The Night Olivia Fell

The Night Olivia Fells opens with a scene of which no one wants to relate. Abi Knight receives a phone call that her teen daughter has been in a tragic accident and is in the hospital. Upon arriving, she learns that her daughter is not only brain dead, but also pregnant.From there, the narrative shifts between Abi, mostly in the present day with some flashbacks, and Olivia in the months leading up to her fall, until the two narratives merge in a masterful way.Abi believes from the start that Olivia’s fall is no accident. She sees bruises on her wrists, and she quickly learns no one is taking her seriously, including the police. Once they finally begin to investigate, the case never seems to be their priority, and Abi decides to take matters into her own hands.What happened to Olivia that fateful night, and how will this tragic story end?There are so many things I loved about The Night Olivia Fell, and the biggest is how grounded it is in reality with authentic emotions, relationship dynamics, and characters. And those characters…wow! Not one is simply good or bad; they are a nice mix of complexity that keeps you guessing, especially when it comes to pointing the finger at who might have harmed Olivia. The author kept a wide net cast when looking for the suspect. I would develop a theory, and then pan to the next potential perp as the story went along and red herrings were dangled.The Night Olivia Fell is so much more than the typical suspense story. While it has all the paramount trademarks, including secrets, lies, and formidable tension, it is in a league of its own with its intensely relatable characterization and raw emotion. You will love Abi and Olivia, and you will most definitely want to wrap your arms around each of them together, as you read their story and accept their individual fates as mother and daughter.I read this book as a group read, and this was the best kind of story to read together. We shared in the tension, the love for these characters, and the guessing game at just who was guilty at the center of it all.I read the book early with a complimentary copy; however, I preordered the book because I enjoyed it so much. All opinions are my own.

*stepping gingerly to avoid all of the plot holes*Alright...on with my review...This is the part where I would normally enter a profound quote from the book, however, as hard as I tried, I could find nothing quotable within this unimpressive prose.I often find myself in disagreement with the masses when it comes to hyped-up books such as this. But in this case I am COMPLETELY DUMBFOUNDED by the plethora of 5 and 4 star reviews.The first 100 pages or so caught my attention but then I couldn't skim fast enough just to get it over with, eventually finding myself at an anti-climatic ending.This story has been done and done and done again and this version added nothing novel to this tired premise.I'm not a wordy reviewer and I really don't see the point in delving into the endless list of ways this book was a mammoth disappointment for me.Friendly Disclaimer: This is not a thriller. It's more like a pseudo-mystery that should have been marketed to a teen audience rather than adult.IN SUMMARY: I read two other books while reading this one. 'Nuff said.2 Stars ⭐⭐ only because the first third was a compelling read.

The book held my interest but only by a thread. I strongly disliked Abi, an insecure, fearful, controlling mother who virtually smothered her daughter Olivia. I found it quite insincere that Olivia did not resent being imprisoned by her mother's fears, especially as a teen. Abi held such an iron grip on Olivia that any normal person would rebel against such constraints. In my opinion Abi was a pathetic broken person who had no identity, no life, outside of being Olivia's mother. The whole relationship didn't ring true.That said, the story was unremarkable, no twists, no big reveal. The other characters were also unremarkable and stereotypical. The plot dragged at times and I found the descriptions to be distracting rather than complementary to the flow of the story. It's like she took a mental image of the backdrop, copied and pasted it into the text. Very stilted, awkward and repetitive. And the mourning......it goes on and on and on. We are reminded of Abi's grief constantly, on every page of every chapter. And how picture-perfect their relationship had been. Not one character really stood out, There was zero suspense The depressing theme of death and grief permeated the entire book interspersed w/half-baked love affairs which totally lacked emotional depth. In fact, the lack of emotion throughout was stark. Characters were only halfway drawn, writing style was choppy, I was easily distracted. I found this book very two-dimensional and cliche.

Totally blown away! This book was great. Well written, this one will definitely be a bestseller. Gut wrenching and heartbreaking, I couldn’t put it down and read it in less than a day. A single mother who has had struggles with her daughter is on a mission to find out the truth of what happened to her daughter after she was found on a riverbank. This story moves between past and present and does it easily. There is so much more I want to say but don’t want to to spoil it for anyone. Well worth reading!!!

I agree that it read like a YA novel. With that being said, it was hard to put it down. I didn't care for most of the characters, as most of the way they interacted was either dysfunctional or selfish. Even with the grieving mom, it was hard to feel so sorry for her as she came across very controlling and somewhat wooden. Some of the plot development wasn't very believable. I gave it 3 stars because even with all of the above faults, it did keep my attention for the most part and the ending was sufficient and emotional.

Slow, boring and tedious. Wow, the mother is an annoying control freak and a whingy bore. I get it is part of the plot but there is no balance to keep you intrigued, just lots of whining and self pity. I believe the storyline unbelievable, no teenager would put up with the micro management her Mother inflicted on her for so long no matter how well behaved they are. Definitely not a 5 star book.

I had high expectations of this book and I was disappointed - I thought I’d get Marcus Waring but I got Frankie and Benny’s! I thought the book started well as it conveyed the panic that Olivia must have felt as she fell from the bridge. The story is then told retrospectively by Olivia and by her mother Abi. I’m never sure about the angle that authors use to tell a backstory especially in this case as Olivia was being kept alive on life support so it didn’t really make sense. It’s an easy read but I thought it was rather superficial and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters at all. The ‘baddie’ in the story seemed to me to be a stereotype. As the story progressed I found it to be predictable, there was nothing new or unique here to make this book stand out in a crowded genre. Some of the dialogue was very cheesy, there was no suspense or menace so overall, a pretty average read for me. I know a lot of people really rated this book and so it would appear to be me that’s out of step but I can only be honest in how I find a book.

I would give myself a good percentage for getting the answer right about what the ending might be when reading books. Totally failed on this book I've just finished at 06.45.A very engaging book in so many ways. Sadness, happiness, intrigue, the all encompassing love and truth of the characters felt very real.The best book I have read for some time.Highly recommend this book for all of the above reasons.I cannot see anyone being disappointed with this Book.Excellent!

I loved this book. Right from the outset i was hooked and couldn't put it down. A thoroughly enjoyable read that i would (and will!) recommend to anyone. The characters and the story line are extremely well thought out. And it doesn't make you shed a tear at the end I don't know what will... such a wonderful and moving novel, I look forward to reading more of Christina McDonald's books.

A gripping story line, i could not put the book down i finished in a day. A very emotional read.