Wishing on a Star

Anna and Ruthie are starting to celebrate this time of year in England.

Sam gets a shock diagnosis of Huntingdon's disease in the USA and travels to London to get away from it all. Who should he bump into but Anna?

I like the relationships between Anna and Ruhite and how this portrays the ups and downs of her being on the Autism spectrum.

Ed is Anna's ex and struggled to be there for his daughter, he's got a new issuehe's's going to introduce a baby to Ruthie is hard for her to accept.

Sam and Anna the dynamics happen slowly but progressively I enjoy how caring Sam is for others whilst dealing with his trauma.

A really enjoyable read with characters you can connect to.

#NetGalley #bookstagram #bookreview #romance #christmas @mandy Baggot @embala books

Another delightful book by Mandy. This has been a refreshing and enjoyable read, which I found emotional in some parts.

A quick and easy read that was just adorable all the way through. I loved the characters and how diverse they were. loved the setting and I loved the story. A great read.

I'm a huge fan of Autumn and Christmas, so devour any books related to them too, then I’m a huge Mandy fan too, so this is just perfection. I was hooked from the start, what an interesting premise, intertwining two completely different lives , I also liked the representation of neurodiversity - really well researched by Mandy, simply put this is a beautiful book about love and friendship in a Christmas setting, what more could you want

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Such a sweet, romantic feel-good book! The characters were so easy to connect with. I enjoyed their sweet story. Hope to read more by this author!

Anna is a divorced single mum whose 13 year old daughter is on the autistic spectrum and is juggling work, her daughter's needs and her ex husband who doesn't respect her boundaries
Sam is a famous American footballer about to sign a huge contract when he is given some devastating test results which will affect his future, not sure what to do he packs a small bag, gets on a plane and ends up in Essex where Anna lives
They meet each other when Sam is hit by a car after defending her daughter against some bullies and not looking where he is going. Anna literally picks him up and takes him to her house to check him over
As they get to know each other obstacles start to appear, can they get through them ?
Loved it

Anna Heath is a single mum to a girl on the autistic spectrum,  who is further described as high functioning at the top of her class.

Sam Jacksnman is 25 years old and believes he at the top of his game 'it's always been his talents and fitness that has set him apart' and he is on the verge of signing a multi million dollar contract for an American football team. When he gets given some catastrophic news, so he leaves the US for Richmond Essex UK?! It is described as being 'quite the gem in London's crown'

There are just the right amount of additional characters, with Anna's friends and Sam's agent and sister they fill out the novel nicely.

The great thing running thought this novel is it is not just romantic but how they way autism is interwoven in every way the story changes different parts of the spectrum are touched upon. It came as no surprise when I found out Maddie Baggot herself has a daughter the same age asthe character on the spectrum herself, who aided her in creating this character.
This is unlike any other book I have any read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a complementary digital copy of this ebook in exchange for a honest review. All views expressed are completely my own.

This one is a bit slow to get going and I didn't actually feel any chemistry between the characters. It's got more meat than a normal holiday rom-com, which was interesting. However, it just didn't give me all of the holiday feels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Seasonal Christmas reading with some serious and interesting twists and turns. This is not your normal feel good fuzzy warm jingle all the way!! Great insight into different worlds in the USA and in Richmond upon Thames West London!!
Anna is a single mum to Ruthie, with an ex who is not greatly understanding and supportive. Sam’s life has completely blown up in America, so he jumps on a plane to the UK, ending up at a school fete in Richmond.
No spoilers!!
Pleasing knowledge of the area that was my home for 30 odd years, and brilliant knowledge and experience around autism, and the awareness we should all learn.
An authentic tale, hilarious and serious, enlightening but still creative and imaginative. Really interesting!!
Thank you Netgalley for the early read!! Much appreciated!!

Oh I loved this! Wishing on a Star by Mandy Baggot is a beautiful story that really hurt my heart - in a good way of course!! It’s full of love - so much love - and romance, friendships, and the soul-achingly lovely relationship between Anna and her autistic daughter, Ruthie. The characters are all wonderfully depicted, beautifully drawn, and I loved the emotional support that Anna, Neeta and Lisa give to each other. Sam is a complex character, dealing with a life-changing event, and I just fell in love with him! He is facing the biggest challenge of his life, and when he meets Anna and Ruthie, everything changes, for all of them. The serious subjects in the book are dealt with very sensitively, and by the end, I felt like I really knew all the characters, and shared in their hopes and dreams. With the backdrop of Christmas - a time of celebration, hope and new beginnings- this lovely story ticked all my boxes!

