Christina McDonald | THE NIGHT OLIVIA FELL

Plot (via Goodreads):

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?

Review:

This novel is just all over Bookstagram and everyone had such wonderful things about it that I was so thankful it was included in the BookSparks #WRC2019 challenge and even happier that I was chosen to be an ambassador for their challenge this year! I'm not usually one to be as immersed in stories between mothers and daughters and the dynamics of their relationship because I'm a 31 year-old man and I can't really grasp the feeling of having my child do something or have something happen that would cause me so much distress. Well, now thanks to Christina McDonald, I totally get it. 

The Night Olivia Fell is the kind of novel that just sneaks up on you and it does so rather quickly. Featuring one of my favorite things in a novel, alternate perspectives; I was intrigued enough to try and tackle the first 100 pages on a rather cold Monday evening. Well, after that 100 pages were gobbled up, I just couldn't stop. I was flipping through pages while I was cooking, I was reading this one while I paced up and down the hallway as my bathtub filled, I was carrying it when I checked on my laundry. I was a man obsessed. Each chapter just completely engrossed me more than the one before it and this story was mind-blowing. I loved the contrast between Abi and Olivia and how they portrayed each other compared to what they were really dealing with at that time. While I felt that each perspective was fast-paced, I loved how Olivia's was more of a mystery and Abi's was more of a psychological thriller. Each character just brought so much to the table with this story and as much as I wanted to know what happened, I was dreading the inevitable end. 

An emotionally charged domestic thriller reminiscent of Big Little Lies and for me personally, the Lifetime movie No One Would Tell, this novel is just harrowing and so beautifully written. I was entertained, I was immersed, and I was emotionally devastated by the time I finished the last page of this gorgeous story. Christina McDonald put a spell on my on page 1 and it hasn't let up since. I have thought about this novel often and felt a bittersweet ache in my chest with how mesmerizing this novel was to read. Thank you so much to Christina McDonald for giving me such a beautiful reading experience. 

Special thanks to BookSparks and Gallery Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 5/5