Beth is my kinda girl. She is not sure about life. She doesn't know where she's at, but she knows one thing, when tragedy hits her family, she doesn't know how the hell she will cope.

Sarah Turner is a funny writer. She has a knack of drawing you into the main characters work with a click of the finger. Sometimes I wanted to just tell Beth off and the next minutes she needed a hug. It was a wonderful story of love, family, missed opportunities and confusion- but not once was I the reader, perplexed about what the characters were doing, because i had faith in them.

I read this book in five days which is speedy for me and my life these days. I would love to read more of Sarah Turner's books. Five stars all the way.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A family is torn apart when their sister/daughter/mother is critically injured and her husband killed. It is a story of families and friends pulling together to get each other through the tragedy. It is a story of the different impact this has in each member and how each of their lives changed. I just hope that there will be a sequel to this so I can follow the various lives of this family and their friends.

Such an amazing story that I didn't want to put down. After following Sarah on Instagram for a long time but having never read any of her books I really wasn't sure what to expect, but seeing the review from Gi Fletcher I knew I had to read it as she is a firm favourite author.
The way the story unfolded in this book was lovely and heart breaking all in one.
Sarah wrote this story well enough that you could see and understand everyone's emotions at all times. My favourite part was seeing the friendship develop with Beth and Albert. The way they looked after each other in their time of need was beautiful. Overall, I just couldn't put the book down once I started!

I loved Sarahs writing with The Unmumsy mum and this is a fantastic debut novel.
I fell for Beth instantly and have laughed out loud, cried, gasped and felt sick to my stomach (the bow tie)!!!! The way the book makes you veer from “smiley widely” to “lump in your throat-tears in your eyes” and back again is wonderful.
I fell deeply for all the characters instantly who are recognisable and flawed so you can’t help but root for all of them. I devoured it, catching moments to read just a little bit more and definitely had the “I’m desperate to carry on reading but don’t want it to end” feeling you only get from great books. I feel like I know them all.
This is a great holiday, weekend away book but also really brightened a gloomy grey January. I look forward to reading all her stuff in the future and I’m excited I have a new author to look forward to reading.

This was a beautifully written story about a young woman who in one instance experienced a trauma that was the beginning of her beco ING who she truly was meant to be. The book opens with an instant hook and in all honesty I could not put it down! It had sadness, it had humour, it had you begging for the characters to be OK and pull through! A great first novel for Sarah Turner! Very much looking forward to any more that come!

This is a story about grief, friendship, family and love. At times this book was a little emotional but it was such an easy read.

I struggled to put this down once I started, I was so invested in Beth and her journey.

Reading about loss can be tough so I think that should be taken in to account before reading this book - but I do highly recommend for those who love a story of love and friendship.

Stepping Up by Sarah Turner @theunmumsymum another @netgalley read. Beth is known for never sticking at anything until one morning that changes her whole families lives. Where the pressure to get things right for Beth will never be greater. I don’t want to say to much about what it’s about as I don’t want to give anything away. Some of you may know Sarah Turner from her non fiction books The Unmumsy Mum, which is what attracted me to this book. I was a little nervous reading this, as expectations were high as I’ve loved the Unmumsy mum books and I didn’t know what to expect from Sarah turning to fiction or weather I would be disappointed in one of my favourite authors. 14% into this book and I was already to reach for the tissues and wanting more because even so earlier on it had gripped me, made me an emotional mess and given me the feels! But could this book sustain these feelings….well yes it could. The transition from non fiction to fiction for Sarah Turner was a success and seamlessly perfect. Sarah Turners talent for writing really shines through in this new fiction book and can’t wait to see what’s next. This story has a huge heart, it’s about growing up, becoming an adult and dealing with adult issues when maybe you least expect them but them those issues helping to make the person you become. The book is about grief without it wearing rose tinkers glasses about the subject and the emotions that grief makes you feel, it’s about love and friendship and about families and the chaos of families who are all grieving. Without a doubt it will have you reaching for the tissues from the beginning, when dealing with anyones worse nightmare yet at the same time, as the progress of grief does there are those lighter moments that will have you smiling and at time laughing. Don’t be put off by me saying that it deals with tough subjects such as grief because you would be missing out on an amazing book and it’s about so much more that loss and grief. One of the great things I loved about this book is the ending, in the fact that Sarah didn’t rush to tie up all the lose ends, which many authors would have done and hopefully that means there is more from this family. But it also shows I think respect for the characters and it’s readers and makes it a better book because life doesn’t suddenly go back normal when the worse has happened and again that’s why this book is definitely going ti be a success because as much as it’s a work of fiction it’s bursting with this feeling of realism. I will be recommending this to everyone and if you haven’t read anything by Sarah Turner before but aren’t into her Unmumsy books then this is definitely one to read and I hope you enjoy as much as I have.

For me, a 4 star review is a really good book but a 5 star review is a book that stays with me. One that I can’t put down, characters that I love and a story that reasonates and touches me and stays with me for days afterwards.

This fantastic novel by Sarah Turner was a easy 5 stars! I loved Beth and wanted to throttle her at times too! The way she stepped up and grew throughout the book was great to read. I was desperate to give Ted a massive hug and Albert next door was the funniest octogenarian. Along with not the full ending I’d expected!
Thanks for a great read. Highly recommended!

I LOVED this book!

What should be a tragically sad story is interlaced with funny, relatable moments that make it feel so real.

As a mother myself; Beth's relationship with Ted made me feel warm and fuzzy, and the way she deals with teenage Polly is so measured and loving. I really wanted her to succeed and for everything to right itself.

