Olivia, All In by Tessa Palmeri: The Harvest From Her Heartbreak

Hey, all it’s Alexa, and today, we’re taking a break from the month-long fantasy-and-spec-fic spree to return to the contemporary world of the Olivia series. I’ve already read and reviewed the first two books, which you can check out here and here, and today I have the privilege of telling you my thoughts on the third one, Olivia, All In.

Description:

Olivia Miller is back home in the small town of Leeville, TX for the summer of 1992. Freshman year of college ended on a great note, and she’s looking forward to an easy summer hanging out with her friends and boyfriend, while a temporary bookkeeping job at Snyder Architecture gives her a taste of working “in the real world”.

Though her relationship with Cameron is stronger than ever, their summer takes an unexpected turn, testing their faith and future—individually and as a couple. Will their plans for the future be derailed?

Plot:

Olivia, All In is divided into two parts, but to me, they felt like entirely separate stories bound only by the same package and the same characters. The first part has a very clear beginning-to-end arc, revolving around a particular plot twist that threw me for one of the biggest loops I’ve seen all summer. As usual, I’ll try to keep this a spoiler-free-zone (especially for something like this), but I gotta say, the feels were real and I ached so bad for these characters.

However in the second part, after the new normal had set in and things were calming down, there was almost no conflict, not even stuff from the previous books like difficult parents or the stress of starting college. Even the few things that did come up were either more about the people around Olivia than Olivia herself or were resolved within a few chapters tops, giving the second half more of an episodic than novel-esque feel. For the most part, that wasn’t strictly boring—because she did have life going on, there just weren’t any major issues—but I do think it would be harder to get into for someone who hadn’t gone through the first two books with Olivia, like I have.

Plot: 3 stars out of 5.

Characters:

It’s kind of rare that the main character is my favorite, but in this series, Olivia is. She has grown tremendously over the course of these books; things that would’ve driven her into a tizzy in the first or second one, she’s now able to take, deal with, and move on. Because the second part doesn’t present any big new challenges, I got to see just how much she has changed and grown and overcome, and I am so proud. I can see the results of all that she struggled through making her stronger and even allowing her to touch other people. And as a Christian, I love to find the spiritual truths that she and her story remind me of, but at the same time, she doesn’t sound preachy at all; she’s completely honest and no one pretends to have all the answers. 

In fact, all of the characters have become more distinguished and grown into their own. In the first book, I had a little trouble keeping track of who was who among Olivia’s friends, but though there’s an even bigger cast now, they’ve all branched out and been fleshed out into such different people that it isn’t hard to know each one for who they truly are and, through Olivia, enjoy being a part of their lives.

Two final notes before I move on: 1. Gary and Lisa though! I don’t necessarily ship it but I am glad he has her. And 2, I need a spinoff series about Michael because that boy is something special.

Characters: 4 stars out of 5.

Writing Style/Setting:

Again, the style in the Olivia series works for her like it wouldn’t for anyone else: it’s almost like reading diary entries, yet it isn’t at all. I mean, even with diary entries I feel like there’s normally some element between the reader and the MC, just this feeling like the character isn’t the only one there. But I don’t get that with Olivia; it is so easy to believe that she really is the one doing all the talking. I guess the writing’s just so straightforward and genuine—not sassy or sarcastic, but honest and it makes me feel like she’s sitting right here telling me about her life.

The only issue I do have the with the writing is that sometimes Olivia skims over events, telling rather than showing, so I don’t always get the full effect of what happens. It’s almost a you-had-to-be-there feel in some places, like she’s telling me about it later, but I didn’t actually get to experience the moment with her. TBH, that does add to the we’re-just-chilling-and-chatting feel (most people don’t go deep into details when they’re just talking about their lives), but to me, it also subtracts from some of the experience.

Writing Style/Setting: 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

And so we come in at what I am going to call 3 3/4 stars out of 5 (no, that is not mathematically accurate, so don’t bother). Obviously, I did enjoy much of this story, but I also think that you have to begin with the first book and travel the whole journey with Olivia in order to understand and enjoy the series to its fullest. But since this one doesn’t come out until August 31st, you have plenty of time to pick up Olivia, On The Brink and Olivia, Finding Her Way, so you can get to know Olivia and appreciate her story before you pre-order the third for $2.99. 🙂

So what’s been on your reading list lately? Have you ever started a series in the middle? Or found one that truly cannot be taken out of sequence? I would love to hear from you all! 😀

~ Love, Alexa <3

Notes: Content: underage drinking, several sensual moments, but no actual sex scenes. A few curse words.

I received a free ecopy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.