This is realistic fiction at its absolute best: characters you feel like you know making a mess of their lives with only the best of intentions The dialogue is Sally Rooney, the plot is Ann Patchett, but the heart is all Caroline O'Donoghue. I loved it.

Thanks to the publisher for granting us access to the (our first!) e-ARC. Review will be updated with Instagram links once posted but here are the views of the talk lit, get hit podcast:

**Laura’s Review**

I’ve had a ripper reading year so far and I still think this may be one of my favourites. For me, it was was the perfect amalgamation of some of my favourite tropes: 20-something female adrift in life, realistic, raw and larger-than-life friendship, an intoxicating mentor-mentee relationship and a some-what-repulsive and yet somehow incredibly charming love interest. I found this book to be heart-achingly nostalgic - first love, shitty jobs, being broke and all the clumsiness and confusion that comes with being in your early twenties. Caroline O’Donoghue writes with such a beautiful balance of tenderness and restraint. I loved this book.

**Bridget’s Review**

It could be my convict ancestry (lol) but I am always immediately drawn to books set in Ireland. It’s something about the possibly imagined grittiness and a culture so familiar to my own yet slightly different that makes it so interesting to me, and any mention of cobblestoned streets just immediately seals the deal for me. I really loved this book and when I was trying to think about why I couldn’t think of anything other than it just felt familiar and real. The characters were easy to love despite their imperfections (Carey has my heart) and I easily related to an all-encompassing friendship like James and Rachel. The Rachel Incident shows what happens when you clumsily take the first leap into an adult word and the consequences of actions that inevitably catch up with you.

**Eryn’s Review**

When I read slice-of-life books like this one, I’m often left wondering if I’ve missed the point. I don’t think I missed the point here - it’s a tale of young adulthood, the relationships and the mistakes that we make along the way and how they shape our futures - but I can safely say I missed the appeal. While there were some moments that perfectly captured the nostalgia of being in your early twenties trying to balance life, university and a transition into adulthood, these were overshadowed by slow-moving plot, mostly underwhelming prose and unlikable characters and relationships. I’m even typically a fan of those, however I found the narrative gave the characters little context or room for growth which made it hard to root for their success. I did enjoy the social commentary on Ireland during these times and wish the book focused more on this, especially Rachel’s main plot point. Overall, not for me.

The Rachel Incident perfectly captures the free-falling feeling that was graduating college into the depths of the Great Recession, the joy of working an entry-level job that you loved but that hardly paid, the deep and instant platonic love that can be found in such an environment, as well as how confusing and painful relationships in early adulthood can be. There is some beautiful writing and some excellent dry humor. Ultimately, however, I had difficulty connecting with the characters and the driving plot line of the book. While it was not a win for me, I am certain that many readers will love Rachel and James, and this book could be an excellent conversation driver for book clubs.

This was a dysfunctional relationship story. We jump from present to past as we follow Rachel during the peak of her sexual years. She and her gay roommate are figuring out their sexual preferences through a series of men. The relationship are sometimes unhealthy and a but odd, but the raw humanity of the story was intriguing. It was a very different type of story. Not my favorite but might appeal to some.

Thank you to NetGalley for this free copy in exchange for honest opinions. I truly enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and their relationships. I love the vivid descriptions of internal thoughts and feelings. I especially loved the Irish location..

It’s been a pleasure to witness the growth of Caroline O’Donoghue as a writer over the last few years - this is my favourite book of hers yet! It feels like an instant classic of the genre - impeccable character work, intelligent plot, and writing that is simply stunning.

Easy to see why thanksgiving dinners might be interrupted to finish this stunning novel that captures so well a time and place as to be mesmerizing. There will be the obvious comparisons but in my mind The Rachel Incident is like the love child of Marian Keyes and Sally Rooney and yet totally O’Donoghue! It is a wonderfully, gloriously, Irish novel and captures so well those early adult years full of yearning and possibility. It is also a thoughtful and thought provoking reminder of how precious are our freedoms - of reproductive choice, the freedom of sexual identity, freedom to not live in fear or shame or poverty.

The Rachel Incident is a great read that allows readers to reflect on complicated relationships, making mistakes, and growing up. Although I do prefer the other cover, the cover shows you right away that you are in for a contemporary coming-of-age story. Although the story and the cover resemble several other contemporary novels, it does provide a refreshing take on the genre. Having finished the book and trying to reflect on my rating of it I realized there was nothing I wanted differently from the story, so it became one of the first 5-star reads of the year!

I was excited to read this book but it didn't live up to my expectations. It felt very millennial-y, definitely not my cup of tea.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

3-3.5 ⭐
Fans of raw emotion, relationships, and characters with all their flaws revealed will enjoy this book.
This book jumped around a lot and I felt like I started in the middle of a story at times. Reading the book was ok but it was a bit of a jumble of events and wasn't as clear as I would have liked it to be.
It was basically a reflection on her 21 year old self and a formative year that took place in Cork.
Once I finished reading and reflected on the book, I could see more of the story and what was being talked about and did enjoy it more.
The story is a summary of women's health, the right to abortion, being closeted, what life is like as a gay man, and the coming of age story of relationships. The evolution of your early twenties, life choices and the mistakes made that are impactful in your later years.
I didn't love any of the characters and that's a bit of a deal breaker for me when I'm reading, I REALLY want at least one truly likeable character. This book has a lot of rawness to the characters and you see their flaws clearly. A lot of people love that in a book, so if that's you, this is for you!
Thanks to netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow this is a well written and witty trip down a familiar time when we were happy,confused. Free and lonely at the same time ( Yes Taylor Swift lyric)
I love how Rachel was the center of it and the way you learn to balance while it’s the exact time of going out into the world with a recession post 9/11. It’s a novel to sooth the millennial soul that we were all flailing and failing together as everything we were promised was no longer a sustainable option. Thank you so much for this free preview from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I highly recommend ( if you are a millennial or interested in our traumas )

