I really enjoyed this book, but I think I would have liked it more if it had been marketed as a young adult mystery/suspense novel rather than adult. I think part of the reason I felt this way was because half the book was narrated by Olivia, a teenager, and the mystery surrounding her fall was full of typical teenage angst and drama. Some of this drama lead to subtle red herrings that fooled me into thinking I could guess who the killer was more than once.

This was a heavily character-driven mystery; most of the teenage characters were well-developed and complex. Madison's snarkiness and impulsive anger reminded me of a girl I knew in high school, and Kendall's instability reminded me of a different girl I knew in high school. However, I thought the adult characters could have all used some more development. Abi was immature and impulsive, Gavin was one-dimensional and an amalgam of politician stereotypes, and it felt like Sarah's only purpose was to throw in the story of Abi's terrible childhood, which also could have used some work.

Overall, the writing was solid, especially in the Olivia-narrated chapters, the story was suspenseful, and the pace perfect. I wasn't able to guess the ending, which made me like the book a lot more. I felt that some of the red herrings were introduced and dismissed far too quickly, but that's something that I can see the author improving on in her next book. The characters and some of the backstories could have also used some more work, but I think Christina McDonald has great potential and I'm looking forward to her next book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC.

I don't think I've ever had a book move me to tears, but the ending of this did just that.

I chose this book because I love suspenseful books. This book was more than that. Told from two viewpoints, Abi and Olivia. Sixteen year old Olivia has fallen and now she's on life support with no brain activity. Olivia is also pregnant.

We follow Abi, Olivia's mother, as she pieces together how Olivia could have fallen. Police say she committed suicide, but Abi's motherly instincts are telling her that's not what happened. Could it be Olivia's boyfriend Tyler? Her best friend Madison who she was in a fight with? Or could it be Olivia's father? The man who Abi desperately and fiercely kept away from Olivia for their own protection. Or could Olivia have been desperate to leave this world behind?

We also follow Olivia in the months leading up to the night she fell. She's met a girl who looks exactly like her at a University visit. Could this girl be her stepsister? Could her dad still be alive? Why would her mom lie to her? Why is her mom so strict? This one chance encounter begins a series of lies and omissions that take on a life of their own. Then she finds out that she's pregnant and she begins to understand why her mom is the way she is. Olivia's torn between to guys, a friend who is making her life miserable at school, and a mother who has lied to her her entire life about her dad. But is this all enough to maker her step off that bridge to end her own life?

Overall this book wasn't as suspenseful as I suspected. I wasn't on the edge of my seat to find out what happened. But it was a great book nonetheless, if not better. It has left me deeply thinking about what it means to be a mother and friend. Bringing new life into the world is an amazing feat, but I couldn't imagine not being able to be there to do it. I also could never imagine having to watch my own daughter be on life support so that the baby inside of her could grow. I'm not sure to what lengths I would go to find out the truth about her either.

Well done Christina McDonald.

The Night Olivia Fell is a book that is EXTREMELY hard to put down!! Full of emotion and suspense, McDonald keeps the reader engrossed from the first page to the last.

Abi Knight, a single mother, has raised her daughter, Olivia, by herself from the start. Though extremely protective, she and Olivia have always been close, but there are secrets between them and those secrets end up costing both of them dearly.

Olivia has just finished high school, and at 17 is chafing under her mother's constant hovering presence. She loves her mom deeply, but wants some independence. Abi is having a hard time letting go.

Awakened at 4:30 AM by a phone call telling her that Olivia has been in an accident, Abi arrives at the hospital to be told that Olivia fell off a bridge and is brain dead. What's more, Olivia's pregnant! Despite heavy bruises on her wrists, the police seem hesitant to investigate Olivia's death. Determined to find out how and why her daughter died, Abi keeps prodding the police and searching for the truth on her own.

The story is seamlessly told in Abi's voice in present time, and in Olivia's voice in flashbacks leading up to the fall. Olivia too, was searching for the truth; she wanted to know who her father is, and why her mother lied to her about him.

A quick, suspenseful and heart wrenching read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery books for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions stated here are my own.

Book Review - THE NIGHT OLIVIA FELL
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Told in two different point of views - Olivia’s pre-accident and Abi post accident, the story is pieced together as we go back and forth. Abi is a fiercely loyal mom who has some elements of being a Loreli Gilmore type except she’s strict, serious and doesn’t have much of her own life😬. Olivia is a somewhat typical teen who wants to be more independent and trusted. I read this in two days because I was curious what was going to happen. At times far fetched with some convenient coincidences, the story did move along on and it wasn’t overly twisty. Sometimes I get annoyed when the author tries to continually misdirect and the plot twists are never ending. That wasn’t the case and I actually appreciated that. ⁣
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I would definitely recommend this especially to someone looking for a good page turner.
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Thank you to @netgalley @gallerybooks for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. The Night Olivia Fell is out February 5th! ⁣
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The Night Olivia Fell is a fast-paced thriller with a unique concept. Abi’s world is shattered when she receives a call in the middle of the night reporting that her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off of a bridge. She is now brain dead, but cannot be taken off life support since she is pregnant! As Olivia is kept alive in order to hopefully bring her baby to term, Abi begins to investigate what went on that night, as she knows it wasn’t simply a fall as the police have concluded.

