I loved this - it was such a unique story and held so many important messages about living in the moment, putting yourself first and helping others.

A great book!

A lovely festive story with a real serious side.
The chance meeting between Anna and Sam and what followed was just a treat.
The author touches on autism and illness with great insight.
Fun and romantic, a real heart warmer.
Many thanks to the author for an early copy.

Loved this book. I didn’t want to put it down. I wanted more time with Sam, Anna and Ruthie. There was the magic of Christmas including a gigantic tree, a love story that started with Sam protecting Ruthie from bullies and a minor collision with a car. I loved Sam’s and Ruthie’s relationship. Ruthie’s autism was handled with empathy and compassion. Sam accepted Ruthie for the adorably passionate and energetic child she is. This is a book I will find myself rereading

A romance with some serious issues at its heart: a diagnosis of genetic illness, autism, age gap relationships and how divorced couples get along. I enjoyed the build up of the romance and the problem of living on opposite sides of the Atlantic, not wanting to hurt the one you love, and how Anna really understands and copes with her daughter's differences and quirks. Just 2 things bothered me - I was exactly halfway through the book before it became obvious to me that Sam is black. Nothing wrong with that, but how I had imagined him to look was suddenly all wrong. And constantly calling the pet cat by they/them pronouns,which I found really odd and jarring. It's either a male cat or a female.

Wishing on a Star includes one of my favourite romance tropes: famous person meets ordinary person and they fall in love. My other favourite Mandy Baggot novel, One Christmas Star uses the same trope and I loved that.

The story focuses on Anna, a single mother in London raising her autistic daughter, Ruthie, and Sam, an American football player who receives some devastating news and runs off, just in time to run into Anna.

And a car.

Wishing on a Star was utterly adorable in every way and it is exactly what I look for in a romance novel. It was going so well that I thought to myself that if it didn’t mess up the ending then I was going to give it five stars and it really didn’t mess up the ending. In fact, it was perfect.

I adore all of the characters. Anna is a wonderful protagonist and I loved Sam as the love interest. Both of them are sympathetic characters that you can root for and I really wanted them to get together. Watching their romance blossom was so sweet and a joy to read. Ruthie was adorable, Anna’s friends were hilarious and even her ex, Ed, gets a redemption arc over the course of the book which was nice to see. There’s no real villains in this book, just a really cute story.

I loved Wishing on a Star. The characters were all interesting to read and the story was cute. There was some drama but it didn’t feel contrived at any point. I would highly recommend this book, it was awesome.

This is going to be such a nice Christmas read for when you just want to wind down. The book is easy to follow and has such a cute romance going on. At the start, I was thinking this was going to be quite long but as you got into the story, it really starts to pull you in & you don't want to put it down.

The plot was really nice, I enjoyed the chemistry between Sam and Anna. they were lots of heartwarming moments between them and also with Anna's daughter, Ruthie.

It was a lovely book to read and you ended up rooting for them both. It looks at the effects of Autism on families and relationships as well as giving you an insight on the impact on everyone on Sam's medical issue.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a little romance and sparkle in their lives with a dose of real life issues to overcome!

Free courtesy of Netgalley

This is another new author for me (I think). I love a festive book, and this book ticked that box. It was a bit of a slow burner for me, I'm not sure why but it didn't grip me straight away, that made me not want to put my kindle down, but it slowly built into a good story that I didn't want to end.

The story starts with Sam, a 25 year old NFL football player from Cincinnati, who is on the verge of a multi-million dollar transfer into the big league, but has to have a thorough medical beforehand that throws up a genetic issue, which causes him to run. He boards the first plane to London, without telling anyone he is leaving and why and ends up in Richmond.

Anna is a single mother to Ruthie, who has been diagnosed as autistic. Anna is recently divorced because her husband cheated on her after withdrawing from the family as he couldn't deal with his daughter's diagnosis. Anna works from home, helping businesses rebrand.

