This book was just amazing from start to finish. The family matriarch, Nana Phyllis has one final request for her family before they can read her will. They have to spend time TOGETHER..
Totally relatable family dramas entwined with siblings with complicated pasts will keep your head in the book until the end. And you will just love Stan, who is the secret star of the book.
Sarah Turner has done it again!

Loved this!

Turner does it again with a story that is full of witty asides and laugh out loud moments, as well as emotionally challenging the reader.

The story of Joni, whose beloved Nana has died, leaving a request that Joni take part in some events with her dad, step-mum, step-sister and former childhood best friend, stepbrother Nick.

Joni is estranged from her family after her dad married Nick’s mum very soon after the death of Joni’s beloved mum.

Joni really wants boyfriend of 10 years,
Lewis, to come with her to see her family, but he’s got important business with his pals, drinking and goofing about, so Joni heads off alone.

What happens next is a tale of family dynamics, the building of relationships and a lot of revelations and understanding and it’s brilliant.

Really well written, thoroughly entertaining, often hilarious, and deeply touching, this is a very enjoyable story and I’m pleased to have had the chance to read an early copy.

Firstly I must just say that to me the star of this story is Stan. He's a 7 year old boy that has been adopted by Joni's stepbrother Nick, and is utterly fabulous.

He is continually trying to find things out for his podcast, can be found listening and occasionally recording to things his ears probably shouldn't hear and as a result all sorts of chaos could occur. He also is really sensitive, and I loved how he started to bond with Joni.

Joni was essentially emotionally blackmailed into spending a week with her blended family, and she isn't looking forward to it. Not only that she hates organised activities, and not being in control.

So a week that includes all of that, along with her nemesis but not with her long term partner for support isn't ideal for her.

I loved the various activities and once I got the family dynamics straight in my head, I was gripped by this book. I was totally entertained and found myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading, which is always the sign of a good book.

There are all manner of surprises in store for the characters, and I just found this to be really entertaining.

A really enjoyable book to read, with a great cast of characters.

Thank you to Transworld Digital and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Joni’s grandmother, has sadly died before she was able to celebrate her 90th birthday. In anticipation of her demise, she has tasked her friend Sue to organise several activities, bringing five members of the family (Michael, Allie, Cate, Nick and Joni) together to celebrate the event. Joni is estranged from her father Michael and step-mother Allie which makes the whole thing difficult for her. Despite this, she goes ahead, not wanting to let her grandmother down. The story is peppered with over the top characters, including Allie’s daughter, over the top influencer Cate, who decides to turn each of the challenges into a marketing opportunity. However, for me, it was Nick’s adopted son Stan who really stole the show, in the way only small boys can.
There are laugh out loud moments as things go hilariously wrong, but then there are also the more serious moments. Added to this, Joni long-term boyfriend Lewis seems to want to spend more time with his friends than with her, and constantly frustrates Joni’s plans to have a baby. It’s clear Lewis needs to be given his marching orders, but being with him for 10 years, Joni appears sometimes too tolerant of his shortcomings, putting up with far too much. She still seems hopeful that he will come around to settling down with a family.
As the story concludes, it’s clear that Joni’s grandmother, in setting all this up, is smarter than everyone realises.
A thoroughly entertaining read.
I would like to thank Penguin Random House, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of On The Edge in exchange for an honest review.

On The Edge is Sarah Turner’s second novel and, in my opinion, is even better than her first Stepping Up. Joni, the protagonist, is forced to spend a week with her blended family after her Nana passes away and makes it a stipulation in her will. As expected, old emotions resurface and home truths abound as Joni questions her life to date. The family relationships and banter are well done and feel very genuine. I can imagine this as a BBC drama. Overall a very easy, enjoyable, heartwarming read.

A bit of a slow starter.
When Nana died she left instructions for her estranged family to get together and do activities together before the will was read.
As the family got together their secrets are revealed and the bonding starts.
It took me quite a while to get used to the messages to each other and I found the ending a bit abrupt I wanted to know a bit more about the will.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review.

Loved this story about a family who when their nana dies she asks the family to meet and she left a list of activities for them to complete over a week. Loved the characters who all had their own flaws and secrets especially Joni and her relationship with her dad and her new family and Sue who was a friend of nana and trying to use emoji’s correctly.
This is a great story of a family coming together to honour nana's wishes with some really funny moments and how they overcome secrets.
Would highly recommend for a emotional and highly entertaining read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I read this book in a day I could not put it down. Turner has created a family of characters that are complex and relatable. I fell in love with little Stan and adored the way he spied on the adults for his podcast. My heart hurt at the way he worried and tried to hide his bed wetting. The relationship that blossoms between Stan and Joni's is very special, by looking out for him and comforting him, she is in turn comforting the child in her. Joni is very witty and made me laugh with her asides and retorts. Being part of a blended family can be difficult especially when it happens so soon after a parent's death. I could understand why Joni felt so isolated from everyone but also her step mum who tried so hard to smooth things over. The tasks that Nanna has planned for after her death led to often hilarious consequences as well as being emotional at her loss. The WhatsApp exchanges with the family and Sue, 'who isn't one to gossip', are laugh out loud. It is a book full of heart and empathy - a real feel-good read!

