As a middle-aged woman who sometimes feels young & sometimes feels ancient, I related to Anna without having to search my memory bank. This story really kept me reading. I was very curious to know the history between Anna & Joey. & what led to Anna & Jacqui no longer being in touch. Not always a fan of using flashbacks, but it worked here. Anna’s chaotic family life is really funny. No wonder she needed an escape. I thought the butterfly scene in the hotel was a lovely calming moment.
I view this as a story about taking the speed bumps, twists & turns & punches life throws, & using the wisdom gained through experience to help guide the way.
Perimenopause might actually be the biggest villain in this book!
Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy via NetGalley. Now I need to go find previous books about the Walsh family.

I enjoyed reading My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

If I could, I would give 5.5 stars for My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes. Full disclosure: for the first third of the book, I was just putting in time, planning to finish the book but not loving it. I finally had a wake up call and started again at the beginning. I loved every minute of My Favourite Mistake. Anna's journey is thought-provoking and filled with humor, deep introspection; her resiliency is amazing. I enjoyed learning Anna's backstory and appreciated the twist on the not-quite-exes being thrown together.. The supporting characters from the Walsh family did not disappoint.

Anna was at the top of her profession as a PR person in the cosmetics industry in NYC. But she traveled all the time and she was burned out. She is a widow, but she's been in another relationship. But Covid and peri-menopause have helped that relationship to fail.

She travels back home to Ireland to take a breather. She helps friends of hers who are developing a high end resort in a lovely area. It's a small town where rumors and outright falsehoods are running rampant. She also crosses paths with Joey, or Joseph, as he's known now. He's gone from a scrappy survivor to a successful business man. He's the father of her best friend's daughter and they've had an on-again, off-again relationship for years, but they've never been lovers.

Together they work to dispel the rumors and labor issues surrounding the development project. But warnings and danger continue plague the project.

This is an interesting story about relationships, friendships, love, and finding your place in the world that you inhabit.

I so deeply enjoyed the travails and triumphs of the incomparable Anna in Marian Keyes MY FAVORITE MISTAKE. While the story starts in the familiar terrible of indifferent boyfriend, high-pressure and high-stakes job, and a tough city while missing home and family, it quickly takes a fascinating turn when Anna returns to Ireland, to use her hard-won skills and encounter the unique characters and old relationships she long left behind. Yes, there is second chance romance and complications with relationships, but all in all, the book is the relatable and delightful journey of a woman from lost in perimenopause and a life she no longer wants to live to one where she is in charge and contributing and feeling like she is living her own life rather than being shoved around by the glamorous and excruciating life she left in New York City. I laughed, I cheered, I admired the courage and ingenuity and the wonderful writing of this story -- my first Marian Keyes that will not be the last. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

Marian Keyes does it again with a well- written , engaging novel that will appeal t both her long term fans and new readers alike.

I've read several of the books about the Walsh family over the years and was pleased to receive an ARC of My Favourite Mistake from the publisher. You can't go wrong with a Marian Keyes book and this was no exception. Anna Walsh is living in NYC and is miserable. She's in the throes of perimenopause, her relationship with her boyfriend is barely breathing, and her fancy PR job is causing her too much stress. She misses her whole family in Dublin. She moves back to Ireland and struggles to find employment. A family friend is opening up a seaside retreat in a small town and hires Anna to help sort out some issues with the locals who are upset about it.

If you are looking for a book full of fun characters this is the perfect choice! Once Anna arrives in M'town there are many quirky people to meet. Anna also finds herself working with Joe Armstrong, a man she shares a long history with. Joe and Anna have been in each other's lives for around twenty years. To say they have a complicated relationship is an understatement. We get to learn about them through flashbacks to Anna's past. Though this was a bit slow at times I still enjoyed spending time in Ireland with Anna.

I first discovered Marian Keyes thanks to my study abroad roommate who picked up Sushi For Beginners, then passed it on to me, and a love for Marian's writing began. I devoured all of the books that were out at the time as soon as I got back to the US. My Favorite Mistake takes the reader back into the world of the crazy Walsh sisters, this time again focusing on Anna.

