I tried and tried to get into this story. I loved the premise! But something in the execution was lacking and I stopped caring to find out the truth.

Abigail Knight received a phone call in the. Middle of the night telling her that her daughter had been in an accident. Her teenager was pregnant and brain-dead. Dr Griffith told Abigail, that her daughter had severe head trauma. She had fallen down a cliff. They had to keep her on life support until the baby was born. Before she fell, Olivia saw a girl named Kendall that looked like herself. After Olivia fell, there was suspicion that she was actually pushed and Abigail received a note warning her to stop asking questions.
This book is a little confusing as each chapter switches back and forth between the present day and Olivia’s life before the accident. The book was sad, with a young girl on life support, facing certain death once the baby is born. Strong characters, detailed plot, but confusing and tragic. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Compared to “ Big Little Lies” and “ Reconstructing Amelia” ( both of which I absolutely loved) I had very high hopes for “The Night Olivia Fell”. I could not wait to dig in. A little from the blurb.
“ 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?
Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heart wrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?”
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I began this book. The beginning alone really set the pace for me. I was pulled in almost immediately! I loved the alternating point of views(the views being Abi and Olivia). It was like the past and the present being told to bring us to the events surrounding the night Olivia fell.
Although the story was a bit predictable and had a few clichés throughout, I really enjoyed it. It was heartfelt and emotional at times. I absolutely loved the mother-daughter relationship and how Abi would stop at nothing to find out what happened. This book reminded me of YA thrillers/ suspense more so than adult, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because hey, I love YA. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would rate it somewhere between a 3.5-4 . Looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

* I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review *

This book is about a mother struggling to piece together what caused her daughter to end up brain dead in a hospital. Unfortunately, there was nothing that seemed truly unique or groundbreaking about the way this book was written. The chapters alternated between past (Olivia's point of view) and present (Abi, Olivia's mom's point of view). We gradually learn more about the events leading up to Olivia's fall from a bridge. However, I found that the writing was such that I never really grew to care about the different characters in the story and therefore was not much invested in the outcome. The book was an average mystery read, with nothing standing out as particularly excellent.

Thank you to Netgalley and Galley, Threshold, Pocket Books for the e-ARC.

Meh. “The Night Olivia Fell” is an easy read but it is not original. There was not one big reveal or plot line that could not be spotted. The ending is meant to be a feel good, happy ever after but I have a hard time believing that any woman as neurotic as Abi Knight suddenly learned to throw all her insecurities and need to micromanage aside and trust in love. I would enjoy reading something a little less predictable and dark from this author as she weaves a story well. Thank you to #netgalley #gallerybooks for the advance copy. I am in the minority on this one so let me know what you thought!

This felt more like a young adult read. The mystery wasn't a strong one, but there were some little twists that kept it interesting. Emotionally this one was hard because there just felt like no hope throughout.

stars! Very good! I am looking forward to adding more reads by this new to me author. Wow. Really, just wow.

Abi Knight is woken up one night by a call that her teenage daughter, Olivia, has fallen off a bridge. Soon we learn Olivia is found to be brain dead. But also...she is pregnant. She must remain on life support until the baby is delivered. Abi has reason to suspect that Olivia's fall from the bridge was o was no accident. She wants to find out what happened that night...but the police are not willing to help with that. What a nightmare! I felt so much for her. She is a strong character. I was in her head.
I loved the characters and really connected to this book. I can't say that happens frequently for me. A very enjoyable suspense thriller and read for me.

This is a book I read as part of the Traveling Friends group. I would like to thank the publisher (via NetGalley) and the author, Christina McDonald, for a digital copy to review. I highly recommend it!

This book is getting a lot of positive buzz from readers - not sure I truly understand why?? The writing style is awkward and stilted, the characters are thin and wholly under-developed, and the entire plot line of "let's keep the brain-dead girl alive for months on end to incubate a baby"???!!! What happened to the rights of the mother? And the medical interventions done to keep the incubator alive are literally never addressed, nor is the moral dilemma which quite frankly would have made for a more compelling read. I have read other reviews that this book should be labeled YA but I disagree - good YA books are much better. Sorry but this was a complete miss for me.

