I loved this book. It was a sweet contemporary novel which has some really serious undertones and it's done beautifully. The forbidden rich-poor romance had me bursting with hope for Elsie, I felt like I moved through this book AS Elsie rather than with her which was something very special, it's very rare to get that connection with a fictional character but it was helped massively with the characters from Tylers perspective too.
A wonderful, thought provoking and engaging novel.

I wanted to give it full score, because it was so nice, pretty, so adorable, heart-breaking, sad, frustrating and wholesome. Yeah, all of those. BUT I found the ending to be extremely rushed and it bothered me. It was very quick jump from the “epic” fight to them being together again and it bothered me, all in all very rushed and very jump from this day to 6 months etc.. So, I did not give it 5 stars.

I found the pacing a little slow in this story and it took me several attempts to get into it. At 50% I felt like I’d been reading for days and it wasn’t until 70% that I became fully invested and went full steam ahead. There wasn’t anything NOT to like about Tyler, he was smart, an athlete, good looking and a gentleman, but somehow I didn’t find myself falling in love with him! I liked Elsie, she was strong, loyal, and loving to her family so she disappointed me with the way she dealt with things towards the end. As a contemporary YA book there were difficult situations and issues explored, so it was nice to see it come together in the end.

This is really a remarkable work of YA fiction. Elsie and Tyler's story was presented in such a refreshing manner that it just grips you from the start. The book dealt really well with love and hear break.

Life Happens on the Stairs is a journey of a 17-year-old Elsie in a bad phase of her life. Her father is dying and she is in a relationship with a guy she isn't supposed to be and life doesn't look good. But she overcomes everything to have a happy ending. This book was beautifully written and a great YA novel.

This book was okay - I didn't love it or hate it. I personally preferred the first half over the second. It started to drag for me once it reached the 70% mark, so I speed read the remainder of the book just to get it done.

The writing was okay but there was definitely some issues with the pacing and there was way too much of things like - "10 minutes later" & "a few minutes later". Other than that, my main feeling when reading this book was - awkward.

From the flirting to instalove in about 60 seconds, as your dad lays dying.. to really awkward scenes and dialog with the mother.. and all the drama.. too much drama. I feel like the main 2 plot points should have been enough to carry the story, without the need to add 6 or 7 other things for the protagonist to battle, it was just too much. It took away from the main hardship, which should have been the father - it wasn't.

I had a hard time getting into this book. The description was so exciting but this one fell flat for me.

I'll admit, I had trouble being interested in this book when I first started reading it. The story picked up it's pace after a few chapters.
Elsie was a really lovable character. I really liked how determined she was to help her family out ~ that's honestly a rare thing to see in teenagers from YA novels.
Now, about the romance between Elsie and Tyler, I felt it was a bit rushed. I wanted to see more development but sadly, that didn't happen. I really liked Tyler's character though!
Overall, this book was quite an enjoyable read. It talked about illness and how it effects a family in a well -written manner. I loved this aspect of the book.
3.5 🌟 Thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc!

I really enjoyed this read - it's a well-written book, with lots of lovely, believable details. I found it easy to be drawn into Elsie's world, and the characters developed well. The relationship between Elsie and her mum felt particularly realistic. The way Elsie had to balance work (and see her mum working hard) and her father's demise with the thrill of her new relationship felt like an authentic insight into being a teen, and there was plenty of drama to keep the pace up.

I thought this book would be interesting. But apparently it was not for me. The story is good but I just couldn't get into it.

This story was absolutely beautiful.. I loved every single piece of it. This book broke my heart and put it back together again. These characters mean so much to me. Their growth through this book was amazing. Everything about this book was perfect. This story has become so important to me. The author has done an amazing job telling the story of these characters, and bringing it to life. I didn't realize it, but it was everything I needed. Absolutely amazing.

I had not recalled hearing the quote about life happening on the stairs, but it is so appropriate at the moment in my life.

Finding your people and realizing that there is always hope is what struck me most from this story.

Looking forward to more novels from Ms. Markstahler.

First off it was a good start, Elsie’s story starts out rough, her father has a seizure, and she gets help from a few people at the fair they were attending. And if I’m being honest, I truly only cared about the dad’s story line. I couldn’t connect at all with the romance that started to grow between Elsie and Tyler. It felt rushed and fairy-tale like.

