So. No family is perfect. ….

This book is about siblings getting together, when their beloved grandmother passes away. But she leaves a little something for them. Hoping to put their delicate sibling relationships to the test!

This is a lovely cosy feel good book.

Thanks Netgalley, Random House Publishing

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Such a fun and enjoyable read. I read her forst book and this one is even better. 100% would recommend

On the Edge is a feel good, funny and heartwarming story about family and friendship.

Joni lives a safe and controlled life, and while she might not feel completely fulfilled, she does feel safe.

But when her beloved Nana dies and leaves a set of specific instructions that involve getting the family together for a week of activities, Joni feels nothing but anxiety and dread.

She doesn't feel part of the family and cannot wait for the week to be over. But as the family work through the planned activities - climbing, canoeing and dancing among them - Joni begins to re-evaluate her life. When secrets are revealed that make her see everything differently, it's a turning point that is to change everything.

My favourite thing about this sweet story is the relationship that develops between Joni and Stan, and as as Stan says, family is a feeling.

Brilliant read

I really enjoyed this light hearted read that also covered bereavement
It was funny and just a great easy read

I've read some of the author's previous books so was thrilled to receive this early copy and it didn't disappoint. Told with warmth and humour, it manages to gently explore some tricky topics of love, grief, loss and family in a gentle and sensitive way. A great read.

Having loved Stepping Up I was thrilled to receive an eARC of On the Edge. Sarah Turner is a delightful author who manages to weave families and stories together. Very much enjoyed and cannot wait to grab a physical copy to join Stepping Up on my shelves.

As someone who loved her nana dearly this book had me at hello. I’m so beyond excited to read, review, and acquire this book and absolutely cannot wait to share my full thoughts and review. As I was stating in a few previous reviews. I’m dealing with a unexpected health issue which is making things a bit hard to churn out reviews at my usual pace, but I am so enjoying having fantastic books like this to read and keep me company during this difficult time. I look forward to sharing a full review here so and I think this is such a beautiful concept for a book. I wish my nana had left me a list like that of things to accomplish as well.

I LOVED this book, Sarah writes with such warmth and compelling storytelling whilst observing what makes us, humans tick. Thoroughly enjoyed and will recommended to everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley & publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

My favourite part of this book was the family whatsapp group - hilarious! This has so much heart and really digs down into the difficulties of blended families, but equally the power of children in reaching past problems. It didn't get me in the gut like Sarah's debut novel, but I did enjoy reading this and thinking of what crazy activities my own grandma might plan! Definitely a good holiday read.

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

Joni feels estranged from her family, her Mum died when she was young, and she feels like her dad moved on too quickly, whilst also ruining her friendship with her best friend who was all of a sudden her step-brother. The only person she remained in contact with as an adult was her Nana. So when she dies and as part of her will requests Joni and the rest of the family to spend the week together facing challenges, she begrudgingly attends, even when her waste of space boyfriend cancels on her.

I had really enjoyed Stepping Up by @theunmumsymum so was excited when I got approved for an ARC of this book. It was good, it lived up to my expectations and provided a fresh perspective on blended family life. I rated it maybe a little lower than I had initially planned as I found it didn’t really leave a lasting impression; despite me enjoying it as I read it, and I couldn’t actually remember what the book was about until I looked it up.

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

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I want to thank Netgalley for approving me for an ARC of this book.

🏡Family
🤫Secrets
💞Reunion
😢Tearjerker

This was a beautiful story that drew me in from the start. The dynamic of the family and how they interacted with each other was entertaining, and the WhatsApp conversations had me giggling. This is a tale of grief, hope, family and second chances. Get the tissues ready!

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

I DEVOURED this book in one day. Addictive plot, written in an engaging style with a great level of humour. I could picture this working excellently on film and the comedy came to life perfectly. The characters were so distinctive I even dreamt about them the night after finishing the book! Sarah Turner just gets better and better.

Joni Ashford left the village she grew up in at eighteen and barely looked back. The only reason to return occasionally was to see her beloved grandmother, who was the glue that barely held their blended family together; now that she has died, Joni is ready to cut contact entirely with her dad, step-mum and two step-siblings.

But Nanna Phyllis had always wished for her son and his family to make peace - to be a real family - and she had one final scheme up her sleeve to try to make it happen. With the help of a variety of eccentric local characters, she planned a week of activities, which must be completed together in order for Phyllis' will, and the urn containing her ashes, to be handed over. Begrudgingly, Joni sets off for South Norton, feeling not at all prepared to confront her past. Each activity completed reveals a digit from the code which will unlock the safe containing Phyllis' will and ashes, but it also unlocks a Pandora's box of secrets, lies, resentments, betrayals.

On the Edge combines humour and heart in the way followers of author Sarah Turner (aka The Unmumsy Mum) have come to expect. Turner cultivated a huge following on her blog - and later Instagram - thanks to her down-to-earth, lighthearted musings on the travails of motherhood, and her tone lends itself well to this gentle, sweet story of love, loss and the meaning of family.

The chief cause of the conflict between Joni and the rest of the family is that her mother died when Joni was ten years old and - as far as she has been able to tell - her father immediately moved on and welcomed a new wife and children into what had been their family home. He has never been comfortable joining in with Joni's rhapsodising about her perfect childhood and idolised mother, making her feel like he wished his first marriage had never happened. Consequently, Joni she feels like she is a part of that closed chapter rather than a member of the Ashford-Clyde clan in equal standing.

