Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The Night Olivia Fell.

No surprise that I'm one of the few readers who did not love this, nor can I say I liked it.

Told in two perspectives; the past from Olivia's voice, the teenage daughter of Abi, who in a fluke of fate, goes in search of her bio-dad; and the present from her mother, Abi's perspective, who investigates how her daughter ended up pregnant and in a coma in a hospital bed.

I felt the story kind of dragged and lacked suspense. It was typical Lifetime-y and there were certain moments when it was a little difficult to suspend disbelief.

First, I didn't like Abi. I understand she's a single parent of an only child but her hovering, her cloying, helicopter parenting was ingratiating and sad. She was one of those women who wanted to be her daughter's BFF.

This is so gross and not just because I was a psychology minor in college.

You are a parent. You are not a buddy. You establish rules and boundaries and offer comfort and support.

I realize Abi had a traumatic childhood with a mentally ill mother and that may have had something to do with her parenting methods but it still rubbed me the wrong way.

I also could not understand why Abi would choose to remain in the same state as her one night stand, considering what a bigwig he eventually became. Did a part of her hope that he would come to claim her as his wife or profess his love to her?

Call me a cynic but I also found it super difficult that Olivia and her baby daddy loved each other or believed they was true love.

I understand they had feelings for each other, had great sexual chemistry but I still have no idea why they got along. This felt more like a plot device intended to add just more drama and lurrvvee to the plot.

Lifetime would love this story; there's teen pregnancy, cyber bullying, a scheming BFF, an angry ex, a troubled half-sib, a bio-dad who is pseudo famous, a stalled police investigation, a secret boyfriend....so nothing new.

I found it hard to finish the last dozen chapters because something about the writing was tedious. Or maybe it was just the characters.

I remembered enjoying Deconstructing Amelia...this one not so much.

Olivia wasn't a bad character; she was kind and understanding, determined and loyal, and a good daughter and a good friend.

Overall, the writing was okay but the characters were annoying and one dimensional and the story lacked excitement, thrills and suspense.

I'm adding an extra star for the happy ending because I like happy endings. I'm not THAT cynical.

Alternating between the perspectives of Olivia, leading up to the night of her fall and Abi (her mother), in the aftermath of the fall, The Night Olivia Fell is a mystery at its core. The book does have suspense, and I wanted to know what happened. However, it was also predictable. I figured out most of it and it was just a matter of reading to see how it all came together.

Olivia's chapters read a little bit like young adult fiction, but they were from the perspective of a 16-year-old girl. Abi came across as desperate (which is to be expected) but also naive. It was frustrating to read her, running blindly trying to figure out what happened, trusting the wrong people.

The story starts with knowing that something happened to Olivia. She was in an "accident" which her mom believes was not an accident, but a deliberate action. Olivia was so severely injured she is brain-dead and would never wake up. However, then it is discovered that she's pregnant. It's pretty easy to figure out who the baby's father is (even though plenty of people Abi talks to lie to her). I enjoyed the book, I enjoyed the story; I just wish there was a little more suspense.

The Night Olivia Fell was a page turner. This book had you guessing until the end. I loved the authors writing style, I definitely want to read more of this author.

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review!

My first Netgalley read of the year was a hit! Going into this book, I knew it had great reviews, so my expectations were quite high. Luckily, The Night Olivia Fell mostly lived up to my expectations. Once I started reading, I didn't want to put the book down. It was quick and captured my attention from the very first page, with enough mystery to keep me excitedly reading more.

I'm noticing a bit of a trend I'm loving in modern Thrillers, and it's the addition of emotion! In the past, most of the Thrillers and Suspense novels I would read would mostly be guts, gore, and evil. Today, there are more realistic motives behind the things that happen in these stories, allowing them to hit home on a deeper level. Many new writers have an understanding of psychology, of humanity, that makes each story more fun to dissect. The Night Olivia Fell was the epitome of this trend, allowing me to be immersed in not only Abi's perspective, but Olivia's as well. I was able to get into Abi's shoes as a mother and Olivia's shoes by my past experience of being a teenager myself.

"To feel love was to feel fear -- you just couldn't let it dictate your life."

Though this book had this modern characteristic, it also featured something I love from older thrillers - constant guessing. I enjoy when there are many suspects in a story and I can't place my finger on who's motive seems most relevant. My mind went through a medley of wild ideas, only to have them crossed off the list as the story went on. I was impressed by this debut author's ability in filling those holes slowly and steadily, as this is something many seasoned authors struggle with.

"But being cool and detached were learned traits. Loss and life had taught me to contain my emotions, to stay away from things that could hurt."

In the end, I was impressed with this story's pacing and how well it kept my interest throughout while also making me relate to the characters. I only wished the ending had possibly been slightly more twisty. With the various options and gamut of suspects, I was sure the ending would surprise me. Instead, it was more of the easy path to take with the plot, at least in my opinion. Overall, I enjoyed reading well enough and decided to give this book 4 stars. I look forward to keeping up with Christina McDonald in the future! She has a promising career as a writer ahead of her.

