This book drove me mad. I appreciate that I'm probably not the target age group for such a novel, but I have lived through those years and tried really hard to relate.

Unfortunately I wanted children but just had no luck, regardless of the hoops I jumped through. My best friend also suffered a terrible loss when nearing the end of her pregnancy. Life falls in many different directions and although this book was sympathetic to those who choose not to procreate, I felt a gaping hole and sense of longing for what has occurred in my life instead. It felt horrible, fake and nasty in a very sly way. I can't remember the last time a book made me nauseous and angry. Sorry, but not for me.

Olive Stone now 33, has been friends with Bea, Isla and Cecily since school days. Olive is ambitious and doing very well in her journalistic career at .dot magazine. She has no maternal urges whatsoever which leads to a split from long term boyfriend Jacob who wants children. Although the book focuses on Olive, the choices of her friends are also portrayed as are the ups and downs in their personal lives and interactions with Olive. The story is narrated by Olive and goes backwards and forwards from university days today.

Olive is very likeable although she probably wouldn’t be keen to hear that she can be a bit self centred and judgey over her friends choices She struggles sometimes to accept the path they have chosen and she feels they don’t always try to understand her choices. She can blurt things out especially when a tad inebriated and her interactions with Isla particularly become tricky. Her three friends are easy to picture as they struggle in various ways with partners, children and work. It’s a well written book with plenty of humour, it touches on important issues of the value of friendship, motherhood, infertility and stereotyping with the overall message to be content with who you are. At no point is the book preachy or judgemental, it’s heartfelt, warm and a very insightful portrayal of friends, personal choice and acceptance of that choice. Much of what Emma Gannon writes will resonate as all too frequently people have expectations of the path a woman should take. I kid you not, at my wedding I was asked several times when I was going to have children as that is the ‘expected route’. The presumption!!! At that point nothing was further from my mind so Olive’s story really strikes a personal chord.

Overall, this is a well written book which looks at relevant issues and is thought provoking. It’s funny, sad, happy with tension as the main characters different perspectives tests their friendship but ultimately it’s a message about acceptance about who we are rather than whether we do or don’t wish to reproduce and being happy in our own skin. The author has proved that it is possible to look at feminist issues in an entertaining way and I applaud her for that.

With thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins, Harper Fiction for the ARC.

I have to admit I didn't like this book. I had an issue with the female protagonist, she was such a dislikeable character that I couldn't care about her worries! Whilst this book is very well written I just didn't fall in love with Olive like I wanted to

Olive is to an extent every woman...wary of change, often feeling left behind her friends and peers, perhaps not coping quite well enough with life and its challenges.
Olive is living the life she wants but that life changes dramatically with her relationship breakdown and the changing dynamic of her close group of friends as they embark on marriage and motherhood, leaving Olive distinctly out of sorts, questioning her decisions and more than a little on the outer periphery of the friendship group.
The book explores the choices women make about their lives, be it career, relationships or motherhood via the friends in a completely natural way that allows the reader to observe the group and their dynamic from the next table in the restaurant.
very thoughtfully written and also thought provoking the book highlights why it is never appropriate to ask a woman about her plans for motherhood because you never know what someone is going through and what hurt you may be causing with your flippant remark.

This book appealed to me straight away - as an almost 30 year old woman in a long term relationship, who doesn't want kids too, I'm used every single variation of oooh you'll change your mind one day coming out of people's mouths.

It was so refreshing to read a book about someone who seems like me. I loved the story and I loved the relationships it explored, between platonic and romantic alike.

One thing I did find difficult was the time jumps between some chapters, there are a few places that the jump was so extreme that it took me a few sentences to work out what was going on again but I didnt mind that too much, the overall story was worth the work.

It's quite an uplifting book and I really enjoyed my time with Olive. 5/5.

Not my usual genre, but light and enjoyable. A kind of lightened-up-Fleabag-meets-Sex-In-The-City. Having said it's 'light', it tackles the thorny issue of relationships (with friends and with partners) and the having children. To have kids, or not to have kids, that is the question here. And it's this question that will make this book appeal to book groups and, probably, women, like the protagonist and her friends, who are in their thirties. It will get people talking. It's a good selling point, and an effective theme, tackled in a readable way. The writing is sometimes rather hurried, with some grammatical pangs, and the characters are middle-class, aspirational, friends-for-life types living in London and Surrey, which - and I say this as a compliment - will make it an excellent airport novel. It's possible, as I did, to read it in one sitting.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the early copy.

Olive has the three best friends a girl can ask for, but as life takes over and marriage and babies start appearing Olive feels that they don’t understand her any more. Burying herself in work and isolating from her friends Olive is lonely and sad.

A fab book of friendship and love.

