Loved the characters, the story, the writing - I just wanted to jump into their world and be their friend, on the messy and the good days. Was sad to finish it and thoroughly recommend.

Caroline O'Donoghue's "The Rachel Incident" is a novel that perfectly encapsulates the experience of being a young adult. The plot centres on Rachel Murray, a college student at UCC in the 2010s, as she deals with the challenges of friendship, love, and an uncertain future. O'Donoghue's story has the kind of genuine detail that can only come from first-hand experience. Having been in college at a similar time, I can attest to the novel's ability to transport readers there. The academic buildings, the busy streets of Cork, and the college pubs and nightclubs all bring back great and bittersweet memories.

The novel's strongest point is its characters, especially the connection between Rachel and her coworker James. Their instant chemistry and inseparable friendship remind me of how, after leaving home, you are more receptive than ever to trying new things and growing as a person. It would be difficult for readers not to identify with the protagonists and root for them as they strive for independence. Their relationship's highs and lows capture the emotional roller coaster of adolescence beautifully. While delving into the darker, more complex aspects of human relationships, O'Donoghue's prose is sharp, funny, and full of the kind of humour that makes you laugh out loud. The book is a five-star read that will appeal to anyone who has experienced the upheaval and exhilaration of the self-discovery adventure that is college and the years after. It's a book that, like the stories of our own carefree youth, won't leave you once you've finished reading it.

I only requested this book because I remembered seeing the author’s other book Promising Young Women on the shelves at work. I’m so glad I did because The Rachel Incident has become one of my favourite reads of the year so far. I adored Rachel and I found her borderline co-dependent friendship with James to be scarily reminiscent of connections I had at that age. A twist on the tired ‘young female student has an affair with an older male lecturer’ plot that has been done to death, The Rachel Incident has a compelling and original plot and is written beautifully with some incisive takes on the book industry, academia and precarity. I highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a very interesting read about friendship, love and everything in between. The plot was very well written, with unique characters. It was a very quirky read.

Perfectly captures the intensity of early adulthood friendship. Witty, wry, moving: Caroline O'Donoghue is annoyingly talented.

This was an unexpected favourite of the year for me. Books primarily about friendships speak directly to my soul as they are the relationships in my life that I’m the most grateful for. Rachel and James’ love for each other felt so real to me, and I adored their dynamic.

Caroline O’Donoghue has such a compelling narrative voice that has the perfect blend of sincerity and humour. The Rachel Incident is a novel I didn’t spend much time with as it was a total binge-read for me, which makes the fact it’s lingered on my mind even more impressive.

This is definitely for the lovers of character-driven stories, and fans of Irish Literature.

I really enjoyed The Rachel Incident. The characters were well developed, and the plot was gripping.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It exceeded my expectations in every way possible. The plot was intriguing, and the pacing was perfectly balanced. It kept me engaged from start to finish, and I found myself unable to put it down.

One of the aspects that I appreciated the most about this book was the depth of the characters. The protagonist, Rachel, was a fantastic lead, and I could identify with her on many levels. Her character development throughout the story was masterfully executed, and it was a pleasure to watch her grow and evolve.

The author, O'Donoghue, is an excellent writer, and it shows in the way that she handles sensitive topics with care and sensitivity. Despite the potentially triggering themes in this book, the author manages to keep the tone realistic without becoming too dark or overwhelming.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre. It is a well-written, thoughtful, and engaging read that is sure to leave a lasting impression. I look forward to reading more books by this talented author in the future.

I have reviewed this book as part of my July Reading Wrap Up https://youtu.be/IM3wpFADf9g

This was a fantastic read. Easily one of my favourite books of the year!

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue - 3/5 stars!

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The blurb of this book says: “The Rachel Incident is an all-consuming love story. But it's not the one you're expecting. It's unconventional and messy. It's young and foolish. It's about losing and finding yourself. But it is always about love.” This is an accurate & enticing hook; this book is about love, it’s messy and frustrating. And importantly, it’s not the story or the narrator that you expect when you begin.

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Rachel & James are best friends in their late teens/early twenties trying to figure things out in Cork. They juggle the angst of simply being alive and trying to survive in the context of the recession, whilst one of them pursues an illicit relationship. The other pursues romance and passion whilst not understanding what love actually means or looks like. This is a thoughtful novel that handles cultural references adeptly whilst also scratching at the surface of these characters and their beautiful friendship. It’s literary fiction at its finest and the plot unfurls slowly through the retrospective lens of an older, wiser (but still a little lost) Rachel.

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The story and the characters are very engaging in this book. You are immediately sucked in to this world which feels very real. The author has a clear understanding of the sort of 2010s zeitgeist whilst also landing the story in a very particular Irish landscape. The main flaw of this book is that it sags slightly in the middle before powering towards an ending that’s perhaps a bit too neat. The first half is so strong but is let down by a weaker second half. Ultimately an engaging, reflective, humorous & poignant read.

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“But in my head I had normalised that it was okay to do bad things to her. Relationships grow in the cradle they are born in.”

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“I felt like an animal that had to take itself somewhere to die...You forget the pain of childbirth. But you forget other kinds of pain, too.”

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Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book group for the advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review (even if my review is coming out post-publication)!

An enjoyable read, well written and entertaining. Hadn't read this author before but would consider reading again.

Rachel fancies her married professor and works at a bookshop whilst studying. Desperate to impress him she books a launch for his new book. Rachel's best friend is gay and still very much in the closet, but when she finds her best friend and professor in the stock room after the event doing things they really shouldn't be she become embroiled in part of their lies, and is trusted to keep their secrets. Times are difficult and Rachel starts working along side the professors wife. Alongside this she has an off/on boyfriend who disappears every time times get hard. Not my usual crime thriller flavoured cup of tea but I saw it hyped and with such a great title I couldn't resist. Nice to read something different.- thoroughly enjoyed this.

