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

This was a cute story, but took quite some time to get moving. Emily and Ray aren't the most sympathetic protagonists, though you do want to root for them as the story continues. I would have loved to see more of the book focused on the kids' musical, as it definitely gave me the Christmas feelings!

I don't know why I have never picked up a Mandy Baggot book before. Ok, I retract that, I know the reason. I have been quite stupid and well, maybe it was not the right time. Anyway, here I am kicking myself for all the lost opportunities. So take heed folks, and don't be like me. If you are planning to read only one Christmas book this year, let it be this one.
A primary school teacher struggling set up a Christmas play and a disgraced musician in need of a new start. Nothing much in common if you ask me. But the season of miracles plays its just part and hurray! . . . what we have is a tantalising love story.
Emily Parker is a model teacher (someone I would like to be one day). She wins her students' hearts and cares for them deeply. But winning the approval of the school head and the diocese is an altogether different matter. Both of them may not go together. Still, she keeps it together until the very end. As all HP fans believe, 'help is always there, when you seek it' (well, something like that).
Ray, on the other hand, is a different story. He is not our arrogant musician, drinking up the fame. He is . . . hmm. . . a bit too soft. This is not something I blame, but as one of my besties used to say "if you are willing to be a doormat, you have no room to complain when others stomp on you". There is a time for compassion, but that should not degrade you as a person. I am glad that he stood up for himself at the end (this was really trying my patience).
I cannot finish this review without referring to Jonah and Allen, the gay couple who are the source behind most of the fun. I would have loved to hear their story. Truely a match made in heaven. And there are the children -- Jayden, Rashid, Alice, Cherry, Angelica, Felix, Mathew, Makenzie, Frema, Charlie and Lucas -- if you were real, I would have loved to meet you all. A teacher's true joy comes from his/ her students' achievements. I am sure you are all going to make Emily proud.
Am I making you sentimental? Yes, that is the other thing that I want to remind. Keep some tissues at hand. You will definitely need them by the end. Happy reading everyone!

One Christmas Star follows Emily, a teacher who's roommate has just moved out and has been forced to put on the annual Christmas show at her school, and Ray, a disgraced singer desperate to turn around his public image. When Emily's class of 12-year-olds discover Ray waking up after a hangover in a shed, the two quickly find their worlds colliding. Ray needs Emily's help getting pictures the students took deleted, and Emily needs Ray's help writing the music for the Christmas show.

This story had all the makings of a perfect Hallmark movie (and I mean that in a good way). It was cheesy and sweet but at just the right amount. There were definitely parts that were predictable, but I still really enjoyed the story and seeing the journey that Emily and Ray went on. This is a great read for anyone looking for a charming Christmas romance.

3.5/5 stars

I had fun with this story. I have been reading a lot of hard-hitting books in the past few days and I wanted something softer and mushier. This supplied both of those qualities while at the same time dealing with a lot of side issues.

This is the story of Emily Parker who is in a rut and is struggling with hopes of a promotion she doesn't see coming fast enough. She is a teacher at a primary school and has been put in charge of the Christmas show. Ray Stone is a floundering voice sensation who is struggling to maintain a semblance of sanity but a run-in with a hedgehog and homelessness gets their paths crossed, where both Emily and Ray can be of help to each other. What was slightly unique about the take in this story was that despite the lead characters being attracted to each other there is a long time of working together before either of them make a move or actually voice any 'feelings'. This could have actually been two books with the amount of content in it, since it spans not only their individual issues but also a bunch of ten-year-olds who each seem to bring something interesting into the mix. 

It is a long book, but it moves fast enough and hits all the tropes with the right amount of effort and therefore making it appealing.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is completely based on my reading experience.

Loved this book. Great characters, easy read, uplifting, funny, romantic and charming. A really nice story that is the perfect escapist read.

One Christmas Star by Mandy Baggot will definitely put you in the holiday spirit. This is a light, heartwarming romance that has all of the elements of a perfect holiday read, one to be savoured in front of a crackling fire with a mug of hot cocoa at hand.

Emily Parker is a teacher who has closed herself off to the possibility of love after suffering a terrible loss. Charged with staging the school's Christmas production, the last thing Emily needs to complicate her already hectic life is a disgraced pop star stumbling into her classroom in the form of a hungover Ray Stone. Yet being the season of fellowship and good cheer, and working together for the betterment of the Christmas pageant, Emily and Ray soon realize that life can sometimes take an infinitely better turn when we let down our walls and let a little romance in.

This is a cozy story that is comfortingly predictable, yet also rich in humour and cultural references which I very much enjoyed. The reimagining of popular song lyrics to give them holiday flair is brilliant and had me laughing out loud more than once.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria for this ARC.