When I first heard about this book I thought it sounded a bit like Reconstructing Amelia, which is one of my favorite books. And although there are some similarities, it's different enough that it's able to stand on its own.As always I love a book that jump between points of view. For this one, it goes to the present and written in the point of view of Abi. And then it jumps to several months before and Olivia's point of view. Slowly the past crashes into the present, explaining what happened to Olivia on the night that she fell.Olivia proved to be unreliable, lying to everyone on her life while trying to wade through friendship issues, boyfriend issues, and wanting to know who her dad is. I appreciated how she was written because she felt a bit like how I'd once felt when I was a teenager.And I couldn't help but feel for Abi, a mother who didn't realize how much her daughter was going through. It was so hard to read Abi's struggle throughout this book, but Christina McDonald did such a good job of really putting myself in her shoes.This is a book I simply could not put down. I had my own ideas of what happened, but they weren't right. And the end. Sigh. The end made me cry. So don't forget the Kleenex when you read this one!

Yep, I was in the outlier club on this one. If The Night Olivia Fell had been promoted as more of the young adult mystery that it is maybe my expectations would have been different. The premise of the book had me intrigued, but I found what followed in solving the mystery of Olivia's fall to be a bit out there.

I rounded up to a 3 because at the end the story got the best of my emotions allowing me to connect with some characters.

I wouldn't let my review dissuade you from giving it a chance as there are plenty of raving reviews out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with an ARC.

I thought this was a beautifully written book, both emotionally resonant and suspenseful. I thought the author was absolutely masterful in how she alternated between the voice of the distraught mother and the daughter. The parts written in the voice of Olivia read like a great YA novel and the Abi sections were excellent women's fiction; both voices were spot on. Many thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital arc of this fascinating book.

This was quite an interesting whodunit told between the alternating stories of Abi and her daughter Emily. Their lives were intertwined in so many ways - but neither knew the other's secrets. It was somewhat difficult to get started but once you got the rhythm of their stories it flowed pretty well. There are some beautiful parts, some silly additions, but overall a good story.

The suspense in this mystery was fabulous. The characters were believable and I was very surprised by the person who caused Olivia’s bruises and fall. This is the type of book that once you start it you can’t put down until you get to the last page. I can’t wait to read more from Christina McDonald.

was a gripping thriller that took you to every aspect of trying to figure out what was really going on and what was going to happen next! This was such an amazing book and I can’t wait to see what else is released from this author!

It's been a few weeks since I read this, so my review is going to be quick. Overall, this was a pretty good thriller(?) that had me at the edge of the seat. It also managed to make me cry somehow, so be forewarned about that. One thing I didn't really like was the ending and how it seemed a bit too predictable. I felt like Abi's story could have played a bigger part in the ending and what actually happened to Olivia was almost too cliche. 3.5 ish for this one.

I finished The Night Olivia Fell two days ago and I'm still trying to figure out how I felt about it.
Yes, my feelings have a lot to do with how I respond to a book, in addition to the depth of (or lack of) writing by the author.
For the first 40% of this book, I had to push myself forward. Was it the teenagers, or the mother Abi and her day to day life?
Much was held back in this story, so I'm not so sure that I as a reader was not manipulated to the outcome. The story uses the very popular then and now, told through the eyes of the mother and daughter, Abi and Olivia who, spoiler alert, falls and does not regain consciousness. The story is recreating Olivia's life, her secrets, her steps. Also those of Abi.
So, as a mother I found Abi to be more and more sympathetic in the second half of the story. But the nagging feeling that I was being manipulated never left me.
The story is competently told, and many readers have felt this to be a very compelling read. I wanted it to be something more, and for what it as, ultimately, it did not compel me to want to share it with others.

This is an intense story from the very beginning. A story told from the perspectives of teenage Olivia Knight and her single mother Abi. A call in the middle of the night is every parent’s worst nightmare. That is just the beginning of Abi’s emotional and painful journey leading to the answers to what happened to her daughter Olivia that night. A night when Olivia was to be hanging out with her friends at a party, enjoying the last months of her high school life. Instead Olivia ends up in a coma after falling from a bridge. Was this in fact an accident as people suspect, or did something far worse happen. Olivia, the always sensible, responsible, dependable teenager may not be what she seems. This story uncovers secrets and lies that lead to an emotionally shocking and devastating ending. I don’t want to give away too many details. As a parent I was unable to put this book down. I felt Abi Knights struggle and frustration to find out the truth of what happened to her daughter. Abi was determined to make the right decisions, even if those decisions came back to haunt her. Through her journey, Abi confronts her own past and tells the story of her daughter Olivia. This is a great read.

