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.

Really excellent writing. I loved the male/female friendship. I was completely shocked by the "incident" - not at all what I thought it was going to be! (Maybe needs more trigger warnings?) This book reminded me a lot of Sally Rooney - in a good way. :)

Such a fun take on unrequited love! I’m always a sucker for an unrequited love story and this story surprised me and hit all the points in a book i want. I empathized with the heroine and loved her character so much! Must read!!

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

I think you will love this book if you are in the mood for a drama with a female narrator and a coming-of-age vibe. This book did a great job of leaning into the feeling of being a young woman trying to grow into a new version of who they are and will be: navigating relationships and uncertainty and identity. There were points that were funny and parts that felt nostalgic, and most of all, moments that felt very self-aware.

I read this very quickly and did enjoy it. I rated this book three and a half stars.

This review was posted on my instagram page (@reading_with_deb) on 6/8/2023.

The Rachel Incident develops the complexity of coming of age, infidelity, friendship, love, and a spiraling economy without being trite or superficial. All of the characters are deeply flawed, but not so much that we despise them. Instead, we are left thinking critically about how they respond to what's put in front of them. My favorite aspect overall was getting to experience how Carey and Rachel misunderstood each other so fundamentally--both assumed the other's distance was because of lack of interest. It feels like a modern Irish retelling of the show friends. Thank you netgalley for an eARC!

Caroline O’Donoghue has perfected the formula for a meandering novel about the messiness of one’s early twenties. From the very start of The Rachel Incident, I felt a sort of melancholy nostalgia for those years of my life - when everything felt exciting and terrifying all wrapped up in one.

By telling those story through adult Rachel’s lens, we’re able to see how these years unfolded while also getting a note of reflection. I mostly enjoyed this, although at times the time jump from past to present felt a little jarring.

The friendship between Rachel and James was really captivating. While toxic in some ways, their love for each other really makes this novel stand out. Again, O’Donoghue is masterful in the way she shows the bittersweet moments of friendship as one grows up. I truly felt for the two of them as they navigated the depressing reality of the recession, while also living through some extremely messy and complex relationships.

This is a beautiful story about messy people trying to make their way. There are a few things that didn’t work perfectly for me, but overall I loved this book and will absolutely seek out this author’s work in the future.

Oh, how I adored The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue. This was one of my favorite books of 2023. I loved the friendship between Rachel and James, the setting of Cork, the literary themes, and even the cliche older professor love triangle. This one is made for book clubs.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

the one of the funniest—AND FUN—reads i’ve had in a looong time. This book is just a hoot and a half

Loved this contemporary novel of friendship and the angst of entering the adult world. Great characters and subtle humor made this a totally enjoyable read. Would definitely recommend.
Thanks to Net Galley for an advance read.

The story focuses on the relationship between two twenty something besties, Rachel and James. It was an engaging, if not frustrating read. Frustrating due to their poor life decisions which sometimes provides humour and light relief on the backdrop of economically struggling Ireland, but at times is also groan out loud painful.
Thanks to Net Galley and Knopf for the opportunity to review.

Normally I do not put a review on a DNF but I want to clarify why this is a DNF.

This book is a fine book but at a quarter of the way through I was utterly bored with the story and did not care one bit about the characters. The writing was fine, the story was just not for me.

The Rachel Incident was my book club's January book. It was the first book I finished in 2024. It will probably end up being my favorite book of 2024. Every few years, I read a book that is both lovely and brilliant, but I also connect to it so deeply that it blows up my standard five star rating system, and I give it six stars out of five. The Rachel Incident is a six-star read for me. It's a coming of age novel of the titular Rachel, chronicling her college years in Cork, Ireland. But we meet the Rachel of today. She lives in London and is recounting this story with both the benefit and generosity of a perspective ten years later. As such, the emotions of college Rachel are present and valued, but there's also the reinterpretation of them at this stage in her life. I loved this novel. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I tried multiple times to get into this book, but, unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. The writing was really straightforward, which I appreciated, but the story didn't grab me. I believe that other people would love it though.

The Rachel Incident shares the story of two friends, secrets, dating and love. Ms. O’Donoghue threw in some humour and you have an enjoyable read.

If you like Irish settings, humour, dating lives and books you will enjoy this book.