I could not get into this novel, so unfortunately it’s a DNF for me. I can tell what the author was trying to do and where it was going, but the pacing just felt too slow to me and I wasn’t intrigued enough to get past chapter 3.

Beck and Eden really grew on me. Sandra Kitt knows how to write a romance. This was no drama low angst. It was a sweet build up. Glad I read this contemporary romance.

The Time of Your Life is an enchanting romantic read with a gradually blossoming relationship. I was pulled into this captivating read with its charming characters and heartwarming story from the beginning, and their story stayed with me long after reading. This is a steady-paced story of the unexpected meeting of two people coming together. The Time of Your Life was fun to read and entertaining.

This was an engaging story and I loved reading of how Eden and Beck got to really know each other. Great escape book.
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought it was refreshing and endearing. Story of Eden, a law student soon to graduate, who has always been mature and self-sufficient taking care of herself and her younger sister from an early age to adulthood. Beck, a writer who has a strained relationship with his mother due to a family tragedy. Eden and Beck both mistake the other for someone they are not a memorial service for Everett Nicholls who has ties to both of them. When the two meet, there is definitely an attraction of meeting someone and moving along. The two meet again at the attorney's office reading the will of Everett Nicholl and sparks fly both good and bad. Both characters were interesting, but Eden even more so as she was definitely unique with a heartwarming personality with an innocence and forwardness of knowing what she wants and going after it from career and relationship. Definitely interested in reading more from this author.

3.5 stars. I wanted to like this and I did at times but a lot of the time it just felt like it dragged. Every single chapter, with the exception of the very last, was LONG. Like 20+ minutes (according to kindle). I don’t mind a longer chapter every now and then but sometimes I just want a chapter I can get through quickly.

Now that I’ve finished the book, the blurb also doesn’t seem totally accurate. I got the impression that the two main characters would be wary of each other a lot longer than they were. They got together pretty early on. The communication between them was pretty good, though they did have a couple misunderstandings that eventually got resolved. I do wish we had learned what Beck intended to do about his inheriting the company.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Time of Your Life by Sandra Kitt

Published: April 11, 2023
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Romance
Pages: 334
KKECReads Rating: 3/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Sandra Kitt is the author of more than twenty novels, including The Color of Love, Significant Others, and Close Encounters, as well as numerous short stories. Her work has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award and has appeared on the Essence and Blackboard bestseller lists. She is the recipient of the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award. A native New Yorker, Kitt previously worked as a graphic designer, creating cards for UNICEF, illustrating books, and exhibiting her own work, which is included in the collection of the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles. She formerly served as the managing director of the Richard S. Perkin Collection in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History.

“Do you need a hug?”

Eden is a hardworking law student on the cusp of graduation. When her mentor dies, she takes on planning his memorial. Beck attends the memorial, not expecting the beautiful woman who captures his attention. Their journey is just beginning.

This is a slow burn. I enjoy a slow burn, the eventual landing of a stellar plot with character development that leaves you speechless. This book did not reach that level for me.

The writing was fine. The story was not exciting; I did not connect with the characters. I was worried that this being the second book in a series might make it a tricky read, but I am glad I didn’t take the time to read the first book.

If it were as slow and anticlimactic as this was, I wouldn’t have read this book. I love Sourcebooks Casablanca, so I was shocked to struggle so much with this book. If you enjoy slow-building romance, this is the story for you.

The Time of Your Life
Sandra Kitt
April 11, 2023

When Eden Marsh’s mentor passes she is asked to represent the family by opening the memorial for Everett Nichols. While she was an intern working for his company they had grown close, he was a father figure to Eden. He supported her, pushed her into the law program and paid her way. When he died recently she felt lost, such a close friend and comrade. After the service she couldn’t bring herself to leave immediately as other workers and friends did. No one took down his portrait in the room, it hurt to leave it there unaccompanied. The sorrow built up, she felt the tears and the need to let her sadness flow.
When Beck Dennison began to leave, he turned and saw Eden. He felt she might need something, someone and ventured over. This was the beginning of a friendship that would grow strong.
The Time of Your Life will be published by Sourcebooks on April 11, 2023. I was fortunate to have the publisher allow me to read Sandra Kitt’s recent novel via NetGalley. I chose this novel as it is a monthly selection to read for the Brenda Novak readers club. Not being one to select a romance, I began reading what I was soon to find is an excellent work of fiction. I was intrigued by the plot and drawn into the story immediately in the first pages. Kitt’s writing is impressive. Her storyline gives us family and details the character's work so the reader can appreciate the complexities of their daily life.
I highly recommend Sandra Kitt’s The Time of Your LIfe. Readers will find themselves drawn into Beck and Eden’s story and thrilled by the opportunity to read such an excellent novel. Enjoy this one.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc! I really loved this book, how real the charathers felt throught the writing of the author and how much I liked eden's and beck's personality. In some parts I was a little bit annoyed on how many times the names of the protagonists were repeated over and over, but other than that I adored the writing and the plot of this novel.

