I absolutely devoured this book. Yes, I'm already a fan of a female protagonist and yes I am probably the target audience (30+ and childless) but that can't take away from how excellently Gannon has portrayed the complexities of being a childless woman through choice.


Let's talk setting - LONDON - broad minded city right? Well Gannon shows us that no matter how inclusive we are as a city/region/country, there's always room for improvement. She says exactly what women are thinking - It is not appropriate conversation to ask when a woman is thinking of having a baby, and stop saying they'll change their mind if they say they don't want them.


Gannon writes with ease of the tight knit friendship group, promises of yearly girls' holidays, monthly meet ups falling flat and how complicated it can get when one friend 'goes rogue' and not only admits what she wants, but goes and bloody gets it.


"But still it's the easiest thing in the world to compare yourself to others - especially your best friends and their velvet hallway sofas."


Perhaps I am like I said an obvious fan of this story, parts felt like they were lifted right out of my life but that's how well 'Olive' is written - you're almost included in the narrative. Feeling every tear that rolls down the four women's faces, every tinge of jealousy each one feels over the course of the story you understand and legitimise. The dynamics of female friendships (in a group of four no less) is an intricate affair and Gannon hits the nail on the head when she writes


"It had felt so simple when we'd first laid down the rules in our twenties."


We all start with the best intentions and then life gets in the way, and the choices we make draw us closer to some and further from others. Olive's relationship with Dorothy was a beautiful highlight of her character's development. It showed her selfish tendencies away from her current friendship woes. She thought she was the one doing the 'good deed' and helping a neighbour in need when really she was the one being coached out of her sadness little by little, by the selflessness of another.


The nuanced comedic moments like ordering an extra portion from a takeaway for your breakfast the following morning, wearing a baby on board badge to get a better seat on a bus or considering how hot one looks at a funeral was the icing on the expensive coffee shop cake. I look forward to catching up with Gannon's previous writing and raving about 'Olive' to all my friends! It's out on the 23rd July and available to preorder now :)


Thank you to NetGalley UK for the preview copy, it has made my week!

At its core, a refreshing and genuine portrayal of Olive, a woman in her thirties who is tackling the various complexities and uncertainties that come with her choice to have a childfree life. Gannon has created a character that is relatable, honest and witty and it was a pleasure to read in her voice.

This book is also about female friendships and how they evolve as women grow older and these relationships took precident over the romantic relationships in the book, which I loved. It was so easy to understand and like the other characters in Olive's friendship group even when they weren't seeing eye to eye, mainly due to the empathy and insight that Gannon cultivates for each character. One of the main messages that I took from the book was that jealousy can occur in friendships but that ultimately life is not a competition.

I have already recommended to my friends as a warm, thought-provoking summer read.

I have to say that I read this book very quickly; it is well-written with a good sense for the zeitgeist, and a very believable dialogue. I am too old (in my 50's) to really relate to this book, which may be why it left me a bit cold. I'm sure younger people will identify with the characters and their concerns, but as a child-free person, with friends who have children as well as those who don't, I found it all a bit of a fuss about nothing. It certainly doesn't chime with my experience of deciding not to have a family.

I'm probably too old to read Olive.

Perhaps a bit too cynical too.

I'm 'child-free by choice' (CFBC as the books terms it) and I've never found it to be the cause of any drama whatsoever.

I've always believed that women my age (55) are part of the first generation to have the choice to not have kids and not get battered by society for that choice. Two decades earlier, women would be repeatedly asked when they would have babies and if they didn't, what was wrong with them. I skipped all of that. I just wonder what's gone wrong with female choice and emancipation if 32-year-old Olive and her ilk are still having the arguments of my mother's generation. True, when your friends start having kids, they do become part of another planet of playdates and long dull discussions about breastfeeding, and they are much more likely to phone you 20 minutes after you were supposed to meet them to tell you that junior's got a temperature or a pea stuck up his nose and they won't be coming. But hang on a couple of decades and you'll get them back again.

I don't normally read 'chick lit' - I don't even have a Goodreads shelf for it. On the rare occasions that I dabble, they get shelved on 'domestic drama'. But I was willing to take a detour to that genre to see what Emma Gannon had to say about choosing to not have kids. I liked a lot of the directions she took - the CFBC group, the examination of some of the many and varied reasons people do make that choice - but I didn't really get a clear sense of why Olive was supposed to feel that way. That's fine with me. I can't really tell you why I didn't want them either.

Thankfully the book isn't just about not wanting kids. It's also about getting them and wondering why you did it; getting them and losing your husband in the process; getting them and realising that maybe your husband wasn't quite so committed, and failing to get them and getting absolutely obsessed about that absence in your life.

