Rachel Bai is very good at her job as a financial analyst. She loves the work, especially when she doesn’t have to interact with other people. Her company offers her an opportunity for advancement which means a cross country move to the San Francisco office (bonus, the move gets her away from her wedding obsessed younger sister), and a six month trial period managing a team of people (major downside, anxiety inducing). Her first weekend in San Francisco, Rachel goes to a bar where she meets and has a one night stand with Luke, a lawyer. She and Luke meet again at a mutual friend’s wedding where they agree to a trade – socializing lessons for her, and help building a business plan for him. Naturally having agreed to a totally professional, clothes on relationship, they both catch feelings.
I’m having this weird quandary where I enjoy Lisa Lin’s writing 85% of the time, but she makes some big choices that I really don’t like. They aren’t objectionable choices (like giving a character an evil ex who had an abortion backstory), but they still kick me out of the book. I noped out of The Year of Cecily when Jeffrey kept chastising Cecily for being mad at him for entirely reasonable things. I really liked The Rachel Experiment right up until the third act break-up when Luke’s actions and understanding of the situation felt like a sudden left turn.
Let me get into the good stuff. I loved Rachel. She’s so earnest and a little overwhelmed, but when she operates in her areas of competency, she moves with confidence. The Rachel Experiment is about Rachel developing that confidence in her relationships – with her co-workers, her friends, her family and with Luke. Luke needs to back up his confidence with planning and attention to detail. The help they provide to each other is real and useful. I loved their relationship and the way they supported each other as they grew. I loved the friendship Rachel built with Cecily and Adrienne, and the team she built with her co-workers.
I don’t automatically object to a third act breakup, but the way this one came about felt out of character for Luke. Luke is the weak link in the book in general. But it felt odd that the person with the people skills was so oblivious in a critical moment. And just as a personal peeve, I am from Texas and I think more fictional Texans say ma’am outside of customer service situations than actual living contemporary Texans. In fact, the only person I’ve heard use ma’am in non-commercial interactions is from California.
I received this as an advance reader copy from the author. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
