This is one of those books that I came across at the perfect moment for my life. I loved this book. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook for my honest review.

Olive and her three friends have been in the same walk of life since they were children in primary school. All of a sudden Olive is presented with a difference in life that she feels like is separating her from her group of girls. This book follows Olive as she is struggling through a “quarter-life crisis” and is one of the most relatable narrators I’ve experienced. This is a book of discovery, and it highlights the stress that women feel when it comes to society and the role of motherhood. This book explores the different life paths including not wanting children, post-natal depression, struggling with fertility, and the feeling of failure that can come along with each role. This is a beautiful way to let each character live their journey and come to the conclusion that they need for their lives.

This book does jump back and forth on different timelines. It often goes back 9 years in time to give a tidbit of background information based on group dynamics, but it always ties in to what is happening in the present and makes sense.

I highly recommend this book.

This story follows 4 friends from childhood and on. A very tight knit group navigates their way through life while relying on one another, but also coming to terms with the fact that they have different ideas about what makes a happy life. There were parts of the book I found endearing, such as the bond the friends shared. I also found some of the characters to be annoying and the flip flopping between past and present didn’t always flow.

Sian Clifford is a fantastic choice to bring out the nuances of the protagonist Olive's inner ruminations. Gannon's debut explores motherhood with a care and candour rarely present in popular fiction. She depicts adult female friendship honestly, and allows characters to voice their grievances with each other. The narrative primarily follows a year in the life of its protagonist, Olive, who is struggling to piece together what her identity looks like in light of her decision to be child-free. The book tackles pertinent themes of comparison, community, grief and self-acceptance. Although Gannon's prose felt clumsy at times, I have no doubt that this story will have prompted innumerable, valuable, conversations among 30-something friendship groups just like Olive's.

Olive does not want to be a mum. Coping is easier said than done when she has the perfect boyfriend, a steady job, and 3 best friends who are on their own paths towards motherhood, but Olive herself has absolutely zero desire to have a baby or raise a child. This book immerses the reader in Olive’s perspective while she struggles through relating to women with children and even when she finds the CFBC (Child Free By Choice) crowd, she still struggles to see herself clearly through the child-free women’s perspectives.

Understandably, it isn’t easy to make a choice that is so drastically different than all of her friends. However, Olive’s fear of potential regret and anxiety is borderline obsessive and exhausting to bear witness to as a full-length novel. On one hand, I have no doubt that there are women out there who identify 100% with Olive, and I like to hope that they got something out of this book, but for the rest of us I found it incredibly surprising and tedious that the book really didn’t stray from one woman’s quest to accept her own desires and path.

I would have much preferred a book about these 4 best friends that gave more equal weight to each of their stories. I think I would have liked Olive a lot more if I didn’t have to spend quite so much time in her head as she spiraled over this difficult period in her life. Each character spent some time stuck in their own personal drama, which is completely understandable and expected, but their lack of empathy towards one another had me questioning the depth of their friendship in the first place. It also made them less likable and there was not a lot of personal growth for any of them.

I think most readers and even Olive’s best friends are like, “you do you, Olive! It’s okay to not have children!” But Olive still needs to hash it out for hundreds of pages, weakening her relationships with others, and spiraling into anxiety and depression.

The audiobook narration was charmingly British and I think the narrator did a fantastic job breathing personality into Olive. This book was not for me, but the audio performance made it more bearable.

I wanted to like this story, and I think the idea of exploring the themes in this book was a wonderful start, but there was so much that didn’t work for me, so I am unfortunately giving this a brutally honest 1 star rating.

