A story of young, uncomplicated love as it grows and turns into adult, messy love, if that makes sense! An enjoyable and tumultuous read.

“The Rachel Incident” is the first adult novel by Caroline O’Donoghue that has been published in the United States, but I do not understand why. This book has all of the attributes of a great book: the characters are deep and deeply flawed. Ms. O’Donoghue’s writing is excellent, and the plot is interesting, different, and very timely.

I am reviewing this book VOLUNTARILY. I was given an advanced reader’s copy, and I very much enjoyed reading it. As in any good book, the plot contains twists and turns, and several of them made me cringe. There are many scenes where the characters find themselves in awkward situations, scenes where people don’t allow themselves to speak their truths, and scenes of misunderstandings and miscommunication. All of these scenes, however, reflect normal parts of life. Fortunately, the book has a happy ending. I am not disclosing any secrets here, since we learn from the beginning that the main protagonist is happily married, pregnant and employed and that her best friend is widely famous and content and that most of the book is a reflection on the past.

Since the book’s publication in June, it has received many well-deserved accolades, including being named a Best Book of the Year by Time, NPR, and LitHub. It’s a book a highly recommend, but I suspect it will appeal much more to women than to men. I look forward to reading more fiction from this terrific author.

such a fun book! irish literature is such a great genre (?). i cannot wait to see what else caroline o'donoghue writes

I was so surprised by this novel - I felt like the description didn’t do it justice. I adored it, and I have recommended it to several of my friends. Definitely recommend to anybody who enjoys Sally Rooney.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I tried with this book several times and it just wasn’t for me. I always feel guilty when I am gifted something to read for free (thank you NetGalley!) and I don’t enjoy it. I ended up skimming just to see if it would pick up later, and I would like it more, but didn’t happen. It just moved too slowly for me and I felt like there were a lot of “fillers”; for example the number of times Rachel’s height is mentioned. I’m not sure what that actually adds to the plot or why I need to be reminded of it repeatedly. I do think perhaps I misunderstood what the book was going to be about, my fault not the author’s. I was hoping for more My Dark Vanessa vibes… So if you go into it knowing it’s more of 20s coming of age (a very slowly developing coming of age) novel, this may very well work for you. And it is set in Ireland, which is always a plus. I should also know that I am very much a mood reader, so perhaps I will revisit this at some point.

A coming of age story set in Cork, Ireland where college student Rachel spends her time working at the local bookstore and crushing on her English professor. She and co-worker/bestie James devise a plan to get the professor's attention but things don't go as planned and it sets off a year of friendships, love, betrayals, secrets, and other 20-something adventures -- all told to us by Rachel some 10 years after that eventful year. I had a hard time getting into this book at first because I am the type of reader who generally needs to like the main characters and I didn't particularly like Rachel at first.... I was trying to decide if it was her, or maybe at something I just don't like self-centered 20-year olds. But the story grew on me and I finished the book in two days.... wanting to see what the title incident would be and how it would resolve. I could definitely see this novel being made into a movie. I also think it would make a good book club book as it touches on many issues that would make for good discussion.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Rachel Incident really captures a place (cork ireland) & time (2010's) but also a time in a young person's life & what it feels like; first platonic love, first romantic love, financial struggles, fecking about, it's all here.

all this is presented in a well-paced, humorously crafted narrative, peopled with very specific characters that are all likable (which is a change of pace) & less so, depending on the situation, just like life.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but I really enjoyed it. I loved the characters and following their friendship, and was really rooting for them.

The Rachel Incident wasn't quite what I expected. Definitely not in a bad way. I'm pretty sure I finished the book in about 2 days. Granted, it's under 300 pages, but the story was so immersive, despite its not being in my usual genre.

I'm not sure I could classify The Rachel Incident into a specific genre. If I had to choose, I'd probably go generic and say "Women's Fiction."

Rachel was such a fun character, and while the book gave me "Will & Grace" vibes, it eliminated most of the stereotypes that I hated so much about that tv show. You still had the straight girl and gay guy are best friends and live together, but it was different.

I definitely recommend The Rachel Incident, especially if you love stories about every day humans, living their everyday lives.

I think I went into this book with slightly skewed expectations from the synopsis. I thought that this story would contain a bit more intrigue or even thriller elements. That was not the case. This was a slow paced story about infidelity, friendship, selfishness, miscommunication, and self discovery.