Turner sensitively portrays Joni's lingering feelings of grief and anger, and how they have shaped her life. Joni, who is obsessed with having everything planned to the smallest minutiae and who loathes spontaneity, could have felt like a tropey, simple character, but instead it is clear to see how her personality and approach to life have been shaped by her early feelings of loss and rejection, and how approaching her fortieth birthday - the age her mum was when she died - without ticking off any of her life goals, and returning to her childhood village have eroded the sense of control Joni has been chasing ever since her life spun out of control when she was ten.

The plot is enjoyable and engaging even though it is fairly predictable. The arc of some characters is easy to guess from the moment they are introduced, but the novel is well-plotted enough that the resolutions of these storylines still feel earned. I particularly enjoyed seeing the evolution of the relationships between Joni and her dad, Michael, step-brother, Nick, and seven-year-old nephew, Stan, who gets a special mention for being a sweet character who is crucial for Joni's arc but who manages to avoid coming off as too precocious or cloying. Nana Phyllis, whom we get glimpses of through messages she left for the group and through each family member's remininiscences, permeates the narrative with her joy, wit and love for her family - a beautiful illustration of how our loved ones live on after they have died.

My least favourite part of the story was the character of Cate, Joni's insta-famous step-sister who is obsessed with capturing 'Nana's Week of Fun' for her followers. Not only was her character extremely annoying, but the characterisation seemed improbable for a thirty-four-year-old; it would have made more sense to write her as significantly younger than Joni and Nick. However, I must commend Turner's canny decision to write each of the Ashford-Clydes as very one-note when we first encounter them - after all we are seeing them from Joni's perspective - and to portray the layers and facets of them more as the week goes on. It really helps the reader to relate to Joni and understand her journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

An incredibly easy book to read. Wonderful characters and a very interesting main character that was relatable. It’s hard when we get stuck in our ways.
Themes of family, grief, motherhood, finding your place in the world is covered throughout and whilst they all sound like serious subjects, Sarah manages to add humour and lightheartedness.
Enjoyable & glad I picked it up!
Thank you

📚 Book Review

On The Edge by Sarah Turner
Transworld Publishers (Bantam), 4th July 2024

Always feeling like an outsider in her family, Joni has avoided her relatives almost totally, apart from her Nana, who she is close to. When Nana dies, she leaves an itinerary of activities for the whole family, including Joni, to complete. Nana coming up with this plan is genius, of course. A week's worth of activities to reunite the family. What could go wrong?

These are such interesting characters; I really liked Joni. She struck such a chord with me, as will undoubtedly be the case with thousands of readers. Joni's relationship with half-nephew Stan is so endearing, and she even includes Stan's little imaginary friend Bilbo.

The writing is fluid, I loved the humour and found the development of the relationships fascinating. The WhatsApp messages are entertaining too; I really enjoyed this book and will go back and read the author's other work.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to the publisher and author for providing an eARC via NetGalley; this is my unbiased review.

A great read and very funny! When Joni’s Nana dies it forces her family to come together for a week’s holiday as a condition of the will before anyone gets any money! As Joni has distanced herself from her family, this is difficult for her! A series of tasks have been set, giving a number at the end of each, leading to a code to open a safe containing Nana’s ashes. Very well written and worth reading.

When I started reading this book I really did wonder why as I wasn’t enjoying it and seriously thought about giving up. Thankfully I kept reading and actually, what a great book it turned out to be. Once you get used to the characters they’re very enjoyable especially Stan and Jodi. Storyline wise it thankfully turns into a goodie but perseverance is required!

Joni has always felt like an outsider within her own family. She lost her mother as a child and later, her dad married her mother's carer.
Along with her new step-mum came step-siblings, and she always felt at odds with them all. She felt that her own mother had been forgotten.
Now, years later, her beloved Nana has died, and one of the conditions of the will is that all the family gather together for one week. During this time they have to complete several family tasks. Once each task is completed, they will be issued with a number which is part of a code to get into a safe containing Nana's ashes, and answers to why they have all been forced to do these tasks.
Joni really doesn't want to go, but wants to honour the memory of her Nana so decides to attend.
This is a book about deep family secrets, betrayal and love, and I loved every page.
It was well written and you were left wondering what the family secret was until the end.
I will look for more books by this author. A1

Joni is a planner and an expert avoider of people and situations she can't cope with. Her family is the perfect example, and she has successfully avoided them all, except her Nana, until she dies. Nana's death devastates Joni and makes the grief of losing her mother raw again. Nana has made an unusual request that will bring the family back together for a week, and Joni is dreading it. There are many complex relationships in this story, explored emotionally and insightfully. Whilst there are poignant events, these are balanced with laugh-out-loud moments as the family experiences Nana's bonding week and learns unforgettable things about each other. It's immersive, and I read it in a day. I like the characters' relatability, the emotion, whether it be laughter or tears and the twisty plot that culminates in a realistically uplifting way.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I adored this book. The family dynamics was amazing to watch develop and change with each new task. I loved Sarah's last novel and this was no different.