**5-Star Review for *The Mulligan Curse* by Diane Barnes**

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*The Mulligan Curse* by Diane Barnes is an absolute gem! From the very first page, I was hooked by its compelling mix of mystery, drama, and intriguing characters. The story follows the Mulligan family, whose generations are plagued by an ominous curse, and Barnes weaves this fantastical element seamlessly with the very real struggles of family dynamics, love, and betrayal.

What really stands out is Barnes' ability to create a world that feels both magical and grounded in reality. The rich, atmospheric writing pulls you into the Mulligan family's history, and you can't help but become invested in their fates. Each character is complex and multidimensional, and the emotional depth of their journeys makes this much more than just a tale of curses—it's about the choices we make and the consequences they bring.

Barnes’ pacing is perfect, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as secrets are revealed and the mystery unfolds. The twists and turns in the plot are both surprising and satisfying, and the ending is nothing short of brilliant.

*The Mulligan Curse* is a beautifully crafted novel that combines supernatural intrigue with rich, heartfelt storytelling. I highly recommend this book to fans of mystery, family sagas, and those who appreciate a deeply immersive reading experience. Diane Barnes is an author to watch!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of The Mulligan Curse by Diane Barnes in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately drawn to this book because of its clever title. In golf, a “mulligan” is a free shot or a redo after a bad shot, and the concept of a second chance in life perfectly ties into this theme. It set the tone for what I hoped would be a fun and reflective story about the choices we make and what we'd do with the opportunity to change things.

The hook definitely got me. As a mother, and as someone who finds Sylvia Plath’s fig tree metaphor in The Bell Jar very relatable, I was drawn to the idea of "picking a different fig". That said, I did have some reservations going in. The protagonist, Mary, transforms from her fifties back to her twenties, and I wondered how the author would balance the stark differences in mindset and experience between these life stages, in the same person.

The story had a lot of heart and presented relatable emotions, especially around themes of regret and self-discovery. However, I had some issues with the execution. The plot twists weren’t as surprising as I’d hoped, and while I’m not opposed to unlikable characters, I found it difficult to root for Mary at times. Her decisions often felt frustrating, and the setup of the story was occasionally confusing, which made it harder to stay immersed.

That said, the book offers some thought-provoking ideas and emotional depth. It delves into the “what-ifs” of life and the consequences of our choices, which is something many readers will connect with. While it wasn’t a perfect read for me, those who enjoy introspective stories about second chances and self-reflection may find something meaningful in it.

you had a chance to do over your biggest regret in life, would you? When faced with this question, not quite even believing it could be true, Mary Mulligan takes the chance at a redo only to face unintended consequences.

I loved the concept of this story. Anything that involves alternate reality or time travel is a book I’ll pick up. This book held my interest, but it wasn’t what I expected or wanted from it.

I was confused (and still am) by the setup - instead of jumping back in time the FMC wakes up significantly younger but in the same year as her present life. That felt odd and as if there should’ve been more unintended consequences, but it all resolved too perfectly.

The repetitive nature of the “I’ve lost my husband and my daughter” got old really, really quickly. Plus, the FMC’s cousin Darbi was kind of the worst and really added to the frustration of the FMC and frankly me as a reader.

More could’ve been done with this premise but it fell flat, which is a bummer.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this second chance novel and I loved the magical realism aspect of it. Mary is unhappy with her life and contemplating the road not taken when she gets the opportunity to go back and make a different choice. Known as The Mulligan Curse the downside is your life from the point you return to up to the present is gone. I loved seeing the growth in Mary and the realization that she actually loves the life she had and the people in it. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Alex Picard and it was a fantastic way to enjoy this charming novel.

In this novel, we follow Mary, a woman in her fifties, who is unhappy with the way her life turned out. She regrets stepping away from her career as a reporter to devote her time to her family. Her wisdom teeth suddenly start to hurt and her cousin tells her of the family curse: if you have your wisdom teeth removed, you go back to the decision you most regret making and get the chance to do things differently.

I loved the premise of the book, but the execution didn't really work for me. First of all, she doesn't actually go back in time but instead finds herself in her younger body in present day with her past job, flat and friends, and no one remembers any differently. This didn't make logical sense to me. I also found the main character hard to emphasis with as she was so self-centred, ignoring anything people said that didn't suit her and throwing her life away only to decide she wanted it back. It felt as though she wanted everything at the same time, and her sudden change of attitude at the end didn't fit her behaviour throughout the book. I also struggled with the repetition, in some parts nearly every paragraph had her saying how excited she was to go back to her real life!

