Set in Cork, Ireland this book is about Rachel, a young college student, trying to make it on her own. She’s barely scrapping by and her love life is often in shambles.

From that brief description it sounds a bit familiar, right? I can think of a few other books with similar main characters, Normal People, Writers & Lovers, Maame, Queenie…those books are all very different but have a central female character in a similar stage of life. I loved all of those and I enjoyed this book too. It felt light enough for me not to be bogged down by a sad story, although there’s a seriousness to it as well. It had great balance and I think it will appeal to a wide array of readers. Plus set in Ireland - high probability I’m going to like it, and maybe that’s where the Sally Rooney comparison comes from but this is a very different writing style. It’s easier to digest and flows well.

It did not move me emotionally, though, not enough to be a capital L - Loved book; it was just enjoyable enough. Nothing wrong with that, a good solid read!
I’m

The Rachel Incident is a rather flippant take on the messiness of an Irish girl growing into her adult self during her 20’s. All of the characters have many flaws and make countless bad decisions, which is both realistic and frustrating. Fortunately for them, their lives turn out pretty well in spite of their many errors (making the book a comedy rather than a tragedy). The story is written with the voice of the older, more mature Rachel, which I found to be a bit uncomfortable for some reason. Perhaps I felt a bit embarrassed for the older Rachel having to relive the cringey moments of her younger self. I would have preferred to hear them with the voice of young Rachel herself. I enjoyed the book but at the same time wanted to finish it quickly. I would give it 3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC.

Disclaimer that as a Rachel it is possible this review is slightly biased. :D

This was an enjoyable litfic that I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did. O’Donoghue is clearly a talented writer, especially with characterisation, however I did feel that our main character was perhaps left in the background a little by the strength of the supporting characters.

While this story was interesting, creative, and realistic, it also read quite slowly and I did struggle a bit to find the motivation to pick it up. I was definitely invested in the characters, but overall the book felt like a long haul.

O’Donoghue definitely has a strong, unique voice and I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone that loved literary/Irish fiction. Make sure to check TWs before reading, I gave this one 3/5 stars.

This is a book that’s going to sit with me for a while. It was so well-crafted and understated, and I absolutely loved the writing style. Rachel is such a relatable character, whether it’s her insecurities, her dreams, her mistakes - she felt so rounded and real. The narrative structure was intriguing from the beginning, you’re being told a story directly from Rachel’s mouth, but you don’t know who she’s writing to or why or where this story is going to take us. I think this is one of those stories that benefits the most from not having too much information, but I will say that it’s an excellent story about love - in all its different capacities.

I saw someone say that this book is for Sally Rooney fans and I definitely agree with that statement. This story will whisk you away to Cork, Ireland and explore the life of a woman on the brink of change. She's experiencing the economy at its worst, she's graduating college with a degree she's unsure she can use and no job. Some struggles I think a lot of people can relate to. The writing was truly captivating and this book deserves all the hype its getting. If you like character driven stories that will draw you in, pick up The Rachel Incident!

A brilliantly funny novel about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three.

I felt like I was reading a fresher version of a Sally Rooney novel. It also held an important message around women's reproductive rights, which I enjoyed being included. I wish the main event had happened sooner in the novel, but once it did occur, I wasn't able to stop reading. I would consider this a slow burn, but the payoff is excellent.

Caroline O'Donoghue is fantastic at immersing the reader in the story. I love anything to do with Irish young women growing into their own (see Derry Girls).

After reading the book, the title couldn't have been more perfect to describe the story. It is extremely appropriate to refer back to the time in a couple's life as "the rachel incident." While this is certainly a coming of age story, it is not humorous like the book description notes. It's more depressing than charming. It shows how the decisions someone makes can have unintended consequences on the people closest to you.
I am having a hard time reviewing this book without using spoilers or descriptors, so I will say that this was a well-written book even if it is not exactly how it's described. I can see this being made into a dramatic movie with undertones of reproductive rights.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Rachel Incident.

I requested this because I read some good reviews and I didn't think I would get approved.

I'm not the right audience for this since I'm not interested in Irish fiction unless it has to do with the fae.

I thought this was going to be about a student having an illicit affair with a teacher, and though an affair does happen with a teacher, it's not exactly what you might think.

I think my biggest issue was Rachel; I didn't like her personality. I found her needy and immature, but then I have to remind myself how young she is, just about to graduate from college.

I both loved and disliked her friendship with James. On one hand, I understand how strongly you can be attracted to a friend, it's happened to me; how close you can be, doing everything together, confiding in only each other

But, I wondered if it was a co-dependent relationship or that Rachel didn't have close friends of her own, and needed someone to glom onto. I didn't understand why they were so close.

The writing was good, I liked the tone, but the ending was too easy, almost corny in its simplicity.

The only thing I did like was how the author shone the spotlight on abortion and how freaking hard it is to get one, wherever you live, not just the USA.

