Bookouture Xmas: One Wish in Manhattan, Mandy Baggot

Blurb: 

"Christmas: it’s the most wonderful time of the year … to fall in love

The temperature is dropping, snow is on its way and Hayley Walker is heading for New York with one wish … to start over.

With her daughter Angel, Hayley is ready for adventure. But there’s more to New York than twinkly lights and breathtaking skyscrapers. Angel has her own Christmas wish – to find her real dad.

While Hayley tries to fulfil her daughter’s wish, she crosses paths with billionaire Oliver Drummond. Restless and bored with fast living, there’s something intriguing about him that has Hayley hooked.

Can Hayley dare to think her own dreams might come true – could A New York Christmas turn into a New York Forever?

Travel to the Big Apple this Christmas and join Hayley and Oliver as they realise life isn’t just about filling the minutes … it’s about making every moment count."

I was first introduced to Mandy Baggot by reading Truly, Madly, Greekly over the Summer (you can read my review here). When I heard she had a Christmas story coming out, I couldn't wait to get my eager mitts on it, as I knew she would write something magical and festive. 

The story is told in a split viewpoint from the two main characters. The first is Hayley, who is taking her young Daughter Angel to New York for Christmas. Staying with her brother Daniel, she has kept the real reason behind the visit a secret... she wants to find Angel's dad, a man she had a one night stand with in New York ten years ago. We also follow billionaire New York business man Oliver Drummond, who is struggling with his health issues and worried they will result in a fatal heart attack like they did for his brother and Dad, who he is still grieving for. The worry is having an effect on the technology business he inherited from his father, and he struggles to lead the business to success. 

Firstly I loved the split viewpoint of the story. I always like it when you see things from both a man and woman's point of view, as the difference in thoughts is always really interesting. For the start of the story Hayley and Oliver are separate, but you just know that at some point they will cross paths and I was eager to find out what would happen and how they would connect (or not). Once they did, I liked that we got a sense of both their feelings of each other. 

Mandy has done an excellent at creating brilliant, likable characters that you really engage with from the beginning of the story. Oliver is a pretty complex character, portrayed by his colleagues as a ruthless businessman, caring only about profit and not much else. However when you delve into his feelings, you realise it's because he's still reeling from the loss of his brother and dad and is worried that he will be next to have a fatal heart attack. He acts like he has a death sentence and is constantly worried, partying away his troubles and doing anything he can to bury his fears. I actually warmed to him early on, knowing that deep down he was a lonely, confused man who had a big burden to bare. Hayley is also a great character- genuinely caring and funny. As well as trying to find Angel's father, she is worrying about money to support her and Angel as before their trip she quits her job at a dry cleaners. It's obvious from the start that she's really talented at fashion and design, and I was willing her on to follow her dreams and use her talents to create a life for her and Angel. Angel is a clever, loud girl who had me in stitches. She's a walking tour guide of facts, which she never keeps to herself and often shares loudly. 


One of my favourite aspects of the story was Hayley and Angels relationship, they get on so well and have a lovely bond. I also found Hayley and Oliver's interactions hilarious, the two of them seem to get on well and so easily, I loved watching their story unfold. 

Now, lets move on the the brilliant location of this book. As you can guess from the title, the story is set in New York (Manhattan), which creates a wintry, festive setting. There was so much attention to detail that I genuinely felt like I was there... Mandy well and truly transported me to the snowy streets of New York. 

The story isn't overly Christmassy, but does have that sparkle due to being set over the festive period. The location and time of year means there's elements of Christmas dotted throughout the story (roasted chestnuts, ice skating etc) but it wasn't so festive that I felt silly reading this in October, it was just the right amount and actually felt more wintery that Christmassy. 

Overall One Wish In Manhattan is a sparkly, festive story filled with family, friendship and romance.... the perfect story to curl up with during Christmas time. Mandy Baggot has done it again, creating an absorbing, lovely read that I thoroughly enjoyed. One of the main highlights? That despite being a festive read, it also delves into quite difficult and uneasy topics, while still maintaining that magical sparkle Mandy is skilled at creating.

*A big thank you to the publishers, Bookouture, for an advance copy of the story in exchange for an honest review. 

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