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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
It’s always fun to return to the lives of the Walsh sisters. In My Favourite Mistake, Anna has a dream job doing PR for a beauty company in New York City. All the serums and free lipsticks a girls could want! When the pandemic hits, she and her boyfriend Angelo have to decide whether to quarantine together or apart. They choose together. The stress of living together and not being able to fly home to see her family does a number on Anna’s mental health. When the restrictions ease up, she makes the decision to leave her high-paying, high-stress job behind and return to Ireland.
In Ireland, however, is where the woman who was once her best friend and a man she’s had a complicated relationship for the last twenty years live. She’d like to avoid Joey, but when she finds a part-time gig doing PR for what will become a luxury retreat, it turns out she’ll be working with him. Now she just has new problems to face, without a good salary or means of transportation. Together, Anna and Joey face a little bit of mystery about who is trying to make the resort crash and burn (literally).
Keyes imbues this novel with her funny/sad trademark wit, and she makes Ireland sound so wonderful you’ll be wanting to buy tickets to visit before you finish reading. What I really enjoyed about this, however, is that Anna is about my age and talks a great deal about being peri-menopausal. I don’t have her symptoms (yet?), but I appreciated someone talking about being a woman who is getting older and all that goes along with that.
NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES JULY 30, 2024.
In Ireland, however, is where the woman who was once her best friend and a man she’s had a complicated relationship for the last twenty years live. She’d like to avoid Joey, but when she finds a part-time gig doing PR for what will become a luxury retreat, it turns out she’ll be working with him. Now she just has new problems to face, without a good salary or means of transportation. Together, Anna and Joey face a little bit of mystery about who is trying to make the resort crash and burn (literally).
Keyes imbues this novel with her funny/sad trademark wit, and she makes Ireland sound so wonderful you’ll be wanting to buy tickets to visit before you finish reading. What I really enjoyed about this, however, is that Anna is about my age and talks a great deal about being peri-menopausal. I don’t have her symptoms (yet?), but I appreciated someone talking about being a woman who is getting older and all that goes along with that.
NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES JULY 30, 2024.
My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes
I went into this book without having read the earlier Walsh Family novels, and while it works as a standalone, I felt like I missed some emotional connection to Anna’s backstory. If you’re already a fan of the series, you might enjoy it more than I did!
The setup was great: Anna ditches her glossy New York life (and her too-perfect-to-be-real boyfriend, Angelo) and heads back to Ireland for a fresh start. Small-town life, quirky characters, and a sprinkle of mystery should’ve made this a page-turner, but it was okay.
On the bright side, Joey, Anna’s coworker with a complicated past, grew on me. By the end, I was rooting for him. But Angelo? He felt more like a Hallmark card than a real person. (Sorry, Angelo fans!)
While Marian Keyes’ humor and sharp observations shine through, the story didn’t hook me.
I went into this book without having read the earlier Walsh Family novels, and while it works as a standalone, I felt like I missed some emotional connection to Anna’s backstory. If you’re already a fan of the series, you might enjoy it more than I did!
The setup was great: Anna ditches her glossy New York life (and her too-perfect-to-be-real boyfriend, Angelo) and heads back to Ireland for a fresh start. Small-town life, quirky characters, and a sprinkle of mystery should’ve made this a page-turner, but it was okay.
On the bright side, Joey, Anna’s coworker with a complicated past, grew on me. By the end, I was rooting for him. But Angelo? He felt more like a Hallmark card than a real person. (Sorry, Angelo fans!)
While Marian Keyes’ humor and sharp observations shine through, the story didn’t hook me.
The anticipation of catching up with the Walsh family, the delicious unwrapping of another finely worded tale then the sadness when it’s all over. I feel like the Walsh clan is family and catching up with them again is always a delight.
This book did not disappoint as we got to know Anna better, understood her complex history better and saw her work through issues.
The dialogue between sisters makes me laugh out loud. The image of the Feathery Stroker is one I’ve loved for decades and it never fails to make me giggle!
This book did not disappoint as we got to know Anna better, understood her complex history better and saw her work through issues.
The dialogue between sisters makes me laugh out loud. The image of the Feathery Stroker is one I’ve loved for decades and it never fails to make me giggle!
I always come back to the Walshes, Marian Keyes is one of my favourite authors to relax to. Anna has never been my favourite character, but on the whole I enjoyed this. I have an irrational dislike for books which acknowledge COVID happened but this didn’t dwell on it too badly. Very cosy winter reading
Anna has a life to envy. An apartment in New York. A well-meaning (too well-meaning?) partner. And a high-flying job in beauty PR. Who wouldn’t want all that? Anna – it turns out.
Turning a minor mid-life crisis into a major life event she bins the lot, heads back to Ireland, and gets a PR job for a super-high-end coastal retreat. Tougher than it sounds. Newsflash: the locals hate it. So much so, there have been threats – and violence. Anna, however, worked in the beauty industry. There’s no ugliness she hasn’t seen. No wrinkle she can’t smooth over. Anna’s got this.
Until she discovers that leaving New York doesn’t mean escaping her mistakes. Once upon a time she'd had a best friend. Once upon a time she'd loved a man. Now she has neither. And now she has to face them.
Marian Keyes' writing just gets better and better. What may seem light-hearted turns out to be thought-provoking and honest dealing with themes like the menopause and single parenting. Anna has always been my favourite Walsh sister, I absolutely loved "Anybody out there" and this is a worthy successor. The dialogue is hilarious and the warmth of the Walsh family and the local community is like a huge hug, plus it's a really interesting story! Highly recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for an advance copy in return for an honest review.
Turning a minor mid-life crisis into a major life event she bins the lot, heads back to Ireland, and gets a PR job for a super-high-end coastal retreat. Tougher than it sounds. Newsflash: the locals hate it. So much so, there have been threats – and violence. Anna, however, worked in the beauty industry. There’s no ugliness she hasn’t seen. No wrinkle she can’t smooth over. Anna’s got this.
Until she discovers that leaving New York doesn’t mean escaping her mistakes. Once upon a time she'd had a best friend. Once upon a time she'd loved a man. Now she has neither. And now she has to face them.
Marian Keyes' writing just gets better and better. What may seem light-hearted turns out to be thought-provoking and honest dealing with themes like the menopause and single parenting. Anna has always been my favourite Walsh sister, I absolutely loved "Anybody out there" and this is a worthy successor. The dialogue is hilarious and the warmth of the Walsh family and the local community is like a huge hug, plus it's a really interesting story! Highly recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for an advance copy in return for an honest review.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
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 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.
funny
lighthearted
reflective