Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time

A Novel

By: Angela Brown

Narrated by: Stefanie Kay

A woman has no choice left but to enjoy the adventure of life - and its surprises - in a funny and emotionally moving comedy of errors about the gifts of growing older.

Olivia Strauss is turning thirty-nine. No major milestone. She still considers herself young. At least young enough to assume she has decades (emphasis on the plural) to check the unchecked boxes of her life’s to-do list.

Ballerina? Too late. But not too late for poet. Or for reigniting the romantic spark in her marriage, spending more quality time with her son, switching careers, learning to cook, or even dyeing her hair a bright bohemian pink. She’ll get to that one. There’s time - until Olivia’s best friend, Marian, gives her a birthday present she could have lived without.

It’s a visit to a trendy wellness clinic with a state-of-the-art genetic test that can predict the exact date of one’s death. It’s just what Olivia’s always wanted: an expiration date. As for her aspirations, who knew they were limited-time offers? One thing’s for sure. Olivia’s got a lot of living to do. At this point, what could go wrong?

©2024 Angela Brown (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“A heartfelt exploration of figuring out what one truly wants from life.”—Kirkus Reviews

"There’s a genuine feeling of hope in [Angela] Brown’s enjoyable first outing.”—Publishers Weekly

“Written with warmth and humor despite its somber topics, Brown's debut novel is a poignant, breezy journey into self-examination.”—Booklist

Review

I wanted to really enjoy this book. I enjoyed moments of it. I had a hard time understanding how selfish she was at times. I wish more time was spent on Marion’s character Development. I would have liked to learn more about her story prior to being the catalyst for Olivia.

Ok

It was pretty entertaining and a good concept. I didn’t love the performance. And very obviously predictable.

Terrible narration

The story did nothing for me but the narration was so bad I could barely even get through it. MAYBE it’s better as an actual book than an audiobook, but no promises.

Living life to the fullest!

No matter what particular birthday you might be celebrating this year Olivia’s story will resonate with your own life journey. Her obsessive behavior after learning some shocking news during her 39th birthday sets up a year of change, reflection and growth. It shows that we are never to old or young to start embracing the life we have and living it to the fullest!

Nice message. Not a great book.

The message was nice. I didn’t like the book. The characters were not relatable. The story line was all over the place. The narrator’s voice was annoying. It sounded like every sentence had an explanation point at the end.