This book has a sprinkling of magic at the turn of each and every page. I fell head first into the story from the very beginning and read the book in one day as I couldn't bring myself to put it down and hold off finding out how the story would unfold.

The narrative delivered festive romance in spades and I fell in love with Emily and Ray's chemistry from the start and championed them on from the sidelines in the hope of a happy ever after. As characters go, they were crafted to perfection and I felt they gave the book an extra coating of festive warmth and love.

But can I just take this moment to give a shout out to one of the greatest nativity shows I think I've ever come across.....I was giggling into the pages of my Kindle with each and every moment surrounding this hilarious piece. Year 6, for me, were the best thing about this whole book and I could have read an entire story on their antics alone. I mean talk about charismatic mini characters.....they were an absolute triumph.

One Christmas Star is a merry mega mix of family and love with a knock out nativity stealing the show. This is certainly one festive read to snuggle up with for the holiday season.

This was such a great holiday story!
I loved the characters of Emily and Ray so much and they just seemed like such genuine and real people. I was rooting for them throughout the whole story! I really enjoyed Emily being a school teacher, and all of the hilarious and heartwarming moments she had with her students. Ray was a really different type of musician than I feel we usually get in a romance and it was really refreshing. Seeing him finally deal with his problems and watching him and Emily support each other was just so great to see.
This book was so hilarious! I found myself laughing out loud multiple times and I loved how the author combined more serious subject matters with comedic moments. All of the supporting characters were so memorable and again seemed so real. All of the holiday touches were great and a perfect way to get in the holiday spirit!

The only thing I would have loved to see would have been a bit more of Emily and Ray as an actual couple or maybe an epilogue but overall such an enjoyable read!

This may be a long review as I absolutely LOVED this book!! This is only the second book I’ve read by this author, but after reading this book it’s got me think why I have not read more!! I had been looking forward to reading it anyway thanks to the Publisher, Aria’s Facebook page! They had been tempting me for ages with their #OneChristmasStar book trail and maps showing on a map of London the places featured in the book! It was very clever, looked great and certainly grabbed my interest!!

I was instantly hooked into the story. Emily Parker is such a lovely character. Working as a Year 6 primary school teacher and dealing with grief following the death of fiancé the year before, her story is as amusing as it was heart-breaking. Her best friends, Jonah and his partner, Allan (two LL’s) were great and whilst they both obviously cared for Emily a great deal, Jonah’s relationship with her was particularly endearing with how protective he was of her. We are also introduced to singer/songwriter, Ray Stone. Being hounded by the press following allegations that he was a “girlfriend-beater”, Ray also finds he has problems with his vocal chords and is quickly running out of money. Found by Emily and her class of 10 year olds in the school shed, hungover and nursing a hedgehog’s broken leg, Emily offers him a place to stay until he is back on his feet.

This was truly a fun and festive story!! Neither Emily nor Ray were really into Christmas, due to different personal reasons, but that doesn’t stop this book being filled with more tinsel and baubles than you can shake a stick at! You might think it’s a little bit early to be reading Christmas books in September but it certainly made me feel more festive for the 24 hours that I was reading it! It was also set in my favourite city – London! The descriptions of the London area certainly filled my mind with snowy filled pictures and I loved that I knew some of the places that were mentioned!

All of the characters in the book were so lovable, but I think the best had to be Emily’s class of Year 6 10 year olds!! They were just absolutely fabulous with the classroom scenes and rehearsals of the school Christmas performance reminding me so much of the Nativity comedy films!! It wasn’t all fun and frolics though with some serious issues coming through, both from the children and from Ray and Emily. The book covered issues such as alcoholism, grief and family problems, but were all covered sensitively. Without too many spoilers, my favourite laugh out loud moment of the book had to be when Emily’s parents turned up at the school performance! They may be complete and utter snobs, but oh my goodness I did find it funny!!

The author has done a fabulous job of writing a story that was heart-warming and equally funny. It pulled at my heartstrings with the personal issues that both Emily and Ray have to deal with and yet had me laughing out loud with the antics of the children. It’s a story of two people having to work through their own individual tragedies and then having to learn to live again. The additional characters all fit in nicely to the story and give the other characters depth and personality! The author has also shown that if her story-writing career ever peters out, she will definitely have a career writing song lyrics!!

Once started with this book, I just couldn’t put it down and used every opportunity to read just that little bit more! I truly loved this book and would love to see it on the big screen!! If cast suggestions are ever needed, please get in touch as I have so many images in my head as to who could play the different characters!! Highly highly recommended!

Mandy Baggot can do no wrong, I may be biased but I’m sticking by that statement. I love her books, they never let me down and this was no exception. This is fun, flirty humour and great romance from the first to last page, a great seasonal read, who doesn’t love Christmas ! Maybe cliche but this read is definitely full of festive cheer, a great book to curl up on the couch with a cocoa and a biccie. Curl up and melt with a !Mandy Baggot book, you won’t regret it.

