This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Verdict: A gentle, sincere second-chance romance about a woman coming out at fifty-one and the high-school girlfriend she let go, held back by flat stretches of prose and a late breakup that the few readers who found it mostly dislike.
Best for: Readers who want a later-in-life coming out handled with care, a reunion weekend with old friends and a heroine shaped by a religious upbringing, and who can forgive a quick romance and one unnecessary third-act split.
Heat level: ★★★☆☆ (3/5 — open door, per romance.io)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5/5 — a 3.84 Goodreads average from only 32 ratings, with a pointed complaint about the breakup)
Tropes: Later-in-life coming out, second chance, first love, high school reunion, divorced mother, religious upbringing, found friends, forced proximity, dual POV, third-act breakup.
All This Time is Sage Donnell’s 2024 standalone contemporary lesbian romance from Bold Strokes Books, a second-chance romance in which Erin, newly divorced at fifty-one after decades of burying her sexuality under church and marriage, joins a reunion weekend with her three best high school friends — including Jodi, the girl whose kiss she ran from at seventeen, who has been out and proud ever since.
This is a small book in reader terms: a 3.84 average across just 32 Goodreads ratings and 13 reviews, most of them from advance readers. That makes the numbers less reliable than usual, and it means a single strong opinion carries more weight. What the reviews agree on, and what they object to, is still clear enough to be worth knowing.
What Is All This Time About?
This is a later-in-life coming-out story first and a romance second. Erin grew up with strictly religious parents and a church that taught her to fear what she felt, and she did what was expected: married a good Christian man, raised three children and stayed quiet. The book is about what it costs to undo that at fifty-one — with a family, a faith community and her own habits of self-denial all pulling the other way.
Jodi has the opposite history. She came out when she left for college more than thirty years ago and built a happy life and career, but she is a serial monogamist who always finds a reason to leave. The book gives both women a point of view, so the reader sees Erin hoping and Jodi guarding the wound Erin left long before either says it aloud.
What Makes This Later-in-Life Second-Chance Romance Work
- A believable late coming out: Readers praise how Erin’s attitudes fit a woman from a conservative church who is not especially fluent in queer culture — one reviewer called the portrayal organic rather than modernised.
- Maturity: Reviewers point to the maturity of two fifty-something women reconnecting, and Erin’s openness about her feelings.
- The friend group: Sal and Darcy, the other two high school friends, are named as favourites, and readers enjoy the banter across the reunion weekend.
- The family angle: Erin’s youngest daughter helps her understand herself — with an assist from A League of Their Own — and readers note that the book takes the specific problems of coming out as a mother seriously.
- First love revisited: Erin and Jodi were each other’s first loves at seventeen, and the reunion framing gives the romance a built-in history rather than a meet-cute.
Book Synopsis
For most of her life, Erin has kept a secret even from herself. At seventeen she kissed her best friend, Jodi, and then — frightened of her parents and her church — ended things before Jodi left for college. She married, raised three children and built exactly the life she was expected to build. At fifty-one, with her marriage over and her feelings impossible to ignore any longer, she finally admits to herself that she is a lesbian.
Erin reconnects with a mutual friend, and soon the four high school companions — Erin, Jodi, Sal and Darcy — are planning a reunion weekend, their first time together in thirty years. Erin is excited and terrified in equal measure. She wants to know whether the spark she felt at seventeen is still there, and whether Jodi has any interest in revisiting the girl who walked away.
Jodi, meanwhile, has lived openly for decades and has a life she is happy with, even if no relationship ever seems to last. She has no idea the weekend could reopen old wounds. The question is whether Jodi can forgive the past, and whether Erin can make room in her complicated present — three children, an ex-husband and a family who may not accept her — for the life she gave up all this time ago.
My Review
What this book does best is Erin’s coming out. A woman in her fifties, raised in a religious household, realising she is a lesbian and deciding to act on it: the book treats that with sincerity and without mockery, and its attention to how a conservative upbringing shapes someone’s vocabulary and fears is its most distinctive quality. One reviewer called it organic, and that is right.
