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confessions_of_a_bookaholic's review against another edition
5.0
Rachel Walsh knows all about rehab and recovery. Having been through the process herself in her twenties, she is now the head counseller at the very same facility that helped her. With life on track Rachel finally feels like things are coming together, but when her ex husband suddenly re-appears in Ireland old feelings and memories get stirred up. Is Rachel strong enough to stick to her recovery?
Marian Keyes definitely knows how to write a family drama, so I went in to this pretty confident that I was going to enjoy it, and I wasn't wrong. It was the perfect book to be reading whilst off work sick for a few days, like a warm comfy blanket and cup of tea.
It's a few years since I first read about Rachel and her struggles, so not all of the details were fresh in my mind. This book gives you enough of a back story that it refreshes your memory, but doesn't spend too long going over old ground. I think you'd be fine diving in without having read any of the previous Walsh family books if you wanted to, but they do add extra depth to the family and characters.
I was fascinated by this book. When we join Rachel at the start she seems so steady, with her life really going well. When Luke reappears it's obvious that it will have an impact, but I was on tenterhooks trying to figure out just how much or how badly it was going to affect her (and hoping against hope that she wasn't going to blow up her life!) You don't know until the very end of the book how things are going to work out, and honestly I was fully invested the whole way through, even when I didn't like the way events were turning.
There are some very sensitive topics broached over the course of this book, so I strongly suggest looking at trigger warnings before reading if there are things that you find difficult to read about. As is usually the case with Keyes, these topics were handled with care. I thought she did a fantastic job of helping to show the trauma and long lasting effects that some of these tragedies can have on people.
I loved this, and certainly won't be waiting so long to read the next installment of the Walsh family.
Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage, death of a child, addiction, alcoholism, drug abuse
Marian Keyes definitely knows how to write a family drama, so I went in to this pretty confident that I was going to enjoy it, and I wasn't wrong. It was the perfect book to be reading whilst off work sick for a few days, like a warm comfy blanket and cup of tea.
It's a few years since I first read about Rachel and her struggles, so not all of the details were fresh in my mind. This book gives you enough of a back story that it refreshes your memory, but doesn't spend too long going over old ground. I think you'd be fine diving in without having read any of the previous Walsh family books if you wanted to, but they do add extra depth to the family and characters.
I was fascinated by this book. When we join Rachel at the start she seems so steady, with her life really going well. When Luke reappears it's obvious that it will have an impact, but I was on tenterhooks trying to figure out just how much or how badly it was going to affect her (and hoping against hope that she wasn't going to blow up her life!) You don't know until the very end of the book how things are going to work out, and honestly I was fully invested the whole way through, even when I didn't like the way events were turning.
There are some very sensitive topics broached over the course of this book, so I strongly suggest looking at trigger warnings before reading if there are things that you find difficult to read about. As is usually the case with Keyes, these topics were handled with care. I thought she did a fantastic job of helping to show the trauma and long lasting effects that some of these tragedies can have on people.
I loved this, and certainly won't be waiting so long to read the next installment of the Walsh family.
Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage, death of a child, addiction, alcoholism, drug abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Child death
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
moriak's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Addiction, and Child death
kerryanna2709's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Marian Keyes is such a great character-writer. Every person in this book is beautifully written and I was rooting for Rachel all the way through. Wonderfully funny and heartbreakingly sad in equal measures.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Incest
alterego's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
zzaakkiiyyaa's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Addiction
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
beccah1610's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child death
blenchbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Addiction
Moderate: Child death
smcmullan79's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Addiction
geminireader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
So, I did pick up this book not realizing it was technically a sequel. However, I kinda enjoy having read it ‘backwards’ so now Rachel’s Holiday will seem like a backstory. But to this actual story — sheesh, Keyes does it again. I don’t think she’s ever written a subpar book in her life. Even though this book contained very dark and troubling themes, it still remained so fun and interesting to read. The mixture of depth was also being something I don’t have to power through.. truly incredible. As I say with every Keyes book: read it; you won’t regret it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, and Miscarriage
aprilforrest25's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Child death