When Eden and Beck meet, they both think the other is someone they’re not. As they learn more, they charm and intrigue each other. Beck catches Eden at a vulnerable moment and a friendship is born. Eden has her younger sister Holly to think about and both Eden and Beck are grappling with grief. When news about a will rocks their world, will their newfound friendship/relationship survive the test?

I enjoyed this! It’s lighthearted, great writing, and easy to like the characters. I loved how Eden had such a strong relationship with her sister, but ultimately had to recognize that some things changed as they became adults. Beck and Eden are very cute together, I enjoyed seeing them get to know each other. This was my first Sandra Kitt, but I’m looking forward to reading more from her.

The Time of Your Life is available now. Thank you so much to Sandra Kitt, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is the second book of the Millionaires Club series, and my introduction to the author’s writing. The tie-in for the series so far is people who are, if not in dire financial straits, essentially working people, perhaps with some savings, but not wealthy, who get a sudden and very large windfall, that changes their lives.

The focus of this novel, however, is Eden’s and Beck’s relationships–with each other, and with the other people in their lives.

I should start by saying that it has been a while since I read a straight contemporary romance, and that I’m out of practice in slowing down my expectations. This made it very hard for me to enjoy the book for what it is: a sweet, angst-free story about two kind and likable people falling in love with each other while dealing with some past unresolved trauma.

The book blurb at the end of the ARC sets up the story well.

their own familial relationships and their emotional baggage.

Three quibbles:

While there is a brief conversation regarding how their new financial circumstances will affect them vis-à-vis the IRS, I really would have liked more detail about what happens with the money; we get to see Eden spending a bit of money in ways that aren’t habitual to her, and the assumption would be she’s drawing from her inheritance, but you can’t walk into a bank and drop a check for five millions and not have it be a production, especially not if you are a Black person in the United States.

Second, the tie in with the famous Millioanires Club felt shoehorned in, because it’s all too vague. The conversation they have with the main character of the first novel lacks detail; they could just as easily have had a zoom meeting and not spend time they didn’t have going from D.C. to New York for a total of twelve hours.

And finally, there are references to COVID and the pandemic, but they are all in the past; for all intents and purposes, COVID is no longer a thing in the world of the novel, and that honestly made me uncomfortable.

In the end, I wanted to like this novel more than I actually did; the writing voice is enjoyable, the characterization of the two leads is good, and yet.

My main problem is that I kept waiting for something more to happen–I don’t know what, because, again, this is a contemporary romance, and therefore the focus is on the characters and their relationship. But when there are two basically decent, kind, and sensible people, and very little real conflict for over 300 pages, my interest wanes–and so I struggled for a week to finish the book.

While I think that a lot of this boils down to a case of me not being in the right mood to enjoy this kind of book, I still think that some fat should have been trimmed here.

The Time of Your Life gets a 7.00 out of 10

I just really couldn't get into this book. It really dragged in a lot of places. There was one point at which the sisters were having a fight and some things happened that I thought, "OK, here we go!", but what really could have been a real issue was very quickly resolved and nothing much came of it. It just wasn't for me.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Beautifully told story of two very busy people meeting for the first time at a memorial for someone they each knew, whose acts during life brought each of them support and lessons for living that support the entirety of this slow burn romance. There are no dragons slain here, no mysteries or murders to solve, just plain connection that builds as it grows. Each has unfinished business with their past, emotional business that challenges the basis of their affection for one another, but that business is addressed with love and forgiveness. This is a wholly warm tale of a solid love on which a future depends.

The Time of Your Life by Sandra Kitt is about two strangers falling in love in unique circumstances. After all, how many people fall in love with someone they meet in a wake? Beck and Eden's path crossed unexpectedly and it was a slow burn romance.

I found it a bit difficult to connect with the characters. They didn't seem to have a lot of chemistry. The book was moving slow. I don’t mind a slow burn but I was having difficulty staying with the story. It was interesting to see how they slowly developed a strong relationship. I wish it was a bit more structured and concise.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

3 1/2 stars

This is a beautifully written novel about two people who are brought together by the death of someone special to them both. Beck and Eden are both well developed characters and I really found myself liking them both. They were human with their own individual insecurities and personal battles. The relationship between the two of them came together fairly quickly with just a small amount of drama. It's a lovely book, I just struggled to stay focused. I'm learning that I may have some attention issues when I read and I need some different plots periodically to keep me engaged. Even though this storyline was well thought out and interesting, it just didn't have enough "pop" for me personally. However, I would still recommend it because the author's writing is really impressive. It's well put together and descriptive in all the right ways. For me, the weak point was just needing a more engaging plot and that's a personal issue for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

