Official Review: Love Under Construction by Norma Allen

[Diana Lowery]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Love Under Construction" by Norma Allen.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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While I appreciate the ambition that Norma Allen put into writing Love Under Construction, it was not quite enough. There are too many errors, redundancies, and plot inconsistencies to make it an enjoyable read. Also, the low reading level does not pair well with the adult romance genre. In addition, the slick cover and the large print font send conflicting messages as to the intended audience.

The story follows two main characters, Grace and Joe, who experience a love at first sight encounter. Conflicts arise when Joe discovers that he must choose his career or Grace. The setting during the winter holiday season in Connecticut allows for picturesque scenes of ski trips, fireside chats, and ice-skating dates. There is an additional conflict with the arrival of Joe's ex-fiancée at the ski resort. I did enjoy the way that the author ended the book.

I did not enjoy the fact that there were ten errors in the first four pages, and they continued throughout the book. Examples include: "Joe asked Grace was she hungry." and "Oh yes, I did you, heard me, man!" These instances of poor editing often interrupted me while I paused to determine the meaning.

Redundancies also contributed to the difficulty in reading this book. For instance, the author describes Joe returning from work, ordering dinner, taking a shower, and ordering food again. There were several of these repeated actions at different times in the book, and they could have been easily corrected.

Other corrections that should have been made involve unexplained relationships, actions, and motivations. Even though I went back through the book several times, I never fully understood at what point Grace and Cody became stepsiblings. I was also confused about the death of Grace's parents because she is grieving as if it just happened, yet she states that she has not been back to her home since high school, which was at least fifteen years earlier. Inconsistencies caused me to keep rereading to see if I had missed some information earlier in the novel, but some situations were never addressed.

Rating this book as one out of four stars is difficult for me, but it does not deserve anything higher. I have taken one deduction for errors, one for redundancies, and one for inconsistencies. In its present form, I cannot recommend this to anyone. Once it has been revised and edited, it could be enjoyable for lovers of romance novels. I liked that Allen was able to portray a sweet love story with no profane language or eroticism. I hope that the author will put Love Under Construction through a thorough renovation.

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Love Under Construction
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[Raluca_Mihaila]

It seems like the author still has to work on it! I think the book has a nice title, at least. Thank you for your honesty!

[La_lama]

I guess the author had a good story but needed a little more . Hopefully this extremely honest review will aid the author to fix everything wrong and make it better .

[Deval Sodha]

The book has a nice title.
However, it does need a round of editing.
Thank you for your honest review.

[Praise GodWord]

I really don't like first love at first sight. It wears out with time.

[Diana Lowery]

It seems like the author still has to work on it! I think the book has a nice title, at least. Thank you for your honesty!

Yes, the title is clever. Thanks for your comment.

[Diana Lowery]

I guess the author had a good story but needed a little more . Hopefully this extremely honest review will aid the author to fix everything wrong and make it better .

I hope that my honest review was not too brutal. Thanks for your comment.

[Diana Lowery]

The book has a nice title.
However, it does need a round of editing.
Thank you for your honest review.

I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

[Diana Lowery]

I really don't like first love at first sight. It wears out with time.

Well, I don't have any first-hand experience with love at first sight, but it seemed to work for the couple in this book.
Thanks for your comment.

[PeterRabitt20]

I hope to see a new version of this book. This book seems to have something going. I appreciate your tactful and straight-forward rating. Thank you for your review.

[Simzreviews]

Love under construction needs some construction it seems...
Great review.

[Diana Lowery]

I hope to see a new version of this book. This book seems to have something going. I appreciate your tactful and straight-forward rating. Thank you for your review.

Thank you, I did try to be tactful.

[Diana Lowery]

Love under construction needs some construction it seems...
Great review.

LOL Clever pun, but true. Thanks for your comment.

[MarvMike]

I think the author needs to do some more editing. Thanks for the honest review.

[Diana Lowery]

I think the author needs to do some more editing. Thanks for the honest review.

Thank you, MarvMike, I appreciate your comment.