Here’s the thing, throughout a good portion of the book I thought Tyler was around 22, but turns out he’s about 19. Doesn’t really help the cause that he’s chasing Elsie who is about 17. Either way, it felt as if they met and by the second time they saw each other they had already decided they would spend the rest of their lives together. Although they had some great scenes together, I don’t think they made a true connection to consider each other the love of their life.

It was as if Elsie fell for him because he helped her at the fair, and from then on had a sudden connection to him because of this. And a good chunk of their talks were only about her Dad. This lead to the relationship feeling bland, I wished we had been able to see more of them doing things the other liked. To at least build them a stronger personality.

Next thing up is how things were described. I found myself uncomfortable or thinking what an odd choice of words was for describing people. You see Elsie saying things like “he built a wall as thick as East Berlin” when explaining how closed off someone was, or even saying that one character was a “stubborn German”. But the one thing that bothered me so much was when two characters are describing an ex, they use the term”pretty french girl, might’ve been anorexic though”, and all the characters kind of shoved the comment to the side? No, no, no, it’s harmful to use these terms towards people who are overall thinner than most. Oh also just a side not SHE WAS 15, and this character says that “she didn’t look like it” *facepalm*

I had no choice but consider DNFing but because it was a review copy and I was almost done, I pushed through it, thinking the story would get better. It certainly didn’t though.

The second half of the book turns more fairy like, people coming together to help a family that from what I could tell didn’t really have many friends. The whole town from one second to the other pitched in to help. But at no point of the story did they come by the house and offer condolences, or even check on the family.

Final Thoughts

The only thing that saved this book was the connection Elsie has with her father, their bond was strong and carried this book to a 3 star rating. If it wasn’t for this main plot point, I wouldn’t have been able to finish it. Read at your own risk, give it a chance if you’d like it may not have been for me but it may be for you!

Thanks Net Galley for the preview!

Elsie is an amazing narrator and such a strong teen. I loved seeing into her world. The family dealing with illness and the intense emotions accompanying it were well written and striking. The love story was slow and anticipatory-caught me, immediately! Tyler was the best kind of leading man and had such unique characteristics and background. I could spend hours learning about these characters!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Elsie's world is drastically changing. While at a farmer's market with her father, he collapses, and she instantly knows that the cancer has returned. As she's desperate to find help, handsome and caring Tyler steps in to help get her father to the hospital.

At first, as many love stories go, Elsie doesn't think too much about Tyler. He's just another guy who helped out in a time of need.

But, as it's clear that Elsie's dad's health continues to deteroriate, Elsie has to start helping out her mother, which includes cleaning houses for her.

Then, one day, Tyler invited Elsie to go on a run with him and, thus, starts their romance. As Elsie works through navigating her life, Tyler is there for support even when Elsie, maybe, doesn't deserve him.

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Alright, four stars for this one.

Tyler was almost TOO perfect. I kept waiting for something bad to happen with him but it didn't quite come! He was such a good guy all along. And, although good guys exist--my husband is one of them--, Tyler just seemed like an illusion.

Normally I don't usually like romance stories but this one wasn't all too horrible. Elsie had so much trauma that it made the love story edgier. She was definitely the one who had issues to work through and it made the story far more realistic.

The situation of Elsie's dad just about broke my heart. Grief is never easy but the author included some sweet moments to help me not feel at totally heartbroken.

I also loved the ending! I can't say much so as not to spoil anything but it wasn't at all what I expected and I appreciate that. Not all love stories have to end the same way so, thank you, for the ending on this one.

I got an ARC copy of book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Life Happens on the Stairs has a great premise. It's about a girl who is struggling to help her family while her father is dying of a brain tumour. I loved the portrayal of small-town life and the community aspect of it. I did however struggle with the romance between Tyler and Elsie, it felt a little insta-lovey. They seemed to go from strangers to love-interest in a couple of chapters. I felt it would've been better if we saw it develop. Elsie is also a character who "doesn't think she's good enough" for Tyler which frustrates me to no end.

The story left me wanting more, I felt that it had a huge focus on the romance and I wanted more on the family dynamic and how they are coping. We saw her relationship with her dad, and it was beautiful but I felt that as the romance took off. her relationship with her dad and his illness took a backseat.

I felt that the narrative contained a lot more telling than showing, and it disconnected me from the story that was being told. I wanted a story that was a teenager dealing with her father's declining death, how it affected her and her family and a slow build to a romance. Instead, it seemed to be a romance with a hint of family tragedy. Don't get me wrong the scenes with her family are good, but I wanted more of that and less of the romance.

