𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙝 𝙏𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙧

This was nothing like I normally read but the front cover caught my attention on Netgalley and I’m so glad I read this! Told from Beth’s perspective, this is a beautifully written story of grief, family, love, friendship and navigating life after a loss. I cried, laughed and smiled throughout: a complete emotional rollercoaster.

The characters felt real, relatable and well developed and this paired with the easy writing style made for a quick and enjoyable read. Beth really blossomed throughout the book, from being a real quitter with little to no responsibilities, to quite literally stepping up and learning to look after two little ones, whilst navigating her own grief. She was feisty, determined and strong and it was beautiful to see her blossom throughout the story. Need I say how much I loved Albert? (Iykyk) He is literally the neighbour I’ve always wanted - a heartwarming, wholesome and thoughtful elderly man who completely made this book for me! I highly recommend picking this up!

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

Stepping Up by Sarah Turner managed to deliver a storyline which could have been formulaic and predictable but succeeded in dealing with a number of issues very insightfully. The underlying boy next door friendship/potential love interest didn’t overshadow dealing with loss, family relationships and expectations. Another lovely touch was the benefits of the wisdom and grace of an elderly neighbour, a section of our society often dismissed as irrelevant. This book is an easy read and captures the characters very well. Ted, Albert and Jim are the stars of the show. Three and a half stars

This is a wonderful, feel-good story all about starting fresh and finding your feet - plus allowing a little love in your life and most importantly finding that you can actually stick to something for more than five minutes if you have to.

I really connected with Beth, I saw so much of myself in her, like her I have had far too many jobs that I can count on one hand, I was a little flakey too LOL! She has breezed through life doing what she wants when she wants and broken way too many men in the process - plus succumbed to far too many Saturday morning hangovers than she would care to remember - then all of a sudden the life she has been bouncing about it comes to a standstill and everything changes and she has to grow up, step up and become an adult. Scary stuff!!

She has to stop being so flighty and be an adult, which means no more giving up at the first hurdle or when things get boring, she has two people to look after, her niece and nephew are needing her to be the grown-up and not the other way around.

I really, really enjoyed this it's heart-warming, charming and entertaining. It starts off a little on the slow side, but it soon picks up the pace and once the pacing settles into a rhythm which you can find yourself falling instep you become a little addicted to it. It's engaging and realistic, you can really feel and resonate with Beth which made you want her to succeed all the more

I thoroughly enjoyable story!

This was such a wonderful, wonderful read! I loved every second of it.

It had an absolute amazing cast of characters who I loved and I definitely miss them.

It was sad at times, but the brilliant humour/banter made it more lighthearted.

I love how far Beth had come by the end of the book from where she'd started.

I loved little Ted who was brilliant at providing some light relief and also Albert, the old neighbour, who was a gem!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah and Random House/Transworld Publishers for the chance to read this book.

I really loved this book. I could not put it down and wanted to know what was going to happen. Would happily buy more from the author now I've read this.

This book was heartbreaking and I cried more times than I can count, but I couldn’t stop reading. As the parent of a toddler, the scenes with Beth’s nephew Ted were a real punch to the gut. However seeing her develop relationships with the kids and start to take responsibility and flourish was heartwarming. Would definitely recommend, just don’t read it in public!

I really enjoyed this book. Had me laughing and crying. Definitely the best book I have read this year. Well done Sarah. Already looking forward to the next one.

I really enjoyed this book. Beth is going through life aimlessly, not really settling at anything and still living with her parents. That all changes when tragic events leads to her being responsible for her neice and nephew.
I really enjoyed reading this and was sad when I had finished it.
I liked the storyline about the neighbour and also how she struggled with keeping up with the house as well as the many needs and issues that the children had.
The Jory storyline was a bit frustrating, why didn't she just ask him about the photo etc.

I will be looking out for more books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

I absolutely adored this book. I started reading it and found I couldn't put it down, I was sucked into the story and the heartbreaking start immediately. I just loved it. I've read other books by Sarah Turner and although I enjoyed them this was definitely my favourite. I'm so pleased she made the leap to novels. I can't wait to read any future books by her. Highly recommend if you want a lovely heartwarming, yet also heartbreaking in places, beautiful book to read.

I had a bit of a slow start with this novel because I was in a huge reading slump so it took me a while to really get into the story and the characters, but, once I finally did, I couldn’t put it down and I was up late at night to finish reading it. The story is emotional, heart-warming, and immersive and the characters are relatable and authentic. The protagonist is a young woman who goes from spending almost every night getting drunk at the pub with her best friend to trying to take care of her teenage niece and toddler nephew following a car accident in which her sister and brother-in-law were involved. I really enjoyed this character and her development throughout the story and I was captivated by the author’s writing style. Highly recommended.

