Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not as good as Watermelon
Review: Fun to read about another member of the "Watermelon" family, and definitely worth reading, but this is not quite as good as that book. This one is set partly in New York, where Rachel -- Claire's sister -- self-destructs, and partly in a Betty Ford-type rehab center in Ireland. Now I'm waiting for more books about the rest of the family!
Rating: 
Summary: Very good
Review: I stayed up until 5am reading this novel, couldn't put it down. It's a delightful comedy and a touching, thoughtprovoking account of addiction at the same time, and I warmly recommend it. Some of the solutions and explanations regarding the protagonist's addiction problem seem a little too simple, but on the whole the plot is believable. I would have liked to learn more about the minor characters (and Rachel's struggle after the treatment centre), but I suppose the point is that an addiction makes the protagonist rather self-centered. I didn't like the ending much though, it provides a romantic denouement too easy to my liking. My solution: stop reading a couple of pages before the end, after Rachel has met the significant male other in her life, and there's a "sort of" happy ending. I think the book would have been more powerful if it stopped just there, when there's a glimpse of hope for the future and a sense of resolved past differences. Having a knight in shining armour barge in at the end does somehow not fit the general tone of the book, since this is not a romance novel.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I too could not put this book down. I have read all of Marian Keyes' books and this by far is may favorite. I found it interesting to go from Rachel's absolute denial of her substance problem to her later acceptance and recovery. I work with at risk families and I have recommended it to some of my clients who are going through similiar experiences as Rachel was. I think that this should be a must read for anyone involved in a recovery program.
Rating:
Summary: SO REALISTIC, ENDEARING & CAPTIVATING
Review: This was my first Marian Keyes novel. I have neglected to write a review for some reason but since I have finished reading this novel, I have read "Last Chance Saloon", "Watermelon", and "The Other Side of the Story".
Obviously Marian Keyes is an esquisite writer or else I wouldn't have proceeded to read three of her other novels. The Walsh Sisters are so intriguing to read about.
Rachel is a deeply developed character with charisma and a heart that just wants to be loved. Her story is believeable and the remaining elements of the story make for a perfect plot.
Presently I have the rest of the Keyes' novels I have not read yet sitting on a self. I cannot wait to immerse myself into the lives of the Walsh Sisters again.
Happy Reading!
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre on the Marian Keyes scale , but okay nonetheless
Review: I didn't find this book as entertaining as Watermelon or Lucy Sullivan. But it was still a pretty good read. If you're a Keyes fan, you'll like it.
Rating:
Summary: Rachel's Holiday
Review: Excellent! This is another one of Ms. Keyes's books that is better than all the drivel I've ever read in all the self-help books put together. Keep up the good work!
Rating:
Summary: Marian Keyes is hysterical!
Review: This book and all of Marian Keyes books are wonderful light reading, I see myself or those I know in her characters, her Irish sense of humour and down to earth style make her books a wonderful read. Can't wait for the next!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but not just "fun"
Review: Serious and funny in equal measure, this book is a perfect read for every woman. Rachel, as some other reviewers have complained, is indeed a very shallow person whose life is way off track, but this (in case the aforementioned reviewers have somehow missed it) is the story of her RECOVERY. And what a story!
Rachel, for those of you who haven't read the plot summaries, is a drug addict living crazy in the big city, and she's finally been convinced to go to rehab...but she's not convinced she's got a problem. Instead, she sees rehab as a way to meet celebrities and figure out a way to get back her boyfriend, who dumped her when he couldn't handle her drug problem anymore. She scoffs at the weaknesses of the other addicts, refusing to admit her own, and bitches constantly about her terrifying therapist, awful roommate, and total lack of celebrity sightings.
While we're laughing (or shaking our heads) at how snippy and silly and immature Rachel can be, somehow Ms. Keyes gets us inside her head and we begin to understand her, just as Rachel begins to understand herself. Then the healing begins, and boy is the journey painful. With great sensitivity and without overanalyzing, Ms. Keyes gives us an unflinching look at addiction, adulthood, love, sex, confronting the self, and healing it. A gifted writer by whom I have not read a bad book, Marian Keyes has outdone herself with RACHEL'S HOLIDAY.
One complaint (not M.K.'s fault): the cover. Where do they keep coming up with these stupid covers full of people way too skinny to be serious, let alone real? For all its humor, this is ultimately a serious story of personal redemption, and for that the cover is completely wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Rachel's Holiday
Review: Far and away the best of the Brit-Chic-Lit genre. I loved Watermelon, and almost all of Marian Keyes' novels, but Rachel's Holiday is the best. I've read them all--Marian, Helen, Sophie, Anna, Lisa, Wendy, Jane, etc... and after a while many of the characters--and most of the plots--start to run together. Not Rachel--or any of her sisters for that matter. Fantastic book!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!!
Review: I have read all of Marian Keyes' books and this has, by far, been my favorite. It is the story of Rachel who has just entered a rehab center. Parts of this book get depressing, but there are also lots of funny parts as well. You just want so much for Rachel to get out of rehab and do good with her life....it is a wonderful book!
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