This was a wildly relatable slow burn of a book. I felt all of Rachel's emotions with her. I have been the 21 year old girl, too insecure and immature, lost in a new friendship. I have obsessed over my decisions from certain time periods and given myself punishments for treating people poorly. I was a Rachel.

And now that I have my own children and marriage and even a few of the same friendships, I am also the Rachel that matured and found out the type of person she truly was and wanted to be.

Overall, very witty and good read.

Loved this book. Told first person in the present by Rachel, in the style of a 30-something new mom friend you've recently made who now trusts you enough to unload the wild, funny, and heartbreaking adventures of her early 20s. Stories that will have you peeing your pants with laughter and then just as quickly weeping with sadness. I did not want this book to end, but appreciate that the author ended it as she did.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for this honest review.

First and foremost I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC version of this novel. Thank you!

Rachel is struggling to manage friendships, ever changing careers and the economic struggle in Ireland.

The only consistent man in Rachel’s life is James, who she falls madly in love with but is struck with sudden heartbreak; James is gay.

This coming to age story follows these two as they struggle to find their own identities. Though distance, time, relationships and careers are always changing; their friendship never stalls.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story was heartbreaking and lovely, and I especially felt the friendship between James and Rachel- it was so beautifully written!

I had the absolute pleasure of reviewing The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue ahead of its release. This memoir-style piece of fiction is the perfect read for Dolly Alderton and Daisy Buchanan fans. I was not surprised to see Dolly Alderton in the acknowledgements for this one!

As someone navigating the horrific growing pains that come with being in your twenties, I found The Rachel Incident to be laugh-out-loud funny, relatable and heartwarming. The characters are flawed - you sometimes won't want to root for them, but you know you're probably equally as obnoxious and self-centered at times so you can't help it. Wanting the best for them is wanting the best for yourself. The fast friendship between Rachel and James is something we've all experienced - the jealousy and deep desire of wanting your completely platonic friend crush to find you cool and to care as much as you do. Putting forth your best quips and jokes in the desperate hope they'll choose you as their best friend. It's something I rarely see portrayed in adult books, but perhaps the age where it happens most frequently.

It hits the nail on the head portraying the melancholy of wishing a period of time, a moment, could last forever. That college house you never thought you'd move out of, those amazing friendships you make working at a cafe, bar or bookstore, only to have them fade slowly over time as everyone diverges on their own path. It explores the bittersweetness of aging with a playful narration that leaves you optimistic for the future instead of bogged down. Most importantly, friendship is the heart of this book. Everything centers around Rachel and James' bond that lasts well into adulthood, and reminds you that these friendships will teach you the most valuable lessons in your life. I found this book impossible to put down, escaping the one-trick-pony that is the glorification of the Sad Girl In Her Twenties trope. Instead, The Rachel Incident is a breath of fresh air, one that'll leave you feeling your best years are still to come, and hopeful that your friendships in your most formative years have given you the stilts (albeit wobbly) to make it through your 30s and beyond.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this novel. I'm excited to see this one take off.

This was so good. It was rich with twists and turns, evocative of a specific theme, timely, and really interesting. Marvelous characters, flawed, and real. Thoroughly entertaining and bittersweet at times, I whole heartedly recommend this!

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf Publishing and the author for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

The year is 2010 and Rachel is a 20yo English Lit student in Ireland, living with her closeted gay best friend, James. The economy is in the crapper and despite their big dreams and aspirations, they are barely keeping their heads above water financially. When Rachel develops a crush on a professor, it leads to a series of unfortunate events that both destroy and transform her. There are jumps in the timeline as current-day Rachel recounts her past and realizes how it helped shape who she is today.

This was a great coming of age story. All of us can remember being young, unsure of the future beyond academics, perhaps also making reckless decisions in pursuit of independence, growth and success. I appreciated that this book did not rely on the same old narrative about a girl having an affair with her professor. Without going into spoilers, I found it a relief that there was a twist to that tired trope.

I wanted to love Rachel but she was a frustrating character for me. She could be weak and self-indulgent, preferring to hitch her star to a man’s wagon - whether it be James or Carey. I really wanted her to overcome her co-dependency and realize her own self-worth. The ending did satisfy me in that regard. James was a great character but I felt he was a bit underdeveloped. I wanted to see more from him than just being the Will to Rachel’s Grace.

Overall, this was a solid read. There were some difficult topics (infidelity, abortion, miscarriage, infertility) but the pacing was good and I flew through it in a weekend. It didn’t hit me in the feels the way I wanted it to, but I would still recommend it for anyone who wants to relive the nostalgia of being a restless new adult trying to navigate life.

I revisited this quite a bit later and actually really enjoyed it. Once I got past kind of the superficial similarities to Sally Rooney's conversations with friends, I found it very relatable and charming. Will definitely be reading more by this author!

Loved the setting of Ireland. This was a compelling book with a lot of complicated characters, none of which were likable. It was fun not rooting for anyone and enjoying the drama they created for themselves.

