A review by snazzybooks
The Mistake I Made by Paula Daly
5.0
Reviewed on www.snazzybooks.com.
I didn’t really know what to expect from The Mistake I Made as I’ve never read any of Paula Daly’s novels before and I’d purposefully not read up a lot about it before reading (I’ve been trying to do this with more books recently as I really enjoy reading novels without my own assumptions or expectations). I’d only very quickly scanned the synopsis. I didn’t necessarily expect to enjoy this book as much as I did- which was so much!
The main character Roz certainly made some questionable choices but Daly writes so well that I completely understood her desperation and kind of understood why she did it. Other characters were also really well developed too and the novel certainly provoked strong feelings from me as I read!
You can see where the story is going from a mile off, but I felt like that’s surely the point- readers can guess pretty well which direction Roz’s life is heading from this one mistake. There was still surprise and tension as I didn’t know exactly what was going to come of it, which meant it was really interesting and enjoyable to read, but I could tell things were going to get messy! With some novels like this I just feel frustrated with the characters who make such bad choices, but as I mentioned before, Paula Daly writes very convincingly and I therefore didn’t feel the same annoyance and irritation as I usually do, I just felt really bad for her whilst still warming to her as a character!
The story is really interesting as it prompts you to think how you might react in a similar situation, and how your family and friends would respond to finding out about it, as Roz’s did. The desperation she felt as a mother must ring true for many families sadly and I feel that Paula Daly did a really good job of putting character Roz’s feelings and reasons across without it becoming too preachy either way.
I would definitely recommend this brilliant novel and hope to read more of Paula Daly!
** Many thanks to the publisher who provided a copy of this novel in return for an honest review **
I didn’t really know what to expect from The Mistake I Made as I’ve never read any of Paula Daly’s novels before and I’d purposefully not read up a lot about it before reading (I’ve been trying to do this with more books recently as I really enjoy reading novels without my own assumptions or expectations). I’d only very quickly scanned the synopsis. I didn’t necessarily expect to enjoy this book as much as I did- which was so much!
The main character Roz certainly made some questionable choices but Daly writes so well that I completely understood her desperation and kind of understood why she did it. Other characters were also really well developed too and the novel certainly provoked strong feelings from me as I read!
You can see where the story is going from a mile off, but I felt like that’s surely the point- readers can guess pretty well which direction Roz’s life is heading from this one mistake. There was still surprise and tension as I didn’t know exactly what was going to come of it, which meant it was really interesting and enjoyable to read, but I could tell things were going to get messy! With some novels like this I just feel frustrated with the characters who make such bad choices, but as I mentioned before, Paula Daly writes very convincingly and I therefore didn’t feel the same annoyance and irritation as I usually do, I just felt really bad for her whilst still warming to her as a character!
The story is really interesting as it prompts you to think how you might react in a similar situation, and how your family and friends would respond to finding out about it, as Roz’s did. The desperation she felt as a mother must ring true for many families sadly and I feel that Paula Daly did a really good job of putting character Roz’s feelings and reasons across without it becoming too preachy either way.
I would definitely recommend this brilliant novel and hope to read more of Paula Daly!
** Many thanks to the publisher who provided a copy of this novel in return for an honest review **