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.

I felt like I needed this book, right now, to shine a light of positivity over some tough times. Beth, our heroine, really ins one, though she doesn't really know it; after all, she is known for being the quitter of the family and has been, pretty much her whole life. Until a tragedy forces her to stop quitting. Emmy, Beth's older sister, and her husband Doug are involved in a car accident that is fatal for one and leaves the other in a coma. So we have Beth. A single woman who can't commit to a job, or a relationship, suddenly thrust into the role of mother/aunt, looking after her teenage niece and toddler nephew. With a cranky old neighbour to contend with, a mother with extremely high expectations, yet with no hope that Beth will deliver, and a best friend who seems to be drifting away, at a time when she needs him more than ever. I truly felt for Beth, who appears resigned to thinking she'll never amount to anything. The change in her, over the course of the book, is heartwarming. I truly enjoyed her blossoming relationship with Ted, her little nephew. He's a charming little character, coming to terms with a huge loss from his life, but not fully understanding it. She has to contend with a teenage niece, Polly, who is hormonal, emotional and has so much she is holding in, away from everyone else. The way their connection develops and goes from breaking point to a true sense of connection is wonderful. I loved Albert, the octogenarian neighbour, who appears to be some sort of gorgon, in Beth's mind, yet is quite possibly the sweetest, lonely old man she has ever encountered. Again, her friendship with him is a joy to read about. Then there is Jory. Beth's best friend of over twenty years. A connection so strong, that ends up fraying, through a difficult time, as they both find it hard to talk about the crux of the matter. The way the conclusion is reached is just perfect, and all I can say is that I loved it! Many thanks to NetGalley, and Random House UK for an arc, in exchange for an honest review.

novel that follows Beth a thirty year old who still lives at home and keeps giving up her jobs much to her mother’s disdain Then suddenly one day all changes when after missing several calls from her dad he finally locates her and sits her down to tell her that her sister and brother-in -law have been in a horrific car accident and Doug is dead and Emily is in ICU on life support. More surprising than anything they have made it very clear they want Beth to look after their two children Polly and Ted (15 & 4) Beth has never been so shocked her looking after children she barely looks after herself how will she do this? Her mum appears to think it’s a ridiculous idea and she can’t do it so Beth decides to try and see if she can but she has no idea where to even start what does she do ? Can she do what her big sis wants ? Even Beth has doubts

In all honestly, I wasn’t expecting too much from this book but how wrong I was. Within the first couple of chapters, this book gives you laughs, smiles and also tears. Sarah’s writing is superb and you really resonate with the characters. All the characters are likeable and I think this is down to Sarah’s talent. You will want to hug them and also scream and shout at them at times. Hopefully there is a sequel to this and after how good this book was I don’t think it will be the end of Sarah’s fiction career either.

Brilliant, I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and kept you interested throughout. A very sad a tragic story but it also makes you think you do need to have something in place should something like this happen. I would recommend this book.