This was our Tsundoku squad read for March and I loved getting to know Rachel.
It’s such an intimate and honest portrayal - I laughed and cringed along with our flawed heroine and felt every emotional part of her journey.
Marian Keyes is a brilliant storyteller and I’m really looking forward to connecting with Rachel again.

This is a book which has captured my interest from the beginning. I love how this is written. It is filled with a mix of characters and has been a book I have been unable to predict.

This is an epic read - a really long story! I was a bit confused as I had thought I was reading "Rachel, Again", the new Marian Keyes' book about this character (easy mistake to make, having not read the original story and with it being read on my Kindle, you don't see the title of the book in the same way as a physical book cover).

This is a story about addiction, from the central character's point of view, from her initial denial, how her actions affect those closest to her, her journey through the help she receives when at rock bottom and out the other side.

At times I did feel it was a bit repetitive, but Rachel was, at heart, a likeable character, and I did care about her. Now I have to read the book I thought I was reading (Rachel, Again) to see what happens next - hopefully this isn't quite so long!!

This was the first Marian Keyes' novel I've read, but it won't be the last.

It's easy to see why Rachel's Holiday is still so widely loved, 25 years after its first publication - it is impossible not to fall in love with the fun, flawed and hilarious Rachel as we follow her journey through addiction and rehabilitation. Though there's moments of heartbreak, this is such a fun and uplifting read that leaves you wanting more, making it difficult to put down - I for one can't wait to pick up Again, Rachel, to see how our girl is getting on! Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I love Marian Keyes! Rachel's Holiday is a stand out amongst her books and I'm eagerly anticipation the sequel - Again, Rachel.
5 stars.

I have always loved Marian Keyes and it's great to be reunited with them.

This focuses on Rachel and her trip into rehab and how her close knit family suport her throughout.

Rachel thinks that her stay in the cloisters will be full of celebraties but she's very much mistaken.

A sensitive topic handled well with the mix of humor thrown in too.

What a treat to re-read this before the sequel. It has aged so well, and if anything, I think I enjoyed it this time around, in my 40s rather than my 20s. Like all Marian's books it is laugh out loud funny, while also being touching and real. I can't wait to read Again, Rachel and catch up with Rachel, the rest of the Walsh family, and of course lovely Luke!
Thanks to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for this e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel is twenty-seven, living in New York and although she knows how to have fun, she doesn’t have a drug problem. Too bad her roommate, boyfriend and family don’t agree. After a particularly bad stint Rachel is shipped home to Ireland and into an addiction treatment facility, ‘The Cloisters’. Rachel isn’t too worried though. She’s desperate for a holiday, and she might even make friends with a celebrity or two.

Rachel’s Holiday is the ‘Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling’ of it’s day and although it was originally published over twenty-five years ago it has aged well. It’s a light, funny read, while also tackling some serious subjects. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Rachel has been up to when I get my hands on ‘Again, Rachel’.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really like Rachel she is a fun bubbly out going woman but she has hit rock bottom and there is no where else to go.
You feel a bit sorry for her the wild parties are just disguising the truth. Rehab is going to be a blast......... Or it will make Rachel confront the fact she is at rock bottom and her life is not what it really seems.

I was so disappointed when I started in to read this. I adore Marian’s writing, full of humour but able to deal with very difficult subjects in an engaging and entertaining way without minimising their impact and import. But.....I’d read this one ages ago. Well ok, it says a lot that I got hooked into a partial reread. Marian really does deal with Rachel’s addiction and delusion issues very well and with tremendous clever humour to make the dark reality bearable and see a light at the end of the tunnel. Rachel’s family are just brilliant. All very different and the bonds are there. Rachel’s flaws and blind spots are not glossed over yet Marian writes in such a way that Rachel’s authenticity endears her to the reader.
Still a great four star read

I first read and loved this book 20 years ago. I totally credit Marian for getting me back into reading after a brief hiatus of only reading text books for my degree. I totally love the Walsh family and Marian's style of writing brilliantly combines hilarity and compassion. I re read it in advance of the sequel Again, Rachel publishing and I couldn't recommend the two books more highly.

I loved this one as much as I loved it the first time I read it, if not more…. Can’t wait to get my hands on Rachel again next!
Meet Rachel Walsh.


