Author: Mandy Baggot
Category: Novel
Publisher: Embla Books
Publication date: 10 October 2022
Blurb: A single mum. A superstar athlete. A Christmas like no other.
Anna Heath is divorced, a single mum and trying desperately to keep her life in order. Despite her friends’ best efforts, Anna has stopped looking for love and is determined to give her daughter, Ruthie, a Christmas to remember.
Sam Jackman has just been dealt with life-altering news, and all he could think to do was run. He’s left his American football team back in the US, stuck a pin in a map, and landed in Richmond, London.
When Anna and Ruthie literally bump into Sam on the snow-speckled streets, he finds himself being welcomed into their lives. But what begins as a night on the sofa turns into the start of something special…
Review: I read this book last year while looking for a fun Christmas read. For the most part, this book is your typical Christmas RomCom, with a number of deeper elements including some major health issues.
The main character, Anna, has a daughter, Ruthie, who is autistic, and no, this isn’t the major health issue. Knowing what I know now about late diagnosed autistic women, I’m pretty sure Anna is an undiagnosed autistic woman.
One of the things I enjoyed about the representation in this story was that Ruthies autism just was. The story described some issues that it caused with relationships, however it wasn’t seen as a ‘Bad Thing’, it was simply part of the wonderful person Ruthie was. It also didn’t stand in the way of the story between Anna and Sam.
If you’re looking for a fun Christmas read with positive autistic representation, this is a great one. And yes, in true RomCom fashion, there is a happy ending.
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