I'm pretty sure that there are a lot more novels about wanting and not being able to get kids than there are about not wanting them. Olive adds to the choices of what you can read on the topic. It's worthy of praise for discussing the topic.

I found the expression of the various friends' prejudices very interesting. The sub-fertile friend who thinks her suffering must be somehow more noble and worth talking about than her newly single friend's loneliness and sense of loss. The general ganging up of the mums against the non-mum, the sense that Olive's life was somehow less valid and interesting in their eyes, her inability to talk about her broken relationship because her friends were so self-interested. All good valid discussions.

Please don't hate me for a 3-star. That's easily the highest I've given something in this genre in a long time. Olive is worth a read and could be a good choice for a book club - just don't be surprised if the discussion comes to blows and you end up with prosecco all over the carpet.

I got a free ARC ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you.

"I've decided to go and see a Reiki healer this afternoon because I am a Millennial cliche with a free afternoon." And so she is is Olive Stone. 30 years old. Single (long time partner Jacob has moved out). Works for .dot a trendy on line celebrity/product/millennial issue on line magazine and is the only one amongst her long time friends (Cec, Isla and Bea) who doesn't want children.
This novel will appeal to many (female 30 year old millennials particularly) of which I am not. But on the issue of having/ or not having children I do have some experience having worked for an infertility charity for some years. Therefore the stereotypes portrayed in this book were I have to say typical. Bea began early and his a large brood of children. Cec produces her first offspring into a million pound home during the novel whilst Isla is struggling to conceive and is having IVF.
The reason Olive broke up with Jason is because she has not wanted children and after some years together he then did. Issues are fed into Olive's thoughts from her work, instagram and all the modern methods of communication that now seem only to circulate around younger generations. However this plot and Olive's emotions never seem to mature beyond a certain level.
It breezes along with all the classic Bridget Jones scenes (she smokes/vapes/drinks too much/ eats pizza cold for breakfast etc etc) and is only wanting to be at work in the office (is an office necessary in this new .dot world?) because her weekends and social life - is like the image she presents to many - barren.
No doubt this will be a best seller and may even be dubbed the 'new Bridget Jones.' I am sure the author, a journalist has tapped into some very popular themes that will attract a lot of readers. Balancing a career then having a child is a classic debate for many women. But I was left empty at the way it dealt with only the implicit trappings of these lives (all white, all well off, all seeing in their own ways a child as a life accessory) and felt a longing for a novel that would really try and get to grips with the real issues behind this. But it has its place and will rise up those best seller lists. Oh and all the product placements by the author (particularly Converse shoes) should ensure a load of freebies landing on her doorstep.

I raced through this book - the writing, despite the heaviness of the themes tackled, is light and readable. Whilst the style is a bit too commercial for me, I appreciated Gannon's nuanced exploration of motherhood in its myriad forms. This book will have widespread appeal and will undoubtedly be picked up by some of the big name podcasters such as The High Low. This can only be a good thing, as our society needs to be more open to alternative forms of motherhood or at least open to discussing what it means to be a mother.

Thanks HarperCollins!

This is a cute little story about a group of girls told at different periods in their life with a focus on their adult lives featuring motherhood and the lack of it. The characters are engaging, and the differences between them and their outlook will ring home to any diverse selection of reader.

Olive is a successful 30 something, with a job and a group of close friends.
Her long term relationship has ended because she doesn't want children.
Olive finds it hard expressing her feelings to her closest friends, as they are all battling their troubles and turmoils.
Her friend Bea is married and has three kids, Cecily is a lawyer who's preparing to have her first child, and Isla has Endometriosis, currently undergoing IVF to fulfil her dream of becoming a mum.

With many people having extreme views about motherhood, Emma Gannon does an extraordinary job tackling it, researching every aspect of the positive and negatives.
As a woman who did not want children, I was delighted that this subject has been broached so sensitively.

I want to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and author Emma Gannon for a pre-publication to review.

I had been SO excited to review this one and it lived up to my expectations. As a young, married woman who isn’t sure if she wants children, I connected to Olive and her different friends. It was a lovely book but one that has a really important message to about how life’s achievements are more than just procreation.

An interesting read that covers many views on bringing a new life into the world. It is also about the joy of friendship.

