This book is everything I thought I would love but I could notttt get into it. I got about 40% in and had to dnf. I am so bummed!!!

Loved her first adult novel. The sections that were my favourite was when it looked into abortions. four out of five stars

DNF at 40%. Nothing really happened. I was very bored. I liked a few of the stories along the way but didn’t care to finish. I found myself zoning out a lot.

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
Is a coming of age story of sorts. Rachel is a young adult and kind of a mess. I loved being in her head though. She was very endearing. She and her best friend/Roomate James are living in Ireland Fumbling their way through their early twenties and end up in an interesting situation that affects several lives. I really enjoyed the writing style, Rachel really seemed like a real person and I just hoped for the best for her the whole way through. It was funny and also touched on some serious topics. I would like to read more by this author.

This was my first O'Donoghue novel and I enjoyed it more than I expected to. While the synopsis makes the novel sound rather cliché, I found it charming and even funny at times. The characters are flawed and believable, and O'Donoghue captures young adulthood well. I felt nostalgic for college and found Rachel's emergence into adulthood realistic and bittersweet. The novel is set mostly in Ireland and I enjoyed the setting and culture she effuses the novel with. Overall, this is a breezy novel that belies O'Donoghue's skills in pacing and character development, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Thank you to Knopf for my gifted advance reader copy!

Rachel lives in Ireland and is working to complete a degree in English. Working in a local bookshop, she befriends James, a coworker, and quickly decides to move in with him. Struggling to find her path and facing the job crisis so many of us experienced in the early aughts, Rachel distracts herself with riotous nights out with James. As happens with close friends, Rachel becomes James’ secret keeper, but doesn’t realize the impact her silence will have on her own life.

This coming of age novel is absolutely brilliant. There’s some element I can’t quite pinpoint that absolutely sucked me in to Rachel’s story. I’m reminded strongly of how quickly I bonded with Lee from Curtis Sittenfeld’s PREP.

Rachel is a contemporary of mine, and I completely identified with the difficulty she experiences in finding a job, developing healthy romantic relationships, and simply existing in a recession. Despite some of her more questionable choices, I found Rachel to be a likable and compelling protagonist.

This one is an easy, breezy five stars from yours truly.

Oh well this absolutely slapped, what else can I say, I read it all in one sitting not because of the plot but because I wanted to live in the vibe of this book. It's not, like, comforting...just consuming.

A darker type of coming of age story. The author did a wonderful job of giving Rachel different voices as she became older and matured. From a young girl who had a terrible case of fomo - to the adult that eventually had the wherewithal to recognize opportunities that were real and beneficial, we see how one can complicate their own life by not being able to see beyond the end of one's own nose. I found the book to be full of moral dilemmas filled with the possibility of discussion.

This book was so so good. As someone in my 20s this book spoke to me on so many levels.

It definitely reads like a fun sitcom but has a lot of heart and weight to it.

O’Donoghue captures a youthful energy so brilliantly, with incredible writing that had me laughing, crying and almost always smiling.

If you’re in your 20s read this book!

I liked the characters and the love triangle. This is witty and sad and relatable with a bit of quirk. Roomies who fall for the same professor and how there lives change ad a result of having certain people in their orbit. A fast and full year thoughtful read with a bookstore and some literary professions.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

I really thought this book was going to be more about a student/teacher relationship and how one dealt with that. Turns out the teacher is just a small part of this story. This book is mainly about Rachel, her coming of age, fails/successes, and her friendship with James. If you like Sally Rooney, you will like this book. It is very witty and heartfelt. It reminded of me of Rooney in the sense that nothing is happening, yet things are also somewhat happening, and somehow you just feel comforted journeying along through the questionable shenanigans of the characters. IYKYK.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I give this book 3.5 stars.

Given the hype around the title and the description, I had high hopes. This is an entertaining look at a woman reflecting on a particularly formative time in her early 20s, with great local Irish color and humor.
The title is interesting in that Rachel is the main character but this phrase comes from her professor's wife, looking back on how briefly entwined in their lives she became for a period of time. At this part in her life, Rachel is very much identified by her peer group, and figuring out who she is in comparison with friends, lovers, mentors, crushes, etc.
The dialog and characters are very entertaining and witty, and it's a fun read.

Rachel is a college student and her best friend is James Devlin. When she meets another James, she tells him she already has a James in her life, so she calls him Carey (his last name). The story follows Rachel and her relationships with the 2 James. When Rachel falls for her married college professor, she is sad when he opts for her roommate instead. Rachel and Carey's relationship is good, but circumstances get in the way..The professor / roommate love affair leads to strange consequences in the life of Rachel - one she uses to her benefit (if you can call it that).
Rachel reflects on all of this a few years later, when she hears news of her professor and his situation - he is in a coma. She reflects on her life then, and her life now. She also became a journalist writing on feminist issues.
The book is a coming of age story of sorts, with a focus on sexuality and issues affecting sexuality. Several bursts of humor are interspersed with some serious issues.
I enjoyed it.

"The Rachel Incident" offers a unique yet relatable glimpse into the life of Rachel, a young woman navigating post-2008 recession Ireland. Her chance encounter with James ignites a captivating tale of love at first sight, leading to a transformative friendship that challenges societal norms. Amidst the backdrop of Cork city's bohemian chaos and impending financial crisis, the story delves into Rachel's journey of self-discovery and the complexities of loving others. Her passionate entanglement with her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, unfolds with humor and heartache, revealing the intricate web of secrets and compromises that bind their fates. Aching with unrequited love, "The Rachel Incident" beautifully captures the essence of growing up, making it a triumphant exploration of love, self-identity, and resilience in the face of uncertainty.

I ended up enjoying this book a lot more than I thought I would. It took me a few chapters to really get into it but once I did, I really liked it. And I wouldn't consider it a humorous book as the blurb states. It was a just good story of love and friendship.

A great read about coming of age and navigating the new world of adulthood. Loved the complexity and realness of the characters and will definitely seek out this author in the future.

I was so excited when I opened up The Rachel Project and realized that it was by the same author of the All Our Hidden Gifts series. While I didn't grow up in Cork in 2010, I was the same age as Rachel then and enjoyed the specificity of being a post grad during that time. Ultimately this one kept me up late and I'm excited to keep reading more from Caroline O'Donoghue. Thanks NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, & Anchor, and the author for the ARC.

The Rachel Incident was my first book by Caroline O'Donoghue and it was wonderful. I am looking forward to reading more by this author. Happy reading!

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

I really wanted to like this one, but the characters and storyline just weren't for me. The writing was fine, it just wasn't my cuppa. This is why books are amazing, there are great fits for everyone out there and I'm sure other readers are enjoying The Rachel Incident.

As someone who was looking for a Sally Rooney fix, I was delighted by this novel. The characters were well-rounded and complicated, but you couldn't help but root for them. I do wish we got to see more of Rachel and James as adults because of the dual-timelines but that didn't stop me from loving this novel.