This is a very consuming novel that has its true strength in the emotional aspect. It was heart wrenching to watch Abi learn to love the prospect of her new grandchild, whilst also having to accept that the baby surviving means that Olivia dies. I truly felt the love between mother and daughter in this novel as one of the stronger themes is motherhood and what it means to be family. Christina McDonald has written complex, likeable characters that will have you routing for them through the entire book.

As Abi takes on the investigation herself, she gets to know her daughter in a new way. The investigation leads to new information about Olivia’s boyfriend, friends, biological family, and members of the community. There’s many suspects and surprises that build suspense. What’s stopping me from giving it five stars is that it is somewhat predictable as a thriller. I figured out the ending, which isn’t always a problem, but with all of the buildup, I was hoping for more of a shock factor here. That said, I loved reading this book and the descriptions of love brought me to tears as much as the heartbreaking moments! Highly recommend!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Happy #pubday to The Night Olivia Fell by @christinamac79 🎉 I decided to go into this book blind by not reading the synopsis or any reviews and just chose it based on genre. Best idea ever, because I’ve really enjoyed this book! It’s perfect for mystery/thriller lovers and fans of @sarahpekkanen and @greer.hendricks ❤️ Thank you to @netgalley @christinamac79 and @gallerybooks for my review copy!

Y'all this book. My first five star of 2019 and law, it was a great one. Sadly, I'm not going to talk much about the specifics. I have a video up with my thoughts (on Instagram under TheSouthernGirlReads) as to why it was a five star read. I would encourage you to watch that. I will say this...I went into The Night Olivia Fell thinking it was a thriller. I would not place it haphazardly in that category. In my opinion it is a very well done family drama...with a mystery.
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Bottom line. If you enjoy thought provoking, mysteries, grab this one. It's a quick read and in my opinion, very well done.
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Do you have books where you don't even want to elaborate? You just want to yell...read this book? Yea, that's me with this one lol!

This is a totally gut-wrenching story of a mother and daughter who seem to have lost each other in a sea of deception and lies. Abi awakens one night to answer the call that no parent wants to hear: Olivia is in the hospital after a fall from a bridge. The rest of the book is a series of flashbacks for Abi and Olivia as the secrets between the two are slowly unraveled. This is a mesmerizing tale because of the emotional connection between the mother and daughter and the pull that I felt to find out what actually made Olivia fall. There are some false clues along the way, and the concluding was absolutely heart-wrenching. The two points of view are Abi and Olivia and this style made the book feel more authentic. The action was fast-paced, and this was one of the best suspense books that I have read recently. Readers of domestic suspense will want to set aside plenty of time to read this book in one sitting because you won’t be able to put it down.

Christina McDonald’s debut novel, The Night Olivia Fell has all of the “feels” for the reader! No parent wants to hear the phone ringing in the middle of the night. Olivia’s mom answers the phone and the hospital tells her that Olivia has been in an accident. From here the story alternates between The voices of Olivia starting a few months before the accident and her mom, Abigail, moving forward from when Olivia arrives at the hospital and her mother trying to solve what happened to cause the accident. This novel is gut wrenching! Thank you NetGalley for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Night Olivia Fell was a new plot for me. I liked the idea of it, but I felt like I guessed the ending about halfway through, unfortunately. I think this book is suited better for younger readers, because it does have an interesting message and makes you think about how kids are raised and how blind parents can be sometimes. I wish that it would have had a big plot twist that would have knocked me off my seat. Overall, a good story.

Huh?! Did I read the same book as everyone else?

I am not going to go into great detail critiquing what didn’t work for me, but I will say I couldn’t look past the following: predictable plot, stilted dialogue, cliched characters, juvenile writing, and plot holes abound. I grew sick of constantly being told what happened vs. being able to see what happened.

I bumped up my rating for the ending--the emotion shined through and felt more natural than the rest of the book.

I think I am the only person who didn’t love this book, so feel to ignore my review and enjoy for yourself.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.