Anna has been through some things and at almost 50, she finds herself out of love with her long term boyfriend, out of love with her job, and wanting to be closer to her family back in Ireland. She ends up being hired to assist with a PR nightmare for a resort that is being built, but the catch is that she needs to travel to a SMALL town and work with a guy she has had a complicated past with, and with the locals.

I really enjoyed reading about the Walsh pack again, but this is book 7 in the family, so I would suggest starting with Watermelon (book one). One of the things that I appreciated with Marian's characters, is that Marian writes believable characters who age, and change (maybe not gracefully), but always real and messy because that is who we are. We are imperfect and deserving of love.

Highly recommend for hilarious hijinks, kooky characters, lots of Irishisms, big city girl in a small town, and what may be the longest slow burn I've ever read.

I love the Walsh family and all their crazy antics! This book is Anna's story as she creates a new life when she comes home to Ireland to stay. All of your favorites are back (including my personal favorite couple- Luke and Rachel!). If you are a fan of the Walsh family, this book won't disappoint. Interesting choice for a love interest.... but somehow it works:) Enjoy this fun read!!!

Thank you Netgalley, Marian Keyes and Penguin Random House Canada for the ebook. This was a comical and well written story about letting it all go to start over where your heart has been telling you to go for so long ... home. I loved the contrast from being a big shot in the big city to now virtually no one in small town Ireland. How Anna and her family navigated this change was hilarious and humbling. A great read!

I was so excited to read about the Walsh sisters again. I enjoyed it and laughed out loud in parts, as I often do when reading about the Walsh family. However, I did lose interest three-quarters of the way through. It started to get too predictable. I may pick it up again when the time is right. I still definitely enjoy Marian Keyes, her writing, and sense-of-humor.

Another book about a menopausal woman! I feel seen! The story revolves around Anna Walsh, who breaks up with her long-term boyfriend after COVID-19 takes a toll on their relationship. She decides to leave her stressful job in beauty public relations in NYC and return to her hometown in Ireland. Anna's friend, Rachel, asks her to help with a new retreat project in small Irish town, where Anna discovers that the project manager is her past love, Joey Armstrong. The story is about family, reinvention, and taking chances on new people and places.

We learn about Anna and Joey’s relationship through flashbacks as the two work to save Rachel and her husband’s project. It’s a fun but serious dynamic as we discover how Joey and Anna have grown and changed over 20 years since they first met in their late 20s in NYC and why they have a precarious relationship.

This book was wonderfully written, and the character arcs are poignant and heartfelt. The Walsh family is funny and typical of large families. Many exchanges cracked me up. However, I’m taking away one star because it is almost 600 pages long and could have been tightened up and edited.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ok, real talk. Marian Keyes was my absolute favorite author for years. YEARS. Rachel’s Holiday. Watermelon. Need I say more? Those books really kickstarted my love of reading post law school when I could start reading for fun again.
So you can imagine how giddy I was to get a copy of her newest book, My Favourite Mistake, all about the Walsh sisters, many years later. This installment was about Anna, years after losing her husband but now post breakup, post losing her job and returning home to Ireland. She takes on a PR job in a small town to help an old friend and the old Walsh dry sarcasm and quick wit is back. I loved being back in their world after so many years. Like being with old friends. I loved that the Walsh sisters have aged like me and are in the throes of perimenopause misery. It was like talking to my friends. I guffawed so many times. I loved the bantering. I loved the lack of a filter. I just wish it was a little shorter. The last part sort of meandered and with that, so did my mind. It could have been wrapped up earlier or quicker. But overall, it was a real treat to be reintroduced to this family that meant so much to me in my mid 20s.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own. The main character’s age made me whoop out loud at the coffee shop when I started to read. It is about damn time women, *cough* after a certain age, could see themselves in novels. She goes through many life events that my friends and I are experiencing. This is a perfect and refreshing beach/weekend read.

Marian Keyes has crafted a compelling narrative in My Favourite Mistake, capturing the essence of personal growth and the complexities of facing one's past.

Anna appears to have it all: a chic New York apartment, a well-meaning (perhaps too well-meaning) partner, and a prestigious job in beauty PR. But beneath this seemingly perfect exterior, Anna feels unfulfilled and decides to make a drastic change. She leaves the Big Apple, her partner, and her high-flying career to return to Ireland, taking on a PR role at a luxurious coastal retreat. However, the transition is far from smooth. The locals are hostile, and Anna finds herself dealing with threats and violence.