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

I'm in the mood for fun and festive read so this was perfect.
I loved the Christmas mood as much as I loved the characters, the humour and the plot.
I was hooked since the first pages and couldn't put it down.
It's not the first book I read by Ms Baggot and I think that each is better than the previous.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I'm thrilled to be kicking off the blog tour for this gorgeous novel, my second Christmas read of the year. So very different to the first, but no less special!

Emily Parker is a teacher - and she loves her job. If only her personal life was as easy ... living in a bijou flat, she is missing her former flatmate who has moved on to live with his partner. Ray Stone is a well-known musician - regarded as something of a celebrity but, in his case, all publicity is not good. Down on his luck with nowhere to live he finds himself opening his eyes one chilly morning to a whole class of kids looking at him and taking pics on their phones. The last thing he needs right now is any more negative publicity, so he really needs to find a way to get those photos deleted - and speedily!

This is an absolutely beautiful novel, encompassing all the elements which make this a sparkling and heart-warming read. To begin with I thought the beginning was stretched out a bit, but as the story expands and past events come to light, I realised that the author had it all spot-on. This is just perfection! I really cannot think of one single thing I would either omit or add to improve this, it is wonderfully magical as it is and I loved every single bit of it. The characters are beautifully developed; the attention to detail in each one is obvious and together they add up to an awesome cast. The mix of friends, family, careers, romance and past lives is carefully engineered to look so effortless, and yet there is obviously considerable skill involved in bringing it all together. The main characters were so real to me that I have no doubt Mandy Baggot is going to soar right to the top of the bestseller lists once again. This is everything an excellent Christmas novel should be - and then some, and it easily earns a full house of dancing stars! A triumph!

My thanks to publisher Aria for my copy via NetGalley and to Vicky Joss for my spot in this blog tour. All opinions are, of course, both my own and entirely honest.

I've known for years now that Mandy Baggot is one talented author and fabulous story teller. However within this book we discover she is fabulous lyricist too. Well at least her character of Ray is, as he helped Emily with her schools Christmas show.

I loved seeing all these new lyrics to old Christmas favourites, and I couldn't help but sot of get the feeling that the show itself had the same feel to it as the film Nativity.

I really enjoyed getting to know the children in Emily's class, and although they may not have been completely key to the main story, it didn't detract from loving her class, and seeing how she reacted to various situations as a teacher. Was also amused to see the various wildlife that ended up in her classroom.

Emily and Ray are from completely different walks of life, and under normal circumstances would have probably never, met, but now that they have, this fledgling friendship was enjoyable to watch develop.

And seeing how Ray, famous singer, songwriter is coping with the blatantly untrue bad press he is getting is admirable, although I was completely shocked when the truth came out, as I hadn't even considered it as a possible outcome.

I found the book got off to a bit of a slow start, but once I got into the swing of it I was wholeheartedly enjoying it. i connected with Emily rather quickly, but it took Ray a short while to warm to, and when I did, well you could't have asked for a nicer hero.

It was great getting to know Emily and Ray's friends and families, and seeing how different their feelings for Christmas. are.

Many fantastically festive moments in this story, far too many to mention in this incredibly charming festive romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Looking for a fun, festive read? This is the one for you. Whilst I found it slow building to begin with, this tale has everything you could want from a Christmas read. Fun flirty festivities; heartbreak and past trauma; lost love, budding relationships, heartwarming moments.

Emily is the Year 6 teacher, tasked with putting on the Christmas performance. Having to add in advertising for pupil's parents aside, her life gets turned upside down when she meets Ray Stone. Trying to deal with the stress of the performance, her overbearing mother and her feelings, this is a heartfelt read.

I'd definitely recommend if you are looking for a festive but fun read.

Emily would be having a tough time, even if it wasn't Christmas but throw that in and well, she's got a lot on her mind. The last thing she wanted was to run the school play and that is sort of the last straw. Then, however, she (and a group of her kids) find Roy in the school shed! He's a pop star with more problems than she has but she takes him in and he agrees to help with the play. They are an unlikely and improbable couple but this is a fun light read. Baggot knows how to tell a story- this one will make you chuckle more than once and there's a lovely ending. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Perfect for an evening of relaxing.

A fun, Christmas story full of second chances and festive cheer. The kids in this book were so adorable and funny, their characters epitomising the ups and downs if teaching. I think it was a longer story than I anticipated and there were parts I felt were slower but once it got going it was a pleasure to read and see the character development. I have a bit of a hang up over the ending because I see these kinds of particular endings a lot and it's beginning to feel a cliché but without spoilers I can't say any more but that in all honesty did end the book on a bit of an annoying point for me.