A great sick day read. Once I hit the 15% or so mark, I was fully pulled in and didn't stop reading until I was done. I really liked Caroline O'Donoghue's writing style: sharp, wry, and specific, from the depiction of Cork to the messiness of her characters. This had fresh riffs on the central dynamics, and I found myself still surprised at moments. I especially loved how nuanced and complicated Rachel and James were; they felt like real people and a real friendship, with the messiness, secrets, and possessiveness as well as the intense care and closeness of your early 20s friends. O'Donoghue also layers in the class, economic, and reproductive issues of 2010 Ireland in a way that never felt heavy-handed, just realistic.

O’Donoghue’s writing pulled me in from the beginning and i binged this in a day! Rachel and James were exciting characters to follow and the drama that unfolds never felt heavy-handed - it gave me sally rooney vibes

I’m not sure how to put into words how much I adored this book! It was so well written and so incredibly relatable. At times it made me cringe because it brought me back to being that age and being young and dumb. It really encapsulates the messiness of young adulthood.

I absolutely adored both Rachel and James even when thought they were flawed and often made bad choices. I loved their friendship and seeing updates on how it was in present time. The side characters are all fleshed out well and I loved the character development.

This is a book that will for sure be at the top of my favorite books for the year- I cannot recommend it enough! My only complaint is I wanted more- I could have stayed with these characters longer although I do feel as it wrapped up beautifully.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was fantastic. Partly a coming-of-age story with a very messy MC and realistic circumstances, and those tend to skew dark and depressing, but this still had plenty of levity. Very enjoyable, with fully developed, likeable characters.

Love, love, love this tender novel from Caroline O’Donogue. A book to be SA Poland read slowly. Highly recommended.

<i>"And so now, everyone I love is called James."</i>

[4.5 Stars]

This was a slow burn of a story of friends that barely scrape by in Cork Ireland. Working together in a bookshop and sharing the same bed to keep warm Rachel and James are inseparable besties. Life has a weird way of teaching us all lessons and this novel perfectly encapsulates that time in your life where you are broke and unsure who you are and how you will eventually contribute to society. Where the best days of your life are spent attending events for the free drinks and staying up all night pondering the future with your best friend.

Who couldn't picture themselves as Rachel? Making sub par decisions until you eventually are forced to grow up. Rachel picks up an internship working for her professor's wife who is in publishing, and is in and out of immature relationships. This could be *almost* anyone's life, but watching these characters develop over the years, I was immediately invested in their futures. A character study done expertly well. Characters that are fully well rounded with faults, I could see Rachel and James as friends in my own life.

It ended, and my heart broke because I thought I had more pages, more time with these characters. I needed to know more, I yearned to know more. This is one I will be thinking about for a while.

I had no idea what to expect when I started this book, but I truly loved falling into the story of Rachel, James, and the people in their lives. I thought this was a really well done coming of age story, and I love how all of their stories came together as we watched them grow up. I particularly loved Rachel's relationships with both James and Carey, because they felt very authentic in both the love she feels for these two men and the pain they inflict upon her without wanting to.

I also really loved how this book handled tough topics, especially abortion. Although this book is fictional, it was interesting to read about the very real challenges women in Ireland faced not that long ago. I thought that this section was handled really beautifully by the author, and it didn't seem like it was forced into the story or served no purpose.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the eARC!

James & Rachel embark on a lifelong adventure that culminates in The Rachel Incident. How will they overcome? This book is a wild ride. I loved the perspectives of the emcee and the characters themselves. The first part of the book was slow for me; I wish more had happened in similar fashion to the second half. Looking forward to more books from this author!

Thank you Penguin Random House for my Netgalley copy of THE RACHEL INCIDENT by Caroline O’Donoghue, out 6/27/23.

I loved this book more than I thought I would. It is a laugh-out-loud lit fic novel about best friends in their 20’s before they figure themselves out, falling in and out of love with the wrong people and the right people at the wrong time. Sally Rooney taught me I love reading books about Ireland 20-somethings and Caroline O’Donoghue reminded me.

The ending is incredible. I loved how everything wrapped up and I adore both Rachel and James as characters. There were moments (the dinner party scene!) that made me gasp out loud in public. There are also keen little details that are so universal, but haven’t seen them descfribed like that before and I loved it! I also enjoyed learning more about the Ireland abortion referendum and how it impacted Irish women having to travel to London for abortions and how the recession and financial crash impacted places outside of the US in the 2010’s with fresh college grads and boomers alike.

I would of loved if James had a POV in this book, but I also respect the authors choice to make Rachel the forefront voice. It also was enticing to read about a closeted man in his 40’s in contrast to a young gay man coming out for the first time.

All in all, highly recommend this book! It’s a great read and will definitely seek out more from this author. I love that this book was clearly based around the authors lived experience and real-life best friend Ryan. The idea of “two friends trying to create huge, romantic worlds for themselves.” <3

This was a coming-of-age story that felt authentically real, with well-drawn side characters and believable relationships. I really enjoyed it and felt that author really captured what finding yourself in your early twenties can look like, mess and emotions and all. The Cork, Ireland setting was interesting as well, as it explored the economic hardships of the early 2000s from a new (to me) perspective.

What a great book! I loved reading all the intricacies of Rachel’s life and how she transformed throughout the book.

The story was so well crafted that it kept me coming back to it to see where it was going next.