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Olivia (The Newport Ladies Book Club)

by Julie Wright (Goodreads Author)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 390 ratings · 130 reviews

The Robbins household looks perfect from the outside: no dust, no stains, no wrinkles. Yet a glimpse into its heart reveals no laughter, no closeness, no joy. Olivia thinks that if she keeps everything tidy and serves delicious meals on time, family life is bound to get better. But when her husband, Nick, misses their anniversary, she realizes no amount of domestic success...more

Paperback, 212 pages

Published February 1st 2012 by Covenant Communications

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Feb 11, 2012 Laura Madsen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

OLIVIA, by Julie Wright, is the first of The Newport Ladies Book Club series, which consists of four books, written by four authors, following the stories of four women who are drawn together by their love of reading.

Olivia is a forty-something wife and mother of four. Her husband, Nick, also has two grown children from a previous marriage but from whom he is estranged. Nick has grown distant from Olivia and their children, and she feels like her life is falling apart. Julie Wright perfectly cap...more

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Mar 22, 2012 MaryAnn Dennis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Olivia is the first book of the series The Newport Ladies Book Club.

This is a unique series in that, each of the books are written by a different author, from a different character's point of view.

This book introduces the members of the book club from Olivia's point of view. It's almost like being a part of the club. Each member of the club has contrasting backgrounds and similar needs. They need to be needed and they need support from each other.

Olivia's story feels very real--almost too real....more

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Feb 06, 2012 Lacey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loved this book. I'm so excited for the rest of the series to come out. I LOVE the idea of the books being written parallel of each other. I think it will be interesting to see different characters perspectives on different events. I also love the fact that I don't have to wait 6+ months for the next book to be released. :)

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May 08, 2013 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

4/20/2012 Review: Highly excellent book: I'm impressed. Looking forward to the rest of the series. My Grade: I give this book an emphatic "B+".

5/8/2013 Update: I just finished re-reading this book. I was worried that I wouldn't like it this time through, as I enjoyed it so immensely the first time, but it really held up. I still like Livvy's character a lot and her relationships with her family and her fellow book club members. Knowing the plot line didn't spoil the story for me; it actually hel...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Brandy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: lds-stories

I guess I have read too much good literature to enjoy fluffy cheesy LDS fiction. I was really looking forward to this series too. I mean, when I first heard about it and realized it was about a group of women who form a book club and talk about their lives I couldn't resist.

Unfortunately the book focused very little on the actual book club. It was mostly about a bad marriage and the potential divorce that was happening.

This book drove me crazy because the entire time you are in the head of Oliv...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Dlora rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction, lds-author, lds-fiction

This is a new series about four different women in a book club, all written by different LDS authors. Only one of the ladies is LDS, which makes for some interesting discussions. I really enjoyed "listening in" on their comments about the books they read: The Poisonwood Bible, My Name is Asher Lev, Silas Marner, and they were about to read The Help when the book ended. I've read all of those except My Name is Asher Lev, and they made me want to read that one too. Olivia is the central character...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Even though this wasn't the "happily ever after" sort of sweet love story I have come to love from Julie Wright, I still enjoyed this book tremendously.

Olivia is a middle aged mother of four dealing with marital struggles that she doesn't understand. Her husband, Nick, has become detached and disinterested in her and, often, their family altogether. She cannot figure out what has happened or what she has done to cause this void between them. On a whim, and looking for something to bring a bit of...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Taffy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

First line:

"He wasn't coming home."

First thing I have to say is how brilliant four author friends are to create The Newport Ladies Book Club! I'm looking forward to reading each book from four different ladies/perspectives/characters.

Olivia is the first book of the series and is written by Julie Wright.

Poor Olivia Robbins! Life is not what it looks like in her home. Her husband works more and more away from home; the children feel his absence; and Olivia cleans.

When he ditches her on their anni...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Sharee rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love the range of emotion that Julie has shared in The Newport Ladies Book Club’s first book of the series—Olivia! The ladies not only build lasting friendships, but they have intelligent and enlightening book discussions. Focusing on her desire to serve and eager to find out who she is, Olivia joins a ladies book club. True friendship grows and, in the dark times, her friends are a haven for her delicate emotions. She is able to share herself and her talents with her new-found friends. They i...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Kaye Hanson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’m intrigued by the premise—four books in a series by four different authors. In the Newport Ladies Book Club: Olivia we meet eight women. Eventually each will have a book of her own.

Julie Wright, in Olivia, has launched a “must-read” with her themes, characters, plot, humor, and style.

Wright’s theme of friendship is strengthened and modeled by the books within a book. The books the friends study together are reflective of the issues Olivia is facing in her own life. Good books they are. In fa...more I’m intrigued by the premise—four books in a series by four different authors. In the Newport Ladies Book Club: Olivia we meet eight women. Eventually each will have a book of her own.

