grandmothers funeral. She wasn’t expecting to find her first love, or herself, while she was there. Somewhere along the way, she’d lost her true self and it wasn’t until she saw Mack again that she realized this.

‘You know who you are,’ he told her in no uncertain terms. ‘You just need to be brave enough to slice through everyone else’s bullshit.’

This is the perfect Christmas read and I adored every minute of the story, including Meryl Cheep, Joe, and Scooter!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Aria, for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy Mandy's books and Christmas by the Coast was no exception, i loved the characters and it has the makings of a series.

A gorgeous story full of warmth and wonderful characters, set in The Hamptons in New York State. Mandy Baggot does not disappoint in this festive treat (although it seems strange reading it during a heatwave! ) and I guarantee you will fall in love with Harriet, Mac, Ruby, Nana, Grandpa Joe, Lester and the rest of the community. Set in and around the family’s tiki bar, this story will bring the festive season within touching distance. Fun and romantic with a touch of bittersweet emotions, you will love this book…..

Heartwarming, funny, and absolutely adorable!

Christmas by the Coast by Mandy Baggot is a wonderful, cozy, winter read. I highly recommend it for any feel-good contemporary rom-com lover. With, of course, the added Christmas vibes.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Aria & Aries publishing. I truly enjoyed my eARC.

This is a heart-warming novel, perfect for Christmastime, and so much more than just a romance.

Harriet's Grandma dies just a few weeks before Christmas which leads the young woman to reconsider the entire life she built for herself after the love of her life broke her heart. Leaving the UK (with her current -work-centered - new boyfriend), Harriet lands in the USA to help her now widower Grandpa Joe cope with his new reality.

There are several levels to this story : the romance, of course, but also how silence and misunderstandings can part families ; how a community can help overcome personal struggles. And with a very sensitive writing, physical and psychological scars veterans have to live with sometimes.

Beautifully set in Montauk, Mandy Baggot created in Christmas by the Coast such a strong community you want to be part of, wintertime and summertime.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange of an honest review.

You are in for a treat this Christmas from Mandy Baggot! Christmas by the Coast was delightful from beginning to end. Sweet on the surface, the layers below held heartache, loss, grief, misunderstandings, and hope for forgiveness. From page one, I was drawn into the lives of Harriet and Mack, quite literally, as we got to know the couple through letters from their past. At the same time, we got to know them as individuals in the present and slowly built up hope that they would find a future together. But how could that be after all these years?

They were no longer the same two people who had written those letters to each other while Mack was at war.
Harriet was all grown up and lived in the UK, a world away from Mack. She had a business and a boyfriend, Iain, who was about as exciting as a firecracker in the rain. It was nearing Christmas when Harriet learned that her American Grandma Lorna had passed, leaving her Grandpa Joe alone to grieve and run The Rum Coconut, his bar on the coast. She spent so much time with her grandparents in Montauk, Long Island, as a child that she flew to Montauk to be with her Grandpa Joe for the funeral. She just wasn’t expecting to see the man who broke her heart years ago paying his respects as well.

Mack was on the other side of the pond in the United States, trying to come to terms with the things he lost in the war. Things besides Harriet. He had to find a new way forward but found it too hard to let go of the past. Then he saved his friend Joe from the sea and that one single event would bring his past right to his doorstep. And little did he know, that would be the first step in letting it go.

As a side note here, there were so many wonderfully written secondary characters in this story to captivate you. Lester, Ruby, Madame Scarlet, and Jude all worked together to help Harriet and Mack find their happy Christmas together, but they all had their own quirks and personalities that made you feel like you were part of the community. Even The Rum Coconut had a charming personality in and of itself, not so much for the building but for the atmosphere inside its walls. It took care of the people of Montauk as much as they took care of it.

Mandy Baggot has woven a beautiful story of family regrets and misunderstandings that have substance and aren’t silly, easy-to-fix barriers thrown in the way of the main characters. The barriers between Mack and Harriet are mighty and many. They have gone on with their lives separately all while their hearts held onto the love they shared in their letters. I loved that as a reader we had the pleasure of reading the letters rather than being told them through the characters’ dialogue. There was also your expected humor from Ms. Baggot, but there was so much depth to the story she told of how we, as humans, need to communicate our pain and disappointments so we can accept, as well as forgive, other people’s mistakes as well as our own. Sometimes fate has a plan for us and no matter how many turns we take, hurts we suffer, or other plans we make, it somehow brings us back to the place we need to be. Nothing was truer for Mack and Harriet.

As a reader with the same disability as Mack, I appreciated the way his disability was treated as simply a part of who he was but not ALL of who he was. I don’t often find that in books I read where the hero or heroine is a character with a disability. It was refreshingly pleasant to see the character grapple with his disability and what that meant for him and Harriet in the future, but it wasn’t the main focus of every interaction he had in the book. That is hard to do, and I appreciate the research necessary for it to be written as seamlessly as it was.

Kudos to Ms. Baggot for once again writing a lovely Christmas read that will keep you hooked from page one to the very end. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments, sweet and tender aww moments, and of course, a new romance reminding you of the joy of finding your true love at Christmastime. There were many twists and turns for this couple, but they were all worth it to watch Mack and Harriet finally spend a Christmas together by the coast.

This was definitely cute, but a little forgettable.
I thought the characters were great (I related a bit to Harriet) and I was definitely rooting for them.
I think if you want a cute Christmas romance this could be it! But It wasn’t a read that will stick with me.