Yes! “Anybody Out There” was my first Marian Keyes book, and after reading it, I became obsessed with the Walsh family saga. I devoured each Walsh sister’s story with pure hunger and excitement, satisfying my cravings for dramedy (though I loved Rachel’s story and conclusion a bit more).

Anna Walsh, the kindest and most eccentric of the Walsh sisters, holds a special place in my heart. After being introduced to her as emotionally and physically wrecked following the incident with her husband Aiden, I always wondered how her life would evolve and if she would get a second chance at everything. When I found out Keyes was bringing her back to conclude or offer closure to her story, I jumped at the chance without even reading the blurb. Give me a Walsh family book, and leave me alone for two days while I devour the entire story in one sitting until I can’t feel my legs and arms.

In this new novel, Anna appears to have built a perfect New Yorker life: a great PR job at a top beauty company, a good boyfriend, and a fancy house. However, like many of us questioning our life choices during COVID, she realizes her life is heading in a direction she’s not satisfied with. She’s unhappy with her career choices, and her relationship with Angelo seems to be over, prompting her to seek a fresh start. This pushes her to move back to her hometown in Ireland, where she initially struggles to find a proper job. Her friends eventually offer her a part-time position, leading her to settle in a small town and connect with its vivid and eccentric residents—so different from the lonely, hyper-independent life in New York where nobody pries or cares about your business. Another significant change comes with a coworker, Joey, with whom she shares a complicated past. Does this mean a second chance at love or a new, but still complicated, friendship? Join Anna’s journey to discover more about her new life after COVID-induced changes and her pre-menopausal cycle, which affects her emotional state as she reflects on her past mistakes.

I have always adored Marian Keyes’ dark humor, heartfelt, and original writing style, making her one of my auto-approved authors. Even though this book is a slow burn, it offers a realistic journey, allowing readers to step into Anna’s shoes and state of mind, and introduces a bunch of very interesting and entertaining characters. It’s totally worth your time! Just relax and set another appointment to spend more time with the Walsh clan. This journey is too good to skip!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada/Doubleday Canada for sharing this heartfelt journey’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I have been an avid fan of Marian Keyes since I found her my senior year of college, plucking Last Chance Saloon from a local bookshop shelf, excited to read what I wanted to since school was winding down. Her characters are always rich with depth, wit, and charm; this tale following Anna is no different. My Favourite Mistake is a must-read if you've followed the Walsh family from the beginning, or just looking for a story that provides an introspective look at what it's like to love and be loved through the many stages of life. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the chance to read this beautiful ARC!

Thanks Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced reader's copy of this publication.
I am fan of every Marian Keyes books in the past but this one just didn't strike me from the first chapter maybe it was me or the timing was not perfect. It was a pass for me this time.

This book was not for me, I did not finish it. It was a waste of time.
Mmmmm mmmmm.
EeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeD

Already, Yay! I love Marian Keyes… ESPECIALLY her stories about the Walsh sisters… and ESPECIALLY Anna. So I was incredibly thrilled to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of her newest novel, My Favorite Mistake. There’s nothing like Marian Keyes for instant comfort and humor.

In this one, Anna is having a bit of a COVID-induced midlife crisis. She realizes that her relationship with the lovely Angelo is essentially over, and her fantastic career is no longer fulfilling, so she decides to leave her life in New York and move back to Ireland to be closer to her family, where she struggles to find work.

Anna gets a PR job with some friends in a small town who are trying to open a luxury resort, much to the consternation of the town. Most of the story is Anna caught up in the life of the small town and its many ‘characters’. Complicating everything though is the reemergence of her first love Joey in her life.

Even though I found the book a bit slow in parts, I’m glad I read it and I found it a satisfying read overall. It shows once again that Marian Keyes is an expert at blending family drama with humor
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read early.

I always love Marian Keyes books. This one -- about an older version of one the Walsh girls (yes, they grow older, too) -- was just as fun, upbeat, and how to start over in life really successfully.