I finished up The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald, a couple days before the publication date! Thank you to netgalley and Threshold, Pocket and Gallery books for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a very powerful story. When Abi gets a call in the middle of the night and rushes to the hospital to her 17 year old daughter it starts as a nightmare to any parent. Olivia has fallen off a bridge and suffered severe injuries. Her daughter is braindead, but unknown to her mother Olivia is pregnant....
How did this happen? Why was she at the bridge and who did it are questions swirling in her mothers head!?

The story switches perspectives of the story from her mother to back when Olivia was alive and well. It starts to give perspective into Olivia's life and maybe who had the motive to do something to Olivia. As Abi starts noticing handprints on her daughter, she tells the police she does not think it was an accident. To Abi's horror the police are not keen on the investigation so Abi starts investigating herself.... I couldn't put this down until I found out what happened.

I see where people are saying this book leans toward a YA novel, but I love YA novels and I loved the mystery behind this story. Thank you again for the read! I loved it!

You know how sometimes you need several adult beverages to help you get through an incredibly boring book? The Night Olivia fell is the exact opposite of that. I completely ignored my glass of wine while reading this because I was too engrossed in the book!

Plot info/description: Seventeen year-old Olivia had a full and happy life. She did well in school, competed on the swim team, and had a loving boyfriend. But she was harboring secrets. The night of her neighbor's BBQ party, she "fell" off the local bridge and is declared brain dead. Not only that, but the only reason she is on life support and being kept alive is because she is pregnant. Olivia's mother, Abi, notices dark bruises on Olivia's wrists and believes this was no accident. If the police refuse to investigate, she will do it herself to bring Olivia to justice. She'll do whatever it takes to find the truth, even if that means learning her daughter's other well-kept and shocking secrets.

The plot of this novel is different than a typical mystery, and the description grabbed me right away. You should like this book if you like mysteries, detective work, and parental vigilante justice.
Additionally, I enjoyed the writing style. The story is told from Abi's perspective after the accident, and from Olivia's before. While switching between characters is often seen in novels, it is not often seen from both adult and adolescent perspectives.

Pros: kept me hooked and turning pages. Evoked all sorts of emotions, and by the end, I had tears flowing.
Writing style and prose- descriptive, accurate portrayal of both adult and teenage perspectives and personalities. No use of overly complicated jargon just to sound sophisticated, which helped make it a quick read. Switching between the two main characters left me wanting more at the end of each chapter. I didn't want to put the book down so I could know what happened next and what the characters were thinking at each stage of the story.
Character development- I liked the growth of both Olivia and Abi throughout the novel. I could see the shift happening in both of them as the story progressed.

Trigger warnings: loss, parent abandonment

Rating: 4/5

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald Book Review
A brain dead teenager with a secret pregnancy & a whodunit element? Initially, I'm skeptical if this story matter is for me, but I dove in head first after glowing reviews from Kailey, Jenny & Amy. I'm so glad I did.
A Somber but Thrilling Story
Honestly, this is a very sad story & a dire situation. Brilliantly, Christina McDonald writes this dramatic suspense novel while balancing the raw sadness that's at hand. While the heart of the story is incredibly emotional, readers do not lack the element of suspense.

There are definitely some twists & turns in this story & all of them are warranted. Christina isn't making readers go down unnecessary rabbit holes. Rather we come along with a mother doing whatever it takes to find out the truth.

I have to describe this story as heavy & I don't mean in a negative way. Certainly, there are some novels you breeze through while others hang around in my soul for a while. There is no doubt, The Night Olivia Fell leaves an indelible mark. In the end, I cried all the ugly tears. Not even kidding, a couple of times I gasped for air. Days later, I'm still thinking about this read & reliving the story.
THE VERDICT
I am Really Into This book. Christina McDonald pulls off something very special with The Night Olivia Fell. She writes an emotional & suspenseful novel that undoubtedly makes every parent & child reflect on choices, secrets & intentions.

Special thanks to Christina McDonald, Gallery Books & NetGalley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

I was super excited to find out that I had been selected to be included in the BookSparks' Winter Reading Challenge 2019 (#WRC2019)!  The first book this year is the subject of today's post - The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald, and WOW, what a way to start off the challenge! 

Abi Knight is a single mother to her teenage daughter, Olivia, and they have a great relationship together.  Abi is sacrificing everything and working like crazy to provide for Olivia.  Olivia's a great student in school, she doesn't hang out with the troublemakers - no drinking or partying - but lately, Olivia seems a little different - a little distracted. 

Then one night the phone rings and a mother's worst nightmare begins.

”Hello, is this Abagail Knight?” The voice —a man’s—was low and tight, coiled like a viper about to strike.

”Yes.”

”This is Portage Point Hospital. It’s about your daughter, Olivia. I’m afraid there’s been an accident.” 



