Book Review - Christmas by the Coast by Mandy Baggot

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Title: Christmas by the Coast 

Author: Mandy Baggot

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Aria

Publication Date: 2nd September 2021

Rating: 4 Stars

What would you give for a second chance with the one that got away?

'What a jolly holiday of a novel! It was like a big festive hug – warm, funny and oh so romantic. I loved it!' – Holly Martin, author of Sunlight over Crystal Sands

After a terrible heartbreak, Harriet Cookson worked hard to build her life back up. Now she has a dependable boyfriend, a great job and a decent flatshare. But when her beloved grandmother passes away, Harriet drops everything to fly out to the Hamptons to comfort her grieving grandpa.

Christmas is coming and as she arrives on the sandy beaches of her childhood in Montauk, Long Island, Harriet spots someone she never expected to see again – her 'one that got away', ex-soldier Mack Wyatt. Now, Mack is determined to win Harriet back and show her that the life she's been living might be the wrong happily-ever-after.

This Christmas, find out if love letters from the past can pave the way to a brand-new future...

It took me a while to fully get into the book but from about a third in, I couldn't get enough of it. Which is where I started to get a grip on the characters, the dynamics, and the story started to feel that bit more upbeat. 

And where we start learning about the various  Christmas traditions at the tiki cafe in Montauk, that Harriet's grandparents run.  And I do love hearing about various Christmas themed events and these were particularly fun and festive. 

Although Harriet isn't just there to experience Christmas, she is there to comfort her grandpa Joe after her grand passes away suddenly, and while she is there she discovers a blast from the past that has the chance to completely change her life. 

Harriet does have a boyfriend Iain but at no point did I really take to him and it's no coincidence that my enjoyment of the book increased as his presence started to wane a bit! 

This was a really enjoyable novel, that has a great many threads to it, and a large number of characters who are all really distinctive.  I loved Jude, Harriet's fun flatmate, Madame Scarlet, the local mystical woman who senses things, Scooter is adorable, and learning more about Harriet's family rift was also really interesting. 

Mack is wonderful, from early heroics to discovering the harrowing circumstances that changed his life for ever while he was serving in Afghanistan, I couldn't get enough of him. 

Christmas by the Coast is a great festive romance, that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

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