This was a book about 4 school friends growing up and the what happens to their relationships once they all have jobs and partners . Olive is the main character and is a career woman who works for an online women’s magazine. She’s struggling with a decision that has serious implications on her life while she’s supporting her friends and their problems. It is funny in parts while dealing with serious issues.

I thought this book was just...fine. There was nothing particularly exceptional about it, though I applaud the fact that it took a diversion from your standard contemporary fiction and explored a character who didn't want to have children. But that was perhaps the only interesting part of the story. The narrative feels jumbled and messy, jumping from different time periods that struggle to come together into one cohesive narrative. It's almost as though there wasn't enough story for a continuous narrative, so the author decided to sew a bunch of different ones together. I was really excited to read this book but sadly, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. This is one instance where the hype seems to be a bit misguided.

A perfect, perfect book on friendship, and women, and the decisions and judgements stamped onto womanhood. Think it’s going to be a talked-about, much-recommended book of the summer.

Olive is heading into her thirties, she has a good if not "dream" job writing for .dot magazine on celebrity scandals and womens interest pieces. However, Olive is feeling a bit adrift, she has split with her boyfriend of 10 years over the issue of how he wants babies and she definitely doesn't. Her close friendship group from Uni have other things on their minds than going out drinking and clubbing and supporting Olive as they are either busy with their babies or having IVF to try to have babies. Oilve feels no "twitching of her ovaries" when holding her friends babies and loves the children as extensions of her beloved friends. She feels lonely and trys to navigate her changed social life and support networks and why her wanting to be childfree is such a controversial choice that is constantly questioned by others.

I enjoyed this book. i found teh first few chapters a bit dull and depressing but once I got to know Olive a bit better I started to look forward to reading more to find out how she was doing. Olive and her relationships are very well observed, and realtable. This book will resonate with a lot of women in their thirties. I'm in my fifties and do have children but I remember how all consuming young children are, how going clubbing to help out single friends was a chore not a pleasure and how what I though were lifelong solid friendships became fractured. I thought the narrative flowed and had genuine, important issues about life as a woman in today's society to explore. Good stuff.

Having loved some of Gannon's non-fiction books, I was hopeful for her side step into fiction. I'm happy to say I was right, and that her novel is exactly what you would expect from Gannon, sharp, funny and very thoughtful.

I was hesitant on starting this book because even pre release it’s received massive praise and hype online, and I often find I don’t enjoy books that receive the same treatment (Eleanor Oliphant, Everything I Know About Love etc). This book though, was special.

The discussion and choice of whether to procreate is a polarising subject, but in this book Gannon explores it tenderly and thoroughly. She examines every aspect of the debate, from so many possible angles, it’s impossible not to find a character to relate to. Her observations are gentle but startling, especially if, like me, you’ve never been sure if kids are part of your game plan. Aside from that, it explores relationships, especially those with your female friends in a poignant and somewhat romantic way, that means despite each characters flaws, you end up loving them and rooting for them.

I steamed through this in a day because the writing style strikes the right balance between easy and inflammatory, and the protagonist Olive is just endearing enough to keep you rooting for her.

I’ll be recommending this to every millennial woman I know, and eagerly awaiting Gannon’s next foray into fiction.

Olive by Emma Gannon is my favourite type of book (alongside crime mysteries. This has all the key ingredients-interesting rounded characters with issues and life stresses. Without spoilers hopefully, I love that there is no magic formula with the predicable ending but nonetheless it’s a very decent, believable conclusion. Isla Bea and Cec carve their path through career, marriage and friendship with various degrees of success. Olive’s story is well told and gives a good insight into the peer & societal pressures that feed into our self esteem and sense of identity. It is important to recognise that the chapters are jumping back and forward in time to understand the evolving back stories and associated deep hurts. Really thoroughly enjoyed this wee read

“There are things we can choose - and things that we can’t. But one thing for sure: I choose these friends. Over and over again.”

A story of female friendship and growing up and all the choices and consequences that go along the way. This is such a refreshing read in how female choice is portrayed and goes some way to breaking down cultural expectations around women and motherhood. Olive, our protagonist chooses to be child free and what Gannon does so well is depict that this choice does not mean that anything is lost; there are so many factors that contribute to a fulfilling life.

Gannon celebrates female choice in such an open way and I think what makes this different from other female authors writing about this topic is that choice about motherhood is central to the plot - it isn’t a secondary narrative, it is given the platform it deserves. The novel is peppered with quotes from women and their experiences and I think this gave a real sense of Gannon giving women a voice. I love Gannon’s non-fiction and her debut novel is just as engaging.

I liked the serious and important topics of female choice, fertility, motherhood all explored in an accessible, light and funny way. This was an easy read but presented some ‘challenging’ ideas. The narrative is pretty predictable - it knows what it is and where it’s going and that’s pretty easy to see from the start. It’s told entirely from Olive’s perspective and I totally understand why that choice was made but I still was perhaps wanting for a bit more development of other characters.