I was excited to read this book because I kept seeing people saying how hilarious it was. The subtitle on Amazon is "I didn't know books could be this hilarious." Honestly wondering if the person who said that has ever read another book, because while The Rachel Incident is a fantastic book, I didn't find it hilarious at all.

There are definitely some funny moments and lines in the first half, but then it gets sadder and sadder. (To begin with, I was baulking at the Sally Rooney comparisons too, because The Rachel Incident is much more fun than Normal People - the only one I've read - but then later, as the book got darker, I got it).

Having said that, it is still more fun than Normal People. And much warmer with characters I found myself really caring about. Loved it.

After seeing many 5 star reviews I was pretty sure that I‘d absolutely love this book. Unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me and it was very different from what I expected.

Rachel, a 19-year-old college student, and James, a closeted gay man, meet working in a bookstore in Cork. They bond instantly and soon become roommates and best friends. Then Rachel falls in love with her married professor and James wants to help her seduce him. What follows is a year of drama, misunderstandings, love and heartbreak.

I had a hard time getting into this one tbh. I was way more interested once I hit the 70% mark and I really liked the ending (which felt more like a romance novel than the rest of the book).

It’s definitely a bit on the weirder side with very messy characters. Very slow-paced for the most part and it dragged for me at times. I wanted to read more about the important issues while there was too much talk about unimportant stuff for my taste.

One thing I really liked was that it was written from the pov of someone in their early thirties reflecting on their early twenties. And the writing itself was beautiful - that was definitely the best part. And I really enjoyed the setting in Ireland.

I think this would make a good book club book because it’s very discussabble. It deals with quite a few difficult topics.

All in all…I really enjoyed a few pieces of the story but the book as a whole just did not do enough for me. Considering the huge amount of 5 star reviews, this might be a me-problem and not a book-problem.

I loved this. I was lured in with the idea of a story, but the twist that changed the narrative and made this story completely unique was epic. Caroline O'Donoghue is fast becoming one of my fave authors.

I really enjoyed this book, thought the characters jumped off the page and the scenario was unique, engaging and fresh.

From the moment Rachel meets James at her part-time job in a book shop, she is totally enraptured by him. Together they navigate the twilight days of Rachel's final year of university, living cheerfully in a dilapidated house, using an industrial mayonnaise bucket as a laundry basket, and channeling far more energy into navigating their respective romantic entanglements than either their work or Rachel's degree. However, when the two conspire to put on a book launch for Rachel's English professor - and the object of her affections - it is the beginning of a web of secrets, lies and betrayals which will define their friendship and the rest of their lives.

The Rachel Incident is a delightful, nostalgic story of friendship, love and the uncertainty of coming of age in Ireland during the recession of the late 00s. Rachel, our narrator (think a less nihilistic, introspective Sally Rooney heroine) tells the story of the year she and James lived on Shandon Street, Cork with a warm, witty, self-deprecating tone which had me firmly in her corner even when she is making her most questionable choices. The decision to have Rachel tell the story at a distance of twelve years from when the events transpired is an effective one; it allows her to reflect on these choices with a maturity and perspective that she didn't have at twenty-one.

The cultural context is particularly interesting: Rachel graduates into an Ireland in the depths of recession, and the author explores the impact this had on her career options and on her family. It is not a stretch to say that, were it not for the recession, the events of the novel would likely not have taken place. Another key event examined in the text is the referendum on the repeal of the Eight Amendment in 2018, and the author evokes the shifting attitudes towards abortion in Ireland in both the main events of the story and modern-day Rachel's experiences.

The friendship between James and Rachel is beautifully drawn, and I could really believe how they developed such a strong bond over a relatively short period of time, and how this affected the choices they both made. I cringed at their youthful narcissism but was touched by the way they supported each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

Yes, this is a complete banger. A brilliant read. I would go so far as to say this is my book of the summer, possibly the year! Rachel and her Jameses and their intertwining, hedonistic, funny, relatable lives were just so so good to read about. I wish I could start it again.

I was really looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint.

Firstly, dual timelines - you know I love them!! This one worked really well, explaining Rachel’s teen years. This is leading up to explain why the news she’s received in the current day was such a shock.

The friendship between her and James was written so well, I just adored them. The whole growing up angst, mistakes, naïveté - so relatable.

Set in Ireland in the early years, highlighting the struggles of the recession, being gay/coming out, abortion laws. It was realistic and felt very true of its time.

It’s a relatable, funny and totally bingeable read. Which I absolutely loved and devoured in 24 hours!!

I will just add, I got the audio to do alongside the read and it was soooo good!

This was such an endearing look at friendship and platonic love, and how that is often a greater type of relationship in our lives than romance. Rachel and James' friendship feels so real. They grow up fast and hard, struggle with their lack of prospects, and wrestle with their identities together. I appreciated how O'Donoghue didn't shy away from the complexities of economic hardship and parts of Irish life that massively affect young generations. It's very honest but hilarious. I could really feel myself in these characters.

I like the unconventional nature of their relationships; O'Donoghue points out brilliantly that queer love doesn't always feel steady or safe or reliable when the world so often rejects it. I was really rooting for Rachel and Carey, as the perfect "right person, wrong time" scenario. The pacing of their relationship was just perfect for me.

Importantly, Rachel doesn't throw James or Dr Byrne under the bus, not even when they've nearly ruined her life. She understands the consequences of doing so, even if she has to bare the fallout on her own. But does anyone except Rachel really feel any consequences for their actions? Maybe only Anne. So, a tiny bit of me felt queasy reading about two men screwing over the women they are meant to love the most and... getting away with it? Probably says the most about misogyny than any other element of the novel. Very clever!