I love magical realism books with a time travel essence, so this book was set up for my liking but boy did this book surprise me. I loved the little plot twists and chapter 28 had me in TEARS of relief. Overall such a fun and 'oh my god whats going to happen next?' book to read. And although its not a quote on quote romance book it has such a beautiful romance spirit, especially that love we don't get to typically see in romance books because the characters are older and its kind of like seeing the epilogue and makes you still believe in the 'grow old with you' love.

I love these types of stories that include some magical way of changing your life. (If you like this stuff, i recommend sarah ready) What I also love is that this story specifically makes you see the positive aspects of your real life again, and make you appreciate it much more. I think that's my favorite book message. I did miss a bit of explanation as to how what happened, happened, though i guess we dont need to know.
These characters will steal your heart, even though they might not always make the best of choices. How relatable is that though?!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7205208924

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC. I gave this title 3 stars because the first half was difficult for me to get through but the second half made it worth the read.

I would have enjoyed this book far more, if Mary, the protagonist, ended up in her situation as a result of a “Freaky Friday” type event. Where she made wish unknowing the consequences would be to erase her past.

As written, I found it unfathomable a seemingly sane mother spent days contemplating a decision to erase her past and chose to do it without fleshing out the possibilities. how could a mother who loved her baby through every milestone, raise that child in a loving home and then choose to erase her child’s life over career regrets?

It was so unbelievably irritating, I almost gave up on reading. I pushed forward and got to a point about halfway through where I didn’t want to put it down.

I found myself cheering for Mary on behalf of her family, specifically her alternative universe where her daughter does exist. I found myself engaged in the story and the self reflection it caused. I found myself comparing my own family memories along side my inconsequential regrets highlighting the importance of appreciating what it is I have. For that I am thankful I took the opportunity to read this book through.

At the end, I was satisfied with the message and happy with the way Mary found her way home.

Where do i begin? I typically love romance books with two main characters that are in contact for the majority of the story so i was really surprised when i was drawn in by the premise of this book and boy it did not disappoint. So far this has been my favourite read on net galley. To start of with the author has a way with words that is descriptive and draws you in without the reader feeling like they are ingesting too much information. The way the author writes the emotions of our MC is so well done and really conveys the depth of the story. There were so many times i was just reading the book and just got completely caught up in the story i forgot i was supposed to be writing my thoughts down. We go on a complete journey with our MC and learn valuable lessons alongside her. The ending was a fitting one the author didn't overcomplicate things and wrapped up the story pretty nicely. Overall a VERY WELL written story with good pacing and flow that brought sad and happy tears to my eyes a couple times.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Maybe it's because I had my wisdom teeth removed when I was 18, maybe it's because the basic premise didn't entirely work for me, maybe it's that I didn't especially like Mary but this was a rare miss for me. Thanks for the ARC. It's got all the feels for those who like second chances and magical realism so over to others.

I thought the premise of this story sounded really interesting. And I think this is one of those books that makes you reflect on your own life and think about what's really important to you and which silly little problems or feelings actually don't matter that much. So, in that respect, the book did really stay with me. There were definitely also some good elements in there, and it was full of suspense at times.

However, about halfway through, the book really started to fall flat for me. Its biggest flaw, in my opinion, is its repetitiveness. The main character is constantly thinking about the same things and going around in circles, making it more and more tedious as you read on. Also, the main character frustrated me so much! She is whiny, selfish and constantly blames other people for her problems. So, throughout the story, it became increasingly more difficult to keep rooting for her. I also feel like she didn't develop at all throughout the story, while the events that happened would have been a good reason for her to change. But she was still the same selfish and whiny person at the end of the story.

Overall, I enjoyed parts of the book and it got me thinking! However, the writing style and characters weren't my cup of tea.

I am on the fence with this book. I liked the story, but I think it could have been presented better, as the writing was a bit amateurish. Another reviewer mentioned the repetition and I completely agree. Many of the same things said again and again, mainly how much Mary misses her family. And then there is Mary, herself, who was often very infuriating and brought on her own problems. She's stubborn and does not listen to her cousin. She doesn't communicate well with her family, constantly defaulting to victim mode. And she switches to completely blaming herself for her relationship woes with her husband and daughter when they should be taking some responsibility too. Certain things about the "curse" were convenient, such as the fact that Mary did not "go back" thirty years but just lost the years off of her age, which means she still had the benefit of cell phones and internet. And, the ending. Was it a curse? Or was it a concussion? Did Dean have a dream or did he live the story too? The payoff wasn't enough.

