Reviews

Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes

susannahmiller's review against another edition

4.0

This book was sooooo much better than watermelon, I loved the way Marien went into the struggles of addiction and I liked how Rachel came to the conclusion that she actually did have a problem with drugs after being convinced for so long that she never. I also like that throughout the story they went back to Rachels's past with Luke her Ex who broke up with her after putting up with Rachels's addiction for so long and hearing her say she kept promising this was the last time she would have drugs even though it wasn't, he finally broke it off, and then in the present, she had a crush on this guy Chris who was also at the addiction center but it turned out that he would always try and manipulate any of the girls there when they were vulnerable so that they would like him and she fell victim to that but then Luke came back and said he still loved her and they could work through it during the epilogue and it was very cute, I enjoyed this story a lot and Rachel also had way more personality than Claire which was great.

jflem's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

swiftie73's review against another edition

challenging dark funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

emmalux1991's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

3.0

amberwilk1's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

4.5

melissakuzma's review against another edition

5.0

I can’t believe I never picked this up in the 25 years since it came out. I guess I was just waiting for when I really needed it.

heather_mcintosh's review against another edition

funny reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

mikamih's review against another edition

5.0

Portuguese review:

No livro Férias nós conhecemos mais uma da irmãs Walsh, a Rachel. A história se passa no período em que ela vai para uma clínica de reabilitação. Ela sabe que não tem problemas com drogas, só está indo para agradar a família e tirar umas férias nesse lugar que ela pensa ser um SPA.

O que eu achei? (SEM SPOILLERS)
Eu adoro as irmãs Walsh, e infelizmente a Rachel não é minha personagem favorita.
O livro é bem escrito e com bastante flashbacks, então se preparem para o vai e vem.
Em alguns momentos me deu vontade de bater na Rachel e dizer: mulher acorda para a vida sua porta louca drogada.
Mas entendo que tudo precisava de tempo e o fator realidade na cara para ela ver os verdadeiros problemas dela.
Vale a pena a leitura!
E para ver o futuro dos personagens é so ler o Tem alguém ai? Que vocês podem ver bastante o que aconteceu alguns anos depois da história de Férias.

tbrwarriors_87's review against another edition

3.0

I'm going to give this 3.5 stars, although it maybe wasn't average it wasn't a 4 star for me. My sister has wanted me to read this book for literally over 10 years, and this month I did. I really enjoyed it, it is incredibly witty, sarcastic - both exciting and terrifying. But Rachel annoyed lol, I get thats part of the point... Her denial, it's the addiction, but it was very annoying at times for me even when I knew it was all for the story and that everyone would most likely be okay at the end. All the characters were incredibly real and bright, the audiobook is incredible should you try this book

lornesausage10's review

5.0

This is the first book in a long time where I cried at the end. Mother of God, this was a journey and it taught me a lot about myself as well. I read this after my mum had recommended it. It's having a bit of a renaissance at the moment because it's the 25th anniversary and because its sequel is out.

Despite being a chunky 600 pages long, I devoured it in about three days, during the great British heatwave of 2022. I felt there were maybe too many characters and I lost track of who some of them were as I meandered my way through the ups and downs of Rachel Walsh's life. But the writing: jaysus. In Keyes' own words, every word is a gem to read and Rachel, despite her flaws, is a formidable character.

What I loved most about Rachel's Holiday was how relatable it still is to my generation, 25 years after it was published. Despite the 90s references (faxing, landline phones, Bacardi and Coke and G-strings to name a few) it would still not be out of place as a story today.

I am looking forward to reading Again, Rachel and more of Marian Keyes' work.