3 stars *may change
PRE-WARNING: This book had a very strange section discussing trans and non-binary identities. The main character gets into a taxi (?) with her best pal and the driver goes on a rant on the "absurdity" of gender-fluidness and makes some heavily transphobic remarks. The main character thinks to herself, "I should tell him he's being a jerk, but for decency's sake, I won't." This scene is never mentioned again. It plays no part in the plot. It was very weird? I don't understand why the author felt the need to have a character bash on trans/non-binary identities for no reason. It caught me off guard, so I'd like to warn anyone else about it.
This is technically a review of the audiobook since I got an early copy of it, though I don't think there's much to say. I'm not very fond of listening to British accents for hours on end, but I also don't really care. The only thing was that I like to put it rather quick, say around 2x to 3x speed, but the 2.5x option was so abysmal I could hardly make out the words. I swear that option cut half of the syllables being said.
Anyway, the book itself was alright. Olive (or anyone for that matter) isn't particularly very likable. A lot of the parenting decisions in this book were questionable. I do think she went through an interesting journey, although I also feel like she went through that journey in the first half and for whatever reason the author decided to redo the entire journey for the other half. It's whatever, since i read the audiobook in 4 hours and didn't spend a lot of time on it.
Also, the romance was a bit huh? Like, I would have liked the book more without it. He's a nice fellow, but not really necessary.
This was overall fine. Might raise the rating the longer I think about it.
Thanks to Netgalley for an early copy of the audiobook.

I kinda enjoyed this book, even though it does have a lot of flaws and moments that just don't make any sense (for example, when Olive has a meeting at 8 a.m., her therapist is running late because she was with a client. 8 a. m.)

I also really liked the reading, I enjoyed it even though there were some really bad comments about it. To me, it seemed natural and expressive, and it was easy to listen to.

The ending was really poorly written and I didn't like how she magically ended up with an older guy who already has grown kids and becoming a part of a family.
Also, that bullshit just before the epilogue, like, finally coming to terms with yourself... It took her a long time to get there over something that isn't all that unusual anymore.

I do get it somehow, though. When I was a teenager 6-7 years ago and was sure that I wanted no kids, I was made fun of. But I think that it is just the people you are with, so I really don't understand why Olive was trying so hard to stick with the friends who had zero support for her.

That being said, that chick who can't have kids and who's undergoing IVF, why does she think that she is the center of the universe? She is mad at Olive for not wanting children, she is mad at another friend for being pregnant. I mean, they were all supportive of her, but she couldn't find it in her to be happy for her best friend for having a child? Fuck off, lady! You are not noble and your problems are not more important that someone else's!

Also, all that moms sticking with moms, and not-moms sticking with not-moms in their little group of 4 was ridiculous.
This whole friend group was ridiculous, actually. At times, it seemed like they all hated each other and I have no idea why they are friends at all. They aren't there for each other, they all just cry over themselves. But the things magically come to where they should be and the 4 of them is a teenage girl band again...

All in all, I did enjoy the book, no matter how much nonsense there was or how irritating some of the characters were. I'm sure that there are better books on the topic, but this is the first one I read and I didn't hate it.

P. S. I really liked the cover.

This book was simply wonderful to listen to. It really struck a chord with me and I found myself, thinking about it after I’d finished reading it. Really excellent listen.

So, I think 20 years ago, it was more controversial to choose not to have children, but I feel like today, it's so much more common than this book makes it seem. Yes, friends who do want kids don't often understand those who don't have the urge to reproduce and I've often heard the "you'll change your mind" comments myself - no, I didn't and I don't regret it at all. In the end though, I think this story was more about a group of friends learning to accept each others' choices and realizing that the right choice for them isn't necessarily the right choice for others. The characters aren't always thre most likeable but I do think they were fairly realistic. We all get wrapped up in our own issues at times.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's really exciting to find a book like this. Olive is an easy to read, contemporary and relatable story with a really heart warming message to it. The characters are all so special and unique and the storyline of Olive coming to terms with not wanting children of her own while she is surrounded by friends moving in different directions is so relatable and important for young women. Thank you for writing this book Emma, it was one I needed to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Olive's story really resonated with me, the whole discussion on being childfree by choice and not feeling like anyone around you is understanding it, that hit a bit too close to home... I don't really know what else to say about this book, the writing is not the best I've read but I totally glossed over it because I felt seen in so many scenes.