The Night Olivia Fell releases February 5th.

I read a lot of books and give a lot of reviews and sometimes you have to give a review for a book that is so great that you have a hard time putting into words. This review doesn't do this book justice you will really have to read. The moment I started reading this book I was captivated . The story flips between Olivia and her mom Abi telling both sides of the night Olivia fell. The book sent me on an emotional roller coaster between all the mystery of what happened that night to the heartfelt story of a mother and daughter and what a mother will do for their daughter till the very end. I cried at the end of this book for Olivia and Abi. I loved trying to figure out what happened and why. I honestly would give this book 10 stars if I could if you don't read you will be missing out on a great suspenseful and heartfelt book. I look forward to reading anything in the future by this author the writing was perfect. Loved this book. I can't say enough good things about it except for I am very glad I read it!

At first it was a little hard for me to really get into this storyline and want to keep on reading. I finished it though! It was a good read and definitely had an air of mysteriousness to it which kept me wanting to finish the read. But I do love this novel! I would definitely share this with my friends.

Abi learns her daughter has fallen and is brain dead. Then she learns she was pregnant and will remain on life support until the baby is full term. When the police are not quick to investigate, she takes it upon herself to find out what happened the night Olivia fell.

I found the story riveting, emotional, and suspenseful. The writing was beautifully done. The premise heartbreaking. While I did suspect who was involved early on, the directions the writer took me during the novel were so well done that it didn't lessen the impact of the book. Truly a stellar debut and I look forward to reading even more from Christina McDonald in the future.

Cry warning. This book caused my husband to ask me why I never read happy books while I sat on the couch next to him with tears streaming down my face. This in an incredibly paced whodunit with a twist so tragic its almost unbelievable. It doesn't really even classify as a twist, since it's revealed almost immediately, but it's so incredibly sad. Abigail Knight chose not to have an abortion as a young woman after getting pregnant by a man aspiring to be a politician one day. She's been terrified of what he'd do if he ever found out. Her daughter Olivia runs into her doppelganger one day at University meet and greets and begins a search to find out if this girls father is perhaps hers. This ends in tragedy, but who's the culprit? The madcap politician? His crazy possessive daughter? The young man she's been secretly dating who left her pregnant, or the boy she was previously dating who she messily didn't really break it off with at the beginning of the summer? Or the mean girl best friend who's the sister of the new love in her life and the father of her unborn child? It's a twisty, exciting tale, but one that left me sobbing at the end as it deals with grief, mental illness, and domestic violence in relationships. Absolutely fantastic read.

From Amazon.com

A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.

When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

A phone call no mother or father or anyone should ever get. It’s like that knock on the door at 2 A.M. and your sound asleep as you stumble to the door and open and find two police officers at your door. This book will make you stop breathing and will hold you breathless until the end. I read the book in 2 days. I could not stop reading it.

The fight that Olivia has ahead of her and the fight that Abi Knight has for herself and her daughter and she searches for the truth or whatever the truth is. Twists and turns and lies. Who do you believe and and who is lying? Those will be your questions you will face on every page.

The book is being released on February 5, 2019. If there is one book to read about a mother fighting for her daughter, The Night Olivia Fell is the one to read this year. Enjoy.

The review is completely in my words. No one has told me what feel or say about the book. I have included what the book is about above that I retrieved from http://www.amazon.com.

Christina McDonald's THE NIGHT OLIVIA FELL was a difficult read for me as a mother of daughters; that said, I could not put it down. I was invested in Abi's pain and her journey of dealing with the loss of her daughter.

Ms. McDonald has taken a family's tragedy and created a story that is as uplifting at times as it is painful.. This book is full of believable and relate-able characters.

Abi is given the news her sixteen year old daughter has fallen from a bridge, is brain dead and pregnant. Her world is rocked off it's axis. She needs to know what happened and she intends to find out though she is presented with many obstacles including her own past.

The reader takes a journey with Abi, a journey of learning to trust, of acceptance and of the new life presented to her in the face of tragedy.

I enjoyed every page of Ms. McDonald's lovely writing style. I will most definitely be looking for her next offering.

Wowzers on this book. For me, it was so hard to put this book down and when I got to the end I got the damn feels. I literally was crying with tears pouring down my face. Thank goodness I was at home and out in public, I can just imagine what I looked like crying over a book.

Now I am going to go with a five-star review but I just hope that the author uses capitalization at the beginning of each chapter before the book is published.

Olivia is a good teenager yet we can see how she feels that she is being suffocated by her mom who just wants what is best for her. Olivia learns why her mom is the way she is towards her yet, it may be too late. She is dealing with all this plus trying to keep her secrets under wrap especially from her best friend.

I could relate to Olivia's mom and see how she wanted the best for her daughter and pushed her to strive for better. My heart went out to Abi as she learned how to be a mom when her own mom wasn't there for her. Secrets will come out and though they may not be for the best, lying will not make it better.

We go back and forth between the past and present to find out what really happened to Olivia and what is going on in her life building it all up. The author did a great job with this. I was not confused at all with the timeline.