I really enjoyed this. I loved the second chance romance and how it handles heavy topics without being too hard to read. This is a surprise favorite

Thank you as alway to Netgalley and publishers for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Rachel Incident is a coming of age novel about the twists, turns, and contradictions of being in your twenties. Caroline O'Donoghue is an incredible writer with a natural talent for writing characters that come off the page and feel like real world people in all their complicated glory. This is a beautiful book, my issues come in with the pacing and the way this was marketed. I personally don't feel that a heterosexual presenting main character with a gay male best friend should be marketed as a LGBTQ+ novel. As for the pacing, I found it inconsistent and at times, strikingly slow. All and all this is a wonderful novel but just not the novel for me personally.

Rachel, her best friend/roommate James, and her professor Dr. Fred Byrne become entangled in each other’s lives, complicating all their futures in ways that none could have imagined.
I was nervous to read this book because it was compared to Sally Rooney’s books which I don’t love. This particular “millennial” narration, however, worked for me in a way that Rooney never has. I thought the story was both realistic and clever. I did not seen any of what happened coming and thoroughly enjoyed the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for this ARC!

Excellent read! It fits into the vein of Sally Rooney's books. Emotional, funny, reflective. Will recommend!!

I don’t have a ton to say about this other than I liked it, and the vibe checked out. The story was layered, the characters morally ambiguous, the ending a beginning.

The Rachel Incident is a beautifully written story about a woman named Rachel learning her way in the world. It focuses on her friendship with her gay best friend, James, and their struggles with finding love and understanding life's challenges. When I first started this book, I thought this would be a fun and light book, but this was much more than that. The story gives an intimate view of Rachel’s life. I had to double-check to make sure this book was not about a real-life person because the story was written in such a personal manner with a first-person point of view. While reading the story, we get a first-hand intimate look at Rachel’s happy moments, her heartbreaks, and the trauma she endured. This coming of age story will leave a lasting impression even days after finishing reading the book.

Thank you to NetGallery and to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for giving me a copy of the book.

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue is an excellent, coming of age literary fiction read. Set in Ireland, this story incorporates details about current events in the country in a thoughtful way to enrich the story and accurately reflects how external factors (like the economy and local laws) impact people's lives and decisions. Excellent character development fleshes out this story, which is essential because many of the plot points are seemingly minor thoughts or decisions that add up to a fuller picture throughout the course of the novel. Even as the characters make frustrating decisions, it's clear why they make them because of the character development. This is a subtle story as you move through it but makes for a satisfying read at the end of the novel. Highly recommended to fans of literary fiction. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of The Rachel Incident in exchange for my honest review.

The first twist in this book had me stunned. I kept a pen nearby to mark all my favorite passages, both the humorous and relatable. Caroline O’Donoghue is proving to be a strong writer in a variety of genres.

3.75

Setting: Ireland
Rep: queer side character(s)

This is listed in the LGBT category on here and on Netgalley, which is why I requested it. Unfortunately, the protagonist is straight, and side characters being gay doesn't make a book part of the LGBT category in my opinion. However, despite that bit of misleadingness, I did enjoy this book. It's a weird one. It's slow; at times it drags. The characters are messy. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting it to be.

A relatable late-teens/early-twenties coming of age story with a less relatable but even more fascinating look at what it means to do so in Ireland. Peppered with these delicious little nuggets of prose that so perfectly captured feelings and experiences. I loved the spotlight effect of the structure, which sets up the narrative as being recalled by any older Rachel. We have prominent characters other than Rachel, but only hear about their thoughts and feelings when Rachel is paying attention to them; it captured the self-involvement of early adulthood, and highlighted the stark abruptness of the realizations that unfold.

Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. While I understand it was meant to be a coming of age story of two friends working through their own sexual awakenings while living together, the story itself just didn't resonate with me, which resulted in me having a hard time getting through the novel. It took me over a month to finish a story that would typically take me about a week. Also, sometimes the jumps between present and past just felt very abrupt to me, further disrupting me while reading.

A thank you to Knopf for a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Character Driven + Coming-of-Age + Academia + Found Family

What I loved:
✨Rachel: she is flawed, broken, and struggling to find her place in life. I love her complicated self. I also love her platonic relationship with James, her gay roommate. Together, they provide a bit of levity within Rachel’s struggles.
✨A twist on dark academia: Rachel crushes on her professor. I love how James and Rachel scheme ways Rachel can “get together” with her professor. Unfortunately, not all goes according to plan.
✨Narration: Tara Flynn’s Irish accent fully immerses you in Ireland. She rounds out Rachel's character by providing not only angst in those early years but also humor as Rachel laughs at herself and her situations.

Thanks, @that.one for buddy reading. I loved dissecting Rachel, the sexual revolution in Ireland during the 2000s, and financial and healthcare difficulties for women during this time period (I don’t want to give anything away). Highly recommend this one!!!