I think this would be a good book to buddy read with someone who doesn't feel the same as you about motherhood as it shows different experiences between Olive and her friends and how to navigate those different life choices without losing each other. It doesn't put the blame on anyone, it shows that every feeling is valid and equally important.

I really did not like Olive at all. So I didn't care about her and this made it hard to enjoy the book.. The narrator did not help this book either, she droned on and on and I almost gave up several times but stayed with it hoping it would get better; it did not.

I expected to love this book. Like Olive, I do not particularly want children. I also have a small group of friends who I met at university, and who I stay in close contact with. In my wider group of friends, the majority of us either don't want kids, or haven't got there yet. So I was expecting to relate to the characters in this story a lot.

I'll start with the good. I liked the very beginning of the book, where Olive and her friends are leaving university. Ending that chapter in your life is difficult. You know everything is going to change, and yet there's nothing you can do to stop it. I also liked the epilogue, where everything has finally fallen into place.

Unfortunately, I didn't much like anything in between. Olive is rude, mean and selfish. She expects her friends to be there for her whenever she needs them, but she doesn't offer them the same consideration. She shows up late and is then angry because they have to go home, even though they're dealing with difficult home lives and health issues. At work she expects people to treat her with respect but she doesn't even seem to do much work and thinks it's ok to skip meetings or show up late to them.

She talks about working for a feminist magazine, and yet she's quite happy to judge other women for their choices in life. Being a feminist doesn't mean rejecting the idea of having a family. Yes, you can absolutely choose not to have children, but a woman who has children isn't any less of a feminist. Honestly this just felt like a bunch of middle-class women acting in a really pathetic way and then expecting people to feel sorry for them.

So disappointing, as I hoped to love it.

A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

1/5 - Not for me.

It's always difficult to leave a negative review, but I have to be honest. I did not enjoy this book and I found Olive, the titular character of the book and the only perspective we really have any access to, absolutely insufferable. Her friends were only marginally better, with the exception of Bea (I would have enjoyed the book infinitely more if it had been written from her perspective).

Olive is in her thirties and is coming to the realization that she may never want kids. This launches a journey of self discovery, which sounds interesting enough. However, her "self" is about all she discovers. In this introspective journey, she barrels through everything and everyone else with little regard for their feelings - from getting drunk and raging against her friend at her baby shower to visiting an exclusive fertility expert just for a quick chat rather than referring her best friend who has been suffering with infertility for years. Olive complains constantly that her friends do not have enough time for her, only to ignore their experiences and to minimize them, and then to abandon them when things are difficult in their lives. The world revolves around Olive - even when someone else is going through a difficult time, Olive will often comment on how nice it is to be needed. I felt like screaming: "It's not ALL about YOU, OLIVE!" multiple times throughout the book.

The message being conveyed in this story is an important one - women experience different lives. Not everyone will settle down with a perfect husband and a family. And that's fine. But the way this message is relayed is through Olive's internal monologue. Which was centered exclusively on Olive. And how Olive figured into everybody else's life, which was filtered through a singular lens of Olive, Olive, Olive, Olive. Olive. We didn't really get much insight about the pain Isla was experiencing with IVF, or Cecily's anxieties over being a new mother, or Bea's heartbreak with her husband's infidelity. We barely met Jacob, and Markus's tragic loss of his wife, as well as his children's coping with this loss, were entirely glossed over. There was a sassy gay best friend, whose one personality trait was getting laid over the weekend and bringing Olive booze. There was a fabulous elderly neighbor, whom Olive mistook for a social pariah because she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Dorothy's life. None of these characters really got much exploration though, because in the end it was all about Olive.

By the end of the book, Olive improves, but only marginally. Quite frankly, there are books you read and think - "wow, I wish I were a part of this friend group." By the end of this book, I was glad not to be a part of this one. I'm not sure I could handle the narcissism and anxiety. Perhaps this book would appeal to some people - it's introspective enough and can be funny in parts. But the overwhelming focus on Olive was too much for me.