Julie Wright, in Olivia, has launched a “must-read” with her themes, characters, plot, humor, and style.

Wright’s theme of friendship is strengthened and modeled by the books within a book. The books the friends study together are reflective of the issues Olivia is facing in her own life. Good books they are. In fact, knowing that I am often lifted by good writing, knowing how truths channeled through a good book solidifies my own truths, I would have enjoyed even more of the study in book club.

The characterizations in Olivia are developed through Olivia’s—Livvy’s—eyes. I like the Pollyanna part of her character as she struggles with a modern woman’s life of busy husband, children, and large house. In fact, surely she is like someone I know—a neighbor, a family member, maybe myself. Her efforts to be perfect are laudable and her dismay as her life seems to be crumbling around her is puzzling and troubling, just like someone I know. Livvy’s husband, Nick, is, I suppose, necessarily less dimensional because we aren’t in his head. We see him only through Livvy’s eyes, strengthening the power of point of view. Characterizations of some of the children are more developed than others, but I find them interesting and, well, normal.

Wright deftly weaves plotlines through everyday life. In fact, everyday life is the plot. However, this plot development has none of the “slice of life” seediness we expect from realism; nevertheless this family and these events ring true.

Wright’s sense of humor raises its head at most unlikely times. I like that. After one difficult interchange with her husband Livvy thinks “I stuck out my tongue at his retreating back because that’s what classy, mature women did when their husbands irritated them.” At the first meeting of the book club, Livvy, necessarily self-conscious, reflects “They’d think I was a lunatic for sure, and that would be before they discovered that I talked to myself.”

The writing style, the controlled use of language and the twists and turns of Livvy’s life lured me back to the book every free minute. Development from suspicion to discovery and the revelation of the “problem” kept me reading and keep me thinking about Livvy long after the last page has been turned.

On the whole, an excellent read. Wright has crafted a tight, interesting, insightful novel. I wanted little things tweaked a bit more. For example, I wanted more detail in the setting (I know Newport Beach, California) and more insights into the books discussed in book club, and I’m looking forward to the next three books about the Newport Ladies Book Club which will surely bring me some of that.

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Feb 14, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: made-me-cry

I received this book in the mail last week. I got it for free, and agreed to read it and review it.

I read the back of it the first day I got it, and new that it wasn't going to be a happy-go-lucky book. I knew that I was going to have to be in the right mood to fully appreciate it. And, I was right.

Olivia is in her mid-forties. She has a husband and six kids - two of which are step children from her husbands (Nick) previous marriage. But something's been missing for the past few years, and it t...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received Olivia in the mail yesterday and was very excited to start reading this first book in the Newport Ladies Book Club series. The series is written by four authors well-known in the LDS market (Julie Wright, Josi S. Kilpack, Annette Lyon, and Heather Moore). Part of what drew me to The Newport Ladies Book Club is that it is intended for a national audience. It always makes me happy seeing LDS authors using their talents for a broader market.

I don't always read book dedications and acknow...more

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May 22, 2012 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a great book!. It is the beginning of a series about some women who start a book club and how they grow closer together and stronger in their lives. I really liked this book and am looking forward to the next book in the series. Each book is written by a different author.

I just got done reading this book again before I started on the next book in the series. I still really like this book. I picked up more in the book than I did the first time I read it.

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Feb 14, 2012 Happy Mom added it

I've just finished reading the first of The Newport Ladies Book Club series: Olivia. I expected the book to be a more than adequate read, one that was well worth the time spent. What I didn't expect was to get caught up in the characters, read it in less than twenty four hours and end up in tears before the book was through.

Olivia is not your run-of-the-mill two dimensional character. Rather she's a believable, three dimensional, character with lovely strengths as well as flaws. I found myself c...more

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Feb 23, 2012 T.J. Bronley rated it 4 of 5 stars

First, this is definitely a book written for women. More than likely, I would not have picked it up...well...except to buy it for my wife. It also helped that it is written by Julie, who is awesome if you did not know. But honestly, I liked the book. I didn't have to force myself to read it. I didn't have to use toothpicks to keep my eyes open.

Second, I actually really liked the theme I found in Olivia, which (to me) was revolved around independence. Olivia is a woman who has seemingly done what...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Gayle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Probably more like 4.5 stars, but I'm going to round up today. :-) I really enjoyed this story about a 40-something mom with four kids who works to please everybody but herself. She's struggling with an emotionally-absent husband and joins a neighborhood book club where she meets several other women who prove to be a great support to her. I was glad that the main character eventually realized that the problems with her marriage were not entirely her husband's fault and that she had contributed a...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Sheila rated it 5 of 5 stars

Reading Olivia was a very emotional experience for me. Olivia told the story of a woman who has always given her all to her husband and children.Along the way she has become lost and doesn't know who she is anymore. The novel starts where Olivia and her husband, Nick, are having marital problems. All of a sudden she realizes that she needs to do something to find herself.This is when she joins a local book club, all strangers. This is a scary prospect for some people.

