I love the cover. Two friends decide to travel to Greece for a much needed vacation. They meet an attractive doctor, his father, and sister. My favorite character was Melina, the goat woman. The scene woth goat ursine was hilarious. The synopsis mentioned the pandemic, but I didn’t realize it would be referenced so much in the dialogue. I liked Nyx, especially her name. The book began to drag halfway though. It perked up at the end, but it was chasm in between. It’s an ok read.

A sweet story. It just took me a while to get into it. I wasn't really hooked until about 50% of the way through. It was also weird reading about covid as if it was over when we're still right in the thick of it. But I have no doubt this book will age beautifully. The characters and the setting are wonderful. It makes me want to go to Greece immediately.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this title.

Thanks to Aria & Aries ,Netgalley, and author Mandy Baggot for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
4.5 stars
This book follows two friends that work as nurses, Lucie and Gavin, who travel to the Greek island of Corfu for some much needed R and R post COVID-19. While spending time on this beautiful island, Lucie and Gavin will meet the locals that will change their lives forever.
The author did a wonderful job allowing the reader glimpses into these nurses' minds as they recounted the virus surges and the tolls in took on them to watch people of all ages lose their lives to the virus. The people of the village were so much fun. I loved how they were willing to help Gavin and Lucie to enjoy their time on the island by including them in the daily life of the village and the festivals. Michalis and Lucie made a wonderful couple. They both worked in the medical field, which helped them understand the struggles they went through as well as the aftermath of feelings they still are dealing with. During her time on the island, Lucie was able to find her confidence again and helped to plan for a better future post COVID-19. The ending was so satisfying. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and would make for a great beach/getaway read!

This was certainly an escape from our scenarios now. As the book is set around COVID too. Loved the fact she went to Corfu and meet some fabulous characters. A really good easy and was an escape as to now.

I absolutely flew through this novel. I adore books by this author, they suck you in and you really become invested in the characters and their stories.

I thought it was interesting to read a story about an essential employee (nurse) who has had a front row seat to the pandemic. Huge shout out to everyone who has had to battle this awful disease 👏🏻. Lucie was a like-able character, but I didn’t care much for the others in the story. I loved reading about the Greek culture - I did end up stopping a few times to look up the food on Google! It was interesting, but I struggled to really get into this one. I’ve been reading more fast paced stories and I think this one was just not for me.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review!

Loved this book set in post-COVID times. I loved the setting of Greece and the UK. This was dramatic and funny and warm. Just a great spring/summer read.

If anyone can successfully write a romcom about post-Covid life, it’d be Mandy Baggot. Known for her stunning locations, beautiful stories, gorgeous guys and happy ever after endings, Baggot writes to make readers aware of the toll the pandemic has had on frontline workers.

Lucie Burrows and her bestie, Gavin, are NHS nurses who’ve spent the summer of 2020 battling Covid. They are exhausted and in dire need of some fun. Looking forward to a summer out of lockdown, Gavin pleads with Lucie to put the past behind them and embrace Greek life….even if for a short time. He plans the perfect get away on the sunny Greek island of Corfu. As we all know, things don’t always turn out as we expect and it’s no different for these paradise seekers. From their welcome drinks to the demographics of Corfu, they are forced to go with the flow. What they learn is that it’s how they deal with the unexpected and unplanned that makes all the difference. A landslide puts the village into a local lockdown and throws Michalis Andino, the hunky village doctor, into the path of Lucie. Can they make the best of yet another lockdown?

Guaranteed to make you laugh (and, if you’re like me, cringe at the raunchy bits), with a lighthearted look at holiday mishaps and romance as two caring souls attempt to decompress and have fun.

Thank you to Mandy Baggot, Aria and Aries, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Published April 1, 2021

Mandy Baggot has written another winner about the lovely island of Corfu! If you know Mandy, you know her love for the island is vast and it shines through in her tales. The book opens post-Covid and while that made me nervous, I thought she did a lovely job of making it feel seamless with the way our lives have changed now that we have to live with it. What made it unique was the way she showed the reader the toll the surges took on the healthcare workers. While used to loss in their lives as doctors and nurses, both Michalis and Lucie both saw more than they ever want to see in their lifetime ever again.

The book opens with Lucie planning a holiday to Greece just to get away from it all with her best friend, Gavin. She knows if they don't take a break, they may never go back to the hospital that had put so many chinks in their armor. She just wasn't prepared to meet Michalis, a doctor who had suffered through some of the same atrocities and then some.

With festivals on the horizon, Gavin and Lucie find themselves pulled into the life of the island and the wonderful people on it. Gavin, still pining after the barista back home at the hospital cafe, isn't looking to find the guy of his dreams, but he's all for Lucie finding the one of hers. Michalis just might be it, if he can find a way to get past the loss he suffered that followed him to the island from Greece.

With so many wonderful characters weaved into this story, this review could go on forever, but I don't want to include any spoilers, so I will say, in the end, I loved that Lucie got the answers she needed about her past so she could go on with her future. She found confidence in Corfu she didn't have in the UK and it changed her as a woman, nurse, friend, and lover. I was pleased that everyone got their HEA or at least their 'happy for now.' If you are looking for a funny, loving, touching, sometimes frustratingly hilarious summer read, then you'll love Staying Out for the Summer!

