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.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue.

A lovely story full of friendship, love, and the trials of young adulthood.

I loved this book. It was a quick, enjoyable read with complicated, likable characters and a wonderful ending!

I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to Caroline O’Donoghue, NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

A masterful book in the vein of Sally Rooney. Tasteful. Emotional. Ending a bit conventional but great queer rep

This book is told from the perspective of main character Rachel, now in her early 30s, recounting her last year of university in Cork, Ireland and her first year or so after. It was a tumultuous time for her, with an intense fast friendship with the closeted James, and romantic drama for both of them, along with both trying to figure out life.

I never was an aimless 20something, so sometimes this type of book does not click with me, and plus I was made nervous by comparisons to Sally Rooney since I didn’t like Normal People, so I was a little wary going into this book. Well, to my surprise, I absolutely loved it! Rachel and James are both kind of messes, but they are also so loveable and their friendship is just portrayed in such a wonderful way. Plus, the framing of her telling the story from the perspective of a decade later both acknowledges her immaturity and bad decisions, as well as lends the whole thing a lovely feeling of nostalgia, especially towards the end. So glad I finally picked this up!

4.25 stars

We first encounter Rachel years later, when she is married, pregnant and a journalist (finally using that college degree). She's come across an article mentioning that Fred has fallen into a coma and it takes Rachel straight back to the past, to the time when she first met James while working in a bookstore together. At six-foot tall, bookish, and adrift, Rachel was easy prey for James, who all but bullied his way into her life. Soon the two were living together, becoming the best of friends. "Running riot" is a good description of the lives they were living; "bohemian existence" is putting it nicely.

Everything is going swimmingly, despite them struggling to make ends meet. When James comes to the reality that he's gay, they both embrace it. But when James and Fred hook up, it changes things. Yes, Fred brings them bottles of wine, flowers, and fancy foods. But it's hard for Rachel to see Fred, her literature professor, as her best friend's lover. Until, in desperation, she realizes she can use the situation to her own advantage. Soon Fred has found her a position as his wife's intern, a position which pays poorly but gives Rachel an emotional life and a new friend.

Meanwhile Rachel has found herself a boyfriend, a young man who is more than a little listless and unreliable. When he has to go home to care for his mother, Rachel discovers that she's pregnant. Through a misunderstanding and other circumstances, Rachel finds her relationship with Fred's wife at an end, her relationship with James tested, and herself a pariah in the community.

O'Donoghue manages to create a book that starts out very much playing for laughs but the humor gets darker as life gets harder and harder for Rachel. Ireland in an economic collapse means Rachel's only hope for a job is in a call center, her parents' dental practice is going under, and her boyfriend can't be relied on to help. O'Donoghue tackles a lot in this one - sexuality, sexual identity, infidelity, economic crisis, unwanted pregnancy and the difficulty in finding medical help, parent/child relationships, friendships, morality. Rachel isn't always a sympathetic character, but I couldn't help but care for her, especially as the adults around her kept letting her down. I was glad that O'Donoghue circled back to the beginning of the book and gave readers (and Rachel) some closure and hope.

The writing reminded me of sally rooney. The plot was interesting and overall I enjoyed the book.I wish I could do justice to this book but I read it while I was the verge of a book slump, one day I will come back to read it again.

This was a very cute and fun story about friendship and love in Ireland. I would definitely recommend this novel.

5/5 stars. One of my top three books of 2023. In someone else’s hands, this book might have been chaotic and long-winded, but it was perfectly unstable and warm. Even the characters I wanted to hate were infused with humanity. Great job! And thank you to #netgalley for this delightful ARC.

I really wanted to like this one, but I ended up DNFing it about halfway through. I just didn't care about the characters or what happened. Maybe it was poor timing when I tried to read it. I may end up picking it up again at a later date, but I may not.

I'll be honest, I originally downloaded The Rachel Incident from NetGalley over a YEAR ago and only finally just got around to reading it when I picked it up during Target's holiday book sale.... And I'm mad at myself for waiting this long.
The Rachel Incident is somehow about very little and everything at the same time. I didn't realize it until the end, but the book takes place just over the course of a year.
Rachel is in her final year of college and meets James at a her job at a bookshop. They become best friends and move in together and somehow their lives become tangled with one of Rachel's professors.
This book definitely does not take the turn you think it will— it's not a dark story about an inappropriate student-teacher affair. What it is, is a story about a 21 year old who is a little selfish and a lot insecure.
I saw so much of myself in Rachel, but especially in her relationships with people. I related to her simultaneous tendencies to be very open and yet closed off from people she loves. The writing was beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking and sometimes LOL hilarious.
I don't know if this book is for everyone, necessarily, but I would definitely recommend it if you like Sally Rooney or like reading about humans being humans (especially when they live in Europe).

I think this may be one of my favourite reads to date. The effortless storytelling from the main character was impeccable. Looking back on your teenage and early twenties as a series of mistakes instead of the best years of your life was something it took a little time to wrap my head around but certain parts struck home - the dingy house share felt like a right of passage in a way. I loved this and will look forward to anything else Caroline O'Donoghue publishes next!

Absolutely loved this book! Such a well-written, captivating story about friendship, adulthood, and love. One of my favorite books of 2023 — can’t wait to read more from this author.

Coming out story through the eyes of a cis straight woman. I think I came into this with the wrong expectations.