This story wasn’t for me, but the writing was good and everything flowed well. I just felt the characters didn’t work well together. Anna and Ruthie were more annoying than charming. Sam’s story was awkward and read like someone just peppering in weird American references. I found the romance aspect to be unbelievable.

A beautiful book about love and friendship in a Christmas setting.

Anna lives with her daughter Ruthie in Richmond, divorced from her husband they are in it together. Ruthie has autism and I liked that the author shared this with the reader.

Sam arrives in London after discovered the bad news that he has Huntington’s disease from his doctor in the US. He was due to be signed up by a big team in Dallas and his whole life’s dream is shattered in seconds. Sam meets Anna after being knocked down by a car. There two lives are so different, but will love make them connect.

I did find the book a bit slow to start with, but it turned out to be a lovely romance that will leave a smile on your face. Loved the characters and the setting was beautifully written about.

A lovely feel good Christmas read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy for an honest review.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. Being a fan of a festive romance novel and having read previous Mandy Baggot books, I was pleased to be offered the chance to read this as the story sounded engaging. While I enjoyed elements, the book felt too long and slow moving, and many of the characters very one dimensional, making it harder to engage, although I liked Sam and Anna's relationship at its core, and also the subplot of her work.

I loved the characters of Anna and Sam. They were written so well they felt like people you really know. This is a feel good, romance packed book with a few twisty turns along the way.

Thank you NetGalley, Mandy Baggot and Embla Books for the ARC of Wishing on a Star. This is my personal review.
The story is one that had so much in it for me. I liked Sam and Anna and enjoyed being able to read a book that had a couple with chemistry that made me glad they met.
They both had issues to deal with in their lives and yet had time to get to know each other and grow close as they did that. They were there for each other and for me that makes a perfect romance story that I wanted to never end.

I enjoyed Wishing on a Star. I loved that it featured a child with Autism and gave a realistic view of someone with high functioning Autism. I enjoyed the main characters and really felt for the things they were having to face. It was sad in parts and also amusing, I especially liked the cat. I would recommend giving this book a read, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Mandy Baggot brings her trademark character development and authentic voice to this cosy hug of a book that brings all the feelgood vibes for Christmas.
I especially loved Neeta who is just so funny.

Good read. Great characters, enjoyed the setting, lots of side stories weaved into it and it flowed really well. A good read for a rubbish day. Will make you feel better!

A Christmas read with a difference. There are lots of reasons why Anna and Sam shouldn’t be together, not least because they live on different sides of the Atlantic…….. they also have the issues of a devastating diagnosis, a difficult ex husband, a teenager with Autism, a time consuming job and hordes of press waiting for an exclusive! If you love Mandy Baggot’s books then you will certainly love this. My only gripe is that is was overly long, otherwise a fabulous read.

really wanted to like this - I'm a sucker for a Christmas book, and a cheeky romance, so the two should have been magic for me. I was hooked for the first quarter of the book - I thought it was a really cool premise, intertwining two completely different lives out of coincidence, and the lovely mental image of Richmond in the run up to Christmas.
I really liked the representation of Ruthie's neurodiversity - I haven't read from the POV of a parent of a teen, so I thought that was really interesting and felt really well researched.
I really liked the characters - they felt like real people, in real situations, apart from Tionne, Sam's sister, who I couldn't really relate to (but maybe that's just me to anyone under the age of 25...).

Some nitpicky things that threw me off though:
- Way too many pop culture references. I'm sure there was a ref to Meghan Markle in there too at some point that just made me roll my eyes.
- It was too long. It's one of the longest reads of mine this year, and honestly it felt a little padded out towards the end. Some of that may be personal preference, but I felt the plot could have been hastened towards the end.
- The sub-plot - kind of felt like Anna's career wasn't very important to the plot or how the story ended, so I didn't really see the point.

It was a nice enough read, but too long for me.