I couldn't put The Rachel Incident down. The dynamics between Rachel and the important people in her life were so vivid. I especially loved how these important people matter to her in all sorts of ways - romantically, platonically, aspirationally. And I think it was a brilliant choice to have Rachel, as the narrator, share the story retrospectively, with the benefit of maturity, though still not as a 'complete', fully formed, insecurity-free adult (because who ever achieves that anyway?).

So why wasn't this a five-star read? There was one plot device that completely fell flat for me, and that was Carey having lupus. As someone all too familiar with autoimmune disorders, it felt completely implausible that he would have lupus, yet barely experience any effects from it aside from occasional exhaustion. This isn't to say that you can't have a mild case of lupus - of course you can, especially in its earliest stages - but I genuinely can't imagine how he would have a mild case of lupus *and have an official diagnosis!*

Diagnosis involves hoops upon hoops upon hoops - particularly when it comes to men, since about 9 in every 10 lupus patient is female, and particularly when, like Carey, you have no immediate family members already diagnosed. The average length of time from symptom onset to diagnosis is a whopping 7 years. And because there's a global shortage of rheumatologists (specialists equipped to diagnose and manage lupus; there's no treatment), you have to be highly symptomatic to even warrant an appointment. From there, the slow saga continues, because there's no single "test" for it - there are multiple antibody tests that can point you in one direction or another, but the process is far more akin to putting 3-dimensional puzzle pieces together than checking a box.

Now, my experience is US-centric, so I suppose it's possible that this works radically differently in Ireland (and I should move there immediately). But I think what's likelier is that the author and her editors - like most people - have a really shallow understanding of this disease.

Given what we know of Carey's personality when we first meet him, it strikes me as unbelievable that he would have pushed through this diagnosis process unless it was having a massive, massive impact on his life - which the story makes clear it was not. I feel like other parts of this book, like the experiences of Irish women seeking abortions in England, were so thoughtful and well-researched, and it honestly disappoints me that most readers will assume the lupus element of the story is true to life, too. It seems she used it as a convenient plot device (though truly, I don't see why it was needed at all, it had so little impact!).

I'll hop off my soapbox now. Again, I couldn't put this book down and I think five years ago, I would have unequivocally loved it; I wouldn't have given this a second thought. But it's not five years ago, and in the experience and body I exist in today, I really wish this would have been more carefully considered.

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Rachel Incident is in my opinion a quirky little story. It takes place in Cork, Ireland and tells the story of Rachel and her roommate, James, both in their 20’s who work at a bookstore. The characters are well defined as are Dr. Bryne, Dr. Bryne’s wife and James Carey. The characters all become interconnected. The story takes place in 2010 but Rachel tells it from her perspective a few years later. There is an “incident” and then drama takes over! This is a cute, fun story.

I actually really enjoyed this one, but wanted a bit more in the ending. I really liked reading about Rachel and her schemes. This would be a great bookclub pick, since there is plenty to discuss and I feel like people will have differing opinions about the main characters.

This is a really wonderful book that reminds me of Dolly Alderton’s Ghosts crossed with The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride. It’s a messy millennial coming of age story set in Cork featuring Rachel, a student finishing her English Literature degree and struggling to find her way towards adulthood.

Whilst working in a bookshop to finance her degree, Rachel meets James. James is funny, outrageous and magnetic and they quickly become inseparable and move in together. In typical student fashion they develop a bohemian lifestyle, living paycheck to paycheck and partying hard on cheap wine. When Rachel develops a crush on her older married English Professor, it is actually James who ends up sleeping with him and embroiled in a passionate affair and Rachel ends up working for his wife.

The fallout from this twisty knot is extremely satisfying. O’Donoghue’s voice is warm, wry and incisive. The real strength of the book relies on her ability to craft immensely flawed characters that lift off the page and you can’t help falling in love with. Rachel is selfish, self-absorbed, scrappy and takes advantage of the situations presented to her in a remarkably callous way but it is testament to the writing that she is never wholly unlikeable. She makes mistakes but there is also a sense that the socio-political background of late 00s/early 2010s Ireland is also somehow also conspiring in these mistakes.

There are a lot of ‘messy-millennial- women’ stories out there at the moment and although this novel shares many similar tropes, the plotting and interplay between all the characters is genuinely gripping. Although the character of Rachel is deliberately self-absorbed, the book doesn’t feel self-indulgent as some others in the same genre do. I think a lot of readers will relate to so many elements of this book – a nostalgia for the student-scraping-by years, the terrible youthful mistakes, the joy of sharing everything with a best friend, the dreams (but lack of resources to reach your dreams!)

I very much enjoyed reading this and look forward to whatever Caroline O’Donoghue writes next!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy to review.

Sometimes when I get review copies the editors will put in a preface for the reviewers raving about how much they love the book. My experience then is that I don’t love the book. When I opened this one up and saw the editor’s glowing comments, I inwardly sighed. However, this time I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was as good as advertised.

