Olivay is a book that draws you in and makes you want to find out what happens to the protagonist. From the first page we get the feel that this story won’t be an easy read. Something horrifying happens in the first chapter and filters the lens for Olivay. Every thing else stems from that.

Olivay has lost her husband to a hit and run. She lost him and a clip of her reaction went viral, and her fame has kept her inside trying to mentally recover for the past year. She gathers up the courage to go out one night and she meets Henry. They get to know each other intimately and the next day he seems eager to leave. Thinking this is a one night stand, she lets him go. Henry comes back and reveals that he told her a big lie last night. She is hesitant but she lets him to try to explain. Just thena all hell breaks loose in the city. Bombs go off outside of Olivay’s apartment and she becomes wounded. Henry and Olivay are stranded together in her loft apartment. The city goes into lockdown and Henry’s other lies unravel under scrutiny. Why does he keep the truth from her? Could Henry have something to do with her husband’s death or could he really be the man behind the terrorist behind the bombs outside?

The first chapter of this book had me on the hook. Olivay is a very mysterious character and acts unpredictably. I don’t know how I would act if my husband’s death went viral. Her reflex reaction is to distrust those around her. I might be the same way if people just wanted to tell my story, a very personal story, of how I am living as a widow. This story is told entirely in Olivay’s POV. She isn’t a good historian either, because at some point she gets a concussion. We don’t really know what is real, and what is her overreacting. Almost this whole story takes place in Olivay’s loft and Olivay is unable to walk during most of the scenes. The writing is a bit lyrical. Olivay almost thinks in prose, so this made the reading interesting.

So Olivay is very vulnerable at this point in her life and Henry is her caretaker. She is in pain and being defensive is a normal thing for her. This is good to a point, but then it just gets annoying. For me, Olivay was too much. She kept saying these awful things to Henry and then she would ask him, “what’s wrong?”, like that didn’t just happen. Her story was sad, but the way she treated Henry at times made me really question her sanity. Besides the fact that Olivay is unpredictable during most of this tale, I didn’t like the pacing. The story starts off really fast and then it slows to an almost stop. We get a lot of details about her previous marriage, many stories of Henry’s past. It was almost too much for me, but I had to figure out what happened with Olivay and Henry. I wanted more of the details of what was happening outside of the apartment. By the time I was ready to quit this read, the author flips the script and I realized that nothing is what it appears.

So weighing out the good and the bad, I am giving it three stars. This book will appeal to people who like psychological suspense.