⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars for The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald!!
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I would say this is more of a mystery. It’s a single working Mother trying to put the pieces together to find out what exactly happened to her daughter, Olivia. It’s a fast paced discovery into the past and present over a course of a few months leading up to the shocking discovery of Olivia being in a coma.

⭐️I think what sets a good book apart from a great book, is when I can identify with a character and see how realistic it could actually be. As a Mom, I put myself in Abi Knight’s shoes and I would be trying just as hard to solve this mystery. Another great book for 2019!! Thank you #netgalley @gallerybooks and the #netreduction

I started reading The Night Olivia Fell with high expectations. I’d read some fantastic reviews and the plot sounded right up my street. For anyone who follows my reviews, you may notice I’m a very emotional reader – I like a book that’s going to make me grin like a Cheshire cat or cry big fat ugly tears. This book seemed like it was made for me.

So maybe it was those high expectations that got in the way when I first started reading this book. It took me a while to get into, feeling a bit slow paced and not altogether gripping me. I think the main issue was that I just didn’t gel with main character, Abi, whose daughter Olivia is on life support waiting to give birth. She’s prickly, aggressive, and in the flashbacks to life before the accident, controlling and oppressive towards teen Olivia.

However, as I read on I started to relate to her. Abi and I have a lot in common, and as a single parent I remember that feeling of wanting to prove your child can have every opportunity a child with two parents can have. As we learn more of her backstory, I could empathise and understand her, and her overwhelming fear of loosing those she loves. And I really enjoyed watching her character develop, as she overcame her demons of both past and present.

The mystery of what happened to Olivia is tightly woven and while there’s clear suspects marked out, it really could have been any of them right up until the reveal. This is a complex mystery, wrapped up in secrets and lies, some designed to protect and others to destroy. At it’s heart is a young girl, Olivia, who tragically seems to be manipulated from all sides, yet remains a thoughtful, caring and optimistic young woman. Whereas I initially found Abi difficult, I loved hearing Olivia’s story in the flashback chapters leading up to that fateful night.

The final third of this book was excellent. I read it with held breath, tears streaming down my face so heavily I couldn’t see the page. All the emotion I missed at the begin is there in those final heartbreaking pages with some incredibly tender and moving writing searing my heart. I was glad I’d stuck with this book, it was well worth it in the end and I think this is a story that will stay with me for quite sometime, as well as serving as a reminder to appreciate my own teen daughter. This is a story that will slowly creep under your skin and rip your heart out before putting it back together again.

This book kept me up late into the night. I couldn't stop reading it. The book is written in the perspective of both Olivia and her mother, Abi. It keeps you questioning the mystery of what happened to Olivia, but is also about so much more than that. The author brilliantly captures both a Mother's striving to protect her teen child, and the teen's constant struggle to both please their parents while still being independent.
I recommend this book to everyone, it's a quick read and keeps you on edge throughout. Thanks for the review copy Netgalley and HQ

A very well written book which I loved from start to finish. The characters are so believable and you really want to find out what happened to Olivia the night she fell, as well as what led to the fall. There were twists and turns and plenty of suspense. I would highly recommend this book.

A gripping fast psychological thriller that had me hooked from the first page.
Single mother ABI has a seventeen year old daughter. Abi is woken in the night with devastating news, Olivia her daughter slipped and fell from a bridge into the icy waters below. When Abi gets to the hospital she finds Olivia on life support. This is every parents worse nightmare. Sitting with her daughter ABI notices angry bruises on her daughter's wrists and then she is told that her daughter is also three months pregnant. The police have said it was a tragic accident but ABI knows her very level headed Olivia would never have got into this situation willingly and sets out to find the truth.
This is a real page turner and kept me reading long into the night. A psychological drama which had me tapping my kindle faster. The perpetrator was who I was expecting and I was pleased to have guessed right for once. Don't get me wrong in no way did it detract from a hell of a read. I loved it and highly recommended. A real thriller of a read.

I hate to say it, as the premise of the book was good, but I found it too slow. I dragged myself through it, but had no desire to pick it up most days. I'm so sorry, just not for me.

A gripping story right from the beginning, told from the perspective of Olivia and her mum, Abi. It was fairly fast-paced and kept me guessing, which I loved! I definitely didn’t guess the ending either. I’d heard SO many people raving about this book and I’m so glad I read it - thanks so much for the advance copy!

I saw this book being advertised on Facebook. There may have been a giveaway involved. But I read the synapsis and instantly wanted to read it! It was on NetGalley so I requested the book. A few days later I had it and instantly started reading. It is so good. I was guessing as to who pushed Olivia until the end. And at the end I was a mess. I have two young daughters so I could totally see myself in Abi’s shoes and what she was going through. I cried and cried and cried. At one point my husband looked over and me and asked if I was doing ok. I was probably ugly crying. It was so sad but then so happy at the same time.