This is such a great debut novel. All the characters are really relatable and the story moves along well.

I would (and will!) recommend this book to everyone.

This gave me all the feels. I laughed, I cried and I laughed some more.
What a lovely story with great characters. I am completely in love with Albert, what a cutie!
Really well written, it flowed wonderfully and I raced through it.
I wanted to know what happened to Emmy, that's the only thing I'd have changed but I understand why it finished where it did.
A great read.

Beth is a thirty year old teenager still living at home and trying to figure her place in the world out. One day her life is completely upended when her sister needs her help in caring for her children - much to the disbelief of their mother.

This book is a brilliant read and a lovely distraction from everything. The writing is real and I felt like I was there watching it unfold. I cried happy tears, sad tears and I laughed out loud!

I was really excited to read this fiction debut by Sarah Turner as I loved her previous 'Unmumsy Mum' books and follow her on social media. She does not disappoint: her novel is warm-hearted and funny.

Beth, the protagonist, has a lot of flaws but Sarah Turner portrays her with so much empathy and understanding that I found her really likeable. The plot is centred around a family trying to cope with life after a tragic accident. Happy-go-lucky Beth suddenly finds herself as the guardian to a teenager and a toddler. Up until that day, Beth has never so much as cooked a meal or changed a bin, as she has been living in her old bedroom at her parents’ house. Will she be living up to her new responsibilities?

This book is hilarious in parts, but always tender and gentle when it deals with Beth’s feelings and her relationships with those around her. I very much enjoyed reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the digital review copy.

This sounded like exactly the type of story I love to get lost in, and it did not disappoint. Sarah Turner’s first venture into fiction is a funny, sad, touching and heart-warming tale which kept me coming back for more (and kept me up past my bedtime on more than one occasion!). Beth grows to feel like a friend, and it’s one of those books which leaves you feeling like you miss the characters after you turn the final page.

I cannot reccomend this book enough. I laughed and cried in equal measure. It was absolutely amazing! I was a little surprised at the ending though.

I loved this book!

I read it in one sitting, staying up way past my bedtime!

The characters felt real and believable, like they could be my neighbours.
I loved how Beth's relationship with Albert progressed, he was a sweetheart.
It made me feel all the emotions, I laughed, gasped, sniffled the lot.
I also found myself thinking about it the next day, which doesn't happen often!

I'm hoping Sarah writes more novels as I will definitely be reading them!

What an excellent read.

I love books about people and their relationships and this is a great example.

The author handles difficult themes really well and I needed this book.

This is not my 'normal' reading style - that being more crime/thriller/fantasy based. But I have followed The Unmumsy mum for a long time now and just had to give this a read! I am so glad I did. It took me 2 1/2 days to read. I became quickly invested in the story and the characters, needing to read it at every opportunity to find out more. The characters and storyline were so well written it was easy to read in big chunks, easy to follow and perfect for a binge read. I felt so many different emotions whilst reading this book it was like a rollercoaster. I'm not ready to leave everyone behind just yet, hoping for a second installment.

This is a lovely endearing book full of real life likeable characters. Beth's family endures a tragedy which changes the course of everyone's lives. Can Beth do it?
This book was so easy to read. I absolutely enjoyed how it flowed and really did get to love every single character in it. Lots of ups and downs and new challenges were overcome, I couldn't help but root for Beth all the way.

I absolutely LOVED this book. All of the characters had something going for them – and you were rooting for them all, especially Beth, from the outset.

Now I knew Sarah would write about parenting a toddler brilliantly – and she did exactly that. Ted was a very believable little boy – innocent, but questioning; a distraction for everyone, but also a nightmare when he had a meltdown. In fact all of the relationships were written incredibly well – the sneaky teenager Polly – who was different with her Aunt than when she was with her Grandparents, Beth’s relationship with her parents – and with her best mate (Jory – purely platonic – apart from that one night in Winter 2015 that almost changed things……..) and the blossoming friendship with her octogenarian new neighbour Albert – who types his text messages ALL IN CAPSLOCK.

One minute you’re laughing out loud at something – the next you’re weeping – but isn’t that the sign of a brilliant book?

I loved the way that without even realising it, Beth became indispensable in a way she’d never been before – highlighted in Ted’s new bedtime routine, and how he needed Auntie Beth to put him to bed.

The scene at Polly’s parents’ evening had me giggling – a real catalogue of errors – but the relationship between Polly and Beth changed so much during the book, it was lovely, and really believable.

Sarah also wrote about grief incredibly well – and I suspect some of that is from personal experience too, as I know she lost her own Mum when she was a teenager. One bit really struck me – as it was exactly what a friend said after her son died, she hated the first New Year’s Eve because it felt like she was leaving him in the previous year and everyone else was moving on. Beth voices those same worries about the changing of the years.

There are various twists and turns as the book develops, and it doesn’t conclude in a ‘and everyone lives happily ever after’ way – but it definitely leaves you with lots of hope. I’d REALLY like to know what does happen to everyone, as I feel really invested in their lives!

The book is out in March 2022, and I would highly recommend pre ordering it – it’s fabulous.

A massive thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC – and to Sarah Turner for writing such a great book in the midst of a global pandemic and the home schooling nightmare!! It’s not often I give 5 stars on NetGalley – but I am for ‘Stepping Up’.

I am a huge fan of Sarah's writing, and was so excited to read her fiction debut. I really enjoyed this story; I felt like throughout you aren't quite sure where the story is going to twist and turn. There is tragedy mixed in with real life (which basically is real life right?!) and you fall in love with the characters. So grateful I got to read the AC of this one. Looking forward to buying a copy when it releases next year.