I'm desperate to read (listen to) this book and review it here on NetGalley, GoodReads and my blog, but unfortunately NetGalley will not give access to their audiobook App in Switzerland, so I cannot download it. THis is very disappointing.
I am forced to give a star rating despite being unable to review it. I will go with 4 stars because from what I know about this book so far, I am sure I will really like it.

This is the first novel I have read/listen to by Emma Gannon and she is a very good writer and I would gladly buy her books in the future.

However..... I hated Olive. She is not my type of person. (this has nothing to do with the fact she doesn't want children, I 100% love people who don't want children) but I 100% can't stand rude obnoxious people and that's how Olive came across to me. I hated her. In real life I wouldn't d want to be at a party with her.

So as far as the author goes 5 stars for her writing but 3 stars for this book

I did not connect with this book. It was too slow paced and boring for me. I feel like it was trying to be edgy, but being child-free is not as controversial as this book made it out to be.

Olive unflinchingly tackles a very difficult topic: the decision to have (or not to have) children.

In Olive, Emma Gannon has created a very relatable character. A woman who is very sure she knows her own mind, except for when she's not so sure, and also when she's pretty unsure, and especially when she has no idea. Like all of us at some point, Olive struggles mightily with a big decision.

Add in to the mix Olive's dearest lifelong friends, who all have struggles and strong opinions of their own, and you may just feel that the author has been spying on you and your besties as you debate the paths your lives have taken.

Superbly written throughout, with realism to spare, Olive pulls no punches. The narration sparkles as well, adding to the excellence of the finished product. Definitely worth the read.

I am probably the exact person this book was written for. I saw many reviews about women who chose not to have children already reviewing this book. However, as someone who is still very much undecided but leaning towards no, I felt and understood Olive's internal struggles. It holds an important lesson and conversation about how society treats women who don't want children, even if Olives experience is not what everyone experiences.

I like the narrator of this book a lot. She has a wonderful voice, and I can't imagine that I would have finished it if I weren't listening to this audiobook, so I appreciate her adding voice to the characters and bringing Olive to life.

This isn't a 5 star read for me because of the side characters and relationships between them. There isn't a whole lot of plot to the book, so the characters really matter. I also I could have done without the flashbacks, I don't know that they were necessary. This is probably a book that will only hit home for a particular set of people, and that's okay. I definitely enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this early!

For fans of Dolly Alderton and Josie Silver, this story will resonate with every millennial women.
For the first half, I was worried this book would be a little one note. Olive is heartbroken and struggling with the realization that she wants to be child-free. However, by the end of the story, I realized the primary theme of the story is the power of female friendships. I felt so warmly for Olive and her group of friend, as well as the circle of charming characters in Olive’s life. I absolutely adored the narration by the amazing Sian Clifford, and I hope to listen to more stories in her voice in the future. I felt like the story was perfect for the audio format.
4 stars.

I almost didn't request this book as it had such wide ranging reviews, and quite a low average, however I think now after reading the book and the reviews that may have more to to with the subject matter than the actual book itself.

I may be a bit biased in my love for this book being in a similar position, 31 and having made the choice that I don't want kids and never will. The majority of female leads in books either have children, want children or eventually end up wanting or having them. It was so refreshing to see Olive portrayed as a normal functioning adult who has made this choice and is happy with this right until the end.

I also thought it was great how Emma worked through the guilt and struggle that some women have with making that decision. As is stated in the book women who choose to be child free are often labeled selfish, self-centered and told repeatedly "you'll change your mind" or "you'll regret it someday".

This book isn't perfect, certain aspects of some of the characters are very annoying and grating, however it is a great read and an important one. It highlights societies obsession with women's bodies and their capability to reproduce. While highlighting quite heavy topics, the book holds on to a somewhat light atmosphere.

Hopefully even for those who didn't connect with the book it opens their minds to the concept of child free by choice and will allow a more open and fluid attitude towards it in the future.

I listened to this as an audiobook and absolutely adored the narrator, Sian Clifford was perfect for this and seamlessly moved from character to character. Slight changes in atmosphere were conveyed brilliantly throughout and it was probably one of the best one person narrations with multiple characters I've listened to,