I love the way points of view changed between mother and daughter. And the way the times changed from past to present. It gave you a full understanding of each other lives and the roles that they each had in the book.

This book made me feel all the emotions. I am so glad that I was able to get this book early and read it and love it as much as I did. This book is defiantly going on the recommend if anyone asks for a thriller.

Abi Knight is woken up in the middle of the night and told that her teenage daughter has had an accident. Olivia slipped and fell from a bridge into the icy water below, and is now on life support – not only that, she's three months pregnant. But what if she didn't fall? What if she was pushed? Continue reading this review over on Pretty Books: https://prettybooks.co.uk/2019/02/17/mini-reviews-fierce-fragile-hearts-giant-days-the-night-olivia-fell/

This was s gripping fast paced thriller that I flew through. I look forward to reading more by this author & would recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a great debut novel which is totally gripping. Would highly recommend.

The Night Olivia Fell concerns Abi Knight, a single mum, trying to unearth the mystery around her daughter Olivia, falling from a bridge which has rendered her brain dead. She’s been told it was a tragic accident, but why does Olivia have bruises that look awfully suspicious? And as Abi learns she knew so little of what was going on in Olivia’s life, what else could she learn that could perhaps hold the answers to what happened to Olivia at the ZigZag Bridge?

I liked the mother/daughter story dynamic, as the narration alternated between Abi (the mother) and Olivia (the daughter). It took me a while to warm to Abi. Initially I couldn’t empathise with her, but toward the end of the book, it became impossible not to. She was a complicated character, but first and foremost, a committed and loving mother, that lived for her daughter. I felt her story was fully developed, which was nice, as I didn’t expect an exploration of her character going into the story.
Like Abi’s character, Olivia was difficult to connect with as well. I think I connected to her on a level as I knew where her story ended. All in all, Olivia is that character where you say, "what a poor girl". She was young and naive, and by the end of the book, that wholesomeness had been corrupted but was on the mend, which made the storyline sadder.

Also, I liked the fact that there was an element of optimism in this story. We find out early on Olivia is pregnant, which provides the story and the reader with a little relief that as dark as the story may get, there was a ray of light in the room because of the upcoming baby. Usually mysteries/thrillers etc, are so taunt with suspense and what not, I found this happiness in amongst tragedy quite nice.

It's not a heavy criticism, but it really became annoying when the expression "Olivia's fall" was used repeatedly, to tie it to the book's title. Whether or not the story’s conclusion would confirm that Olivia did indeed fall, at some point someone would call it an “accident” instead. This was my only gripe with the story, that at some points, the writing wasn’t very true-to-life or well written.

I would definitely say this book is not a thriller; there’s very little to no big twists and turns. It was more like a mystery-drama than a mystery-thriller. As a mystery-drama, which is how I'm going to describe it, as that's what it largely was, the book was excellent. The last few chapters had me in tears. The mystery of “is this a whodunnit? If so, whodunnit?” was engaging. I really commend McDonald for creating a handful of potential outcomes, which made it exciting to try and settle on one of the scenarios as THE big reveal.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, the story’s premise was really interesting, and I was satisfied with its ending. I’ve decided to rate it 4 stars as a mystery-drama. I would recommend it to those who likes mysteries, but as a thriller, I wouldn’t. If I were to consider it as a thriller, my rating would be much lower. There were virtually no scares or thrills in this, and where the plot attempted to do such scares, it wasn’t developed enough to have such impact. So, I feel it fair for prospective readers to be aware that this is the case – it’s a mystery-drama, not a mystery-thriller. For those who like dramatic mysteries, I genuinely would recommend it.
Thank you kindly to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC copy, in exchange for this honest review.

Just finished reading this! It didn’t take long, I was hooked desperately wanting to find out the answers and guessing along the way 📚

They said it was an accident. Her mother knows they’re lying. But the truth comes with a price…

IT’S EVERY PARENT’S WORST NIGHTMARE.

Abi Knight is startled awake in the middle of the night to a ringing phone and devastating news – her teenage daughter, Olivia, has been in a terrible accident.

Abi is told that Olivia slipped and fell from a bridge into the icy water below, and now she lies silent, dependent on life support.

But then Abi sees the angry bruises around Olivia’s wrists and learns that her sensible daughter is in fact three months pregnant . . .

WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT IF THEY TOLD YOU IT WAS AN ACCIDENT?

The Night Olivia Fell is a family suspense novel about a single mother Abi and her 17 year old daughter Olivia. Abi receives a call in the middle of the night to learn that her daugher fell of a bridge and might not live. Abi is devastated and doesn't understand how this could have happened. Her daughter is always careful and a great swimmer, so how could she fell off? Did someone push her? But Olivia is well-liked and popular, so who would want to harm her?
When police do not show much interst in the case, Abi decides to investigate on her own. Thinking that she knows everything about her daughter's life, Abi quickly realises that Olivia kept secrets from her.