When attending a school fete Sam and Anna meet, after Sam steps in to help Ruthie with 3 boys that are bullying her. She sees Sam as a super hero and nicknames him Falcon. With Anna's distrust in men, and Sam's secrets can these two have a future together, especially when they need to include Ruthie's Autism, Anna's ex-husband and her friends and Sam's secrets of his fame and medical diagnosis.

It was a lovely book to read and you ended up rooting for them both. It looks at the effects of Autism on families and relationships as well as giving you an insight on the impact on everyone on Sam's medical issue.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a little romance and sparkle in their lives with a dose of real life issues to overcome.

I have been a fan of Mandy Baggot for a while, and I read most of her books and her latest offering Wishing on a star is another beautiful festive read.
Anna is divorced and a single mother to Ruthie who is Autistic, and it is her first Christmas without her ex-husband Ed so, she wants to give Ruthie a Christmas to remember.
Sam Jackson is an American football player who is just about to get the deal of his life and become the most well-paid NFL player in history. But luck turns when he goes for a fitness test to be told that he has the gene for Huntington Disease.
He feels his world is falling apart and instead of meeting with his doctor he instead runs and takes the first flight out and ends up in the UK in Richmond which only a small rucksack with him. Where he encounters a girl being bullied by a couple of boys. He comes to her aide, which is the first time he meets Ruthie. When her mother Anna meets Sam there is an instant connection between them. Little does she know who Sam really is and about his diagnosis.
Thank you Embala books and NetGalley for an ARC. This is another endearing and heart-warming and funny story from the author but also a bit different to her other books. The story also teaches us about the complexities of a child with Autism and someone who has the degenerative disease of Huntington’s disease. The story was sensitively written and it is a great festive read. 4 stars from me.

I've read a few books by this author now and loved them all! What I really love are the friendships. Anna has the best support network around her and it reflects this topsy-turvy thing we call life.
I really liked the medical elements of this, autism is something that comes in such a variety of ways and I think it's so important for accurate representation to be portrayed in literature.
Of course being set at Christmas is always a huge plus in my eyes, the time and the setting was beautiful.
A happily ever after light romance with some serious and comedic undertones throughout.

Fun Christmas read with a little spice! Sam and Anna connected so effortlessly Dash by luck. Anna’s ex was a complete prude! Sam did an awesome job with developing a relationship with Ruthie. Those scenes were very realistic to me. I love the autism representation in the story. Will be recommending this book in the club this week.

4 STARS!

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Anna is divorced, a single mum to Ruthie trying to keep her life in order. Christmas is fast approaching and Anna wants to make sure Ruthie has a Christmas to remember. Sam Jackman a superstar American football player arrives in England following life-altering news. Anna and Ruthie bump into Sam when he gets hit by a car and they welcome him into their lives. They become close in the little time they spend together. Sam then returns to America but Anna cannot stop thinking about him and the what if’s.

Another great book from Mandy.

This is going to be such a nice Christmas read for when you just want to wind down. The book is easy to follow and has such a cute romance going on. At the start, I was thinking this was going to be quite long but as you got into the story, it really starts to pull you in & you don't want to put it down.

The plot was really nice, I enjoyed the chemistry between Sam and Anna. they were lots of heartwarming moments between them and also with Anna's daughter, Ruthie.

I have read a few of this authors summer reads but this was my first festive read by this author and won’t be my last. This was not just a romantic read set around Christmas time but also a story of friendship and dealing with the curve balls life throws at you and how having the right people around you can help you deal with them and how a chance encounter has the potential to change your life forever.

I warmed to all of the characters and loved how this book addressed autism in such a sensitive and heartfelt way as well as well as dealing with another life changing condition that I won’t detail here for fear of spoilers but which is something that is very close to my heart and doesn’t always get discussed.

This book was inspiring and uplifting and a heartfelt read.