The second strength is the reunion itself. Putting four old friends in one place for a weekend gives the story a natural pressure cooker and a supporting cast readers actually like. Sal and Darcy bring humour, and the banter between the friends is one of the things reviewers mention most warmly. Readers across the ratings describe both leads as likeable.
The weaknesses are about pace and craft. The most pointed complaint is the late breakup: the couple split because Erin has not yet come out to her homophobic daughter, only a couple of months and a couple of dates into the relationship, and the one-star reviewer found it unnecessary. Even a three-star reader who called it undramatic flagged it. The second complaint is speed: at least one reader felt Erin and Jodi are simply in love again the moment they see each other, with no sense of falling. A third, from a four-star reviewer, is that the writing can be flat, with little tension in the build-up to the intimate scenes.
Reset one expectation. The blurb frames this as a question of forgiveness, and you might expect a long, fraught reconciliation. It is not that book. If slow-burn tension is what drew you, calibrate: the romance moves fast and the drama is mostly external. If heavy angst is what worried you, relax — even the breakup is short.
My honest note: A kind, earnest late-coming-out romance that is easy to like and easy to forget. If you want a gentle story about a fifty-one-year-old finally choosing herself, it is worth reading; if you need chemistry that builds or can’t stand a third-act breakup, it will frustrate you.
| Element | In All This Time |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Erin & Jodi — newly out divorced mother, 51, and the high school first love who has been out for thirty years, second chance |
| Core tropes | Later-in-life coming out, second chance, first love, high school reunion, third-act breakup |
| Setting | Contemporary US — a reunion weekend away with old friends; romance.io lists Missouri and Oregon |
| Heat level | 3/5 — open door, per romance.io |
| Series | Standalone — HEA |
| Content notes | Homophobia, including from a family member, religious bigotry, transphobia, divorce |
How Spicy Is All This Time?
A 3/5. romance.io rates All This Time 3 of 5 and labels it open door, though the band rests on only three ratings, so treat it as a guide rather than a verdict. Reader reviews say little about the heat, which is itself telling: this is not a book people discuss for its sex scenes. The one reviewer who did comment felt the build-up lacked sexual tension and chemistry.
Nothing on the page is flagged as a concern. The warnings readers log are about homophobia, including from Erin’s own family, and religious bigotry. For the same band, Hooked on You — another fifty-one-year-old’s late awakening — also sits at 3/5, while The Second Draft and Discovering Nicola run hotter at 4/5.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a later-in-life coming out handled sincerely, you enjoy reunion stories with a lively friend group, you are interested in queerness and religious upbringing, and you prefer a quick, low-angst read.
You may want to skip it if: third-act breakups ruin books for you, you need a slow build of chemistry, you notice flat prose, or you want a book with a large, well-established readership behind it.
In short: A heartfelt coming-out story that is stronger on sincerity than on romance.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
There is almost no discourse to report, and that is the finding. The book has 32 Goodreads ratings, five StoryGraph reviews and 20 Amazon ratings, and most of the written reviews come from advance copies through NetGalley. I found no BookTok or Reddit activity, no trade reviews and no audiobook — Amazon lists only Kindle and paperback, and it is not in Kindle Unlimited. Its main discovery route is Bold Strokes Books’ own readership and listings such as I Heart SapphFic, which files it under second chance and coming out later in life.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The coming-out arc first — readers repeatedly describe it as a lovely story about living authentically, and one notes that it tackles the particular problems of coming out as an older woman with children. Second, maturity: reviewers like how the two women reconnect as adults. Third, the friends: Sal and Darcy and the banter between the four come up more than once. Amazon runs higher than Goodreads at 4.2 stars, though from a very small base.