Rachel is in her early 20’s and lives in Cork, Ireland. It’s 2010 and she’s just about to finish college with a degree in English Literature. She’s working in a bookstore to put herself through school and living at home with her parents. A seasonal employee, named James, joins the staff. James is about the same age but didn’t attend college. He’s been working in retail since finishing high school. They become friends and decide to be roommates. It’s a dizzying time for both with this new intense friendship, working together, and being adults on their own for the first time.

What I liked immensely about this is that it’s written several years in the future by Rachel. She’s looking back and has some perspective. Those reflections add depth and relatability to the story. If it were just 20 somethings partying and being selfish I think it would have been off putting. This has a lot of layers and leaves room for thought.

This would be a good book club selection. It’s a fast, easy read with lots to think and chat about.

Thanks to @netgalley and @aaknopf for an advanced copy of this book. It will be released on 6/27/23.

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An intelligent novel about a woman not ready for the adult world but the imagination to believe that everything will eventually work itself out.

Rachel is a college student and bookstore clerk who, in the typical rom-com fashion, just so happens to fall in love with her married professor. With a planned setup and seduction, as in her favorite movie, things don’t turn out as expected. With her homosexual roommate falling for and eventually having an affair with this professor, it’s all she can handle when she decides to use this information to get ahead in the professional world. Blackmailing her professor in exchange for a job with his wife, Rachel begins to see how others live and survive in this cutthroat world as an adult.

I sensed that Rachel wasn’t ready to give up her carefree college existence and seemed to be clinging to the last vestiges of her youth. Even though she wanted an important job and friends, she seemed stuck in a pattern doomed to repeat.

I’m so glad I didn’t pass this one up, and I highly recommend it. It was such a pleasure to read.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel is the main character in this novel, with a gay roommate who is in love with one of her married professors. She gets caught up in the affair -- the "incident" in the title -- and drama ensues. I liked the characters and their quandaries, because the professor's wife thinks he is having an affair with Rachel, not her roommate. This all takes place in Ireland and there are interesting local flourishes that drive the plot along that I don't want to spoil for you.
The plot takes place in the 2010's with flash forwards to today and that makes it an interesting study of where things were back 10-15 years ago that are quite entertaining.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. I expected to enjoy The Rachel Incident but enjoyed it way more than I could have imagined. Rachel is a young girl in Ireland at uni and is in love with three different men in three different ways - her roommate James, a closeted young man who works at a bookstore with her, her boyfriend James Carey, who she calls "Carey," and Dr. Bryne, her big, commanding burly professor at uni. She quickly comes to realize that Dr. Bryne is married but has other desires of his own. The Rachel Incident is the first book I've read by Caroline O'Donoghue and the writing is crisp, witty and tender. Rachel could be any young woman, just trying to find her way in life, with several pit stops along the way.

The Rachel Incident is a fast paced coming of age story that is so well written it feels like real life. This story brought back such vivid memories of some of the bad decisions I made in my twenties I found myself cringing at parts. This story is centered around Rachel and her best friend, James as they attend college in a small Irish town and struggle to find themselves. As they navigate life, leading their decision making with their hearts versus their minds, they quickly learn just how small their town is.

What makes this book compelling is the build up and drama around the interconnectedness of all the characters. It keeps you on the edge of your seat as you try to figure out what each characters will do next. A lot happens in this book and there were times I wish the author had slowed down enough to have gone a couple layers deeper with her characters, especially Rachel. She narrates the story, but I often found myself understanding the motivations and values of the side characters more than her. I wanted to know more about why a character made the decision they made rather than just what decision they had made.

Nonetheless, this want for more didn't stop me from reading this novel in just a few short sittings. I will absolutely seek out more of Caroline O'Donoghue's work.

I really loved this book. Rachel and James share such a relatable and honest dynamic that it is hard to feel that you're not secretly a third wheel in their journey. This book has intense drama, heartbreak, and tackles complex themes of gender, women's rights and healthcare, and homophobia. However, these ideas are presented so casually that they effortlessly build as the story progresses, and always presented with a light-hearted, witty humor. Thank you to Knopf for an advanced copy of this book!

Sometimes the promotional blurbs you read about a book prepare you for what you are about to read. They set the stage so you can decide if this is a book that you indeed want to read or not. But sometimes they don’t and sometimes they mislead you. I had no preconceived idea about this book before I turned the first page because I failed to read the blurb. And….. no, I am not going to enlighten you. I picked this book up completely in the dark, and I’m happy I did. I mean I’m happy that I picked it up but equally happy that I knew nothing about the plot. This book is an onion that needs to be unpeeled. I had no expectations, and I had no idea where the story was going to lead me but it was such an enlightening and fun journey!
Relationships are complicated. Relationships are messy. This story is at its core, a story about relationships of many dimensions and many types. It’s about friendship and love but not really a romance. It’s about coming to terms with your life amidst twists and turns over which you have limited control.These are imperfect characters but alas, I loved them all.