I enjoyed certain aspects of the story. I appreciated how the characters were flawed but also cared about each other. However, I found it hard to like the main characters because of how selfish they both were. I was glad to see that Rachel’s character seemed to grow up as the story continued but it was hard to get to that point.

The writing was great. I liked some of the life observations that the author made through these characters. I thought that the details of the plot were well thought. I just struggled with the execution. It may be a more of a me problem though. So, if you’re interested in the synopsis, it might work better for you. I would be interested to see what else O’Donoghue comes out with next.

I was super excited to read this book because several people I trust with book recommendations raved about it, but for me it was just meh. This is about Rachel, and is kind of a reflection of a year in her life in her very early 20s. It was very hard to connect with any of the struggles she was having or the relationships she built for herself, which I think was part of the problem for me. The whole book just had this sort of sad, pessimistic feel to it, and I just wanted something good and happy to happen. Eventually, she did find happiness in her life, but the struggle seemed unending and somewhat preventable. I felt like the characters were immature and selfish and generally made bad choices that I didn't understand.

I'm beginning to realize how much I enjoy books by Irish authors or based on Irish characters. I really enjoyed the writing and the pacing was great! Highly recommend.

Did I have any idea what the story would be?
No

Did this remind me of being young, and sort of dumb?
Yep

Did I enjoy the book?
100%

This is def young adult and I went into it from the POV of a 17 year old girl, even though its been years since I've been one.
I know a few people did like Rachel, but I did. I really did. She did do a lot of stupid stuff (but come on, who hasn't)

This brought me back to my youth and enjoyed it.

The Rachel Incident follows Rachel and her new bestie, James, as they traverse the ins and outs of young adulthood. The two make good and bad decisions, as we all do. Certain things have consequences and I enjoyed the circuitous route the two took together to overcome them. I didn’t necessarily love everything Rachel and James did, but I remember being young and stupid too. It’s hard being a young adult and those hard, life lessons are well-earned.

Without giving away spoilers, one particular consequence comes later on and I felt like this book addressed that topic in such an excellent way. It’s one of those times where you wish you could give this book to someone to change their minds about “things”…and if you read this book you’ll feel that way too! 🤨

This book was totally messy with messy people, but I also totally enjoyed the ride. Definitely recommend!

I went into this book completely blind and I will tell you this now, there is almost no plot. Just. Vibes. Which isn't bad, but I think that with the type of characters, it could have had more of a plot to it.
For what it is, I did relatively enjoy it. It is about young adults in their early twenties finding their way in the world.
I don't personally have anyone in my life that I would recommend this book to, but if you are looking for a book with the things described above and gives the same energy as Salley Rooney, then this book might be for you!
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

It’s a slow burn with a great ending. The characters are so flawed that I wish I had loved them earlier- it took me a while to care, but once I did, I really cared. I liked it- but I would have loved it if that had happened a bit earlier.
3.5 stars

Goodreads: we really need half stars.

I consumed this book in under 12 hours, there is something about it that just makes it so difficult to put down. It explores themes of growing up and the shift that occurs in your early 20s whether that be change in job relationships or location! in It was a brilliant read for someone like me in their early 20s just figuring things out. Again being Irish and being able to pinpoint the places referenced in Cork only made me feel more intimately connected with this book. I have recommended to my friends and will continue to!!

Rachel and James are friends and roommates, young and carefree in Cork. This is the story of the year they became entangled with a professor and his wife and things got complicated. Rachel is looking back on this year, reflecting on the messy business of navigating early-20s poverty, finding their identities, and pursuing art and relationships.

I’m always up for an Irish setting, and the wonderful Cork voices are particularly strong in this novel, even in print. This had some shades of Sally Rooney, but with a lighter, funnier tone. The characters are frustrating and often annoying, but they also ring true in their messiness (and it’s tempered by Rachel’s older and wiser voice from the future). I didn’t love this as much as many readers, but there’s a fresh tone here that I appreciated.

Rachel and James are students working in a bookshop in Cork, Ireland. When Rachel reveals a crush on her married professor, James schedules a reading for his new book so she seduce him. But things don’t go according to plan in unexpected ways. Hmm. This was a bit overhyped and I may be harder on it because I expected so much more than it delivered 🙃 The 3 central characters are basically in a competition to be the absolute worst people they can be. While it seems many people enjoyed this I think, for me, the specific actions of these characters left little to no room for relatability, sympathy, or redemption. Fine, but not special.