I generally don't like the term Women's Fiction but this book is very much about women's lives. Their interior lives, their challenges, their supports. I loved the *humanity* of these characters; they came to feel like people I had known for a long time. Very highly recommended.

I’ve read Marian Keyes’ work for years, though there was a period when I missed quite a few. She’s known for her quippy dialogue and funny female characters who are often facing some type of crisis.

My Favourite Mistake is no different.

It’s about a woman, Anna, who gives up her flashy PR job and beautiful New York life to head home to Ireland mid-pandemic. For those who faced their own personal reckonings during that time, much of the loneliness and uncertainty Anna feels is relatable.

But, as with anyone who is struggling to find their way, Anna makes (and tries to make up for) plenty of mistakes along the way. Maybe this struggle is what made part of the book tiring for me. Like, get it together already.

Regardless, I’m glad to have rediscovered Keyes with this book and will go back to the ones I’ve missed along the way.

This was a pretty cute book overall and it was nice to revisit a few "old friends". It's kind of neat to have grown up with these characters. I think my main issue is that while I have grown and evolved, the writing and plot just isn't where I'm at now. I felt like I could relate to the characters so much more in my 20s. Not a bad thing, it's just not where I'm at now so it's less relatable.

Although “My Favorite Mistake” is the seventh novel in the Walsh family series, it reads like a standalone story. It’s everything we love about Keyes’ writing - laugh out loud funny and bold with realistic, complex characters navigating life’s messes.
Anna Walsh is in her late-forties and just blew up her life. Is it a COVID reboot or perimenopause? Whatever the cause, she’s given up her Manhattan apartment and glamorous PR job to go home to Ireland without a home, car or any life plan. When a friend asks her to help manage her business’ image in a small town, she’s reunited with Joey Armstrong, the hottie she has a history with. If this sounds like the start of a Hallmark movie, you’re on the right track but the dialogue is hilarious and the characters are so well developed, you can’t help but fall right in to the story with him. So refreshing to have a middle-aged, sexy, half-a-mess heroine! I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a fun, light hearted read with a little spice.

Anna has an enviable life in Manhattan--a successful career in the beauty industry, a devoted boyfriend. But during the pandemic, schisms in their relationship turn into craters. Add in perimenopause and some career burnout, and Anna makes the decision to return to her native Ireland. With her impressive resume, she should be able to land another job in no time. Or so she thinks.

When old friends ask her to smooth the feathers of townspeople in the tiny village where they're opening a spa while they deal with their daughter's serious illness, Anna thinks she'll spend a week before returning to Dublin. While the position forces her to work with Joey Armstrong, with whom she has a long and complicated history, Anna is surprised to find they get on remarkable well. Perhaps too well.

As her tenure lengthens, Anna must deal with her feelings for Joey, which despite her claims to the contrary, have never really gone away.

Marian Keyes is a consummate story teller. This book could be far shorter without detracting from the story arc, but what would be the fun in that? Anna and her sisters and friends are pure delight. #MyFavouriteMistake #NetGalley

When I picked this up I didn't realize it was #8 in the Walsh Family series, which I have not read any of, and also close to 600 pages and therefore I was feeling weary as to whether this would be for me. I'm glad I ignored these feelings though as I loved this book. My Favourite Mistake centers on main character Anna who is from a large, chaotic, hilarious, and loving Irish Family. At the start of the book Anna is in her mid-late 40's and living in NYC. The pandemic forces her to evaluate much of her life and we soon find her jobless and moving back to Ireland. At the same time we dip back into Anna's past and explore pivotal moments in her life that have led her to the situation and choices she is making in the present.
I really enjoyed reading a story where the "heroine" was a perimenopausal woman and the struggles of this stage of life were presented in a very real way.
I laughed and I cried and I would have happily spent many more pages with these characters!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

I love Marian Keyes and this was another charming story in the Walsh family series. These books feel cozy and comforting to me, even if a little lacking in substance. I love that this book features a midlife woman dealing with all the midlife things - menopause, relocation, family issues - and makes it relatable and funny. Overall, a fun read.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced copy of My Favorite Mistake by Marian Keyes. You can never go wrong with a Marian Keyes book, particularly one about the Walsh family. This book brings back Anna Walsh from Anybody Out There, about 15 years later. Anna is going through a midlife crisis, dealing with the end of a career, relationship, and moving back to Ireland. She ends up working for friends in a small town, getting to know all the characters there, while also working with Joey, a from a man of her past, I loved the character development as their backstory was explained throughout the book, seeing Anna and Joey mature and deal with life in your 40s, including former spouses, friends, and children. The entire Walsh family seems so well written it is really hard to imagine they are not all living in Ireland. I can’t wait for the next in the series.

An emotional story from Marian Keyes about a New York City PR rep who finds herself facing emotions of her past. A cute premise but a lot of emotions and ups and downs.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

"My Favourite Mistake" follows the angsty life of Anna, a PR rep in the beauty industry who leaves her high-pressure job to return home to Ireland and recover from burn-out.