I received a free copy from embla and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read a couple of books by this author and enjoyed them so was keen to read this. It’s different from the other books in that it touches on serious, potentially difficult and tragic issues like Huntingdonshire and Autism. Anna and Sam’s developing relationship was done really well and I liked both characters and Ruthie (Anna’s daughter) and Sam’s sister.

I found the premise intriguing. Anna, a divorce is coping with her daughter’s autism diagnosis. Sam is a black American football star who receives a diagnosis of Huntingdon’s and has to deal with the myriad issues which result from that diagnosis. He escapes to Richmond in London and meets Anna and Riuthie.

That part of the story was brilliant and I loved it. However, the myriad other characters (Anna’s friends, boss, clients, ex husband and his wife etc etc seemed to serve no purpose and for me, distracted from the main story.

I would have liked an epilogue set a little further in the future and I would have liked much more on the new family that had been created. But basically this is a really good read.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

The story is about Anna, who is a single mother, her daughter Ruthie and Sam, who is an American athlete.

Sam meets Anna after coming to the town in which she lives. He’s received some news which he’s trying to come to terms with. Anna’s family like Sam and so does her daughter. So is this the beginning of something?

The book had great characters along with some funny moments.

I highly recommend it.

I started this expecting a cosy Christmas read but this is so much more. It was a beautiful romance story and had themes relating how to deal with/live with a life changing diagnosis and parenting a child with autism. I absolutely loved this book.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steam Level: 🔥🔥 (closed door and fade to black sex scenes)
Trigger Warning: Huntington's disease; brief mentions of Alzheimer's, cheating (side characters), and divorce

Sam Jackman is about to land a huge deal as an NFL player, but a diagnosis of Huntington's disease puts the deal and his entire future at risk. That's why he decides to hop a flight to England to escape and come to terms with his new reality. Anna Heath is divorced and dealing with her teenage daughter's autism diagnosis while trying to revive a struggling restaurant. When Sam steps in to stop some bullies from picking on Anna's daughter, the two soon find themselves spending time together while Sam is in town. As their attraction grows, they both wonder if this is more than just a temporary fling. But will Sam's diagnosis be too much for Anna and her daughter to handle?

This was another enjoyable romance from Mandy Baggot! I really liked Sam and Anna's story. These two had great chemistry and shared some really sweet moments as they got to know one another. I liked how they each had struggles, and they were able to find comfort in one another. Sam did a great job showing Anna he cared for her, and I loved how he accepted Anna's daughter, Ruthie. Speaking of which, the struggles involved with having a child with autism were addressed really well. My youngest son is most likely on the spectrum, and I saw some similarities to him and Ruthie. This made it easy for me to relate to Anna's protectiveness and desire to help her child overcome her struggles. While I do wish Sam had told Anna about his diagnosis sooner, I felt like the conflict was handled well and not just resolved instantly. Sam and Anna's romance was heartwarming while addressing real-life struggles, and I hope others will fall in love with their story just like I did.

Thank you Netgalley and Embla Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wishing On a Star is the new novel from Mandy Baggot. It follows the story of Anna, a single mother to Ruthie, and Sam, an American athlete. After a chance meeting in Anna’s home town, Sam finds himself welcomed into her family. Could this be the start of something special? This novel is full of humour, warmth and great characters and I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley, Embla Books and the author for the chance to review.

This was such a sweet read and especially dealing with the issues written! Loved the fact Ruthie was made a main character. Loved all the interactions between Anna, Lisa & Neeta! The sibling relationship between Sam and Tionne was realistic too. A perfect Christmas read sitting on the beach.

What a beautifully written story, I loved every page. Ruthie was the star, her autism was written about with such understanding but in a way that captured the difficulties faced by both Ruthie and her mum Anna. Ruthie gave everything a name including the huge Christmas tree, the cat and their neighbour’s Christmas reindeer. Sam had difficult decisions to make but his chance meeting with Anna and Ruthie helped him see what was important in his life. A Christmas book about family, friends and new beginnings.