Wow, wow, wow. I loved this story and the characters in it. It was so interesting reading about media and how the news/internet etc can completely ruin people’s who are in the public eyes lives and the way they navigate the world or speak their full truth about what’s behind the photo. I also absolutely loved the grumpy x sunshine trope between Tom and Daisy, they were both so fun to read when they got past the initial meet and Tom’s poor love history with his wife. This book was fun, laugh out loud and so wholesome. Seeing a healthy relationship between mother and daughter, lots of LGBTQ+ community representation too. I loved that the author didn’t make a huge point of having the gay romances in the story, they were just there and I loved that it was the most natural timing in the world.
Big fan of the main characters, Daisy’s world, and even Stella grew on me!

I wish I could have more but know if don’t need it, however I wouldn’t be opposed to any future short stories!

Tropes:
Sunshine x grumpy
Small town romance

Loved the book! I wish it focused more on the romance. But I loved the female empowerment daisy come into.

The only way is up baby for you and me now.

This is such a fun book. With many laugh out loud moments to behold. I loved the storyline, the characters and everything about it. Such a joy.

This is a book that won't get shouted about cos the author isn't well known, but this is the second one I've read by her and both have been terrific! Any book that makes you want to live in the location of the book is a winner by me and this is a definite winner - it's funny, emotional and touches your heart, would absolute recommend reading this!

I really enjoyed Heidi's third novel. The characters were likeable, the story fun, and the book was like a lovely, comforting hug. I read it in one day - I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to escape reality for a few hours!

This was an entertaining read. The chaos that an accidental wardrobe malfunction causes is widespread, but I thought Daisy handled it fairly well. Even though I thought Daisy & Tom were great as a couple, this book didn’t really feel like a romance book. It felt more like women’s fiction, and the focus was more on the characters, especially Daisy, finding themselves & bettering their lives. I found the side characters interesting, and enjoyed reading about what they were up to, which usually provided a laugh. However, it also was a little bland & predictable, and this stopped me from fully connecting with the story & the characters.

Really good read , very much enjoyed this book by Heidi Stephens. Great characters , good storyline , funny, romantic , a touch of intrigue, what’s not to love. Ideal beach, duvet day read, and a lovely feel of place.

No Way But Up is a sweet contemporary fiction novel set in the countryside of England. The book is about 39 year old celebrity Daisy who after an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction retreats to the country to lay low. She is near her daughters school and while she works out a complicated relationship with her not so loving boyfriend, she gets to know her new neighbors which includes the handsome headmaster at the local school. This is a fun read with a cast of characters that keeps you engaged. The romance is slow moving and the majority of the story is about Daisy coming to find out exactly what she wants and who she wants to be in her life. I enjoyed reading the story and escaping to this small town.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline Accent for sending this book for review considerations. All opinions are my own.

A pleasant enough read with shades of Jilly Cooper, it’s amazing what exciting things can happen in quiet Cotswold villages from time to time

On paper this book is everything I enjoy reading but for some reason I just didn’t connect with this story! I’m so sad!

I really enjoyed reading this book, really good fun with just the right amount of fluffiness!! Definitely a great one to snuggle up with a warm drink and chocolate and do nothing else all weekend but read! Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy x

Wow!!! What a book!

I was excited to read this book after reading the blurb, I thought it sounded like a fun easy read. Although I was hesitant about it being far fetched which I think a lot of fiction written about celebrities sometimes can be. I was wrong!

I don’t think I can find anything bad about this book apart from I wanted to read more and more! The characters were relatable and there weren’t any of those stupid “misunderstandings” causing issues between the two main characters. I loved the amount of people that were in it. You got a feel of all of their personalities but not too much to confuse you with who was who. Although I originally thought the book was going to be about christmas it wasn’t, it just so happened that it was Christmas at one point in the book.

I really connected with Daisy and Tom. They were both down to earth characters which had qualities I could attribute to myself and people I know.

I haven’t read anything by this author before but I will be now!

Absolutely brilliant book wish I could give it more stars!

I’ll be honest this is not the type of book I would normally choose to read, so it was refreshing to read something different.

This was a nice light, fluffy read which was read quite easily in one sitting.

Review for NetGalley:
I feel slightly conflicted over this book as although it’s described as a romcom it feels more like women’s fiction with a hint of a romantic subplot. Most of the novel focussed on Daisy and her finding herself in the Cotswolds (surrounded by an array of slightly mad neighbours).
It’s a fun, quick read but it didn’t pack enough of a romantic punch for my tastes.

😍📕A truly delightful, heartwarming romcom that made me smile, and was impossible to put down!

😹There are so many amusing one liners - I kept thinking I must remember that, and of course the book is so good, I forgot them all whilst absorbed in the story

🫶I really like this author’s style - she writes a modern day romcom - it is less twee and wholesome that some others. I love both styles (some of my all time greats are the twee innocents! but this style seems harder to find!)

👩‍❤️‍👨The characters have great names! This struck me as I really do notice if a name doesn’t quite fit for me! The author has nailed it here - the names all reflect the character and their personality.

