I LOVED the female main character Anna and I enjoyed reading about her adventures. As someone around the same age I could totally relate to Anna at her stage of life. When she left her job in NYC & moved back to Ireland I knew this book was going somewhere. I enjoyed the back & forth between past & present. It’s hard to write a great review without spoiling the story so I’m just going to say that I really didn’t like Joey during most of the story but I was very satisfied with how the story ended. Toxic relationships happen but this story showed how therapy can help people change & have healthier relationships. I also enjoyed the normalization of menopause & other feminine issues. I haven’t read a Marian Keyes novel in a while & I was so happy to get re-acquainted with her writing.

Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Random House Canada for a copy of this book.

3.5 stars
Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Random House for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It took a while for me to get to reading this but it was fun to be back with the Walsh family for another book. I really enjoy the way the books in this series deal with some serious subjects but are mixed in with lighthearted humor and all kinds of quirky characters. This book was a little bit long, but was an enjoyable read.

This was a great book! I enjoyed the family and friend relationships. I enjoyed the interactions between the women. I found the story to be humorous and relatable. I was rooting for Anna and her relationships working.

A heartfelt and witty tale that is a delightful blend of humor, emotional depth, and relatable life challenges. I have not read any of the previous books in the series but I now intend to start with the first. I want to know more about the Walsh family. This was a touching and engaging read.
Many thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've loved and recommended Marian Keyes forever so I was so excited to get my handsom on this book. It didn't disappoint! Everything that I wanted was here, good writing, good story, engaging characters. Recommended!

This story follows Anna Walsh, a PR professional who leaves her big job, her boyfriend, and her NYC apartment during the pandemic for a quieter life back home in Ireland. When her friend hires her to do PR on a luxury retreat in the countryside, she's forced back into proximity with Joey Armstrong, a guy she's always had a thing for but...it's complicated. It gets even more complicated as she tries to put out fires amongst the locals so the project can move forward.

I love all the characters in this small town story. Anna's big family makes it even more interesting to see the dynamics play out. We don't really get the full picture with Joey until well into the book via flashbacks related to current regret or frustration. It created a lot of tension that, at times, makes you wonder why she would ever be into him. Overall, I think it's a great story about learning from mistakes, recognizing the life--and relationships--are complicated, and that enjoying your life can be a choice that you make when you let go of the things that no longer serve you. I'd recommend ths to any romance lover. The leads are nearly 50, and their history is what makes things interesting. That, and the small town gossip.

Thanks to the publisher and author for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have heard of Marian Keyes but hadn't read any of her work yet so I was glad to have the opportunity with this newest title. I found it to be enjoyable but it wasn't a book I really loved or wanted to dive back into. I couldn't ever quite connect to the characters and was just mildly interested in how it all turned out.

Marian Keyes’ My Favourite Mistake is a heartwarming, witty, and emotionally rich novel that examines the complexities of love, forgiveness, and self-acceptance. With her trademark humor and keen insight into human relationships, Keyes creates a story that is as funny as it is poignant. The characters are richly drawn, and the narrative is both uplifting and deeply relatable. This is a delightful read that will stay with you long after the last page.

I loved "My Favorite Mistake" by Marian Keyes! Amazing characters, epic conflicts spanning from NY to Ireland, compelling journey (personal, professional, and relationship-wise), and just an overall enjoyable read! Very much enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher. All opinions are my own.

Ms. Keyes writes so beautifully about characters so real and faceted. This book was no different and a joy to read.

The Walsh family is back. You could read this as a standalone but it does help to have read the others to understand the family members and their dynamic. This story about leaving a big city to go back home to a small town was well written. I enjoyed watching the lead characters navigate their previous history and rediscover their relationship. I also liked having an older main character, dealing with all of the things women deal with in the middle of their life. Many thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and Doubleday Canada, and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

Oh look, it’s the queen of complaining about books being too long nomming down on this billion pager. I have zero excuses. Don’t get it twisted. This is ENTIRELY too long and should have been 350 pages. But I have realized Keyes is an author who is going to take as many pages as she likes to get ‘er done and I have to live with that.

If you have time to spend turning pages and love the “maybe you can go home again” sort of chick lit with a touch of a Hallmark holiday style plot of attempting to get a resort up and running while the locals are all opposed to it featuring a middle-aged main character then this might just be for you. Oh and don't worry at all about this being #7 - it works perfectly fine as a standalone (but I will absolutely seek out books about other members of the Walsh family if I'm in a slump and looking for a guaranteed winner).

3.5 Stars because, once again, WAAAAAY too long, but rounding up because I love her.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

My Favorite Mistake by Marian Keyes is a delightful blend of humor, heartache, and self-reflection. The story weaves a compelling narrative about love, redemption, and the mistakes that shape us. Her ability to balance lighthearted moments with emotional depth is truly remarkable. As the protagonist navigates life’s ups and downs, readers are reminded of the power of forgiveness and personal growth.

My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes

I jumped into My Favourite Mistake without having read the earlier Walsh Family books, and while it works as a standalone, I couldn’t help but feel I was missing some emotional depth tied to Anna’s backstory. Marian Keyes's humor and heart are very much present, even if this one didn’t wow me.

Joey, Anna’s coworker with a complicated past, started as a wildcard but grew on me. His character brought some much-needed dimension. Angelo, on the other hand (let’s say he was too perfect to feel real.) It was hard to connect with him because he seemed more like a caricature of supportiveness.

The story was okay - I was more concerned about Joey than any other of the plots in the book.

Final thoughts: My Favourite Mistake has its charming moments and relatable themes of midlife reflection and second chances, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Fans of the Walsh Family series might enjoy revisiting Anna, but for newcomers like me, it was just okay.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Doubleday Canada for my honest review.*

My first Marion Keyes novel and it was a bit of an epic tale, but I get the feeling that all of her novels are well encompassing of lives. Anna is living in NYC and decides to leave everything behind and head for Ireland to be closer to family after Covid. And she keeps running into a man from her past when she is trying to settle into a new life in a new home.

I loved all of the characters and the new home Anna was building, but man! There were a lot family members and I was not able to keep all of them straight. But the banter and the build up to Anna finally getting her life together was wonderful.

I am not sure if this is my favorite Walsh Family book, but it is probably up there in the top three. I loved revisiting things I remember while diving into a new member's story!


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

While I’ve enjoyed Marian Keyes books about the Walsh family, this one was a big miss for me. I didn’t care for the characters and forced myself to finish it.

I enjoyed this story from one of my favorite writers. I think I've read almost all of her books. This is #7 in the Walsh Family series and follows Anna. She's recently broken up with her NYC boyfriend Angelo and returned to Ireland and her family for a fresh start. Her friends are trying to open up a high-end retreat and when trouble starts they ask Anna to help them out. That means working with Narky Joey with whom she has unfinished business.

I enjoyed the story and I loved Anna and her family. It was fun seeing the rest of the Walsh family again. There was a bit of everything, romance, friendship, mystery, and illness. I also enjoyed getting to know the characters in the small town where they are opening a retreat. It also makes me want to go back and read the others to refresh my memory.

@penguinrandomhousecanada, @netgalley, and the author for this arc

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.