I honestly wish I could write more but I feel like I would be giving away the storyline. I thought about 15% in I had it all figured out but when I started getting deeper into the book I was proven wrong. I love when books do that to you, this is an author I will be looking to read more from.

Phone calls in the middle of the night are never a good thing. And for Abi Knight the phone call turns out to be the news every parent dreads receiving. Her daughter, Olivia, has been in an accident. She was found at the bottom of a bridge, bruised and broken.

The doctors say she is brain-dead and must remain on life support until her baby is further along. Baby? How could she not know her daughter was pregnant? And why are there bruises on her wrists?

The police may have ruled this an accident but Abi will go to hell and back to find out who did this to her daughter. And in doing so secrets are exposed, lives will never be the same.

Told with Olivia's voice from the months leading up to her supposed accident and Abi's voice in current time with some bad past secrets coming to light as well. And when you start spilling secrets, not everyone is on board.

This was one of the most heartbreaking and suspenseful books I've read in a while. I kept going back and forth with the characters. None of them were all bad or all good. They were your neighbors and their teenagers, people you've known all your life and yet how much do you really know your own family? We think we are protecting them but the secrets and lies always come to light and it always is painful. 

This story will grab your heart and won't let go until the last page. And even then, I still had hope.

Very Well Done!

Netgalley/February 5th 2019 by Gallery Books

The beginning of the book felt predictable and the conversations felt forced, but I was intrigued by the mystery at the center of the book and really wanted to know what happened to Olivia. As the book went on I realized that I felt the each character introduced was OBVIOUSLY the murderer, but then I realized they can't all be the murder. At this point I was captivated. This is a great beach read, which I did do; read it at the beach in one sitting.

This was a great book! Many times I thought I had everything figured out, and there was yet another twist thrown in. It was very well written and held my attention the entire time!

I enjoyed The Night Olivia Fell. A mother’s worst nightmare but her will and determination for justice all collide in this light suspenseful drama, that kept me on the edge of my seat . The ending was so depressing even though I knew what was coming.

I could not put this book down - several times I thought I knew the ending and just had to keep reading to see if I was right - the characters were so likeable (even the ones not meant to be) - this author takes you straight to the heart of the characters and you see the story through multiple lenses - looking forward to more by this author

I truly enjoyed this book. I was a little concerned at first because it goes back and forth between Mom and Olivia telling the story but I was pleasantly surprised on how easily it flowed. I found the story heartbreaking and also heartwarming if that makes sense. I will look for more by this author and recommend this book to others. It was definitely worth the read!!!

“Whatever, whatever. I’m here forever”

4.5 ⭐️ Stars for this read. I could not put down this book. Make sure you have tissues handy, and don’t finish reading it around anyone! The characters are relatable, flawed and real.

Abi is a single Mom to 17 yo Olivia. She is keeping a secret, thinking she is doing the best thing in protecting Olivia. Olivia is for all purposes, a normal 17 yo girl. But she has questions she needs answered. She unexpectedly meets her ‘double’ randomly and a lot of her questions come to surface. As the mom of a 17 yo daughter, I can so relate to the mother/daughter dynamics, and the school drama. When Abi gets THE phone call no parent ever wants, it sets her world spiraling.

Although, I found some parts of the story predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the author’s writing. This book is so much more than just a mystery, it’s a love story...between mother/daughter, sisters, and young love. The ending ripped my heart out!

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley got this digital ARC. Opinion is my one. I look forward to reading this author again.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a great, page-turning novel. It's a heartbreaking drama and a thriller at the same time. You know from the first pages that a 17-year old girl has fallen off the bridge and there was foul play involved. Her mother is on a quest to discover the truth, though the police seem to have written her and her daughter off. The daughter lies in a hospital, brain-dead, but kept on life support because it's discovered that she's also pregnant--which no one seemed to know.

There's a sizable cast of characters who could be guilty. I liked how the reader was able to see multiple possible resolutions for this case. You have to keep reading to see which one is correct. I also found it chilling that this young girl led a pretty perfect life: a straight-A student athlete, no drinking or drugs, close to her mother, followed all the rules. And yet we find a number of people who could have wanted her gone for various personal reasons. It reminds you that no matter what you do, you can't escape your fate and there's no prescription for how to lead a perfect life. And that's rather scary.

There were a few places in the novel that were less than perfect: a couple coincidences that I think would have been better re-worked and some suspect police procedures that seem hard to believe would have really taken place the way they did. But overall, this is a great read, full of mystery and intrigue as well as an examination of relationships between parents and children (especially mothers and daughters) and how hard it is to always do the right thing. Highly recommend.

Olivia's mom received a call notifying her that her daughter was in an accident. When she arrives at the hospital, she finds that Olivia is on life support with no brain function. She is also informed that Olivia is pregnant. With her world shattered, she tries to find out the truth about how Olivia fell and discover who is the baby's father.

This book is told through alternating viewpoints in the past and the present. The ending was rather predictable, but I still enjoyed the story.

I received this book through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley.com, to Gallery Threshold Pocket books, and to Christina McDonald for this opportunity.