Life Happens on the Stairs is an impressive, complex young adult story by Amy J Markstahler.

Elsie's life is not going well. Her father is dying, her brother is on the outs with her family, and her mother is forcing her to work. Making things more complex, she ends up falling for the grandson of her employer. But in this forbidden romance, Tyler is relentless in his pursuit of Elsie.

This is a story of love between two opposites, in experiences and status. And it's a wonderful exploration that money does not equal happiness. It's a story that includes an attack and scars. There are crazy family members, family issues, and a whole lot of complications.

The writing is fabulous, the characters lovable, and the storyline riveting. The author excels in the telling of this romance that revolves around merging two different worlds. The author masters creating a villian that is vile, adding immensely to the tension and angst.

Life Happens on the Stairs is a stellar read. Just read it when you're looking for a meaningful coming of age novel. And when you learn the meaning of the title, you will be impressed beyond belief. It's perfect!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
I'm speechless that this is Amy Markstahler's first book. Her work reads like an established writer who isn't afraid to tackle tough topics.
Elsie was a perfectly flawed and I loved her. She had a lot to learn as far as facing issues head on, her family was awesome. This is a beautiful story about Life and what comes with it.

Life Happens on the Stairs leaves me with conflicting feelings. On one hand, the portray of the struggles of a teenage girl experiences while trying to help her family and keep it together while her father slowly wastes away before her eyes due to a resurgence of a brain tumor is very interesting and thought provoking to me. I loved the portrayal of small-town life and how people come together to look after each other. But then you get a storyline I feel really could have been tightened up by about 80+ pages to increase to pacing and shorten the book, classic rich people stock characters, and an unrealistic romance with the ultimate perfect rich guy. I also didn’t connect to Elsie at all. I could not relate to a girl who got everything in the end (but her loving father, yes).

Okay, Elsie may be a Mary Sue. I mean, she has a terrible life at home because her dad is dying (and she cleans toilets, yes. But it’s temporary), yes. BUT she’s beautiful and refuses to see that she’s anything but average, she magically lands the hot/smart/rich guy with just a glance who instantly loves her with his entire being, her mom loves her dearly, her brother loves her dearly at the end, and she pretty much gets everything she wants in life…but her dad. Mary Sue? I think so. I think it qualifies. Plus, if it doesn’t go her way she runs away and hides so everyone can go mental worrying about her.

Elsie literally snags Tyler in one glance without even trying. The boy who never wanted to date anyone falls head over heels in love with her…it reminded me of Edward and Bella. No lie. I couldn’t wrap my head around that one. Tyler’s rich, super-hot, super athletic and super smart. He’s good at whatever he puts his mind to…Elsie’s father was a farmer and her mother cleans houses, her brother got tangled up in drugs and shipped off to a relative for awhile to sober up. They meet when Tyler steps in when Elsie's dad has a seizure and Tyler instantly wants to be with her. How? How does this work? It is so…unrealistic that I developed a serious hang up over it that prevented me from enjoying other aspects of the book. The romance literary took away from the rest story for me.

As for Elsie's other relationships, particularly with her family (again, the romance overtook this aspect of the book, but what I did see I liked). Her and her dad got along great, and their relationship through the whole book was beautiful. Only I did notice that he and his illness really started to take a backseat to the romance we were all supposed to be getting behind. We’d have detailed romance scenes that lasted for ages and then maybe a line or two saying that Elsie ate dinner at his bedside.

Elsie and her mom seem to have a good relationship too. But things do seem to fall apart a bit as Elsie starts lying about who she’s spending all her time with and her mom starts making bigger and bigger demands of her while telling her she basically doesn’t care about what is going on with Elsie when she finally does try to tell her things. Her mother realizes her mistake later on and they do mostly patch things up by the end.

The relationship development between Elsie and her brother was really nice though. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how they repaired their broken bond and then strengthened it. I just wish the author had spent a little more time on it.

When I I saw this book up for grabs, I thought I was looking at a book that was about a teen dealing with the slow degradation of her father’s health and how it affected her and her family with a splash of potential romance on the side. What I got was actually a Twilight-like romance with two near-perfect characters with a splash of a story about a family struggling to keep it together as the dad dies slowly to cancer on the side. But the family part that you do get is very good and very well written.

this book kinda melted away for me. i wanted a gym, but i couldn't have it with this book. but i do love the cover and that's a freaking bonus.