This book is wonderful. I cried at all the touching moments, and books rarely make me cry. It is so moving.

Joni is such a relatable character, and it’s wonderful to fall in love with her family as she falls back in love with them herself.

I couldn’t stop reading this book, and now I am bereft that I’ve finished it. It is that good.

It’s the story of a girl who is largely estranged from her family, but is forced to spend a week with them to fulfil her Nana’s dying wish. Nothing could put her further out of her comfort zone, but a little boy called Stan, and his friend Bilbo, start to make a difference to all of the family.

It’s so good. I absolutely loved this. Read it, if you like relatable protagonists, family dramas and just a really lovely story.

This was a superb character read featuring Joni who has a difficult relationship with her family, so being forced to spend a week with them as part of her beloved grandmothers terms of accessing her will - and ashes - does not go down well with her. Things go from bad to worse when her boyfriend of ten years chooses to spend time with his friends rather than go with her to support her.

I really liked how Joni’s story unfolded and how at the age of ten her life was turned upside down when her mum died but then within a year she was contending with a new step family including her former best friend who she now had a very troubled relationship with. There were times I was so frustrated for younger Joni and how her dad especially failed to properly help her deal with such big changes and why she felt such antipathy towards her family. The addition of Stan, her stepbrothers adopted son, really added another great dimension to the story as he was such a wonderful character and offered great balance to Joni. This was a brilliant family read, thoughtful but uplifting and I devoured each page.

I found this an enjoyable easy read. I’ve been a fan of Sarah’s work from the beginning. If I had any criticism I found the plot a bit obvious. You could see where the characters were going after just a few pages.

I loved Sarah's first book so was excited to be given the chance to read On The Edge.
It didn't disappoint!
I liked the use of the Whatsapp chat and the characters all went well together.
I did wonder how I'd feel having not long lost my grandad but it was handled well and I found myself chuckling at the memories of Nana.
Definitely a great holiday read or just something on a rainy afternoon.

Another amazing offering from Sarah Turner. I didn’t want to put this book down. Another story to make you laugh out loud ( I may have snorted at one point as well) and tear jerker moments a plenty. The story follows Joni as she’s reunited with her estranged family to carry out the wishes of her late Nana. Whilst carrying out the tasks family secrets are revealed and Joni has some big decisions to make.

I loved Stepping Up and was super excited to read On The Edge.

I liked Joni as our lead narrator. I can't remember the last time I related to a character this much, and I enjoyed her journey.

The whole plot was pacy and lovely, full of humour that had me laughing out loud throughout.

I gave Stepping Up 5 stars because it had all of the above and I cried, but I didn't get that emotional pull from On The Edge. I would also say that while I grew to know Joni, I felt like some of the supporting characters weren't as easy to connect with. For example, Nick is described quite negatively by Joni because of their falling out as kids (though I'm still not too clear on what really caused this) and Nick does come across quite aloof and snooty, perhaps due to Joni being narrator, but I didn't really see much progression from him through the book for me to feel like he had also developed over Nana's week of fun.
Also with Lewis, he was kind of written like the doofus soon-to-be-ex from the start, so their break-up felt destined from chapter 1 and therefore didn't have the emotional wallop that it could/should have had it evolved over the week, or as Joni spent time with Tim.

I also thought I'd struggle as I've recently lost my grandad, and this centred on Joni losing her Nana,.but actually I didn't feel too much emotion from Joni on that side of things.

But in general I've found this an easy read, it was really funny, perfect cultural references for my age, lovely plot that had good pacing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have read all of Sarah’s books and am an avid follower of hers on socials. I love her take on motherhood and how she navigates life with a family. So I was delighted to receive a copy of Sarah’s new novel.

Joni is on the edge of her family. After her mum died young, Joni has been part of a blended family. Well, everyone else seems to be blended except for Joni, who is very much an outsider and rarely returns home.but when her beloved Nana dies, leaving behind a week long set of family activities for everyone, Joni has to show up. Leaving her long term boyfriend Lewis at home, she sets off to rejoin the bosom of her family. Forced to spend a week with people she barely knows, doesn’t like and has nothing in common with? What could possibly go wrong?

I loved this book and would have read it in a single day if my kids hadn’t needed attention. I think this may be the best thing Sarah has written.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

There were so many relatable moments in the book that really resonated for me and just had me rooting for Joni.

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.

Nana has died but in typical Nana fashion she’s pulled off one last, beyond the grave trick to pull the complicated, unhappy family together and try to mend something that was broken long ago.

Told from the perspective of Joni, the smart sensible and pragmatic member of the family On The Edge brings us into a week in the lives of the AshfordClydes as they navigate grief, resentment and love.

I adored Turners first fiction debut Stepping Up but I think I loved this more. I laughed out loud constantly and cried a little as well. The family are so well put together, they felt familiar and recognisable. One of my favourite reads of the year so far.

On The Edge is the heartwarming new book from Sarah Turner, a story that will make you laugh out loud as much as it will make you wipe away a tear or two.

Jodi's beloved Nana has passed away, but it seems that her grandmother still has one more surprise up her sleeve for her unsuspecting family. A last request for them all to spend a week together doing a few pre-arranged activities as her last attempt to reconnect her family.

Reluctantly Jodi agrees to head back to her home town, a place filled with many sad memories that she's run from for many years now. She finds herself still at odds with her step-brother, resentful towards her step-mom and held at arm's length from her dad. But as the days pass she finds a few layers being peeled back as she eventually begins to gain a new and unexpected understanding of her family. It seems that Nana's Week of Fun is about to kick-start her life in a whole different way!

I loved reading this book, it had so much to digest about the essence of families and the characters felt so authentic. I think we all will wish we had this kind of Nana in our lives!

Sarah Turner’s debut novel, Stepping Up was a favourite of mine when I read it in 2022. It drew me in straight away and many aspects felt very relatable so I have been very eager to see what Sarah was going to come up with next.

On the Edge follows Joni, who has not had a good relationship with her blended family, moved away and rarely see them. The one person in the family Joni was close to was Nana. When Nana dies, she has left instructions for the whole family to take part in a variety of pre-arranged activities for the over the course of a week. Joni feels like she has no choice but to participate, so it seems that Nana has finally got her wish after years of trying. The week turns out to be very different to what Joni expected with secretes revealed and changes for the whole family.

It did take me a little while to get fully invested in the story and the characters but I think the book was well written and very readable. It has a good mix of humour whilst exploring deeper topics including the death of a parent, the dynamics of step families and adoption. I found the further I continued to read the more drawn into the story I was and I was happy to go along with the set-up of the family participating in all the tasks. I also liked the use of What’s App messages throughout the book and I found the older side character of Nana’s friend Sue to be a good addition.

Although I did not connect with this story and characters as much as in Stepping Up, this was still an enjoyable read. I like the author’s writing style and would be happy to read more of her books in the future. I think this would make a good summer holiday read
I am rating this book 3.75 stars (rounded up to 4 stars).

Thank you to the publisher, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

If you like Sarah Turners other fiction books you will like this one. I think it’s a great palette cleanser or summer read.