She's been living it up in New York City, spending her nights talking her way into glamorous parties before heading home in the early hours to her adoring boyfriend, Luke.


But her sensible older sister showing up and sending her off to actual rehab wasn't quite part of her plan.
She's only agreed to her incarceration because she's heard that rehab is wall-to-wall jacuzzis, spa treatments and celebrities going cold turkey - plus it's about time she had a holiday.


Saying goodbye to fun and freedom will be hard - and losing the man who might just be the love of her life will be even harder.


But will hitting rock bottom help Rachel learn to love herself, at last?

Absolutely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rachel’s Holiday is as fabulous as ever, one of my all time favourite books. Every word jumps off the page, it’s a masterpiece that charts Rachel’s journey out of addiction with huge humour, sadness, tragedy and major insight. Sex, drugs and rehab lols make it a modern classic. Marian is a treasure.

Meet Rachel Walsh. With a great fondness for recreational drugs and a relationship in tatters, she finds herself in the Cloisters – Dublin’s answer to the Betty Ford Clinic. She’s only agreed to her incarceration, paid for by the hard earned cash of her not so very rich family, because she’s heard that rehab is like a fancy spa. However, she very quickly discovers that Cloisters are very far indeed from the Hollywood retreats of this kind and that she will have to terms with this enforced 'holiday'.

With her usual verve and comedic talent this a Marian Keyes classic and worth rereading again and again - tackling the very serious issue of drug addiction, she really knuckles down on why we turn to drugs and oblivion and how addiction leads to denial.

Go read this before the sequel comes out. And wile you're at it, the other Walsh sisters are superb too - not to mention Mammy Walsh.

What a treat to read this 25 years after its original publication. I was too young first time round and have always wanted to read this but never did. I am pleased I finally did, this is a very enjoyable read that focuses on serious subjects. I enjoyed other authors writing about the impact of this book on them as well. I cannot wait to read Again, Rachel.

Simply glorious read which has stood the test of time from one fo the world's best female authors. The warmth, humour and witticisms have been sorely missed! Keyes is at her best in this particular offering. Rachel has been overdoing it in New York, her best friend sees it, her on/off boyfriend knows it and that's why she ends up in rehab in a clinic back in her home country of Ireland. We learn through flashbacks the series of events in her work and home life that led her to taking too many drugs and to own up to being a drug addict. This is a tender, funny and honestly look at how easily someone's life can fall off the rails. Bravo Marian - am looking forward to the follow up.

This was my first read of a Marian Keyes book. After seeing the hype when Again, Rachel was announced I knew I had to jump aboard the bandwagon. And I did not regret it. I can't believe I haven't read about the Walsh Family before now.
Rachel's Holiday was an eye opening read on addiction and the effect on not just the addict but family and friends. I ended this book in tears but they were happy tears, it was an emotional read filled with wonder humour and characters. I can't wait to get my hands on Again, Rachel, I have it pre-ordered so I am just counting down the days to see where Rachel is now in her life.

Rachel's Holiday gets a refresh 25 years after it’s original publication and it’s still as good on my reread.
Our protagonist Rachel has a near-death experience after overdosing on drugs and after an intervention from her loved ones is booked into a famous rehab in Ireland called The Cloisters to deal with her addiction. The book covers her story in the first person going through her recovery and is interspersed with flashback chapters of her previous party lifestyle and the impact she was having on those closest to her. Despite the reckless behaviours that she displays as a result of her addiction I really liked Rachel and was rooting for her throughout. You go through all the stages of recovery with her starting with complete denial of her issues, then becoming aware of her issue and then her road to recovery.

I first read this when it was first published and loved it then and I must say the reread was equally enjoyable. This is without a doubt my favourite Marian Keyes book and I’m so excited to read Again, Rachel and find out what happened her in the intervening years!

Really enjoyed re-reading Rachel’s Holiday & the introduction with all the praise for it. So looking forward to the next book.

I loved this book when I first read it about 15 years ago so I was excited for an excuse to revisit it. Unfortunately, I just didn’t love it as much as the first time round. Maybe it just feels a bit dated now and a bit too long. The jokes didn’t feel as funny and all the wit and laugh out loud humour I got from my first read just seemed to be missing.