An engaging steamy romance. I skipped over the intimate scenes. The initial meeting and subsequent activities kept me entertained. Lots of family issues. Some interesting court cases. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

When Everett Nicholls dies, he leaves his millions to Eden Marsh and Beck Dennison. Everett mentored Eden and paid for her education to go to law school. Beck was his stepson. The two had never met, and were suspicious of each other.
As they got to know each other, they learned a lot, Both had struggles with their family, and neither one ever expected to inherit millions of dollars. They begin to navigate the life they have now.
This is my first book by Sandra Kitt, and it was a book that shared their journey, with everything that was happening. I enjoyed the slower pace of the story and savoring the moments.
I received an ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Sandra Kitt is often spoken about by some of the people I follow as a trailblazer for Black romance, and while I have yet to pick up one of her classic titles, I have been interested in trying her work. I did try the previous book in the series, but had some issues with the direction the story was going. However, I remained determined to give her a fair chance, and ended up enjoying The Time of Your Life much more.
The setup is quite interesting, starting with the death of a wealthy man and him leaving his estate to his stepson Beck and his favorite student, Eden. I loved how neither was quite prepared for the other, leading to tensions between them. And while I’m not a huge fan of romance stories where misunderstanding forms a large part of their dynamic, I felt it worked in a believable way here.
Both of them are also a bit more complex than the other initially realizes. Eden didn’t expect to come into this windfall, and is still getting used to her change in fortune, while navigating other problems, like her relationship with her sister and navigating the waters with her ex. Beck has a complex relationship with his background, with him reckoning with his biracial heritage throughout the book and what it means for his place within his family.
I enjoyed this book, and look forward to trying more from Sandra Kitt in the future. If you’re looking for a multicultural romance by a Black author, I recommend giving this one a try.

I really enjoyed my first Sandra Kitt novel. This is second in The Millionaires Club series but I read easily as a stand alone novel. Eden Marsh meets Beck Dennison at a memorial service for Everett Nicholls. Eden worked for Nicholls after getting her bachelors degree. He was her mentor and encouraged and paid for her to go to law school where she is finishing her third year. Everett is a successful journalist writer and is Nichol’s stepson. They meet again at a brief reading of the will where there is a nice sized ($5 million) bequest left to Eden. Beck is the primary heir to his step father’s wealth and business holdings.

The two are drawn to each other getting to know about each other during walks through Washington DC. He also asks about Nicholls business as she use to work for the company. Both have some side drama happening. Beck needs to reconnect to his mother and has an ex still trying to pull some strings. Eden has a sister only a few years younger. After the loss of their mother Eden has became more a mother figure with the sister acting out immaturely. These things area not nearly as dramatic as the blurb implies. There is a good deal of steaminess between the two as well.

Race is an important part of the story. Beck is bi-racial and it effects how he sees himself in his family. Color and skin tones are often mentioned which may be typical for the author. I didn’t find it slow like some other reviews mention. They are already intimate by the 40 percent mark. But I did feel that both characters act and older than their characters should be. Even though it is mentioned that she is older than a typical law student she should still be younger than thirty.

I enjoyed reading this book from the author and will look forward to the next in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC and I’m leaving a voluntary review. (3.75 Stars)