What a gorgeous story this is! Our heroine, Emily is struggling to recover from the death of her fiancee and has put her whole life on hold. Encouraged by her best friend, Jonah, she knows that it's time to get back into the dating game. As Jonah has announced that he's now moving in with his boyfriend, Emily is under pressure to find a new flat mate. Making no effort to disguise his matchmaking, Jonah starts introducing Emily to an array of prospective lodgers who have dating potential.

Ray is at the top of his game as a rockstar. He has it all except his voice is failing, his alcohol addiction is causing his life to unravel. His ex is selling her stories to the press which are painting him as an abuser. Ray is struggling with his creative inspiration, his dysfunctional family, his health and his romantic future.

A chance meeting causes Ray and Emily to cross paths and the result is quite magical. Without realising it, they offer each other the friendship, calmness and future that they are both craving but, is that enough to heal their shattered lives?

I found that both Ray and Emily were well written and I would love to meet them both. Emily's positivity and strength meet Ray's insecurity and despair perfectly and, whilst the story has a predictably happy ending, their journeys are not easy.

Emily Parker is a year 6 primary school teacher at Stretton Park School. She wants her class to be the best version of themselves. I liked the idea of the What Christmas Means to Me competition.

Ray is a singer-songwriter who hasn’t had much luck in his personal life. His agent is Deborah.

Emily used to live with her best friend Jonah in her flat in Islington, London. Emily misses Simon, her ex so her personal life has ups and downs too. I felt this made her very real.

With Christmas coming up, it’s time to think about the school play. The school is threatened by budget cuts that make money tight. The headteacher Susan Clark gives Emily the task of organising it. The staff meetings are realistic and the book is funny in parts.

Emily is compassionate and sensitive as a teacher and person. She has her work cut out for her with Rashid and other pupils and feels for Jayden who is one of the less economically well-off children.

All the settings in the book (school, Emily’s house) are visual and the descriptions of everything are in general very good. The Christmas
atmosphere both in Emily’s classroom and in London is excellent. I could really feel the kids’ excitement.

Organising the play is a bonding activity for the children and Emily’s search for a flatmate made me feel for her. I was angry at Jonah for placing the ad without telling her and felt like he was betraying her friendship but in general liked the descriptions of their friendship and what he was like in general.

Every description of food was mouthwatering (especially what Jonah cooked as he’s a chef).
William (Emily’s dad) and Allegra (her mum) met Jonah at a fundraiser.

Emily is struggling a year after Simon and Jonah’s still supportive towards her despite the matchmaking plan. This was something I liked as Emily has someone to rely on.

Ray’s backstory is tough as he has problems with his dad and was rejected by him when his mum died. Homeless, he turns up at Emily’s school and things go from there. The hedgehog plot was cute.

Ray is resourceful and it was wonderful to see how he and Emily helped each other out throughout the novel. Parts of Ray’s fame are well dealt with, both the good parts and bad.

I was absorbed in every page of this book. The characters are so realistic and it was fun feeling like I was a witness in their lives. I liked the way Emily and Ray helped each other out and how they became closer. I was rooting for them and for the play to turn out well.

In One Christmas Star, Mandy Baggot creates a cosy realistic novel in which different realities collide to produce an incredibly pleasant story that is unique and original.

Thanks to Mandy Baggot and Aria for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

5 stars.

One Christmas Star by Mandy Baggot tells the story of Emily, a schoolteacher who has lost the love of her life and is still struggling emotionally a year on. She loves her job, loves her students but is lonely. When the Head teacher asks her to put on a Christmas show with her class, Emily does not know what to do, especially since she is not really musical - as her mother has always told. But when they find a down on his luck pop star Ray Stone sleeping in the school shed, everything changes and maybe - just maybe they have a chance at succeeding.

I did not expect this novel to be this emotional and sensitive. This book deals with grief, family problems and even domestic abuse. I loved reading about Emily, her struggles and her emotional growth. Throughout the book she is sad and heartbroken, but she still goes on, she dedicates herself to her work and is described as a really empathetic teacher. I liked her relationship with Ray. This book wasn't super sexy with a bad case of insta-love. It dealt more with struggles we face because of the other people in our lives and how parents and ex-partners affect us. Mandy did it with a sensitivity I really admire. It was well thought out and even funny at times.

I am definitely keeping my eye on this author and her future works. I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and thr publisher.

Take two men, one songwriter, a primary school teacher, a class of year six pupils (tan year old) and what have you got, a fantastic novel. You really need to read this and find out what happens to them all. I recommend this book to all. The author Mandy Baggot has made a first class story and it has been well written. Five stars.