**Thank you to Sandra Kitt, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and NetGalley for allowing me to receive an ARC of The Time of Your Life in exchange for an honest review!!**

It is very easy to see why Sandra Kitt is an extremely notable author. Her writing style is so deeply entrancing. I loved all of the tenderness in this book, and it was just a beautiful love story. I really enjoyed all of the emotional maturity that they characters displayed and it really improved this book. I haven't read a book from her before, but this book made sense without reading the novel that came before it in the series. This was a very touching story and it was quite fun to see the events that came about based on the main characters' chance meeting. I would love to read more of her novels and I look forward to reading them soon. This book was quite touching and it was a great read.

I got a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Beck and Eden were a cute couple. The circumstances of their meeting were sad but the meet cute was still great. They stumbled a bit in the beginning and there was my dreaded third act romance hurdle. Still, this was a great story. Each had their own stuff to deal with and they helped each other with that.

One big issue I had with the book was that it talked about the COVID-19 pandemic. When it was first mentioned it threw me right out of the story. I started to worry because they weren’t masking and taking any other precautions. It was mentioned two more times in the book and honestly I felt like it should have just been omitted. It forced me to push my feelings to the side because the lack of precautions was making me dislike characters I had begun to enjoy.

If it weren’t for that, this would be a 4/4.5 star read. But I have to give it 3/3.5 stars because I really was pulled from what was otherwise a really good story.

This was a bit of a drag for me. Nothing really held my attention. There really wasn’t a plot. It all just seemed a bit too unrealistic for me.

The Time of Your Life by Sandra Kitt is about two people brought together by a memorial service, each thinking the other was an employee of the venue, when, in fact, they were each so much more. Everett Nichols had been many things to many people. To Eden Marsh, he was the man who made her what she was today. He had challenged her and demanded her best. He had also paid for law school. She was beyond inspired by this self made-cranky old man who had changed her life for the better. Occasionally someone insinuated that maybe they had been sleeping together, but nothing could be further from the truth. He had just liked her and chosen to help. She was his first Black employee and one of the few women. Beck Dennison was a writer and he was going to write about Everett Nichols, but he didn’t want his personal connection to show. He wanted it to be excellent and unbiased. It was. Then the both of them were called to a lawyer’s office. Everett had left them something. For Eden, it was a check for $5 million. For Beck, it was a check for $100 million and his company and other assets. It turns out Beck was his stepson.

Their relationship grew fairly slowly and it had its mis-turns. Beck was a mixed race man, his college degree had been paid for by his step-father. Everett was really the only father he’d ever known and he loved him. The more he saw of Eden, the more he wanted to see. She was very special young woman and in the last semester of law school at Georgetown. She lived with her sister who was a flight attendant but still very immature and Eden allowed that, as she had always taken care of her and her sister saw her in no other role. She also had a job and volunteered: she was busy. Beck was emotionally estranged from his mother, for a reason that went back years. Both had plenty to figure out. Ben felt protective over Eden but tried to curb that emotion as she could take care of herself and was proud of it. They were both very complicated people with lots of layers. It was a well-written description of a relationship that built over time, as they both had some growing to do. I enjoyed every word of it.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Time of Your Life by Sourcebooks Casablanca, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #Netgalley #SourcebooksCasaBlanca #SandraKitt #TheTimeOfYourLife

An estate to settle between two warring individuals, family strife, romantic possibilities drew me into Sandra Kitt's THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE. The characters were fascinating, the situations felt authentic and natural to them, the twists and turns were enjoyable. While a few of the characters drove me up the wall, that's the way in real life, and the others more than compensated. I very much enjoyed the career orientation of main characters, because that helped flesh out an enjoyable story. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

3.75⭐️

This is an unusual love story. It was slow yet fast and fast yet slow. The characters jelled very early but despite that they did not seem to resolve their differences until the end of the book.

I love the author’s writing style-it is different. The plot was carefully crafted to take readers on a journey of discovery and forgiveness.

Eden was too rigid and overly organized. I feel Beck was bending over backwards for her all the time. He was always on his guard ‘afraid’ to piss her off or upset her.

The blurb was misleading as I expected angst and infighting between the main characters but the book took an entirely different turn.

