Book review: One Wish In Manhattan - Mandy Baggot #BookoutureXmas

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 on her mind…to start over. 

With her nine year-old daughter Angel, Hayley is ready for an adventure. From hot chocolates and horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park, to ice-skating at the Rockefeller Centre, and Christmas shopping on 5th Avenue – they soon fall in love with the city that never sleeps. 

But there’s more to New York than the bright twinkly lights and breathtaking skyscrapers. Angel has a Christmas wish of her own – to find her real dad. 

While Hayley tries to fufil 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. 

Determined to make her daughter’s dream come true, can Hayley dare to think her own dreams might turn into reality – 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 both realise that life isn’t just about filling the minutes…it’s about making every moment count.

My opinion.

Looking at the title and cover of this book, I must say I thought this would be a lovely, but slightly cheesy novel. I couldn't have been more wrong. One Wish In Manhattan is definitely lovely, but it's also romantic, heartwarming and everything but predictable or cliché.

Both the story and the characters have a lot of "layers" to them and I loved exploring these. This isn't just about a mother and her daughter, about a woman's search for a new beginning, nor is it about a love story or about loss and family. It's about all of these things and much more.

By focusing on almost all the different aspects of her characters' lives, Mandy Baggot really gives you the opportunity to get the know these characters. I really felt like I understood them, their motives and their dreams. The beautiful thing was though that all these story-lines and background information had their own 'space' in the novel. It didn't feel like it was all cramped in, and it wasn't chaotic. This story was well-structured from the beginning and such a joy to read.

You were right, Mandy, I was in tears by the end of it. It was so romantic and yes, almost magical! I didn't think I could love Christmas more than I already did, but after reading One Wish In Manhattan... I'm ready to put up my tree! What a wonderful, festive read. Highly recommended!