Rachel meets her best-friend-to-be, James, while working at a bookstore in Cork. It's love at first sight: the two of them are utterly fascinated by each other, and very quickly their blossoming friendship starts a fire that they can't put out again; Rachel's young, attractive professor is releasing a new book, and somehow the two of them manage to set up a reading for him at the bookstore. But not Rachel will develop an affair with him that changes everyones lives, and all of this in Ireland amidst the recession.
I really really really loved this book. It's written beautifully and I really liked how the characters were real, unlikeable and messy. It reminded me a lot of Sally Rooney, who is my favourite author. Still, we didn't only emphasise with the main characters, but with everyone involved in this deliciously messy story. Rachel especially was very relatable in her struggles as a young professional trying to make it in her industry whilst navigating life, which is never what you've planned. I usually do not enjoy stories told by the main character, but much older, it usually takes me out of the narrative, but for this, the two levels of narration worked beautifully. The themes and struggles of the characters were wonderfully unterlined by the setting and the time-relevant issues. I'm very excited to read more of Caroline O'Donoghue's Novels, this was an absolute treat! (Also, the audiobook is - thankfully - narrated by an Irish narrator, who is amazing at her job!)
I really really really loved this book. It's written beautifully and I really liked how the characters were real, unlikeable and messy. It reminded me a lot of Sally Rooney, who is my favourite author. Still, we didn't only emphasise with the main characters, but with everyone involved in this deliciously messy story. Rachel especially was very relatable in her struggles as a young professional trying to make it in her industry whilst navigating life, which is never what you've planned. I usually do not enjoy stories told by the main character, but much older, it usually takes me out of the narrative, but for this, the two levels of narration worked beautifully. The themes and struggles of the characters were wonderfully unterlined by the setting and the time-relevant issues. I'm very excited to read more of Caroline O'Donoghue's Novels, this was an absolute treat! (Also, the audiobook is - thankfully - narrated by an Irish narrator, who is amazing at her job!)