Rachel has a new life as a counsellor in the Cloisters (the rehabilitation centre for addicts) and the support of family and friends. The sequel to Rachel's Holiday expertly explores the years of recovery and the impact they've had on Rachel. I laughed, I cried and I couldn't put it down until I finished. Thank you Marian Keyes for sharing your talent (and Rachel) with us one more time.

I have to confess I'd never read Marian Keyes' books before I was kindly given a review copy of Again, Rachel by the publishers in return for an honest review. Knowing it's a sequel to Rachel's Holiday, I read that first, and I would recommend you do this, whilst it would certainly stand on it's own two feet, knowing Rachel's backstory makes Again, Rachel even more enjoyable.Rachel has remained drug free for a number of years, although her marriage to Luke did not last. She is back at home in Ireland enmeshed in her crazy, lovely family's lives, with her new partner Quinn. A funeral brings her face to face with Luke, and almost inexorably, the path to truth begins, and what actually happened between her and Luke is revealed. This is a hard hitting account of drug addiction, recovery, love, grief and the power of self delusion. Marian has made no secret of her own personal challenges and this authenticity comes across in spades in this book.This book is a masterpiece and I loved it. Thank you Marian, and to the publishers for my review copy.

As a long time Marian Keyes fan, I was so excited to see a sequel to Rachel's holiday, and it did not disappoint. It was great to be back among the Walsh family. Some tough topics tackled but as always in a very gentle humorous way.

Nailing my colours to the mast here, I have been a fan of Marian Keyes since the get go. I have probably invested as much energy in the doings of the Walsh sisters as I have my own, flesh and blood family to be honest. I love them with all my heart and the news that there was to be a sequel to Rachel's Holiday had me lepping about the living room like a mad thing for several minutes until I had to sit down and have a biscuit. In Rachel's Holiday, we meet Rachel Walsh as she finds herself unexpectedly a resident in The Cloisters, a rehab centre, where she is being treated for drug addiction. A drug addiction she is in massive denial about. In Again, Rachel, we find her, decades on, still sober and now head counsellor at the very rehab centre where she found sobriety all those years ago. Her life, on paper, seems perfect. A great job, a nice house, a sensible hobby (gardening) and a ridey boyfriend with prospects. And then Luke, her old love appears, in Ireland for his mother's funeral, and Rachel's world starts to spiral out of control once again. This is funny, devastatingly sad, thrilling and brilliant altogether. Keyes is an absolute mistress of writing the very darkest things in the lightest manner. She never labours the point, but you are in no doubt as to the seriousness of the subjects she tackles. Throughout her career she has addressed issues such as domestic violence, abortion and depression to name but a few. It is her work on addiction however, which for me, stands out, and what makes this particular book so brilliant. She was, when Rachel's Holiday was published, one of the only women I know of who was writing about this issue from a woman's perspective and I know, from my own exciting life experiences, how on the money she is on this subject. I watched the Imagine documentary about Marian and Val McDermid puts it perfectly when being interviewed about her books. She says that Keyes uses plot like a thriller writer. She ensures that you are hooked from the off and that you just have to keep reading to find out what happens next. It's why I finished this in two sittings, even though I tried to eke it out. I couldn't help myself. I laughed out loud a great deal and I cried my eyes out a few times too. I'm so sad it's finished.