This was such a great read, throroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Caroline O'Donoghue has a writing style that keeps you hooked. It's mainly a character story but the web of a twist does build up as you make your way through the book. Rachel is a complicated person but facinating to read about. Her various relationships with people are messy and intense, much like herself. Have to say I wouldn't categorise it as a romance exactly but it's definitely about all of those different dynamics. Will be recommending to friends.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!
It’s my all time favourite book of 2023 and have already been handselling it in my store.

I adored the Rachel and the story resonated with me a lot, especially as an English Graduate trying to find her way in her early 20s. Originally, from the blurb, I never expected the affair to not include the main character. It was so interesting to see Rachel on the sidelines as she watches it unfold.

The ending was incredibly satisfying and I plan on rereading the title again soon.

'With deep affection & recollection, I often think of the Shandon bells'

When I saw this book was set on Shandon Street, the very same street where I spent most of my childhood & proudly called home, I knew I had to read it! The story follows Rachel Murray, her housemate, James Devlin & her boyfriend, James Carey as they navigate their final years in college. The Rachel Incident is a messy yet tender portrayal of what it means to find yourself as an adult & those vital friendships which make it all just about bearable.

We get to be a fly on the wall of that damp & cold house as their whole lives begin to implode as they all collide with the worlds of Dr Byrne & his wife Deenie. What follows is an entangled mesh of drama & heartache which will haunt each of our protagonists long into their lives, far after the dust settles.

What I found made TRI so special was the absolutely exquisite writing. There are so many depths & layers to the story & how she tells it that kept me questioning whether this was a coming of age memoir or indeed a fantastic piece of fiction.

The book is also bursting with so many nostalgic pop-culture moments such as The Late Late Toy Show, the demise of The Celtic Tiger, Will and Grace & the mountain of Cork references that it almost felt like sitting down with a friend at the end of a night out in your pj’s, curled up on the couch swapping the sca over two steaming cups of tea. And I think anyone who is also from Cork will happily admit that Caroline captured the unique essence, quirky idioms, playfully sarcastic nature of all Corkonians along with the genuine warmth that just oozes from the city.

Caroline has a unique talent of writing morally questionable & some may argue unlikeable characters that somehow feel like your very best friend who you want to pull close to your heart & protect from their very silly & often infuriating mistakes. While not necessarily an easy read as subjects such as reproductive rights, sexuality & infidelity are dealt with, it still somehow manages to remain a complete comfort of a book that I never wanted to end.

Set in Cork during the recession years in Ireland, this coming of age story beautifully captures the awkward awfulness of university life. That desperate desire to be cool and interesting and worldly, combined with utter cluelessness and idiocy. Caroline O'Donoghue brilliantly, and realistically, captures Rachel's journey into adulthood by skilfully jumping from past to present and tacking issues such as access to abortion in a pre-referendum Ireland with a delicate and empathetic touch . It's a book that once you start it, you'll just want to keep going until the end - truly unputdownable and highly recommended!

Although it was not as a banger of a book as I thought it would be, O'Donoghue's "The Rachel Incident" definitely was an interesting read.

An honest and thought-provoking story that felt very biographical in the way it was written. I felt as though I got to really know Rachel and although I didn't always agree with her actions, I understood her. I really enjoyed the way the story unraveled with details gradually revealed. This book falls into what I would describe as my favourite books to read - a female protagonist just trying to work out what is going on and what there life should be. The relationships were depicted beautifully and honestly, while the twists were realistic. She covered a lot of serious topics in a way that blended into the overall story as well. Would definitely recommend and am excited to read Caroline O'Donoghue's next work.

I actually can’t get over his omg I’m literally obsessed! There’s so much hype around this and it’s 100% deserved omg

Caroline O’Donoghue has written yet another outstanding novel!!

I find her writing to be so incredibly relatable (despite not being Irish) and so readable - I powered through this in less than 24 hours. Her stories are unique, funny, heartbreaking, and generally a perfect read for women in their 20s/30s.

