Mandy, you’ve done it again!
Mandy Baggot is the absolute queen of the festive story.
I absolutely fell in love with this book and the characters.
We are introduced to schoolteacher Emily Parker and her reasons and need for a new flatmate.
I liked Emily’s dress sense, and I imagined that wardrobe bulging with all her vintage finds.
I warmed to songwriter Ray from the start, he was getting seriously bad press and I felt there was more to it than he was telling his agent.
A ‘hedgehog issue’ creates a chance meeting with Emily at her school, and the kids recognised Ray straight away.
Getting to know Emily’s Year 6 pupils was such fun, and some of the things they said were very funny to a grown-up.
I loved the new lyrics to the familiar Christmas songs, and I was singing along. Mandy, I think you’re onto a winner there!
Initially I thought Emily was a weak character, but she was actually incredibly strong. She had overpowering people in her life including her posh, well-to-do parents, Mrs Clarke the headteacher, and her ex-flatmate Jonah and his partner Allan. I loved Allan aka two Ls!
Note to self - I need to visit a cheese restaurant :)
That piano scene in the posh restaurant gave me goosebumps.
I really adore Mandy Baggot books, but this one feels that bit more extra special and magical. I loved it.
The cover design is gorgeous.
Her other Christmas books are definitely worth a try if you enjoy this one.
Her books set in Corfu will take you through the Summer season with a smile.
Thanks to Mandy Baggot, Aria, Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the early review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

A quiet slow read about two damaged souls who have been hurt by people and life. Emily was a primary school teacher and Ray was a down on his luck musician. Both met when Ray saw an injured hedgehog and ending up in the school she'd. Slowly and steadily, the two move toward each other till love and trust blosommed.

Mandy Baggot has done a great job in writing a complete story which had domestic violence weaved into it. Humor and emotions made their presence felt at moments when needed. Emily was a timid silent soul, I wished she would speak up, find her backbone. But I do know sometimes life could make you speechless and scared.

This was a very slow read where each scene added to them getting to know each other, where they communicated their feelings. All of it felt authentic. Emily with her school children added an extra flavor to the story as it was cute toread their conversations. Children can make the heaviest heart feel lighter, even if they are fictional characters. Ray had a past with trauma in his personal life. It was nice to see him slowly coming out of it.

This was light emotional, fun read filled with laughter, children, and romance.

I am always game for a good Christmas love story. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters to an extent. I wish a Emily had more of a voice and backbone. Overall it was a fun read.

I didn't like it. Sorry.
It's not the writing, and it's not the author. I just couldn't connect with the characters in the story. I found Emily to be hopelessly timid and without any backbone, and Ray to be a total looser.

Absolutely fantastic had me gripped!!! Loved it! Can't wait for more from.this author. Storyline was great, characters were easy to.connect with

Thank you for the advanced copy

Great christmaas read. The story of Emily, a primary school teacher, and Ray, a famous musician. They meet when he ends up at the school after rescuing an injured hedghog! Soon they are spending more time together but he is keeping secrets.

Great characters, in particular Emily's friends Jonah and Allen!

Don't always trust what you read n the media!

Emily is a hard-working teacher, Ray is a singer-songwriter. Both are going through a difficult time. They meet when Ray comes across an injured hedgehog and ends up sleeping in a shed on school grounds.

Although not quite my usual fare, I did enjoy this book. It took me a little while to get into it, but once I did, it flowed very well.

The children that Emily teaches are very entertaining - several amusing scenes resulted from their enthusiasm.

Although the story does deal with some serious things (mostly domestic violence, which I prefer not to read about), it is leavened with many funny and heart-warming moments. It is good to see a domestic violence plot line with a male victim - I think all too often these are overlooked.

The love story is more of a slow burn than a whirlwind romance, but I felt it was both realistic and touching. Several cliches that often occur in romances where one person is famous were neatly avoided - there was no leakage to the press causing suspicion to fall on the non-famous person, for example.

I appreciated the fact that there was no lack of communication/misunderstanding plot device - I definitely feel like Emily and Ray could go the distance as they seem to communicate well.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a realistic, heart-warming Christmas tale with a good splash of romance.

I was lucky enough to receive this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What’s not to love! It’s classic Mandy Baggot, fun, funny, romantic, a little quirky and a whole lot enjoyable! Snow, twinkling lights, warm fires, a rock star, music, Christmas, romance. Loved it!

I love Mandy Baggot's novels. They're fun, romantic and so enjoyable to read. This one was no different from her other novels. When the cover was revealed, I fell in love! I love the dark sky, the colourful lights on the trees and of course the snow! It felt a bit odd reading a Christmas novel at this time of year but to be honest, it didn't have that much Christmas references in it. Don't know if I was disappointed about this or not!

At first, I wasn't sure what to make of Ray. I don't usually read novels set around celebrities but I found myself warming to Ray when we learnt more of his story. His life had had lots of ups and downs and I really felt for him and what he'd been through to get to where he is today. Emily on the other hand, I clicked with straight away. My heart melted for her all the time, I was heartbroken upon hearing about her trauma, I just wanted her to be happy! So when Ray and Emily meet (in quite the unexpected way may I add!) I was delighted for them both. They both deserved a shot at love and happiness!

One thing I loved a lot about this novel was that Emily was a teacher and the novel had quite a lot of input by the children in Emily's class. I loved them all! Particularly Jayden, but I also found Alice really funny and also loved Felix. All the children had such fun and unique personalities that I really found myself enjoying the storyline around the Christmas show. There is an overall happy and cheerful storyline, with some deep and meaningful parts, especially with Ray and what is going on with his ex.

Overall, this is a great winter read. Or a great read to get you in the Christmas spirit! There's a sense of magic within this novel, I loved the characters, the storyline and the happy ending. Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read an advance copy of this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

One Christmas Star, Mandy Baggot

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Romance, Women's Fiction

Bah, Humbug. Women's Fiction – that infuriates me. Why do we insist on having such an outdated category?
Anyway, the book. I've enjoyed many of Mandy's stories now, I know her writing style and my reading tastes generally mesh well so was keen to read this.

I loved Ray, in bad press and once more its media hype to get headlines, nothing like the truth. Its why I don't buy newspapers any more, fed up of the lies and half truths they publish. Folk like poor him get their lives derailed in the pursuit of headlines. Rant over ;-)
Ray has a lot going on in his personal life too, but somehow when he meets Emily, in the school shed, holding a hedgehog, overlooked by Emily's year six pupils, he's a goner. Life keeps on bringing them together somehow, and slowly more develops.
I loved Emily too, such a truly good person, adores her job teaching, and is a gem, one of those teachers who really tries to encourage her pupils, to set them on the right path, give them skills they need in life, and keep them doing the right thing. I just adored her class, a typical primary school mixed bunch, full of a mix of innocence and good ideas......and then of course there's Jonah and Two LL's ;-)

Its a fun read, with some fairly deep emotion in parts, and a surprise in store over the allegations Ray faces from his ex. Its fiction, its entertainment, but this particular thread is true for many folk, and something too often glossed over. It was good to see it brought forward.
Can't say more without spoiling, but you'll know when you get to it, and maybe when you hear of something like this in real life you'll be understanding, not do the usual reaction.

The play: well. Emily and Ray really knocked it out the park with that – it was fabulous, and I loved the songs, humming them to myself as I read.

Stars: Four, a great fun read, didn't quite have the magic for me that some of Mandy's books have had though, it took me a little while to appreciate the story, and warm to the characters.

Arc via Netgalley