Many years ago when I was 19 or 20 I had an intense crush on a college professors who taught Shakespeare. How embarrassing to look back on that now but it did help me relate to the main character in this book. I loved it when Rachel admitted that in hindsight, she missed clues and failed to understand nuances of conversations. I could totally relate. Let’s face it. When you are 20 or 21 you think you get it but you don’t and that can be excruciatingly embarrassing. Life is a journey and there are lots of pitfalls.
I loved that all the characters here were imperfect but totally relatable. There are no villains here just a cast of characters trying to figure it out and find their way..
And I did love -love -love the “Will and Grace” dimension. This is a book I will reread. These are characters that will stay with me.
Read it. It’s funny but not the cliched “laugh out loud” kind.. Just amusing because it’s real.
I loved it.

5 stars! This was a beautifully told coming of age story that completely captivated me. I was immediately immersed in the character's world and her friendships. I thought the use of the alternating timelines was expertly done. The hints at the story to come throughout did even more to deepen my interest. I appreciated that most of the characters were very well developed and their decisions (good and bad) made sense. I loved this story and will be exploring more of this authors work because of it.

This felt like a really good time capsule of the late aughts/early 2010s. I found all the characters compelling, but if pressed I couldn't really explain what this book was about.

Although I am not a millennial, this book grabbed me from the beginning. Who hasn’t been a mess at some point in their 20’s?? First love anguish, adulting, job hopping, being poor, etc. Rachel’s experiences include other challenges, but she survives with the love of her best friend and occasionally her family. Watching her grow up and emerge, albeit with some scars, makes this book addictive. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

🍷 REVIEW 🍷

AKA baby’s first Ebook experience!

I feel as if I’ve surpassed an important bookstagrammer milestone. That’s right, I created a NetGalley account. And my TBR could not be more displeased. 😅

Before I created my account, all I knew about NetGalley was that you could maybe request new books before they were available to the public in exchange for honest reviews? & that sounded pretty damn cool. Well, it just so happens that I hit the jackpot when I got approved for THE RACHEL INCIDENT by Caroline O’Donoghue. This novel comes out Jun 26, 2023, is published by Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor…and I absolutely loved it.

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I’m a sucker for novels about two best friends creating an insular world made up of inside jokes and late nights out, hating all the same people & sharing all their secrets.

Twenty-somethings Rachel and James meet when James gets a job at the bookstore Rachel works at, and become fast friends. When an illicit relationship between James and Rachel’s married English professor develops, it becomes a catalyst for change within their friendship and lives.

Fans of Sally Rooney will likely really love this one as Caroline is also an Irish author and has that distinctively Irish voice. Many parts read almost like bits from a comedy show & I found myself snorting at the dry humor & Rachel’s messy way of fumbling through life. I also found myself annotating so many sections & unexpectedly touched by the end of the novel. Ultimately this is a novel about love- whether platonic or romantic, it’s about loyalty and having someone there who is willing to help you pick up the pieces, even when they’re shattered themselves. This was a 5-star read for me, & now my only question for you is-which cover do you like best?! I’m partial to the first with the teacups. 😍

Thank you to @netgalley for this amazing ebook.

#TheRachelIncident #NetGalley #contemporaryfiction #queerlove #goodbooks #booklover #bookrecommendations #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #irishfiction #booktok #thebibliophiles

Strong 4

Gabrielle Zevin's approach to plot crossed with Dolly Aldterton's ability to create high stakes from the mundane.
All three of these authors seems to share the same project of subverting the contemporary (stealthily literary) coming of age romance genre. They write books that follow the beats of your traditional love story, but substitute the central "love story" with a great friendship. They extend uncommon detail and nuance to the work and rewards of friendship.

This one's witty without being pretentious and steeped in the culture of Cork, Ireland without being alienating. Framing device was initially confusing but soon resolved. Loved how conflict (props are due here for a genuinely explosive dinner party) was built up in this novel without resorting to miscommunication tropes, or the creation of a villain.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. The comparisons to books like Other People is apt here. This was an engaging and very human coming of age story that traced the ramifications of the past far into the future, in ways that were both poignant and uplifting.

Truly amazing! I read this book over two days and wanted to finish it faster yet never wanted the story to end.

Rachel, of the Rachel Incident, shares the origin of her love stories with the Jameses - her best friend/roommate and her lover.

As Rachel struggle with college, falling in love for the first time, and job applications, she finds herself directionless. With the support of her best friend, who brings his own drama to their interwoven lives, Rachel learns how to navigate adulthood.

Told through flashbacks that are extremely well done, the author provides Rachel’s current day perspective on her actions and thoughts in her early 20s.

ARC provided via NetGalley

I enjoyed this book. Very character driven. I kept turning the pages to see what was going to happen with these friends.

Marvelous! Rachel and James seem to me to be fully formed, realistic characters who develop through this whole story set mostly in Cork Ireland. Caroline O’Donoghue has crafted #therachelincident with wit and empathy and helps us understand friendship, loyalty, coming of agetrials, and the some of the issues surrounding reproductive rights, both for women and men. Thanks go to #netgalley and #virago for this arc to read and review. All opinions are my own.