When a friend needs some PR help on a part-time basis, it gives Anna something to do while she figures out her next steps. But the fly in the ointment is, she'll be working with Joey Armstrong, someone who has been in and out of her life (if not her bed) for many, many years.

As Anna and Joey are forced to work together, the past presents itself as an elephant in the room. But it seems like whenever Anna is in a position where she can consider something more with Joey, he's unavailable. And the same is true when he's ready for her. So, will this time be any different? And when Anna's life has imploded, is this really the best time to be thinking about a relationship with Joey?

While this story is positioned as being a "hilarious, heartwarming new novel," I didn't find it all that funny. Some of the characters were quirky, yes. But there are plenty of broken relationships, a child with cancer, death, sabotage and more in this story. So the moments that stood out as "funny" had more to do with crazy (and insensitive) family dynamics than anything else.

Overall, this wasn't the pick-me-up I thought it would be. But I thank Marian Keyes, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I had high hopes when I read the description of this book, but it just did not work out for me. It seemed to go on too long and had too many characters. I could not maintain my interest in this one.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Anna finds herself living an enviable life that doesn't fulfill her, so she upends everything and moves back to Ireland to the tiny town of Maumtully to help some friends with their PR problems. What awaits her is a blast from her past that will have her rethinking the mistakes and events that brought her to where she is today.

It's an emotional story that jumps around from modern Anna to her younger days and everything that led her to being who she is today. We get to see the typical mistakes of youth and the encounters that formed the character whose story we're following along. Anna is a character that you can easily relate to and it makes her interactions and insights enjoyable. You kind of know where everything is going to end up, but the journey is so enjoyable that the predictability is part of what makes it charming.

I loved the fact that Keyes does not shy away from letting the fact that Anna is 'older' come through on the pages with everything that comes along with aging as a woman. And the fact that Anna is so open about it and doesn't care if it makes others uncomfortable for her to talk about it. It normalizes aging in a way that is desperately needed while keeping it fun.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Canada for the great read!

This was my first read of any books by Marian Keyes. I was excited to jump in, but realized pretty quickly this wasn't a book for me. I enjoyed the setting of the book, but felt they story was quite long. It could have been 100 pages or so shorter. I had a hard time keeping characters straight. This book definitely missed the mark for me.

This is another book in the Walsh sisters series but can definitely be read as a standalone. Anna is the central sister in this book and she has turned her life upside down. She has left her high profile job in beauty PR, left NYC, and moved back to Ireland. Once Anna gets back home she definitely wonders what she has done and what she will do next. She gets a temporary job at a resort that brings with it a great cast of characters, intrigue, and community. Next she has to contend with her feelings for a man she has a complicated history with. Making matters worse they have to learn to work together. The author writes characters that are so interesting and with so much depth. The setting is perfect and all of the secondary characters bring so much to the story. If you like a heartwarming character driven plot be sure to give this one a try.

I'm a long time fan of Marian Keyes, so I was delighted to be chosen to review her new book My Favourite Mistake. My favorite was the dialogue between our mc and her mother and sisters. They are the absolute best! As for this book, well, it dragged. I think lots of editing will make this a much more enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

I absolutely ADORE Marian Keyes so I was really looking forward to this new novel. A very enjoyable read about Anna, who has a high stress job in New York and has her relationship end. So she packs up and heads back home to Ireland. Her huge family made me chuckle. How she connects with old acquaintances and friends made my heart happy. All in all it was a fabulous read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Enjoyable chick lit. Anna Walsh has had enough of her high-stress New York job and her relationship has ended as well, so she heads back home to Ireland. There we meet her large and noisy family, Anna gets involved in some small town drama, and she reconnects with old friends and flames. Warm and humorous. I have not read any of the others in this series, but I plan to!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

I found MY FAVOURITE MISTAKE to be both fun (I laughed out loud a couple of time), and heartwarming. I really enjoyed getting to know Anna and the cast of characters who are part of her adventure. I haven't read in this series before, so I appreciated the backstory that was woven in and the reconciliations between Anna and some of the people who played an important role in her past.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I really liked this book! I thought it was super a super fun and easy read. The story was a so unique and it was so easy to connect with and root for the characters. I'm excited to read more books by Marian Keyes!

I read a couple of Walsh Family books long ago (Watermelon and Angels, 2005 and 2006 respectively) and have always wanted to read another, but they're not available on Libby for the most part (though I see now they are on Hoopla), and they're long. But I saw My Favourite Mistake on NetGalley and thought I'd give it a go. The Walsh family is crazy, loving, and hilarious. This one focuses on Anna, the quietest of the sisters. There's a lot of dialog. A lot. And at times I can't tell who's talking. There's a lot of backstory too, of Anna's time in NYC and what led to her falling out with her best friend, and her long history with Joey Armstrong, the love interest in the novel. There are also a lot of side characters. A lot. Maybe if I'd read more of the other books and more recently I'd be able to keep track of the sisters and their families but I often was lost with the who's who and Keyes seems to assume you know who these people are. Anyway I did like the book, and maybe I'll read the rest of the series now that I know they are on Hoopla.