We all make mistakes. Some are small but others are big ones. Maybe you can relate to some of the mistakes in the book. I don't think of Joey has a mistake rather it is an untimely connection. Is he her missed love? Along the path of discovery there are opportunities to correct past mistakes. Would you notice if one of your mistakes appeared and you had the chance to make a different choice? An interesting book. The cast of characters are fun with interconnections. Plenty to make the book an enjoyable read.

I was absolutely delighted to receive an early copy of this book from NetGalley and Penguin Random House! Marian Keyes is a long-time favorite author of mine, and stories about The Walsh sisters are my comfort books. So my rating and review are a bit biased since I grew up alongside these characters.

This book in particular was a wonderful winding look at a woman’s history of love and friendship. Keyes elegantly showed how people fade in and out of our lives as we get older. She also showed that it’s possible to move forward and change our minds. We don’t have to be the same. Once we let go of certain expectations for ourselves, we can find new ways of being happy. “That’s the thing about humans: we can’t know until we know.”

If you read the original Anna book “anyone out there?”, you’ll know that she faced a deeply tragic loss after marrying her first husband. This book shows her in a different junction - how she handles perimenopause and the post-pandemic-life crisis.

It was long. There are A LOT of characters to try and remember.
But if you show up for the long ride, you’ll be rewarded.

I love Marian Keyes and the entire Walsh family. This novel tells the story of Anna Walsh who is at a crossroads in her life. She is with her boyfriend Angelo but during Covid they decide to break up (a little too much togetherness).. She also decides to give up her job in PR for a beauty company in NYC and return to Dublin b/c she misses her family. She struggles to find work and meaning until some friends offer her a part time PR job in a tiny town. Unfortunately (or fortunately), this means she will be working with and old friend/foe/love interest Narky Joey.

Tons of fun townspeople (think Stars Hollow, but Irish) and lots of little side plots. Loved it.

Marian Keyes does it again with her new novel My Favourite Mistake. We return again to the Walsh family, this time to pick up on the story Anna. Although you could pick this up as a stand alone novel, I first discovered the Walsh family in the late 1990s/early 2000s. It was so fun to follow the Walsh sisters 20+ years later.
The book seemed a bit dragged out which is why I docked it one star. It took a long time to "hear" the entire story of what occurred between Joey and Anna.
Still a solid hit for Keyes. Keep them coming.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes!

It so good to be back in with the Walsh family. This book is about Anna the fourth sister. She has been living in New York for 13 years and is ready to move her live back to Ireland. She gets thrown into small town chaos and her forever crush Joey Armstrong.

She is hired by a family friend to help figure out who is vandalizing a new property that they are building. While doing so she finds herself making friends and enjoying small town life.

A wonderful story about midlife crisis, friendships, lost and found love. A great beach read. Love all the characters and could identify with all the mixed emotions. Sorry to see this book end

My Favourite Mistake is an engaging book. Marian Keyes is a newer author for me and I really enjoyed this book. It has a great setting and theme and is just a lovely story about a woman at a crossroads in her life.
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Canada for my review copy of this book.

The Walsh family is back and they are as entertaining as ever. This could be a stand alone book if you haven't read about the Walsh family before. The story follows Anna who is now 49 years old as her life in New York continues. Missing her family, being overwhelmed with the rat race she moves back to Ireland. She ends up doing PR work for a retreat that is being built in a small town. The retreat has come under criticism from the townsfolk and Anna is there to set things straight for the town and the retreat. Oh--but Joey is also on the job. He is the one that got away-- a long time ago. A heartwarming funny book that brings all the Walsh girls back into play. If you like this one I guarantee that you will read the other ones (also can be read as stand alone books). Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Canada for the complimentary digital ARC. This review is my own words.

I have not read a Marian Keyes book is a very long time, so I was thrilled with a chance to review “My Favourite Mistake.”

Marian Keyes is known for creating winsome, likable characters who have plenty of flaws, which helps make them all the more relatable. Anna is such a character, leaving New York City (and her partner) when she decides, post-Covid, her life isn’t working out the way she wants it to. She settles in a smaller town, working to launch a new resort as she creates new relationships while reacquainting herself with old friends. The one thing that has not changed is her family (which they are plenty of). While there is plenty of humor and light-hearted moments, the novel skillfully talks about more series topics such as menopause and ageism without coming across as too preachy or “issue of the moment.”

