This seems like a good book but I stopped reading after too many mentions of mass, for me anyway since I don't have the same beleifs and didn't realize the faith content in it was Catholic. I stopped at 10 percent but I'm sure that other readers will enjoy this novel. What I did read was enjoyable.

The kids are super cute, sweet, life like, and their actions are so very real with their 'nothings' that I have seen when my siblings act up.

All In Good Time has an adorable cover, and enjoyable story that just isn't for me since I don't agree with all of the characters faith.

I received a complimentary ebook copy of this book from JustReadTours, I did not have to give a review, all the thoughts are my own. ( )

Thank you in advance to JustRead Publicity Tours, Multa Verba publishers, and the author Carolyn Astfalk for providing a review copy. A positive review was not required, all words and thoughts are my own.

Told from dual POVs (Melanie and Brian), “All in Good Time” is a Christian Romance/Christian Fiction book about recently widowed mom, Melanie Lombardi. With her three rambunctious children, she struggles with the simple and mundane day-to-day tasks. Romance is definitely not on the horizon or radar. She is still wearing the wedding ring from her marriage to David Lombardi.

That is until she and Brian Perella meet on the sidelines of a little league game. For a while he had resigned himself to being an uncle, never a dad. He is resigned to be the coach for the kids and interact that way.

Not only does her shy young daughter take to Brian, but Melanie is stunned that he sticks around her willingly, knowing about her children. He even starts coming over for dinner, fixing things around the house, and taking them on excursions.

All that changes when Brian receives an unexpected medical diagnosis. He turns to temptation after dumping Melanie. But, it isn’t his temptation that causes the break-up; he doesn’t want to burden her with his health.

Yet, he knows Melanie and the kids are in danger from a stalker.

The tag lines and summary for this story grabbed me right away. At first it was a bit of a slow starter for me. Then it took off and I couldn’t stop reading it. The first night I left off on chapter 31(52 total epilogue) and only stopped to go to bed. It was that engaging and interesting.

While deemed fiction and romance, this also had a slight element of suspense to it which I believe added more interest (for me) to it. In reading it, up until the conclusion, I honestly had the wrong idea about who the stalker was. It did make sense as to who it was and the “why”. The stalker issue could’ve gone with either story/plot line.

This isn’t a “normal” Christian read as it had some sex talk. I say that not because I have a problem with it, but there are some readers who might have issues with it. Also, most of the “clean” Christian reads I’ve reviewed shy away from that talk as well.

In addition, Astfalk tackles another tricky subject – pornography. Again, not in line with other Christian books I’ve read. Even more so they don’t have one of the main characters “consuming” it. Yet, Astfalk tackles this with a candid reality.

Readers will have to pay close attention to this plot device as it weaves its way through the story to an unexpected conclusion.

I found the story to be an easy read with short-medium length chapters. For an eBook, it is rather long, but the story flowed quite quickly.

This is a beautiful story with themes of tested faith, second chances, forgiveness, and redemption. It might be more geared to those of the Catholic faith as those are the stronger themes in it, however I am sure it would appeal to those who enjoy Christian based reads as well. ( )

I opened this book hoping for a tale full of hope and second chances, which All in Good Time does have, but it's overwhelmed by sickness and addictions, really bringing the entire novel to depressing levels. The engaging children break up the drama, and there is some mystery sprinkled throughout, with a suspenseful ending, that saved this novel for me.

Brian and Melanie are such thoughtful characters, but their situations were hard to read, which made the story lag quite a bit for me. I was relieved that there was a satisfying, though predicable, ending but I still couldn't shake the shadow that All in Good Time draped over me the entire time I was reading it.

Overall a good story, and decent writing, but be prepared to be depressed with deep subject matter that could bring your own mood down. ( )

In All in Good Time, Carolyn Astfalk immerses readers into the lives of Brian and Melanie. From the chaos of a single mom raising three young children to challenges of work, health, and family, I was right there in the middle of it all.

There’s so much happening in this book—romance, family challenges, temptations, and a mystery—that it rarely lags. The mystery portion is a slow build up until the end of the story when things really pick up.

While this story is told from the members of the Catholic church, the truths are important for every member of the body of Christ. I appreciated the author’s honest depiction of temptations, sin, and the characters’ struggles to overcome them.

Throughout the book, Astfalk addresses topics that are often avoided in Christian fiction (specifically sexual temptation and pornography) while emphasizing different avenues for avoiding and overcoming the challenges. No, the characters aren’t automatically rid of those temptations. Sometimes they give in and have to wrestle with the conviction, guilt, and shame, but God’s grace and forgiveness is more than we deserve. And that is the heart of All in Good Time.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own. ( )