2.5-3 stars

I think this was the first 2025 advanced copy I received and was super excited to read it. It was the first of Diane's books for me and I had high hopes. But it sadly didn't meet all of them.

It is a mixture of fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary fiction, a bit of romance and comedy. It looks at middle-age and regrets, and what you're willing to sacrifice to undo those regrets, even if it meant erasing your family.

It is very bizarre. Every time your teeth hurt, it's because you've thought of a regret, and removing your wisdom teeth will erase the 20-odd years of your life since said regret so you can go back and redo it. I mean, where does that idea come from?! Ironically, I wrote this review once I came home from a dentist trip where they were discussing the possible removal of one of my wisdom teeth, so...you never know, this time next month I might be 11 years old.

I didn't take to Mary particularly. I quite liked her as an older woman, but the younger Mary, she just seems too fidgety and flightly and gullible and naïve, and I never felt comfortable reading about her. None of the other characters shone for me either, I didn't like any, but I didn't hate any, they all felt a bit 2D.

I suppose, what I struggled with is that it was hard to believe. I know it's a fantasy and so it's meant to be make-believe, but even in a fantasy world things have to work in context, and it was hard to think that they did.

I found the ending was rushed. It came about all of a sudden, but it was a lovely ending so I didn't mind too much. It started well and ended well, but lost its way in the middle.

I thought it was such an interesting premise and had the potential to be something really special but it all felt a bit formulaic. I did enjoy it, I mean, I read it in a day. There are some positives but overall I don't think it reaches the heights that the unusual premise promised.

I will still keep an eye out for Diane's other books, but overall I think it needed some tidying up and a bit more depth to it for me to say it was really enjoyable. It was okay, just a bit tepid.

This was an enjoyable read if a little bit predictable. I liked the concept but the execution fell flat a few times. Still was an entertaining read and would recommend. I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review,

This was a heart-lifting novel, quite predictable yet lovely to read.
It shows the importance of appreciating what you have even though we give it for granted.
We often think that the neighbour's grass is greener, especially if we have given up a dream for something that at the moment is not really giving us any satisfaction. But we made a choice for a reason, didn't we? We cannot travel back in time or experience an alternative life like Mary did, all we can do is stop and think for a moment: why have we made that particular decision? What did it give us? What did we loose? Was it worth it?
The majority of the time the answer will be YES, yes it was worth it. We just needed time to see it.

This book was such a pleasant surprise! I truly loved how it had so much more depth than the magical realism. I also loved how the fmc and her husband stayed together, her realizing that she was lucky to have what she did with him!

Mary Mulligan is in her 50's, starting to regret the life she is living with an uninterested husband. She suddenly develops pain in her wisdom teeth and is about to have them removed when her cousin warns her about the Mulligan Curse, telling Mary that when she has her wisdom teeth out, she'll be returned to the same age she was when her biggest regret occurred. Mary doesn't listen and wakes up as a 25-year-old in the same exact present-day timeline, which makes NO SENSE, and the only one that remembers the old Mary is her cousin. This book really irritated me. Spoiler that probably doesn't matter because of course this is what happens, but Mary realizes she really wanted her old life after all and she was just as much to blame for things being the way they were and blah blah blah and she is desperate to return back but, shock, finds out she is stuck. I am just so tired of books that give someone a second chance only to have the moral of the story be that they are happiest in their original life and you should just be grateful for your personal misery, I guess, or have a better attitude. 2 stars.

I cool concept but it wasn't my favorite. It reminded me of the movie About Time which is VERY problematic. Mary was kind of a whiner and the repetitiveness got repetitive.

Is Darbi (what a stupid spelling) the most infuriatingly cold character to ever exist? If not, there’s certainly a strong case here… a problem that could’ve been entirely avoided by communicating not once but twice. I couldn’t understand why Mary even liked her as she seemed to revel in her displeasure. The ending letter fake out was just lazy writing. This was a miss for me.

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

A predictable if comforting read. This one was an easy time pass. One for the lounger by the pool and that is in no way a complaint. I feel as if the author could have done more with it but a happy ending is a happy ending.