Again, Rachel: The love story of the summer (Walsh Family, 6)

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The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. This is a long book - 579 pages in my doorstopper paperback, and about a third of that is fairly boring filler about Rachel’s work.

The book is centered around those she counsels, her current partner, her family, and her ex and his family. In this book, many forms of addiction are obviously discussed, but also there's a big section on pregnancy loss/stillbirth. Again, Rachel picks up the story 20 years later, and Rachel is now an addiction counsellor at the clinic that once saved her. It's an ingenious way of dealing with social issues that can shatter lives, whilst doing so with the warm and belly-laugh humour that the author is so good at. Perceptive, hilarious and moving, it's a captivating roller coaster of a read and it's a joy to be reunited with Rachel and the rest of the Walsh clan.But she does not link that with her acceptance of the identity 'once an addict, always an addict' and her belief that she is not one of the 'normal' people. It is her work on addiction however, which for me, stands out, and what makes this particular book so brilliant. 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.

I know that at heart this is chick-lit, but I thought we might’ve got past spending so much energy, not to mention money, on such nonsense. But Mum was from that generation of Irishwomen who prided themselves on raising children with rock-bottom self-esteem. Addiction is a thing of the past, except for fancy trainers and a hankering after a Chanel handbag, but who doesn't share those loves? The two are middle-aged now and have spent years apart, but Keyes manages to emphasise their connection so powerfully that I, along with Rachel, went from hating him and being so cross with him, to slowly warming to him, to falling in love with him all over again.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. While I know they added a bit to Rachel's own story, I just didn't care enough about her clients at The Cloisters to want to read so much about them. Many books, including Again, Rachel , explore the concept of recovery in various forms (emotional, physical, mental).

The long-awaited follow up to Keyes' bestselling Rachel's Holiday finds our titular heroine having hauled her life back on track, only to suffer a spectacular setback when an old flame arrives in her life once more. With all of Keyes main characters (they are big hot messes) Rachel is a character you can relate to, one you wished you could have as a friend. Keyes’ genuine understanding of addiction, rooted in her personal experiences, shines throughout and creates a real authenticity to the narrative .

I took my time, savouring the stories, almost feeling like I was part of this family catching up on all the goss.