❌Poor Daisy - This poor lady has a mishap, that could have happened to any of us! Luckily, most of us are not in the public eye so would have been spared her shame. I find the word ‘fanny’ and how she talks about what happened hilarious.

This was my first read of Heidi's but I will confidently say this definitely won't be my last! In The Only Way is Up, we meet Daisy a celeb, who's life has epically gone to chaos and decides she needs to retreat away from the spotlight to the countryside. The first trope of this book was small town, countryside vibes which were really sweet and reminded me a lot of going out to the cottage during the summer to hang out.

This story featured lighthearted cuteness, easy story line, and a budding romance that was sweet and not the complete focus of the entire book. It was really nice as a reader to see everything else that changes in Daisy's life, aside from meeting and falling in love with Tom. As readers we see her character grow and become a better person overall.

Definitely a fun and easy read!

Thank you NetGalley and Headlines for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

LOVED this book! Such a sweet and heartwarming read! Daisy and Tom were such likable and relatable. I loved their chemistry and was rooting for them the entire time! This was a quick and easy read that I couldn’t put down! This is my second book from Heidi Stephens and I really enjoy her writing style. I definitely look forward to reading more from her!

📘: The Only Way Is Up by Heidi Stephens
🗓 Pub Date: November 24, 2022

Thank you NetGalley, Heidi Stephens, and Headline for this ARC!

*Reviewed on NetGalley and Goodreads. Will review on retail once published!

This is a five-star read that will make you smile even on the days where there doesn’t seem to be anything to smile about. Its like sunshine in written form, but the sunshine that comes through on a rainy, grey day, the one that surprises you and shows you even when its dark there can still be a light humour to life. Daisy just kept me hooked all the way through, as she held her head high, despite everything, I adored her relationship with her daughter and also with her mother, even after the challenges they faced. I love how Daisy treats Ruby like an equal, that’s something I think lots of people with teenagers could do with a hint of, but it was also the interactions with everyone that made me smile and just warmed me from the inside. The skiing walk back just made me chuckle, and the way it was all handled was well done, I really enjoyed this story and am so excited to see what we will get from this author next as they just have a lovely way with words that I simply adore.

The Only Way is Up
7.0⭐️
Tropes | Small Town, Celebrity & the Commoner
Heat Level | 🌤 , closed door
______________
London-based TV Celebrity Daisy seems to have it all – accolades from the public, a loving daughter, and a younger tennis star fiancé. But when her private life (and literal privates) are exposed to the world she flees to the Cotswolds for some soul searching.
____________

We Americans tend to say we’re either going for a walk, implying somewhat aimless wandering, or a hike which has a specific Point A to B trajectory. Over in the U.K., they add in “rambling” – taking a sojourn through gentler terrain – which falls somewhere in the middle.

In the US, we tend to also make novels in similar fashion. “Walks” are dialogue-heavy, exposition-light leisure reads. A love story plus fun things to distract along the way. At the other end, are the “hikes.” The love story is paramount, massive obstacles must be surmounted, and by the time we get the HEA everybody is exhausted but triumphant.

All that’s to say The Only Way Is Up is a bit of a ramble. Which is not a slight to this book, as I appreciate a good ramble now and then. But the flow here seems to be a common structural difference in many UK-based contemporary romances vs their American counterparts.

Tom and Daisy falling in love is not the central story. Daisy’s personal journey with her mother, daughter, ex-husband, new friends, fiancé, fans and enemies are all the core of this story before the couple. Go in expecting a lot of side characters doing random stuff and it’s a more satisfying read.

If you look for Tom and Daisy to have much on-page time together, you will be disappointed. Their physical interactions are negligible and only account for less than 10% of the book. Alone time can be tallied on one hand. This makes the love story portion feel rather unrealistic.

Tom comes across as sweet, but flat. We wonder just how well Daisy really knows the handsome headmaster and why she would fall for him so quickly. However, we know almost too much about the sex drive of Christian the ex-fiancé. In the real world, Tom would have a very uphill climb to not become just a nice guy rebound after time spent with the rake about town.

For me to recommend this as a contemporary romance, a lot of editing would need to happen to make it more of a hike or a walk with a love story at the core. But if you are looking for a novel about a woman on a life journey, then this exists as a very nice, enjoyable ramble.

hen Daisy (think Fern Britton) torpedoes her family image by splashing her minge (accidentally) all over the tabloids she rusticates to her ex-husband's cottage in the Cotswolds. A gay ex-husband, alcoholic mother, and sex-addict boyfriend don't make life easy.

Daisy soon discovers that her nearest neighbour is a disgraced celebrity chef who is living off the grid for a year while he writes a book, there's a disgraced Tory MP and his family living in the village, the head teacher of the local private school is surly, and the local tennis coach is a bit of a lech.

This was like Katie Fforde on steroid (or maybe Viagra). A small-town cutesy romance with a bit of heat.

I received an Arc from the publisher in return for an honest review.