The Call that every parent dreads...

Abi Knight receives a life changing phone call in the middle of the night informing her that her daughter, Olivia has fallen off a bridge. After Abi rushes to the hospital, she receives the gut-wrenching news that Olivia is brain dead and pregnant and must remain on life support to keep the baby alive. Shocked, saddened, gutted, Abi notices bruises on Olivia's wrists. Where did they come from? When did she get them? What happened to her daughter?

Olivia's fall is ruled an accident by the police. But Abi can't shake the feeling that something isn't right. Why does her daughter have bruises? Was the fall an accident or did something else happen to her daughter that night. Abi must know. Who wouldn't want to know?

This book is told through both Abi and Olivia's point of view. Abi after being told about her daughter's fall and Olivia's told from months leading up to and the day of the fall. The reader gets to learn more about each of these women, their thoughts and emotions. Family dynamics, mother-daughter relationships, dating, falling in love, friendship, truth, the search for one's identity, etc. it's all here in this book.

I found this book to be absorbing and felt for both Abi and Olivia. This book will pull on your heartstrings and had me reaching for my tissues. Watching Abi grieve and fight to learn what happened to her daughter, I couldn't help but wonder what if? Unimaginable. The reactions and emotions in this book felt believable and raw.

I found this book to be well written and emotionally moving. I was riveted to the pages and wanted (had) to know the truth. Reading this was an emotional journey that delivered a powerful punch to the heart. I can’t wait to read what Christina McDonald writes next.

Thank you to Christina McDonald, Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thought and opinions are my own.

#The Night Olivia Fell #Net Galley

The call came in the middle of the night, the one no mother wants to get! For Abi Knight, raising her daughter as a single mother, this call is the beginning of the end.

Her teenage daughter has fallen (or jumped) off a bridge and is brain dead. But this enthralling and heartstring-pulling story has just begun. Olivia has bruises on her wrists and is pregnant. A mother cannot be taken off life support if it will affect her unborn child. So, Abi must endure until the baby is healthy enough to be born!

Why was Olivia on the bridge that night? Why had she seemed to change lately? How could she not know her daughter was pregnant? So many questions to be answered. In this suspenseful and deeply moving story, Christina McDonald allows you to follow the case through the emotional eyes of a loving and completely bewildered mother.

How far would you go to get to the truth of your only daughter? Your daughter, who you know will never be able to explain herself. A mother’s love knows no boundaries. Thankfully Abi doesn’t give up. She keeps with the journey to get to the truth!

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Shout out to Jenn Tarheel Reader for her role in getting me this e-ARC!

So, I do not take comparisons to Reconstructing Amelia lightly- it was and still remains a fave book of mine and when I’m 99 years old, I’ll still be telling people “You gotta read Reconstructing Amelia!”

This book is as good as Reconstructing Amelia. There are some similarities and yet, they are pretty different.

Picture this: I took the afternoon off from work to get in some pool time (I’m a huge pool lover!) and I grabbed my Kindle, sunscreen and other pool accessories for an afternoon of relaxing. Then a rain cloud moved into town and rained me out. But I (almost) didn’t mind because I was so absorbed by this book!!!!!



What I liked:

The cover. Ya’ll know I love me some covers and this one def holds a special place- because it totally nails the atmosphere of the book. TOTALLY.

The mystery. I do love me some sizzling secrets and this book does not disappoint.

How real everything felt. I’m not a mom, but I could feel Abi’s pain, confusion and even some rage as she struggles to find out what happened to Olivia- and who is to blame.



Bottom line: The comparison to Reconstructing Amelia is pretty spot on- welcome to a new domestic drama for 2019 reads 🙂 Christina McDonald is another wonderful voice for lovers of domestic drama reads!



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*