Drawing from her experience in the beauty industry, Anna is no stranger to challenges. She's adept at navigating tricky situations and smoothing over conflicts. Yet, she soon realizes that relocating to Ireland doesn't erase her past mistakes. As she reconnects with a former best friend and confronts an old love, Anna faces the painful truth that leaving New York didn't mean leaving behind her problems.

Keyes excels in creating relatable, flawed characters, and Anna is no exception. Her journey is both heart-wrenching and inspiring, as she learns that personal growth often involves confronting the very mistakes we try to escape. The novel beautifully explores themes of self-discovery, forgiveness, and the courage to change.

While some readers might find the pacing uneven at times, the emotional depth and witty prose more than compensate. My Favourite Mistake is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of second chances. Keyes' fans and new readers alike will find themselves rooting for Anna as she navigates the complexities of her new life and ultimately discovers what truly makes her happy.

The promo copy made this novel sound both timely and unusual, but I forgot to check the page count. The plot is spread very thinly over the book's 600 pages, and a great deal of real estate is devoted to meditations on middle age and menopause. I didn't find Anna a particularly insightful protagonist, so while I've enjoyed other Marian Keyes novels this one wasn't for me.

DNF at 45% - It was a perfectly fine reading experienced and if it were longer I might have pushed through, but I just wasn't interested enough to prioritize another 300 pages of this book over other reads.

The Walsh family is back and this time Anna is back as she faces many life changes at once. As she returns to Ireland and accepts a local job opportunity, she comes face to face with Joey Armstrong - the guy who she always had an interest in but they couldn’t get their timing right. As they work on saving the retreat being built in town, Anna creates a life and friendships and tries to figure out if the timing is now for her and Joey.

I haven’t read a Marian Keyes book in several years and I did love reading about all of the Walsh sisters in the previous books, but I did find this one to be a tad too long for my liking. But when I also think back to what could have been cut or shortened I struggle to think of anything as it all leads to the build up of the multiple plots. And that goes back to Keyes’ style which is to create a slow burn so you’re enmeshed in the town and with the characters. A strong 3 stars for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

This is book 7 in the Walsh Family series, but the first I have read, but it is ok, as it definitely functions as a stand alone. What do you do when what you thought was your life, throws you some curve balls? For Anna, it was time to go home, lick her wounds and see where life would take her. Only life has a funny way of bringing you something not what you were expecting, nor wanting. For Anna, this is a man from her past, and with him comes pain from loosing her best friend. As she tries to solve the issues for the resort, she soon realizes what she now wants isn't what she thought, and just maybe, there may be changes in her heart too. Part rom-com, part chick-lit, and a book with a whole lot of heart, this is one that will sing to your soul.

Each book in the series features one of the members of the family, but each is also a stand alone book. I'll be going back, as I have time, and starting the series from the beginning!

This book is so quirky and so dramatic I am here for all the drama. It is a slowburn and very long, I didn’t know it was part of a series so I was little confused when it comes to the characters since there was no character buildup in the story, they all seemed to have been established throughout the series, I will be reading the other books for a recap, but overall its packed with so much, Anna sure has a story. I adored this read.

Marian Keyes is an absolute gem! I've been reading her books for over 20 years and they just keep getting better and better. This one features Anna Walsh of the infamous Walsh family. This isn't so much a sequel but a revisiting of Anna since Anybody Out There? Anna Walsh is the second youngest of the Walsh sisters and is living her best life. Well, until COVID and she decides to quit her fab PR job, break up with her long-term boyfriend, Angelo and move back to Ireland. Seems a midlife crisis is in order.
Anna is at loose ends until an opportunity to help out her sister's friends comes to her. Anna puts her PR skills to use in Maumtilly, a small village where Rachel's friends, the Kearney's, are trying to build their wellness spa. She ends up loving the people of the village, making fast friends and generally smoothing over hurt feelings over misunderstandings. The only issue is Joey Armstrong, whom Anna has been circling around for over 25 years. Joey is brokering the deal between investors and the Kearney's. Will they (FINALLY) make it work and can Anna save the spa? Written with Keyes' perfect comedic timing and heart, you won't be able to put this down. It is always a pleasure visiting with the Walsh family.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this e-arc.*