If you are looking for matured writing and something different from the norm then I will recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for this eARC read. I wanted to read this book primarily because I really liked the cover art. The book drew me in without reading the book. The book was slow paced but I found it was interesting to read. I like to read everyday mundane stuff when it is written well. The author, Sandra Kitt did a well writing this.

A story of two very career driven people whose paths crossed at a memorial, Eden’s mentor and Beck’s stepfather. Unknown at the time, but they meet again at the lawyer’s office for the reading of the will. Where questions are raised and the spark seems to sizzle.
A very slow reading romance that really wasn’t holding my interest. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #TheTimeOfYourLife

This was my first read by this author. I would probably read another at some point. This story for whatever reason left me feeling just meh. It could just be the frame of mind I was in, but I didn't see that chemistry between Beck and Eden. It didn't feel like it would work for any other reason than the inheritance. I also had a deep hatred of Holly. I know family is family but this girl (and I can't call her a woman because she felt like a petulant child through most of the book, in my opinion) drove me out of the story way more than she should have. It had a few romantic moments but just didn't wow me!

Sandra Kitt is a new-to-me author; I was hesitant to read this when I hadn't read the first book in The Millionaires Club series, but it works well as a standalone.

I most appreciated how solid Eden and Beck feel, both as characters and in their relationship with one another. They're level-headed enough to not have unnecessary drama and recognize their capacity to grow, but they're human enough to flounder a bit when they receive MILLIONS OF DOLLARS (who wouldn't?) from the estate of Everett Nicholls, Beck's former stepfather and Eden's mentor. The story has a cozy feel to it, and I enjoyed going along for the gentle ride (besides getting to know Eden's sister Holly; she annoyed me even at the end).

This feels a bit slice of life but not fully. Eden’s calendar is packed with pro-bono work, finishing up her law degree, and somehow fitting in a blossoming romance. I don’t know how Eden does it. I was getting tired for her. Even though Eden was bouncing from one obligation to the next, the pace of the book is slow. You get to watch the romance grow one step at a time. I had some ‘smack my forehead in frustration’ moments over character choices. Without moving in to spoiler territory, there were conflicts that seem to come out of nowhere based off of the characters’ past interactions with each other. I didn’t read the first book in The Millionaires Club so you can feel confident starting with book 2 in the series.

The Time of Your Life is a simple story of two people meeting at a location, getting connected, and pursuing romance. Both Eden and Beck have personal baggage, and how both of them navigate these difficulties is the premise of this book.

This book is a part of a series, but I read it as a standalone, and it's ok to read it as such. The concept of the book is great. However, the blurb that creates interest is not as much significant in the story. I am not the one who does not finish a book, and hence, I plodded on. This story felt flat for me. I was waiting for some drama, but nothing happens in the story that is like the wow factor. As a sweet romance story, it is an ok story. It's a good palate cleanser, but I was a tad bit disappointed.

Thank you, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley, for this book.

4.5 Stars. Third year law student, Eden, meets Beck, a journalist, at the funeral of her beloved mentor, Everett, who unbeknownst to her was briefly Beck’s stepfather. The two have a connection but don’t think much of it until they learn that they each have inherited a considerable amount from Everett. The two begin dating as they navigate what to do with their inheritances. Both have complicated family dynamics marked with tragedy that they are still working through that keeps things from being too easy for the pair.

Sandra Kitt is one of those names that I have known for a long time, but I seemingly have not read her books before. This book is technically the second in a series, but reading the first book in the series is not needed to enjoy this one (only the MMC from the first book appears in this one). I really enjoyed reading this book. I’ve been in a bit of a 3 star book slump, so I was very happy to have a book that was well written and hooked me instantly. I will be honest there isn’t much that happens in this book, which I think is why it’s getting mixed reviews. I don’t have issues with books that don’t have much going on as long as they are well written and compelling which this book was. I really liked both Eden and Beck. Both acted their age and were able to communicate with each other as adults. There was still a third-act misunderstanding / breakup but it fit the story. I will have to read more of Sandra’s books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beck’s step-father has passed away and at his funeral he meets a strange woman. He also didn’t expect to gain millions from the death, but he’s not the only one inheriting his money. That strange women Eden is also gaining wealth from her former mentor. Bothe Beck and Eden fill an attraction to each other, but will gaining money and mistrust keep them from being together.

This is my first book by this author, and while it was interesting, I also wasn’t left overly awed. There were times I felt like the plot dragged and was lacking. The characters made it unique and I like that they weren’t overbearing in situations.

All in all, it was an interesting take on what coming into fortune and a mystery of a persons life could be.