While this book is part of a series focusing on the Walsh family (including “Rachel’s Holiday,” which I read eons ago), you’re able to enjoy the book without reading her earlier novels, though you might want to take notes to remember who is who. Overall, this book reminded me why I began reading Marian Keyes’ books and I now hope to read the books of hers that I have missed.

Four stars.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks also to the publisher and the author, Marian Keyes.

I received an ARC of this book from Penguin Random House via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I was so excited to see a new Marian Keyes novel! I have read nearly all her previous books, but it has been a while, so I my memories of the Walsh family were a bit fuzzy. Despite that, I loved this book. This family is hilarious yet so real - meaning so very relatable as well. Ms. Keyes honestly has a gift for characterization. I love the little details about the characters' personalities and quirks. I did have a little bit of trouble remembering who was who among some of the more minor characters in the town. But even still, I loved it. Ms. Keyes is just so funny - particular moments being Anna riding her bike in the rain, the entire concept of Feathery Stroker, the townspeople at the town meeting. Ms. Keyes will continue to be one of the authors I will always read.

It's so much fun to catch up with the Walsh family again! This time we hear from Anna, who's just returned to Ireland from New York, having ended both her job and her relationship. Her family is as wild as ever, and a LOT for Anna to deal with. While she's at loose ends for a while and struggles to figure out her next steps, she has an opportunity to put her PR skills to use by helping out some family friends overcome community resistance to their planned resort. This means reconnecting with a man from her past who she has a complicated relationship with--the details of which are slowly revealed throughout the book.

I could have done with fewer descriptions of menopause symptoms, and some of the backstory dragged, but overall, a very enjoyable read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I pretty much love all books set in Ireland & Britain so it's no surprise that I enjoyed this one as well. This is the first in the Walsh Family series I've read by Marian Keyes but that did not hinder my enjoyment of it, nor do I think it's necessary to have read them all. I really enjoyed a story about a FMC finding love later in life, mid to late forties, and all that entails. A good romantic story about 2nd chance love with a bit of a mystery thrown in and a great cast of supporting characters who make you laugh.

For me, Marian Keyes doesn't miss and My Favourite MIstake was no exception. I loved revisitng Anna's life alongside the rest of the Walsh clan. I was thrilled to see Anna get her happily ever after (again).

Anna Walsh's love affair with New York City is coming to a close. During lockdown she and her partner Angelo decided to "consciously uncouple" and her high-stress PR job for a cosmetics company is no longer appealing. With her entire family back in Ireland, she suddenly decides, as she nears her 50th birthday, that she wants to return home and be closer to family. Once in Ireland, reality hits. There are no jobs she is qualified for, and she has no home of her own. Soon, however, things begin to look up. One of her sister's friends wants to open a high=end retreat/yoga/event business in a small town. The locals aren't happy and hostile threats have been made. Anna is asked if she, with all of her PR experience, would agree to a short-term job to liaise with the townsfolk, find out what their issues are, and help to smooth things over. The owners of the proposed business are also distracted: their teenaged daughter has had a scary medical diagnosis that is taking up all their time and energy. With no better offer, Anna agrees to take the job. Once she gets to the remote village, she discovers that an old on-again/off-again boyfriend, Joey Armstrong, is also deeply involved in the project. Will Anna be able to smooth things over while negotiating her conflicted feelings about Joey? Or will she run screaming back to NYC to beg to return to her old job?

While I normally love Marian Keyes books and the Walsh family sagas, I found this one to be hard going. Not only does Anna have 257 immediate family members who show up, en mass frequently, but there are also the many inhabitants of her new town to keep up with. In other words, this book has a cast of thousands! When a name is mentioned, and many names are mentioned, it's impossible to conjure up just who that person is again? Anna is also, apparently, unbelievably magnetic, as all the men love her (and many call her Sweet-Face) but the townsfolk also immediately embrace her and start up a WhatsApp group called "Annas Gang." This seems to fly in the face of Anna's neurotic and overly introspective re-hashing of every thought and action that occurs. And her never-ending circling around Joey is exhausting. While I have great affection for the characters, this one is a long, drawn out bore.