I loved the whole idea of th...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Toni rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book brought a lot of tender feelings to the surface. I almost wondered if somehow Julie had gotten hold of my journal. As I read the story (which I had a hard time putting down) I couldn't wait for the next book in the series to come out. Even though there are four seperate authors, they are doing such a fantastic job at inteweaving the main characters lives and stories. The next book in the series (The Newport Ladies Book Club) is titled "Daisy" by Josie S. Kilpack, Then comes "Paige" and...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Chanae rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: lds-fiction

I like the idea of this series: 4 women becoming friends through a book club and each book is told from the point of view of one of the women.

This was a pretty good book. There were some touching moments. I was a little disappointed at the end. Olivia just seems too perfect. I remember at one point Olivia wonders if she has become to selfless toward everyone, except her husband... 'has she just left him to fend for himself?' That thought/idea was never resolved. We find out later why Nick (the...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

OLIVIA, by Julie Wright, is the first of The Newport Ladies Book Club series, which consists of four books, written by four different authors (who collaborated together), following the stories of four women who are drawn together by their love of reading. It's fun to get to know the four ladies and see what trials they are facing and how they handle them.

I really liked the main character, Olivia. She's very relatable and likable. She goes through a lot in this book and you're heartstrings are p...more

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Mar 08, 2012 Aimee rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am so intrigued by the concept behind this series of books. It's one of the main reasons I signed on to take part in reviewing The Newport Ladies Book Club series. The genre here can best be described as Women's Fiction. The idea is that these four authors have joined together to write about different women in a book club. The stories happen simultaneously but we get to focus on one lady at a time in each book.

Olivia is the first book and the first character we really get to know. I love the c...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Ranee Clark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Audience: Adult
Genre: Women's fiction, Romance
Length: 212 pages

The Rating: **** (Really liked it)

The Discussion: I don't want to do Pros and Cons with this book because I have so many comments and I just don't know where to fit them. So it seems right to discuss, especially since this is a book about a book club.

I don't typically pick up a lot of women's fiction. A lot of the ones I've encountered tend to be about troubled marriages and it's not a topic I choose for entertainment. Perhaps becaus...more Audience: Adult
Genre: Women's fiction, Romance
Length: 212 pages

The Rating: **** (Really liked it)

The Discussion: I don't want to do Pros and Cons with this book because I have so many comments and I just don't know where to fit them. So it seems right to discuss, especially since this is a book about a book club.

I don't typically pick up a lot of women's fiction. A lot of the ones I've encountered tend to be about troubled marriages and it's not a topic I choose for entertainment. Perhaps because my own marriage is really pretty awesome or because I have these pretty rose colored classes on most of the time, and I peek out the edges, hating to take them off for a book. I don't know. Anyway, I don't read a lot of women's fiction.

But I still really liked this book. You get so deep into Livvy's character. So deep. It's surprising to me that I understood her husband Nick really quickly. I don't think that it's because my husband is like him (we have this shocking ability to fully communicate on almost everything), so I don't know why. *SPOILER* I knew immediately that his issues had to do with pride and that to throw -- blunt, in your face -- the things he's done wrong will only throw up walls and cause fights. I really wanted to take Livvy aside and tell her a thing or two about that. THAT is good connection with the characters.

I did struggle more with Livvy's non-communicativeness than with Nick's. Again, I don't know why. I'm not forward, but I do let at least my spouse know when there are issues, so I struggled that Livvy didn't step up and say, "You missed our anniversary." "I want you here." And just, "I love you so much and lets work this out." But that's why it's nice to see Livvy's character blossom and her abilities to grow and burst out, in good ways and bad.

I am so driven to know the stories of the other book club ladies. I'm moving them up on my library request list. (My library doesn't have them, but a few in the state do and hopefully they'll be willing to lend/send them to me!)

Read this review and more at my blog (less)

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May 08, 2012 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I usually don't go for these LDS books about women finding a book club and finding themselves because of it. This book made me happy, though, so I liked it.

Although Olivia's marriage is on the rocks and you really want to smack her husband a couple of times, the author was able to make it so I didn't want to smack MY husband after coming out of "book land." Thank you Julie Wright for helping me avoid book-induced depression.