*4.5 Stars*

Rachel goes back to the beginning of her adult life and tells her everything that happened that led to this moment.
And that's all I'm gonna tell you about this cause I knew even less and that made it so good.

I really enjoyed this book by Caroline O'Donoghue, it was the first adult book of hers I've read. I ended up listening to it on audio and I really like the narrator.
I really enjoyed that it was told through Rachel's memories like we knew where she was at now but not the details and how they all got there. The characters were all so captivating and flawed, like truly flawed but that made them all the more interesting to me. At the heart of this book, was mostly a friendship and it was a bit dysfunctional sometimes but that made it feel so real to me.
Basically, I really liked this book, it had a concept I had never read before and I found it enthralling from beginning to end.

4.5 stars
I absolutely loved it. Tore through it during a long car ride in Europe, ignoring gorgeous scenery for Rachel and James (and Carey).

I've been a fan of O'Donoghue's podcast work but this is the first novel of hers I've read.

O'Donoghue's voice is just arch enough but so warm and self deprecating. The device of the present Rachel writing back to her younger self works so well, with all the pathos and humiliation entailed in being in your thirties and thinking about your early twenties.

In terms of plot, I liked the arcing of it, how it was both seismic and small; how it really is about that short span of time at the start of adulthood. I was delighted when a character returned in the final act of the book, surprisingly thrilled and, crucially, so happy they'd settled into themselves - like an old friend. I also loved the ways it talks about class, about expectation, about selfishness and about care.

The way O'Donoghue writes about love, about the messiness of being young and vulnerably full of desire is so spot on. The romance in this novel is just gorgeous, whether its the consuming romance of best friends, or Rachel and Carey getting swept up in each other. Maybe I was just in the right, soft sort of place but I was genuinely very moved in places, especially in the way that friendship has to shift to accommodate change. As a friend with Successful Friends, I have felt as Rachel does and O'Donoghue talks about it with just the right sharpness. Everyone, with perhaps the exception of Deenie (and this feels largely the result of what needs to happen with the plot), felt so clearly realised, so tactile I could run into them at the pub. I loved them all (but probably Carey most of all, but that's probably my soft spot talking.)

Funny, warm, well-crafted; worth missing some great views for.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Knopf and Caroline O'Donoghue for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. It's available now as of June 27, 2023!

Navigating financial struggles and the messy transition into adulthood, this book is bursting with joy, humour, shame and friendship. I'm going to say this is a must read for 20 somethings. I'm teetering on it, but not fully there. Perhaps this is why for the majority of the book i felt a little detached from the characters. However, I will no doubt return to this book when i'm sweating, shaking with diploma in hand and wondering if i'm the only person in the world terrified of the next chapter in my life.

Despite not relating to Rachel and a plot deficit, the writing alone merits 3 stars.

Well written story about a college student during the condominium recession. The story touched upon many difficult topics from same sex relationships to abortions and miscarriages. There is a lot of detail given in some of the scenes and situations in the book. I really loved the friendship between Rachel and James.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy.

I was really excited to read this book, but sadly I didn't gel with it like I was hoping to! This is the third of Caroline O'Donoghue's novels that I've read, and I haven't fully got on with any of them – maybe I'm never going to like her writing as much as I like her podcast, but I am going to keep trying. The Rachel Incident follows Rachel and James, best friends in their early twenties living together in Cork in 2009 and 2010. I enjoyed it on the whole and found some bits pretty compelling and thought it was the best of Caroline O'Donoghue's adult novels. The actual defining incident of the book is probably the best bit, and there were lots of little witty bits sprinkled through this book – my favourite is the reference to an Icelandic geysir as being like SeaWorld for people who read The New York Times on their phone.

