Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Rachel Incident

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

11 reviews

kimveach's review

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As I continue on my journey of books set in the UK, this one popped up as a good choice for Ireland. I enjoyed learning about Cork and the life there for millennials during and after the 2008 recession. The characters were flawed, interesting, and ultimately loveable.

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gracefulraven's review against another edition

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funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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ameliahockey's review against another edition

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hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I inhaled this book, it's the first thing I've read in ages where I was desperate to keep reading. Rachel and James (and Carey) were so vividly drawn, flawed and wonderful. I loved the reference to Rachel working in a thinly veiled Foyles, I worked there around the same time and the same age so it made me very nostalgic.

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kirstenw13's review

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

So good, so sweet. There were twists, there were turns. There were besties and their woes. A great book about friendship, what love can mean, the publishing industry and abortion access in Ireland in the early 2010s.

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bootsmom3's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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shelbygibbs's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

So enjoyed this! I’m in love with Carey as a character and I think everyone is so well written. Each chapter I said id pause there and was forced to keep reading by how good it was…

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annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

the bridge of "You're On Your Own, Kid" by Taylor Swift, excerpted here for your reading pleasure:

The jokes weren't funny, I took the money
My friends from home don't know what to say
I looked around in a blood-soaked gown
And I saw something they can't take away
'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it
You've got no reason to be afraid
[…]
You're on your own, kid
You always have been

i'm not sure if i didn't like the ending or if i just didn't want it to end.

i'm also conflicted on the narrative structure of being told through memory with reflections and commentary peppered in. it obviously allows for deeper, more mature insight, as well as effective foreshadowing, but oftentimes it was along the lines of "i was so stupid then" which like, show don't tell, and we're definitely sufficiently shown. which i don't think is a bad thing! but i know for others it is, and so this setup feels like a concession to the crowd that can't stand, for example, Sally Rooney novels because her twenty-something young women characters are annoying or self-involved or clueless (for example, from a review of Conversations with Friends: "One of the most pretentious and self absorbed gen-z/millenial 'I am a suffering artist who is better than anyone else' main characters. Something about the damaged female writer character that is really trying my patience these days"). i am a strong advocate for allowing women characters to be annoying and self-involved and clueless. that's not to say you have to enjoy reading about them, but i don't like media catered to people who believe otherwise; just count them out of your intended audience. so the narration winds up feeling to me like a lampshading cop-out.

big thought out of the way, yeah i loved this, a truly funny in-depth character study showing significant growth and change. i fell in love with Rachel and James (Devlin; Carey is fine). storygraph was spot-on with this recommendation, thanks babe <3

miscellaneous: i was happy to see Rachel become friends with other women by the end. being surrounded almost exclusively by men for that long cannot be good for one's mental health

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