I like that she was able to approach someone having a struggle within...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Rachel rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: deseret-connect

Oh man. It's been a while since I read a book I found as unpleasant as this one. If you're going to write slice-of-life, at least make it interesting! I am all for promoting LDS authors, but this book really wasn't my style (one of those "my relationships with women in my book club and with my books helped solve my life problems!").

I hate how book-club books seduce readers into thinking that since they're discussing literature that it makes the book super insightful! Well... it doesn't. I could...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Cherri rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a much deeper book than I expected. I love how Livvy learns to take care of herself, and that she can receive help as well as give it.

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Jul 11, 2012 Karleneb rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just finished reading Olivia. I've read several of Julie Wright's books and I think this is her best.

It is solid writing, great characterization. I absolutely loved it. If you like Women's fiction, this is a must read.

5 stars!

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Feb 15, 2012 Tamera Westhoff rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a fantastic book! I laughed, I cried and I really want to join a book club! Poor Livvy really gets put through the ringer, when she thinks that she is doing everything for everyone. Her house is always clean, she always does service for others when they ask,a nd has no idea why her husband is acting so strange. Luckily she knows he would never cheat on her. So, that is one less worry. But, she has no idea why he left. Luckily, she joins a book club that helps her by letting her serve ot...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Mina rated it 4 of 5 stars

This one was a slow start for me. I really didn't like Olivia much at all. She seemed to complain that things were terribly wrong, but refused to really address those issues, and at first refused to see her part in any of it. Luckily, it was one of those amazing books where the character actually developed. (Where is that sarcasm font? Not because of this book, but because of all the others where no one seems to grow or change at all.)

But I like the idea of this series, liked the relationships f...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: funny, highly-recommended, womens-fiction, 2012-whitney-award-eligible

This first book in the Newport Ladies Book Club series is simply a delight to read. It’s probably my favorite Julie Wright book so far. The writing is lyrical and beautiful, and the story is hard to put down. Olivia is a 40-something year old mother who does everything for everyone. When she finds herself alone on her wedding anniversary night, she realizes she has lost herself in the process of always being there for everyone but herself. Not only has her marriage suffered, but she doesn’t know...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Olivia is a woman who is trying hard to build the perfect home life on the outside. She does everything a dutiful wife and mother should, but when she spends hours making a perfect anniversary dinner and sits there alone while the candles melt to nubs, she realizes that everything is not perfect in her marriage. And to top it all off, she feels like she's lost her own identity.

When her husband comes home and doesn't even apologize for missing the dinner, Olivia realizes she needs to make some ch...more Olivia is a woman who is trying hard to build the perfect home life on the outside. She does everything a dutiful wife and mother should, but when she spends hours making a perfect anniversary dinner and sits there alone while the candles melt to nubs, she realizes that everything is not perfect in her marriage. And to top it all off, she feels like she's lost her own identity.

When her husband comes home and doesn't even apologize for missing the dinner, Olivia realizes she needs to make some changes in her life. She sees a flapping flier advertising a book club and joins it which brings an entirely new dimension to her life. Of course that dimension becomes a lifeline as she starts to really address the problems in her marriage and family. I loved the introduction of each lady in the book club and their distinct personalities as they provide support for Olivia in their own way. It's clever since the other characters in the Newport Ladies Book Club will each be the main character in their own book. (I believe the next one comes out in June and is by Josi Kilpack.)

The thing I like about Olivia is the thing that all Julie Wright fans like about her writing. It's very visceral. Julie takes her readers down to the mat with the emotions of her characters and then pushes it two feet more. She engages you on such a realistic level it feels like you are right there experiencing a distant marriage that may be on its last legs combined with trying to deal with step-children who don't know where to turn or how to act and feeling exhausted by it all. It's a basic human emotion to want love and to be able to give love and Julie Wright taps into that while giving you so much more. If you read her book My Not So Fairy Tale Life, you'll know what I'm talking about---emotions written so well you really feel the punch in the gut surprise or the happy feeling that make you smile in a goofy way that would scare people if you were in public. Visceral. It's the only way to explain it.

Olivia has all of that and more. It's the story of a woman's journey in finding friendships, figuring out her marriage and family, but most of all discovering the strength she has within herself.

As I mentioned this book is the start of a series written by four separate authors. I think Julie Wright has set the bar high for the rest of the authors and I'll be anxiously waiting to see what happens to the ladies of the Newport Book Club.

Originally reviewed on http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com (less)

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About Julie Wright

Julie Wright wrote her first book when she was fifteen. She's written fourteen novels since then and has nine traditionally published. She is represented by Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger Inc. and is a Whitney Awards winner for best romance with her book Cross My Heart.

She has one husband, three kids, two dogs, five fish, and two banana trees--all living under the same roof.

She loves writing, readin...more

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