I always love Mandy Baggot books: always beautiful scenery, laugh out loud moments and great romances. This was no exception (although the COVID references did surprise me at the start). It was the perfect setting in Corfu with some great and quirky characters ( Gavin and Nyx in particular) and a lovely sparky couple. Great characterisation anyway but I was rooting extra hard for these medic characters who’d faced the pandemic on the front line.
Perfect holiday read (if we are ever allowed to go on holiday again!)

At first, I was sure whether I liked the fact that this book was set in Covid times as I like reading for an escape. However, it very quickly got to the escape part and was a very funny, easy-to-read, summery novel! I was given a copy to read by Neg Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Another amazing Mandy Bagot story that takes you on an escape to the beautiful island of Corfu. Some topical references to the pandemic and the impossible stresses of the medical staff who have lived through the last year. Then off to the romance, scenery, food and story that Mandy does so well.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a fun and lovely story. Cozy book to read in this winter snowy weather. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Perfect escapism on Corfu, complete with sun, adventure and romance - the perfect combination for these times! Follow Lucie and her best friend Gavin as they escape the stress of nursing Covid patients to gorgeous Corfu - not exactly the luxurious escape that Lucie was expecting as she’d left the arrangements to Gavin, as she is transported from the airport to their rural hideaway in the back of a fruit truck and fed some traditional Greek food - but turns out to be what they both need. Fun, funny and total escapism - the perfect beach (or back garden with a sandpit depending on lockdown!) read. Grab it and enjoy!

Without fail, Mandy Baggot manages to whisk you away from reality to a sun filled, gorgeous sounding, Greek getaway. I love knowing I can pick up her books and find myself in a beautifully scenic location, with characters to adore, food descriptions that will make my mouth water and romance that sizzles off the chart.
Staying out for the Summer takes us to beautiful Corfu for a story full of sun, sea and sheer escapism. After a difficult year for all of us, this book is the perfect tonic whilst it also acknowledges the events of the pandemic.
Our characters, Lucie and Gavin are the best of friends who have fought on the frontline throughout the pandemic as NHS nurses. They have had the worst year and Gavin manages to convince Lucie they need, and quite rightly deserve, a few weeks of relaxation.
Cue an interesting trip to Corfu, where they are greeted with an *interesting* welcome drink, a community that has a great older population, a community of interesting characters who all help make this a trip Lucie will never forget!
When an earth tremor causes a landslide, cutting off the village, the pair find themselves in a lockdown of a different kind.
Michalis is back in the village after fighting the same battle as a Doctor on the mainland. Reconnecting with his sister and father, he meets Lucie and the attraction is instant for them both. They keep getting thrown together but are very conscious of their limited time. Will Lucie open up? What is Michalis hiding about what happened in his past?
What a fantastic array of characters – quirky, funny and interesting. Bad-ass butcher Nyx, flamboyant Gavin and safe Meg. I’ve only been to Corfu via Mandy’s books but I am absolutely desperate to go, it always sounds so wonderful. I can always picture the scenery and the local cuisines, I am desperate to try, and if there is any greek men like the ones Mandy Baggot creates then that wouldn’t be the worst thing!
I wasn’t sure if reading a book with references to COVID-19 would be pleasurable or just an awful reminder, but I think Mandy has balanced the serious with lighter fun scenes, and I feel that it is a worthy nod to those members of staff who, like these characters, have had a hell of a year and will continue to live with the traumas they have witnessed.

I am always a fan of Mandy Baggot books, this is brilliant and will take readers to sunnier times – even if we can’t jet away ourselves just yet!

Thank you to NetGalley, Aria and the author for the chance to review.

After a tough year working in the hospital Gavin twists bestie Lucie's arm to go on holiday to Greece.

Lucie has no idea where they are staying or what she has let herself in for.

This is a perfect pick me up wishing we had that sun our face, dreaming of being on holiday, some really funny situations which made me laugh out loud.

I really felt transported to the beautiful Greek beaches whilst snowed in.

This is a funny, joyful romantic comedy set mainly on the Greek island of Corfu. It is a great beach read providing romance, fun, and escape from the ravages of coronavirus. Several times I laughed out loud at some of the scenarios. Lucie and her best friend, Gavin (who is gay) have been working hard as nurses during the coronavirus pandemic and need a break from the stress and tension of their jobs. They decide to go on a vacation, and Gavin makes all the arrangements for them to stay in Corfu. The beautiful scenery and the people they meet there change their lives dramatically.

With a fun group of characters, some very funny situations, this book provides a wonderful escape. I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it for anyone who likes romance and humor.

Thanks to Aria & Aries through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Staying Out for the Summer takes you to the beautiful Greek island of Corfu for sun, sea and escapism. Lucie and Gavin are best friends and also work as nurses at their local hospital. They’ve just spent a very tough year caring for elderly patients during the covid pandemic and Gavin has managed to convince a reluctant Lucie to spend a couple of weeks relaxing on Corfu. They get to meet some great characters and when a landslide cuts the village off and enforces a local lockdown, Lucie finds herself thrown together with the handsome local doctor. Could this lockdown end in a new life and new love for Lucie?

I enjoyed this book especially the descriptions of the scenery and food. Having been to Corfu a few times before it was easy to envisage the places and plates of gorgeous food.

Thank you to NetGalley, Aria and the author for the chance to review.