I really liked the premise of the book - with some of the dialogue taken from a family WhatsApp group chat. A unique take on family communication and very identifiable for all the different generations. Within the book are astute and funny observations, particularly of the social media world. One of the characters is an 'influencer' with a rather dubious boyfriend, promoting some sort of pyramid scheme. I didn't enjoy it as much as her first book, Stepping Up. I found On The Edge a little cliched and predictable at times. Very much a rom-com, summer beach read, which is no bad thing, just not my usual choice. Perhaps a few too many characters to keep up with. You could see the writing-on-the-wall with Joni's boyfriend from the start, which is perhaps why I didn't feel so invested in this book.

This was a lovely easy read that didn’t end in the way I thought it would which was a lovely surprise. Would be a great beach or holiday read

Aww I loved this book. We all have family drama and this story encapsulates the difference between what we think is important and what's actually important in life and death.
I laughed and cried in equal measure.

I received a E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This uplifting and emotional read follows Joni as she, along with family are invited to spend a week together. Joni has always felt an outsider in her family, so she is reluctant to attend.

Her Nana has recently passed away and is behind calling the family together. She has left a plan with her friends and set activities the family must complete together before they are able to read the will and scatter her ashes.

The activities, although fun, bring them all out of their comfort zone, but they are all determined to complete them all and follow the instructions left for them.

Will they complete all the activities? Will it bring the family closer together?

This book leaves you with so emotions, as you laugh and cry along with the family members as they try to get through the week and through all the activities. I think I’m going to struggle to write a review that will show how much I enjoyed reading this book.

I think the funniest part for me is hearing Sue, Nana’s friend trying to use emoji’s correctly, oh and one of the activities being particularly awkward.

The character I love the most is Joni’s Stepbrothers son, he is a lovely little boy and helps bring the family even closer, even if he doesn’t mean to.

Overall, an uplifting and emotional read full of humour, as a family try to last a week of activities set by their late Nana.

As a fan of Sarah’s Unmumsy Mum books and her first novel, Stepping Up, I was pleased to be able to read On The Edge.
Joni’s beloved Nana has passed away, her dying wish is to mend the family-bonds between Joni, her father, and step family. Joni has a rose-tinted view of her life before her Mum passed away that she’s never been able to reconcile her early life with the new family dynamics. So Nana has hatched a plan to hold her will and ashes hostage, unless the whole family take part in a planned week of fun.
I enjoyed the snippets of WhatsApp conversations, especially Nana’s friend Sue, who isn’t au fait with ‘new’ technology. Cate and Nick got on my nerves, but in a way that you are designed to dislike them. Stanley brought a needed element of fun and innocence and I loved the way Joni and Stan (and Bilbo) bonded during the story. I thought the way Joni interacted with Stan at the start felt very stiff considering she is a teacher, but I suppose teaching secondary school is very different to interacting with a 7 year old.
An enjoyable, heartfelt read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Stepping Up so I was delighted when I got the chance to review and early proof copy of On The Edge. Oh Joni, I loved her as a character. I saw myself in her in so many ways, except she doesn’t drink wine! But I really enjoyed her story and the troubled family dynamics. Nana was such a sweet character, even though we don’t hear lots from her I thought her wishes and intentions were just beautiful. Such a feel good read and one that I think will be very successful! Definitely an auto buy author for me too.

As a big fan of Sarah Turner’s debut novel, I was thrilled to receive a proof copy of her latest novel, On The Edge.

It follows Joni as she is invited to spend a week with her estranged family after the loss of her grandmother. They must all spend the week together completing various activities or no one will receive any inheritance.

Joni has barely spent any time with her family since she left, having felt isolated from her father after he remarried shortly after losing her mum to cancer at a young age. However, there are many things she doesn’t know, and this week together may just change everything she ever knew about her family and herself.

Turner has a way of creating a cast of realistic characters with wit, humour and compassion that makes you want to get to know them.During the course of the novel we meet Joni’s estranged family. First we are introduced to them via a hilariously accurate texting group chat, in which their mix of personalities shine through.

The story is told from Joni’s perspective so the other sections of narrative are coloured with Joni’s opinions, but as the story progresses and Joni warms to her distant family we see their true natures in all their weird and wonderful glory.

Turner is brilliant at crafting family relationships, full of humour, heart and insightful storytelling. For Joni, losing her mum so young impacted her entire life afterwards, forever chasing the happiness from her idyllic childhood. Sadly, losing her mum led to her estrangement with her dad, and therefore she never felt bonded with her step-siblings. She is in a stable if bland long term relationship with boyfriend Lewis, though right from the start it is clear that they might not be the perfect fit…

My favourite aspect of the novel is the growing relationship between Joni and her nephew Stanley. Adopted by her step brother as a single parent, Stanley is learning to find his place in their blended family. Joni, as a teacher experienced with kids, manages to form a bond with Stanley which grows as the week goes on. Stanley is adorable, and its fun to see how quickly Joni falls under his charming spell, from cleaning car vomit one day to ensuring Stanley and his imaginary friend Bilbo are well taken care of another day.

