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Olivia started writing creatively at eight years old. During middle and high school, she attended several writing conferences. Her short story "By Its Cover" placed first in its division in the 2008 District III Alabama Penman Creative Writing Contest. She earned her bachelor's degree in history from the University of Montevallo in 2012, married in 2013, and published her first novel in 2014. She received a Readers Favorite five-star review for her holiday novella, 'Tis the Season, in 2016.
Olivia lives in central Alabama with her husband JD. When she isn't writing, she enjoys watching quality television, teaching herself how to cook, and playing Pokemon GO.
Reviewed by Kayti Nika Raet for Readers' Favorite
This Dread Road by Olivia Folmar Ard starts off in the modern era, then quickly takes us back to September 1968, just as Annemarie Vanderhorst is entering freshman year at Howard Knox. Finally free of her mother's control and societal expectations, Annemarie is determined to pursue her own dreams and interests. And they don't include majoring in Home Economics. While in college she is quickly swept off her feet by Henry Eden, a handsome and mysterious classmate. He's everything her snobbish mother would hate as he's working on the family farm while attending classes. Still, he fills Annemarie's thoughts and dreams for the future. In the modern era, Claire James has a similar experience as she struggles to prove her independence while she works in the family business, all the while carrying a heavy secret that could possibly destroy her. Though the times may have changed, some emotions stay the same.
I enjoyed This Dread Road by Olivia Folmar Ard. At first I was thrown off by the first few chapters as there was an abrupt shift in time periods, but as the book progressed I really began to enjoy Annemarie's point of view and root for her and Henry to stay together, despite the odds. As I was reading from her point of view, I did wonder how it tied in with the first chapter, but Ard deftly tied both storylines together to create a novel filled with love, heartache, but most of all redemption. This Dread Road by Olivia Folmar Ard should be a good read for fans of romance or anyone convinced by the power of love.