A gorgeous story that at times had be bawling my eyes out and other time laughing out loud. Its a beautiful book and I would not hesitate to recommend this to people that love this genre.

A great read about family, friendship, grief, and love. This novel is a beautiful and heartfelt story about a carefree woman, Beth, who suddenly has to step up and take care of her sister's children, a teenager Polly and a toddler Ted.

I found it hard to put the book down, because it is such an easy, and yet emotional, read. Beth and the rest of the characters have made me laugh and cry multiple times. I'd highly recommend it to everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for providing me with a free electronic version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is one of the best I've read in a long time! I have never read any of the 'Unmumsy Mum' but Sarah Turner's novel 'Stepping Up' is really fresh and engaging and made me laugh out loud and cry in equal measure.
The novel is about how Beth Pascoe, an early 30s member of the 'boomerang' generation, living at home, lurching her way from one job/hangover/failed date to the next until a tragedy strikes her close-knit family and she finds herself the sole care-giver to her fourteen year old niece and toddler nephew.
The characters are brilliantly drawn and I could picture myself at their dinner table and rolling my eyes along with Beth at her mum's interfering comments and finding comfort in her dad's words of wisdom and solid support.
I thought the ending was very good although not the one I was really hoping for!
Overall it weaves love, family, romance and friendship with a heartwarming deftness that makes the book almost unputdownable. I could have easily devoured it in one sitting but had to settle for three, even taking my kindle with me to supervise my lunchtime duty!
I look forward to reading more of Sarah Turner's novels in the future.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was fun, fabulous, easy to read and follow and I loved the characters. Would definitely recommend!

I absolutely adored Stepping Up and found it to be an emotional and moving read. Beth still lives at home at the age of 30 and is known in her family for never sticking to anything when a family tragedy forces her to become guardian to her niece and nephew. I loved how the author explores issues of grief and loss, parenting and love with a light touch and some humour but also with real sensitivity, depth and humour. I enjoyed the parallel plot lines exploring Beth's relationship with her childhood friend Jory and neighbour Albert and was rooting for Beth throughout. A moving and hopeful read. Highly recommended and I can't wait to read more from the author.
4.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Wow this was a great book, it showed how life can change in a heratbeat and how you cna adapt to a new life, lots of ups and downs, a good insite to family relarionships some of which i could rememebr from my childhood. Loved it

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC.

I have listened to the Unmumsy books and Sarah is very funny. This is her first novel and I had to request it to see if her humour continued into her fiction.

However, this is nothing like her other comedies. This is a typical work of fiction that focuses on Beth's life and how it is turned upside down when her sister and brother in law are involved in a car crash. I was worried that I had picked the wrong book to read on holiday but I was quickly taken in by the plot line and any worries I had about how sad the novel would be were put to one side.

The emotions in this book are carefully dealt with, so that you will be laughing and crying in equal measure. Where else would you find a family tragedy coupled with a toddler needing a number 2 in the middle of the woods with a new-to-parenting Aunt in charge?

Beth has been so used to spending her spare time in the pub or enjoying long, relaxing baths. It is no surprise that she really struggles when she suddenly finds herself looking after a sullen teenager and a three year old. Who will teach her how to change nappies? and what is the teenager hiding because she is acting really strangely?

Bring into the mix a mother that clearly does not think she's up to the challenge along with her own barbed comments and 'suggestions', an octogenarian neighbour that is navigating his own mourning and a platonic relationship with her eldest male friend and it is no wonder that Beth questions herself time and time again if she is up to the challenge.

This is one of those books that sweeps you up and before you know it, you've read it in just two days!

I can really see Sarah having a very long and successful writing career. This is a wonderful novel and I hope that it does well.

I was expecting to enjoy this book but it really is an excellent piece of romantic fiction. I have read a lot of this genre in recent months and this debut stands head and shoulders above many. Beth is reputedly an irresponsible big kid; the wild, free-spirited younger sister and well-meaning but slightly distant auntie. However, when her sister is in a serious car accident, she suddenly has to ‘step up’ and look after her niece and nephew. Forced into a responsible role, Beth begins to discover more about herself through new experiences and friends old and new. I loved the characters in this book and felt so invested in them and the story - it made me both laugh and cry. Definitely a five star read for me and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I requested this book as I had read the authors previous book and needed a good laugh. What a mistake! It starts wkth a pretty traumatic event and then I thing I cried for most of it!
The book focuses on Beth and how she is forced to "step up" after a traumatic event as well as focusing on her relationships with friend and family.

The book is really well written with characters you can warm to and does have snippets of humour in it but is also very sad!

This was a great read. A realistic, funny emotional rollercoaster that covered several difficult topics very well