The story is told from Abi's perspective after the fall, alternating with Olivia's narration from before the fall, leading us into the events of the tragic night. I found this to be a compelling read that I got into very quickly. It is well written and unlike most of the psychological thrillers I have recently read, the twist in this story is believable. The identity of the person behind Olivia's accident might not come as a surprise, which is actually refreshing and it definitely does not diminish the enjoyment of the book.

Many thanks to HQ UK for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Night Olivia Fell is a psychological/family drama hybrid, beautifully written and playing nicely on the emotions of the reader.

Olivia has fallen, she is officially brain dead but also pregnant. As per the law in her state, her life support remains in an attempt to give the baby a chance. There is no chance for Olivia though, that in itself is hugely thought provoking and emotive theme within.

The mystery element deals with why she fell, but the heart of this story is in the mother/daughter relationship. Mum Abi is dealing with a lot of trauma, meanwhile we hear from Olivia in flashback making it an even more tumultuous read.

I loved it. The truth is a shot to the heart, the characters are all wonderfully drawn, the whole thing was highly engaging and cleverly plotted.

Recommended.

The Night Olivia Fell was a highly anticipated book of mine, and it didn’t disappoint! It made me feel all the feels, I was angry, sad, in love, joyous and utterly grateful by the end of it. I finished it a little more than 24hrs, it’s that good!
It starts with Olivia’s mum receiving a phone call in the middle of the night with news that no parent ever wants to hear... she rushes to the hospital to find her 17 year old daughter (who was the picture of a perfect teenager) lying in ICU braindead and pregnant. The police soon get involved even though everyone still thinks that it was an accident, but they are soon told to stop investigating. Why?
The story moves in two timelines and POVs, one is Abi’s (the mother) as she desperately tries to find the truth about the night Olivia fell, and she unearths secrets and things she had no idea about.
The other POV is Olivia’s, starting from April through October when the accident happen.
I can’t really say much more about this without spoiling the amazing twists, but this book had me in tears by the end and I stayed up way into the night to finish it (extra coffees today for me to be able to stay awake during my workday, but so worth it!)
It’s a must read. The author’s style is wonderfully flowing and I loved some of the things she wrote about love and family, they were worded so beautifully. It has some fantastic hidden messages about the importance of being good enough and trying to love someone even if you don’t think you’ve got it right, it’s ok to try again and keep trying! (Not just in a romantic way!) It won’t disappoint!

Thank you for NetGalley, HQ books and Christina McDonald for my free advanced copy to read and review!

I saw this book pop up in Facebook and after seeing the cover and reading the blurb I knew I had to read it.
To say this was the authors debut book I was impressed. She pulled me into the story from page 1 and kept me guessing. The story was easy to follow.
I stayed up late so I could finish reading because I had to find out what had happened to Olivia and who was responsible.
I loved the dual POV between Olivia before she fell and her mother after she fell trying to find out what happened to her daughter. You got both sides of the story from both perspectives.
Some parts were truly heart breaking to read especially the ending.
I will definitely be on the look out for more of this authors books.

Abi is woken in the middle of the night from the local hospital that her daughter has been admitted. Olivia has suffered a terrible injury and is on life support but they can’t turn it off as she is pregnant. The story unfolds from Abi’s investigations and Olivia’s story leading up to the accident.

I follow Christina on Instagram and have been buzzing about this book. I was delighted to receive a copy from netgalley in exchange for my honest review. It was well written and certainly had me second guessing myself.

I Loved every minute of reading this mystery suspense thriller. We all know when the phone goes in the middle of the night it’s never good news , so when Abi Knight gets that call to say her 17 year old daughter Olivia has been in an accident and to come to the hospital where she discovers Olivia is brain dead and pregnant and must stay on life support for her baby and the realisation That when one life begins another must end. It appears Olivia fell over the bridge an accident.....
Abi doesn’t believe it but nobody is listening to her , not the police or her own sister , it’s upto Abi to try and find out what happened that night. Set in dual time flicking between past and present we learn the damage secrets can cause. The story is told by Abi and Olivia alternating Betwix the two. All Abi ever wanted was to protect Olivia , but at what cost . Written beautifully with characters I feel like I know ! This story shows how strong a mothers love and in the words of Abi herself Whenever whatever I’m here for ever .
4.5/5
#thenightoliviafell
Review on Instagram see link below

I actually couldn’t put this book down ,it would have taken my a day to read if I didn’t have to go to work.instead it took me two days.i usually try to guess what’s going to happen at the end,guessing who made Olivia fall and if it was malicious or not.i was really invested in Olivia and her family.my favourite book of 2019 so far,I’ll keep an eye out for more books by Christina McDonald.five stars