What readers argue about and complain about: The breakup, above everything. It is the reason for the only one-star review, and a three-star reviewer flags it too, even while calling it undramatic. The objection is specific: the split happens because Erin has not come out to her homophobic daughter very early in the relationship, which some readers find an unconvincing reason to separate. Second, pace — the romance reignites almost instantly. Third, flatness in the prose, raised by a reviewer who otherwise enjoyed it. With so few reviews, none of these is a consensus, but between them they explain why a three-star “decent but nothing special” is as common a verdict as a five.
The standalone question worth asking first: All This Time stands alone and ends with an HEA, so nothing depends on another book. Donnell has a wider Bold Strokes catalogue, including Diving In, which appears on our single mom romance list, but none of her books has a large readership yet, so this is a case where the reader takes a chance rather than following a crowd.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does All This Time have a happy ending?
Yes. Erin and Jodi get a happily-ever-after, which readers confirm, after a late breakup that most reviewers describe as brief rather than dramatic.
Does All This Time have a third-act breakup?
Yes. The couple split late in the book over Erin not yet having come out to her homophobic daughter. It is the most criticised plot point in the reviews, and one reader rated the book a single star mainly because of it.
How spicy is All This Time?
A 3/5. romance.io rates it 3 of 5 and labels it open door, based on only a handful of ratings. At least one reader felt the build-up to the intimate scenes lacked tension.
How old are the characters in All This Time?
Erin is 51. Jodi was her high school classmate and first love, so the two are around the same age, and they have not been together in more than thirty years.
Is there an audiobook of All This Time?
Not that I could find. Amazon lists only Kindle and paperback editions, and Libro.fm does not stock it.
If You Loved All This Time, Read These Next
If the late awakening was the draw, Hooked on You gives you another fifty-one-year-old finding her feelings for a woman, at the same heat and even lower angst. Margin of Error is a hotter second-chance romance with a heroine in her fifties. Discovering Nicola is the most accomplished book in this lane, with two mothers in their fifties coming out together. For more, browse our late bloomer lesbian romance list, the mature lesbian romance guide, or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
All This Time sets out to show that fifty-one is not too late to live honestly, and on that level it succeeds: Erin’s coming out is handled with sincerity, the religious background is specific and believable, and the reunion friends give the book warmth. What holds it back is the romance itself: it reignites too quickly, the prose goes flat in places, and the third-act breakup feels imposed rather than earned. It is worth it for readers who want a gentle late-coming-out story more than a gripping love story. Check All This Time on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, All This Time ranks as a modest, sincere later-in-life coming-out romance — kind and specific about faith and family, held back by a hurried romance and an unconvincing late breakup, and best approached for Erin’s journey rather than for chemistry.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ 3.84 average across 32 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ Coming-out arc praised across reviews
- ✓ Most reviews from advance readers
- ✓ Breakup behind the only one-star rating
Romance ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ First-love history gives it depth
- ✓ Reunion weekend forces them together
- ✓ Readers like the maturity of the leads
- ✓ Rekindles almost instantly
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Erin’s religious background feels specific
- ✓ Sal and Darcy named as favourites
- ✓ Both leads called likeable
- ✓ Reviews focus far more on Erin
Writing ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Plain, readable prose
- ✓ Friend-group banter praised
- ✓ Attitudes true to the characters’ age
- ✓ Flat in places, per a reviewer
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ Coming out as a mother taken seriously
- ✓ StoryGraph readers tag it emotional
- ✓ Homophobia at home adds stakes
- ✓ Breakup feels contrived to some
Heat Level ★★★☆☆ 3/5
- ✓ romance.io rates it 3 of 5
- ✓ Open-door scenes
- ✓ Heat rarely discussed by readers
- ✓ Based on only three romance.io ratings
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ HEA confirmed by readers
- ✓ Standalone with nothing left open
- ✓ Breakup resolved quickly
- ✓ Third-act split widely disliked
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.1/5
- ✓ Quick, comfortable read
- ✓ Friend-group scenes reward a return
- ✓ No audiobook for a second pass
- ✓ Little tension to rediscover
Affiliate disclosure: Lesbian Romance Reads is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. If you buy through the link below we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.