If you like Dawn O Porter then you’ll like this. A perfect read for the sunshine.

(INSTAGRAM: MiniReadsMummyReads)

An easy read with a feel good factor and may even bring a tear by the end.
The story revolves around Emma, a 30 something single career woman. She is struggling with the fact that she does not want children. Her four very close friends from childhood, all the way through from school to through university (where they all attended the same one) have remained in touch and are in different stages of starting a family. All three friends are married and apparently settled. Olive however, has recently split up from her long term boyfriend after many fights about the fact that he wanted to also start a family, but Olive did not.
Olive feels an outsider because of her choice and uses her role as journalist to discover if there are women who feel like her. She therefore embarks on a journey of discovery.
It is interesting that women still feel like a freak if they do not feel maternal. It is strange that considering the easy availability of preventing pregnancy and freedom of choice, women are still feeling they should conform to societal norms.

I really enjoyed this story of women, friendship and choices. All the characters were believable and I liked them. Olive herself was complex but relatable and the novel well written, with warmth and humour. Would recommend.

Olive is a contemporary read that focuses on friendships, women's fertility and how they're linked. Fertility and motherhood are always going to be interesting topics for me. I think that (due to biology) women are almost programmed to make a life-changing decision (to have children or not) in their thirties, whether they are ready for it or not. This puts a lot of undue pressure on a lot of women. It's great to see this theme explored in a novel.

I have always assumed I would have children, it never crossed my mind that I wouldn't. More than that: I wanted to have them. This makes me the opposite of Olive Stone, our eponymous lead character who is in her early 30s and doesn't want to have children. While I might not directly relate to her, I am intrigued to hear what she has to say.

Olive lives in London, loves her job as a writer and editor at .dot, an online feminist magazine and has absolutely no maternal urges at all. She has a full, satisfied life without them and is fine with her decision. She just wishes everyone else was too.

Through the lives of Olive and her three close friends, many areas of fertility are discussed in the story: Bea had 3 children in her 20s, Cecily is a new mum in her 30s and feeling the pressure, while Isla is going through IVF in an attempt to have a longed-for baby. 

The book nicely explores the friendship of these four childhood chums; how things naturally dissipate when life and - yes - children come into the equation and lots of parts did remind of my own uni friendships and the importance of making time for friends.

There was a rogue plot point that did irk me - Olive orders a 'Baby on Board' badge (for pregnant women to wear on transport so they can get a seat) then for reasons not explained, she proceeds to wear it 'accidentally' to get seats on buses. Having been a pregnant commuter who struggled to get seats (I even had to get off trains a few times as I thought I was going to pass out due to lack of a seat) this behaviour just wound me up! Fine, Olive chooses not to have children, good for her, but then don't pretend to be pregnant for your own selfish gain?

Badge aside, I found Olive to be an enjoyable read. It was interesting to read about motherhood from her POV. I have several friends who have chosen to not have children, so I'm sure Olive will pop up in my conversations with them as it is refreshing to read a contemporary novel about women in their 30s that covers many angles of the fertility spectrum.

As a female reader in her late twenties, Olive really resounded with me.

A single woman in her early thirties, Olive finds herself out of touch with her circle of best friends who are settling down and having children (or trying for a baby). Her choice to live a child-free life ends her decade-long relationship and makes her feel quite isolated from her friends who are all discussing pregnancy, IVF or babysitters.

Through her witty commentary and wonderfully-drawn characters, Emma Gannon highlights the difficulties women still face and the societal pressures placed upon them to 'change their minds' over having children. Olive can't seem to find a way in to any of the conversations her friends are having and struggles to tell the people closest to her about her break-up with Jacob as she is increasingly aware of the issues going on in their lives regarding motherhood. All of the characters, but particularly Olive, are drawn as complicated, contradictory people which just seemed so human and relatable and made the book a captivating read.

For me, Olive was a breath of fresh air. I could hear echoes of conversations I've had with my own friends within the dialogue. I would have liked to have enjoyed more time hearing about Olive's life towards the end of the novel. However, this is a superbly written book that I will be recommending to my friends.

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins UK for allowing me to have a preview of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Olive was a spectacular and relatable read. As a 25-year-old who has no interest in having children, and never has, this book resonated with me. Like Olive, I’m tired of people telling me I will change my mind when I get older, or I should have children because I’d be a brilliant Mother, or even assuming it’s just because I hate kids. I don’t. I love my friend’s children, and my niece and nephews. As another wise woman once said, “good for you, not for me”.

Olive shows a range of motherhood experiences, such as postnatal depression and fertility struggles, it’s not preachy, nor does it place women who don’t want children to a higher standing than those that do. Olive is a wonderful story about acceptance and understanding that every woman’s story is different, and that is okay.

I would recommend Olive to any and every woman. I loved it.