My Favorite Mistake

Marian Keyes has been a popular author for so many decades that she has started writing books that check in with some of her early characters to see how the young adults of the 1990s and 2000s are faring now that they are firmly middle aged. She has focused these updates on the five sisters of the lovable but certifiable Walsh Family. I couldn't read the first one, [b:Again, Rachel 58691596 Again, Rachel (Walsh Family, #6) Marian Keyes https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629196807l/58691596.SY75.jpg 92346216] (follow up to [b:Rachel's Holiday 9301 Rachel's Holiday (Walsh Family, #2) Marian Keyes https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407709261l/9301.SY75.jpg 23728] because the subject matter was too upsetting (Rachel's pregnancy ends with a stillbirth). But I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Anna Walsh, who was last seen in [b:Anybody Out There? 165030 Anybody Out There? (Walsh Family, #4) Marian Keyes https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358594290l/165030.SY75.jpg 1568693] taking small but hopeful steps towards a full life after a traumatic loss (her husband's sudden death in a car crash).In My Favorite Mistake (or Favourite if you're British), Anna is a successful public relations manager for a cosmetics company, living the dream in New York City. But after the COVID lockdown, she takes stock of her life and makes several drastic changes, breaking up with her perfectly nice boyfriend, quitting her job, and moving back to Ireland. After a surprisingly difficult job search, her sister's friend Brigit asks her to provide PR for a high-end retreat she and her husband are opening in their small town. The locals are not happy that they have been overlooked for much of the construction work, and someone has sabotaged the job site. Anna is the perfect person to swoop in, unruffle a few feathers, and basically spread good vibes about the project. Piece of cake, until Anna learns that the broker who recruited investors is Joey Armstrong, aka “Narky Joey” and “Go Boy.” Joey and Anna have a complicated history that featured bad behavior on both of their parts (but mostly Joey's). But they need to work as a team to help Brigit and her husband, who have mortgaged their house and land to pay for their seriously ill daughter's healthcare.Like most Keyes books, this is a lengthy one, but it's worth the high page count to spend time with old friends and meet new ones amongst the Real Men and the Beardy Gazers. You don't have to be familiar with the previous books in the series, although the scenes with Anna's sisters are more entertaining if you know your Walsh family tree. Anna herself is great - a perimenopausal, highly competent professional who can work a room like nobody's business. She's a fan of cosmetic procedures (“I'm seventy percent Botox and twenty-two percent HRT”), but she isn't judgy about other women's choices. A major part of her journey is finding a new home where she can be close to her family, fulfilled professionally, and engaged socially. The romance with Joey is important but not paramount. Frankly, Joey is the weak link in the story. Keyes doesn't quite convince me that the broody, shag anything that moves and don't worry about pleasing the woman fuckboy of Anna's youth has transformed into a sober, well-off, suit-wearing, celibate, devoted father who claims to have fallen for Anna back in their school days (which he demonstrated by sleeping with her sister Helen, who recalls “it was less than two minutes from initial penetration to the hotel door closing behind him”). I love a good redemption story, but Past Joey feels like a completely different character from New Joey. [b:Watermelon 9300 Watermelon (Walsh Family, #1) Marian Keyes https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1345767584l/9300.SY75.jpg 912230], the first Walsh Family book, is almost 30 years old now and as per the author, its FMC Claire has proven sequel-resistant. While Keyes tries to convince her recalcitrant character otherwise, she still has two more Walsh sisters waiting for their second turn in the spotlight. It's a pleasure to be able to read about these singular women, their full middle-aged lives, and their capacity to keep evolving.

Ahh Marian Keyes. Her books are like a warm hug somehow. I always forget the slower pace and get frustrated until I'm a few chapters in and then I'm swept away into the story and I never want it to end.