This is an easy-to-read and enveloping book, written in a chatty and familial style. I enjoyed Olive's characterization and her candid narration, but my favourite part of the novel was Olive's relationships with her three closest female friends, which felt grounded in reality, lived in and extremely believable. Often contemporary women's literature overly romanticizes, or just glosses over, the ins and outs and ups and downs of female friendships. The subtleties of how Olive and her friends behaved to one another, in times of anger, times of distress and during the fun times, too, felt extremely accurate.
The way the novel engages with different women's conflicting feelings about becoming a mother was very engaging, candid and thought-provoking. As other reviewers have noted, it's not a topic that's usually discussed in such detail in contemporary literature and was refreshingly honest. More generally, the ways in which your life starts to diverge from your close friends following university was also a relatable and well-explored theme.
The story swept me along, but I felt like the ending happened quite suddenly, with a romance blossoming almost "off screen" in a way that was sweet, but not fully fleshed out. Some parts of the plot, and some characters, also felt less well served, as the book juggled it's meaty themes with its more light and frothy moments.
One minor quibble -- at times, the novel flashes back to different points in the recent past, but the cultural references become too modern. E.G. Killing Eve didn't come out until 2018, but is referenced in a section that's supposed to be set in 2017. This is just a small thing, but might be worth looking into pre-publication.
Overall, this is a warm, sweet debut that will be appreciated by many modern women -- Francesca, Loves Labours Watched Podcast.

This was an interesting concept for a book. 4 friends, all at different stages of their lives as regards having or in Olive's case - not having children. It was fluent and well written, and for the most part interesting. My problem was I didn’t really like, sympathise or empathise with any of the characters. All of them were in their own way completely self absorbed and occasionally incredibly insensitive particularly Olive herself which stopped me from caring about her. I found the incredibly tidy ending slightly irritating. . Its a good book, and I'm sure it will be successful,

I had such high hopes for this book and I wasn't disappointed!

Olive has reached a point in her life where she is deeply considering her relationships and motherhood. She loves her life and is proud of all she's achieved, but is it 'enough'? Is at as much as those people who are mothers have achieved? Should she want more? How will she know if she wants more? This book is so relatable, whether you're a mum trying to figure out how that impacts your identity, whether you're just not sure if you want kids or whether you know you definitely don't and are dealing with how the world reacts to you.

There is so much here that struck a chord with me and I just know it will be the same for so many women. This is so well written and I was sad when I realised it was coming to an end - I could have read double the length of Olive's life and thoughts. She's such a vivid character that you almost struggle to believe she isn't a real person.

I look forward to seeing everyone reading this this summer!

A fairly enjoyable read addressing interesting and contemporary issues. I must admit I didn't really take to the main characters as they all seem self centred but empathised with them as they all seemed basically true to so many young people caught up in the fast demanding modern world which is sadly very self centred and selfish. It certainly makes the reader thinks and possibly reassess certain topics especially in these slower lock down times. Some humour throughout and the message of the book really is making time, respect and prioritising.

A really cosy and comforting read but also incredibly eye opening and insightful to hear a perspective of someone who chooses not to have children. It’s really frank, honest and refreshing. A brilliant debut from Emma, reminded me of Marian Keyes, look forward to seeing what she writes next!

There are so many things I love about this book. The very relevant idea that women are just 'expected' to want children- I found myself nodding so much at this! This is an idea that isn't talked about but really should be!
The fact that her friends are having children, and even friends for years who should know and understand her, struggle with her attitudes to her future.
I think the time frames were pretty erratic though, and difficult to distinguish between.
Aside from that, it was a lovely story, funny and warm!
Loved it for so many reasons!

I mistakenly thought this book was going to be about an older character because Olive is a more traditional name. I was pleasantly surprised at how young and hipster Olive was. I loved the fact that Olive and her three besties from Uni are still friends despite all now having full on home lives, demanding jobs and children. The book moves between their current lives and has flashbacks to things that have happened in the past that help explain their history. A great book that I couldn't put down.

I am going to admit, that this book has definitely changed some of my opinions. I have been guilty of assuming that because a woman is child free, it's because of circumstances rather than choice. I have also definitely said the "...you might change your mind one day..." or "...you just havent met the right man...." lines before. After reading this story I will never jump to that conclusion again. Its taught me a lot. If that is what Emma Gannon set out to do she has definitely achieved her goal.

I am a huge fan of Emma Gannon and have been so intrigued to read her fictional debut. As a married person of four years but currently child free, I was especially interested to hear her explore the idea around choosing to not have children whilst having close female friendships with mothers. I love Emma’s writing, the flicks back and forth in time as we explore her friendships and see her personal journey in her career and sense of self. However I just do not like the character of Olive. I didn’t warm to her, I found her selfish, ignorant of others positions and unempathetic. I wouldn’t want Olive as a friend. She is constantly acting impulsively and although I appreciate the author didn’t want a main character that is a people pleaser, and someone that can put themselves first, I just didn’t really care about her and found her friends and Dorothy and even her mum much more interesting characters to explore.

This book perfectly encapsulates how it feels like to be a women in your late twenties, and watching friends start to settle down/move towards different paths than they were previously on. Beautifully handled and written; a true gem to read.