This is the 2nd book in “The Millionaires Club”. This is an entertaining read that was emotional at times with the family issues that Beck and Eden faced together. This is Beck and Eden’s journey to an HEA. Beck is a well-known journalist. Eden is a law student, works part time, does volunteer work and has a younger adult sister Holly who is an international airline stewardess and a handful at times. Everett was a millionaire and he was married to Beck’s mom Nora and they had a son Mason who drown at the age of 7-years-old. Since the death of Beck’s younger brother Mason, he and his mother Nora have a strained relationship. The two are slowly making their way back to each other as Nora once blamed Beck for the death of his brother Mason. Everett mentored Eden and he was very fond of her; he convinced her and paid for her to attend law school to become a lawyer. Beck and Eden are both dealing with family issues. Beck initially spotted Eden at his stepfather’s funeral. The two meet again when Eden is having a memorial service for Everett. As Eden is getting things together for the memorial service she mistakes Beck for one of the employees at the memorial services at the hotel. Beck comforts Eden when he sees her crying at the memorial as she is having a hard time dealing with Everett’s death. The two forge a friendship that develops into something more meaningful. Eden and Beck are both at a meeting and Eden learns that Everett was Beck’s stepfather. Eden has inherited five-million dollars from Everett; Beck has inherited Everett’s company and a large sum of money. I love the camaraderie between Beck and Eden. They are both great for each other, have a lot in common, perfectly matched, great companionship, love their chemistry and attraction to each other. The two really needed each and no matter their circumstances they were there for each other thru their ups and downs. This is an awesome read that Sandra Kitt has written and I am looking forward to reading the next book in “The Millionaires Club.”

I received an ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

The Time of Your Life by Sandra Kitt has some weighty issues but the situations add substance to the story which also has many moments of levity and gentle humor. It has been years since I read a book by this author so I was eager to experience her talents again. I was in no ways disappointed! The two main characters, Eden Marsh and Beck Dennison, meet at the memorial service of Everett Nichols. The pair share several close moments without exploring their connection to Everett. When they discover that they are both beneficiaries in his will, Beck makes some negative assumptions about Eden’s place in Everett’s life. Their journey to understanding and connecting is a gently and sweetly rendered love story. Ms. Kitt takes her time and paints a lovely picture of love realized, growth and acceptance. Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for this ARC.

Beck might have guessed that Everett, his step father, might leave him something in his will but Eden, who worked for him, certainly did not. And now, the two of them are tied together by their inheritances. They build a relationship slowly (this isn't one of those steam at first sight novels), through walks around DC (like the way the setting is used)z, and in talks. They both have issues to deal with- Eden's sister Holly is a problem and Beck's got to rethink his life goals. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's not a flashy novel but it's a good read.

Even though the book is a slow burn, I loved the blossoming romance between Eden and Beck. They met at the memorial for her mentor who just recently passed. Little does she know that Beck is closer to her mentor than she thought. They both get a huge inheritance, and I loved how they flowed together through it all. Eden shows up as this very strong no nonsense woman who isn’t afraid to be real and let her guard down when it comes to Beck and he is the same. I really enjoyed them.

This was an interesting romance from an author who is completely new to me. This is the story of two people who meet at the memorial of someone close to both of them and discover that he left each of them millions of dollars. The inheritance isn't the main point of the story, which I appreciated. It drove the plot to some extent, but the book was really about the couple, their dating and falling in love, and their navigating their family relationships.

I liked how steady and serious both of the main characters were. They were nice people who were working hard to attain goals and find their way. There wasn't a huge amount of drama in this story, but I was never bored, or felt like the story dragged. Overall, I would say this was a solid 3.5 star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced readers copy.

I will leave a review on Amazon and B&N on April 11th

Overall I found the book to be a good read, but not a great read in my opinion. When Everett Nicholls dies, he leaves his millions to the two people that mean the most to him in his life. Eden and Beck both are suspicious of the other one, but over time they come to realize they have a lot in common. Does having more money than you ever dreamed up, made you happy or does it only add more problems to your life. I would still recommend this book to others, because I know not everyone enjoys the same type of books.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Sourcebooks, I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I saw reviews that said they felt the book was slow. I actually like a romance where the people meet and actually date and get to know each other. Crazy right? I am not for insta-love books. So I did not mind all of that. This book is about two people who have ties to a man that died and he left them both with millions of dollars. Umm Beck is the guy's stepson so why would he not know he was getting the money. That did not make sense to me. I get why Eden was shocked. I felt like that plot line was just weird. The blurb makes it look like that is going to cause issues and it did not. Then they both had family issues and I did not feel like they knew each other enough or their significant other's families enough to get involved with the other's family issues. Eden's sister doesn't clean up after having people over and you would think she just murdered somebody. It just seemed like issues were brought in for no reason. Now Beck's family issues were more serious and he did need to work some things out but I definitely did not feel like Eden knew enough to put her two cents in. So the book was okay. If it would have just been Eden and Beck and seeing more about their family issues I think it would have been better. The money did not add anything to the story in my opinion.