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.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for granting my request to read this e-ARC and provide my honest opinions.

Who wouldn't want to go back in time and change one of the life-changing decisions? Who wouldn't want to see how life should've turned out if you took an alternate path?

Mary Mulligam has been having some pains in her mouth due to the recent emergence of her wisdom tooth; this scenario should have been perfectly normal had it been Mary Mulligan wasn't in her fifties. So now you see what drew me into the story—who doesn't love a good time travel novel?

The plot was set right; the emergence of Mary's wisdom tooth is due to her having some serious life regrets; she thinks she has not done enough with her life. Now she is old and lonely; her husband doesn't have enough time for her, and her only daughter is moving to a different continent. Her crazy cousin Darbi warns more, like said it in passing, not to have her wisdom tooth removed, but Mary doesn't believe in that nonsense her cousin is spewing, so she gets her tooth removed, and the rest they say is history.

Honestly, I wanted to love it, but there were a lot of holes in the plot, in my opinion, that kept tugging at my mind. I felt disconnected to the story as I felt Mary tried so hard to make her husband look like the bad person; after some time I stopped rooting for her, and what is with the attitude of Darbi after Mary went back in time? The whole going back in time scenario made no sense to me at some point.

What I did love was the lessons this book had to give; it made me look at life differently. Sure, you will have some or a lot of regrets, a lot of things you should have done and shouldn't have, but that is life. Enjoy it, and you never know who is looking up to you just by being yourself. In marriage, communication is very important; talk about what you need and what you don't need; speak to your partner. And I also learned that falling in love with your partner again is very important, as it is easy to lose sight of what is important.

Thank you once again to Netgalley and the author for this e-ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️From Lake Union Publishing: Mary Mulligan has two problems: her wisdom teeth…and everything else. Her only daughter is moving overseas. Her husband would rather go golfing than spend time with her. And Mary’s left to wonder why she abandoned her career ambitions when loneliness is all she has to show for it.
Plus her teeth really, really hurt.
But that’s one problem she can fix—never mind the stories that say if she gets her wisdom teeth removed, the last thirty years of her life will be erased. In fact, Mary wouldn’t mind if the Mulligan curse were actually true.
Turns out, it is.
The world around her hasn’t changed, but Mary is suddenly twenty-four again, with the life she once dreamed of still ahead of her. As she embarks on this new beginning, Mary comes to realize that those dreams aren’t nearly as important as everything she once had. If only she knew how to get it all back.
************************
My review: I love time travel and time loop stories so I had high hopes for this novel. It definitely kept my interest but I was frustrated with Mary. She worked so hard in her alternate life to regain what she "lost". If some of this effort was put into her regular life she may have been a happier person. Yeah, I know...then there wouldn't have been a novel and Mary wouldn't have learned a lesson. Cousin Darbi I also found annoying. If she had actually communicated with Mary at the start Mary wouldn't have had such different expectations about the alternate life.

That being said, I do like in books like this seeing how one person and their choices can change things for others. James was a fun periphery character in that regard. Dean and Kendra seemed so indifferent to Mary in her regular life but was that due to Mary's lack of effort or their selfishness? Overall, no one was super engaging or wonderful in this book except maybe Brady and Kimberly. I was interested in Brady's connection in the alternate life. Plus, his dog had a great name.

Liked this but didn't love it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

Mary, 54, is not content with her life. Her husband Dean is in insurance and does nothing but play golf in his spare time, neglecting her. Her daughter Kendra is planning to move to London shortly with her boyfriend Nate. Mary has menopausal symptoms and on top of that she regrets throwing away her career in TV reporting for becoming a mother and housewife. When she sees a magazine article about popular TV anchor Liz she thinks it should have been her and suddenly her wisdom teeth start hurting in response.

Then her cousin Darbi tells her a weird story - her wisdom teeth are coming through because she regrets a decision in her life and if she gets them taken out she will be the age again she was when she made the decision she now regrets. First she encourages Mary, saying it worked to reset her own life by seven years by allowing her to marry her wife Jacqui but when she hears that Mary would be a whole 30 years younger, she tries to discourage her.

This story is based on a hefty dose of magical realism, which I normally don't have a problem with. However, the reset confused me - it seemed odd that she was now 24 but everyone else was the same age. Would that not cause perception problems with other people? Even now that I write about it I can't get my head around it. Give me "normal" time travel any time!

This novel suffers from a lot of repetition. There are three things being repeated ad nauseam:

1. Mary wants to become a famous TV anchor at a major national news network, but not for serious news just feel-good fluff pieces.
2. You only appreciate what you had once it's gone. Before she becomes younger, Mary does nothing but complain about Dean and her wasted life. The moment she gets her wisdom teeth out, she regrets it and finds only the good in him and her old life. I almost got whiplash, it was so sudden!
3. Mary doesn't understand she can't return to her old life. She has reset her life by 30 years and must live them again. She is not in an alternative world, she's simply 30 years younger and there is no known way of returning to the life she left behind.

"Taking a mulligan" is an expression used in golf to describe when a player is allowed to replay a stroke after a poor shot. Giving Mary the last name Mulligan is a clever play on this expression and explains that Mary gets to replay the last 30 years, and that it's rather a curse to her than a blessing.

This is such a frustrating read. Mary stubbornly assumes things, doesn't listen to Darbi's warnings, constantly repeats what she would do when she got back to her old life and just blunders into situations without thinking. Darbi isn't a real help though - she has plenty of opportunities to explain to Mary the repercussions of her decision but always chickens out and lies by omission.

Mary at one point opines that "She couldn’t believe she’d ever thought a career at a news station would fulfill her. Only the love of her family and friends could do that."

To me that is a deeply problematic statement, that a woman shouldn't attempt a career as only being a wife and mother would give her life happiness and meaning.

This, coupled with the weird magical realism rules and Mary's stubborn stupidity put me off this story. This is a unique story about regrets but it wasn't for me.

Romantic, ambitious, and heartfelt in turns, The Mulligan Curse centers a likeable, hardworking older woman, and her regrets. When she goes back in time and erasing her seemingly small life, the book delves into her realizations of the true impact of every choice she made the first time around, and the choices that others made around her. This is always my favorite to think about and read about: all those miniscule actions that, if we choose to do differently, shape lives into completely new directions; what we choose to do, now, is currently, persistently, always shaping lives, ours and others, in ways we might never fully understand. Having a look at that through Mary's slowly shifting lens was a delight. A refreshing, second-chance-magic novel.