Maura Sullivan thought she knew what she was getting into when she married soon-to-be pastor Nick Shepherd. But when “the other woman” in her marriage turned out to be her husband’s congregation, she ran. Three years later, she’s back in the small community of Granger, Ohio, for the reading of a will that names both her and Nick as beneficiaries. Now Maura must face the husband – and the congregation – she left behind.

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A friend passes way…. a will is left mentioning both Nick and Maura…. and a stipulation in order for each of them to get an inheritance that they both desire.  But is the stipulation too great?  Maura has been gone from Granger, Ohio for three years.  Three years is a long time and old wounds are still easily rubbed raw and unhealed.

Maura arrives back in Granger having put her own faith on the back burner believing that God has done nothing but let her down time and time again.  As Nick tried to help Maura through this faith crisis it looks as though their is hope for repairing their long damaged marriage as well – yet there is one secret that Maura has yet to share with Nick that may destroy what they are working so hard to repair.

It is a book about love, forgiveness, and letting go.  I appreciated the real characters with real issues. Maura and Nick were real feeling characters and I enjoyed getting to know them with in the walls of their home and in the pages of this book. Watching my own Pastor (I am the Office Manager at our Church)and the hours he puts in really makes me appreciate all it must take to be a Pastor’s Wife.

Jennifer AlLee was born in Hollywood, California and for the first 10 years of her life lived over a mortuary one block from Hollywood and Vine. An avid reader and writer, she completed her first novel in high school. That manuscript is now safely tucked away, never again to see the light of day. Her first inspirational romance, The Love of His Brother, was released in November 2007 by Five Star Publisher.

Besides being a writer, she is a wife and mom. Living in Las Vegas, Nevada, her husband and teenage son have learned how to enjoy the fabulous buffets there without severely impacting their waistlines. God is good!

My Amazon Rating

I received this review book from The Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

This book was mostly read at the gym on the treadmill and eliptical

You’d think Polly Martin would have all the answers when it comes to love—after all, her grandmother is the famous syndicated advice columnist Miss Swoon. But after a junior year full of dating disasters, Polly has sworn off boys. Now she’s just trying to survive her summer job at Wild Waves western-themed water park (under the supervision of ex #3 Sawyer Holmes) and focus on herself for once. So Polly is happy when she finds out Grandma is moving in for the summer –think of all the great advice she’ll get.
But Miss Swoon turns out to be a man-crazy sexagenarian! How can Polly stop herself from falling for Xander Cooper, the suddenly-hot skateboarder who keeps showing up at Wild Waves, when Grandma is picking up guys at the bookstore and flirting with the dishwasher repairman? And why, despite her best intentions, does Polly keep letting boys get in the way of her relationship with her best friend Jane?

No advice column in the world can prepare Polly for what happens when Jane convinces her to go on a group camping trip with three too many ex-boyfriends and the tempting Xander. Polly is forced to face her feelings and figure out if she can be in love—and still be herself.

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OMG… What do you do when you work summer duty at a waterpark with your oh soooo cute ex boyfriend, have a mom who is a 5th grade teacher and in the summer takes a job at the local teen hangout serving greasy burgers and making lame jokes to all your friends, a 10 year old sister who is just you know… ten, a best friend who you are having trouble connecting with, another sort of friend who blogs about every wrong move you make – and then there is the geeky boy…. who really…. come to think of it…. isn’t so geeky any more.

I really (totally) loved this book.  It was light and refreshing.  This book takes you through one summer of happenings in Polly’s life and the paragraph I wrote above pretty much sums up what is going on.  Oh – but I didn’t mention the bulldog…. or the kiss…. yeah the kiss…..

I can’t tell you everything and give away the book but I can tell you if you are looking for a great YA read this is a good pick.  My only tiny thing I would mention is that the characters are mostly 17 years old and there is some underage drinking going on.  Other than that, I had moments I laughed out loud.  A fun read.

I received my copy from 1 Arc Tours

Read in its entirety in a car on the way home from Illinois

Waverly Sloan is a down-on-his-luck lawyer. But just when he’s about to hit rock bottom, he stumbles upon a business with the potential to solve all of his problems.

In Waverly’s new line of work, he comes to the aid of people in desperate need of cash. But there’s a catch. His clients must be terminally ill and willing to sign over rights to their life insurance policies before they can collect a dime. Waverly then finds investors eager to advance them thousands of dollars—including a hefty broker’s fee for himself—in exchange for a significant return on their investment once the clients take their last breath.

The stakes get higher when Waverly brokers the policy of the cancer-stricken wife of Lawrence Erickson, a high-powered lawyer who’s bucking to become the next U.S. Attorney General. When Waverly’s clients start dying sooner than they should, both Waverly and Erickson—who has some skeletons of his own to hide—are unwittingly drawn into a perilous web of greed, blackmail and murder.

I have read Pamela Samuels Young before when I was introduced to her by reading Murder On The Down Low.  Another enjoyable read, I was excited to have the opportunity to meet up with her again in Buying Time.  Except this time, I had better be packing a weapon as the territory is filled with high crime.

A fast paced thrill ride through interesting and well put together characters.  As the pages turn the plot thickens and I found myself reading as fast as the pace seemed to have been set by author Pamela Samuels Young. At times I couldn’t imagine what would happen next and at other times I was laughing out loud (this always gets looks form my husband).   was impressed that as the book came to a close no loose ends were left untied.   What we had was a neatly wrapped book that left me clinging to the words throughout the next few days and really thinking about the companies in the book.

I don’t read a lot of legal thrillers but when I find this genre with Pamela’s name attached to it I do not hesitate to pick it up.  Well written and enjoyable!

About Pamela Samuels Young

Corporate attorney Pamela Samuels Young has always abided by the philosophy that you create the change you want to see. Fed up with never seeing women or people of color depicted as savvy, hot shot attorneys in the legal thrillers she read, Pamela decided to create her own characters. Despite the demands of a busy legal career, Pamela accomplished her ambitious goal by rising at four in the morning to write before work, dedicating her weekends to writing and even spending her vacation time glued to her laptop for ten or more hours a day.

The Essence magazine bestselling author now has four fast-paced legal thrillers to show for her efforts: Every Reasonable Doubt (BET Books, February 2006), In Firm Pursuit (Harlequin, January 2007), Murder on the Down Low (Goldman House Publishing, September 2008) and Buying Time (Goldman House Publishing, November 2009). New York Times bestselling author Sheldon Siegel described Buying Time, Pamela’s first stand-alone novel, as a “deftly plotted thriller that combines the best of Lisa Scottoline and Robert Crais.”

Pamela has achieved a successful writing career while working as Managing Counsel for Labor and Employment Law for a large corporation in Southern California. Prior to that, she served as Employment Law Counsel for Raytheon Company and spent several years with the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP in Los Angeles. A former journalist, Pamela began her broadcasting career as a production assistant at WXYZ-TV in Detroit, where she was quickly promoted to news writer. To escape the chilly Detroit winters, she returned home to Los Angeles and worked at KCBS-TV as a news writer and associate producer.

My Amazon Rating

I received my copy through Pump Up Your Book