When Abi arrives at the hospital, the doctor explains that Olivia has irreversible brain damage and that only life support is keeping her body alive. The doctor goes on to tell Abi that Olivia is pregnant and that hey would like to keep her on life support until the baby is viable to survive without its mother. This situation provides Abi plenty of time to look into what really happened to her daughter. 

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Olivia and Abi, which I really liked.  Readers are provided with flashbacks from Olivia and chapters from Abi while on her mission to discover the truth. 

The story flows nicely with well written and well placed hints on how this mystery will ultimately unfold. I got about halfway through this book and I noticed my tempo of turning pages seemed to be faster and faster - I wanted to know how it would end!!

.....and ohhhh that ending! I"m not writing a spoiler so I can’t say anything else!  The story of a loving mom searching for answers, a toxic relationship, and a search for truth make this one an emotional page-turner.  I thought all of the characters were very well-developed. The book was engaging and easy to follow, and I read it in just two sittings.  

I’m excited to read more from Christina McDonald.

The Night Olivia Fell is a fast paced who done it. I read this book in 4 hours on a plane. I just had to know what happened to Olivia and I wanted Abi to have peace. Christina McDonald pulled me in and didn't let me go till the last word.

Christina McDonald created very complex characters. Abi and Olivia were very well developed and relatable. McDonald shows you parts of their past that then helps you understand the current situation happening in the book. I found myself yelling at both Olivia and Abi. I wanted Olivia to tell Abi what was going on and I found myself also yelling at Abi to tell Olivia the truth.

The Night Olivia Fell is a web of lies that will leave you tangled up. I was an emotional basket case on a plane while finishing this book. I loved the range of emotions McDonald was able to draw out of me. This book will be one of your favorite reads of 2019 and beyond.

Thank you Booksparks, Christina McDonald, and Gallery Books for my copy of The Night Olivia Fell in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend The Night Olivia Fell.

Thanks go to NetGalley and Gallery Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Night Olivia Fell in exchange for my honest review.

The book description likens this book to Big Little Lies. I would say that comparison is a stretch. As I read The Night Olivia Fell, I found myself two different times double checking that this is an adult book, not YA. It comes across more as YA to me--not as much character development as I would have liked.

I was debating whether to give a 2 or 3 rating, until I reached the final 10% of the book. I wish the rest of the story had been as well-written as this section. I found myself getting teary eyed, unable to decide whether from joy or sadness.

Overall, it's worth checking out for the beautiful ending.

4.5 stars for Christina McDonald's The Night Olivia Fell; This was a well written mystery with well developed characters and I was totally engaged with reading this book. I consider it a novel of domestic suspense that I think that the author has done an excellent job writing. I hope she writes many more books - I will love reading them. Thank you #netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to receive an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

How would you cope if your teenaged daughter had an accident which left her brain dead but she was also pregnant?

In The Night Olivia Fell, the mother, Abi, has to deal with the impending death of her daughter, Olivia, and the birth of her grandchild. Abi also believes that someone pushed Olivia off of the bridge.

The police seem to give her the cold shoulder and don’t follow up on any leads. So Abi does what any mother would want to do – she investigates the case herself. She has a police officer from a different town help her search for answers.

This mother and daughter had some pretty big secrets that they reveal to each other. Abi never told Olivia who her father was. Olivia did some research on her own before she fell and found out her father’s identity.

Olivia never told her mother that she was pregnant or who the father of the father of the baby was.

Although the book definitely has some sad moments, the sadness was balanced with the search for the truth. I would recommend The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald especially if the reader likes mysteries.

I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for doing a review. All opinions are my own. Obviously.

The Night Olivia Fell begins with a scenario no one wants to imagine- Abi Knight gets a phone call from the local hospital stating that her daughter, Olivia is there due to being in a horrible accident. Upon arriving, Abi learns that her beautiful, smart, and level-headed daughter is not only brain dead, but also pregnant. From there, we get alternating perspectives being Abi and Olivia in the months leading up to her accident. Abi notices bruising on Olivia's wrists, and right away in convinced this was no accident. When the police are making slow progress and not providing answers, Abi takes matters into her own hands and will not stop until she finds out what really happened to Olivia.
There are a lot of things I loved about this book, and only have a few small complaints. Overall, I felt the characters were well-developed and while they're not all necessarily likable, they're real. This also contributed to the author doing a good job of keeping the reader guessing who was really involved with Olivia's accident until the very end. There is more to this book than the typical suspense story; I really started to relate to Abi and Olivia and felt invested in what happened to them.
Something I didn't like was the language in Olivia's chapters- trying to use teenage slang so much made me cringe- think "it's gonna be lit!", and saying "like", every other word.
Overall, this was a quick and engaging read- 4/5 stars!!