Some things personally did not appeal to me – the constant reminders of how small one character was, the way the narrator sniped at how romantic relationships in your early twenties aren't really 'real'. Rachel was also constantly called Rache which is a spelling I have literally never come across as a fellow Rachel – is this an Irish thing? I tried to google it and found nothing? But my main complaint is that a lot of James and Rachel's fun personally felt to me like stories you really had to be there for, and are momentous only to you and to no one else. I guess I just didn't really 'get' this book in the way that it was supposed to be appreciated, which is a shame, especially as I'd been so excited to read it, but oh well. 3.5 stars

The Rachel Incident - Caroline O'Donoghoe

This is my first book by this author and I'm obsessed. Straight on to Promising Young Women on audible after I finished this.

Rachel is a student in UCC, working a part time job in a bookshop when she meets James Devlin. The two soon become bffs and flatmates. Rachel develops a crush on her lecturer Dr Fred Byrne. Rachel and James devise a plan to set up a book launch for Fred's book in the bookshop they work in. However Fred doesn't heed Rachel's advances, he has his eyes set on someone else. What unfolds is a story of deceit, unrequited love and friendship all laced with humour throughout.

This is definitely a contender for my favourite book so far this year. I literally dragged the arse out of it as I didn't want to finish it 😂

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh how I love The Rachel Incident! I absolutely click with the way Caroline O’Donoghue writes – I find her tone so relatable, insightful and funny. I laughed so many times and was hit with waves of nostalgia for that life moment lots of us went through when we have unsuitable crushes, intense friendships and are trying to figure out what to do, in general.

Set in Cork, Ireland, in the 2010s, Caroline has said this book takes inspiration from her life and friendships. This is probably why all the characters feel so real and rounded.

Rachel meets James when they both work in a book shop. They soon move in together and form an intense friendship. Rachel also goes to Cork University where she falls for her lecturer, Dr Fred Byrne. He is older and married but that doesn’t stop her feelings. Turns out, she’s not the only one with feelings and the situation develops… James is gay but not out, initially, so there is a really interesting dynamic to the plot.

This is a story of the moments that feel so huge – at those certain times in life – when it comes to love and friendship. With lots of added pop culture references, so many witty lines and secrets that bubble to the surface, this is such an addictive read.

So yes, you must add The Rachel Incident to your TBR list, it’s the perfect blend of emotion, awkwardness and laughter. Like great friendship, really.

I’m a huge fan of Caroline O’Donoghue’s fantastic podcast Sentimental Garbage and so I was thrilled when NetGalley sent me an advance copy of her latest novel in exchange for a review. As I’d hate to have to say anything less than complimentary about someone so cool, I’m thrilled to say that it fully fulfilled my high expectations and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The Rachel Incident is set in Cork in the late 2000s as Ireland is reeling off the back of a recession and employment is scarce. Our protagonist, Rachel, has just moved in with her brilliant, charismatic and closeted co-worker and the two of them tear up the Cork nightlife as they embrace an artsy and bohemian lifestyle. But when their lives become increasingly entangled with the life of Rachel’s married English professor, Dr Byrne, things begin to spiral out of control very quickly. I love how this novel captures the rush of mad, passionate and all-encompassing friendship, the glories and horrors of being an absolute mess in your twenties and the claustrophobic nature of growing up in a country where everyone seems to know everyone else and therefore your mistakes can haunt you for years to come.

I loved every moment of this one. This is the second book I’ve read by Caroline O’Donoghue and I’ve got to say that I would now pick up anything with her name on it. I love her writting style and the characters are so relatable, I thoroughly enjoyed following Rachel and James through their lives with many ups and downs and the sort of student life dramas that we go through. A real page turner, couldn’t put it down!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely devoured The Rachel Incident! Prose is sharp and witty, plot is pacy and characters so flawed that you have to love them. Conjures up the feeling of relationships so well. And of course lots to say on the very important topic of abortion being healthcare. Amazing book, will recommend to all my pals.

I ADORED this book! Caroline has done it again. A beautiful platonic rom-com set in Ireland during the recession. I was so sad to finish it.

The Rachel Incident is one of my standout reads of 2023. Caroline O,Donoghue has captured the mess and chaos of independent adolescent life as the two main characters, Rachel and James, navigate their entry into the adult world, and face the consequences of their actions. Highly recommended.