A wonderful story of family and how sometimes, to move forward, you need to go back.

Thank you for my earc of this book. I loved Stepping Up so was very keen to read this.
I absolutely loved this book, the characters are a highlight but especially Stan. Sarah is so good at writing children in particular and I adored reading Stan.
I love that this was a story of family and coming of self, living in the past and moving forward to the future.
I can’t wait for more novels from Turner!

REVIEW
cw: mentions of addiction, cancer, death, cheating, grief, bullying, misogyny
When Phyllis, the matriarch of Joni's family passes away, she leaves instructions for a bonding week of activities devised to bring her estranged family back together.

I loved Sarah Turner's previous book, Stepping Up. She writes difficult family dynamics really well. This book took me longer to get into but it was definitely a grower.
My biggest issue early on was Joni, the main character. Let me preface this by saying that I am a huge planner, so I saw some of my own traits in her. But truthfully, I found Joni rather unlikeable at times, and sometimes downright immature. That's not to say I didn't understand her frustration with her step-siblings Cate and Nick. But, even before the big twist, I felt sorry for her dad and his wife, Allie. She treated them both so dismissively, particularly early on. As the story progressed I was able to empathise a lot more with her and started to understand how she'd become so rigid in her life. The complex and varied ways that people react differently to grief were well-written. From Michael’s (Joni's father) pain and reluctance to ever speak about Joni's mum, to Joni's resentment at the cemetery. I sensed a twist, but the one that came still surprised me. I loved Allie. She was so sweet and caring towards Joni. I felt really sad for Michael because it was so clear that he missed his daughter. But I adored the resolution in chapter forty-three.
There were a lot of amusing moments in this book. Sue's message threads, along with her naivety about emojis were hilarious. Each activity was a lot of fun, but the one in chapter 26 cracked me up the most. Tim the activities instructor's reactions to this quirky family and their fraught dynamic cracked me up so many times. His reaction when he thought Bilbo was real, and locked in the car was hilarious. I wasn't surprised by how his relationship developed with Joni, but it was sweet and felt organic. Conversely, both Jason and Lewis were walking, talking red flags and I honestly couldn't fathom how Joni had managed to maintain a relationship with Lewis for a decade. Even though I disliked Lewis, he was right in what he said about how Joni had described Allie, Nick, and Cate so negatively to him. While initially feeling a bit one-dimensional, I grew to like both Nick and Cate. But Stan was, BY FAR, my favourite character. He was such a sweetheart, and I loved his innocent questions and podcast ideas. But my heart broke for him too, especially when we learned about his early life and his ongoing insecurities. I won't spoil the plot, but he has some of the best scenes in the book, and I particularly loved how his relationship with Joni developed. His presentation at the end was absolutely adorable.
An ultimately uplifting story about the power of healing fractured family dynamics.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: n/a

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own*

Favourite Quotes:

‘I’ve honestly never met a family like yours,’ he says.
‘Most of them are not my family , as I keep pointing out, but I get your point. At least you’re getting paid for it. Spare a thought for me.

It’s remarkable how often I say no worries for someone who does, in fact, have all the worries.

It never gets easier , despite what people think. The deepest of wounds is opened when someone you love dies, and no amount of life going on around you can heal it. Yes, you learn to live with the wound, because you have to. If you’re lucky, over time that wound fades to a scar, but sometimes it gets reopened, the pain and messiness of it seeping out over everything that’s new.

Joni is almost 40 and ready to move on with the next chapter in her life, having a baby with her engaged to be engaged boyfriend of 10 years.
She is estranged from her melded family but when her Nana dies they find she has put in place a week of fun family activities which must be completed. Joni doesn't want to join in but Nana used emotional blackmail to ensure she does.

The characters are all believable with some annoying traits which most people will recognise in people they know.

This was an entertaining read and I thank Netgalley and the publishers for the DRC.

Thank You Netgalley and Penguin Random House Uk Group for allowing me an early copy if this warn uplifting copy of Sarah Turners feel good read.
I don't wish to spoil the story at all but all the characters in the book are likeable. Joni is just the one you feel for from the start, you felt her anguish, being dragged along to something with people you didn't care to be with, but it was for someone who she cared and loved very much, her grandma Phyllis.
There were lots of laugh out loud moments and some emotional moments too.
I wasn't keen on the what's app messages between 'the group' in the book, but other than that I couldn't fault the book at all. Another fab read! 5*

Sarah Turner is a great author and this book is another great delivery! A slightly different theme but brilliant writing and a thoroughly absorbing story!