While this story did eventually grow on me, it took a solid 30-35% in before I started to like it. I had a hard time picking it up to push through.
Although the book started out very slowly for me, I really liked reading about Rachel/James friendship over the time they lived together: how they became quick friends and inseparable, then things took a turn with Rachel’s professor, Dr. Byrnes.
I feel like the story was read more realistically without all the added dramatics and action. You learned a lot about each character, mistakes they made, and start to mature as they look back on 2010.

🌻🌻 BOOK REVIEW 🌻🌻

Before I picked this up, I'd heard The Rachel Incident being compared to the likes of Sally Rooney and Dolly Alderton umpteen times. As a fan of these two authors, I was apprehensive and upon finishing it, I was not disappointed.

If you asked me what this book was about I'd probably say something along the lines of "Oh, I don't know...life." The good, the bad and all the things we do in everyday life. Well, for me anyway. Drinking, loving, working, and even work experience crises.

I spent the first quarter of the book hating James Devlin (Rachel's friend and soul mate) and his act against "girl code". However, by the second quarter, it was as though he had done no wrong and his happiness was equally as important as Rachel's. Probably a superb comparison to our own day-to-day relationships. Some things just aren't worth jeopardising.

Rachel talks of the loneliness of a new city and starting out brand new on life. She reminds us that trying to better one's life is not always the glamour we think we perceive.

This book genuinely made me laugh and smile, as well as feel disparity and heartbreak.

I couldn't wait to return to it. You won't either.


*Trigger warnings & slight spoiler*

- Abortion/miscarriage (it still makes me extremely sad every time I read about the harrowing and expensive process Irish girls and women have to go through to get an abortion)
- Sexual abuse

This book is definitely great for fans of Sally Rooney, Coco Mellors or Dolly Alderton. It’s brutally honest and I found it so relatable.

Protagonist Rachel is trying to navigate her way through life having graduated during the 2008 recession whilst living in conservative, Catholic Ireland. This book does feature some heavy topics but all so so important and it’s written in such a great way that it’s enjoyable whilst also hard hitting.

rachel recounts the story of her early twenties. living with a gay man named james, and dating a less than stellar boyfriend also named james (but she calls him by his last name, carey), she shares her final days of undergrad and her internship from hell.

this novel didn’t do what i expected it to do. james is the stereotypical “gay best friend” stereotype with little personality other than being gay and taking care of rachel. the way their professor, dr. byrne, acts is really despicable and nobody comments on the power imbalance and toxicity of the relationship. once again bisexual men are painted as cheaters and unable to “pick.” james never breaks out of that mold and carey is pretty damn awful in every way. the way the author writes about degrees in english & the arts is really discouraging to those of us with those degrees; they are non meaningless. while this novel tries to be different than the popular tv show “will & grace,” the frequent mentioning of the show and their own written script of a similar show only highlights the similarities, as well as sticking to the status quo of straight woman and gay best friend fiction.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much! Caroline O'Donoghue's writing is so lovely, I found myself thinking about the characters constantly and wishing the book was longer.

Rachel is nearing the end of her time at university when she meets James at the bookstore where they both work, and they instantly become best friends. They move in together and spend all their time together, both at crossroads in their lives.

I found the writing in this so relatable -- Caroline O'Donoghue really captured what it's like to be 21 and not sure what you're doing next in life. The endless nights of going out and meeting new people and feeling aimless.

All of the side characters are great too, and really enrich the story. Each one feels very developed, and the situations they get themselves in to made me laugh and cringe.

This was my first book by Caroline O'Donoghue and I am eager to read her backlist and will quickly read whatever she comes out with next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

One of my favorite reads of the year so far and just a joy to read all the way through! I devoured this in 2 days (work be damned) and it just felt like slipping into your coziest sweats and catching up with an old friend. It was so incredibly relatable in its portrayal of our thoughts and feelings and observations in our early 20’s. I found it to be an incredibly endearing book and a slightly less pessimistic Sally Rooney style commentary. I loved it.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was so easy getting sucked into the intoxicating friendship and lives of Rachel and James. It was hilarious, awkward, bittersweet, nostalgic, sad, all the feelings. The author does a great job of weaving some social issues and moral issues like sexuality, infidelity, and abortion into the novel. It really makes for a thought provoking novel and will leave you remembering Rachel and her coming of age story. I recommend a read this summer when it comes out in July !

Special thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for an arc digital copy for an honest opinion.

Finished ✔️ The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

4 ⭐️’s
Publish Day: June 27th, 2023
Kindle Unlimited: No

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

If you ever been unsure or question what to do with your degree in English, if you’ve ever wondered when the rug-buying part of your life will start…. If you ever loved the wrong person or the right person at the wrong time, or if you’ve ever been young you’ll enjoy this book like I did.

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Great story! I really enjoyed the characters and plot in this novel! I will definitely be checking out more material by her!